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When Lumine was seven years old, she used to love fairytales and beg her mom to read them before bed. She would lay down on her bed hugging her favorite plushie ㅡ a white rabbit with fluffy pink ears ㅡ, and listen in delight to all those stories about princesses who met their true love in an adventure.
The whole concept fascinated Lumine and made her heart beat faster inside her chest, so when her mother told her that true love really existed she was overjoyed.
“When God created us, our souls were divided in two pieces,” Her mother told her, voice full of mystery. “This is what we call soulmates, Lumine, and in this life we’re all searching for it.”
The little girl listened carefully, eyes as big as the moon shining outside. Her twin brother was already sleeping next to her, too tired to pay attention to their mother’s fairytale.
“How do we find them, mom?”
Her mother smiles and grabs her hands affectionately, turning her palm up and brushing her fingers on her pale wrist.
“Soon you’ll be old enough for God to help you,” She says, tracing an invisible number on her skin. “When the time comes, you’ll see numbers on your wrist and then-”
“Then I’ll finally meet my soulmate!” The girl interrupts her mother in excitement, making her laugh in delight.
“Yes, my darling, you will. Until then, your soulmate will wait for you.”
She remembers the conversation all too well, the feeling of falling in love with the concept of love itself. If she closes her eyes, Lumine could still see the room she used to share with her brother, the yellow walls with blue stars painted carefully by her mother’s hand and all the plushies she used to have. She remembers how it feels to be hopeful, the tingling sensation in the back of her neck when she thought about having someone out there who’s part of her soul.
Yet, it’s been sixteen years since that conversation. The numbers did show up on her wrist as her mother said they would, but as the world continued to turn and move on, Lumine's tattoo remained the same.
##
The wind ruffled Lumine's hair and brought her the scent of cherry blossoms, making her close her eyes for a minute and take a deep breath. She can hear a few children laughing and running around the park while playing tag, yet the day is peaceful enough for Lumine to feel her body relaxing while all her problems melted somewhere far away. Honestly, it shouldn’t be a hard task, closing her eyes and pretending she’s fine, not after years doing so, but today is not like other days. Today something else changed.
“Here’s your drink.”
Lumine hears her brother’s voice, feeling a cold can touching her cheeks afterwards which makes her open her eyes. “Thank you.”
She watches in silence as Aether sits down next to her, trying his best to avoid messing with their picnic towel as he does so. When he’s finally comfortable enough to turn around and look at her, Lumine tries her best to busy herself opening her drink and taking a sip, even though not even the sweetness of the soda is enough to take the bitter taste out of her mouth. But Lumine can pretend.
“Don't you think that this year the cherry trees are less beautiful?” Aether asks her, a sigh leaving his mouth as he looks around. The park is overflowing with flowers, pink and white painting a breathtaking scenery that Lumine is not excited enough to appreciate. “They used to be more colorful.”
That makes Lumine laugh, turning around to look at her brother she replies: “They’re always the same color, always the same brightness.”
He doesn’t look convinced, but keeps quite only drinking his juice. Lumine pretends to be annoyed rolling her eyes at him, a smile stretching her lips as she lies because, to be honest, she doesn’t care about the cherry blossoms this year. Having a picnic with her twin brother every year under the same tree was a childhood ritual they still had twelve years later. Every year as April approached, Lumine would run excitedly through the house to drag Aether with her to watch the cherry blossoms bloom. It was something special that the two of them had and she always looked forward to it.
Still, Aether was right: this year something changed.
It wasn’t the flowers, though, they still looked as beautiful as ever. A few petals flying around and swirling in the wind to rest on the top of their heads, a small and fragile memory. It wasn't the company either, for Aether was there beside Lumine as usual, the picnic basket resting in the space between them on top of the checkered tablecloth they'd been using for years. However, when she looked at him ㅡ more specifically at his wrist ㅡ he wasn’t the same person anymore.
There, on the softness of his skin where he used to pretend the numbers never changed, there’s now a zero.
Aether had met his soulmate, he just didn’t bother to share it with her.
