Chapter Text
In this world, everyone is born with a scar.
This scar isn’t like any other one might receive, however, this particular blemish is unlike anyone else’s, except one. Once a person completes their sixteenth year of life, part of the blister fades into vivid color; the other part still left disfigured. No one knows why the scars appear, only that everyone has one, and the other half belongs to your soulmate. Once the two of them experienced the event which would spark their relationship, their mark would become whole.
Over the years, people have speculated over the marks, the size of the initial scar, the area on the body it is found, and most importantly, the image the complete pair creates. Most marks are small and easily located on the body, such as a wrist or an ankle, and through extensive research, it is to be believed that no two pairs of soulmarks are the same.
Kudo Shinichi had spent most of his childhood contemplating what his scar could possibly turn into. He was, supposedly, unfortunate enough to have an abnormally large scar, one which stretched across the entire length of his back, so he had no idea what could be created from such a large expanse of skin. He had heard of people who had old poems or phrases of love written into their skin, but the words were usually small enough to only take someone's forearm, the words only being comprehensible to the soulmates. He had also heard that if their soulmate was an artist their greatest work would be engraved on the pair of them; however, the longer he thought of this possibility, the less likely he found it to be.
He had once asked his parents what they thought, his mother was ecstatic to start spouting off theories, of course she hadn’t stopped since, but his father was even less helpful, saying “You will find out soon enough, won’t you?”. Shinichi, being the detective freak-as Sonoko liked to call him-he was, could not help but to try to deduce what his unique image could be. He knew that soulmarks were unique and didn’t even reveal in the same way for different pairs. Some would simply only have one half of the image revealed, in the case of his parents, his father had a piece of parchment running down his calf, his mother had words running down the same place. Their soulmark had been the first poem he had written her, a truly unique sign of love.
When Shinichi woke up on his sixteenth birthday, he had felt a strangely comforting warmth spreading across his entire back. No matter how much he had told himself and everyone around him how excited he was to discover what would lead him to the love of his life, he was afraid as well. Although the scars were meant to lead to his significant other, he had already developed strong feelings for Ran over their shared childhood and he wasn’t sure if he could give her up if she wasn’t his soulmate. Societies had one rule about soulmarks, to not discuss them until you find your pair. Of course, curious children would ask their parents about their scars, but other than family, they should not be discussed. Shinichi always followed that rule. He never asked Ran where her scar was and he never told her where his was. Ever since he realized his feelings for his childhood friend he became fearful of the day where he would either keep her forever or lose her to someone else completely.
After lying in bed contemplating about the biggest moment in his life, he stood up and walked into the bathroom. His parents usually came home from their travels for his birthday, but this year they decided to give him privacy and would call him later in the day. He was thankful for their consideration since a person's sixteenth birthday is one of the most emotional days in someone's life.
As he entered the bathroom, he couldn’t bring himself to look into the mirror, even to look at his face. He slowly brought his head up to stare into his reflection and took note of the mess that was his bedhead instead of the anxiousness in his eyes. He was thankful he had worn a shirt to bed last night, it was a hurdle he had put up for himself, but it was also a guard against his worst fears. He slowly took his shirt off, still not turning around. His heart was beating faster than it ever had, even though he had faced much harder situations, ‘Like murderers’ his brain helpfully provided. Mustering his courage he slowly turned around, closing his eyes. As he slowly opened them, he turned his head so he would be able to see the reflection of his back in the mirror. What he saw he could only describe as incredible.
Just like the scar, his soulmark ran across the entirety of his back, there was no color covering it, so most of the scar remained, only delicate black lines, like the ink from an artist's pen, glided across his skin, forming lines which crossed over one another in a way which could only be described as beautiful. As Shinichi slowly took note of every curve of every line, he forced himself to look at the mark in full. “ Oh my God.” Shinichi breathed out the words, it was the best he could do. Starting at the tops of his shoulders and flowing to his tailbone, the image of a folded pair of wings danced across his back. “Their almost life like.” he unconsciously mumbled as he touched his shoulder. He stared at his back in wonder, all previous apprehension had vanished. In that moment, Shinichi decided that he didn't care who his soulmate was if their bond could produce such an incredible image. He wouldn’t admit it, but he was always going to accept his match, after all, they were soulmates, he was just a romantic at heart.
His phone buzzed, pulling him from his trance. Ran had texted him to say she was in front of his door, it was still a school day after all. He suddenly became embarrassed for staring in the mirror for such a long time and rushed to finish getting ready.
By the time he had arrived at his the front door, his hair had been quelled and he got his school uniform on. “Happy birthday Shinichi!” Ran exclaimed as he opened the door. Shinichi’s heart fluttered traitorously in his chest at her bright smile. ‘Ran might still be my soulmate’ he thought, ‘we might not have had our moment yet.’ Shinichi’s doubts returned to him, but he had enough experience to not show how troubled he was on his face.
“Thanks Ran, and good morning.” he replied, avoiding eye contact. Ran must have mistook this as embarrassment since she only giggled in return. The rest of the walk to school was conducted in the usual manner, playful banter, trying not to anger her enough to get hit. He was thankful Ran did not ask about his soulmark, it was rude in the first place, and Ran certainly wasn't rude, but he was thankful nonetheless.
~~♡♤♡~~
On a different day, on a different birthday, in a different part of Tokyo, Kuroba Kaito woke up on the twenty first of June very reluctantly. Unlike Shinichi’s faith in the soulmarks, Kaito only held disdain for his scar. Ever since he was little, he did everything he could to hide the scar from people’s eyes. It was large and ugly across his back, the flesh discolored and prominent, forcing him to always wear a shirt, even when he swam he had to cover his back. Even though the young magician seemed to flirt with anything and everything, leading most people to believe he would relish in his half of his soulmark, he was the exact opposite.
