00:000:00:00:00

Years:days:hours:minutes:seconds

Example- 10:364:23:59:59, ten years, three hundred sixty four days, twenty three hours, fifty nine minutes, fifty nine seconds.

Everyone has a timer implanted on their forearm at birth. It is irreplaceable and impossible to remove. It reaches zero the moment you meet your soulmate. When it does, a tattoo is seared on your skin in a random area. The only person with a matching one is your soulmate.

...

Most people are anticipating the moment the numbers reach 00:000:00:00:00. But not Ekko. He's afraid. When his timer reaches 00:001:00:00:00, he turns back time to three days before. But he's getting sick of living the same days again and again. Will he have the courage to face the last 24 hours and meet his soulmate?

Garen Crownguard's tattoo had seared itself onto the back of his neck years ago. He still hasn't found the woman who he's apparently already met. He's spent almost a year searching now, but still hasn't found the matching tattoo. What happens when he catches Katarina du Couteau from Noxus, with her hair up, a tattoo clearly marked on her neck?

When they were children, Zed thought his soulmate was Akali, even if their timers weren't done counting. But when her timer reached zero, she left him. It was for a person he'd never thought it would be. Five years ago, his own brother, Shen, met Akali for the first time, and their timer clicked, and their tattoos matched. Broken, he resents his timer, which is still ticking. 00:002:06:29:05. Two days. Will his so called soulmate be able to replace his broken heart?

Ekko walked down the dirtied roads of Zaun. He glanced down at his forearm. 00:001:00:30:23. He had thirty minutes before he'd turn back time. Biting his lip, he continued to stroll down the road, occasionally waving to people as they walked by.

00:001:00:15:12. The minutes seemed to drag on longer and longer. Ekko rubbed his face in his hands.

"Maybe I should just stop turning time back," he mumbled to himself. What am I so afraid of, anyway? It's just a soulmate. If this system works, she and I should get along nicely. And maybe, fall in love.

00:001:00:10:23. Ten minutes.

Ekko clenched his fists. His nails dug into his skin sharply, drawing blood. He must've looked pretty mad, because a woman had paused to look at him. She looked vaguely familiar, as if he had met her another time. Maybe it was a while ago. Ekko had turned back time often enough to force himself to not think about people he met, because it was never permanent.

"Young man, is there something wrong?"

Ekko shook his head, forcing a smile onto his face. "No, ma'am, I'm fine." He rubbed his forearm. The woman noticed this, and smiled. "One day, hm?"

Ekko hesitated. "I...guess."

The woman smiled. "Let me tell you something. It's not as scary as you think. Let it happen. It's not about how much time you have, it's about how you use it." She winked. "It's worth it."

Ekko's nails relaxed from its death grip on his palms. He glanced at his hands, wincing as he traced the small beads of blood rising from the crescent shaped cuts on his dark skin.

00:000:23:45:22.

Too late to go back now.

Ekko glanced up. "Uh, thanks...um…"

She was gone.

Ekko let out a breath and sighed, making his way back to his home. He'd probably get only a few hours of sleep at most. His stomach flipped and he found it slightly hard to breathe.

He trudged home, shoving the door open and glancing at his timer again.

00:000:23:15:13.

"Hi, honey!" His mother waved from the kitchen. Ekko waved back half heartedly. His mother frowned. "Ekko, are you alright?"

Ekko realized that he had forgotten how to respond to his mother normally. He had turned back time so many times that he'd given off robotic responses off memory for the past few years. His mouth turned dry and he wondered how the hell he'd turned back time so many times without hesitation.

"I'm fine, mom. Just a bit dizzy," Ekko sighed. "I'm going to my room."

"How bad is it? Do you need me to take your temperature?" His mother pressed a hand against his forehead, her brow furrowed in worry. "I'm fine, mom," Ekko smiled at her reassuringly, grabbing her arm gently and putting it down. His mother glanced at the bright numbers on his arm. "Oh, one more day until I get to meet the special girl!"

Ekko cringed and smiled weakly. "Yeah."

Ekko's mother gently held his arm. "Ekko, darling, don't be afraid… You know when I met your father, I was determined to show everyone that the tattoo doesn't really mean anything. But, well, I just couldn't resist him," she smiled fondly. "The tattoo won't bring anything but joy."

Ekko wrapped his arms around his mother and held her in a hug as she sniffled. "I miss him too."

His mother pulled away gently. "Anyway, I know that this girl is going to be special."

Ekko nodded absentmindedly. Thoughts raced through his mind. He knew there was no turning back, but right now he wanted to kick himself for being 'brave' and not turning back time. He wasn't prepared for this.

He trudged up to his room and flopped onto his bed. It creaked under his weight and he shoved his face into his pillow. He definitely wasn't going to get any sleep tonight.

"Garen!" A high, feminine voice rang through the air. Garen Crownguard turned to the sound and smiled slightly, seeing his blonde sister running towards him. "Garen, are you coming to the ball?" Luxanna Crownguard asked brightly.

Garen nodded, "It is my duty to attend, Lux."

Lux wiggled her eyebrows. "You might find your special someone there," she winked. "Mother has wanted grandchildren since you passed puberty."

Garen's face turned an impressive shade of red. "T-that's none of your business."

Lux peered at the back of Garen's neck, pulling down his blue scarf. The tattoo was a dagger and sword that were engulfed by red and blue flames, centered on he back of his neck. "I'm still so confused as to how you don't know who your soulmate is. Didn't you get this tattoo years ago?"

Garen nodded, pulling away. "It's not like I can see her tattoo because it would be on her neck."

"It's warm out, and the new fashion is to wear their hair up," Lux said, optimistic as always.

Garen shook his head. "I'm not sure why you're so excited for me, Lux," he grabbed his sister's arm and pushed back her sleeve. "You're supposed to meet him tonight, probably at the ball."

