"If a clock could count down to the exact moment until you meet your soulmate, would you want to know?"
"Manufactures of the device called the 'Counter' claim that it is, in fact, possible. The next evolutionary step in computer matchmaking, the Counter lets you know when your perfect match has entered your life. In an interview filmed earlier today, Dr. Lee Jong, head scientist of research and development for the Counter, explains it all..."
"'All Humans are on a path to love. No matter who you are, where you are, there is a perfect match for you. The Counter can only be implanted after puberty, and it's powered by body heat. The Counter monitors levels of Oxytocin, a hormone required in what we scientists refer to as pair bonding - it's also known as the cuddle hormone. The Counter zeros out at midnight of the day you are to meet your true love and then, when you both are next to each other for the first time, your Counter beeps, and their Counter beeps, thus signaling the happy beginning of the rest of your—'"
"Shut that shit off, will you?" Yugi snapped, reaching around his newspaper to lift his coffee mug.
"Grouch much?" His assistant, Miho said. Yugi scowled at her back as she hit the channel button on the TV, cutting off the eager Dr. Lee Jong.
"You would think that they would stop doing interviews for the Counter since it's been out for nearly 30 years, but no." Yugi seethed. "Everyday it's brand new all over again. Absolutely exhausting."
"...so the installation with Ryou didn't go well, then?" Miho guessed, reaching over and pulling Yugi's paper down with one finger. Yugi was silent as he got to his feet and wandered to the coffee pot for a refill. "Thought so." She muttered, sipping her own cup of tea. Yugi gave a long-winded sigh and pulled out his cell phone, dialing quickly. The phone rang three times until, finally—
"...Hello?"
"Why are you whispering?" Yugi asked.
"I'm not." Jou replied, voice raising just slightly.
"Where are you?"
"...Church?"
Yugi held back a laugh at his blatant lie.
"Riiight." He said, listening as Jou rustled around. "So, Ryou wasn't The One."
"I'm shocked." Jou commented.
Yugi set his mug down.
"Call me back when you find your underwear."
"Right."
"Hey, Rebecca." Yugi said, chipper, as he sat down next to the dentist chair. Rebecca looked over at him and waved, since she couldn't hold a conversation with her jaw held open by the mouth prop - which gave Yugi a perfect view of her blue braces. He smiled and flipped through her file, pondering. "What do you say we get these braces taken off today?" He asked.
"Wewy?" Rebecca asked, eyes widening in excitement.
"You bet." Yugi answered, tucking a pen into the front pocket of his coat. "We'll go let your grandpa know now."
"Wait, she's got another month left with them, Dr. Mutou." Miho said, removing her gloves. "She's just here for a loose wire." Rebecca shot Miho a dark look - clearly asking the assistant to shut up.
"Yeah, but a month is negligible, especially when school's back in session next week." Yugi gave Rebecca a wink. "These braces are coming off today, pretty girl."
"Howy cow!" She managed, kicking her legs in glee. Miho rolled her eyes, but looked pleased.
Yugi grinned. At least he could make someone happy.
Later that same day, Yugi stared off into space as his groceries beeped across the scanner one by one, lost in his thoughts...
He had been so sure that he and Ryou were soulmates. They had been perfect together in almost every conceivable way. He seriously saw a good future with Ryou... but they weren't meant to be, after all. Now Ryou was gone, finishing school and planning for the future he knew he'd have, while Yugi (though set and happy in his own career) had a Counter that was still blank after years of waiting. Since the moment he'd gotten the Counter installed, it had told him nothing. Not even a glimmer of hope for what was to come, if anything was ever going to come.
The more time that passed, the more Yugi felt that his Counter would forever remain useless. Everyday he watched as other people zeroed out, meet their true love, and lived happily ever after. But what about him? He had a soulmate, too... Right?
Yugi shook his head abruptly; of course he had one. Everyone has one. But who was it? Where were they? What were they doing? If he were to be honest, Yugi was a bit angry. Why had they not gotten a Counter yet? Having a Counter to tell you when you'd meet your true love was pointless if the other participant didn't have one, as well. His blank device was proof enough of that. He was starting to feel really hopeless. Sure, there was more to life than love, but...he really wanted it. Craved it, really.
He let out a long sigh, mindlessly running his fingers over the edge of his debit card.
"Did you ever hear the joke about the girl at the supermarket?" A deep voice suddenly asked. Yugi blinked, jerking away from his circle of thoughts. He looked around before noticing the cashier in front of him. He stared at the man, dazed.
"What?" Yugi finally said, sounding stupid.
"It's an oldie, but a goodie. I'll tell you it." The cashier continued, turning back to the groceries. "There's a woman shopping for groceries, and she brings up all her items to the register. Toilet paper, microwavable dinners, candy, and beer. The cashier looks over all her stuff and asks, 'Are you single?' The woman kind of giggles and says, 'Why? Because I'm buying all the single serve items?' and the cashier says, 'No, because you're ugly.'"
The punchline was abrupt. Yugi furrowed his eyebrows, adopting a distasteful look.
"Was that supposed to be a funny joke, a joke with a lesson, or...?"
The cashier laughed, but not humorously. Awkwardly.
"God, I thought that would have been funny." He shrugged, the tips of his ears darkening. "I don't know. A friend told me it, and at the time it wasn't funny - I didn't laugh, either - But I thought maybe if I said it it would be...slightly more funny? Jeez, I don't even know."
"Huh." Yugi managed.
"Yeah." The cashier kept his attention glued to the items he was bagging, and Yugi guessed he was too embarrassed to look up. "I mean no. Well, I'm not sure. I mean, in my head it seemed like the right thing to say. I don't know why I thought that - when I actually told you the joke, it just...yeah."
