— in which soulmates finally meet

- - -

Yashiro couldn't really tell the difference between morning and evening. It always looked the same: black, dull, and lifeless. Never had she seen anything different from varying of shades black and white.

Ever since Yashiro was born into the world, she had never been able to see colors. There was a curse humans were born with — soulmates, as they called it — and, by default, you aren't able to see colors until you meet the eyes of your soulmate.

But Yashiro doesn't care anymore, because her online best friend made her feel something similar— even if he's not real, even if he's just a stranger (and Yashiro knows he could be someone pretending to be a teenager).

He bloomed her world into a rose-colored fantasy. Everytime she talks (or in this case, texts) to him, she feels her chest getting warmer, and her surroundings suddenly brighten. Even if it's black and white. He made her feel whole.

School was over. Her phone buzzed.

Yashiro picked it up and swiped it open with a love-struck smile. Like she was a middle-schooler falling in love all over again.

Weeks had passed after the Fuji Boyfriend Incident (all caps absolutely necessary), as Hanako called it. Hanako and Yashiro became even closer, if that was possible. You can never see a time where Yashiro isn't rapidly texting in her phone — of course, only when it's a free time.

ToiletBoy-Hanako: afternoon yashiro!! (☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞

Daikon: good afternoon

Daikon: hanako-kun. . .did u change my nickname again????

ToiletBoy-Hanako: (͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) guess

Daikon: (ง'̀-'́)ง it has to do something with my ankles!?!

Daikon: you haven't even seen me irl!!!

Daikon: >:((

ToiletBoy-Hanako: (╥﹏╥)  yeah sadly

ToiletBoy-Hanako: oh c'monn!!! I didn't change the name you put on mine!!

Daikon: hanako-kun, the nickname u put for urself is way worse

ToiletBoy-Hanako: is nooot!!!

Daikon: is toooo!! It was like a preschooler named it

Daikon: who puts their nickname as Toilet Ghost Hanako-san 👻!?!? That's so absurd

ToiletBoy-Hanako: uh yours truly

ToiletBoy-Hanako: m e

Daikon: gross

ToiletBoy-Hanako: r u d e !

ToiletBoy-Hanako set his nickname as Hanako-san²

Hanako-san² set Yashiro_Nene's nickname as MeanDaikon

MeanDaikon: ಠ_ಠ

MeanDaikon: i don't evejksjNhs

"Nene-chan! Nene-chan!"

Yashiro barely even had time to react nor prepare herself, because when Aoi came barreling in the half-empty classroom, she tackled Yashiro down on the ground. Yashiro's yelp was drowned out by Aoi's elated giggles.

Yashiro almost dropped her phone in the process, but she made sure to keep it close to her chest — mostly in fear of breaking her phone and not being able to talk to her online friend anymore. That would be horrible.

Yashiro grunted softly, clutching her head as Aoi frantically apologized. "Ah, no, it's okay, Aoi! That just took me by surprise, that's all!" She put her phone away, ignoring the continuous vibrations coming from it.

Aoi still looked guilty, but when Yashiro asked what's all the ruckus about, it's like Aoi forgot it even happened, because she began rambling. Whatever it is that's got her so hyper, it must be either be something about plants. . .or Akane.

The latter is much more likely.

And just like that, Yashiro spaced out. She didn't mean to, really. But Aoi started babbling on and on and Yashiro's mind drifted away.

She snapped out of her daze, though, when Aoi placed a hand on her shoulder.

". . .and Akane-kun is bringing someone over here!" Aoi giggled, clearly excited, if it wasn't obvious enough that she was shaking with joy. She's been giggling a lot today. "Cool, right?"

What was she talking about again? Panicked, Yashiro replied, "oh, uh, yeah! Who's he bringing?"

Aoi pursued her lips, confused. "Didn't I already say? I don't know. It's a surprise, he told me."

Yashiro blushed in embarrassment. "Ah, yeah. Sorry."

Aoi just smiled, always the sweetheart. "It's okay, Nene-chan! Anyway, Akane-kun is probably on his way right now, so how about we all meet up by the school hall outside?"

