❥ Soulmate AU; Where your soulmate gets a mark on his skin, the moment you fall in love with him.

• Semi x Een •

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After what happened in the gymnasium the other day, Semi and I stopped talking.

Well, it wasn't like we particularly talked often, anyways.

I found all the more reason to hide whenever I saw him. I even had an excuse to give, when Hichimiya and Aimee ask why on earth I was running away.

The dreaded day of the speech arrived faster than the serves Semi would send flying when he practised in the gymnasium with me.

And even then, we didn't speak.

I wasn't sure what I could say... And he didn't seem to have anything to tell me, either.

On Monday, when I clench my fists into a ball, I can barely hide my nervousness.

"Fujiwara, I heard you're giving the speech! Good luck!" Kaizawa pats my head. Tendou, who was going to line up to head to the gym, overhears this and waves a hand in the air.

"Een-chan, good luck." He says as we step out from the dining hall. Before I can respond, Tendou begins to wiggle his eyebrows as he stares ahead of him.

When I look to see where he had his gaze set on, I see Semi, leaning against the entrance of the gymnasium.

"I thought you might need this," He says, handing me a tissue. It occurred to me that in my worry, I had completely forgotten to bring one by myself.

"Ah... Thank you. For this, and the luck. I need it."

I wasn't sure if Semi had something else to say because Tendou puts an arm over Semi's shoulders right then.

"Let's hurry so that we get a better view of Een-chan!" I can hear him bantering. Hichimiya flashes me a thumbs up before she and Aimee follows the maroon-head.

Here goes nothing.

•••

The water bottle in my hand trembled as I climb onto the stage.

According to Amakata-sensei, there was a total of 478 students in the gymnasium, and an addition of 18 teachers and 5 of the administrative staff.

I regret all my life choices as I walk up to the podium.

Let's hope that Semi feels like my opening is more interactive, this time...

"I remember being a baffled mess when my Mom first told me what a 'soulmate' was. This mark here," I raise up my left wrist, pointing to the mark. "Has been here for the past 7 months. It is a sign that I would meet someone who completes me. That's what everyone believes, isn't it?"

I can see some people nodding, exchanging glances, and some people even yelling loud 'YES!'s in response. Exactly the kind of reaction Amakata-sensei and I were hoping for.

"But in reality; that's not what everyone believes. It's what you want to believe. As Tamachi-sensei once told me; 'The world is cruel and harsh'."

Silence spreads throughout the auditorium, and I feel slightly uncomfortable.

Did I say something that I shouldn't?

"The world is cruel and harsh." I continue, trying not to let the stillness bother me. "The honest truth is that your soulmate isn't someone that completes you; Your soulmate is the person who helps you through life, even though you are an incomplete mess. That's the real definition of soulmates."

The silence turns into questionable whisperings, and from what I could see with squinted eyes, there is pure shock visible on the faces of the students in the front row.

"Us humans, no matter how much we try to deny this fact, always feel at ease when we feel like we can put the blames on someone else. 'It's my teacher's fault that I got this bad grade.', 'If my Mom bought me that shirt, I wouldn't have been a laughing stock at school.', 'This is all the government's fault that I lost my job.' Saying something along the lines of those makes you feel so at ease because the feeling of a blame on your own shoulders is heavier than I can express in the vast vocabulary of words I know... And I do know my fair share of words, what with the captaincy of this club that eats half of my head." I joke, sincerely hoping my comic relief gets through to them.

"You go, Fujiwara!" A voice yells from the back with giggles following right afterwards. Some teachers in the back quieten the students down, and I flush before I fiddle with the speech cards I had scattered all over the podium.

I had entirely forgotten to even glance at those... I didn't need to, either.

"At the end of the day, we look for ways to lift those burdens. And what better way than to blame someone else? We all are living with these nasty habits, and I don't think anyone here, has the heart to deny this."

Of course, I can hear some students denying the fact, but I could understand why. There were only a handful people who tried to respond against; everyone else just stood silently, some looking at the ground, and thinking deeply, I might add.

"You may find the person who has the same pattern as you do, but only when you understand how they feel, the suffering they go through, and still want to be involved with them... Then only do you have the right to call yourself a soulmate; a true soulmate, at that."

I had changed some bits since the last time I showed Amakata-sensei the draft, and I hoped what I was saying wasn't something she wouldn't approve of.

"Your soulmate could be someone who you've known for the entirety of your life... Maybe it's someone you met just yesterday, or it could even be someone who you are yet to meet, in the future. Your soulmate will either change you to a better person or ruin you. And I think you would know truthfully well who you should blame, whichever the ending is."

