Author's Notes: This was inspired by a prompt I saw in tumblr and I just had to write it. Here's the Soulmate AU that no one asked for. I apologize in advance to all mistakes I haven't corrected.


SOULMATES

Soulmates exists. Soulmates are common. Soulmates are identified by marks appearing on your skin when another person writes on theirs. According to legend, it can happen only after you turn eighteen. The exact date is unknown so long as the person decides to write on any part of their body. It is said that it doesn't happen during your childhood because the universe allows you to find your soulmate before faith finds it for you.

It took nine months after her eighteenth birthday for her to be aware that her soulmate is out somewhere in the world writing words on their skin. Mimi Tachikawa was cramming for her exams before finally giving up and flopping herself on her dorm's big pink bed. Rubbing her eyes to relieve the stress, she noticed the words dancing around her palm. She didn't feel any pressure, no ache from pen meeting flesh. It might have frightened her where it not for the magical way it marred her skin. The writing was neat, slightly slanted and a bit too sharp as opposed to her loopy scrawls. The moment transpired too brisk, almost fleeting, and Mimi wanted to drag the time to eternity just so she can watch it forever.

"The sky has fallen

The ground has been shaken

Tell me,

How do you keep standing still?"

She took in the writings on her palm, comprehending each word like she's learning them the first time. The words encompassed the entire span of her palm, just centimeters away from meeting her wrist. After the fascination washed over her, dread came after. She rushed to her bathroom to scrub it off, but alas, was futile. And so, Mimi finds herself lying on her bed once more and tracing her fingers along the marks.

How can someone be so articulate, so gifted yet be so tormented?, she asks the world in a silent whisper.

It might have been a new song she hasn't heard or a poem she hasn't read but telling herself that did not quite sit right with her. Because she was absolutely sure that the other person, no matter who the person was, was at pain and alone in this harsh world.

Mimi fell asleep to the words haunting her mind.


The next day when she woke up she found the words gone and Mimi deduced that maybe she was too tired from studying and that all of it was just part of her dream. With a sigh, she dejectedly went on with her morning routine and came to class for another round of boring lessons.

But by midday, she absentmindedly starts retracing the part of her hand where the marks should have been. Her palm was now clean and pinkish like always and that fact made her feel somewhat melancholic and a bit wistful.

She was tempted to call Koushiro, her childhood best friend, about the eerie phenomenon but decided against it. Koushiro was too much of a skeptic to even believe her. So instead of telling others of the bizarre event, she kept it to herself. In each moment that Mimi will notice someone's eyes trail over at the nonexistent markings on her arm, she would try to pull her leather jacket, in an act of protecting what was hers. The thought of a soulmate was too beautiful for her and that if the previous night's events were true and not a fragment of her fantasies, then maybe, just maybe, there is still magic in the world.

A couple of days after, Mimi lies in her bed expecting to see words paint her palm again. Just like magic, she sees them, but not on her palm but on the insides of her wrist. Still the same writing and still the same strokes but the process makes Mimi breathless for the second time around.

"How do you spit out the sour taste of pain lingering at the back of your throat?"

And there it was again, underlying pain hidden by exquisite poetry. Without wasting time, she hopped of the bed and ran to her study table to grab her pink pen. She wouldn't let this opportunity pass just like last time. This time she was determined to prove that her soulmate existed. That this person was not a part of her imagination, a part of something in her that has been longing to feel belonged.

"Poet?", she wrote, wondering if her letters danced just like his does.

She waited with baited breath and when there was no response after an hour, she gave up. Closing her eyes to let sleep take her away, she caught sight of the marks that formed under hers.

"Almost. Musician." Was the curt reply and Mimi pondered if she would feel happy or disappointed by it.

"Who are you?" she almost wrote before deciding against it because it entails telling him her name too. And she wasn't ready to meet the other person yet, not yet when she doesn't know him enough. Instead of replying, she stares at the words before letting sleep pull her to a dream filled with skies falling and planets shaking.


Yamato Ishida doesn't believe in soulmates. Even if it was common knowledge that it occurred everywhere in the world. He thinks that it was a way for people to keep their hopes up only to be crushed by their expectations.

