"Missed a spot, Bakamatsu," Miu chided, flicking a strand of Kaede's hair. "Jeez, if you're gonna get it on with Shyhara during school then at least do a better job of covering it up,"

Kaede swatted Miu's hand away. "I wasn't getting it on with Saihara-kun!" She protested. Miu gave her a look. "Or anyone for that matter!" She scolded.

Miu recoiled instantly, her mood switching entirely. "N-no need to yell at me..." Her cheeks flushed pink. Kaede couldn't tell if it was from shame or enjoyment- and quite frankly, she wasn't keen on finding out. "I was just trying to h-help out a friend..."

Kaede smiled. "I know that, and I appreciate it a lot, Iruma-san. Just..." She sighed. "Maybe try not to include one of your jokes next time?" She suggested.

Iruma spat out in laughter. Kaede cringed slightly. "BAHA! As if!" She waves her hand in the air in a dismissive manner. "But, seriously though." She's back to flicking that rogue strand of hair sticking out from Kaede's scalp. "What's up with this strand of hair? Lil fucker won't stay down." She grumbles the last bit with gritted teeth.

Miu, being as easily annoyed as always, leaned closer to the pianist, reaching her palm out to smooth down the loose strand. Kaede was quick to swat her hand away. "Back up!" She exclaims. Miu obeys in an instant, cowering away from her friend. "If it were that simple then it would've been fixed by now!"

"There's no way it's that hard." Miu exclaims.

Kaede sighs, feeling slightly flustered and exasperated by Miu and her antics. It's not too bothersome, however- the pianist is used to it by now. "I've tried everything." She admitted. "Pins, different hairstyles, even cutting it! No matter what, it just stays up."

Miu furrows her eyebrows. "There's no way you're not shitting me."

Kaede shakes her head. "I'm not!" She takes a quick moment to observe her surroundings. It seemed as if no one was listening in. "Actually... Every once in a while it moves."

"No shit," Miu snorts. "It's hair."

"Let me finish!" It comes out a bit louder than what she had intended, but it gets the point across, so Kaede continues on. "It moves sort of like... a compass?" Even she sounded unsure of her answer.

"Perhaps it is a Soulmate Bond."

Miu and Kaede screech from the third voice, jumping up and clinging onto each other for dear life. They turn their heads to find...

Korekiyo, standing before them with a hat on his head. (So much for checking the surroundings earlier, Kaede thinks to herself.)

Kaede exhales, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding as she lets go of Miu. The inventor, on the other hand, is still a bit riled up from the sudden appearance. "The fuck do you think you're doing?!" She barks, trembling slightly. "Stalking us hot girls like that! Fuckin' perv!"

"My sincerest apologies for startling you," He bows his head, opting to ignore Miu's insult. "But I happened to overhear your conversation and I couldn't help but find myself intrigued."

"Does this have something to do with that 'soulmate bond' that you mentioned?" Kaede asks.

Korekiyo gives a swift nod. "Yes. From that answer of yours, I feel it is safe to assume you've never heard of it before, no?"

"Hah!" Miu laughs. "Bakamatsu over here might not know what it is, but of course this gorgeous girl genius knows!"

"Is that so?" Korekiyo hums. His eyes glisten in interest. "By all means, do tell. I'd like to hear your answer in order to compare and contrast our ideas and see how different our backgrounds truly are."

"Sure, whatever!" Miu scoffs. "A soulmate bond is a bond you have with your soulmate! Duh!"

Kaede holds back a groan.

Although it's unable to be seen, Korekiyo purses his lips together. "I see... in that case, allow me to explain my own thoughts on the matter." The anthropologist doesn't wait for an answer, gingerly pulling up a chair and taking a seat across from the two blondes. "A soulmate bond is some sort of sign on one's person that connects them with their true love. A popular, yet uncommon and quite possibly unlikely, trope is a red string around the pinky fingers of two soulmates that only they can see. Of course, there are more possibilities as to what form a soulmate bond can manifest. Some have a mental bond- like that so-called "feeling" of a loved one being in danger. Others, have a physical bond."

Korekiyo gestures to the strand of hair on Kaede's head. The latter looks up, reaching her hand up and rubbing the strand with her forefinger and thumb. "Do you really think that...?"

