The little brother learned about soulmates before he even got a name. It had been another hard night on the streets, curled up with his twin brother under the thin blanket they shared. While they slept, someone crept in and grabbed their bag of moldy bread.
Big brother woke in a flash. A spike shot out from his hand, piercing the thief. She stumbled backward, sobbing in pain. At closer look, she was not much older than them, a rodent mutant with a fury face. "Not my soul mark! Not there!" she begged, clutching a blue mark on her shoulder. Blood flowed freely between her fingers. The younger brother was struck with a deep pity for her anguish. She could have protected her head, but instead she covered her shoulder defensively, as if her mark mattered more than her life.
Snarling, big brother readied another spike.
The little brother tackled his twin from behind. "Don't! No hurt!"
Big brother did not like being challenged. He kicked the younger one in the stomach, then blamed him for landing on the bread and squashing it. But at least the girl got away.
Several years later, Yoichi had a name. His older brother had picked it out for him.
Big brother had decided to call himself All for One. Yoichi thought that a rather odd name. But it was his brother's choice. (Big brother always seemed to get more choices.)
They had a home now, sort of. All for One had staked out a trash heap with a shed as his territory. Other homeless people were all too scared of the older brother to venture near. With a roof over his head, Yoichi didn't catch as many colds from the rain. The trash heap even had books with pictures. Yoichi had been teaching himself how to read. Sometimes his brother brought back books that didn't have too much blood on them.
Yoichi's favorite book was called Captain Hero. A noble hero fought to protect everyone while keeping his face secret in order to protect his soulmate from retribution. Yoichi thought it dreadfully noble and romantic. The Demon King did not have a soulmate. The other characters mocked him for it, saying the Demon King was too horrible to love. A soulmate was supposed to be a person (or multiple people) perfect for you, out of everyone in the entire world. But bad people who would mistreat anyone they loved couldn't have soulmates.
One day Yoichi asked his twin brother, "Do you think I have soulmates?"
All for One crossed his arms. "Huh? Why would you need anyone except me? That's crazy talk."
"You might have a soulmate too, big brother."
"We're twins. We've been together since birth. We only need each other."
"A soulmate is supposed to love you in a different way than family." Yoichi gnawed on his lip. He wasn't totally clear on the details. "There's kissing involved, I think."
All for One scowled. "Well, you don't get a soulmate because you belong to me."
"We might share a soulmate?" Yoichi offered. He didn't think brothers usually shared romantic partners, but it was the only way he could imagine convincing his older twin. All for One didn't like Yoichi to have anything that he didn't.
"I haven't got a mark."
"Maybe it's somewhere you can't see. Let me check tonight."
The twins had been together since birth. There was no modesty between them. They rarely had a chance to take bathes, but whenever All for One brought back a tub of water and heated it up with a metapower, they got in together. That night, as they soaked in the tub, Yoichi looked his brother all over, even between his toes, but found no mark.
"I'm sorry, big brother," Yoichi said glumly.
"Don't be," All for One said. "I want to be markless, like the Demon King. I don't need anyone besides you."
Unfortunately, Yoichi didn't find a mark on himself either. He'd nearly convinced himself the mole on his foot might be one, but they were supposed to be larger and colorful. The marks lit up and glowed when your soulmate touched them. Oh, how Yoichi longed to be the most special person to someone. His older brother was stronger than him, had multiple metapowers, and treated Yoichi like a possession. Everything Yoichi had, all his food and comic books, came from his brother. Yoichi wanted just one person who would belong to him instead. Maybe All for One was fine on his own. He was strong enough not to need anyone else. But Yoichi wasn't fine with being markless.
Turning around, Yoichi begged, "Big brother, please search my back for a mark."
"This is stupid," All for One grumbled. "I've already seen every inch of you. There's nothing—" A hand ran over Yoichi's back, then stopped at his shoulder blades.
"Did you see anything?" Yoichi begged, squirming. "Please, big brother!"
Sounding aggravated, All for One scrubbed his brother's shoulder. "You have a bit of dirt. No soulmates for you, tough luck. Why would you want someone to take you away from me? We're fine on our own."