When he learns that he had one, it completely shook him. The cursive writing on the inside of his wrist was too girly for it to be his brother's but still, he thought that maybe his little brother was playing a prank on him.

"Nice try, Takeru, I knew it was you." Yamato said as he opened the door to his brother's bedroom.

The bewilderment on Takeru's face was a telltale sign that he indeed has a soulmate and he can't help but dread his brother's response.

"You've got a soulmate." Takeru states, glancing at Yamato's outstretched hand. "It's normal."

"It's is not normal." Yamato said, left brow raised and arms crossed.

"Sora has one." Takeru said matter-of-factly while holding his index finger up. "Mom and dad were soulmates." Three fingers were up by the time he finished.

"Takeru, you do realize that both instances ended up badly. Sora was in love with Tai before meeting her soulmate and mom and dad are divorced."

"So? Sora's case is different, you're not in love with anyone at the moment and you can totally avoid mom and dad's case."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Aren't you curious?" Takeru asked as he took a seat in front of his computer.

"The probability of the person being here in Odaiba is about, I don't know, zero?"

"You know what- nevermind."

He returned to his room after Takeru ended their discussion impatiently. He stared at her writings, alarmed by the strangeness of it but curious nevertheless. Her reply was curt and it gave nothing away. Yamato debated if he should ignore her and evade a possible disaster or satisfy his curiosity and allow someone to break down the walls he built for himself.

Deciding against his better judgment, "Almost. Musician.", Yamato replied. It was enough for him. It was a close-ended answer that will probably make the person on the other end feel discouraged and dismayed and it was the type of safe response he could give out that will please him for a long while.

But when the person didn't respond to him that night and the day after, he finds himself upset. So instead of rubbing his hand against his wrist while on his morning shower, he slowly ran over the words with soap, careful not to erase his writings. As well as hers.


Mimi sat in front of her two best friends on the day of their weekly brunch dates. She can't help but tug the scarf on her neck tighter, a result of feeling the cold from outside seep into the quaint café or maybe a result of the anxiety settling over her, she wasn't sure anymore.

Koushiro raised his left brow at her. As her childhood friend, Mimi was sure Koushiro was the first to catch her fidgeting and restlessness. Instead of voicing out his thoughts, he waited for her to tell him what has been bothering her. Jyou Kido is another case though, he might not have known Mimi for a long time but his cleverness partnered with impatience makes him the most curious person Mimi has ever encountered. He stared at Mimi with a calculating look and before he can ask her to spit out everything, Mimi beat him to it by lifting the sleeves of her wool jacket.

The inscriptions from last night were still on her flesh, as if they were engraved permanently on her. As if they were able to pierce the deeper layers of her skin and never will it be able to resurface. Mimi, no matter how obsessive compulsive she was, didn't have the strength to erase them.

"That's some weird tattoo." Koushiro said nonchalantly, always the practical one. But Jyou frowned at her exposed wrist, clearly disturbed by it.

"It's not a tattoo, Kou." Mimi said with eyes rolled.

"Then, what the hell-"

"It's a sign of a soulmate, Koushiro." Jyou finally said.

Mimi snapped her head towards Jyou's direction, almost too fast that it would surely hurt. Instead of tending to her aching neck, she took notice of the look Jyou gave her. His face was blank, void of any emotions but Mimi could see the pain in his eyes. She frowned at him and Jyou smiled in return albeit lacking the usual gleam.

"Seriously? That again? You know, scientifically, that's impossible." Koushiro reasoned.

"But here it is." Jyou replied and Koushiro held his response back with a tight lip.

Mimi felt conscious on Jyou's lingering gaze on Mimi's wrist. So she hid it underneath her sleeves, yanking it down to reach as far as the center of her palm. She finally regretted deciding to tell Koushiro and Jyou about her problems. Thinking about it now, it would have been better to hide it from them rather than ask them for advice. It was a bit selfish for her too, knowing how it would open up old wounds to one of them.

"Watch over yourself." Jyou looks up, meeting Mimi's troubled eyes. He was strong, smart and once upon a time was filled with passion. He was always buried underneath his books but he always finds time for his friends. Jyou was the kind of elegant that Mimi will always try to level but will fall just an inch short behind. But looking at him now, Mimi sees the sorrow looming over him. He was weary but wiser. Broken. "Even though the world finds you two to be a match. It doesn't mean you're for each other."

