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

• Semi x Een •

---  

My little brother, similar to Semi, did not believe in soulmates.

It wasn't that he didn't think there really were people who were made for each other... He did. He believed that alright.

He just didn't believe that the person who shared the same mark as him, should be the person who he had to be involved with for the rest of his life.

"I have someone I like," He tells me when he comes back home after dinner.

I almost drop the pot of chicken I am holding, when Takeru tells me that.

"WHAT?" I yell, placing the pot on the table.

"I like someone. And I don't care whether he is my soulmate or not, whether we have the same pattern; that doesn't matter to me." Takeru takes a seat in front of me, taking a spoon to scoop up the bite-sized pieces of meat.

I wasn't sure what surprised me more; that fact that he 'liked' someone or the fact that he had referred to the person as a 'he'.

"You won't judge me for liking a guy, would you?" He wants to know. I shake my head, taking a seat in front of him. I can only follow his footsteps and take a spoon myself, eating the chicken like he was doing.

So much for preparing a proper meal.

"I wouldn't... I'm just shocked." I respond. It didn't take me three guesses to realise just who it was, that my brother liked.

"I hope Riku returns the feelings," I say, patting his hair. Takeru stays expressionless for a few seconds before his eyebrows furrow a little.

"I'm going for a run."

"Takeru no-"

And he had just come back after a tournament! I shake my head as I get up to clean up the plates we used.

•••

Two days passed, and my brother took me to the train station to see me off, back to Miyagi prefecture.

I hadn't heard heard from Semi since he texted me after the stride match, and I couldn't really blame him; I had no idea what I could say in reply, so I didn't even text him back. I was that nervous about things regarding him.

It wasn't healthy, the way I felt about him. That was for sure.

"Een?"

Takeru taps my shoulder, and I see him holding up a bottle of water. "Here you go."

Taking the bottle he offered in hand, I take a sip. I always enjoyed travelling, but train rides were not something I really looked forward to.

"So. I'll be off, then." I say, ruffling his hair. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

"Yeah. You too." His voice trails off a little as he turned his head away, as he took an inhale.

"I don't like your so-called 'soulmate'."

Fujiwara Takeru was always blunt about his feelings, and he made no exception about my soulmate.

It surprised me, the fact that we were so different even though we were related by blood. I couldn't even speak in front of people without making a fool out of myself. How did he even do that?

"I see."

"But I have to admit that I agree with most of the things he said. Soulmates are just what society has decided to name the mark there," He says, pointing at my wrist. "A real soulmate could be someone who just understands you. I know that I wouldn't like anyone else, even if my soulmate does not end up being Riku when my mark appears in three more years."

I could barely hide how happy I was. Takeru had always been the more mature person between the two of us, but Honan seemed to have changed him for the better. And for that, I was so thankful for Riku and I honestly prayed that they work things out.

"Good luck, Takeru. I believe in you." I say. He flinches when I give him a hug, in turn, making me laugh. "You haven't really changed."

"I don't want to." He responds with a scowl. "Good luck with Semi-san, too."

Giving him a nod, I board the train with a wave. Finding my seat took a good five minutes, and I let out a sigh in relief when I found the seat labelled D-18.

"Oof." I almost drop my duffel bag in the process of lugging it closer to the seat window. Sighing, I take out my phone to continue reading a book which I had picked up last night before I had fallen asleep.

"Where do 'ya think 'yer sittin at?" A loud voice makes me look up from my phone screen. A man who seemed to be in his mid-thirties is staring at me, anger visible on his face as he huffs with every word he spoke.

"U-Um..."

"That's my seat 'yer sittin at. Get off you lazy piece of shit." He hisses.

I was never good at handling situations like this, even when I was little. Takeru was the one who would go to the cash register to buy the food, he would be the one who made all the phone calls when needed, and faced situations like this which I always avoided.

I feel beads of sweat from on my face as I grab hold onto my bag, my hands trembling at the intimidating person who was staring daggers at me. People who sat surrounding my seat were gawking at me, probably thankful that they didn't have to deal with the man.

I wished I was one of them.

"What's going on?" A softer voice speaks and a familiar looking face pops into view, right when I stand up to go away.

Fate is a very twisted thing, and this comes to confirmation when I realise that it is Semi Eita, who had done so.