Yoichi cried until his brother offered to let him rule the world together. This distracted Yoichi with trying to explain to his brother that the Demon King was supposed to be a bad guy, not a role model.
As All for One grew older, he acquired more money, more power, and more friends. The brothers moved into a mansion. Yoichi felt uneasy about how the mansion had been acquired, but he hadn't been given a choice. Back then, he'd still hoped that he could convince his brother to become better.
All for One insisted on only the best for Yoichi: the softest bed, the tastiest food, the most expensive medical care. As one of his very first treatments, Yoichi underwent surgery for some growth on his back. Yoichi couldn't see it or feel anything. But his older brother insisted it was hideously ugly. The doctor said it could be life-threatening. The surgery was a brief procedure, and he could even go home afterward, with a new burn scar on his back. It had all seemed unnecessary. But Yoichi's cough drastically improved over the months of care, so the doctors must be doing something right.
People with soulmates were supposed to feel whole even when alone. Or at least, so Yoichi's books claimed. He'd always felt empty. As a child, he used to draw marks on his wrist, but it made his brother angry. He found himself looking for marks on every stranger he met, even though there was no point. Not that Yoichi met many people after his brother stopped letting him leave the house.
The brotherly arguments kept getting more vicious. Yoichi tried to convince his brother to use his powers to help people. All for One said they were both monsters, both incapable of love, neither with soulmates. There was no point in trying to be heroes. It hurt, because everything in Yoichi's books said big brother was right. Villains were people without soulmates. Heroes always had partners. Still, Yoichi wanted to be better than his destiny.
Yoichi refused his brother's food, knowing it came from criminal activity. He packed a bag and tried to leave. He ended up inside a bank vault. His brother's last words rang in his ears: "No one will ever love you except for me!"
Alone in the darkness, Yoichi touched his wrist. He couldn't see anything, giving him the liberty to imagine up a mark there. Soulmarks were symbolic. Yoichi pictured a sword in his mind, like Captain Hero's sword, for someone brave. A crimson heart, for someone kind, who would love him and heal his emotional wounds. Perhaps a bird or a broken chain for the freedom to fly out of this vault.
Yoichi had no soulmates. He was all alone, rotting in this metal box. A tear dripped down his face onto his bare wrist. No one was coming to save him. He had no friends or other family, either. His brother's toxic love was all he would ever know.
Every day, All for One came and asked Yoichi if he had changed his mind about joining his side.
If only Yoichi had a soulmate, then it would be easier to withstand the darkness and solitude. Then Yoichi would have someone out in the wide world to protect. He would never give into his brother because he could not allow evil to spread and possibly touch the person he was destined to love.
But Yoichi was his brother's other half, branded equally unlovable and evil by their bare bodies. "We have no one but each other," All for One told him. Unfortunately, Yoichi had no choice but to accept it. "You belong to me." Yoichi refused to accept that one, but it got harder the longer his brother dripped poison in his ear.
Yet still, Yoichi refused to give in. Even he wasn't sure why. Perhaps it was merely stubbornness, a refusal to except his fate as a villain when he wanted to become a hero. Both brothers had always been stubborn. Both wanted to believe they could rewrite reality.
A power had been forced on Yoichi. Holding him down, All for One had whispered now they would always be tied together. The stockpiling ability would mark Yoichi, like a soulmark.
Yoichi's hunger strike had left him so weak, he could barely move. The strange power sloshed in his stomach, making him sick. He wondered if his brother had been right about his unavoidable destiny.
Then the vault door broke, pouring in light. A spiky-haired man extended his hand. Yoichi felt hope for the first time in a long time. As he took the offered hand, Yoichi felt a tingle run through his body.
The vigilante rescuer was so kind, and brave, and handsome. Yoichi could not help the butterflies in his stomach. Even as they were escaping from his prison and fleeing for their lives, he still felt excited about their hands touching. Even the soulmark on his hero's left wrist appealed to him: a gun with a carnation emerging from the muzzle. It reminded Yoichi of his dreams of a strong soulmate with a deep kindness.
Then Yoichi saw the same mark on the neck of the other man who'd rescued him. His hero was not destined for him.