With that, Mimi understood the meaning behind the words. He might have his own pain, it doesn't mean hers was the same. But as a friend, it still meant that Jyou was obligated to tell her to protect herself. Mimi nodded in comprehension and gave him a toothy grin. Jyou straightened himself and replaced his frown with a genuine smile at her direction.

"I don't want you getting hurt, is all" Jyou said.

"I won't be." Mimi replied.

"Because you're not going to meet them." Koushiro stated, out of the blue. Jyou and Mimi suddenly jolted at the sound of his voice. Obviously, forgetting his presence. Instead of feeling affronted by being ignored, he gave Mimi a smug look because he knew he read right through her.

"I'm going to." Mimi stopped before adding, "Someday."

"Is this because of the fact that you're afraid of getting rejected?"

Were it anyone else, Mimi would have been offended by the brutal honesty. But Koushiro was Koushiro and he knew her to the last details about herself. He knew that nothing can grab her parent's attention away from their jobs. And that no matter how much they ignore her, she can never truly detest them. Rejection was just a word but it had the power to knock her out of her pedestal. "Shut up, Kou. What happened to science?"

Without waiting for Koushiro's answer, Jyou swiftly tapped his fingers against the wooden table to catch his friends' attention. "How bout we finish our food? I really hate cold pasta."


Yamato hated covering someone else's shift at the bar. Especially if said shift falls under a Friday because it's the busiest day of the week. But said someone was his best friend who had to take care of his sick mother, he had no choice but to manage the place. Good thing, Friday nights meant there are new local bands playing.

"Yamato, can you take the orders over there while I mix these?" Miyako, Yamato's bespectacled hair color obsessed co-worker, requested.

Yamato snapped up to meet her gaze and gave a nod in response. He kept the spray bottle and cloth underneath the counter before approaching the far end of the bar. By the secluded counter, he noticed a brunette girl sitting on the stools. Her face was turned slightly to watch the performer standing on the stage. The bar maybe packed but the music was soulful and riveting, Yamato can't blame her for not noticing him. She was so engrossed by the performance that Yamato gave her a minute just to observe her. Her delicate brown hair cascaded down her chin, her curls shadowing almost half of her face. Her palm supported her craned neck. Her hair reminded him of hot chocolates on rainy days and albeit somewhat messy was still presentable. As she turned her head to face him, Yamato gave out a smile despite his earlier foul mood.

"What can I get you?" Yamato asked, hiding his embarrassment after realizing that he was staring for quite a while.

"Do you have anything non-alcoholic?" Mimi asked, smiling sheepishly. Yamato was confused.

"Pineapple juice?"

"Then, pineapple juice."

"Okay, be right back."

When he gets back, he hands her her order. He doesn't say anything and neither does she. After an hour or so, Yamato notices her standing up and paying the bills before walking out of the bar. Her crown of brown hair sticking out amongst the throngs of people. She left alone without even talking to anyone who stopped her in her way towards the exit. Yamato had the urge to protect her, just like how he is so inclined to look after his little brother. And before he knows it, she was pushing the exit doors.

After Yamato clocks out of the bar at half past twelve, he notices the marks on his palm.

"Do you have a new song written?"


He notices her again on his regular Wednesday night shift. And again on the next shifts that follows. Yamato wondered if she was a usual costumer who enjoys buying non-alcoholic drinks at the bar alone. She sometimes sits with a smile on, sometimes with a blank look and often times she greets him with a smile that was too halfhearted.

Yamato mostly ignores her, doesn't quell his curiosity and just lets her be for a long time. He just serves her the usual pineapple juice but he occasionally watches over her. A girl alone on a bar does not equate to a good ending but somehow the brunette is pretty good in tending to herself. He starts noticing how she often contorts her face into a scowl on the first sip of her drink but after a few gulps will smile contentedly at it. She sometimes wear her jacket on, sometimes not. If she does wear one, she tugs at them ever so frequently. And she would wait for three performers, brown eyes glimmering with expectations, before standing up and exiting the room.