He raises an eyebrow and crosses his arms over his chest before he shoots a glance at the man.

"Fujiw- I mean. Een, what are you doing here?"

Semi always found a way to appear out of nowhere at times when I least wanted him to. And at that second, I wanted to jump out of the window and kill myself.

"That's not your seat. Didn't I tell you?" He shakes his head in disapproval, reaching for my bag.

Wait, what?

"Your seat's at the back over there, beside mine. Come on." He calls, walking ahead. In my confused state, and because of the fact that the angry man was still glaring at me, I scurry off and follow my soulmate. 

"But Semi-san, that really was my seat," I protest, when he places my bag in the compartment above his seat.

"I know it was your seat, Een. I believe you." He sighs, sitting down. He points to the seat in front of himself, and I sit down, still baffled with what actually happened.

"Well, you could call me a coward, but... If we tried to argue with that asshole there, I'm sure it wouldn't really have been a nice scene."

He had an excellent point, and I blink at him for his quick witty approach.

"That was really smart of you, then." I praise, and he shakes his head.

"Not... really." He mumbles. He stretches his hands a little, yawning as he did so. "I was going to take a nap, but he just had to ruin it."

"I'll wake you up when we reach the station," I assure to him, "So you can take a nap."

The blond in front of me shakes his head and leans against the window. "No. You're probably just going to sleep as well too, and we're both going to miss our stop."

"I would not!" I cry. I wasn't sure if he was trying to be funny or not, but I was the one laughing when he fell asleep within the first twenty minutes of the three-hour journey.

I had a profound thought right then; that we barely know about each other... I knew almost nothing about him, and yet, there wasn't anyone whose presence I would probably enjoy as much as I enjoyed Semi's.

Some of his fringe had fallen over his eyes as he softly snored, his nose pressed against the transparent window on his left.

I couldn't help myself, as I turned on the camera application on my phone.

This is fine, right? This will be fine...

We are soulmates, after all...

The shot clearly showed his mark as well, and I knew that I would treasure the picture for the rest of my life.

Not just because he was an attractive person who would come ahead in the oddest of times and save me or make me happy with the tiny nothings he would unknowingly do.

But because he stayed true to himself and never changed, just for the sake of anybody.

And the circle underneath the crosses on his left wrist was proof of how genuine my feelings for him were.

  ••• 

Semi Eita was a very light sleeper, unlike me.

I didn't even have to tap his shoulder for the second time to wake him up. With half-lidded eyes, he blinks at me a couple times, before he sits up straight.

"Shit. Did I sleep the entire time?" He gives his head a smack when I nod in reply.

"Sorry. I should have talked to you."

"Nah, it's okay. You needed that nap. We should get going, I waited for most of the people to clear out." I inform, reaching for the compartment.

"Okay. And stop doing that, I'll get it for you after I take mine out. You're just going to drop that heavy bag of yours on your foot and then cry." He squints his eyes at me, making me bite my lower lip. "And I don't have any tissues in handy, today."

"I do not!" I complain as he takes his own bag out of the train.

Since when did he say things like that? I wonder, while I take my bag. I hated to admit, but Semi was somewhat right. The bag was really very heavy, and I felt slightly bad for Takeru who had carried it all the way from home to my seat.

With all my strength, I lift the bag. In the process, I accidentally let out a squeak, which makes Semi turn around and see what I was up to.

"You're seriously really stubborn, did anyone ever tell you that?"

"Ehehe..." I mumble foolishly, unable to hide my smile. I follow him off the train, the sunlight that touched my skin making me take a deep breath of the fresh Miyagi prefecture air.

"Are you stopping straight at school, or heading somewhere else first?" He wants to know, after placing his bags on the ground.

"Straight to school."

"Good. Then we can take a cab."

While I held the strap of my crossbody bag tightly and watched his figure raising a hand up to flag a cab, I finally managed to find something I could respond with, to his text.

Even though he was right beside me, I couldn't help but smile as I took out my smartphone and typed the message as quickly as possible.

'Thank you, Eita-kun.'

---

a/n; scrEAMING BC Artsy-Inkster IS WRITING A SEMIEEN CHATFIC LIKE OMGOMG I AM NOT FINE-

ranking; #173 [17.01.07]