AN: I wrote this for a friend.
"Hey, Kaito."
"Yeah, Ryouga?"
"Why are those idiots letting dumb pocket watches dominate their lives?"
"They think we are the idiots for not wanting dumb pocket watches to dominate our lives, you know." Kaito hands Ryouga a cup of hot chocolate. "But to answer your question. They are scared of choosing their own path."
"That's pathetic." Ryouga tries to take a sip, but it's too hot and so he just holds the cup for warmth.
It's snowing outside. At this point, Ryouga doesn't even notice the ticking of any pocket watches that aren't his own or Kaito's, anymore.
(His and Kaito's are slightly out of sync, but just by a small margin. It's annoying.)
When Kaito says nothing more, Ryouga speaks again, "What will you do once you find your 'partner'?"
"No matter how I feel about that person, I'll have to at least make the public believe that we get along. Don't wanna get forced into therapy like my dad was."
(They didn't see Faker and Byron for a month after their argument.)
"How's your research going anyway? Do we have any evidence that the owners of two pocket watches with the same ticking are... soulmates?"
The word makes Ryouga nauseous when he says it.
He chooses his own fate, and some stupid pocket watch is definitely not going to decide it.
If at least his pocket watch had the same ticking as Rio's or Durbe's or something, it'd be okay.
(But Rio's and Durbe's watches are in sync and Ryouga is glad they are, but at the same time he wishes he was part of that.)
But this? Bullshit. Whoever he meets is not going to be someone he wants to spend the rest of his life with.
(Ryouga kind of hopes that person is dead already.)
"Of course not. For all we know, it could be any person, or just a person of significance. What significance that is," Kaito crosses his arms. "is an entirely different story. I mean, you saw it with Chris and his brothers. The whole pocket watch system isn't even exclusive, we know too little about it, and yet society makes it our law. For all we know, we might end up partnered with our mortal enemies, forced to live with them forever."
"That'd be better than-" The ticking of Ryouga's pocket watch gets louder. "No way."
Immediately both him and Kaito rush to the window, but the ticking gets more quiet again and Ryouga would think it was his imagination if Kaito hadn't heard it, too.
"...It gets louder when that person comes closer, doesn't it?" Ryouga mutters.
Kaito nods. "It does. But since whoever was there is gone again, your lack of interest in finding your 'soulmate' might be mutual."
"That's the only good thing about it."
In the middle of the night that follows, Ryouga wakes up.
He checks the alarm clock since the pocket watches don't actually show the real time— something that Ryouga still considers extremely annoying given that people require them everywhere in everyday life.
1:04 AM.
His pocket watch is ticking slightly louder than usual.
"Damn it."
He's always hated the ticking. Almost like an inevitable countdown to ruin.
(It feels like suffocating.)
Ryouga doesn't accept ruin that he himself hasn't chosen.
It's quieting down now. Ryouga goes back to sleep.
A month passes by without many events. Ryouga keeps visiting Kaito, but there are no further results. The ticking doesn't get louder, either.
Kaito says they will get forced into a soulmate finding program if they don't find their 'partner' soon.
It's around 5 PM when Ryouga goes home, listening to music to drown out everyone's pocket watches' ticking. It works. It gives him some peace.
Ryouga thinks of leaving the country, but probably elsewhere people get a magical pocket watch at age 14, too.
It's been four years and he's tried to get rid of the pocket watch, but apparently being too far from it kills you—
He bumps in someone, his headphones and a pocket watch make a clattering sound as they hit the ground.
"Oi, watch out where you're—"
The ticking is too loud.
The guy who knocked him over looks annoyed, and he picks up a pocket watch from the ground.
Ryouga scowls. "That's mine, don't touch it."
"That's mine. Don't you know that your partner's is identical to yours?" The guy smirks. "Didn't expect you to be this much of an idiot." And off he runs.
(Ryouga thinks his voice sounds familiar.)
The thing is, Ryouga has no reason to run after him.
If he's lucky, the surveillance cameras didn't catch this and then he can keep avoiding this soulmate business for a while longer.
