This was an idea that was going around Tumblr for a while. Thought it would be fun to try. Super cheesy, but perfect for Valentine's Day. Enjoy!
00:00:00:23
"Hakuei?"
"Don't. Just don't say it." Kouen pursed his lips, obeying her wishes. For a moment.
"Hakuei, your wrist says,"
"I don't want to talk about it, okay?" She threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. "Gosh." Kouen drew back, surprised at his cousins reaction. Not that she didn't have good reason to be upset.
All humans were born with numbers. Numbers that start when they are born, and counts down the second they begin to breathe. Scientist from every decade and time wonder how the numbers got there. No one had been able to discover where they came from, or how they were able to detect such an impossible, incalculable event. Some said it was the work of the angels. Others said it was a curse, to give the person just what they wanted and take it away with the harshness of life. Many thought, or hoped, that it was fake and would do all they could to avoid the countdown. But the majority of the planet celebrated the countdown, saying it was when someone would truly find happiness. It was called the curse, the mystery, the gift, the inevitable doom. Scientifically it was called the 'perfectus ad alterum horologio', which was Latin for something.
Most people just referred to it as the soulmate watch.
Hakuei tugged at the sleeve of her jacket to hide the countdown on her wrist. "Of all the days for this to happen," She muttered to herself. "Why today?"
Kouen chuckled silently to himself. "According to the media and most of my sisters, this would be the perfect day for your countdown to end." Hakuei just rolled her eyes.
Bright red valentines posters covered every inch of spare wall the mall had to offer them. The store was bustling with men getting their last valentine's day gifts, tables had children exchanging valentine's day candies with each other and old married couples walked hand in hand, showing off their soulmate watches that had clicked off to zero, replacing the watch with red band that encircled their wrists, affectionately called by the media the red ribbon of fate.
00:00:00:18
"What kind of cupcakes do you think everyone will want?" Hakuei asked as she searched in the bakery isle. Kouen resisted the urge to say 'any that wasn't made by you.'
Instead he pointed out the red velvet ones. "Those ones look good." Hakuei nodded at her cousin's advice, taking a tray, pausing, then taking another just in case. "Hakuei, are you just going to ignore your countdown? There is only a few minutes left on it." She hesitated before stopping herself from checking the watch to see if that was true. I don't care, she tried to tell herself.
"It's not real anyway," She tried to convince him, but couldn't even manage to convince herself. "Scientists have discovered that it's just a primal instinct, helping Homo sapiens discover the person with the best genes and chemistry to match theirs in an attempt to help the human species live on. It's not about love, its biology. How can someone ever have a perfect soulmate with those circumstances?"
Her cousin tried to interject a comment, but Hakuei continued. "Even if there was such thing as a soulmate, it would do nothing but cause people trouble. How many people get to find out who their soulmate is, only to be separated thanks to life? In the past there was arranged marriages, there is travel and careers that separate people, sometimes there is even death, and sometimes someone has a soulmate whose soulmate is not them. All the soulmate watch does is remind those people of what they could have had but lost. Why would anyone want that? It's not like people can't fall in love without the soulmate watch. I've met people without the soulmate watches who are much happier with their lover than others who used the soulmate watches are. It's just a trick of nature, nothing we should tie ourselves to," She finished with a gasp, sucking in as much air as possible before she deflated like a balloon.
Kouen waited for her to calm down before commenting. "That may be true," he added slowly, "But there are many situations where the soulmate watches help people find exactly that. Their soulmate. If it helps someone find the person that will make them happy, it does nothing but cause problems for the person if they specifically try to avoid it."
00:00:00:14
Scrunching up her nose she turned away from him. "If that's how you see it, fine. But I don't like to be a part of it." Pausing, she turned back to him with a skeptical eye. "How about you? When is your countdown going to end?" Kouen pulled up his sleeve so he could check his watch carelessly.
"In about a month." Hakuei recoiled in shock. That quickly?
"Really?" He nodded. "Oh I…I'm sorry if I bothered you with…well…what do you think about it?" Kouen tipped his head to the side, thoughtfully.
"I hope she'll be a good reader."
"That's it?" Kouen shrugged.
"You are the one who is claiming that the idea is 'stupid' yet you seem to care more than me." Hakuei felt her face turn red as she turned away from her cousin.