Korekiyo nods. "I believe it may be so. But I'm afraid I need more information- both, from you, and about soulmate bonds in general. Do tell, have you noticed any patterns in it's movement?"

Kaede thinks for a moment. "Not really," She shakes her head. "I don't really pay much attention to it since I can't actually see it unless I'm looking at my reflection." She answers. "If I'm being honest, I've only ever seen it move once. It was strange, and I thought it was just a breeze at first; but then I realized that the window in my room was closed, and that it was definitely moving on it's own."

"Hey, Bakamatsu, you say your hair's always been like that?" Miu chimes in.

"Yeah, for as long as I can remember." The pianist answers in earnest.

"Huh." Miu's back to her previous position, leaning back comfortably in her chair. "I think this is the first time I've noticed it."

"Interesting..." Korekiyo hums. "Could you two perhaps keep an eye on it for me? Granted, I'll help as well, but I think some extra help would be absolutely splendid in a study like this. As for you, Akamatsu-san, if you're unable to access a mirror then simply feel it every once in a while."

"But what if I move it by accident?" Kaede asks.

"Hah!" This laugh is more mild than the previous one. "You really think it'll move by accident? You shoulda seen me flicking the shit out of it earlier!" Miu exclaims. "That thing ain't going nowhere!"

"I guess you're right about that..." Kaede trails off for a few seconds, before turning her attention back to Korekiyo. Her eyes glisten as she pumps both of her fists up in determination. "In that case, we'll do it!"

"What's this 'we' stuff, paleface?!"

Korekiyo chuckles quietly to himself. "Excellent..." He mutters. "I look forward to finding out more about this phenomenon."

As Miu asked Korekiyo some questions of her own, Kaede's attention was snatched away by a loud commotion going on from the other side of the classroom. Letting her curiosity and concern get the better of her, she excused herself from the group (not that Miu and Korekiyo minded, though, the former was too busy asking the latter if it was possible that she had a soulmate bond) in order to check it out.

On the other side of the classroom, just a few minutes prior, an unsuspecting Shuichi is about to take a sip from his water- only to get interrupted with an unpleasant surprise.

"Hey, bro!" Kaito gives his sidekick a firm slap on the back.

Shuichi yelps out in surprise, nearly dropping the bottle of water in his hand. "Momota-kun!" He exclaims. The water inside the plastic bottle splashed around due to his trembling hold. "You startled me!"

"Whoops!" The astronaut (in training) removes his hand from Shuichi's back, using it to scratch the back of his neck in a sheepish manner. "My bad! Sorry bout that."

Shuichi exhales slowly. "It's alright, Momota-kun." He offers his friend a reassuring smile. "I know you didn't mean it like that." He assures, lifting his bottle of water to his lips to take a sip.

"But I did!" Another loud voice booms from behind him, accompanied by a harder slap on his back.

This immediately spiraled into a series of unfortunate events.

Due to the water he was currently drinking, Shuichi's yelp results in the water getting caught in his throat, making the poor detective choke. The sudden lack of air prompted his body to suddenly jerk in a violent motion, which made him involuntary squeeze the plastic bottle he was currently holding in his hand and splash the rest of his water all over his face. While he was gasping for air, some of the water that he had splashed on his face was promptly sucked into his nose.

Shuichi keeled over onto the floor, clutching his chest with one hand and pitifully banging his fist on the tile as he hacked and snorted.

"What the hell was that for, Ouma?!" Kaito shook his fist at the supreme leader, who was cackling without a care as he nudged his friend with his foot while he was dying on the floor. The astronaut turned his attention back to the apprentice detective and pulled him up by his sleeve effortlessly, despite only using one of his hands. "Don't worry, buddy," With his other hand, he gave Shuichi three solid smacks on his back. "I've gotcha."

The third and final smack was enough to force a horrid cough out of Shuichi, ridding his body of all of the water that had lodged itself in his throat and nose.

"Wow, Shumai, all that just from a surprise hello?" Kokichi prods Shuichi with his elbow, still cackling to himself. "You're such a pussy!"

