#akitaru

After the great cataclysm soulmates were few and far between, less and less people were born with the marks, so it was rare that you were one of the few blessed with the mark... although sometimes it didn’t seem like a blessing

Being the captain of Company 8, he hears those words countless times a day, “Yes Sir” so many times that he stopped thinking it was important. Those two small words on his wrist that, growing up, meant so much to him. But now they seem like just words. 

The words on your wrist, caused you a lot of confusion growing up, “welcome to company eight,” it said in small type script. You’d lay awake at night and trace over the letters with your finger, paying attention to the small comma. You knew where company 8 was, you lived just a few blocks away from it. But you didn’t want to be a fire soldier, you thought about going to company 8 once, a few years ago, just to see who worked there, but you didn’t, choosing instead to trust in fate. So you tried to live like those words didn’t matter. You became a baker like you always dreamed, opening a shop in your childhood town, living in the small apartment that resided above the shop. You happily served the people of your town, making a few friends who even worked in the 8th but you didn't tell them your secret, you always wore a bracelet which covered the words. 

Your soulmate was a fire soldier, and that terrified you. Every day you check your tattoo, to make sure it’s still there and your soulmate didn’t have an accident at work. Every morning the first thing you look at is your wrist, gently kissing the tattoo before you start your day, sending good omens to him, praying that Sol protects him, and then heading downstairs to start baking and open up the shop. 

“Good morning!” the familiar boy's voice rings through the shop as he walks through the door “good morning Shinra! The usual?” you ask as you walk out from the kitchen with a smile “yes! But i would like to order a couple dozen of those chocolate cupcakes as well” you chuckle “you got it!” you watch him as he looks out the window, waiting for you to be done boxing up the croissants and getting his coffee, he was dressed in his usual fire force get up with his bare feet like always, the first time he had found your shop he ate one of your cupcake samples and then told you if you needed a hero just to call his name because he would not allow you or your shop to be harmed. You laughed but at the same time your heart swelled, it made you feel amazing when people loved your food.

You placed the box on top of the counter and got him a coffee to go “here you go! It’s on the house today. For being my best customer” as he walks to the counter it’s like your world goes in slow motion, a flash catches your eye out of the window behind him, it’s racing right towards you shop, it doesn't take you any time to realize that it’s an infernal, “SHINRA” you shout just as it collides with the window, breaking through the windows and door, glass shattering and raining down, you only have time to gasp before Shinra has you in his arms and flying out of the way, taking you down to the company, setting you down and then disappearing inside to tell the rest of the team, leaving you shocked on the street for about four seconds before the entirety of company eight came running from the building “Shinra who is that?” a deep voice asks, when you turn your head to look at him you pause for a moment, he was tall with broad shoulders, short dark hair with shaved sides and brown eyes. ‘what a gorgeous man’ is all you can think.

 “That's y/n she owns the shop I bring baked goods from. The one that was just destroyed.” Shinra answers, hopping into the truck. Before he closes the door the gorgeous man looks at you for a moment before saying “welcome to company 8, Stay here” your heart stops for a second, your hand grabbing your wrist as you force yourself to say anything back to him “y-yes sir!” you stutter out and then curse yourself, that was so dumb why did I say that. He just looks at you, stunned for a second, part of his heart lighting up with a small glimmer of hope, hope that this beautiful human turns out to be his soulmate, before Shinra yells “captain!” and he looks away from you, his ears turning red, and drives off in the direction of your shop that was currently burning to the ground. 

“Wait,... what am I doing?” you say before taking off running in the same direction. 

You keep a distance, watching in shock as they work like a well oiled machine, fighting the infernal in the destroyed remnants of your shop and home. You can't help the shocked tears that flow down your cheeks, sure you had savings and insurance and could rebuild, but this was your life, the things that made your home a home were burning down before your eyes. You didn’t even really register that you just met your soulmate, it didn’t really matter when you just lost everything, in the moment when he said the words you recognized it but after that it was pushed to the back of your mind. 

You’re standing in the middle of the street, just a block away, and you hear the words of the prayer whispered as it floats down to you on the wind along with the smoke. Then in slow motion a blonde guy uses a sword to put the infernal to rest. You slowly walk up to the building as they put out the fires, tears still running down your cheeks. You end up standing next to Shinra “this was all I had” you whisper. He looks at you and his face slowly breaks out in his tense smile, he watches you for a few seconds, your tears streaming down and your arms hugging your body as you look at the wreckage, the sign above your shop barely hanging on by it’s last nail. 

Shinra quietly slips away, running over to the Captain. “Captain we have to let her stay at the company. The infernal was targeting me and she has no where else to go.” Captain Obi thinks for a moment, considering the options, if you really didn't have anywhere else he wouldn't turn you away, he couldn't. It wouldn't be right. “Okay. She can stay with us and we will spend the next few weeks rebuilding for her. She can stay with us until we finish rebuilding.” 