Next time she went shopping she would bring someone else. No, that would have been worse. Koumei would care to little, or fall asleep when she couldn't decide what to get. Kouha would take more time than her, making HER fall asleep. Hakuryuu would try to get her away from all people, insisting that no one was good enough for his sister. Normally she would have gone shopping with Seisyuun, but he was working. Despite how it killed her that he was always right, she liked Kouen's company. He would never judge, and allow her to do her own thing.
Normally Kougyoku would have been her first choice for a shopping partner, but on that day she knew she didn't want to risk it. No, Kougyoku would have made a bigger scene, desperately trying to figure out who Hakuei's 'soulmate' was before she did. Since Kougyoku hadn't got to experience the anxiety and wonder of the countdown, she would enjoy helping others out with theirs. See, hers had stopped when she had been very young. To the day she didn't understand why, and insisted something was wrong with her.
Most of them had simply decided not to mention that her best friend Judal's had gone off the same day.
"If you are so convinced the bracelet is nonsense, why did want to come shopping today?" Kouen asked curiously, eyeing the electronic store across from them.
"Because I don't want to let it hold me back," She argued as they left the bakery and returned to the mall. "I have things to get done today, and I won't let the self-defeating prophecy known as fate stop me from doing those things." Especially the last minute plans for the party, she thought but decided to keep to herself.
That night the Ren family was hosting a Valentine's Day ball, supposedly as a friendly get together. The members of the family knew that it was simply a day where important people could all meet to discuss business, try and make a good image for themselves at the party and bring down others reputation by spiking someone's wine. The only members of the Ren family that went were the ones that had to. Kouen and Koumei being the inheritors of the Kou Corporation after their father died had no choice but to attend. Kougyoku and Hakuryuu tried to attend to be respectful, but often left early with Judal to make fun of some poorly rated romantic comedies. Some of Kougyoku's sisters attended, but never got the memo that it was really for business, not a party. Kouha had…been forbidden from attending after he had spiked the punch bowl.
Hakuei was in charge of the international and cultural relations in their company, which meant she had no choice but to attend, even help organize it. She was having a hard time concentrating on it with the ticking time bomb embedded in her skin.
Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a list and crossed off 'cupcakes.' "Right. All we need to get next is the refreshments and napkins. Kougyoku said she would handle the florist, right?" Kouen nodded, still confused at why they couldn't hire some of their servants to do the job for them.
As she put the list back, she caught a glance at her wrist. The time really was getting low. Of course Hakuei didn't believe in it, and thought the whole premise was ridiculous…But that didn't mean she wasn't nervous. "Um…Kouen," She rushed, passing him the list and box of cupcakes. "I'm going to try and run my last few minutes out on my own. I'll meet you by the car in a few minutes after you've gotten the last few things." He struggled to carry the pile, but couldn't resist sending her a cocky smile.
"Now who is being paranoid?" Hakuei rolled her eyes at him before rushing away.
"Be sure to get strawberry AND ginger ale this time!" She called before turning to find some kind of hiding place.
Deep down Hakuei knew wasn't the only one who disagreed with the idea of the soulmate watch. As Hakuei walked past a booth selling valentines cards, she noticed a woman who had a solid black scarf tied around her wrist. Many people refused to even acknowledge the wrist watches, insisting that it was more romantic to find your soulmate without the assistance of knowing the day and time. Others didn't want to believe their lives were controlled by some numbers on their wrists. Hakuryuu had one expressed his desire to get a tattoo to cover it up, but Hakuei told him he wasn't getting anything permanent done until he was at least 20 years old if she had anything to say about it.
00:00:00:10
With every step, she knew the time was getting closer. She didn't want it to get closer. She wanted to avoid it as much as she could. Slipping into a nearly empty book store and hid in the corner. Leaning against a bookshelf she breathed a sigh of relief. No one would bother her there.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted one man entering the store and her heart sped in panic. Just as quickly she calmed down when she noticed the black ribbon around his wrist. If a person's soulmate had died tragically before they had met, the countdown would run down and a black circle would entwine the wrist instead.