Yoichi's two heroes were named Kaiji Kudou and Sanzou Bruce. And yes, they were soulmates.
From the moment they'd locked hands, Yoichi had immediately become fascinated with Kaiji's spiky red hair and beautiful crimson eyes. Unlike his brother's red eyes, Kaiji's held kindness even when he spoke gruffly. It did not take long before Yoichi fell hard for Sanzou, too. Sanzou had blue-gray hair that he mostly wore in a high ponytail, but it looked even more lovely when it fell loose over his shoulders like a cloud. Sanzou was quieter but steady like the ocean, observant of when Yoichi needed space and when he wanted a hug.
With every passing day, Yoichi fell madly in love with both of them.
But Kaiji and Sanzou both had a second soulmark. A green numeral 1 racing with electricity was on Kaiji's right wrist. Sanzou had the same mark on his lower back. That meant they belonged to a triad, with another person destined to join them.
Yoichi felt painfully jealous of his heroes' future soulmate. It was so bad it kept him up late at night, wondering who might possibly be someone more perfect for Kaiji and Sanzou than himself. It would no doubt be someone heroic and strong, unlike his weak body. Someone cheerful, not moody and unable to stand tight spaces. Someone full of love and unencumbered by any psychotic brothers. Envy gnawed a pit into his stomach. Maybe that person had died long ago. Then there would be space for Yoichi instead.
What a selfish thought. What did it matter? Markless Yoichi was unlovable anyway.
It made Yoichi sometimes happy to see Kaiji and Sanzou together, yet sometimes a little sick. They both liked to touch each other's marks—the mark with a gun, the one that represented their bond—and make it glow. Yoichi hated that he would never have such a bond with anyone. Some days, though, he thought he'd give up any soulmate in the whole wide world if he could have his two heroes instead. Alas, he wasn't their number one, the person Kaiji and Sanzou would love the most, more than they could ever love anyone without a mark.
Once, Yoichi worked up the nerve to ask Sanzou about his other soulmate.
Touching his back, Sanzou said, "It's good you asked me, not our dear leader. It's a touchy subject for Kaiji. Ever since he was young, All for One has been looking for people with our two soulmarks. I'm lucky, mine is out of sight. But All for One has tried to murder Kaiji dozens of times ever since one of his employees spotted his wrists. That's why Kaiji joined the Resistance."
Fist coming to his mouth, Yoichi gasped. "But why?"
Sanzou shrugged. "We assume our poor soulmate pissed All for One off. Since we've never heard from the third person, and we've been fighting All for One for years, he or she is probably dead. Hunting us is likely All for One's last cruel vengeance on someone he imagined wronged him."
"I have no idea who my brother would hate so much," Yoichi said. But he had to admit that kind of vengeance sounded like his big brother, still trying to hurt an enemy long dead.
Sanzou said, "It's not your fault."
But Yoichi bitterly regretted secretly wishing his unrequited love's soulmate would die. It had been cruel, and being likely right only made him feel even worse.
Kaiji was so friendly, it would be easy to mistake it for flirting. Sometimes his hand would linger a tad too long when ruffling Yoichi's hair. "I love your hair, it's the most beautiful hair I've ever seen," he said.
Yoichi batted away the hand even though he secretly enjoyed the contact. "Stop, you'll make your soulmate jealous."
"Sanzou likes you too," Kaiji said.
Yoichi stopped and stared. He could not believe what he'd heard. Kaiji looked a little sheepish, but did not take it back. Yoichi blurted out, "But I'm markless!"
"Exactly, so you're free to date whoever you want," Kaiji said.
"People without soulmarks are heartless," Yoichi said. "Incapable of love. Evil."
Kaiji frowned. "What bastard told you that? It's an old-fashioned stereotype—a shitty one. We get our marks when we're born. How can a baby be born evil? What does romance have to do with morality? There are plenty of evil people with soulmates. Wasn't there a story on the news yesterday about a pair of soulmarked serial killers? Tell their victims that soul marks make you good. Besides, not all people with matching soulmarks work out."
Yoichi gaped. He could not believe it. The marked ones went through hardship in his stories, but always ended up together. "But it's destiny!"