(He doubts it, though. Orange hair and violet eyes stand out quite a lot.)
If he's unlucky, he ends up in pair therapy, but that would happen anyway.
(But that guy pissed him off and if he meets him again he's definitely gonna tell him that.)
So Ryouga decides to wait.
It takes precisely a day and a half before Kaito calls him.
(Kaito calling people means it's an emergency, usually.)
"You're getting visitors in half an hour from now."
(Ryouga is glad that Kaito knows some of the people who work for the government.)
"They are here because of the pocket watch stuff, right?"
"Yeah."
"...Thanks. I'll text you when I'm done being interrogated."
Ryouga hangs up.
"What a fucking dictature."
Ryouga opens the door at the 7th ring, because people sent by the government should have to wait.
"Droite."
(Ryouga and Droite barely ever talk, and when they do it's because they both know Kaito.)
"Yeah."
"Do you really have to do this?"
"It's my job. Now come, Gauche already found Shingetsu."
"Shinge—who?"
Droite raises an eyebrow. "Your partner."
The woman gives them a smile, but Ryouga knows they are in her office because they are going to be forced into something.
"So. What is the problem in your relationship? I couldn't hear much of what you were saying on the footage, but none of you seemed happy."
"How about introducing yourself first?" Shingetsu has an angelic smile that could betray most people— but not Ryouga, because
he's seen his true face once.
(Ryouga feels like he knows him. Not from his looks, but the personality. There's something distinctly annoying about it.)
"I'm Habara Umimi. Nice to meet you."
"So, Habara-san~" Shingetsu speaks as if he's about to sing, and Ryouga hates it with every ounce of his being, but Shingetsu
seems to be the better actor and that's why Ryouga leaves it to him for now.
"You can call me Umimi—"
"Habara—san," Shingetsu repeats dryly, the smile gone for a second but resurfacing right after. "We don't need help. Ryouga-
kun and I just had a lovers' squabble, nothing big. It was about his shark-themed curtains and how much I hate them."
(The point of honorifics is to be polite. Shingetsu uses them to be even more of an asshole.)
Ryouga feels like killing the guy already.
Umimi turns to Ryouga. "Is that true?"
Ryouga nods. "Yeah, and in turn I told him how much I hate his..." He eyes the bunny charm on Shingetsu's phone. "...rabbit-themed pajamas. Really, just a silly argument." He crosses his arms.
"Come on, Ryouga, cheer up!" Shingetsu grins. "Turn that frown upside down~ It's all fine now, right? You're not angry anymore?"
There's a sharp pain in Ryouga's shinbone and he immediately kicks Shingetsu back.
"Yeah, of course not. So yeah, all of this was a misunderstanding. I hope you understand." He looks at Umimi expectantly.
Umimi is still smiling. "But... I have records saying none of you ever met before. It wasn't even possible location-wise."
This time, Ryouga and Shingetsu react simultaneously:
"Fuck."
They are in the bus on the way to the re-education facility when Ryouga looks at Shingetsu and scowls. "Just to be clear. I don't
buy this whole fate by pocket watches thing. The only fate I accept is the one I've chosen before."
"I know. I'd expect nothing less of you."
"How would you know?"
"I just do." Shingetsu smirks.
Ryouga hates it.
[kaito.]
[Yeah?]
[i'm at some sort of re-education facility. they want to make me start liking this guy]
[Me, too.]
[what.]
[Yeah. I found my partner right after I called you. He's really stubborn and wants to be my rival at dueling or something.]
[...good luck]
[You, too.]
"Oh, talking to Kaito?" Shingetsu yawns as he puts on his actually rabbit-themed pajamas.
(They are embarrassing, but Ryouga is sitting in a glass house right there with his shark-themed pajamas.)
"You know him?"
"Oh, no, Miza-chan just mentioned him."
"Miza-chan?"
"Mizael, Kaito's partner."
(Ryouga remembers that name.)
"So you two are friends?"
"Depends on who of us you're asking."
Ryouga gets the meaning of that, and he sighs. "I'm gonna sleep. Try to not be obnoxious, gesu."