Nervously, Hakuei checked her wrist to make sure the numbers hadn't disappeared and her wrist turn black. It wasn't that she cared about finding her soulmate, but she would worry if someone had died so young. She was only in her twenties, and it was unlikely for someone's soulmate to be much older than her.
00:00:00:06
As the time got closer, she wondered if a bookstore was good enough. Maybe a closed store? Sneaking out she hurried to find the least crowded part of the mall. Why did there have to be so many people at the mall on Valentine's Day? The only abandoned place she could find was the old pool the mall had built, but kept closed during the day.
Luckily the locks were bad. Hurrying into the abandoned pool, she hurried around to make sure there was no one around. From what she could tell, there was no one there. Hakuei didn't bother checking the pool. Who would go swimming when it was closed? Instead she let out a sigh of relief as she sat at the edge of the pool. Since she was there, she decided to take off her shoes and put her feet in. She may as well relax. No one would come in.
00:00:00:03
Even as she told herself this, she couldn't help but glance around nervously. There was nothing for her to panic about. She'd already made sure there was no one around. The watches were just a part of human biology anyway, and they didn't decide anything for her.
The only problem was, no matter what people did, they always ended up meeting someone knew when the timer ran out.
00:00:00:01
One minute. Just one minute till it was done, and she would never have to think about it again. She'd go out and meet Kouen at the car, they'd drive home to meet her family at her house, get ready for the party and go to bed like they did every year. Nothing would change.
Nothing at all.
00:00:00:00
Nothing happened.
Hakuei glanced around the pool. She was completely alone. Not a soul in sight. The countdown on the clock didn't go away, and she knew there was still a few seconds left. But there was no point to worrying anymore. There was no one there. Whoever he had been must have died a long time ago. Hakuei sighed in relief, or what she told herself was relief, as she got to her feet.
Was she happy? She told herself she was. She told herself she really didn't care.
It was hard to ignore her instincts thought.
"Glad that's over," She tried to convince herself. Stretching, she glanced back at the pool. Only then did she notice a blur in the water's surface. Frowning she glanced down at the water, trying to see what it was.
Only to get covered in water as two bodies emerged with a splash.
"GAH!" She exclaimed, falling back. Her black jeans and blue coat were soaked. Shivering she looked up in surprise.
She hadn't realized she had been interrupting a couple swimming.
Golden eyes widened in surprise when he saw her in front as he pulled himself out of the water. The man had long purple hair, still tied back with a string. He looked a few years older than her, as well as foreign. His skin was tanned, and he had golden hoops dangling from his ears. Taller than her as well as bigger, the man made her wonder if her cousins weren't actually giants but average size. He was just as big as them, thought his figure a bit leaner with a taller height. The man was handsome, but Hakuei could hardly notice with her shock overshadowing her emotions. He blinked at her, ignoring the water rolling down his face. "Who are you?"
"W-who are you?" She gasped in surprise, struggling to her feet in a rush to distance herself from him. "W-what are you doing here? The pool is closed!" The stranger just smirked at her.
"Could tell you the same thing," he observed, but most of what he said was lost when a second body emerged from the water. A women with long green hair gasped for air. When she saw Hakuei her eyes mirrored Hakuei's emotions.
"What are you doing here?" She girl hissed, hiding behind the side of the pool as a shield.
"I-I'm very sorry, I didn't realize there was anyone here," She sputtered, stepping back nervously.
Ignoring both Hakuei's and the girls embarrassment the man laughed to try and ease the mood. "It's okay Sakura," he assured her. "I'm sure it was just an accident. We were getting out anyway." Using his arms he started to heave himself out of the pool. The other girl let out a gasp when he started to get out, though Hakuei didn't understand why. She guessed it was because she had been expecting to stay in longer? That was her guess…
Until she realized neither of them were wearing bathing suits.
"P-put something on before you come out!" Hakuei exclaimed, turning away to try and find something so he could cover himself up. She grabbed a spare towel off a chair and held it out to him while trying to cover her eyes. His laugh echoed through her ears as she felt the towel being torn from her hands. Hesitantly she turned back, hoping he was completely covered.
He wasn't, having tossed the towel towards the girl so she could cover herself up.
