Work Text:
Soulmates, Saiki decided, were a lot more trouble than they're worth.
People around him always seemed to revere and romanticize the day when they would meet their destined person, when a stranger would open their mouth and speak in familiar tones, tones they've heard all their lives.
Saiki could very easily tell who was who's soulmate, telepathy and all, provided he recognized the voice.
The moment Aiura transferred to the school, all her thoughts were spoken by the telltale voice of a certain Yumehara Chiyo.
Aiura, who had arrived at the school with the assumption that he was her soulmate, did a double-take when she first heard Yumehara's voice, and Aiura now struggled to get the girl's attention.
Yumehara, unfortunately, was too invested in her crush on Kaidou to realize that her head voice and his voice did not match in the slightest, despite being the type to deeply romanticize soulmates.
His condolences to Aiura.
Kaidou, as much as he tried to deny it, was also enamored with the concept of soulmates, hoping to one day meet the one, and he recognized Kuboyasu's voice in an instant.
And so did Kuboyasu, the moment they met.
However, due to how dense the both of them are, both were stuck as best friends pining for each other and not knowing it.
Yare yare.
Hairo and Nendo were, somehow, the only soulmates that he knew were together. Hairo's head voice was Nendo's, and Saiki couldn’t hear Nendo's but it was safe to assume that it was Hairo's.
Hairo wasted no time in confessing to his 'rival', and they got together.
Not that anyone else in the class knew.
Good for them.
And now, for the troublesome being that was his soulmate.
At this point Saiki has accepted that God would never be on his side.
God was too busy on someone else's side.
His head voice was a melodic and light tone, laced with sweetness that could probably warm the coldest of hearts.
He looked at the desk next to his, where she sat.
She was busy with her classwork, one hand writing and the other twirling a strand of her blue hair. Her bright blue eyes sparkled with concentration, much like the rest of her, with a bright glowing aura.
Teruhashi was his soulmate.
He had known since that first time he had properly interacted with her--or rather, when she tried to interact with him.
It was a very funny dramatic irony that he, who hated attention, was the soulmate of the shining goddess herself.
Good grief.
It was also very confusing to hear his voice in someone else's head.
'He's staring," his voice said.
Saiki snapped out of his stupor and realized that she was glancing at him, her expression revealing to him that he dazed out a bit while looking at her.
He looked away, as nonchalantly as possible, and he heard a miniscule giggle escape her.
'Saiki,' she thought to herself, 'I wonder what hides behind those eyes of yours--'
She looked around subtly while slightly holding her breath, almost as if worrying someone could read her thoughts (ironic), before continuing,
'--and whose voice narrates your thoughts... Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I hope it's mine.'
Yare yare , Saiki thought to himself, a tiny chuckle escaping him. If only you knew .
____________________________________
You might be wondering how Teruhashi didn't know Saiki was her soulmate.
After all, he did always contribute to the conversation with his sarcastic remarks and his infamous 'yare yare'.
But other than that, not much.
As any of Saiki's friends would say, he's not a talkative person.
Teruhashi, for example, could not remember a single time she has heard him speak.
Despite his frequent sarcastic remark or such, it would be stupid to call that speaking, and almost everyone has noticed he's never truly spoken.
His mouth never moved when he talked. They had noticed. But they chose not to comment on it.
Saiki, as far as they were concerned, was very strange.
Another thing is when he spoke, it was... indescribable.
There was a bizarre quality to it, that made it recognizable when he was talking but after hearing it you could not remember it.
Teruhashi had often felt as though her head voice was very familiar, but she could never quite pinpoint it.
This was on purpose.
Using mind control, Saiki made it so anyone who heard him 'speak' immediately forgot what it sounded like.
Convenient for hiding from his attention magnet of a soulmate.
Frustrating for a girl who knew she definitely heard that voice Somewhere.
____________________________________________________________________________
Saiki remembered when he first met his soulmate, knowing for years it was her.
It had been years since those times, and they had just graduated.
Saiki found himself alone with Teruhashi, washing dishes in the kitchen as the others lounged in the living room.
They could hear the laughter and he focused just a tad on their thoughts.
Goddamnit. His mother brought them his baby pictures.
He sighed to himself and decided to continue focusing on the dishes.
His friends eat too much, he decided, looking at the large stack.
He turned to look at Teruhashi, who at this point seemed lost in her own thoughts, cleaning bowls and cups on autopilot.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked as though he didn't know.
She snapped back into reality and looked at him, an unsure expression on her face.
"Just… about things, I suppose."
He gave her a blank expression "Well that's incredibly descriptive."
She let out a small laugh, and scrubbed another bowl.
Silence fell between them, and this time Teruhashi was the one to break it with a sigh and a glance, an inquiry begging to be spoken on her face.
Finally mustering up the courage, she asked,"Saiki, have you ever met your soulmate?"
With an unreadable expression, Saiki looked her in the eyes.
"I have."
A simple 'oh' fell from her lips, and there was just a tiny hint of disappointment in her eyes.
"What are they like?" she asked, a lot quieter this time.
Saiki knew that, had she asked him this two years back, he wouldn't have given a response.
But maybe, just maybe he was a slightly different person now. He looked away from her and started to speak.
"They're very kind. Objectively very beautiful, always determined to make others smile."
Teruhashi looked at him intently, her head trying to form an image of his soulmate.
"Sometimes they forget that they should take care of themselves too, and sometimes they take it too far trying to help others. They're afraid of ever being selfish or stepping a single toe out of line. And it's quite a shame that others don't notice the lengths they go through to help others."
He let out a light chuckle.
"They've been getting better at letting themselves live for their own sake though, and when they smile or laugh--truly, genuinely--it's like the universe sings."
Teruhashi just stared at him. She had never heard him describe anyone like that, and to be honest she didn't think he was capable of it.
Her heart clenched just a bit.
"They sound amazing," she said simply.
Saiki hummed in agreement. "They are."
Her expression fell just a tad, leaving her with a sad smile.
"Everyone I know knows who their soulmate is, and I haven't met mine. I wonder if they're even out there."
She looked up, a pleading look in her eyes.
"I know it's a little pointless to rush it, and I shouldn't complain about having not met them when some people go their whole lives without meeting them and that I'm still young but--"
Teruhashi went quiet and looked down at the floor, before finally whispering, "I just want to find someone who loves me, and not just as an idol or put me on some pedestal. The others have their soulmates, and they all seem so happy… so happy to have the one person they were made for be with them."
She looked him in the eyes, looking like she was about to tear up, deep blue eyes filled with what looked like shame.
"I… I guess I just wanted some of that in my life."
"And there's nothing wrong with that. I have a feeling you'll meet your soulmate soon enough."
She looked at him, a soft smile on her face, "You really think so?"
Teruhashi had never heard Saiki speak properly, never able to describe his annoyingly familiar voice. She had never been able to place it.
Teruhashi had never seen Saiki's mouth move as he talked. She at this point had accepted this as a quirk of his.
So when he spoke, just then and there, lips forming the words in the tone she had known all her life, the voice so intimately familiar, finally being able to place it, time seemed to stop and her eyes watered.
" I know so."
Her body almost moved on its own, enveloping him in her arms, tears now freely flowing down her face.
She found him.
She finally found him, right under her nose, next to her.
She finally found her other half.
She finally found the voice in her head.