After rolling out of bed, he didn't even glance at the mirror as he went about his morning routine. He was thankful his birthday had fallen on a Sunday this year. Returning to his room, he checked his phone and saw he had two messages, one from his mother telling him to have a happy birthday and that she would call later. The second text had been from Aoko, she said she would be making breakfast for him so he could come over when he was ready. He was thankful she hadn't just yelled across from her house instead.
Thinking about it, Kaito reflected on how sincerely he appreciated Aoko. She had listened honestly when he complained about his scar, regardless of the social norms, and she told him how much he would be grateful for it later in life. That was how they had discovered they wouldn't be soulmates, no matter how much Kaito wished they had been. After showing Aoko his scar in order to prove his point, Aoko had pulled her hair up to show Kaito the small discoloration on the nape of her neck. He had been disappointed, but he knew not to pursue his affections since Aoko truly believed in the soulmarks.
After throwing on some decent clothes, he headed next door to a surprisingly delightful breakfast full of Kaito’s favorite breakfast and not so breakfast foods. Not only was the food great, but for once he and the Nakamoris got through a meal without one of them starting a rant or Kaito playing some kind of trick. He truly felt touched on how sincerely they cared for him.
“Hey Aoko.” Kaito started after helping said girl wash the dishes, “You don't have to if it would make you uncomfortable, but, would you look at my soulmark for me?” A blush covered his face as he faced downward, embarrassed to meet Aoko’s shocked gaze if the stillness was anything to go by. He slowly returned his gaze upward as he heard her rustling with a towel, drying off her hands.
“Sure Kaito, let’s just finish here and then we’ll head to the bathroom, okay?” Her tone was sweet and Kaito once again wished that she had been his soulmate and not some other random person that he had never met.
“Right.” he replied so softly he was afraid that Aoko hadn't heard him, ‘Does it really matter if she did?’ he thought to himself.
After finishing putting away the dishes, the pair of friends headed into the main bathroom so Aoko and Kaito could get a look at his soulmark. No matter what people would say about the situation, Aoko would be the only person to see Kaito’s soulmark.Since the day he revealed to her the bane of his existence, she was the only one he could be comfortable around besides his family. “You ready?” Aoko questioned softly. It was strange to Kaito that his usually loud mouthed friend was being so gentle with him. It surprised him that he was being so timid when he had lived with that scar all of his life. ‘Well isn’t that the problem?’ Kaito asked himself, ‘That the scar isn’t a scar anymore.’ Realizing he had become lost in thought, he met Aoko’s worried gaze.
“Ready as I’ll ever be, Ahoko.” He finally said, a smile that wasn’t meant to look quite so pained was painted across his lips. Aoko rolled her eyes, but the worry could still be seen in her eyes.
“If you say so, Bakaito.” her smile was more genuine than Kaito’s, and he was thankful for it. Kaito turned away from Aoko so his back faced her. He slowly lifted his shirt over his head, only because he was nervous, even Aoko could see the slight tremor in his hands as he clutched desperately at the fabric. As soon as the piece of cloth was over his head, Kaito dropped the article of clothing like it had just insulted his family. Behind him he heard Aoko gasp.
“Well?” He asked timidly, fear was the only thing keeping him from turning his head to face toward Aoko and the mirror. He stood their for a while longer before he heard Aoko begin to make sputterings of possible words.
“Kaito...I...I can’t really…describe it.” Aoko finally managed to get out.
“What?” Kaito was shocked, ‘Why can’t Aoko describe it? Is it that awful?’ Worried, Kaito turned to look in the mirror and was blown to speechlessness.The entire expanse of his scar was turned into an ombre of color. High upon his shoulders was a pure white, like freshly fallen snow, which transitioned into a light yellow, which grew into an orange and finally, red, a deep, early morning red that trailed into the small of his back, and down to his tailbone. “What?” Kaito breathed when his tongue began to work again, “What is this?”
“I don’t know,” Aoko replied in the same breathless tone Kaito had spoken in “but it’s beautiful.” Her hand was outstretched like she wanted to touch it and her eyes were shining with such utter amazement, but Kaito couldn’t see it at all.
“Beautiful?” Kaito was almost yelling the word, causing Aoko to jump at the sudden increase of volume, “Aoko, how could this mess ever be beautiful?” Kaito felt the frustration building in his chest and his eyes stung with the beginning of tears. “I waited for sixteen years for that scar to become something meaningful, and all I get are some pretty colors.” He faced Aoko directly, holding her eyes with a glare full of unshed tears. “Sixteen years, Aoko, and I have no guarantee that this will ever mean anything more than a slight possibility.” And with that, Kaito grabbed his shirt, pulling it back over his head with a ferocity and stormed out of the bathroom door.
“Kaito, wait!” Aoko called after him, rushing to meet him at the front door, but he had already pulled on his shoes and was halfway out the door. All Aoko could do was stand there as her door slammed and her best friend ran into his house, only allowing his tears to fall after the door to his bedroom was locked behind him.
The rest of the day, Kaito cursed his luck and hoped that his supposed soulmate was gifted with a better image than Kaito’s, but then, he didn’t really care about them, did he? No, Kaito was determined to never fall in love with his soulmate, no matter who they were.
Oh, but how little both Kaito and Shinichi knew about their soulmate, and how little they knew about the trouble which would follow each of them like the plague. However, it will yet be awhile before the thought’s which linger in their minds would become blown away and only the clear beating of wings would remain in their ears.