"Vector."
(Ryouga recalls a chat room from a few years ago and an annoying guy and—)
"Eh?"
"My name."
Oh.
Ryouga scowls. Things are coming together now.
"Oh, you remember me, Nasch?"
"I hate your guts."
"Right back at you."
It then dawns on Ryouga as to how Vector found him.
He's been using the crest that's on his pocket watch— that's the only good thing about it— as the icon of the Barian chat room. Which means—
"You knew from the start."
"I did. Only recently moved to your town though."
"So you've been stalking me?"
"Don't flatter yourself. I tried to find a way to avoid you."
That doesn't make it better, Ryouga thinks. Because we're stuck here now.
"At least they had the decency to give us bulk beds," he now mutters. "I'm taking the bottom one."
"You know that's just for the first week, right?"
"What?"
"Yeah, they want us to share beds as a way to trust each other more, starting from the second week's Tuesday. Or something."
"It's not like they can force—"
Vector points at the surveillance camera right above Ryouga. "They can."
Ryouga's gaze follows Vector's hand, and then he realized there's more than just one camera in the room.
"Damn it."
That night, Ryouga dreams of back then, when Rio and him were mostly blogging and hanging around in the Barian chat room and wondering if they'll ever meet any of the other Barians.
Except for Vector, no one wanted to meet Vector (Mizael had to, because they went to school together), but at the same time it would've been kind of lonely without his annoyances and without him hacking everyone (mostly Ryouga) on a regular basis.
(Sometimes Vector and Ryouga had serious conversations, and Ryouga recalls that Vector's family background was difficult.
They only talked about it during one rainy night where none of them got sleep.
Ryouga didn't dig too deep back then, because that side of Vector had been so different, so weak, so vulnerable that Ryouga had been scared he might break him.)
In the end, Rio and him did end up meeting Durbe, and it was good for Durbe and Rio, since they were partners while actually getting along already.
Ryouga did meet Alit and Gilag at some point, but they rarely talk now.
All of that was three years ago.
Ryouga sometimes misses those days.
Ryouga gets woken up by a loud, terrified scream.
He quickly locates the source, it's above him, and he knows what's going on.
"Oi," he begins, but he gets interrupted by Vector hissing "Shut up".
"You're the one who woke me up, just saying."
"Your fault for having a light sleep, princess." Vector's voice trembles, just a bit, but Ryouga notices immediately.
He sighs. "Did you bring your deck?"
Suddenly, there's the sound of the bed creaking and there's Vector's head, upside down, grinning despite his bloodshot eyes. "Did you?"
Ryouga nods. "Let's duel then. It's been three years, I bet you still can't beat me."
(They've only ever dueled online, but Ryouga's memories of it are actually quite positive.)
(From Vector's enthusiasm, Ryouga assumes it might be the same for him.)
Vector smirks. "We'll see about that, asshole."
"You finally stopped the annoying mill tactic." Ryouga raises an eyebrow as he notes down that both players have 0 LP now.
A draw.
That's a first.
"I just forgot to bring that deck here," Vector admits with a shrug.
(Ryouga knows that Vector does not forget things like this, and he wonders if Vector improved so he could beat him.)
Vector seems to have calmed down, so maybe they can actually sleep now.
There's a bit of silence, and Ryouga hears the ticking in his pocket again. "Can't we put those in a box or something?"
It's a rhetorical question because he remembers the pain he felt when he was too far from his pocket watch.
Vector shakes his head, but he fumbles in his pocket for something... and pulls out a tiny black box, tinier than the pocket watch. He hands it to Ryouga. "I expected you to think of that. Not that smart, are you?"
"Bastard, what—" Ryouga shuts up when he opens the box to find earplugs. He immediately glances at Vector's ears to find that Vector is wearing them, too.
Wordlessly but with a nod— because thanking Vector would be too much—, he plugs them in.
The ticking is gone.
Vector starts laughing. "You should see your smile. It's nothing like you."
"...I'm going to bed."
