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Thin fingers trailed over her side, tracing out a peculiar design. Well actually the design was rather bland, it was two simple words that looked to be typed out in black ink. Her eyes trailed over the mark that had been with her since birth. It was called a soulmark, it was suppose to link her to another person who would compliment her and excel in where she lack. They were suppose to help fill in her little cracks and she was to do the same for them. Rise liked the idea of someone not completing her, but bettering her.
Maybe that’s why she was so keen on meeting this ‘Naoto Shirogane’. She wondered what the mark would turn into when she met them. The more the soulmates complimented each other, the larger and more vibrant their mark would turn. She had seen people with their entire body covered in the marks. She looked down at the rest of her naked skin and imagined where the marks would stretch and what they’d be of. She took one last look at the mark before sliding her shirt back on and going downstairs.
“Grandma I’m leaving for school!” The elderly lady waved at her as she left out the front door. Humming to herself, she walked over to the school. On the way there she noticed a few of her friends already on their way. She snuck up the other two first years before she jumped up and hung off of their shoulders. “Hey guys!” Kanji and Teddie were surprised by her sudden appearance but they didn’t push her away. “Hey! Give a warning next time!” Kanji complained and leaned down so he was more even with Teddie’s height.
Teddie was barely phased and smiled at her. “Just bear with it Kanji!” He joked and made the thug groan at the silly pun. Rise removed herself from them and walked in between them as they talked. “Did ya hear the news?” Kanji asked as they approached the school entrance. She looked at him with a look of confusion, “What news?” He stuffed his hands into his pockets as he spoke. “Rumor is we’re getting a new student.” That certainly was new for the quiet town of Inaba, she remembered the chatter of when Souji came to town.
It was less than when she had come, an idol was definitely something that caught their attention. She could even remember when everyone talked about the strange sparkly blonde that was Teddie. She smiled and wondered what this new student would be like. Rise hoped that their friend group could grow with this new comer. She headed towards her class and saw two of her older friends. A couple named Chie and Yukiko, markings poked out from the muscular girls skirts on her bare legs.
Rise greeted them on her way to her class and her mind wandered to where else the tattoos covered, she’d put her money on saying it . She sat down in her desk and got ready for the lecture. When the teacher came in, she noticed that the new student wasn’t apart of her class. That meant they were in Teddie’s and Kanji’s class, just the thought that she was alone in her class made her jealous. She pouted throughout the lecture and was eager to try and talk to the new student, she was sure that Teddie had already.
As soon as the class let out, she walked down to where her friends were. She noticed a large crowd around the door and tried to make her way through it, but was pushed back by the students. “Hey Kanji!” She cupped her hands around her mouth and called. A shout was heard and soon the large teen cleared a path out to her. He and Teddie exited the sea of students that closed again around who she presumed was the new student. Unfortunately due to her small stature, she couldn’t even catch a glimpse of them.
“Come on, you can meet him after people have calmed down.” She hummed lowly and nodded. “Alright, did you guys make a good impression?” Teddie led the way to the roof to meet with the others, “Yeah, I think he liked us!” Teddie sounded excited about the student and it intrigued Rise. She looked over to Kanji for his opinion. He scratched at his nose piercing and looked over to the side embarrassed, “I hope so.” His voice was uncharacteristically and cause Rise to smirk. “Aww, do you have a crush?” The thug turned and glared at her with a red face.
“Watch it.” He barked but Rise knew him well enough to know it was an empty threat. They met up with the older students who were eating their lunches. Yosuke waved at them and called them over, “Hey you guys! Check out what I brought!” After he said that, he reached into his bag and pulled out a package. They group gathered around the brunette and peered down at the box. No one said anything as they tried to figure out what he had brought. “Mind telling us what it is?” Chie asked.
He pursed his lips as he began to open the package, “I saw this in June's, it’s these imported chocolates." He opened the box's lid and presented them to everyone. Each person took a chocolate. “Where did these come from?” Yukiko asked before taking a bite. She hummed happily and Yosuke bit down on his lip to hide a smile. Her expression quickly distorted as she cried out and started fanning her mouth. “Spicy!” She quickly looked around for something to drink. Chie had quickly reacted and handed her some sweet tea.