Hakuei nearly shrieked as she covered her eyes with her hands. Only then did she notice her wrist. The watch on her wrist slowly dissolved, a red design replacing where it had been, melding together so it formed a circle. The watch she had lived with her entire life had disappeared. She had a red ribbon instead.
The man's eyes widened at the sight of hers. Glancing down he checked his wrist as well. Hakuei nearly choked.
The last pieces of his watch disappeared, and the red line replaced it to make a band that would never disappear until one of them died.
The time was up.
Her soulmate watch had found a match. And so had his.
"I…'
'I have to go."
The man's gold eyes widened. "What?"
"I have to go!"
Without another word Hakuei launched herself from her spot and rushed out of the pool. From behind her she could hear the stranger calling after her, but she refused to look back. Since he was soaked, she doubted he would be able to catch her. She sprinted through the mall, pushing past customers and dodging displays. She didn't stop until she got to the parking lot, finding Kouen already in the car. "Let's go!"
Kouen glanced up in surprise as she jumped in the car. "Hakuei? You're soaked. What happened?"
"I don't want to talk about it!" Hakuei exclaimed, slamming the side door shut. "Just drive!"
"I can't believe you just left!" Kougyoku exclaimed, making Hakuei wonder if she wanted the entire world to hear. "How did you meet him? Was it romantic? What was he doing?" Hakuei smiled, twitching in annoyance and embarrassment.
Later that evening, Hakuei found herself surrounded by Kouha, Kougyoku, Judal and Hakuryuu at the party. The place was covered in red and pink roses, a chandelier their only source of light to give the ballroom a darker, more romantic vibe. Different CEO's, official representatives, family members of important people surrounded the place all absorbed in their own discussions. There was a dancefloor, but only a few couples were dancing. The couples all wore red to show off the red bands around their wrists. Most people wore black or white, including Hakuei. She wore a simple black dress that went below her knees and straps holding it up. She had decided not to try and hide the red ribbon around her wrist in order to convince herself that it wasn't a big deal. Despite that, she'd done her best to hide her hand behind her back.
Eventually the rest of her family had found out. "I want to know to!" Kouha argued, pushing himself into their talk. "How did my cousin meet the man who will be next on my people to kill list!" They all had a theory that if Kouha had realized who Kougyoku had met when her wrist watch had disappeared, he would have killed Judal to.
Ignorant to this, Judal snickered. "I'll bet he was some kind of stiff, obsessed with his work just like you huh?"
Hakuryuu elbowed Judal in the stomach. "I'm sure that's not true. He was probably a gentleman, just the kind of person my sister deserves. Isn't that right sister?" Hakuei laughed sheepishly.
"How did you meet him," Kougyoku repeated earnestly. "I have to know!"
Against her better judgment, she told her the truth. "He was skinny dipping with a girl in the pool."
A silence fell over the group.
Judals laughter was so loud, the orchestra nearly stopped their playing to see what had happened.
"Oh my gosh, that's just gold!" he exclaimed, keeling over with laughter. "THAT was how you met your soulmate?" The shade of red Hakuei turned perfectly matched the roses she'd decorated the room with.
"He's not my soulmate Judal," She shushed him angrily. "You know I don't believe in that kind of thing."
Her pleads just made Judal laugh harder. "Fine, sure. But he's your 'perfect mate.' 'One true love.' 'Genetically the perfect person for you to spend the rest of your life with.' Is that better?" Hakuei slammed her foot down on his, which made him shut up quickly.
Kougyoku sighed, wishing that her step sister would share in her joy. "Err…okay, your first meeting wasn't magical, but that's okay! I'm sure the rest will be absolutely incredible! Where is he anyway," Kougyoku asked, glancing around the ballroom. "You did invite him right? Please tell me you invited him!"
Crashing her hopes, Hakuei shrugged. "How could I have invited him? I didn't even get his name."
"WHAT?" Kougyoku exploded just as loudly as Judal. "You didn't get his name? How could you have not gotten his name? You know that you only get to meet your soulmate once right? Now you don't even know who he is, so you can't find him!" Hakuei decided not to argue that she couldn't have gotten his name when she was too busy running for her life.
"I probably won't see him again anyway," She told her.
"Well now you won't!"
"Psst, guys." They all hushed up when Seisyuun came over. "Hakuei, someone's here for you." Hakuei turned, her heart skipping a beat with panic at the words.
