—
Soulmates were not something that were ever predominant on Kakashi’s mind. Since as long as the man could remember, the process had been very tangible. Unavoidable. When children were born, the ones who carried these markings were catalogged and their lifetimes mapped out before them, as they were almost guaranteed to survive as long as it took the timer to reach zero.
They were the lucky ones. The ones sent out into wars. The ones counted on to risk their less frail lives every day.
Those who were born without a number, however… usually weren’t guaranteed to make it out of their first year. Cursed to live a short, lonely life and the target of much suspicion and fear.
No, soulmates were everything in this world. Soulmates brought happiness. Being ensured one meant power. Losing them could cause fatality. You were nothing without that number on your wrist, it could tell your whole life story long before words ever could. It was said if one’s soulmate was killed before the timer reached zero, the remaining half would also fall dead. Interconnection.
..So why was this individual so disinterested in the way of life this world indulged in? The simple laws of nature?
Well… although being one of the lucky ones with a high enough count to ensure life well into his thirties, Kakashi Hatake had been surrounded by tragedy when it came to the concept. He’d watched countless friends reach zero at a young age, watched them be whipped away into a myriad of happiness upon meeting their own soulmate, only to die not long after.
From every corner of the world, zeros seemed to haunt him.
It made him bitter. Watching their lives slowly tick away like that and being unable to do anything to stop it. It seemed he was always the only one with any time left.
No… Hatake had learned to associate these zeros… not with the beginning of a new life and the happiness that would follow, but with inevitable death and destruction. The fact their fates were sealed from the moment they were born seemed like the cruelest form of punishment to him and he hated it.
He hadn’t looked at his own counter in weeks. The numbers were decreasing rapidly he knew, the time was quickly approaching when they would meet, but instead the ex-convict tried to continue his life without giving it much thought.
Who it would be would be irrelevant, to him it only marked the end of his ‘curse’. Would he suddenly feel a surge of romantic feelings for her, was that how it worked? Would it just magically work?
Although posessing the capabilities deep down, Kakashi couldn’t imagine ever feeling anything short of suspicion for a complete stranger. For many years following their meeting, he would continue to distance himself probably. The few he’d ever let in in this respect were both lost sheep too, who he knew to the core and had grown up with, the love developing slowly. He already knew his soulmate would not be any of these people... he knew.
A slight lift of his sleeve as he moved to write a check, revealed a measly ten minutes of immortality left. God…
They’d joke about this moment, he and Minato. Long after the accident, after they’d moved temporarily to California and the old blond had unravelled the bandage for the first time for the silverette to see.
"One day you and I will not be different," he’d smiled sadly as Kakashi traced it, the cold zeros bruised deep into his skin over the years spent alone. His timer had stopped years of course, and after living a happy seven years with his wife and soulmate, had lost her ……….and it was Kakashi’s fault. Kakashi had survived and she had not, probably because he still had time left and she hadn’t.
But Minato hadn’t died of a broken heart. For some reason, he was still here. He’d survived losing so much in one lifetime, including his soulmate… it was often the inspiration Kakashi needed. The blond damn well deserved to see him try to live, after all the pain he’d unintentionally caused.
—-
The thought of who he’d come face to face with in the next few minutes, seemed irrelevant. In fact, despite still being required to keep an eye on his charge, Kakashi found himself inexplicably heading toward the door in a final act of defiance. Nope. Defying fate was not possible, as circumstance would keep him from gravitating too far off track, but damn it he would try.
The tinkle of broken glass though, caused a single-working pupil to dilate, and the rebellion was already brought straight to a halt. Reflexes narrowly saved him from being thrown across a table by a burly man in a leather jacket, but he had to growl at the whole coincidence. The fight had broken out suspiciously quickly, and without having time to react, he’d found his shoulder wedged against the wall leading out of the bar.
Mere inches from freedom, but was it already too late?
Instinct brought Kakashi to swing around though, as the person he’d been closest to had been affected by the tousle also. And that’s when he saw it. As cliché as all the movies had told him it would be, it was right there. An obvious bared wrist, the zeros fresh and lightly resting on soft skin as she moved around to see what all the commotion was.
He didn’t need to look down to know his own was the same shade.
"Oh hell no,” he hissed, more to the offending wrist than the woman he was now grabbing. Hopefully she would understand the sentiment.
"Well it ain’t like I picked this," she grumbles back, and he releases her with a small frustrated flourish, the gleam of pink numbers against his own skin visible for a moment beneath the sleeve. Glancing quickly away in disbelief. Something, anything to guide him in this moment.
At least she understands. At least she’s not sappy and over-emotional like y’always see on tv, all crying and stuff. You can handle this. Deep breath.
His heart is beating hard in his chest, and the fight is already being broken up and fading back into the hubbub of the bar, leaving just them, and their new life.. and… and… people weren’t even staring thankfully..
"Look, you’re probably in danger." he states bluntly without much thought. "I don’t exactly have a good track record."
It was only fair to warn her, right?
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