Work Text:
No one knows how or why it started.
Some believed it was divine intervention. Others said it was a gift from the ancestors. Scientists continued searching for a logical explanation. Whatever the origin, the advent of the soulmate phenomenon had shaken society to its core.
Romantics found renewed hope. Partners who realized they weren’t soulmates often found despair. Entire fields—philosophy, psychology, sociology, anthropology—erupted with debate over the ethical, moral, and emotional implications of the soulmate phenomenon. Hundreds, if not thousands, of books were written on the subject. The most marketable of these were the self-help guides. Because above all else, people just wanted answers about their own soulmate status.
Denki Kaminari stood in the middle of a too-clean bookstore aisle staring at a sea of books in the “Soulmates Self-Help” section.
He smirked at several of the corny titles.
My Soulmate and I Found Each Other—Now What?
Five Reasons Not to Find Your Soulmate (and One Reason You Should)
Soul Disaster: Why a Soulmate Might Be the Worse Thing for You
I Still Haven’t Found My Soulmate—Am I Broken?
Help! My Soulmate’s a Girl But I Like Guys
Most of the authors had intimidating strings of letters after their names—MDs, PhDs, MScs—like credentials could explain the unexplainable. Denki huffed out loud. “Where do I even begin?”
The truth was, Denki felt hollow. He desperately wanted to feel connected to someone. But he had nothing. No physical marks. No shared feelings or strange dreams. No deep cosmic pull. Not even an inkling of a feeling.
And that terrified him, because he craved the deep affection of a soulmate.
He lost track of time as he scanned the titles, hyper-focused. Then he spotted a smaller book tucked between larger, flashier volumes.
Soulless Mates: Extraordinary Cases of the Untethered.
As he reached for the book, someone else’s hand did the same. Time slowed, yet he barely got a glimpse of the long fingers and purple nails before—
Flash.
A burst of light emanated from their joined hands. The shock sent them tumbling backwards onto the floor. Denki sat up with a grunt, blinking through the spots in his vision.
He pointed at the stranger, about to accuse them of knocking him down. Then he saw it—a soft, golden shimmer encased his hand. He stared wide-eyed.
Across from him, the stranger—handsome and tall with thick, violet hair and amethyst eyes—was glowing a gentle lavender color. Their eyes locked and they just stared. Neither moved nor spoke for what felt like ages. It felt as if an invisible thread tugged their hearts together.
Denki’s mouth felt suddenly dry as the realization hit him. “Hi,” he whispered.
The stranger’s throat bobbed as he swallowed. He spoke, his voice deep and hoarse. “You’re my…I mean, we’re…”
Denki nodded. “I’m Denki,” he said, offering his glowing hand to the stranger. The other person took it, their lights intertwining into something unspeakable.
“Hitoshi,” they responded.
They both smiled looking down at their joined hands.
“Do you,” Denki hesitated, “Um, wanna get coffee or something?”
Hitoshi nodded. “It’s like you read my mind.”
They rose, hand in hand, and walked slowly towards the exit. The world around them disappeared as they focused only on each other.
The book they had both reached for lay open on the floor. A lone passage on the page stood out:
“Among the rarest cases are soulmates with no signs or symptoms, no dreams, no marks, no pull. They live their lives convinced they are without a soulmate. However, their connection reveals itself quite suddenly through a reactive aura. Upon first physical contact, a glow surrounds the two bonded souls. These soulbonds are believed to be the oldest and strongest, formed over countless lifetimes, forever drawn back to one another.”