Sensing the heaviness of the silence between them, Aether bites his lower lip and looks around as if he’s searching for something to say, seeking the right words to tell her so maybe the lie would hurt less. Easing the pain that it’s making Lumine scratch the stupid numbers on her wrist everytime she sees them.
“I just…” He starts with his voice low, almost timid. It’s enough to make Lumine bite the inside of her cheeks, feeling small and pathetic for being upset about something they both have no control over. Something that makes her want to scream in jealousy. “I guess I didn’t want to hurt you.”
She tries her best not to laugh bitterly because, even though she’s mad, it’s not Aether’s fault. Not really. It’s not his fault his twin sister was born broken, beyond repair. The soulmates system was something that made all fairy tales easier to exist, and in a way, Lumine was glad that Aether could find his at last. His countdown was zero, he would be happy.
So she swallows her pain and forces a smile.
“It’s not your fault that I was born like this.” It’s all Lumine replies, staring at her wrist where six zeros stare back at her in mockery.
##
The first time her mother saw the numbers on her wrist, she screamed.
Surprise or perhaps fear, Lumine didn’t know for sure. Yet she still remembered her mother’s eyes trying to understand the tattoo on her skin, calling her father moments after to say they needed to take their sweet daughter to a doctor. Unfortunately, even this did not prove useful as even after several examinations the cause seemed beyond understanding, especially when Aether numbers were normal . A beautiful countdown showing how many years, days and minutes it would take for him to meet his soulmate.
While her brother had a fixed date in the future, all Lumine had was a bunch of zeros and pitiful smiles.
The day after her parents realized there’s nothing they could do to help her, Lumine felt miserable enough to spend the whole afternoon in bed, not even leaving her room for dinner. And that was when something else happened: a dream.
At that time, she still didn't know that this wouldn't be the first dream she'd had like this one, so part of her felt sad for not remembering the details so clearly besides the feeling of comfort that filled Lumine's heart completely. The first time she had this dream it was too blurry, but she could hear a soft voice calling her name with so much tenderness that Lumine felt her body melting. All her twisted feelings floating away and disappearing in the air.
Before opening her eyes again, Lumine remembered seeing a girl in the mix of scenes.
She had bright icy blue eyes, gentleness swimming in them as she held a brush and painted a scenery. Her long hair was tied in a ponytail that the wind insisted on trying to undo, but the girl remained impeccable in a kind of elegance that Lumine would never be able to achieve. She was probably the prettiest person Lumine had ever seen.
The next day she woke up feeling a strange mixture of yearning, comfort and happiness. Rolling around the bed to discover in surprise that she was crying in her sleep, tears soaking the pillow where she used to lay her head. In her chest, she felt her heart tighten in desire to return to the dream that was slowly slipping from her mind, the images being erased as Lumine felt more awake.
She never told anyone about it, not even her brother, but at the time Lumine felt like a part of her was taken away. A piece she didn’t even know was there in the first place, something precious that Lumine used to hold close to her heart.
From that day on, however, dreams about the girl became frequent. Every time Lumine felt the world around her collapse, her chest tightening with its weight, she would dream of a garden full of sakura flowers and the beautiful girl in the middle of it. The more Lumine dreamed of her, the more clearly her features would turn: the way her nose was small and slightly upturned, her hands thin and delicate. She was like one of the princesses in Lumine’s mother stories.
Somehow, among all the loneliness Lumine felt, that familiar dream became her safest place.
If reality would bring her sad smiles, half words of forgiveness she didn't want to hear, the fantasy world of Lumine's mind offered a place where she could sit next to a girl who said her name with affection. Taking her into her arms to stroke her hair and call out to her, filling in the gaps reality caused.
So, when Aether found his soulmate, Lumine couldn’t help but think about it. She was daydreaming of a love story since she was twelve, fulfilling her own desires with a fantasy just because the truth was too painful to bear it alone. Yet, Lumine felt jealous of her twin brother. If they were born alike why would this be different? Why would he be destined for anyone when the only thing waiting for Lumine was emptiness? It wasn’t fair with either of them.
