宿命的な [iwaizumi hajime]

00:12:00

sudden encounter

The coffee in your hand was hot as you traced the sidewalks with your footsteps, marking every inch of asphalt as you made your way home. Laughter twinkled all around you, the sound so intoxicatingly sweet you found yourself gagging at the sight of the various teenagers clinging onto their wild lovers; the whole idea of a soulmate was downright sickening.

This whole world was controlled by the stupid philosophy that everything in life was predetermined by the ever-changing tattoo on your wrist, the numbers slowly counting down to the moment when those digits will hit zero and the Soulmate will appear before you. You snorted, violently biting off the warm cookie in your other hand, chewing on it in irritation as the thought ran through your head over and over again. The way your teachers described the Encounter made it seem as though your Soulmate would somehow magically poof right in your tracks the moment your countdown stops.

You rolled your eyes, sighing as you ran your finger over the brim of the coffee cup's lid, discarding the remnants of the cookie because you had lost your appetite, the thought of meeting The One crossing your mind. [e/c] eyes flashed to the digits etched into your skin, somehow managing to change even though they seemed permanent. You've tried to figure out the science behind it all, but your parents had screamed when they saw you with a knife, about to cut through your own flesh, which led them to believing you were depressed because you haven't found your Soulmate yet, it's okay, dear, you'll find them soon.

When all you had wanted to do was figure out if there was a stupid computer chip in your flesh that made the weird numbers turn.

You smirked, laughing slightly as you sipped on the caffeine. What would your Soulmate think of you, laughing to yourself like this whilst thinking about the time you had almost cut yourself? They'd probably be disappointed by what Fate—or the government, as you joked—had chosen for them.

Your heart pounded in your chest, and your fingers curled around your coffee cup a little tighter. Despite your thoughts, you still cared about what other people thought.

Because nobody wants to be friends with someone labelled as Depressed.

A heavy object crashed into your body, and the world spun for a moment before gravity took its course and caused the brown liquid to fall onto your new floral dress—the dress that your mother had bought one week ago to celebrate your upcoming Encounter. The stain spread like spiderwebs reaching to the corners of a tree, coffee inkling towards the edges of your skirt. You lifted your eyes and met hazel irises which were wide with shock.

"Sorry!" the man apologised, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly as he offered a friendly smile. You stared at him in wonder—Was he the one?

Your eyes flickered to his wrist: 1532:09:55.

Looking back at him, you noticed how his smile fell slightly, and you knew he had noticed your shift in gaze, the half-scared glint in your [e/c] irises rippling like wildfire through a burning forest. "Ah, sorry. I've still got a while before I meet mine. How much longer until you meet yours, though?"

The pounding in your chest couldn't accelerate more rapidly, and you opened your mouth to reply when another voice—a male's—stole the words out of your mouth, the melody saying, "Oi, Assikawa! Let's go!"

And then the owner was in front of you, his stature not being as tall as the boy you were previously conversing with, but he obviously had a kinder heart. His green eyes were sparkling with annoyance towards the golden-eyed boy, whose shoulders shook with laughter when he noticed his friend beside him. "Honestly, stop running off. I'm at a time limit here, and my Soulmate—"

Your eyes widened, your interrupted thoughts quickly returning to your mind. Immediately you looked down at your lower arm, catching the sight of the 00:00:00 just before it faded, leaving nothing but a faint scar that soon vanished with it. You swallowed, looking up at the black-haired boy, who looked back at you, as though seeing your for the first time.

His wrist, too, was blank, the scar just fading into skin.