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENNN!" I can hear Hichimiya's voice cry out loud; her hands visibly flailing in the air. Seconds later, her arms fall down; Aimee had probably attacked her by some means.

"What I am trying to say is; Finding your soulmate isn't the end of a long journey- or maybe even a short one, for some of us," I say. I find myself smiling when I recall my own soulmate. I can only wonder where Semi was standing, and if he was listening to what I had to say.

"Finding your soulmate is just the beginning."

The applause that echoed through the gymnasium was thunderous, and I find myself smiling; feeling a little brave even, I might add.

"I sincerely hope you have good luck with it, and I also hope," I add, collecting the speech cards and scanning my peers. "That you become someone worthy to be called a true soulmate, someone who would eternally stay perpetual to who you are. Fujiwara Een, Class 3-2."

I can hear loud cheers as I climb off from the stage,

I had a feeling a lot of people will remember my name, from then on.

•••

"Hnnnggh Een, my hero!" Hichimiya drums her hands on the table. Aimee, for once, does not ask her to 'quit shitting around', like she likes to say.

A lot of students, most of them who I hadn't even talked to before, approached me and congratulated me on a successful speech. I was not used to the tremendous amount of attention, and I flush each time someone approached me... and by lunch, a lot of people did, I had fully lost count.

"No wonder you're the captain, you really live up to the name," Aimee joins, after Hichimiya calms down.

"That's an exaggeration," I reply. A light tap on my shoulder makes my raise my head up.

I'm afraid to say that I almost choked on my own spit, when I saw that it was Semi who stood behind me, holding his lunch tray in one hand. With the other, he places a packet of kiwi juice beside my lunch tray.

"Your voice started changing halfway towards the end," He says. "So have that."

"Eh? Really?" Hichimiya queries. "I didn't notice that."

"Bruh," Aimee elbows the blonde beside her, before everyone's glances turn back to Semi again.

"Can I have a word with you?" He asks, pointing to the front doors. I find myself nodding, and he tilts his head a little. "I'll be back."

"Ohmygosh he's going to confess to you because you just gave an amazing speech about soulmates and he's gonna love you for the rest of your life oh my god please check your wrist, I bet your mark is completed now!" Hichimiya strings all the words quickly while Semi headed to keep his tray at his table.

"Shut up oh my god." Aimee hisses, when she sees me holding my wrist up; of course Hichimiya was only fantasising, my mark hadn't changed one bit.

A boy from Class 3-7 congratulates me for my speech right as Semi approached back to our table. Gulping, I then follow him as he walked out to the hallway.

I can't get myself to look away from my shoes; I was that nervous.

"You seem to be getting a lot of attention." I hear him say. I wasn't sure what I was expecting when I unconsciously look up to his face.

Semi was smirking.

"Een, are you scared?" He wants to know. I wasn't sure how to react while I digested the fact that he used my first name for the very first time.

My name actually sounded beautiful, when it came out in his voice.

"Because you don't need to be afraid. Great speech you gave there."

It was the very first time he had complimented me, and I could feel my cheeks heating up.

So he was listening!

Does this mean I can use his first name too? I wonder while I give him a nod.

"I was wondering if some of your speech made references to me...?" He thinks out loud. When he sees that I stare back at him, my mouth agape, he lets out a little chuckle.

"You don't have to answer that. I just wanted to say that I enjoyed your speech very much... Which is surprising, since I don't pay much attention to stuff like that."

"O-Oh, thank you," I gulp, my voice trailing before I make use of all my guts for the next part. "Eita-kun."

Semi, unlike me, doesn't look fazed by the fact that I used his first name.

But then again, he didn't look amused when we discovered each other, so I guessed that it was all there was to it.

I could not think of one other thing else to do or say as I watch the boy in front of me raise his left hand up. A slow smile spreads on his face; The red pattern on his wrist sticks out just as much as his hair does.

"It's starting to sink in, the fact that you really are my soulmate."

And when he gives me a nod and heads back to his seat, I begin to tremble in fear.

He's going to find out... He's going to find out, but...

If Semi says things like that, I'm going to seriously fall in love with him!  

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a/n; oHMyBAJeeZUS THIS CHAPTER MAKES ME SO HAPPY LIKE WOW WHY AM I BEING HAPPY WITH STUFF I WROTE ON MY OWN ｌｍｆａｏ

here, we have 1.8k words and i want to thank you guys so much... when i checked desktop, today, this book's ranking was 375 in fantasy?¿?¿ #RIPEEN'SKOKORO2K17

anyhow yes, this chapter is dedicated to KetyKK who ships SemiEen a lot and is just precious af i lovelove her ok ;A; ♥

ranking; #375 [11.01.17]