On The Other End (Soukoku Soulmate AU)

Chapter One

From the day you are born a simple red string is tied around your wrist. It leads to the person you are destined to be with, and all the people in this world look forward to the day they meet the person on the other end of their string. Well.. almost everyone.

Osamu thought he might be the only one who never wanted to find out who lies on the opposite end of his.

Nothing in particular happened to make him feel this way. There was no catalyst or event that made him hate the string or distrust its purpose and intention. Because there was no reason it wasn't exactly easy to figure out why he didn't want to.

It's just that people around him looked at people. People around him liked people. The string doesn't care about gender, so the majority of people in this world don't either. Osamu hears guys calling other guys hot, girls calling other girls pretty, and of course the opposite is normal too. Although everyone has a string they still look at the people around them. Looking and appreciating things like attractiveness, allure, physical features, personality quirks, etc.

Osamu doesn't look at people. Men, women, it made no difference. They weren't attractive to him. He never spared a second glance at who others called 'beautiful' and he never noticed when someone was 'handsome'. Personality was important to everyone too. How kind, or sweet, or thoughtful people are to each other was apparently a huge deal.

Perhaps he was dense, because he couldn't tell the difference between someone being nice or being rude to him.

Therefore, it was also hard to tell if he was being nice or rude to others.

While he heard people compliment others on things such as their hair, style, or consideration of others he never noticed things like that to say something positive about.

The rare occasions when he gave people compliments it was on things like their test results or performances in public speaking.

Actions have always gotten his attention more than words or looks.

In school people mostly left him to himself. He had a reputation as the top of the class, and for being cool headed and analytical. Because he didn't pay any mind to others they often saw him as intimidating.

He was alright with that, because he didn't get bothered with classmates asking him his opinions or questions about his personal life.

There was nothing for him to say. He had no definitive outlook on anything. No preferences, no hobbies, and no social life.

Days were spent studying, avoiding people, and zoning out. He couldn't call it daydreaming when there was nothing to think about. There were no dreams to be dreamt.

Too often part of him felt he was better off not being around.

It was sort of pathetic, but he didn't kill himself because he thought it would be unfair to the person on the other end.

They deserved at least an explanation. After they saw how he was incapable of feeling humanness, attraction, and attachment they would see he was better off dead too.

Nothing changed, even when he met his first and only friend. The way he felt about himself and others never wavered, even when that friend died.

Oda was an anomaly if there ever was one. More even than Osamu. He had been born with no string at all.

Once Osamu confessed he was jealous of him for that.

"That's a little unfair, don't you think?" Oda asked him.

"It might be. It's just so hard for me to think of people and be around people and look at people. I feel like the person on the other end is going to be disappointed with me." Osamu admits as he lifts his wrist.