Still his numbers were normal .
Even though for some time Aether tried to pretend to be like her, jumping in her darkness and solitude so Lumine would feel less alone. He attempted to be someone he wasn’t, giving her all the love he could, although it wasn’t enough ㅡ and never would be ㅡ, not when Lumine was missing pieces so the love he gives her somehow always runs out through the holes. And now his time had come, Aether found the lost part of his soul and Lumine couldn’t deny him that when she already made him give up so many things.
She has to let him ㅡ the last part of her ㅡ go.
And, perhaps, this is the last thing Lumine will ever have to let go. As she throws herself in the bed that night after the festival, she prays ㅡ begs ㅡ for it to be because there is no longer any part within her for disappointment. And during the seconds it takes Lumine to fall asleep, she can't help but feel disgusted with herself by the envy and jealousy of Aether getting something he never cared about, but which means everything to her.
When she finally sleeps, the girl calls to her in a sweet voice that makes Lumine’s heart ache, craving for something that wasn’t hers to take.
##
The week passes like a flash before Lumine's eyes and, when she realizes, it’s already Saturday again. In her hurt and confusion, the last days didn’t look real at all, especially when she was too busy avoiding Aether ㅡ and all her family by that matter ㅡ so she wouldn’t let her jealousy spill out of her lips. It proves to be a hard task, not only because it’s uncommon for them to be away from each other, but also because everywhere Lumine looks she sees her brother trying to reach out.
Trying to make her less lonely in a world that already decided her fate.
She doesn’t try to meet Aether’s soulmate too, even though her mother arranged a family lunch especially for it. A beautiful celebration so her brother can introduce the person the universe reserved for him, an occasion that, no matter how selfish, Lumine just can’t bring herself to attend.
That’s why she’s now seeking comfort in the beautiful scenery of sakura trees and birds, walking around the park with nowhere to go feeling every kind of stupid. Deep inside Lumine knows she’s behaving like a spoiled child, making a fuss about something that it’s no one’s fault, yet the feeling is too strong for her to do what everyone expects her to. It makes her chest tight and the air thin, too much anxiety making Lumine tremble as she walks trying to hold back her tears.
Surprisingly, today the park is almost empty today, which feels both relaxing and even worse. Now that only a few tourists stroll around, trying to get a hundred pictures of each cherry blossom tree, Lumine feels that all her thoughts are too loud for her own liking. The numbers on her wrist are too bright, making her shiver even though it’s a nice day today, the hem of her dress bouncing with every step she takes.
When Lumine finally finds a nice spot between the trees, she sits on the grass and lets out a sigh, feeling as if all the panic and fear she’s been holding the last few days goes out with it. It’s strange to be alone after so many years surrounding herself with her family, but now Lumine knows she’ll have to learn how to live less dependent on her brother, it’s the least she can do for him.
She’ll be alright.
The time seems to pass slowly now that she’s finally away from home, thinking about how to act and apologize to Aether. Gently as Lumine let her thoughts drift, she twirled a bracelet she wore on her left wrist, just above the numbers tattooed on her skin. The jewel was delicate and made of gold, a gift from her mother shortly after Lumine's soulmate mark appeared, she remembered her words to this day: ‘This has been in our family for as long as I can remember, my mother used to say it was magical. So, even if it’s just a little, perhaps it can rub some magic in you and change your fate.’
Even though Lumine prayed a lot for the bracelet to help her, it never did.
So, now, as she plays with her bracelet pendant ㅡ a small crest that resembles a camellia ㅡ, Lumine wants to laugh. “If you really were magical, you would have changed my numbers by now, wouldn't you? Or maybe I'm a hopeless case even for magic.”
She whispers the words to the wind with a bitter laugh, too tired to care how insane she must look to anyone passing by.
However, suddenly Lumine’s laugh gets stuck on her throat and a surprise noise leaves instead, her eyes bulging because whatever is happening right now it’s not real. Can’t be real .