"Yeah." Yugi rolled his eyes. "Glad we agree on that."
"Maybe I thought you would get the irony."
"I must have missed it."
"Because, I mean - you're so hot and all..."
"Oh, that's a really good one, too." Yugi said rigidly.
"I'm 100 percent sincere about that." The cashier said, finally leveling his ruby eyes to meet Yugi's. His cheeks were dark, and Yugi wondered if the guy blushed when he lied, too. "Well... Your total is $36.29."
Yugi swiped his card in the reader, and it beeped at him. As he punched in his PIN, he glanced up at the cashier, still reeling by the unpleasent encounter. The other noticed Yugi looking, and he scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. Yugi's eyes flicked over when he saw the familiar face of a Counter, reading 0129d 06h 32m 44s. Yugi let his shoulders drop and stared back down at the card reader, but the cashier had noticed him look at the device.
"I see your Counter is blank." He started conversationally, pressing his arm against his side so the Counter was hidden from view.
"And?" Yugi prompted, shoving his wallet into his back pocket.
"And...well, nothing. You must be really thinking about your future, right?" When Yugi nodded, somewhat reluctantly, the cashier shook his head. "It's just a shame, because you could have a more exciting present."
Yugi actually laughed as he gathered his bags.
"I'll keep that in mind."
"I was talking about with me."
"Oh, I know you were." Yugi assured him, waggling his fingers at the man. "Bye."
He didn't look back when the cashier called out, "Take care!" Didn't even pause his stride.
"I'm home!" Jou yelled, door shutting behind him as he yanked off his shoes.
"You were supposed to be home an hour ago!" Yugi called back, peering around his door frame and down the hall.
"Take a chill pill." Jou grumbled. "Punctuality won't speed up any process."
"Yeah, but," Yugi began, following Jou into his room, "a positive attitude might help."
"Save that lecture for somebody who genuinely cares."
"You do care." Yugi pouted. "I'm just saying that positivity helps..."
"Oh, like how it helped wonders for you this morning?"
Yugi took a calming breath so he wouldn't smack Jou upside the head.
"It's a process of elimination and I am one step closer to my goal."
"How many times are you going to tell yourself that?" Jou groaned, bending down to pick up a stray jacket from the floor. Yugi saw a smudged red mark on his brother's neck.
"Oh, god." Yugi reached over and rubbed at the offending mark of Jou's misdeeds. "I knew you were sneaking around last night. Did she have a Counter?"
"F'course she had a Counter." Jou said, tossing the jacket into the hamper and stripping off his shirt. "They always have a Counter. They're always so antsy, too...girls with expiration dates are more willing to have a last fling before settling down for the rest of their lives."
"They're just using you."
"No, I'm using them. It's a win-win."
Yugi collapsed on Jou's bed. "You have scientific proof on your wrist that what you're doing is a waste of your time and yet you go after those chicks anyway! It can not be as satisfying as you say."
"Yeah..." Jou pulled on a new tank top, looking thoughtful. "You're right. Blazing hot, anonymous sex is super tedious." Yugi curled his fingers in Jou's bed sheets and stuffed his face into a pillow. If only he could be that carefree about it all, too.
"...Hey, I think we should get a cat." Yugi finally suggested. "Or a dog."
"Yugi..." The bed dipped as Jou settled next to Yugi, head propped up on one elbow. "On a scale of one to ten, how sad are you about Ryou? Honestly."
Yugi rubbed his face deeper in the pillows before turning to face his brother.
"Five..." He grumbled, then more honestly, "Fine - seven and a quarter. But it's fine."
"Is it really?"
"It's not even about Ryou. Not completely." Yugi said, sitting up. "It's just..." He gave a slight laugh, raking his hands through his black hair roughly. "I just want to know. I'm tired of looking down and seeing a blank counter. Tired of wondering why."
"You know what they say about a watched pot."
"Except I'm not waiting for noodles - I'm waiting for love! I want to know when, even if it doesn't say I'm going to meet them until I'm—"
"What?" Jou interrupted, raising his wrist above his head so Yugi could clearly see the numbers. "Until you're 43, like me?"
Yugi deflated, watching Jou's seconds tick down.
"I'm sorry." He said, quiet. "I don't mean..."
"I know." Jou let his arm fall down over his face, and they both were quiet for a moment. "Coincidentally, the girl I was with last night had only two days left."
"Cutting it close, aren't you?"
"Guess what else?"
"What?"
"She had just gotten her Counter yesterday."
At those words, It was like the dam inside Yugi suddenly burst. Every ounce of resentment he ever felt over his blank Counter and failed attempts at love over took him in one, crashing wave. Oh, yeah. He was past angry now. It was like a white hot rod of iron pressing into his brain.
"Yesterday?!" He cried out, launching himself off of the bed. "She got it yesterday, and she only has to wait two days?!" He paced around the room, enraged. "That is such bullshit! Absolute bullshit!"
"Whoa, there." Jou said, sitting up. "What did I tell you about the exploding anger issue?"
"Oh, shut up!" Yugi snapped. "I'm fine. How are you not mad about it?!"
"Well, being mad would've definitely hindered my end goal - getting laid."
Yugi threw his hands up in the air.
"You know what? Fuck it. I'm leaving."
"Yugi, wait!" Jou said, stumbling off his bed as he followed Yugi out the room. "I know it's unfair, but don't you think you're being a little too—"
"I'm fine, Jou. Really." Yugi said in a level voice as he stormed down the hall, grabbing his keys off of a small desk. "I just suddenly remembered something I have to do. RIght now."
"Yugi, wait." Jou called. "Hey—!"
But Yugi didn't hear anything else. He was already outside, slamming the door shut behind him.