They all watched as the usually calm girl, frantically chugged down the tea. As soon as they regained their bearings, they put back the chocolates they had been close to consuming. Yosuke laughed loudly and soon the rest of them joined in with him when they were sure Yukiko was okay. “I can’t believe you did that!” Chie scolded but her smile made it less threatening. Yosuke smiled back and held up his hands in surrender. “You have to admit it was funny.” She mock glared at him and playfully punched his arm, but maybe a bit harder than he expected.
After a few more of them tried the fiery confectionary, they started talking with each other with stinging tongues. “Oh didn’t you guys get a new student?” Yosuke asked Rise, who pouted in response. “Yeah, but he’s in the other class. I haven’t even met him yet.” He chuckled before turning over to Kanji and Teddie. “So have you guys talked to him?” Rise watched in amusement as the bleached blonde grew flustered again. He ducked his head and nodded, “Yeah, I think Teddie came on too strong though.”
At this, they turned to the bear pun loving student who pouted at them. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, I was beariffic.” Kanji sighed beside him and shook his head, “He almost jumped in the dudes lap.” Rise pictured the scene and laughed lightly as Teddie tried to defend himself. “I wanted to give him a bear hug.” Yukiko cackled at the puns and Chie held her in her lap, so she wouldn’t fall off. Souji smiled gently at them and took a bite of his sandwich, he looked thoughtful for a moment and looked over to the two blondes.
“What was his name?” Kanji took a moment to press a hand over Teddie’s mouth to keep him from making any more puns. He then turned back to answer, “He said his name was Naoto.” Rise felt her breath stop and she stared at Kanji with her mouth hung open. He looked at with concern, “Yo, you okay?” She nodded and willed her lips to move. “What’s his last name?” The thug thought for a moment as she waited tensely. “I think he said something like Shirogane, something with an s.”
Rise stood up immediately and turned to go look for her supposed soul mate. “I have to go, see ya!” She ran down the stairs to the second floor and looked around for a crowd like before. Her eyes darted around the hallways and she noticed a smaller crowd from before, but she could finally see an unfamiliar face. Her feet moved before she had come up with something to say to him. She could hear him talking to the people gathered around him and she felt her heart race. “I am busy today after class.” He stated as a matter of fact.
She was a few strides away and she planted her feet down firm. Without thinking, she said loudly, “I’m Rise Kujikawa!” Her face felt hot when she realized that everyone was looking at her, but so was he. She stared at him and wow his eyes were blue, so was his hair, and the hat that adorned it. She didn’t think blue was her favorite color, but looking at him made her reconsider. For a long silence, he stared at her with a shock expression before it shifted to a soft smile.
He brushed past the gaping students and approached her. Rise felt her heart pounding in her ears and she stood frozen in place. Naoto stopped just in front of her, not saying anything. He reached out and took her hand, sending a shock over her skin. She watched as he bowed down and kissed the back of her hand, “Hello Rise Kujikawa. My name is Naoto Shirogane, but I’m sure you already knew that.” She nodded dumbly and felt the mark on her feel hot and she could tell it was already spreading. He stood tall and she stared up at him in slight awe.
Her gaze caused a blush to rise on his cheeks and she thought he looked adorable. She reached out and cupped the side of his neck and his cheek. She brought their foreheads together and looked into those eyes that she could drown in, “You better believe I did.” She murmured before leaning in and kissing him sweetly. Fireworks seem to go off in her head and she felt his neck become almost unbearingly hot underneath her hand. At the moment she didn’t understand or mind as she was occupied.
They pulled apart after a while and everyone was still gaping at them. Rise pulled back smiling and blinked a few times in surprise when she looked down at the other’s neck. He tilted his head in questioning when she began to giggle and she dragged a finger down his neck. “You look good with tattoos.” She joked and he caught his reflection in a window. He sighed and pulled her into a hug, they seemed to fit together perfectly. “How am I going to be a detective with neck tattoos?”