Resting against her skin, the small pendant is glowing in a blue light. It's not strong, but it's like a light of energy as delicate and powerful as the jewel itself, making Lumine's surprise mingle with strange curiosity and wonder. And, before she has time to process what it’s happening, the world around her turns to white and forces Lumine to close her eyes, a strong wind shaking her short hair violently. Somehow it seems like the grass she’s sitting on is crumbling, yet Lumine doesn’t feel like falling, only like she’s moving too fast to properly feel her body on the ground.
At the same time all of this comes too fast and from nowhere, it vanishes.
But, when Lumine opens her eyes again, the sakura trees around her are somewhat different. Their shade of pink is too intense, a few strays of purple tinting them in a way she’s never seen before. The grass underneath her it's thicker, greener , than the one she remembers from the park and somehow Lumine feels nostalgic as she touches it with her fingertips. It's almost like she's been there before.
Standing up, Lumine looks around to understand what’s happening. The first thing she notices as her eyes scan her surroundings is that, even though it sounds insane, she’s not in Chidorigafuchi Park anymore. Right before her there’s what looks like a commercial center with small shops and stalls, however, everything feels… Old. As if Lumine is still in Japan, but in another period of time. Yet, even though it looks like an old version of her home, it feels like a completely new place.
“What the hell is going on here…” She murmurs to herself, starting to feel dizzy.
Slowly she pinches her arms, the pain making sure that, yes, Lumine is awake and whatever happened to her was real. A laugh makes it’s way through her chest because, honestly, is she living in a manga or something? Lumine remembers one that Aether used to read a lot when they were younger, which the protagonist fell down to a water well ㅡ how can someone even do that? ㅡ and then got sent to another world. It’s kind of a cliche trope but also super popular for some reason Lumine doesn’t understand.
Yet, here she is.
Teleported to God knows where thanks to a bad joke about a bracelet. Had it gotten mad at Lumine for questioning its magic? Heavens , what a pathetic situation, as if her life didn't have enough problems, now she needs to find a bus back to Japan or something, that’s it, if transportation like this exists in that world.
“You’re nothing but bad luck.” Lumine tells her bracelet, staring at it with narrow eyes. However, as she does so, something else catches her attention. Something that makes her breath fail and her heart beat faster.
On her wrist, where the numbers never changed from zero, there’s now a new countdown.
0y20d36m
It’s like she’s been hit by lightning, body trembling in a mix of excitement and confusion. After so many years waiting for the numbers to change, why now? Lumine is not sure what to think about it, but there’s euphoria running through her veins like fire, the taste of hope too sweet for her to give it up. So she swallows.
Whatever happened to her, wherever she is, her soulmate is waiting. She has twenty days to figure it out.
Perhaps that’s why Lumine doesn’t bother in finding a way back for now, even though a twinge of guilt makes her chest ache when she thinks about her family. They’ll probably be worried, but Lumine will try her best to make them understand. Also it’s not like she knows how to go back anyway, it’s not her fault for once that things went wrong, but it can be her own decision to make them right again.
So, as she walks around trying to gather information about where she is, Lumine feels free for the first time in her life.
It makes her smile.
##
In a way, Lumine has no trouble adapting to her new reality. This new world was not so different from what she was used to, on the contrary, there were many similarities with her homeland and enough food for her to feel like she was still in Japan. The biggest difference, and this was easily noticeable, was that in that world the existence of magic was a fact. Lumine learned this shortly after arriving, when she saw a commotion in the middle of the shops she was in, catching the attention of everyone in Inazuma City ㅡ a name she learned when she realized that, for some reason, she was able to read the information boards without language barriers.
There, in the middle of a circle of people, an extremely tall man with a pair of red horns yelled at a woman who seemed completely uninterested in the situation. His appearance surprised Lumine as he looked like the oni in her mother's stories, something she never thought she would see in real life. The next minute, though, he was crying on the floor because the woman ㅡ who was now smiling and taking her fringe out of her face ㅡ just hit him with something that looked a lot like lightning.
So, if magic was indeed real in this world, it explains why the numbers on Lumine’s wrist are finally normal.