When Ryouga wakes up, Vector is already up on his feet and fully dressed.
"When do we even get breakfast here," Ryouga mutters as he walks to the bathroom.
"Breakfast is already over~ Didn't think you'd need any! The lesson starts in five minutes by the way, Ryouga-kun!"
Ryouga regrets having compassion for Vector yesterday.
"Today you'll be doing ballroom dance. To be exact, Waltz." The teacher— Ukyou— gives them a smile. "Do you have experience?"
Ryouga scowls. "I do."
(Rio once took dancing classes and made Ryouga come along. That was before she got her pocket watch, anyway.)
"What about you, Shingetsu-kun?"
"None. I'm sure Ryouga-kun here can teach me though, right?" His smile is sickly sweet, and Ryouga hates it.
"Why don't you let the teacher—"
"I think it's a good idea if Shingetsu learns from you, Ryouga."
The teachers are definitely on Vector's side for this one.
Ryouga sighs. "...Fine."
"I'll be back in half an hour then." Ukyou leaves the room, and now it's just Vector and Ryouga.
"I'll be lead," Vector announces cheerfully, and Ryouga thinks Vector might be genuinely happy, which is worse than any of his faking.
"You're shorter than me. You'll be follow."
Vector tries to protest, but Ryouga takes his hand and pulls him into position.
Vector scowls. "Stop that, bastard—"
"You wanted to be lead so you can step on my feet, huh?" Ryouga smirks as he makes adjustments to Vector's posture.
Vector struggles, but Ryouga is physically stronger and they can't afford to make a scene.
"Alright. One, two, three..."
It turns out that Vector can in fact dance.
When Ukyou comes back, he takes them to the ball room where another pair is waiting.
"Kaito?"
"Ryouga?"
"Miza-chan!"
"Oh god please no."
Everyone stares at each other awkwardly, then Mizael gives Ryouga a nod— they never talked much back then, but they had mutual respect— and then they turn to Ukyou.
"It seems you know each other already. Since all of you were kind of late into the year, this ballroom dance lesson is just the four of you. I will turn on some music and you will dance. The members of the winning pair can spend some time outside and without others on Sunday."
The implication that's hidden within that is news to Ryouga.
"So basically this was some sort of jail from the start?!" Ryouga doesn't try to contain his anger.
Vector shrugs. "How did you not expect that?"
Mizael and Kaito have perfect posture (although their expressions show their lack of interest in this activity), and Ryouga and Vector know they are defeated halfway through the song, so Vector starts to get bored.
When Vector got bored back then, he would hack Ryouga's computer and delete all system languages that Ryouga actually speaks, leaving Ryouga to struggle and find out how to set it back to Japanese.
In real life, Vector getting bored involves him pinching Ryouga's side.
"Bastard, stop that," Ryouga hisses, trying to not lose the rhythm, but now Vector is tickling him and—
Ryouga wonders if Vector gets that this is basically like playing into the government's hands.
Friends tickle each other, too, don't they?
Ryouga ends up stepping on Vector's feet, making him stop.
Ukyou shakes his head and declares Mizael and Kaito the winners.
The next few days pass with tasks equally annoying as the ballroom dance, until it's Friday night and Vector shakes Ryouga awake.
"What do you want," Ryouga mumbles into his pillow.
"Don't be such a grumpy cat, Nasch. Wanna go out?"
"We can't."
"I opened the window. Hurry up before the alarm goes off, or else I'm going alone."
Ryouga doesn't ask how Vector opened the window, he just gets dressed.
They're both shivering when they somehow climb out of their room (Ryouga is sure he has bruises now) and they are finally free.
"We can't just go home, can we?"
Vector crosses his arms behind his head. "If you wanna get thrown into real jail this time, we can."
"Damn it."
"By the way, catch."
Ryouga does in fact catch, and—
"My pocket watch?"
"You forgot it."
Oh, yeah, earplugs.
"...I need to get used to that."
"Just keep it with you like any sane human being would."
(Ryouga is pretty sure Vector is the type of person who almost died trying to get rid of the pocket watch at some point.)