Shinra finds you again, now talking to Maki in the same spot he left you. She hugs you and  says something he doesn't catch but it seems to make you feel a little better

“Y?n!” he says as runs over, “I talked to Captain Obi, he said you can stay with us until we’ve rebuilt your shop!” your heart starts to race and you cock your head and look up at him “really?” you ask, brain a little foggy from the shock of it all still. He nods “of course. It’s the least we can do” you wipe away the rest of your tears and nod “Thank you Shinra. That is so nice of you guys” Maki gets excited with that information “this is perfect! What do you say about going shopping for a few things since.. ya know.. And then i'll show you around the place!” you chuckle at her excitement, her personality already making you feel better “that sounds good” you nod and she squeals, running off to get Iris and Tamaki as well. You sent Shinra into your house to check and see if your wallet by your bed was burned, which it was, but your bank card thankfully wasn't, the fire that melted the plastic of your wallet being put out before it burned the last pocket. You kissed the card when Shinra handed it to you, you really hated calling the bank. 

You went down to the few shops in town and got a few replacement outfits as well as replacing some other necessities. Shopping with them was easy, they came into your shop a lot and you were only 6 years older than Maki, the longer you all talked the more it was like having sisters. During the middle of your shopping trip HInawa had called Maki asking about your insurance provider “you guys take care of that?” you ask, a little shocked, you half expected a day of phone calls trying to get them to cover that accident. “Yeah! Obi likes to make sure the people are taken care of” you felt butterflies enter your heart, you haven’t even met him yet but all you have been told about him has been really good to hear. 

“If i am going to be staying there for a little bit can you tell me about who else also lives there?” you felt genius for this, a way to learn more about Obi without being obvious. “Of course!” Tamaki said, “we will skip Shinra and Arthur because you know them from your shop and Vulcan and Lisa because we already talked about them” it’s true, for thirty minutes they were all they talked about because of how cool Rhee were to them since they was the newest to the team. You didn't really pay attention to what they were saying about Hinawa, a little impatient, trying to use your thoughts to get them to move on to Obi now. You felt your heart rate quicken when Iris said “on to our captain!” you felt your cheeks get warm so you turn to a different clothing rack to avoid them noticing. Maki still noticed though, and she grinned when she saw your reaction.

 Iris continues talking though, looking through the rack next to you “he’s really kind and does not tolerate anything except respect for those bereaved or grieving. He’s very courageous! He doesn't have an Ignition Ability but he doesn’t flinch or hesitate because of his responsibility to his teammates” she talked about him like he was her personal hero, you can tell she respects him. Maki is on your other side and she pipes in “and he is insanely buff! Always working out at any opportunity, lifting weights during a meeting and doing pull-ups while having casual conversations. He can be serious and strong-willed, but still likes to joke around. Also” she leans in closer to you “he doesn't have a soulmate” you gasp as your face turns red, its clear Iris didn’t hear and for that you’re thankful. “Hey guys should we get this for Hinawa?” Tamaki says with a laugh and holds up an entire cat outfit along with ears. Maki gets distracted then, leaving you to go join in the laughter with Tamaki. You let out a breath and  try to calm down before going to join them, changing the conversation to learn why exactly they would get weird things for the poor man.

After showing you the offices and the kitchen, Tamaki shows you where you will be staying, “you will be at the end of the hall, Maki and Iris share a room at the opposite end, followed by Me and Lisa, Shinra and Arthur, Vulcan and Viktor, though Viktor usually stays in the lab, then there is Hinawa in the next room with you in the last room and Obi’s room the only room on the left side of the hall across from yours, with the bathrooms being around the corner.” She helped you carry your bags to the room and put away your new clothing in the dresser and closet. You looked at the small bedroom, a single bed off to the side, it looked bare and empty, you wished you had your normal pillows and blanket but you guessed they were destroyed. “We usually have dinner around 7 together, if you want you can shower and rest before then. It’s been a long day.” “thank you Tamaki. You all have been so kind I feel like I’m with family” her cheeks flush a little “it’s no problem!” she says and smiles before she leaves you ask her if you could use the kitchen after you bathe, to bake something. “Of course! We all want you to feel at home here. Whatever makes you comfortable.”

After you shower, you head to the kitchen, happy when you find it empty. You decide to make your favorite dessert along with the cupcakes Shinra likes and some flan that he sometimes used to get for his team. You were fluid in the kitchen,able to make all three different desserts at the same time while singing along to your favorite song, the one you always listen to when you're stressed. What you didn’t know was that someone was watching you from the crack in the door, a small smile on his lips as he watched you in your zone. As Obi walked away he was absentmindedly humming along to the tune you were singing and heading to go see if he had it on a record.