That’s also something else she discovered while living in this world: soulmate marks were rare. Most people didn’t have them until finally meeting their other half, which is funny when you think that Lumine now is again the strangest one around, even though her tattoo is for once right.
Each day that Lumine spent there in that unknown world, on the other hand, the more she had the feeling that she had already seen those trees and flowers peculiar to Inazuma. It was as if, at some point, she had traveled to that place. It all reminded Lumine of her dreams, yet she didn’t see anyone who looked like the girl from her imagination, no one with soft long hair and a mole on her face.
Now, as Lumine walks around the beach listening to the sound of the waves, she stares at her soulmate mark in concentration. According to her tattoo, Lumine will finally meet her soulmate in just five days, which made her feel euphoric and nervous at the same time. Fifteen days had passed too quickly, flying in a blink of an eye that had barely allowed Lumine to properly prepare for what would happen.
“Hey, there you are!” She hears a familiar voice calling her, making Lumine turn around to look at the newcomer.
With his bright orange hair shining with the sun, a boy was smiling at her with his arms crossed against his chest. “Thoma, I wasn’t expecting to see you today. Do you have a job for me?”
One thing Lumine knew from the beginning of her journey was that no matter what world she was in, money would always be needed. So she soon started talking to some local merchants, trying to find something to do, whether in exchange for food or a bed. It was in one of these conversations that she met Thoma.
Kind and considerate, the boy was a little older than her and soon offered to help. Thoma reminded Lumine a lot of Aether, either in his sweet smile or the way he seemed reliable enough for her to confide in him her secret. And that's how Lumine found not only help to stay in Inazuma, but also a friendly shoulder she could share her worries with.
Thoma smiled at her, shaking his head. “Don’t worry, Lumine, something came up and I thought you might want to help.”
“What is it?”
“We're getting close to the peak of the blooming of some Inazuma flowers,” Thoma replies, walking closer to her so he can sit on some rocks. “So, at this time of the year, the Yashiro Commission is responsible for organizing a festival and making sure everyone has a great time.”
Lumine nods in silence. Of course Inazuma would have something like this too, for what she had seen, this nation shares a lot of customs and traditions with her homeland.
“I can help.”
Her reply makes Thoma sigh in relief, a smiling turning his lips the next second. “Thank you! There’s so much to do and ojou-sama really needs all the help she can get, I will bring you to meet her tomorrow morning.”
“Oh, I look forward to it.”
They part ways that day with Thoma rambling about Inazuman etiquette, and Lumine laughing trying to remember everything. She doesn’t know what to expect from this meeting, someone so noble and untouchable that people around Inazuma call her Shirasagi Himegimi . Part of her is anxious, but somehow ㅡ and that’s mostly of her ㅡ Lumine feels her heart beating faster with longing, something similar to all those nights she used to dream with that girl from her imagination.
It’s almost bittersweet, but when Lumine goes to bed that night, she hopes it’s nothing to worry about.
##
The next day, however, never came.
A political affair that Lumine couldn’t quite understand made Thoma cancel their meeting with the Shirasagi Himegimi , an apology falling from his lips as he asked her to avoid going out of the island to run any errands. For all that she could understand, in a world where magic exists, there’s always people willing to use it for selfish intents. So, whatever is happening right now, Lumine knows it must be serious.
0y04d12m
The tattoo on her wrist stares at her, burning her skin with confusion and something she can’t quite place. How long will Lumine be there after meeting her soulmate? What if she doesn't make it back to her own world?
She sighs and covers her head with the duvet, letting the dream world offer her comfort.
##
0y03d45m
Lumine overhears a conversation between two merchants in Inazuma City, she doesn’t really understand a lot about what's going on but they talk about an organization called Abyss Order. It seems like something serious is going on, far away from Narukami Island where she is.
“Don’t you think it’s amazing how Shirasagi Himegimi is trying her best to keep the festival preparations going?” One of them says, a woman who’s now organizing some pendants to display. “She’s really too kind.”
“Of course she is!” The other answers, voice full of pride for some reason. “It is because she is so dedicated that everyone admires her so much.”