"So what did you actually plan to do?" Ryouga takes out his phone to check the time. 2 AM.
"Go to the beach, then duel over some pizza." Vector yawns.
"What makes you think I wanna go on a date with you?" Ryouga crosses his arms.
Vector smirks. "Do you have other company?"
"Asshole."
So they go to the beach, and it's way too cold, but both of them like the beach because it's a lot more like freedom than any other place.
The beach gets Ryouga in a softer mood than usual, and so he asks, "Still living with your dad?"
Vector scoots away a little. "Where's that question coming from?"
"You said you wanted to get away from him as soon as possible."
"He's in prison now. Finally."
Ryouga thinks he shouldn't ask, so he doesn't and instead he pulls his jacket closer.
Moments pass and it's so quiet that Ryouga almost thinks he can hear his pocket watch again, but it's just his imagination and that might be worse than actually hearing it.
"He deserved it," Vector suddenly says. "Wish it was more than ten years imprisonment though."
Ryouga nods in agreement like he understands, but he doesn't. He knows what Vector feels, but he doesn't know what led to it.
(Vector never mentioned his mother.)
He opens his mouth to ask this time, but Vector interrupts him by standing up.
"I'm getting pizza."
It's cold, so Ryouga comes along.
The thing is, Ryouga does sincerely hate Vector's guts, but at the same time there's something they have in common, and Ryouga isn't sure whether they're friends or archenemies.
He wouldn't trust Vector with his life, that's for sure.
His phone rings as they enter the restaurant. He tells Vector to order, and he takes the call.
"Yeah?"
From the other end, he hears Kaito, sounding out of breath. "Where the hell are you?"
"Why are you even awake?!"
Ryouga thinks he hears Mizael in the background, yelling something about how they shouldn't help Vector.
"Everyone's looking for you and Vector, and they are looking for you in pretty much every room."
"Can't you tell them we're hanging out as friends or something?"
"You're what?"
"Well, not really, but that's what you're supposed to tell them."
"Will do." Kaito hangs up.
When the pizzas arrive, Ryouga states his opinion of Vector yet again—
"I hate your guts."
"Oh, Nasch~ Isn't pizza with olives on it your favourite?"
"No, it's hecking not and you know it because we talked about it three years ago—"
"And I said if I ever was to eat pizza with you, I'd order what you hated the most."
Ryouga glares at Vector and picks out the olives with a scowl, just to see Vector picking them from his plate.
"Thanks, Nasch, you're quite generous today." Vector smirks.
"Bastard."
Three duels and two pizzas later, Vector and Ryouga leave the restaurant.
"Do you think we'll get away with pretending to be best friends occasionally while actually living normal lives otherwise?" Ryouga
buries his hands in his pockets for warmth, but all he gets is the cold steel of his pocket watch.
"Y'know there's a law about having to live with your 'partner' unless you're married, right?" Vector puts on gloves.
"I hate this country."
"I heard it's the same overseas."
"I hate this world."
When they get back, they are 'greeted' by an angry Mizael, a slightly confused Kaito and Umimi's husband, Tobio.
"I'm glad to hear you two are getting along!" Tobio smiles. "Kaito told me you were on a date."
Ryouga scowls at Kaito. "You what—"
"I said they are hanging out," Kaito corrects immediately.
"A date," Tobio repeats.
"A date," Vector confirms and interlaces his fingers with Ryouga's. "But we're not sure what direction we wanna take with that
yet."
Ryouga digs his nails into Vectors hand painfully, but Vector just returns the gesture instead of letting go.
"Please tell us beforehand next time you're going out at night, we can give you a permission if you're making this much progress." Tobio motions for them to follow him inside.
They go back to their room to find that there's only one bed.
Ryouga tries to not curse, but he does anyway. "Fuck."
"That Tobio freak is really overenthusiastic," Vector hisses as he moves to the very right of the bed, while Ryouga does the
same on the left.
They can't see each other's faces, but Ryouga is sure Vector is scowling as well.
"Oi. Vector." Ryouga says.
"What?"