Lux's timer was ticking down to its last hours.

00:000:05:31:27.

No matter how much Garen wanted to keep his little sister under his protection, he knew he would have to hand her over to her soulmate one day. "Are you excited?" He asked. Lux nodded. "Oh, I hope he's tall, dark and handsome," she swooned. The characteristics she wanted in her soulmate starkly contrasted herself. Lux was bright blond, cheery, and petite. She was always called pretty or beautiful by passing men.

"We should get ready," Lux said excitedly, pulling her brother's arm. Garen sighed, glancing longingly at the training grounds before grudgingly following his sister. "The ball isn't for another four hours," he complained. Lux rolled her eyes. "You stink! You need a shower, and then you need to find something nice to wear, and it needs to be perfect!"

Garen felt his body getting heavier with each step. But, he couldn't help but feel apprehensive for the ball. What if he did find his soulmate again?

Zed was in a foul mood. Shen had told him that he wanted to propose to Akali, and wanted his brother to approve. Of course, being the nice brother he is, Zed had said it would be a wonderful wedding.

Once Shen was out of sight, Zed let his raging emotions take over. Now, he was sitting in the middle of a forest, breathing slowly. He pulled off his mask, letting his face and hair cool down in the gentle breeze. It wasn't fair. He and Akali were clearly in love when they were younger. They had ignored their timers, which hadn't stopped. Zed made the mistake of introducing Shen to Akali five years ago. Their timers had ticked down to zero, and Akali stared at Shen as if he were God himself.

Shen was immediately smitten, and Zed had stared in disbelief as they showed each other their new tattoos, seared into the middle of their chests. The tattoo was a katana wrapped in chains. Akali has gently touched her soulmate's chest, tracing the chain. "I broke a chain with my bare hands when I was young," she said wistfully, "My mother knew that I would be special."

It was as if Zed had never existed. Akali has gone to Zed once and said, "I had fun...but you will find your lover soon." She had pointed at his timer, which was still ticking. Zed had simply stormed away. "I hope he can make you happier than I did."

And he did. Akali stared at Shen as if she had never seen anyone so handsome. She always had a dreamy look in her eyes when she saw him, racing into his strong arms.

Zed rolled up his sleeve and glared at his timer. 00:002:06:29:05. He doubted this woman would ever be able to stand him. He was still bitter over how easily Akali had left him. He'd probably turn the woman away anyway. By law, soulmates had to live together for the rest of their lives. Almost all the time the pairs were married. The system never failed to match people with someone they loved. Zed's twisted thoughts spiraled. He wouldn't love this woman. He doubted he could.

"Zed," a deep voice interrupted his thoughts. It was Shen again. Zed turned around, slightly annoyed. "Yes, brother?"

Shen stood awkwardly before him. He was a man of few words, but always knew what to say. But now, he was at a loss for words. "I realized how insensitive it was for me to tell you that I was going to propose to Akali," the Eye of Twilight said in a monotone voice. Zed waved his hand in dismissal, getting up from his sitting position. The wind blew gently, tousling his white hair. "It was going to happen anyways. At least you had the courtesy to tell me first, instead of just asking her without me knowing."

Shen shifted his feet. Zed slapped his forehead. "You need help don't you."

The ninja nodded awkwardly.

"You know she'll say yes but you're still scared." Zed flatlined.

Shen nodded again.

Zed rolled his eyes. "I'll go find her and you can just...propose to her out here. Don't fuck it up. You have one job. Get on one knee and hold out a ring. If you manage to fuck up I will literally disown you as a brother."

Shen stared at him. "Thank you," he said quietly. Zed shrugged. He was still bitter, but Akali's happiness was important to him, and Shen made Akali happy. He sighed, grabbed his mask and disappeared in a cloud of smoky shadow.

Garen stood impatiently in his sister's room, watching her toss dresses left and right from her closet. "Luxanna," he said, his eye twitching, "Have you chosen a dress yet?"

Lux poked her head out of her closet. "Garen, I'm meeting my soulmate today, I need to look perfect!"

"At this rate, you're going to produce grandchildren faster than I am," Garen muttered. Lux flushed. "You should find something to wear too, brother!"

Garen raised an eyebrow. "I'm wearing a suit, Luxanna, it's not much of a difficult choice."

"Make sure that women can see your tattoo," Lux winked. "Maybe she'll see it and it'll be magical. You'll dip her in your arms and swoop in for a kiss-"

Garen put a hand over his sister's mouth. "Finish that sentence and you're not going to the ball."

Lux licked her brother's hand and he yanked it away in disgust. "Twenty one years of training to be a lady and I get this as a sister," he muttered affectionately. Lux crossed her arms, turning back to her wardrobe. She gasped and pulled out a white and gold dress. It fell in different layers at the bottom. It was strapless and had a very defined waistline. "I forgot I had this," she breathed. Lux ran to the bathroom with the dress, literally glowing with happiness.

Lux stepped out, twirling around. "How do I look?"

The dress reached the floor, covering her feet. It hugged her bodice, pushing up the generous chest that she had been blessed with, cinching her waist and accenting her hips. Golden designs swirled along the sides of the dress and across her chest. The dress fell into different layers at the waist, giving Lux a very feminine body shape.

Garen smiled. "If your soulmate isn't immediately attracted to you he's probably blind."

Lux squealed, clapping her hands together. "Now, it's your turn," she said, grabbing her brother's hand and pulling him towards his room across the hallway. "Luxanna," Garen complained. "The least I can do is fix your hair," Lux compromised. Garen rolled his eyes and glanced at the time as his sister sat him down at his desk.

Two more hours.

Please let me know what you guys think of this! Suggestions always help and motivate me. :)