"Shut up, Ouma-kun," Shuichi, still catching his breath, was mildly annoyed with the supreme leader as he cackled at his misfortune.

"You okay, man?" Kaito asks, a look of genuine concern on his face.

"Uh, not really," Shuichi admits. "But, I think I'll be fine. Thank you."

He's suddenly hit with the realization that not only did Kaito have to witness him in such a pitiful state, he also had to help him out of it. The embarrassment he felt not only took a mental form but also manifested physically in the form of a bright blush spread throughout his entire face. The sheer force of the emotion makes him turn his head away in shame.

When he does, however, he notices more of his classmates staring at him. Oh, great, of course everyone saw it.

His face only grew more flushed as he reached for his hat in order to obscure his peers from his vision. His hand grasps at nothing but thin air, however, and it takes Shuichi a moment to realize that his hat probably fell off when he plummeted to the floor earlier.

The embarrassment coursing through his veins grows tenfold, and combined with the numerous eyes staring directly through him and into his very soul, the room suddenly feels more cramped than it was just a minute ago.

Shuichi immediately turns his gaze to the floor, looking around for his hat. To his surprise, it took him a few seconds to find it due to the fact that the hat was actually a bit further away from him. Just how hard had he dropped to the floor earlier?

In order to avoid all eye contact at all costs, the boy detective keeps his eyes glued to his hat as he kneels down to retrieve it from the tile. In his focus, he fails to see the other person kneeling down as well. He only notices when he watches as another hand gingerly grasps onto the cap, holding it out for Shuichi to grab.

Confused, he looks up, wide gray eyes staring curiously at the other party before him.

Squatted down to the floor with his hat in her smooth hands was one of his classmates, one of his friends, Kaede Akamatsu, with a kind smile on her face and a concerned shine in her lavender eyes. "Are you okay, Saihara-kun?" She asks, her soft tone laced with nothing but sincerity.

Somehow, Shuichi's face flushes even more; albeit this time, it's not from embarrassment. "Y-yeah," He mumbles, turning his head away as he reaches for the hat. From his peripheral vision, he notices his lanky fingers shake as he grasps the accessory a little tighter than he had intended. Was he always this shaky? "Sorry you had to, um, see that..." He mumbles, taking a quick moment to glance down at the floor.

Of course she witnessed that glamorous spectacle- even if she wasn't in the class room, she probably would've been able to hear it thanks to her incredible talent. Of course she'd come over and check it out as well, there was no way such a sweetheart would overlook a fellow peer's suffering. It was one of her many downright wonderful traits that Shuichi admired with his entire being.

"Thank you, though." He turns his head and lifts his gaze back to the pianist.

Oddly enough, she's not looking at him anymore. Well; she was looking at him- she just wasn't making eye contact with him. Her lavender eyes were aimed just a little bit above his eyes. When Shuichi opened his mouth to ask her what she was looking out, the blonde unintentionally beat him to it. "Your hair..." Kaede mumbles (although mostly to herself), seemingly mesmerized.

Shuichi pales at the realization. Whenever he'd get home and take off his hat, his mirror would always greet him with a bad case of hat-head. No wonder everyone was looking at him.

He quickly slams his hat back onto his head, shooting upwards. "Thank you, Akamatsu-san," He repeats, bowing hastily. "I'm, uh, gonna go to my lab!" He decides

"Your lab?" Kaito pitches in. "The hell you going there for?"

"Nothing, I just," He pauses to think for a moment as he starts makes his way out of the classroom, almost bumping into someone due to looking back at Kaito. (He'd have to apologize to Korekiyo later.) "Forgot something! That's all!"

"Pussy!" Kokichi mocks, cackling even harder than he was before.

Shuichi doesn't dignify his taunt with a response (Instead, Kaito's the one who does, telling the short dictator to shut up.) as he rushes out of the classroom.

Truth be told, he didn't actually know where he was heading. He just knew he wanted to get out. The detective seriously considered going to his lab as he walked- he was heading in that general direction, too- when his thoughts suddenly went back to a certain pianist.

If she was kind enough to check on him after his near death experience then surely she'd go make sure he's okay after he as suddenly as he had.