The flan was in the fridge, your favorite dessert was cooling, and all of the cupcakes were frosted perfectly, you wiped down all of the counters, washed the dishes, and you were now finishing drying and putting the dishes back in their places when the door opens and a stiff man came in, pausing when he sees you. You are using a towel to dry off a bowl and you meet his eye with a smile “you must be Lt. Hinawa. I am told you do a lot of the cooking. I hope I didn’t mess up any of the order in here, I made sure to put everything back when I found it.” you place the bowl in the cupboard and hang up the towel on its rod “No worries, it’s nice to finally meet you y/n. I hope you are comfortable here” he says and then starts to cook dinner, you move your desserts out of the way and then leave the kitchen to get out of his way, accidentally leaving your bracelet by the sink without noticing. you decide to go find Maki and see what she is doing

You find Maki with Tamaki and Iris in Maki’s room, Lisa was with Vulcan and everyone else had things to do. You end up hanging out with them talking until dinner. Tamaki notices your bracelet was gone when you ran your fingers through your hair as you listened to Iris telling a story about being a fire soldier. “Where is your bracelet?” Tamaki asks and you gasp and look down at your hand, your fingers going to cover your tattoo at that moment. “Shoot, I must have left it in the kitchen when I did the dishes” Maki gasps “. Do you have a tattoo? Do you have a SOULMATE” she exclaimed excitedly “oh please be quiet please keep it a secret'' you plead with them and they calm down “why? What's wrong?” Iris asks and you sigh looking down at your hands ``because I think it's Obi” you whisper and then show them your tattoo “welcome to company 8 comma” Tamaki reads aloud then grins in recognition “what did you say to him first?” She asks and you blush in embarrassment “he told me to stay here and I said ‘yes sir’” you say and bury your face in your hands “so lame” you add muffled against your palms. 

“Oh my god Obi’s wrist says yes sir” your head snaps up and you look at Maki “really?” you ask and she nods with a grin. You chuckle and then smile “ will you guys keep it a secret? I want to tell him at the right time” they nod with smiles on their lips and your body floods with excitement. 

During dinner you had to keep sending pointed looks to the girls so they would act normal in front of Obi who happened to sit next to you at the table. They kept looking at you with grins and you would put your fingers to your lips. “I've been meaning to come by your shop for a while, I'm sorry this is how we would meet.” Obi says after everyone sat down to eat and talk you smile at him, making sure you keep your wrist in your lap and covered, “Don’t worry about it!.. uhhh... do i call you captain?” you ask and cock your head at him, he chuckles “just call me Obi” he says and nods once “well Obi, thank you for letting me stay here and helping me rebuild. I appreciate it more than you know” your voice is kind and sends tingles down his spine “it’s the least I can do” his ears turn a little pink which doesn't go unnoticed by Tamaki who is sitting across from him. 

“Did you always want to be a Fire Soldier?” you ask and he laughs “originally i was just a firefighter, I realized that the Companies have a lot of weak points and i felt responsible to fix them” you nod “You sound like a good respectable man” you say with a nod and take a drink of your water. “Did you always want to bake?” he asks, trying to hide his obvious fluster to your praise. “I did. I debated being a FIre Soldier, just to prove I could, but that wasn't my fate” he fights a smile at your choice of the word fate, thinking back to the fact that your first words to him matched his soulmate tattoo, but he is failing at finding out if you had a soulmate tattoo or not since you’ve kept your wrist hidden. 

When Obi got distracted talking to Hinawa you took that opportunity to study him, his strong arms and his large hands, his handsome face and the curve of his jaw, his adam's apple and the veins in his neck. Tamaki and Maki watching the whole ordeal with stars in their eyes. 

You start to clear the table “I made dessert for everyone, if you want some i can bring it out and we can eat together” you feel a little shy until Shinra gets excited “you DID? YES!” he’s up and gone before you, taking the dishes form your hands on his way. Before you can even follow he's back with the desserts and more plates. You chuckle and help pass around plates of flan and your favorite dessert, the cupcakes being just set in the middle of the table. “You are the best y/n!” Shinra and Arthur exclaim, everyone else taking what they want quick before the two start in a competition like usual. You knew what they were like when they would come in and each order an astronomical amount of strawberry tarts just to see how many they could in a row tring to best the other, they usually ended up sick. It's why you hid some of the dessert in the kitchen.