"Check your phone."
[if we leave again, let's not say anything beforehand, i bet they'll try to bug our clothes otherwise], Ryouga hits send.
[i never planned to tell them tbh]
[good]
[—night? Oh, you're not being an asshole today, Nasch?]
[you're despicable.]
Ryouga wakes up from the sound of someone knocking at the door.
Vector's on top of him for some reason, and he lazily pushes Vector down before opening the door.
"Mizael?"
"Kaito said you two are probably too tired to get breakfast." Mizael hands him a tray with two bowls of cereal on it.
"Oh. Thank you."
"Tobio said that the four of us might get out a lot earlier than expected. Keep doing whatever you're doing."
Ryouga nods and turns to go back in, but Mizael holds him back.
"Did Kaito tell you about his idea?"
"What?"
"The four of us being roommates."
Ryouga opens his mouth to answer because no, that's news to him, but Vector comes to the door and smirks. "Miza-chan, you have a crush on Kaito, don't you?"
Mizael leaves without another word.
Vector laughs.
"It's an option though, isn't it?" Vector snatches his bowl of cereal from Ryouga. "The four of us living together."
"It really is."
"I look forward to swapping Mizael's shampoo bottles with hair dye again, just like I did on field trips in high school."
"He must've hated being your roommate." Ryouga chuckles a little before sitting down to eat his own cereal. "By the way."
"Yeah?"
"Stop lying on top of me like I'm some kind of teddybear. Next time I'll throw you off the bed."
"Shut up."
Ryouga smirks.
Time passes faster now; Ryouga keeps waking up with Vector on top of him every morning and makes a point of carrying Vector to increasingly weird places (for example, Mizael's bed) in return, at night they either sleep or duel or upset the entire re-education camp by leaving without permission (sometimes alone, sometimes together), and in general it's surprisingly fine to live that way.
Occasionally they deal with the weird soulmate bonding tasks the teachers give them (the pocky game is Ryouga's nightmare now).
Sometimes Rio and Durbe call Ryouga to make sure Vector hasn't killed him or something.
Sometimes Ryouga talks with Kaito, Vector and Mizael about how they will need two bathrooms if they wanna avoid murder once they all move together.
It's... okay.
And then the four of them get ordered to the facility's leader's office.
They never met him before, and they only know his name.
"Mr. Heartland, what did we do to have to come here?" Vector asks with the annoyingly fake angelic smile.
"I wanted to tell you that the four of you have made great progress... it was like your hearts were burning!"
"Please stop the puns," Kaito mutters, and Mizael doesn't even hide the disgust on his face.
Mr. Heartland scowls a little, but quickly regains his usual expression. "So, as Kaito requested, the four of you will be allowed to live together. You can move next week."
That was easier than expected.
The sight of Mizael and Kaito sleeping in a bus on top of each other is... an experience.
"I wonder what the heck they were doing to be that tired," Ryouga mutters as he looks out of the window.
Vector pinches him, just for fun. "I think Miza-chan said for every time he loses against Kaito, he wants to win ten times to make up for it."
"He can't."
"Of course he can't. So, Nasch~"
Ryouga looks at him this time. "What?"
"Did the re-education help?"
"Not in the slightest. I still don't buy the whole fated partner thing."
"Expected nothing less of you."
"What about you? Do you think we're made for each other?" It's an ironic question, because Ryouga knows his dislike for Vector isn't one-sided.
"Made to piss each other off?" Vector laughs.
"Sure."
Two weeks later at 1:04 AM, Ryouga wakes confused because he forgot the earplugs and his pocket watch is ticking louder than usual.
(He's glad to have his own room, but it's still weird to always know how far or close Vector is.)
He walks down the stairs to the living room, just to find Vector who's holding both of their decks. "Up for a duel, Nasch?" His eyes are bloodshot.
"You stole my deck?"
"I borrowed it."
"Had a nightmare again?"
"Shut up."
Some things never change.
"By the way, Vector." Ryouga takes his deck and shuffles it.
"Yeah?"
"I still hate your guts."
"Right back at you."