Kaiji said, "I think there's a certain connection between soulmates, a compatibility. I felt it as soon as I saw Sanzou—instant attraction! But our marks are decided as babies, and we chose who we become later. Some people decide to become assholes, so it's better for their marked to stay away from them. I've heard stories about people ending up in abusive relationships if they insist the marks are destiny and refuse to leave someone mistreating them. If I met another person with my mark, then I'd give them a shot, but I wouldn't stay if I didn't like them."
"Oh." Yoichi chewed on his lip. "I need to think about this."
"Did your asshole brother tell you that you were evil because you had no mark?" Kaiji glared. "Just like him."
"I need to think," Yoichi repeated, his whole world shifting. "But. Um. I do like you both."
Kaiji whooped and pumped his fist. He ran off shouting, "Hey, Sanzou, he likes us!"
After that, Kaiji and Sanzou deliberately courted Yoichi. They brought him gifts and cooked him his favorite meals. Yoichi was blown away. He'd never felt loved by anyone besides his brother before. He liked it, a lot.
Still, Yoichi could not shake his feeling of unworthiness. He asked them what they would do if they found their missing third, afraid he'd be abandoned. Kaiji and Sanzou insisted that anyone destined for them would love Yoichi too, and they'd refuse anyone who didn't accept Yoichi as part of their polyamorous group. That only sent Yoichi into another guilt spiral, fearing he'd interfere with their bond with their real soulmate. What if he only had his opportunity because his brother had murdered their third? Did that make him a terrible person? Was he once again accepting his brother's tainted gifts?
Shamefully, Yoichi feared Kaiji and Sanzou would never love him as much as they loved each other. With soft words and endless patience, they finally convinced him they were serious about him. They loved him whether he had a mark or not.
For the first time in his life, Yoichi finally felt safe and loved. He could almost completely believe that he could be happy and find romance even without a soulmark. Perhaps there would always be a little doubt. Even so, he felt a little glad he didn't have a soulmark, because he would pick these two over anyone destined for him.
That night, Yoichi confessed his love to Kaiji and Sanzou.
They both kissed him, then retired to their bedroom, squabbling over who got to carry Yoichi, so in the end Yoichi walked on his own two feet.
With the door safely locked, Kaiji kissed Yoichi's mouth while Sanzou sucked on his neck from behind. Yoichi melted into the sensations, releasing his doubts, just feeling and living in the moment.
On whim, Yoichi took Kaiji's right wrist and kissed it, a silent apology to the person whose soulmate he'd stolen, a guilt he could not yet completely kill.
The green mark glowed.
Yoichi gasped. Kaiji stared down with an equally shocked expression. The marks were only supposed to react to soulmates. Their eyes locked. Yoichi said, "That's impossible, I don't have a mark."
"Touch mine," Sanzou said with sudden urgency. Yoichi brushed his love's lower back, and the other one glowed just as brightly. This was no fluke.
A tear ran down Kaiji's cheek. He gulped down a sob. "Sorry, Yoichi. Damnit. I meant what I've said: I never put as much weight on soulmarks as other people, and I love you with or without one. I'm just relieved All for One didn't kill my soulmate. I always felt like I failed to protect the other person with my mark."
"Big brother must have known!" Yoichi gasped. "He saw my marks and lied to me. He tried to murder my soulmates."
"Do you have any scars?" Sanzou asked. "Marks can be burned off."
Yoichi's hand went to his back. "I had surgery, here."
Kaiji and Sanzou placed their hands on top of the surgical scar. Even from behind, Yoichi could see the green glow filling the room.
The three of them were soulmates.
There would be no sexy time that night. Yoichi simply collapsed into his soulmates' arms and wept. Just when he'd decided he didn't need soulmates, it turned out he had them after all, and he didn't know how to feel about that. Mostly he wept because he'd found a new way that his big brother had been cruel to him.
Author's Note: This fic is SherlockianDemigod221's prize in Three Weeks of Trioholders, thank you for the prompt right up my alley.
If you're reading this then you like One for All holders content, so I thought I would mention I have a fic coming out in the upcoming OFA zine. For a sneak peak (and instructions on how to order) delete the spaces:
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