He had strange dreams as a child.
Sometimes, Kyosuke would wake up in places that he didn't recognize. It was always an unfamiliar house, a middle class one with old carpet and patchy wallpaper.
The dreams never lasted for long, but they left an impression on him throughout his childhood. He often wondered what they meant. The reason never quite came to him.
Studies about dreams existed, but none of them could explain his experiences. It was always the same house, one he swore that he had never seen while in the waking world.
He only ever dreamed of the house during the winter. He would try, other times. Pollen invaded his nostrils in the spring, hot winds blew across his face in summer, and wet leaves flew into his room in autumn, but he never ever dreamed of the house.
That was a dream reserved for when it was too cold to keep the window open, when delicate snow and dangerous ice decorated the outside world.
He was fifteen.
Kyosuke had a paper due in the morning, even though it was New Year's Eve. Soon, he supposed, it would be the new year. The last time he had looked at the clock on his laptop, it had read 23:44.
The paper was supposed to be four pages, but Kyosuke had just hit nine, and he still had three more points to go through before he could submit it.
As he made the sharp keystrokes, his head began to feel foggy. Kyosuke squinted at his screen, forcing himself to stay awake. If he faltered now, then all his hard work would have been a waste. No, he had to get this done.
"Stay awake…" he muttered, "You're so close…"
Suddenly, he flew backwards against his desk chair, a splitting headache forming in his head. When he blinked open his eyes again, he was standing in the house.
Kyosuke frowned. He floated down the hallway, over the creaky floorboards, and into a small bedroom. He was wearing a nightgown with a little bird stitched on the chest.
An old mirror leaned against the wall of the room. Kyosuke wandered over towards it, curious. He looked at his reflection, only to frown. The face of a teenage girl, likely his own age, stared back at him instead.
She had long brown hair that was tied up in a flowing ponytail, and brilliant green eyes. But who was she? And why did she move when he did?
Kyosuke blinked, and he was back in his desk chair. The clock on his laptop read 00:01.
Shakily, he turned back to his report. He was about to continue writing, when his cursor froze over a line of text that hadn't initially been there.
Hey, you're actually awake this year! Nice to meet you! (*~o~)
-your soulmate
Kyosuke stared at the text for a very long time.
One year later, and Kyosuke had nearly forgotten about the incident. It was ten minutes to midnight, the last time he checked, and the essay on his laptop was still bothering him. He knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep until it was perfect.
He removed his hands from the keyboard, and stroked his chin. He knew the essay needed something else, but what exactly?
Kyosuke rolled closer to the screen again, lightly brushing his fingers over the keys.
His head grew foggy. Kyosuke fought himself to stay awake, when he remembered the previous year. Just after the fogginess, he had woken up in the strange house, possessing the body of someone else.
The clock read 23:59.
Kyosuke hurriedly changed the font size to 36, then typed, 'who are you?'
He just got the last character down, when he slumped down in his chair.
Kyosuke woke again, this time standing in a brightly lit living room. This wasn't the same house as before. It was in disrepair, and quite old. This house was newer, and fancier.
"Are you okay?"
Kyosuke turned, to see a ridiculously muscular boy sitting next to him. He looked like he could snap someone's spine over his knee.
He opened his mouth to speak, but a party horn fell out and onto his lap.
"You look really sick," the muscular boy said, "Did you eat somethin' funny?"
Kyosuke swallowed, and brought a hand up to his neck. He found long strands of hair, and pulled a lock down so that he could see it.
The hair was the exact same shade of brown as it had been in the other dream, when he was in the body of a girl.
Kyosuke gagged, trying to find words, but sickness overtook him. He slammed his eyes shut, and when he carefully opened them again, he was back at his desk.
00:01.
Kyosuke looked at the document, desperate to see if he got a response like before. He scrolled to the bottom, then froze.
Just under the 'who are you?', in size 10 font, was a message.
Call me Chisa (≧ω≦)
"Chisa…" he whispered, running his cursor along the name, as he repeated it.
Chisa.
He almost missed the message beneath it, the font size all the way down to 3.
Who are you?
Kyosuke Munakata was a very professional person. He was seventeen, and now had a total of one hundred and fifty-two notebooks. He had cracked open a fresh one recently, with a very important agenda in mind.
THINGS I KNOW ABOUT MY SOULMATE:
She has long brown hair and green eyes.
She is close friends with a teenage boy who is incredibly muscular.
Her name is Chisa.
It was New Year's Eve again, and Kyosuke was counting down the hours to midnight again, desperate to meet her again.
