Your hands pushed open the door, allowing a small bell to chime throughout the small bookstore. The smell of ink and old pages wafted throughout the area as shelves stood tall displaying an arrange of books. Some leather-bound, others decorative and ornate, and lastly the modern ones that everyone seemed to have in their personal library. You adjusted your back, dazzled by the atmosphere around you.

The dark wood beneath you creaked, sauntering into the establishment, an unconscious smile displayed on your face. You entered one of the rows, grabbing a random book that caught your eye. You gently titled the spine downwards, holding it in your grasp. As you opened the cover, a traditional drawing was greeted to you—a Japanese woman adorned in a pure red kimono. Each stroke was precise, as the artist wished it to be. You wondered if the drawing was based on one of the characters in the story or based on the artist's life. Antique books were always so interesting to you no matter where the region was.

You flipped the page, a hand immediately tensing up as you felt a sudden pain on your fingertips. Your grip on the book slipped as it fell onto the ground, a loud echo rumbled signaling your clumsiness. You furrowed your eyebrows, upset at your clumsiness, as you pressed your fingers together to try to stop the beads of red beginning to appear.

"Are you okay?" a voice called out to you. You looked up to see a wide-eyed boy gazing at your form. His small lamp illuminated his pine-stained curly hair, weaving all across his head. The man's emerald eyes were filled with worry, it appeared not to be for the antique book you had just dropped but for your well being. The man took off his glasses placing it down on the desk he was at and quickly glided over to you. You had to blink a few times processing the situation that you had created for yourself.

"Y-Yes! I'm sorry for disturbing you! I didn't mean to drop the book. If I messed it up, I'll definitely pay for it!" you stammered out. The man chuckled slightly, his cheek showing off the freckles littered on his sun-kissed skin.

"No! I don't care about the book at all. You seemed frazzled so I wanted to make sure you weren't hurt or anything," the man replied. He leaned down, grabbing the book from the ground, and rose to his original position, offering the book to you. Your cheeks felt as if they were burning.

As you mistakenly opened up your injured finger, you noticed the man beginning to frown. The smile completely washed away from his face, worry and disappointment settling into its stead.

"You did get hurt after all..." he mumbled. His large palm tenderly wrapped around your wrist, guiding you over to his desk. Reaching out under the space, he received bandages. With careful fingers, the man wrapped your finger with gauze.

"Be sure to sanitize it as soon as possible. I didn't have anything to use. I'm sorry about that," he murmured, eyes half-lidded as if he was upset with himself. A small laugh escaped your lips.

"I didn't think I would be tended to in a bookstore of all places today," you joked outwardly. The man's cheeks burned—tinting a rosy hue— as his eyes darted from your form clearly flustered from your statement.

"W-Well. I don't like people getting hurt. I always take the opportunity to help as many people as I can," he replied. Your eyes softened at his figure.

"There need to be more people like you honestly. What's your name, by the way, I never caught it," you asked. The man rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Midoriya. Izuku Midoriya. I'm the shop owner of this establishment," he answered. The smile on your face manifested itself into a grin, your eyes beginning to sparkle.

"It's nice to meet you! I'm (Y/n)! But, wow! Do you really own all of these? That's incredible!" you yelled out. Midoriya laughed at your excited reaction nodding his head. He turned his head, gazing at the accumulation of books he had around.

"Yeah. I always enjoyed reading. As a kid, I'd always use them as a means to escape and dive into the world the author laid out. Honestly, I think that part hasn't changed," Midoriya murmured. You looked down, fingers tapping on the wooden desk.

"I can relate to that too..." you admitted. Midoriya hummed momentarily before returning his gaze to you.

"So, what brought you to my shop today! Is there anything I can particularly help you with?" he asked. You looked back up to him.

"Yes actually. This was actually the place I am supposed to meet my soulmate. To think they'd love my hobby of literature..." you chuckled. Midoriya's face lit up in joy.

"Your soulmate! That's amazing. I'm so happy for you. It's funny because I'm supposed to meet my soulmate here as well soon. I didn't expect an unknown bookstore to be etched on my watch when I turned 18 only to collect books and buy this place," Midoriya responded. You laughed at his story.

"Life's funny, huh? What time are you exactly meeting them today?" Midoriya asked. You looked at your watch, the smile on your face etching into confusion. Typically, the watch was always accurate to the dot. It would have been 2:00 in the afternoon, the bright blue skin reflected in the window reminding you of that.

"That's odd... For some reason, it's saying 12:00? That can't be right. I left my home around that time..." you mumbled, narrowing at the watch. You began to poke at it, worried the batteries after all these years had managed to malfunction. You heard Midoriya gasp as well.

"What?! My watch is saying the same thing?" Midoriya grumbled in confusion. You briefly looked at him before focusing your attention on the window once more. As you were deep in your thoughts trying to figure out this phenomenon, your eyes widened.

"...W-What's wrong?" Midoriya asked, watching you walk closer to the door. You opened the door again, the bell chiming once more. Confused by your behavior, Midoriya ran out to see you standing on the sidewalk. His own eyes widened standing beside you.

The whole world around you seemed to be frozen in action. It's as if people walking across the busy sidewalks were mannequins—stopped in motion and posing for you. The cars were stopped even though the green lights remained on. Even the birds in the sky were frozen mid-flight.

"What's happening..." you whispered out, turning your head to Midoriya in disbelief. Midoriya closed his eyes momentarily—fear melting away.

"...I think our meeting may not be a coincidence after all..." Midoriya replied. His gaze delicately looking into your eyes. You have read of different couples dealing with odd cases when they first met one another. Historically, people thought it was different Gods and spirits blessing their interactions with one another. Even your own parents couldn't explain the phenomenon accurately to you.

Only one thing could have done this, one culprit capable of it all...

"...Soulmates...You're my soulmate, Midoriya," you mumbled out, before giggling. A soft laugh escaped Midoriya as well as he weaved his hand with yours. It appeared he was in disbelief about the situation as well. Just as the two of you touched, the world around you returned to normal—the crowds chattering, machinery rumbling, and the world around you filled with life.

After all, they say when you're in love, time has a funny way of stopping.