They keep talking about the girl as Lumine passes by, something inside of her twisting in a way that feels both uncommon and familiar. She goes to the beach that afternoon trying to picture how Shirasagi Himegimi looks like.
##
0y02d18m
Lumine decides to go to Komare Teahouse to find out any news about Thoma. She learns he’s alright and will be back in a few days, nothing to worry about, even though the festival will be delayed. At least everything is fine, so the Yashiro Commission will use this chance to make everyone relax after all the trouble.
##
0y01d0m
When she sees a pair of siblings walking the streets of Inazuma City that day, Lumine breaks down.
For the first time since arriving there, loneliness seemed to weigh on her shoulders and burn her eyes with tears that kept falling. It was as if reality had cruelly taken hold of everything around her, as much as the mark on Lumine's wrist indicated that the person destined for her was close by, at the moment she had no one. Not even Thoma.
She missed Aether a lot, and even this feels like an understatement. Why did her fate make her choose between her soulmate and family? It wasn’t unfair, especially after everything Lumine did to her brother.
When her sobs stop and she finally calms down, Lumine walks down the streets to buy something to eat. Anything that feels like home, although it will never be.
Deciding to buy something in a small establishment, she waits for her dish to be prepared while the people around her live normally. Lumine isn't sure what made her feel this way today, what caused her to break down with homesickness. Maybe it's how close she is to meeting her soulmate, or maybe she's just really tired. Whatever it is, now is making her lose herself in thought, almost so distracted that she barely notices when the shop owner deposits a plate in front of her. A few side dishes she doesn’t remember asking for settled on the side, one of them looks like a mochi, bright pink and smells like sakura .
“Sorry, but I didn’t ask for these.” Lumine says embarrassed, looking at the woman before her, who only smiles.
“I know,” She replies, her gaze is soft and it makes Lumine feel warm. “But you looked like you needed comfort, and these dishes are the favorites of one of my most loyal customers. She always tells me it helps her in times of trouble.”
Lumine nods once, smiling back at her and taking a bite of the sushi. It’s delicious and exactly what she needed. “However this customer of yours is, she must be very dear to you.” She says, careful to finish her bite. “Your words are kind.”
“Oh, she is.” The woman tells her, getting closer to whisper. “The one I’m talking about is Kamisato Ayaka, you know?”
But when the shop owner sees Lumine confusion, she stares at her clothes. Her white dress, a contrast of the Inazuman clothes it’s enough to bring realization to her eyes, nodding slowly.
“You’re an outlander, I see,” She mumbles, then smiles. “Kamisato Ayaka, the Shirasagi Himegimi of the Yashiro Commission.”
“Kamisato Ayaka…”
Lumine tries the words in her mouth, whispering them slowly to herself. Somehow, it tastes sweet and makes her heart ache.
##
0y0d25m
To say that Lumine feels nervous would be like saying that water is wet, or that birds fly. As she follows Thoma through the streets of Inazuma City, she can barely focus on the path they take, eyes scanning all the people around her in an attempt to find the one Lumine is destined to meet today. The mission always makes her forget that she’s in fact going to meet someone today, the one who everyone in Inazuma can’t stop talking about.
So, taking a deep breath, Lumine walks behind Thoma trying to forget about the mark on her wrist but, at the same time, cursing herself for not looking how many minutes she has left until her soulmate appears.
“Ok, we’re finally here!” Thoma exclaims as soon as they reach a long staircase. “We’re now in the Kamisato Estate, but I trust you to remember everything I told you last time.”
Lumine only nods, too embarrassed to tell him that she didn’t remember a thing, in fact, she’s not even sure she paid enough attention the first time.
In silence they climb the stairs and pass the guards guarding the entrance, but upon entering the Kamisato Estate, Lumine feels as if all the air has been knocked out of her lungs at once. It feels like the floor moves to make her lose her balance, causing Thoma to run to help her.
“Are you alright, Lumine?” He asks her, voice full of worry.
Yet, she can’t reply. Not when the garden before her it’s exactly like the one from her dreams.