He'd prepared a paper that had a list of information about himself. He didn't know what Chisa wanted to know, so he hoped what he had written was enough.
My name is Kyosuke Munakata. I am seventeen, and this spring, I will be attending Hope's Peak Academy as a member of the 74th Class.
Kyosuke glanced down at his watch. 23:57.
He sighed, but just then, the foggy feeling in his brain set in. He shut his eyes, and peacefully waited until the stroke of midnight.
Kyosuke opened his eyes again to see a mirror. He was Chisa again, according to the reflection in front of him. He was in a nice house again… no, not a house.
Rather, he was in a hotel.
Kyosuke poked his head into the main room. The muscular boy from the previous year was lying down on one of two beds.
"You done?"
Kyosuke gulped, "W-Where am I?"
The muscular boy blinked, "The hotel room?"
When Kyosuke didn't respond, he added, "In Kagoshima? For the band trip?"
"Uh."
The muscular boy sat up, "We drove for eleven hours straight, and you're telling me that you don't remember?!"
Kyosuke didn't say anything else. In the next moment, he was back at his desk.
00:01.
Kyosuke reached for the paper that he had written his information on, wondering if Chisa had replied.
It still only had his neat handwriting on it. Kyosuke slumped in his chair. Had he been too forward? Did she want a mystery, not the answers right away?
He pondered the idea for some time, but eventually crumpled up the paper and tossed it in his waste paper basket.
"At least I can add to my list that she's in band," Kyosuke muttered quietly.
He pulled his notebook over, uncapped his pen, when he suddenly realized that there was a fourth bullet on the list that wasn't originally there.
I will meet her in the spring. (^•^)
A wide smile burst onto Kyosuke's face.
Winter left, and spring arrived, while pollen tagged along, uninvited as usual. Kyosuke had stocked up on tissues, but he didn't think it would be enough to deter his pesky allergies.
Kyosuke hardly listened to the teacher, (something Kizakura? He wasn't paying attention.) and instead looked around the classroom, hoping to catch a glance of Chisa.
Suddenly, the teacher began reading off names, and Kyosuke snapped to attention.
Abe Takaya. Abukara Kousuke. Bandai Daisaku.
The three of them were assigned to the front row. Kyosuke silently prepared himself for a long wait.
Chikamatsu Rei. Daishi Haruka. Erizawa Nagisa.
Kyosuke glanced around the classroom. He still couldn't see Chisa anywhere. Was he wrong in thinking that she would be in his class?
Fukuyama Ken. Gekkogahara Miaya. Itami Noriko.
Still no sign of Chisa.
Kujikawa Rise. Kusunoki Ayano. Matsuoka Rin.
Kyosuke realized that he would be called soon, and quickly straightened up.
Minami Chieko. Munakata Kyosuke. Nakahara Aki.
He quickly sat down at his assigned seat. Kyosuke took another quick glance, and for one moment, he swore that he spotted Chisa, but she was gone in an instant.
Nosaka Issei. Okita Kiriko. Raikatuji Aiko.
Chisa was still nowhere in sight, but the muscular boy that she was friends with was in the corner, staring aloofly into the distance.
Sakakura Juzo. Shikiba Santa. Suzuki Ryouta.
The list went on for several more minutes, until Kizakura finally said, "And last but certainly not least, Yukizome Chisa."
Kyosuke looked around, but no students were still standing. His heart screamed in his chest, and his throat went tight.
Suddenly, the classroom door burst open, and a girl raced in. Kyosuke blinked a few times, but he was absolutely certain it was her. Chisa was even more beautiful in person.
"I'm… sorry…" she heaved, "I missed… the train…"
Kizakura said, "That's alright… Would you like to introduce yourself to the rest of the class?"
Chisa stood up and flashed a smile, "I'm Chisa Yukizome, the Super High-School Level Housekeeper! It's an honour to meet you all!"
Kyosuke's mouth hung open for a moment. Her smile looked as if it could make flowers grow.
The second class ended, Kyosuke approached her. His palms were sweating, and he tried to discreetly rub them on his uniform.
"Excuse me… Yukizome?"
Chisa turned around, her ponytail knocking over something on her desk, "Oh, hello! Can I help you?"
He swallowed nervously, "My name is Kyosuke Munakata, and I-"
Chisa's eyes lit up, "R-Really! As in… my…"
Kyosuke blushed, "Your s-soulmate."
Chisa grabbed his hands, and beamed, "I'm so glad to finally meet you! You're taller than I expected."
Kyosuke found himself unable to not smile as well.
"I'm glad to meet you too… Chisa."