Luckily for her, her fears were dashed. "Thomas!" Hakuei rushed over to meet her friend who stood all on his own. When he saw her he grinned, hugging her tightly when he got close. "Thomas, I can't believe you are here! I haven't seen you in years!" He laughed, just as excited to see her as she was.
"My dad was here on business and decided to come to the party. I'm just glad I made it this year," he explained. "The place looks even better than it did the first time I was here.
"I can't believe it's been six years since we first met," Hakuei exclaimed, hugging him tightly. Gently she pulled away, taking his hands in hers as she did. When she did, she accidentally revealed her red ribbon. Thomas caught sight of it, and his eyes widened immediately.
"Oh your…" Thomas muttered. "Your countdown is over." Hakuei nodded, snatching her arm away quickly as she tried to fight the blush that crept on her face.
"Y-yes. Just today."
Thomas let out a shaky laugh, making himself sound supportive as he tried to hide his own red ribbon which had been red for 6 years. "T-that's great. Who is it?"
Instinctively Hakuei hurried to explain how she didn't believe in the soulmate countdown. How she hadn't even gotten his name, or had no plans to go and try and see him again. Instead she slammed her mouth shut as a hand reached around her and towards Thomas.
"That would be me."
Hakuei spun around to face the man she'd met at the pool. Unlike before he was not soaking wet, and was wearing clothes. A dark suit with a purple tie that matched his hair, added with the same cocky smirk as before. Also unlike before, he looked much more put together and official, easily able to blend into the business like scene around them. Hakuei had no idea how he'd gotten there. She'd been the one to arrange all the guest lists, she knew every single member. How had he gotten in? Only when he gave his name did she realize she was doomed. "My name is Sinbad, president of the Sindrian trading company."
PRESIDENT of the Sindrian trading company?
Hakuei decided the entire world was against her.
Thomas shook his hand, his grip not as tight as Sinbad's. "So you are Hakuei's soulmate," He murmured, voice slightly envious. "Yours went off to?" Thomas asked, his voice slightly hopeful.
Unfortunately for him, he held up his arm to reveal his wrist. The red band was circled around his wrist, complete unlike before when it had only been starting to come together when Hakuei saw it. "Happened today when I saw her at the mall. Well, I suppose she saw me." Hakuei's face burned at the memory.
"The mall huh?" Thomas squirmed, itching to get out as fast as he had come. "Congratulations. And on Valentine's Day no less." Sinbad laughed easily, ignoring the tense situation.
"Poetic isn't it?" he slipped his arm around her shoulders making her cheeks flush and her skin tremble. "Now if you don't mind, I think…Hakuei and I should go have our first dance. Can you believe I've been here this whole time and haven't danced with her yet?" Without waiting for an answer, Sinbad led Hakuei away from Thomas and over to the dance floor. Confused, nervous and shocked, Hakuei went along with him while she tried to sort out her feelings and thoughts.
Except he didn't stop at the dance floor. He continued out of the ballroom, through the gardens until they reached the fountain. Even when they got there, Hakuei still didn't know what to say. What could she ask? How did you find me? What are you doing here? Why did you bring me over here? Can we go back? Do I even want to go back? Instead she decided to let him go first, wait and hear what he had to say.
"You made things quite difficult for me at work you know."
Well she hadn't expected that.
Hakuei blinked in surprise. "At work? How so?"
Glancing down at her, his golden eyes sparkled in the moonlight. "The women I was with when you met me was the daughter of one of the men I'm trying to make a business deal with. Hers had gone off when she met me, but mine hadn't. She'd insisted that my watch didn't matter since people could fall in love with or hate their supposed 'soulmate.' I was going along with it until you came along." That was enough of an explanation to get Hakuei to shrug his arm off of him. Not believing in the watches was one thing. Taking advantage of someone else's belief for their own gain was another.
"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to mix your personal life with your work?" Sinbad tipped his head to the side, considering the idea.
"Those two things seem to blend quite a bit. Anyway, now she's trying even harder to try and convince me the watches mean nothing. It's become quite exhausting."
"You shouldn't have bothered arguing with her. The watches are ludicrous and have no reason, and I don't believe they should change anything." Sinbad raised one eyebrow curiously.