Yashiro nodded. "Good idea."

Aoi led Yashiro outside of the classroom, humming a song under her breath. Yashiro grew annoyed by the ringing of her phone and decided to finally answer.

Hanako-san²: i dONT KNOW WHERE HES TAKING ME

Hanako-san²: IM SCARE

Hanako-san²: I lost a bet with him but I didn't know he was going to murder me or something in an empty forest 💀

Hanako-san²: or wORSE A HAUNTED HOUSE

MeanDaikon: You're more scared of a haunted house than getting m u r der e d??

Hanako-san²: i have standards unlike some people

MeanDaikon: i told u abt my failed confession oNE TIMe!! Fuji-kun doesn't count!!

MeanDaikon: your standards sucks

Hanako-san²: are you saying that I made a bad decision to lower my standards for you?

MeanDaikon: i am this 👌close to blocking you

Hanako-san²: no wait im sorry

Hanako-san²: OH WE'RE IN FRONT OF A SCHOOL

"Nene-chan, that's Akane-kun and his friend by the gate!" Aoi gushed, a hand on her cheek, almost resembling a fan girl seeing her idols out in the streets.

Yashiro laughed a bit. "Ao-chan, why are you so excited? You saw Akane-kun earlier; you see Akane-kun everyday."

Aoi's cheeks flushed. "It's not about that! Of course I'm always happy to see Akane-kun, but this is the first time he's introducing us to a friend he made long ago."

Yashiro still had a sly smirk on her face, but also just nodded in understanding.

Even from afar, Akane furiously waved his arms around to catch Aoi's attention, though, it's stupid because the said girl's attention is all on him. They waved at each other.

Yashiro, though, her attention was on the boy beside Akane, who was typing on his phone like there was no tomorrow. Is he okay?

Akane flicked the boy on the ear, causing the poor boy to yelp and fumble with his phone. The two boys then turned to the two girls, but the boy with choppy black hair had his eyes on the ground — maybe he had a problem with providing eye contact?

"Ao-chan!" Akane greeted with a huge smile.

Aoi laughed at his silly antics. "Akane-kun." Both her and Yashiro turned to the flustered boy. "This is your friend?"

Akane nodded. "Yeah. Go on. Introduce yourself." He sounded like a parent encouraging his son to go out and make friends. But then again, that's pretty much what he's also doing.

The boy cocked a brow at him, before he whipped his head back at the girls, fidgeting with his fingers. "Uh, hi. I'm Yugi Amane. You can call me Amane."

Akane nudged Amane. "You okay?"

"Shut up!" Amane hissed at him quietly. "I didn't know the surprise was introducing me to girls." Akane snorted at that.

Aoi beamed, obviously pleased with their interaction. For some reason. "For how long have you been friends with Akane-kun?"

"About a year, I guess?" Amane shrugged. "I'm not really sure."

Yashiro stood silent, gulping when Amane's eyes trailed on her legs, fixated on her ankles. She suddenly felt shy and insecure about it. Yashiro looked away.

Geez, I get that it's peculiar, but it's not like you need to ogle at it so openly and. . . curiously.

"My name is Aoi! Just call me Aoi, please. It might get confusing if you also call me Akane." Aoi laughed. Amane nodded as Akane barked out a laugh.

Akane then cleared his throat, and pointed at the school. "I forgot something. Mind if I leave you a bit?" He asked. "It will take, like, a minute or two. Or something." He eyed Aoi.

Amane smiled at him. "It's fine."

Aoi raised her hand when Akane stared at her. "Oh! Right! Akane-kun! Can I come with?" Something about the way she said it. . .almost felt like it was scripted, in a way?

"Sure!"

And they walked away to the sunset like newly-weds. Leaving the two (who literally just met, Yashiro thought). Together.

Alone.

Yashiro still avoided eye contact, kind of bitter that even a complete stranger like him would drive his attention straight to her ankles.

Amane cleared his throat. "You. . .kind of remind me of someone," he said out of the blue.

Yashiro crossed her arms, but still didn't look at him. She absolutely refused to. "Why's that?" Her face was burning in embarrassment.

