Fated [Hitoshi Shinso/Reader]
"There's a clock embedded in my thigh, Mom. And it's counting down. Is that normal?"
I had asked this question many times over the years, but at ten years old was when my mother finally dignified me with a sincere and truthful answer. It manifested as a small horizontal portion of my skin with the numbers of an analog clock that was slowly counting down with each passing second. Every time I stared at it, I grew more and more anxious and paranoid. At first I thought it was some kind of curse, and that the timer was ominously counting down to my time of death. I was deathly afraid to let my parents know that I have an indicator telling me that I would apparently die in a few years, most likely before they would, and that they should begin the funeral preparations, and mental preparations for my burial as well.
"When the time hits zero, you'll know that you have met your soulmate.. Provided that your future doesn't change," my mother told me on my tenth birthday.
"Soulmate?" I repeated and promptly shook my head. "I don't get it." Then she sat down with me and patted my back, accompanied with a dreamy sigh.
"Soulmate. The person you're destined to be with. Your one and only."
Ten year old me was surprised, but relieved I wouldn't die in my teens. (Well, if I did, I wouldn't know until it was about to happen.) "So, a soulmate is like, telling you who you should marry and stuff?
"Not necessarily. You can be happy with someone else, but you'll still be created for someone else to love in the end."
"Are you and Dad soulmates?"
"No," she answered solemnly. "My soulmate died before I could ever meet them. So did his. That's why we connected. We shared something very big in common. Knowledge that the person who we were destined to be with was not even on this Earth anymore. We were both scared of dying alone."
I didn't ask often about Dad, because I could see Mom was clearly upset whenever I did so, so I stopped speaking about him.
"Is it really possible to be truly, one hundred percent happy with someone that isn't your soulmate?" I asked, even if she had technically answered it already. "I mean, it doesn't make sense. One hundred percent happiness, wouldn't it be with the person you were made for? How can that be, if your soulmate is the person that you're best with?"
"Me and your dad, we thought we were happy, and we knew that we weren't soulmates," she began. "But we were truly happy. He had his reasons for leaving, but he says that he still loves me. I'm not so sure about that in retrospect, but I'm sure he has a reason, because he hasn't dated anyone else since we separated."
"There are many people in the world that you can fall in love with other than your soulmate. But your chosen soulmate is the one that was chosen for you. No one is stopping you from choosing someone else, but just know that the two of you were created to meet and fall in love. In time, all soulmates who meet and talk to each other will fall in love with no matter how much they may despise one another."
She told me more, including the fact that most people had their timers removed when they are born, because they didn't believe that all soulmates were actually compatible, and some thought it was offensive, and even sexist. Many fell in love with someone else. Many were killed over it. Lying about who their soulmate is, finding out your partner was soulmates with someone else the entire time.. and many killed themselves when they found out their soulmate had died or lived too far to ever meet them. Some had an infinity or other symbol on their timer, which meant it would take a unique course of events for the two to ever meet, so unique that the timer hadn't comprehended an alternate universe for such a scenario. A true miracle would have to take place for them to meet. There were many books about this, but it hadn't happened yet, not once.
But I believed. Ever since, I've been daydreaming about how my soulmate would look like, how they would treat me, how many kids we would have.. but now, in my last year of middle school at thirteen, I've forgotten all about the timer, and I wish that I had forgotten about it completely.
The last time I checked it, at the end of my last middle school year, it said that I would meet my soulmate in 1463 hours, or about two months. Two months would mark the end of summer and the start of a new school year, so that would mean I will meet my soulmate in the beginning of high school.
The problem was, I was homeschooled.
On the other hand, my mother had mentioned the possibility of getting me an unpaid intern job at UA, and then my hope returned. It sounded really cheesy to me, but knowing that my soulmate will be a high school sweetheart, in a way, makes my heart beat in ways I never knew that it could. I promised myself I wouldn't get crushes on random boys (before I found out what the timer meant) but now I see that it is not necessary to tell myself that.
I had hoped so hard for my belief in soulmates to stay put where it is; in a sunny and cheerful place.
