Work Text:
Despite all the evidence to the contrary, Haru didn’t really believe in soulmates. So many people would talk about how they couldn’t see color until one day, a rainbow practically appeared in their vision. Everything was so much brighter and more beautiful one day. The day they first laid eyes on the person they were destined to be with.
It felt as if she was being lied to. Like there was some practical joke everyone was in on but her. It upset her quite a bit to be honest. It got her to the point where she started to believe she was the problem. Perhaps it was less so that she didn’t believe in soulmates, and more that she was convinced she didn’t have one.
She’d begrudgingly accept that, if it wasn’t for one thing. She’d heard stories of people who were born with the ability to see color, and never seemed interested in finding a significant other. Haru was not one of those people. For years, she was just like most of the population. Everything was viewed in shades of gray.
Then one day she just… saw color. She was watching TV, she didn’t remember exactly what, and suddenly the grays of life were a thing of the past. They never came back, despite the fact that this was an entire 6 years ago.
For a long time, she assumed her ex fiance, Sugimura, was the spark that gave her the ability to see. There was some sort of delayed reaction, because she met him for the first time that same day. She was uncomfortable with the idea of marrying someone so much older than her, and turned on the TV to calm down.
He wasn’t in her life anymore, thank goodness, but it brought up the question of… if it wasn’t him, who was it? She of course blamed her self. Maybe she messed things up with him, and if she’d been more subservient or something, things could have worked out.
Her friends would always insist that wasn’t true, and there had to be another explanation for how she could see color without having a partner. Some theorized that she actually was someone without one, and just didn’t realize it until the day she met Sugimura. The thought was a bit uncomfortable, but made sense.
She had good friends that meant the world to her, but seeing all of them enter relationships while she was still single… it hurt. Others suggested she saw her soulmate on the TV that day. The problem with that was, she was so distracted by her engagement, she wasn’t really processing what she was watching.
So if there were the case, it could really be any famous person. It could be someone who just happened to be on the news for crying out loud. So it didn’t really mean much. If she did have a soulmate, she’d probably never see them again.
It was easier to rationalize that she was broken, than to accept that she missed her only shot. She couldn’t close her eyes back, it just didn’t work that way. Either way, she was destined to be alone apparently.
While Haru wasn’t the biggest idol person, some of her friends like Ryuji and Futaba were. There wasn’t much reason to turn down an invitation from them to go see a performance. If she remembered correctly, Risette was going to be there.
There were others, but that was the biggest name from her understanding. Hopefully that could take her mind off of things. Recently, the last of her friends had found their true love, so it was just on her mind again.
She wished she could just get over it, but it was difficult to work through. Love was just a sore spot for her now, for multiple reasons. Loathe as she was to admit it, there was a twinge of bitterness she felt towards happy couples.
She just wanted to know what made her so different? Why was she supposed to just go through life alone while nearly every other living person got at least someone? She was falling back into her toxic thought patterns. She was here to have fun. She could angst about her love life, or lack thereof, some other time.
After singing and dancing to one of her iconic songs, Risette walked off stage. Haru wondered if she had found someone. It had to be really difficult for idols, given the fact that they weren’t allowed to enter relationships.
“Thank you all for coming! We hope you’re all having fun! Next up is… Kanami Mashita of Kanamin Kitchen!” The announcer exclaimed.
The crowd roared in anticipation, almost as loudly as they did for Risette. She was starting to get a bit overwhelmed. There were so many bright lights and so much loud noise. Perhaps these kind of concerts weren’t for her?
A girl around her age, maybe a year or two her senior, walked on stage in bright orange colors. She had to give her this, she stood out. Just as idols were supposed to she guessed. She smiled and waved at the audience.
“Hi guys! It’s me, your prize cow!”
Haru winced. Was she okay with calling herself that? She knew they were called “Kanamin Kitchen,” but she wasn’t sure if she’d want to be called a cow. Even if it had nothing to do with weight.
She swallowed her discomfort, hoping that it wasn’t showing. She looked around and saw her friends all smiling and giggling amongst themselves. Ryuji in particular was screaming at the top of his lungs, much to Ann’s chagrin. Futaba was being nearly as loud, in spite of how much shyer she was.
“This one goes out to my inspiration… Yuko Osada! She’s no longer with us, but I hope she knows, where ever she is, that she changed my life!”
The crowed roared at Kanamin’s declaration. It was lovely, that someone despite being gone still had an effect on her. Kanami looked through the crowd playfully, before bringing the mic to her mouth, ready to sing.
She began to say the words to some song called “Calystegia.” The lyrics were surprisingly somber for such a relatively peppy beat. Yet, she was making it work.
She strutted across the stage as her admittedly beautiful voice echoed throughout the stadium. It even brought a smile to Haru’s face. That smile didn’t last long though, as Kanami’s looked her way. Just as they made eye contact, the girl tripped over herself, and fell flat on her face.
The crowd gasped, apparently this wasn’t part of the act? Haru looked around confused, and the silence was so over powering, one could hear a pin drop. Kanamin quickly stood back up and started blushing.
“S-shorry! I-I don’t know what came over m-me!”
“She’s so cute!”
“Even her mistakes are so perfect!”
Kanamin took a deep breath, and tried to pick up where she left off. Haru couldn’t help but wonder just what the heck that was about…
“Bro I’m telling you, she looked straight at me!”