"You remind me of a radish." He looked away sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

Yashiro gaped at him. "Because of my ankles?! It's because of my ankles, right?" She wanted to cry.

Amane chuckled, but his eyes were focused on his phone. "You must get that a lot." He picked up his phone and began typing.

Yashiro felt her phone vibrate at the same time.

Hanako-san²: lololol you're spreading your genes, huh?

MeanDaikon: what are u talking about?

Hanako-san²: i saw a girl with fat ankles

Hanako-san²: she's cute though

MeanDaikon: i swear hanako-kun when i see you face-to-face I'm going to give you the most painful uppercut

Hanako-san²: with your ankles?

MeanDaikon: JshjJJJJDJSKSJDJEIDJDN

Amane laughed, startling Yashiro a bit. It was then she realized he existed, and was also talking to someone. He began typing again.

Yashiro's phone vibrated.

No, it can't be. . .

Hanako-san²: Lmao you okay?

Yashiro cautiously typed something in her phone, all the while watching Amane curiously.

MeanDaikon: im never okay when i talk to u

And her suspicions were confirmed when Amane snickered. A wide smile grew on her face. She began marching over to Amane, each step getting harsher and harsher. Amane looked up and they met each other's eyes.

Finally.

Yashiro felt like her whole world stop when she stared at those golden eyes. It almost looked familiar. Her heart skipped a beat. Amane's breath seem to have been caught in his throat, as he stared at Yashiro with wide eyes. He couldn't utter a single word.

Behind Amane, the sun had gone down, causing the surroundings to turn dim. They hadn't even realized afternoon was about to finish. Who can blame them. They suddenly met each other, and not to mention they're soulmates!

Amane's eyes though, they were glowing — it was bright, a huge contrast to their surroundings. And suddenly Yashiro felt like she knew the difference between morning and evening just by looking at Amane's eyes.

It was all romantic and breathtaking.

Until Yashiro gave Amane a good, hard smack on the head.

"Wh— ow!" Amane whined, holding his head. He stared at Yashiro with disbelief. Yashiro expected that. After all, how else would you react when you meet your soulmate for the first time, and they suddenly hit you?

"Your name is not even Hanako!" Yashiro huffed.

"What do you— how did you—" Amane fretted, losing ability to form a coherent sentence with how bewildered he is. Poor boy.

"My name is Yashiro Nene, your online friend and soulmate!" She confidently declared, her grin back on her face again.

"Yashiro!?"

The said girl didn't know why she suddenly started crying, but there was no stopping her then. Maybe it was because they finally met after all the drama. Maybe it was because they finally learned who their soulmate is. Or maybe it's because Yashiro heard her name fall from Amane's lips for the first time — yet, all of those seemed to be the reason.

Yashiro tackled Amane into a hug, sobbing. "Hanako-kun. . ." She shook her head. "No, Amane-kun. . ."

Amane breathed out a laugh, wrapping his arms around Yashiro's shoulder. When Yashiro pulled away, she realized that Amane was also tearing up. "This isn't a dream, right? You're here. You're real, and you're standing right in front of me." He cupped Yashiro's cheeks, making the girl sniffle and smile. "Oh God. . ."

Yashiro was completely raptured in overwhelming emotions. She didn't care about the weird stares they receive — who are they to ruin such a moment, anyway?

Amane pulled away, albeit reluctantly. He flashed her the widest smile she had ever seen. "W-Well, Yashiro. . .now that we're literally face-to-face."

Yashiro frowned a bit when Amane flushed red.

"Yashiro. . .I really like you," Amane confessed. "And even though all of our interactions were through texts, you've made me happy. We went through a lot, didn't we?" Yashiro couldn't help but snort. "But I'm happy it all happened, because we wouldn't be right here together right now."

"Amane-kun, you're so cheesy."

"Shut up, Yashiro. Work with me here," he grumbled, but his face was still red. It probably ached with all the smiling. "So. . . would you go—"

"Yes." Yashiro grinned. "I would love to, Amane-kun."

A grin broke across Amane's face. "Great."