It was summer time, finally a break for the two girls. Sana had woken up one morning, a sudden pain in her chest. She winced, ignoring it at first, until she got to the kitchen. She clutched onto her chest, collapsing on the ground letting out a loud cry. Her parents rushed into the kitchen, immediately tending to their daughter.
They sat in the waiting room of the urgent care, Sana holding onto her mother's arm while they waited to be seen.
When they were finally in the exam room, he doctors ran all sorts of tests. Nothing coming to answers until a nurse noticed a rash appearing on her back.
"How long has that been there?" She asked Sana.
"I don't know... I never noticed it.." Sana frowned. The nurse touched the rash, seeing the skin slowly flaking off of her body.
"Oh no.." She whispered.
A set of new doctors came in, performing new tests and taking the flaked skin to be sampled. When the results came back, Sana was heartbroken.
"When did you meet your soulmate?" The doctor asked.
"A few months ago." Sana answered truthfully.
"And what all has happened?" He frowned.
"Nothing. I met her at school, we talk everyday, I helped her with her school work.. and I've been helping her look at colleges..." Sana explained. The doctor took the notes down, nodding as she continued.
"I'm going to refer you to a specialist. What is going on is you are losing the skin layer that ties you to your soulmate." He sighed. "We aren't entirely sure how this happens unfortunately... But it is very painful."
Sana sat in her room as her mother helped her put the soothing cream on her back. Tears ran down her cheeks. It had been a week. Her vision was slowly losing color on top of her skin peeling itself off her body.
"It's going to sting a bit.." her mother sighed.
"I know.." Sana sniffed.
"Have you talked to her?" Her mother asked. Sana shook her head. "You should... The poor thing is probably going through the same thing."
Momo stood in the kitchen with her mom. Both of them cooking various things for lunch.
"What about this?" Momo smiled at her mom while holding up the bowl.
"Looks and smells perfect." Her mother smiled at her. Momo snapped a picture of her food, sending it Sana.
Momo: look what I made!
It took a while for Sana to respond, an emoji this time. Momo tilted her head, wondering why she didn't respond her usual way.
That night Momo video called her, Sana answered after many rings. Despite it being summer, she had on a turtleneck.
"Isn't it a bit hot for that?" Momo chuckled.
"Nah." Sana forced a smile.
"What's wrong?" Momo frowned. Sana shook her head, not knowing how to tell her. "Are you sick?"
"Yeah.. Really sick." Sana sighed.
Sana stared at the screen, her vision was pale. She felt horrible for not being able to see what colors were anymore. If she could, they were faint, pale versions of the vibrant colors. She was curious if Momo had on a blue tank top or a black one, but she couldn't tell.
"Do you need me to bring you anything?" Momo asked.
"No, I'm okay." Sana whispered.
Their chat didn't last long. Sana claiming she was exhausted. When the call ended, she let out a small cry, looking at the pill bottle sitting on her desk. She picked it up, deciding to search the name online.
"Slows the process of soulmate peeling. Helps retain feelings.." Sana mumbled as she read through the list of reasons for the medicine. She clicked on various links, anything to help her. "Soulmate peeling.." she clicked on the medical page and let out a sigh.
"Soulmate peeling is when one person starts to peel their outer layer. The outer layer is the skin that is connected to the soulmate. If the soulmate does not begin the same process, they are still tied to the one peeling.
From multiple experiences expressed to us, the victims of this peeling were able to reconnect later in life. However when reconnecting with the peeled soulmate, it is just as painful or worse than peeling.
Some victims who have finished their peeling will experience the following:
Emotional numbness
Appetite loss
Mood swings
Color blindness
Depression
Compromised immunity
Overheating
Sana frowned as she read through the list. It was going to be a long summer...
Momo stared at the bus schedule on her phone. She stood at the bus stop near her house, waiting. Her mom and sister were working so she was left home alone. She had her bag full of snacks and things to give Sana when she arrived.
It took over an hour for her to get to Sana's house. Walking up to the door and ringing the bell, she couldn't help but think of what Sana had.
"Oh. Momo." Sana's mother spoke when she opened the door.
"Hi Mrs. Minatozaki. I heard Sana was sick." She frowned. "I brought her things to make her feel better." She smiled.
"Oh. Come in. Come in." Momo stepped into the rather large house, it wasn't her first time but she was still in awe with how extravagant it was. "Let me see if she's awake."
Momo watched as she went up the stairs, it wasn't long before she heard shouting. Sana raising her voice at her mother she frowned at the sudden emotion but saw her mother at the top of the stairs.
"She's awake. You can see her." She sighed. Momo nodded, this time afraid of what was to come.
YOU ARE READING
Skin Deep
FanfictionSoulmate AU Momo would constantly draw on herself in high school, causing her soulmate to have to cover every little piece of bare skin so no one could see at such a young age that she was already bound to someone. When the two finally meet, it was...