“Do we even know that’s what happened?”
“What else could it have been?”
She could have sworn that the blush on her face hadn’t vanished since Kanami fell on stage. There wasn’t much reason for it to. She embarrassed herself on live television. She even lisped! She doubted she’d ever forget that.
Hearing people theorize about why the mistake was made wasn’t helping. So many people thought it was because she saw her soulmate in the audience, and was shocked by the sudden color.
The worst part was, they were right on the money! Now people all around the country were bragging that they were Kanamin’s soulmate. Even people that weren’t in the audience at the time. Had it not been for the fact that she wasn’t completely sure who it was, she may have been in big trouble.
At least, that was the story she gave the higher ups. She knew exactly who she saw. Who they were, and hopefully where she could find them. If she told them that, worst case scenario she’d lose her job, or at least be under tight security.
It was almost immoral how they couldn’t date in a world where one nearly needed to date to see color. As much fun as she had being an idol, she’d be lying if she said it was a perfect life with no downsides.
Of course she had to sneak out to find this Haru Okumura. This was not an opportunity she had any intention of passing up. She didn’t know her personally of course. If she did, she would’ve seen color long ago.
No, but there were few who didn’t know of Haru Okumura. She was the heir to the Okumura foods legacy, but branched out on her own and made a coffee shop. Her fluffy hair made her pretty distinguishable.
All that she had to do was find a local coffee shop, and hopefully she’d find her soulmate. Not a fool proof plan admittedly, but what else could she do? She hoped that Haru was a Tokyo local, and not from some far off place. That wouldn’t make it impossible to find her, but it would make it more difficult.
Soon, she came across the coffee shop hiding the love of her life. Her heart began to race, and her palms began to sweat. She could hear the pounding in her ear drums. She placed her hand on her chest, and took a deep breath. She couldn’t turn back, not after how far she’d come. She just had to do this.
The chime of the door opening spelled her doom. In theory, it wasn’t too late to turn around and run. She wasn’t in her idol garb after all, no one would recognize her. They’d just see a weird boring looking girl being weird.
However, she already resolved to keep moving. To her luck, not only was Haru here, she was working behind the counter! It was surprising to see how humble she was. She was rich, she really didn’t have to do this. It was charming in a way.
Haru smiled gently as she looked up at her. “Hello! How may I help you?”
For someone who read a lot of scripts, it sure was weird that she hadn’t practiced this sooner. She wasn’t sure exactly what to say. She could feel her mouth drying up. The girl tilted her head, clearly confused.
“Um… are you ok-”
“I think you’re my soulmate!” She blurted out.
The two girls blinked, as a blush came on Kanami’s face. The silence lasted a few seconds, but it felt like forever. She was beginning to reconsider whether or not she really “had” to do this. The first sound in what felt like hours was a sigh that escaped her lips.
“Listen… you’re very pretty ma’am, but I’ve done this song and dance before. Many people try and claim to be my soulmate, but they’re always wrong,” She said with a roll of the eyes. “I’m willing to believe you mean no harm, but you’re not my soulmate. I’ve seen color for years, and I’m still single.”
Did… she just call her pretty? Someone… thought she was pretty without all her wig and junk? Wait, that wasn’t what was important. She needed to prove that she wasn’t lying. She wasn’t sure how though… If she’d seen color for years, she must’ve seen her on TV and didn’t realize it.
“Um… Let me start over. I’m… Kanami Mashita. Kanamin! I know I don’t look like her, but I promise! I think I saw you in the crowd, and that’s why I tripped!” She started waving her hands around. “Just… so much color out of no where! I think we locked eyes even!”
Haru put a hand on her hip. She wasn’t buying this at all… “Interesting story… One of the more bizarre ideas a suitor has given me…”
Kanami cleared her throat. “I-if you don’t believe me…”
She started singing Calystegia softly. She didn’t want to bring too much attention to herself, which is why she came so early in the day. Granted, people could imitate her voice, but she couldn’t think of a better way to show that she was telling the truth.
Haru’s eyes widened. She squinted her eyes and leaned forward as Kanami continued. She almost squeaked with anxiety, but she kept going. She soon came to a finish, and instinctively bowed, before coming back up with a blush.
“I… I can see it. Wow you look… so much different on TV. N-not to say you’re not beautiful still! But um… Wow. That… does explain a few things,” A blush crept on her face. “W-well… Sorry for being a bit rude… I just… I’d all but accepted that I was meant to be alone…”
Kanami’s blush deepened. “T-thank you… And it’s okay! I understand! I… thought I’d be alone forever too…” She took a few steps forward. “I… don’t know how this works but… it’s nice to finally meet you Haru.”
Haru giggled before taking her hand. “Well… I don’t know either, but I’m excited to learn! It’s nice to meet you too Nami-chan.”
Kanami quickly pulled her hand back and covered her face. She was not looking very cool or suave in front of her potential wife. “N-nami-chan!?”
Haru frowned. “Oh… Is that… too forward?”
Kanami looked back up. “No… It’s perfect… thank you Haru-chan…”
The two girls giggled, clearly not used to having someone like this in their lives. Kanami always struggled with feeling unlovable, and she had a feeling that Haru had a similar problem. It was a problem that wouldn’t vanish over night, but it was something that they could work through together.