Disclaimer: Characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi, not me!
"Next!"
Rin stepped up the counter and ordered her coffee. After handing over her money and receiving change, she stepped off to the pickup counter. As she waited for her name and order to be called, she absentmindedly rubbed her soulmate tattoo. The words, which had appeared just above her right wrist when she turned eighteen, read Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! Are you all right?
The first words my soulmate will say to me, Rin had thought, eagerly memorizing the sentences within the first week. For months afterwards, she had snuck peeks at her arm all the time, hoping the words hadn't disappeared. They hadn't, and Rin, now in her third year of uni, had stopped checking as often.
The woman behind the counter called her name and her order ("caramel latte with cinnamon") and Rin stepped up to receive her drink, smiling gratefully as the hot cup warmed her cold fingers. Exiting the shop, she paused for a minute as the hot steam fogged in front of her in the cold winter morning, temporarily obscuring her vision. Rin began to walk to her university, using her thumbs to pull her sweater around her hands, forming two woolly pads around them.
She blew on her cup, trying to warm her hands and cool down her coffee at the same time. Not looking where she was going, she kept walking when she suddenly collided with a stranger. Coffee spilled everywhere as Rin's cup flew out of her hands. She stumbled backwards, trying to catch her balance, when a hand grabbed her arm.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! Are you all right?"
Rin's heart nearly stopped as she looked up at the young man she had walked into. He had brown hair pulled into a small ponytail, green eyes, and freckles splashed across his nose. She realized she was staring, and the words flew out of her mouth before she could stop them. "Are you my soulmate?"
The man stepped back, releasing her arm and looking very frozen in place. Rin jumped on his arm. "Let me see your tattoo!"
He didn't say anything, but he didn't stop her either, so Rin brought his arm up to her face and pulled back his sleeve. There, on his arm, written in neat black ink, were the words Are you my soulmate?
Rin let go of his arm in excitement and pulled her own sleeve up to her elbow, exposing her own tattoo, which matched what he had just said to her. The man stared at her arm, then sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess we're soulmates, then." He laughed a little and Rin felt herself joining in. They stood there, laughing on the sidewalk as the fallen coffee steamed at their feet.
Finally, Rin pulled herself together. "I guess we should introduce ourselves, right? I'm Rin!" she said, grinning widely.
"And I'm Kohaku," he said, also grinning hugely. "Do you want me to buy you a new cup of coffee?" he asked, gesturing at the spilled remains of her latte, which had melted most of the snow at their feet by now.
"All right," Rin said. "I think that's as good a place to start as any!" Kohaku smiled and rubbed the back of his neck again. They turned and headed back to the coffee shop, sleeves still rolled up, soulmate tattoos linked by their joined hands.