Everything feels exactly the same: the trees and their colors, the bright green grass and even the Japanese dry garden. If Lumine closes her eyes for a moment, she would be taken to all the times she found the girl of her dreams there, the way she smiled as she painted a picture or called Lumine affectionately. All the dreams that she considered pure imagination, at that moment, came to life. They materialized there before her eyes.
“It’s real…” She whispers, too stunned to properly answer Thoma, who’s now looking at her in confusion. “My dreams… I’ve been here before.”
“How?” It’s all Thoma asks her, but she doesn’t know how to respond to that question either. The only thing Lumine knows is that all the time, while she thought she was alone daydreaming, the universe was in fact giving her a comfort place. A taste of what someday she would have.
Then it hits her.
Slowly, she stares at her wrist and sees there’s only five minutes left. So, Lumine smiles and says instead: “Thoma, bring me to Shirasagi Himegimi .”
The boy looked confused by the request, but still nodded and signaled for Lumine to follow.
The interior of the mansion was unlike anything Lumine had ever seen, it was clear as day that it was the home of someone of high social status and, in a way, it reminded Lumine of old dramas about royalty. In the center of the room that Thoma took her there was a screen with a beautiful painting of scenery, and by the shadow that formed behind it, Lumine suspected that there was a girl.
She looked at her wrist, only two minutes left.
“Oujou-sama, I’m here with the one I told you about,” Lumine hears Thoma saying, but it feels far away, much lower than the sound of her heartbeat. “You can trust her.”
“Thank you, Thoma.”
The voice feels familiar, it makes Lumine’s knees buckle, too weak to properly stand still. Her voice is the same as the one in the dreams, full of gentleness that warms Lumine’s heart enveloping her in affection.
One minute left.
The world seems to spin more slowly during the sixty seconds Lumine has left. The room seems to become more stuffy, the air thicker as she can't help but bite down hard on her lower lip. And, as much as Lumine tried to prepare for that moment ㅡ and had spent a lifetime waiting for it ㅡ, nothing really warned her that it would be like this. For, in the next second, Kamisato Ayaka is taking her first steps off-screen and Lumine's heart seems to explode inside her chest.
She’s gorgeous and there’s not enough words for Lumine to start describing her. Exactly as the one in her dreams, Ayaka has her hair tied in a high ponytail while her fringe adorns the sides of her face graciously. Kind blue eyes looking at Lumine with affection, shining with something akin to recognition.
Lumine can’t help the tears that are running down her face, or the happiness that makes the world disappear around her, leaving only Ayaka. There’s so much to say, but she can’t bring herself to say anything at all, the longing she feels is burning her skin, turning Lumine into ashes.
“You’re the one from my dreams.” She hears Ayaka saying, a smile so soft in her lips that makes Lumine melt. “You’re here.”
When the girl approaches her, Lumine feels at peace for the first time in her life. Something buried deep inside her chest responding to Ayaka's presence, like a call that only the two of them are able to hear and feel, because in the next instant, the girl gently takes Lumine's hands in hers.
On Ayaka’s wrist Lumine can see a mark that matches hers, the symbol that united the two as perfect pieces of the same puzzle. The girl seemed to notice Lumine's gaze, an embarrassed look plastered on her face and a shadow of sadness in her eyes when she finally spoke again.
“I've had this mark my entire life, even though no one around me was born with one, not even my brother.” Ayaka tells her softly, voice almost trembling. “Part of me wanted to believe that it was a positive thing to be born with a soulmate mark, but it was inevitable to feel wrong… as if I had been born broken.”
At that moment reality hits Lumine, how different their worlds are and yet they both share the same agony. The same pain. There was so much she wanted to know about Ayaka, so many things she wanted to learn, but in that moment Lumine was able to understand something simple: they were the same. Made from the same mold. Two souls lost to a trick of fate, crying over the same pain and searching for each other until they finally had the chance to reconnect.
“Tell me you’re real.” Lumine whispers, trembling at the softness of Ayaka’s hands. “ Please .”
Ayaka gives her a reassuring smile, so pretty it makes her shine. “I’m real and so are you.” She tells Lumine, lifting one of her hands to caress Lumine’s cheeks. “You’re alright now.”