Yamato takes heed of it again the next time he sees her. When he was supposed to be cleaning the tables, his eyes were secretly darting towards her every now and then. And like clockwork, after the third performer said his thanks, she was out of the door in an instant. Yamato was sure he caught sight of her shoulders dropping.

When Yamato takes his best friend's shift again, he sees her approaching her usual spot. She drops her belongings on the counter and smiles in acknowledgement towards his direction. He takes her usual order and turned around to leave her to her own business. He comes back again to ask if she wanted another glass and she replies with a "Sure."

As he turns around to grab a can from the fridge, she stops him midtrack by encircling his fingers around his wrist, where the currently blank skin used to have a pink "Your words are beautiful." earlier in the day. "What's your name?"

"Yamato."

She smiles, this time reaching her eyes. Seeing her up close for a long time, he notices that her hair didn't remind him of hot chocolates, they reminded him of old wine being pirouetted inside a glass while standing in front of a blazing fireplace. "I'm Mimi." There was a short silence and Yamato tries to shake off the idea of how she reminded him so much of summer and winter all at the same time. "Are you busy? I have some questions."

Yamato glances around the bar and notices that surprisingly, it's not packed for a Friday night. Miyako was currently chatting with one of the regulars and no one will probably come looking for him. He shakes his head no in response, not sure why he bothers to entertain her.

"What do you want to know?" he asks, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Do you have a list of the bands that will perform next week?"

"Not that I know of, you should ask Miyako. She's in charge of that." He replied, thumb pointing towards the purple-haired girl.

She nods in understanding and Yamato finds himself perplexed. "Why are you always here every night?"

Mimi wrinkles the skin on her forehead while rubbing her chin with her fingers, trying to look for answers. Yamato finds her actions odd but doesn't comment about it. "I'm sort of dumpster diving for up and coming superstars." She states as if she doesn't find her words strange at all.

Instead of probing her, Yamato laughs at her antics. The kind of laugh he rarely gives out nowadays. The kind of laugh he gives out when there's a new witty reply on his forearm. And before he knows it, they were conversing for a while before Yamato returns to his post. When he notices her standing up from her spot, he nods in farewell with his heart beating and stopping at the same time.


Mimi wasn't sure when they started becoming friends. She was just sure that her regular visits to the pub in search of her secret soulmate led to her close connection with the blond whose eyes makes her think of midnight stormy oceans. And God, does it make her want to stare at them till the end of eternity just to be sure that they were real.

She knew that they knew each other pretty well by now. Mimi sees him weekly ever since their introduction. He shares to her a fragment of his life every now and then and she tells him about hers. She tells him about how she hates her business classes and would definitely shift to culinary school in a heartbeat. She tells him that she's only taking the course just to please her parents and that she will forever be conflicted between living her family's wish and turning her dreams into realities.

Her soulmate hasn't written anything new for the past few days. But by Wednesday morning, Mimi finds "All her life she will be divided, with her feet in the Styx and her head in the stars." written in bold letters on her forearm. The air from her lungs were suddenly sucked out and her eyes darkened. It frightened her. It hit her right in the gut because of its exactness. It frightened the life out of her because it felt too real.

By nighttime, she was on her way towards Digital World, the bar she frequented. The mid-December air was getting chillier every day. She didn't bother removing her leather jacket as she entered the bar. The coldness from outside entered the room.

"Slow night?" she asks and the blond nods in her direction. He was still wearing his jacket too.

"The usual?" Yamato asked, like how close friends would do.

"The usual."

She sipped her drink and immediately their conversation ran its natural course with the occasional jabs and banters. Mimi's playfully teases him and Yamato would usually brood and glare at her. They talk and find their familiar rhythm in which they enjoyed too much.

"Hey, I was wondering if you could come on Christmas Eve to watch us perform. Since you're not going home for the holidays and all." Yamato said out of nowhere.

Mimi, caught off guard, raises a perfectly arched brow. "Perform?"

"Yeah, I'm sort of in a band." Yamato said, scratching the back of his neck.