As Shuichi nears a corner, he makes a split second decision, making the turn as opposed to going straight and entering the bathroom.

Thankfully, there's no one in there. He lets out a sigh of relief, resting his hands on the sink counter as his dull eyes observe the reflection sitting before him. Shuichi pulls his hat off of his head, bracing himself for the revelation. Luckily enough, his hair didn't look all that bad.

Not having his comb on him (His Uncle had given it to him for one reason or another; When Saihara junior asked, Saihara senior would simply shrug and grin. "You never know when you might need it," He'd say.), Shuichi opts to brush his hair with his bare hands- smoothing out all the clumps as best as he could.

He did a surprisingly good job- save for one little hair sitting at the top of his head. He wasn't surprised about that, however. It was one of the reasons he wore his hat in the first place (Although, it was so trivial in comparison to his other reasons he almost felt bad for calling it as such). No matter how hard he tried, the strand would never stay down. In fact, he could've swore he saw it move of it's own volition one day, almost as if it had a mind of it's own.

After a little research (What else would one expect from a detective in training? It only makes sense that he'd be curious.), Shuichi got a few varying results. Although some were slightly concerning (according to WebMD, he would die in seven days if the problem was not treated properly), most of them weren't very attention grabbing and were probably not the answer he was looking for.

The only thing that had stood out to Shuichi was something called a Soulmate Bond. He found an old reddit thread discussing the phenomenon- apparently, some people were born with an attribute that pointed them in the direction of their life partner (in Shuichi's case, his attribute quite literally pointed him towards his soulmate). There wasn't enough solid evidence to confirm the phenomenon's existence, however, so it reigned as only a theory- nothing more, nothing less.

Despite that, Shuichi couldn't help but ponder about the validity of the claims. Perhaps he could ask Korekiyo about it sometime. Surely the Ultimate Anthropologist would know a thing or two about a rumored bond stronger than the very marriage ceremony upheld by the entire world for centuries upon centuries on end.

Right before Shuichi's thoughts can ponder, his eyes catch sight of movement in the mirror.

But it's not another student coming in to tend to their business.

It's that damned hair on his head, moving like a compass.

Shuichi watches intently as the hair goes from pointing straight ahead at 10'o clock to sliding all the way to the 2'o clock position while still remaining straight. A perfect 120° rotation, a perfect reflection across an invisible axis; Such a prominent movement must have meant that his ("hypothetical," he reminds himself,) mystery lover was nearby. But just how close was this so-called "nearby?"

The detective in training takes a moment to think about his spatial location. The direction he's facing, the bathroom he's standing in, the hallway he was previously walking through, all the numerous corridors and classrooms this school had to offer, the area surrounding the school, he takes everything into consideration as he makes an approximation as to the whereabouts of his ("hypothetical," he reminds himself yet again) soulmate.

Having nothing to lose, Shuichi decides to take a leap of faith. He steps out of the bathroom and into the hallway, turning the corner he came from and facing straight ahead. He quickly runs his hand through his hair for a quick feel, and surely enough, the special strand reflected his change in position and is now facing straight ahead. All he had to do was walk forward.

The conclusion he had come to was that, since there were no other buildings as tall as the floor of the school he was currently on in the vicinity, the love of his life had to be in the same school as him- not even a minute away from him.

So close, yet so far. Once again, he has to remind himself that it's a possibility that assumes the evidence-lacking theory is true. The chances that it's true is the same as the chances that it's false, possibly less.

Despite the logos (and the ethos, or lack thereof) of the argument, Shuichi finds the pathos in the argument to he the most compelling- yet again quite literally as he suddenly feels compelled to take a step forward, an urge that he acts upon without thinking twice about it.

The closing statement to his argument is as follows: Even if the Soulmate Bond turns out to be just a myth, there's no harm in checking out what (or who) lies ahead of him at the end of the hall. It was his lunch hour anyways, and after practically running out of the classroom the way he did, there was no way he'd go back so soon. He'd check to quell his curiosity then head back to his class.