And, perhaps, that’s all Lumine needed to hear all along.
##
Before the first flower in Inazuma blooms, Lumine learns how to love.
She learns to memorize Ayaka's every mannerism and the way the girl carefully folds each filled document envelope to send, the calm and attentiveness in everything she does. Lumine learns to decipher Ayaka's smiles intuitively, almost unintentionally, as if the knowledge was inside her all along. And with each day they spend side by side preparing for the hanami festival, the more Lumine feels at peace, as if all the loose pieces inside her are actually falling into place.
During the day, Ayaka is like a princess and so unreachable that to outsiders, her impeccable image is all they see. But for Lumine, she is much more than that. There's a girl curious about the world underneath it all, someone with a giant heart and a willingness to help everyone, forgetting even her own desires.
At night, Ayaka is more delicate than all the flowers in her garden, wrapping Lumine in her arms with such delicacy that she makes her feel loved like never before. And, as they kiss, Lumine is sure she is close to finding all the secrets in the universe.
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The petals dance in the wind before Lumine, the scent of flowers flooding her senses and making her feel light. From the bench where she is sitting, she can watch people in groups enjoying the festival, some children running past eating typical foods while their parents smile.
“What are you thinking about?” She hears her lover’s voice whispering from behind her, a hand gently fondling her hair.
“This reminds me of home,” Lumine tells her, watching carefully for Ayaka’s reaction as she sits next to her. “I’m happy with you, don’t get it wrong-”
“... But you still want to go back, right?” The silence makes her too vulnerable, so Lumine only nods in agreement. “I guess I understand how you feel, it’s alright to be homesick, my love.”
Ayaka grabs her hand, the one where her soulmate mark and bracelet is and smiles. They both have the same tattoo now, full of zeros that makes Lumine wonder if her mark never worked properly because they weren’t in the same world at all in the first place. In silence she watches Ayaka playing with the pendant on her bracelet ㅡ which Lumine now knows is the Kamisato Clan crest ㅡ, her gaze seems vacant as if she is thinking of something before speaking again.
“Did you know that this bracelet used to belong to my mother?” She finally says, a pretty smile curving her lips. “She once told me that it was able to unite two people as long as their hearts were determined to meet, that's how she met my father.”
“They sound like soulmates to me.”
The girl smiled softly at this. “They were.” When Ayaka looks again at Lumine, there’s knowledge in her eyes. “If the pendant brought you to me when you needed it most, it can take you back.”
Fear was probably written on Lumine's face upon hearing such words because, in the next minute, Ayaka gently kisses her hands and calms her heart.
“I will always be here for you.”
Loving Ayaka was the kindest and gentlest thing Lumine learned to do, and she wanted her family to know that from now on she would be okay, they deserved it. So, closing her eyes, she tried to remember home and let nostalgia and longing take over her heart, allowing herself to feel. Ayaka's hands held hers gently, their fingers intertwined, as the same sensation from many days ago occurred and made Lumine feel like she was falling. The light around her was too strong for her to close her eyes, the strong wind tossing her hair and the yukata she was wearing.
When she opened her eyes again, Inazuma and the festival were no longer there. In front of Lumine was Chidorigafuchi Park just as she had left it a month ago, even the clarity of the sky was the same. Beside her, however, Ayaka looked at everything with wide eyes in complete surprise and curiosity. When her gaze met Lumine's, she started to laugh.
“You came with me.” Lumine speaks with a smile, her heart as warm as the hand she’s holding. “I guess it’s my time to show you around.”
Curiosity made Ayaka's blue eyes sparkle even more, the beauty of the flowers around didn't even compare to hers. “Oh, I would love that!”
Standing up and offering Ayaka a hand, Lumine helped her to her feet. There was so much to show her, so much that they would still share whether in Japan or Inazuma, the important thing was that they wouldn't be alone.
The important thing is that, from now on, Lumine would never have to worry about the holes in her, because, one day at a time, Ayaka would teach her how to fill them. And honestly, what more could she want?