At the same time, I began growing scared at the thought of knowing who my soulmate will be. What if I don't truly love them, as if I feel forced to? What if they're an asshole or abusive? What if they don't have a timer and don't believe me? What if they don't believe in soulmates? What if I'm already in deep love with someone else? What if the future changes, and something happens to them before we can even meet?
As mom said, you can be capable with someone that isn't your soulmate.. but knowing that you're destined by the gods to be with someone else is a little jarring.
Would it be just.. false love at that point? If one truly loved someone that isn't their destined soulmate, and they truly loved them back, then why aren't THEY their soulmate instead of the other person?
Well, maybe I'll find that out myself one day..?
I did nothing throughout my summer because I was pretty much friendless. Cleaning the house was my new favorite hobby because I got to see my mother happy and more relaxed throughout the day. I also helped her cook and bought the ingredients.
Tending and speaking to my pet bird or hamster was my downtime. They were my only friends. My fat hamster was fast asleep at the time, so I decided to speak to my pet bird. His name was Pii, pronounced Fi. His feathers were all the primary colors; red, yellow and blue, and he obnoxiously flapped them to get my attention all the time.
"Boring day, huh?" He'd say once I looked at him with a glare. I'd chuckle and nod.
He'd suggest that I read something, and I'd agree to the idea, until I get bored of that, and turn back to laying on my bed doing nothing.
"Can I have some snackies?"
"I literally just fed you."
"Would you rather have me wake you up in the middle of the night for food?"
"Yeah, I'm too lazy right now," I said and flopped backwards onto my bed. I picked up my blanket and threw it over my body. "Wake me up whenever you want, Pii."
"If that's what you want," he said. "Anyways, how's your life going? What's new?"
"Well, I'm gonna be an unpaid intern in a few weeks, on top of school, so.." I sighed. "I'm a lil' stressed."
"School is at home, so I don't really see the big deal."
"You don't even witness my lessons, you're in a cage in my room. It's actually super hard, and obviously you wouldn't understand even if you were there."
"Whaaatever," Pii cawed, ignoring me. "What's your little job anyway?"
"Helping out at the nurse's office."
"I thought you wanted to be a vet?"
"Well yeah," I mumbled. "I was kinda destined for it because of my quirk thats allowing my conversation with a bird to exist, but I want to try out general medicine before. I'm still young, so I can take all the experience in the general field as I can get."
"I don't get you humans. Anyways, soulmate soon?" Pii said. If he was human and not in a cage, he would probably be nudging my elbow and winking.
"Yeah.." I said and looked up at my boring ceiling. "A few more weeks. I'm kinda scared."
"Don't be," Pii said. "Do you have condoms?"
"Pii!" I scolded him. "You're a bird, you shouldn't be thinking that!"
"I've learned a lot of things about humans over the years," Pii cooed. "And I know one thing: getting pregnant at your age isn't the best idea."
"I won't be getting pregnant or doing anything remotely like.. that.. for a while," I mumbled. "Scratch that, ever."
"Ever?" Pii questioned. "So you're a forever virgin? What will your soulmate think?"
I sighed deeply. "Look, my soulmate might not even like me. Or maybe, I don't like them. A lot of things happen, and a lot of people don't end up with their soulmates even though they are aware of the other's existence. How about that?"
"But like.." Pii whimpered. "You're meant to be together. You're super young, you have forever to fall in love. Besides, it's really easy to fall in love at this age."
"Most people don't have timers and stopped listening to fate a long time ago and began listening to whatever is pleasing to the eye.." I croaked, blanket up to my face, ready to sleep. "Just because I'll know who my soulmate is, doesn't mean I'll get a happy ending."
"Because real life isn't always like that."
"Yeah." I smiled. "You got it."
He understood me for once.
In a flash, it was a week before the first day at UA. I wasn't attending as a student, but my mother had succeeded in 'talking the staff into letting me help in the nurse's office' since I had prior experience in shelters. I don't know how if she has any ties with them that allowed this to happen, or if she was lying about the circumstances, but I'd rather not ask, just in case. I'm just grateful for her. I want to be a veterinarian, so this opportunity in general is too good to pass up. It's free experience in the nursing area. Plus, I'm homeschooled by super compassionate mom. What more can I ask for?