"You don't put any faith in them?"
"Why should I," She argued. "Do you? If you really did, you wouldn't have been taking advantage of that girl, or been with her when your countdown was almost done." He just let out a laugh, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"To be honest, I forgot to check when it was going off. I never paid much attention to it."
"You were never curious?"
"I always thought if it happens it happens, and I'd deal with it after that. But now that it has happened," he took a step closer to her, ignoring the fact that she took a step back. "I guess I'm here to deal with it."
Forcing herself to remain composed, she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "There is nothing to deal with. Do you actually believe that we're soulmates because of what some numbers on our wrists said? They are just a part of human biology, and there is no scientific reasoning proving if they work or not. Besides, they only study the biochemistry and physical body of a person, not their mind or beliefs. We could just as easily hate each other, just like your friend Sakura told you." Sinbad pursed
"That's how some people look at it. What others say-and what my scientist, Yamu says," Sinbad muttered, walking around her and making her follow. "That what the watches really do is find the person who can, one, match them physically. Someone who can either keep up with them or helps them with their weaknesses while they assist them with theirs. Also the watch helps them find the person who would be a perfect match in the…well, you like talking about how it's focused on biology. I'm sure you can guess what I mean." If she hadn't been red before, she was absolutely covered with a blush then.
"But," He added before she could intervene. "It also can focus on the person's chemistry, which includes their hormones and brain cells. Those focus on the person's emotions and intelligence. The watches help find someone who matches their own thoughts and feelings. Or, like the physical sense, can help them with their own strengths or weaknesses. For example, you seem very stubborn and business-like." Hakuei opened her mouth to argue but Sinbad held up his hands in surrender. "Not that there is anything wrong with that. But the point is, I'm more relaxed and social. The opposite to your approach. Which means I could help you, and you could help me.'
'So with that in mind," he continued, "There is nothing wrong with the 'biology and function' of the watch, is there?"
Hakuei didn't say anything. She had no idea that anyone had been doing research on the watches. She'd thought it had been a question most people had decided to leave behind years ago, only to be brought up in soap operas and romance films. More than that, she wondered why he was so convinced it was real. She'd used to picture meeting her 'soulmate,' but had never even considered he'd be anything like the man in front of her. She'd thought he'd be quiet, more submissive so she could be the leader of the two. The man in front of her was clearly used to taking charge. How could something like that work?
"You honestly believe that I'm your perfect match? That you are mine?"
"Honestly?" He paused. "I haven't decided anything yet. I never thought much about it before today. But I do know I'm," he gave her an once-over before putting on a pirate smirk. "…Interested enough to look into it deeper." Hakuei scoffed indignantly.
"Maybe you are, but I most certainly am not."
"Why?" Sinbad interrupted. "Are you scared?"
"Scared" She exclaimed. "Scared of what?"
"That you'll fall in love with me," He suggested, "That I really am the person who could make you happy." He took another step closer, but Hakuei pulled away out of nerves.
"I really doubt that. In case you forgot, the first time I met you you were skinny-dipping with a girl who was in love with you when you just wanted her for business and fun. That isn't a very romantic first meeting in my opinion."
He laughed, but there was no embarrassment or shame behind it. "My first impression didn't go to well, I'll admit to that. How about we start over?" Reaching out his hand he offered her a smile. "Hi. I'm Sinbad president of the sindrian trading company. I enjoy sailing, finding or making my own adventures and having parties with my friends. Oh, and I'm your soulmate."
Hakuei rolled her eyes, but couldn't resist smiling just a bit at how innocent that sounded compared to the rest of his speeches. Taking his hand she gave a slight nod of the head. "Fine. My name is Hakuei Ren, a member of the Kou Corporation. I enjoy horseback riding, sewing different cloaks and spending time with my family. And I don't believe in soulmates."
"Hakuei Ren," Sinbad murmured, a wicked gleam in his eyes. "I can't wait to fall in love with you."
They didn't let go of each other's hand for a while, the two red bands meeting laying side by side.
So this was….okay? Good for Valentine's Day I guess. Kind of a cliff-hanger ending, not the best for Sinbad. Fun to write though. Happy Valentine's Day and eat lots of chocolate!