With this final decision set in his mind, Shuichi takes another step forward. And then another, and then another, etc., establishing a firm walking pace. He wished he could walk faster- he could see  as clear as day and as plain as a fellow classmate of his that there was no one in sight in the hallway- yet with each step he takes he feels his heartbeat pick up from the sheer excitement; he feels his mouth go dry in anticipation; he feels the grip he has on the hat in his hand tighten in nervousness.

Longer than it should've taken anyone in their right mind, he reaches the end of the hallway. He feels the strand of hair one last time to see that it's still stands strong at 12'o clock. Shuichi's gray eyes, now wide open, drill holes at the barrier looming before him in all of it's wooden glory. A door he was all to familiar with, adorned with a gold plate labeled "Ultimate Detective Lab" accompanied by various patterns of magnifying glasses and other stereotypical detective items of the sort. The final obstacle between him and the key to solve this mystery once and for all.

He nearly hesitates, but he's come this far, and there's no use in chickening out now.

Shuichi Saihara reaches for the door handle.

Before he comes into contact with it, however, it tilts downward, clicking menacingly as the door tilts open away from him at an unnecessarily slow and tantalizing pace.

There's someone in there. And there's only one person who it could be.

His brow furrows in the few seconds he has left to think. There was a flaw in the conclusion he had drawn.

The culprit he had immediately thought of was Kyoko Kirigiri, a fellow upperclassmen of his who shared a talent with him. But, based on the tidbits of information he's gathered from the interactions he's had with her and a few papers he's come across in the very lab he was standing in front of, the timing of her schedule didn't line up with the current hour. Granted, she was the headmaster's daughter, she didn't strike him as the type to abuse that power and take advantage of it in order to go wherever she wanted whenever she wanted. She was probably still in class.

But if it wasn't her...

His mind doesn't have the chance to ask the question, as he already has the answer. He thinks back to just a few minutes prior to where he was standing now- the reason why he fled the classroom so hastily, the reason why he hid in the bathroom as opposed to this very lab in the first place.

The culprit is none other than...

"Oh!"

...Kaede Akamatsu.

"I was looking for you, Saihara-kun! Are you okay?" The pianist asks him. "You ran out so suddenly, I was a little concerned." The corners of her lips are curved downwards into a slight frown, making Shuichi heart twinge with guilt.

For a moment, the wind's knocked out of Shuichi and he forgets how to breathe. "Yeah," He whispers. He quickly inhales. "Mind if I, um..."

Kaede blinks, taking a second or two to register what he was asking. "Oh! I'm sorry," She apologizes, moving out of the way so he can enter the lab.

"It's okay, don't worry about it," He assures her, entering the lab. The pianist lets go of the door and it clicks shut. It's just them. There were plenty of places in the lab to sit, such as one of the comfortable lounge chairs or at the table near the center, yet the two classmates stand awkwardly near the door with the distance between them as equally awkward.

Shuichi's eyes wander to the top of her head. She had an ahoge, just like he does. And it's pointing right at him.

Kaede does the same, curious eyes peering at the deep blue ahoge pointing directly at her as Korekiyo's words from earlier resonate loud and clear in her mind.

"Do you kn-" The both of them speak at the same time, abruptly stopping at the same time as well when they realize the other's speaking as well.

"Oh, my bad," Shuichi lets out a nervous laugh. Just how many times could he humiliate himself in one day? Better yet, in a single hour? "Go ahead,"

Kaede shakes her head swiftly, raising both of her hands up, palms facing Shuichi. "No, it's fine, you can go first."

Shuichi's about to protest yet again, only to find himself chuckling slightly at how inane the situation was. Kaede let out a small giggle of her own, lowering one of her hands to her side and holding onto her elbow with the other. The detective found it super adorable. Her giggle was always such a pleasant sound to hear.

"Ah, well," His cheeks tint pink as he brings his hand to scratch the crown of his head. "This might sound strange, but... Do you... Know what a..." He doesn't know where he'll go from here if she answers no. Actually, he doesn't know where he'll go from here no matter what she answers. He puts faith in his intuition and fires away. "Soulmate Bond is?" He asks. His nerves get the better of him, however, and before she can respond he starts mumbling information as fast as he can/ "It's a bit of a rare phenomenon and although there's not actually-"

"Yes."

Shuichi stops his rambling immediately. "You do?" He asks.