175 hours left, as I saw this morning in the shower. By now, it should be around 170. A little more than a week.. it was correlating perfectly with school time. Goddamnit.
I jolted awake; it was my first day and my body knew it. I talked to my now awake pet hamster, which I hadn't named yet, for a few minutes. It was something I tried to do everyday, but was a bit difficult since he liked to sleep so much. This made Pii the Bird very jealous, even though I speak to Pii everyday as well. The hamster that had yet to be named always said weird things like, "Bring me food, mortal," in response to me saying, "Hello," which made me think he was possessed. Of course, it perfectly convinced me to bring him all the food he wanted.
Then my mother kissed me goodbye and wished me luck. She also told me to keep an eye out for my soulmate, and to pray that they don't have a timer, because she wouldn't allow me to go on a date with them anyways. She suggested that I build a normal friendship with them first.
I think she just wants me to be happy. As she never got to meet her soulmate, I think she doesn't want me to go through the same thing, and that's why she kept my timer. But that's just a theory of mine.
I ignored her because my face was heated up and my heart was at its limit and ran out the door.
I was technically an unpaid intern, but my mom would be paying me a little under minimum wage for it, plus an allowance every two weeks. She was the best mom I could ever ask for, even without a partner or support from anywhere. Of course, I took the money with much love and thanks, but placed it back in her wallet later on. I loved seeing her relieved, knowing she had some money left after all when she was stressed out about the bills. It's not like I needed it anyways.
It was then that I remembered my mother's words earlier, and it was then that I fully computed them and realized, on the bus..
There was lots of time before school started, so the courtyard was pretty much empty. There was a building with all the dorms across from the school, which I thought was pretty neat. It would save a lot of money for my mother if I lived in the UA dorms, but we don't have enough money to enroll anyways.
I walked into the main building, the constant echo of my shoes accompanied by the eerie silence making me a bit nervous. It was pretty much empty, not even a staff member around the doors.
I aimlessly walked around, passing empty classrooms before I saw a scraggly man with a scarf carrying a large yellow sleeping bag, scuffling over to the 1A classroom, his eyes half closed.
"Excuse me sir.." I nervously said. "Do you know where the nurse's office is?"
He stopped, turned and stared at me for a moment. His expression before could only resemble sleepiness and being immensely bored. But when we locked eyes, I couldn't pinpoint the new emotion in his eyes. My prediction was a series that consisted of confusion, epiphany, and surprise. I wondered what was his deal.
He broke out of his trance and nodded. "Yeah. I'll take you there," he said, escorting me the nurse's office just around the corner.
"Thank you," I said quietly and bowed.
He stopped me. "Are you a new student?"
"No," I replied with a professional tone. "I'm.. kind of an intern of sorts. I'm homeschooled. I just wear the uniform to represent."
"I see," he replied. "I'm Mr. Aizawa, the class 1A teacher. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. Recovery Girl should be in the office."
Aizawa didn't wait for me to respond. He walked back around the corner in the same slumped posture and slow pace.
It was thirty minutes before the gates would be open for all students to enter the school. I knocked softly on the entrance to the office.
I turned the doorknob, but not before taking a deep breath. An old lady waved at me and gestured for me to sit down across from her in a rolling chair. I did as she wanted.
"You're (Y/n) (L/n), correct?" Recovery Girl questioned and began writing in a notepad.
"Yes," I said nervously and stared at the floor.
"Today is your first day, so I'll go easy on you." She was getting right down to business. "You'll be here on Mondays and Wednesdays to help out here. Though if you want to come any other day, feel free to, and you'll be paid for it."
"For real?" I beamed. "Er, I mean.. that's so nice of you."
"Yes. It sounds nice, but it may turn out to be more work than you expected it to be.." she warned. "So don't jump straight into it."
I chuckled. "I have a question," I said. "How is my mother.. well, affiliated with you guys, if that's the right word. How'd she get me this position?"