“This is amazing y/n” Obi says and takes another bite. “I also like those cookie frosting sandwiches you make, Shinra brought some back once and I stole one. Amazing.” you blush “thank you Obi. I’m glad you liked it.”  After everyone is done, they all slowly break away from the group, heading to get ready for bed or do paperwork. You head to the kitchen to help clean up, mostly unsure what you were going to do about your soulmate situation. You thought he deserved to know but at the same time you were nervous. After the dishes were done you head to your room to try and sleep. 

When two am rolled around and you were still awake and thinking about Obi in the next room, you sighed and got up, deciding to do some more baking, it helped you think. 

You were chopping up chocolate bars for the cookies, deciding to make frosting filled cookies since Obi said he liked them, you had all the ingredients measured and ready to go, the recipe memorized. You were just getting the chocolate ready and not really paying attention, you did this so often you got into a rhythm. But you were a little distracted too, thinking about the best way to bring up soulmates. It was a little taboo after all, since not a lot of people had them. You gasp out in pain when the knife drags across your fingertip, you look down at the cut, watching as blood emerges and it starts to sting “shit” you say and sigh, getting a towel to hold against the bleeding. 

“If I was a first aid kit, where would I be?” you whisper quietly as you look around in all the cupboards. You sit on the ground, letting out a huff as you decided to lay down on the cold floor. A chuckle makes your eyes flick open and up to the sound “Hi” Obi says and waves slightly “what’s going on in here?” he asks with an amused expression so you sit up and turn towards him “do you have any bandaids?” you ask and he turns immediately concerned. “What happened?” he asks and then fetches the first aid kit, in a cupboard that you had already checked cashing you to frown. “I was making cookies because I couldn't sleep and I cut my finger. I'm just glad I didn’t get any blood anywhere. No food contamination.” You furrow your brows at the feelings in your heart. You barely know him but you feel like you could talk to him about anything, like he was always with you to begin with. You felt comfortable and you knew without a doubt that you could trust him with anything. He sits down in front of you, stifling a yawn as he holds out his hand for yours. You gently place your hand in his own and he gently peels away the towel. “It’s not bleeding anymore and it isn't too deep. What cookies are you making?” you blush and watch him as he cleans and bandages your finger, grateful for your long sleeve hoodie for covering your wrist, but still nervous as his hand gently holds your wrist over the words, it could slip at any moment. 

“I uh..” he looks up into your eyes and you feel your cheeks get warmer “I was making those ones you mentioned earlier” your voice quiet from his proximity. He smiles warmly “you were?!” you nod shyly “That really makes me excited. But you should be more careful. Your hands are too pretty to be hurt” he blushes as he speaks, his hand still holding your wrist even though your finger was taken care of already. “Why are you awake?” you ask and he shrugs “I felt like something was off so I decided to just look around and make sure everything was fine. I guess I was up to take care of you” he chuckles softly as you blush, you felt your neck getting hot as well from his words, it was like he knew you were hurt and needed to find you, you really were soulmates there was no denying it. 

 “Obi, I need to tell you something” you whisper and look down at your lap “what is it?” his brows furrow but his hand doesn’t release your wrist, secretly hoping to somehow move your shirt to see if you had a mark. “Do you remember the first thing you said to me?” you ask, his heart stops, realizing where you were going “welcome to company 8 stay here” he whispers and you nod  “and do you remember what i said to you?” you take his other hand, “yes sir” he says and you mouth the words along with him, your fingers brushing over the mark. He uses his thumb on the hand holding your wrist to brush your sleeve up, exposing your mark. 

You sat there for who knows how long, his left hand in your right as you stare down at the words, your fingers brushing against his skin, running from his mark up to his elbow in swirls. Your left hand was being held in his right, his eyes on the mark and his thumb moving softly back and forth, the ingredients on the counter forgotten about for the time being. 

“I figured” his voice cuts through the silence and you look up at his face, not stopping your movements on his arm. He clears his throat and then meets your eye, a smile on his lips, “I figured that yours had to be something specific since mine wasn’t at all” you chuckle “ ‘yes sir’ when you're a captain means little” and he nods with a chuckle “I wanted to come here before, to just see, but I didn’t want to mess anything up. I let it just be what it was supposed to” he nods “that was my guess, I know how it can be when not a lot of people have soulmates anymore” you chuckle and reach up, cupping his cheek “I still worried about you, every day, sending you good luck through my mark.” You tilt your head and smile “you don’t have a safe line of work if you didn’t know” he laughs at that, leaning into your touch “I know I know, I’m sorry for making you worry, and i'm sorry for the worry i will most likely put you through in our lifetime” your heart races “at least you can really have my good luck kisses now” you say with a chuckle, your cheeks flushing as you look into his eyes. 

He leans in slowly, his eyes flicking down to your lips, you wrap your free hand under his arm and grip his strong back, the muscles rippling under your palm, as you pull yourself closer to him, smiling and closing your eyes as his lips connect with yours.