Kaede nods, a smile on her face so wide that it's made her cheeks flushed. Perhaps there's a little bit of bias behind it, but he finds himself smitten. "Yeah. I was talking about it earlier with Shinguuji-kun and Iruma-san."

So Korekiyo did know about Soulmate Bonds.

"What do you... think? Of them?" He wants to cut his tongue off for how dumb and unsure he sounded just then.

Kaede doesn't seem to mind it, however. It was a weird question, yet she understands, taking a step closer to him. "How about..." Her voice trails off as she takes another step closer to Shuichi. They were now standing only centimeters apart. "I show you?" She asks. Although the height difference between them isn't large enough to warrant such an action, Kaede stands on the balls of her feet, tilting her head to the side as she allows her eyelids to flutter shut before pressing her lips to his in a sweet kiss.

The moment her lips come into contact with his, Shuichi feels himself start to melt. His entire body aches from the tenderness of such a precious moment in his life. It's the first time he's ever been so intimate with anyone (which is just his way of saying that he's never kissed anyone before), and he can tell from the way she accidentally bumped her nose into his and the way her lips were quivering wildly against his own that Kaede was just as inexperienced and nervous as he was.

He found comfort in knowing that he wasn't alone, and he used that feeling to add fuel to the fires of his confidence. His hands find their way to Kaede's waist, gingerly pulling her in closer to him. The blonde's shaking calms down as she wraps one arm around his neck and uses her other hand to cup his cheek. The warmth from her palm, her lips, her body against his, was quickly spreading throughout his entire body, filling him with a fluttering, slightly intoxicating feeling that never wanted to let go of.

Unbeknownst to the both of them, their ahoges curled up slightly as they brushed against one another, forming a perfect ahoge heart.

Unfortunately for him, all good things come to an end. Not even a minute passed before both of them pulled away from the other, panting slightly as they caught their breaths. After a minute, Kaede was the one to break the silence. "Does that answer your question?" She asks.

Shuichi nods his head, once again finding himself at a loss for words. The excitement from the situation made his heart pound loudly inside of his chest. If Kaede could hear it (he wouldn't be surprised if she had- she did have pretty good hearing), she made no move to show it. Combined with the intense infatuation he felt, he was convinced he could die right then and there.

"Good~!" Kaede hums happily, the biggest smile he's ever seen on her face. "I'm glad!" She chirps.

Shuichi nods his head yet again- only this time, he's able to speak. "Me too..." He pauses for a moment. Originally, he was going to address her at the end of his statement. But, now he was at a bit of a crossroad. It'd be weird to call her by her last name now, wouldn't it? But using her first name might come off as a bit sudden...

He decides on a middle ground and calls her a nickname. It's not too overly sugary, and he thinks it describes Kaede perfectly. "Sweetheart."

Her smile breaks out into a large grin as a small noise (a squeal?) escapes her mouth. Shuichi's heart nearly fluttered out of his chest at how endearing the scene was. As the detective was trying to calm down his raging heart before it burst out of his chest, opting to stay flat on her feet this time around, Kaede leaned in for another kiss. Shuichi gladly returns the favor, reciprocating the motion as he allowed himself get lost in the newfound high that resulted from this moment in time.

The last thing in his mind, buried deep behind his enchantment, was the fact that there wasn't enough evidence to confirm the existence of Soulmate Bonds; All the evidence he needed was right in front of him in his grasp (quite literally). Perhaps he was being a little too hasty in saying this, but in that moment he genuinely believed that he had found his soulmate.

5k Words

Author's Note: I really thought this was gonna end at 2000 words. LOL. Here I am at (somehow?) exactly 5000! (Excluding this Author's Note and the Word Count at the end.) I meant to be finished with this by the 6th but... quite a few things popped up and here I am on the early hours of the 20th. There is no way I'm getting more than 6 hours of sleep tonight xD Especially since I still have homework and excitement from a concert in a little over 12 hours! Performing on <6 hours of sleep... I wonder how that will go;;

Happy Belated Birthday kantubb07 ! I wish we could've met before your birthday as opposed to after- maybe then this would've come out on time. You're a really good friend and very funny! I'm so glad to have met you! :D