SOULMATES [My Hero Academia]

Skin and Ink - Tamaki Amajiki - Part One

-

Tamaki couldn't remember the first time he'd noticed the ink on his skin, growing, spreading, flowing as if a ghost was tracing over his forearm with an invisible pen. As a child, he'd been worried that the lines were permanent until he went to sleep and woke up with clean skin, everything erased like nothing had been there in the first place. He also couldn't remember the first time someone explained to him what it all meant - that he had a soulmate.

His parents were soulmates. Some of his friends had found theirs by using this strange phenomenon to their advantage, leaving clues and drawing directions on their arms and hands, taking pictures of the doodles and posting them online, asking for the internet's help to find soulmates across the world. Everyone seemed like they were in such a hurry to find their soulmate; Just knowing that his soulmate existed terrified Tamaki.

At first he let them write - he never wrote back. He was too terrified of saying something wrong, of his illegible handwriting, of letting them down. And besides, he liked watching them doodle flowers and butterflies and hearts up and down his arms, leaving themselves notes about homework or reminders about train delays. But as they grew up, the drawings grew more detailed. Shading, stippling, people, landscapes, animals... and the writing got more deep, more personal. Poetry, prose, lists of bills and bullies and things to avoid saying in front of their 'friends'.

One day, Tamaki woke up to a miniaturized version of Starry Night on his left thigh, Sunflowers on the other. The paint still looked wet, strokes messy and neat all at once, but when Tamaki tried to touch them, the paint shimmered though his fingers like a hologram, like a mirage.

Finally, Tamaki gathered the courage to write back.

My name is Tamaki. Short, simple, and his heart broke into a sprint anyway. He waited for them to write back, black pen trembling in his fingers as he stared as his pale forearm, uniform sleeve rolled up to his elbow.

"Just give them a second to notice," his best friend Mirio encouraged, patting Tamaki's shoulder, "They'll write back." They sat outside during lunch, snacking and waiting.

Their friend Nejire bounded up and took a seat beside her friends. "Anything yet?" She chewed on a peach and swung her legs, excited for Tamaki.

"Not yet," Mirio answered, "But they will."

-

"Dude, you've got something on your arm," Kirishima pointed across the lunch table. I looked down where he'd pointed, confused, and dropped my apple, splashing my food all over myself and Kirishima.

I jumped to stand and began wiping the both of us off, apologizing profusely. "I'm sorry, Kiri," I said, dabbing at his shirt with a wet napkin, "I didn't- I just- I'm so sorry."

"Are you okay? What happened?" He raised his eyebrow and grabbed my shoulders, holding me still. "You're clumsy, sure, but not like this."

"What'd you do?" Bakugo said, rounding the corner to sit at our table, eyeing the two of us. "Why's there shit all over the table?" Kirishima released me, and we began to wipe down the table, his eyes flitting to me every so often, reminding me that he remembered I hadn't answered his questions.

Sero, Kaminari, and Mina followed closely behind, seating themselves and helping me tidy. "I-I'm so sorry, you guys," I stammered, "I got startled and dropped my apple into my soup."

"What startled you?" Mina asked, slurping her strawberry milk and smirking.

I grimaced, and I pulled my sleeve up. "My soulmate finally wrote back."

Mina screeched - I think in excitement - and fished around in her bag, producing a red pen. "Write back! Write back!" She grinned, waving the pen in my face. I glanced at my other friends, half of whom had already found their soulmates, and judging from the looks on their faces... it didn't seem like I really had a choice.

-

"Something's coming through!" Nejire exclaimed, pointing over Tamaki's shoulder at his opposite arm. The three of them watched with bated breath as red ink appeared, looping and jolting in careful handwriting.

Nice to finally speak with you, Tamaki.

Mouth dry, Tamaki was thankful that their first conversation wasn't face to face. He raised the pen, ready to write, when Mirio stopped him. "What are you going to write?" Mirio asked.

Tamaki frowned and looked from his arm to his friends. "Just that I'm excited to speak with them too. Should I not?" His heart was already pounding in his ears, and his friends' watchful eyes weren't helping.

"Let him be himself, Mirio," Nejire scolded, playfully smacking Mirio's shoulder. "I think that sounds great, Tamaki." She gave him what she hoped was a supportive smile.

More nervous than before, Tamaki turned away from his friends and wrote something hastily on his arm, trying to keep his hand steady enough that the message was legible. Nice to talk to you too. Can I ask for your name?

"What'd you say? What'd you say?" Nejire asked, bouncing up and down. He showed her his arm, and she squealed, clutching her heart. "Ugh, I can't wait to find my soulmate. This is too cute."

Cheeks bright, Tamaki ducked his head and kept his eyes trained on his arm. The waiting was the worst part. Finally, red letters stuttered through, along with some doodled flowers: You can ask, but I may not answer. I went a long time thinking that you didn't exist, Tamaki...

His heart plummeted to the center of the earth. How was it possible that he'd already screwed up? Groaning, Tamaki chewed on his pen and stared at his soulmate's words, trying to think of a way to explain himself.

Mirio and Nejire peered over his shoulder, catching a glimpse of what had been written back, and shot each other a concerned glance.

I was scared that you wouldn't like me once we started talking. Tamaki wrote, That you'd wish you'd gotten someone else for a soulmate. That I'd disappoint you. He sighed. And waited. And worried.

-

"What?" I gasped, holding up my arm for Kirishima, Kaminari, Sero, and Mina to see. They read it and looked up at me with similar confused faces. "How could he think that before we've ever even talked?" I said. They were counseling me through the soulmate conversation, pitching in useful advice when I needed it. Bakugo was angrily eating his chicken strips nearby, grumbling about how I'd stolen his soulmate for lunch.

He could spare Kirishima for half an hour, right?

"Maybe he was scared," Kaminari suggested, "I mean, I was. There's so much you don't know about this person that you potentially spend the rest of your life with." He glanced across the cafeteria to another table, where his soulmate, Shinso, ate lunch with his friends. As if he could sense Kaminari's eyes on him, Shinso looked up and over at us, smirking when he caught his boyfriend's gaze.

I nodded and tapped Mina's pen on my teeth. "You're right. I didn't think of that," I said, "I just thought everyone was excited about having a soulmate, and I was devastated when I didn't." I sighed and ran a frustrated hand through my hair before scribbling back a response.

Maybe we should meet for coffee and talk the whole thing through. My treat?

I waited, chewing on Mina's pen cap. "Sorry," I grimaced, realizing what I'd done. "I owe you a new red pen." She shook her head and pointed at my arm, more excited than I'd seen her all day.

Okay. When and where?

"Oh my god," I said, covering my mouth, "He said yes."

My friends grinned at me from across the lunch table, and Kirishima said, "Looks like someone has a date with their soulmate." 

-

[When one soulmate writes something on their skin, it shows up on the other's too. Courtesy of let-gavin-free on tumblr.]

A/N: reformatted on 08/03/2020. Hopefully it's easier to read now. :)