Recovery Girl looked at me with sorrow in her expression. I became a bit angry, but I knew how to control my emotions. They were bottled up very tightly in my chest, but I could clearly feel them bubbling and boiling. They didn't have a chance of exploding the cork off, however.
I was angry because she apparently knew something that I didn't about my own mother, something that I should absolutely know, and she was depriving me of that.
She blatantly lied to me. "There are no ties. We heard of your situation and decided to take you in. Come on, I'll show you the basics. We don't have much time."
I gave up and began following her, listening to her words. She showed me around her office, what the tools she had were meant for, how to care for an open wound, which medicines were appropriate to use, and more. She was so sweet and kind that I forgot what she had done, and I had soon forgiven her.
"Are you excited?" asked Recovery Girl.
"Yes. I'm just kind of.. on edge."
"I'm supposed to meet my soulmate today. Like, in a few minutes, according to my timer," I admitted.
"Oh, really?" she marveled. "You have that? Well, I was just about to ask you to go get something for me at the pharmacy, so you'll probably meet them along the way there or back."
"If that's the case.. So if I don't go, what will happen?" I asked.
"Well, the timer will probably have a few added hours, but since they probably attend this school, so you won't be able to escape it forever."
I groaned and covered my face. "I'm just so nervous. I'm sorry."
"Whenever you do meet them, your timer will beep. Just hit the area where your timer is located and it'll stop immediately, if you don't want them knowing," she advised.
I hadn't heard of this advice until now. It sounded like a total life saver, to be honest. My mother probably never had to stop her time, since her soulmate was dead, so I understood why she hadn't told me about this.
"Be careful," she advised me.
I knew she said this because she was skeptical of soulmates. After all, the phenomenon began after she was born, so she wouldn't understand the feeling anyways. It was rare to see someone that was my age that had a timer and believed in all of this, let alone someone of her age being supportive of it.
She asked me to pick up a few Epi-Pens, nonprescription cold medicine, and lots of female hygiene products from the pharmacy nearby before school started. She handed me the amount of money I needed.
I had only ten minutes before the doors to the school were opened. When I walked out, I saw lots and lots of students hanging out. It made me feel self conscious even though they probably hadn't even noticed my presence.
I walked past the gates, hoping to stay invisible. I walked down the sidewalk, past a few buildings until I saw the large sign of the pharmacy, bright and glowing. A letter looked as if it was going to fall off any second.
I picked up my speed a little bit when suddenly, a black cat came racing across the corner and stopped at my feet.
I instantly crouched down and pet its head. "Hi there," I cooed. I was very easily distracted by cute animals.
"Hello. How is your day going?" asked the cat.
It had beautiful blue eyes. One of them was quite dull, droopy, and a bit lifeless, however, and there was a small scar through it. Its fur was the softest I've ever felt, it was obviously well cared for. I thought of the possibility that it was abused in the past judging from the scar, and its new owner was doing a great job. It seemed to have no trust issues whatsoever.
"It's my first day as an unpaid intern. I'm pretty nervous," I replied. I left out the soulmate part. I didn't need a cat making fun of me for it. I already got enough of that from Pii.
"Someone as young as you working?" The cat tilted its head.
The cat smiled. "I may be blind in one eye, but I can see you shouldn't be working just yet. Maybe playing with dolls."
"It's a long story." I ignored its little comment, picked up the cat and rubbed it. "You're so soft. I kinda want to adopt you, but my mom is allergic to cats."
"I know I'm beautiful, but sorry, but I have an owner already. He'd be super mad if I went with someone else," it purred and rubbed its head against my cheek. "Plus, he's the best. Don't tell him I said that though."
"Oh really?" I said, disappointed, but happy because he was being well taken care of. "Is he nearby? What are you doing alone?"
"Oh, you don't have to worry," the cat snickered and tilted his head to the side, his tiny ears moving a bit to point back. I looked behind him to see a teenaged boy in a UA uniform running towards me.
I began to stand, and then I heard my timer start to beep loudly. It sounded like a damn fire alarm.
THE REST OF CHAPTER 1 DOESNT FIT! Read it on FFNET, OR WATTPAD (click)