Mimi was stunned. The possibility was low and she didn't want to keep her hopes up. She tried her best to control herself from asking Yamato to lift the sleeves of his coat. She wanted to, God she wanted to so badly but she was scared because she might not see black ink marring his flesh. And then it hit her. Mimi wanted it to be him. Mimi wanted Yamato to be his soulmate. But begging the world for it to be him was too self-centered. The fact that she had a soulmate was a miracle enough, she didn't need to complicate things. She didn't need to hurt her soulmate just like Jyou was hurt by his. So instead of voicing out her thoughts, she replies, "You didn't tell me you were in a band."

"Sorry, it slipped."

Mimi sighs in defeat and calms herself. "Sure, I would love to."


The days before Christmas Eve rolled past fast and Mimi doesn't find anything new on her skin. On the day of Yamato's performance, she wears loose clothing, knowing that Digital World would be jam-packed than usual. As she heads out, she grabs her coat and closes the door behind her.

Mimi sits in her corner of the room. A bit far from the stage but enough to see the performers. She sees Yamato ascending the stairs before setting their instruments up. He's in a simple white shirt and dark denim jeans. She notices his hair was shorter now compared to the last time she saw him. It suited him better. Mimi can't help but marvel at how beautiful he was. Her chest ached at the sight of him and she doesn't pay any attention to it.

Yamato introduces the band and without any delay started playing his bass guitar. The tune was low, the bass dominated the other instruments. Unlike the previous artists, Yamato's band was more on the mellow side. Mimi loved the tune instantly. It reminded her of home and scented candles. And before she concluded that she loved Yamato's voice already, she notices the familiar lyrics.

"The sky has fallen

The ground has been shaken

Tell me,

How do you keep standing still?"

Her closed eyes flashed open. Mimi stared at Yamato who was too absorbed with singing to notice her. The corner of her eyes uncharacteristically started forming little drops of water. She was too moved that she almost forgot how to breathe. And before she knows it, her cheeks were painted with salty tears. Mimi wipes them away and looks for Miyako. She asks the girl for a pen and waited for the song to come to an end.

"I found you." she writes on her palm and she waits with baited breath for him to notice. And like all the things that happened in the recent months, Yamato was pulled by magic to stare at his hand. Mimi prayed for him to look at her direction. Because only then would she be sure that he was hoping it would be her too.

Mimi waited and waited. And as Yamato looks up, his head moved side to side and then his blue eyes landed immediately on her wine-colored ones. He only sees her amongst blurred faces. He eyed her with certainty and mouths at her direction, "Of course, it's you".

In a matter of minutes, Mimi sees Yamato approaching her. His smile never faltered and neither does hers. She clutched her palms tightly and she let her gaze fell on his hands just to catch sight of the words she wrote.

"Want to grab a late dinner with me?" Yamato asked.

"Sure." was her prompt reply.

As Yamato and Mimi bared the freezing winter on the streets, their hands were intertwined. Their souls were also intertwined. Both thought of how it was enough to keep the both of them warm. They walked in silence towards a diner located just a block from the bar.

The two of them sat side by side on the diner chair. Their hands still clasped tightly on top of the table. Yamato set Mimi's hand down, palm facing up. He sees her writings, the exact same one on his. He traced the marks slowly causing the hair on Mimi's back to stand up.

"I'm scared of this. But I'm happy it was you." Yamato breathed heavily. "Can I kiss you?"

Past conversations flew past Mimi's eyes, the pain, the worries and the doubts. She shook them away and finally allowed her heart to ache in a good way. There is still magic left in the world. Mimi nodded while stating clearly the word, "Yes".

With her approval, Yamato leaned his face towards hers as he captured her lips on his. They kiss but not quite. Her skin felt cold, a bit dry from the season but beautiful nonetheless. He heard her sigh as she felt his lips on hers. Her breath caressed his lips ever so lightly and he took it as cue to kiss her fully.

"I'm happy it was you too."


Author's Notes: I hope you liked it enough to leave a review. I always want to know what parts I missed out and what parts I need to improve. Aside from that, I don't know if you notice the Jyoura Easter egg. If not, then yes, there is a Jyoura Easter egg. *winks*

The line "All her life she will be divided, with her feet in the Styx and her head in the stars." do not belong to me, it's by Amber Sparks. Mimi's story is inspired by that quote because I love it too much. And I love angsty Mimato.

I'm actually writing a new Mimato AU right now so I hope I'll upload it as soon as I finish it.