Anime: Chihayafuru

Characters: [Chihaya Ayase, Arata Wataya]

Words: 1,641

Reminder: This is an AU (alternate universe) where people are born with a clock on their wrist, that counts down to when they will meet their soul-mate. When the clock hits 00:00:00, the person bumps into their soul-mate. The story is written in Arata's POV, and he, nor Chihaya, remember each other very well. All Arata remembers is that him, Chihaya and Taichi all played karuta as children.

*Time is written is hour:minute:second format.

**The formatting is somewhat off, so I would recommend reading this on Tumblr (links are on my page).

Breathe. Breathe.

Relax. You can do this.

A young man walks out of his apartment in Tokyo, preparing for his long day off. "Out of all the days, it had to be a Sunday. I guess I'll have to make the best of it." He looked at the small clock embedded on his wrist from birth, with the words on top that say "Wataya, Arata". The clock is a countdown to when he will meet his soul mate, and he wasn't excited at all. Only five hours were left until he was able to meet this so-called "destined lover". Although this was absolute nonsense to Arata, he knew that it would be improper of him to not prepare. He wore straight, black jeans, and a clean, white shirt that was tucked in. He immediately walked out the door, and hopped onto his bike, adjusting his glasses.

04:13:52

"Oh man, I can't believe out of all us, this nerd is meeting his soul mate! What if she's some karuta-freak, though?" Arata sat with his fellow college buddies at a small, neighboring café. The café was almost made entirely of wood. The walls were a pure white color, with vines hanging from the walls. A rectangle table sat the four friends, including Arata, each with their own drink. "Wh-what's that suppose to mean?" Everyone laughed. "Ah, okay should I say 'karuta cutie'? I bet that's what Wataya-kun is thinking." Arata gave a heavy sigh as his friends teased him.

He sipped on his espresso macchiato, which was just as simple as him. The drink had a bit of foam, and a caramel taste that didn't overpower that drink. If she was someone who was simple and played karuta as well, that would definitely be in my favor, Arata reflected. His thoughts began to wander as he thought about the girl. What type of person do I like, anyway? Do I even have a specific person in mind? Maybe someone my mom would like. No, that should be the last type of person. Arata resumed himself into the conversation with his friends, only to realize he was being teased again.

"Wait, what if his soul mate is actually a guy?!"

"Shut up!"

02:53:34

An hour passed by, and Arata decided to excuse himself from the conversation, and leave for a walk. He carefully hooked his bag onto his bike. It was almost eleven years ago when he first came to Tokyo from his hometown, Fukui Prefecture. Tokyo was a major change in his life. Everything was much more expensive, and the streets were always filled with people. His birthplace was much more quiet, and green. The one memory he did have of Tokyo was a certain girl.

They both went to the same elementary school, and he only talked to her a few times. He introduced her to karuta, and she protected him from being bullied. That girl and her friend, both became his two precious friends. But, by the time his relationship could blossom with the girl, he moved back to Fukui.

I've been in Tokyo for over a year, and I still haven't seen that girl, or her friend… is name was Taichi, right? I wonder if maybe I passed by her, but failed to notice her? No, her image is still fresh in my mind. And her name was the same as the Chihayaburu card… Chihaya, right? Arata thought, and closed his eyes.

I wish I knew her better.

02:04:15

Arata looked at the embedded clock on his wrist. "Only two hours left, huh? Should I buy something for that person?" Arata looked around from shop to shop. He wasn't the most romantic person, so this was definitely an inconvenient task. "Maybe I should buy something that I will like, so I can express myself easier." Arata decided to buy his favorite sweet, Daifuku mochi, from the supermarket, and made his way to Jimbocho in Tokyo.

01:34:27

Upon his arrival, Arata instantly walked into Okuno Karuta Shop, a shop specifically specializing in karuta items. The store was like heaven for him, stocked with waka poetry sets, with cards colored with all sorts of traditional and modern designs. "If I'm going to express myself, I need to express myself as the true me. If this person can't at least respect my love for karuta, then how can they respect me?" Arata walked around, aimlessly looking for the right package of cards for his "destined lover".

Arata's eyes fell on a unique karuta box. Inside were cards with traditionally hand drawn pictures, consistently using the colors red and gold. It was fiery, showing the less calm side of karuta. Actually, karuta wasn't calm at all, Arata deliberated. In Arata's world, it was an undying excitement of sitting on a tatami mat, and letting the loving poems sink into you and take over your body, as you glide your hand back and forth in the game. It was intoxicating, and he needed to convey these feelings to his soul mate.

"That will be 2030 yen, sir," the cashier said.

"H-how?!"

00:49:30

The young man spent more time in Okuno than necessary, his eyes glistening at the merchandise he couldn't afford. Only less than an hour was left, and at this point Arata decided that he should just make his way home.

00:34:57

Rain had started to pour all of the sudden, and both Arata and his bike were soaked. He decided that it's better to take shelter, rather than bike aimlessly in the rain. Arata barely had money to buy pain killers, so there's no way he can get sick.

00:22:01

"Hey, kid, you're already soaked to your shoes, why don't you just come inside?" The manager of the coin laundry came out as soon as he saw the poor young man being drenched in the rain. "I'm not going to make you buy anything, I swear." Arata followed the middle age man in silence, and sat at a white table that has been marked with crayon and chipped. The laundromat was mostly white in color, and had multiple washing and drying machines on. It seemed fairly old, but was nonetheless lively with many customers.

00:12:42

Thanks to the manager, Arata was able to dry himself off, and borrow a clean, dry shirt. "And make sure you return that, got it kid?" Arata merely nodded, frightened by the aura of the man. He meant good, but he still was kind of scary. He was also able to dry his glasses off with the manager's rag.

He took out the mochi and karuta card's package, which were thankfully safe and dry, from his bikes storage. You could say that that bike had been there through thick and thin with Arata.

00:07:34

Arata began breathing to the slow beat of the music in the coin laundry. He carefully stared at the entrance. Less than ten more minutes, and I'll meet that person, he realized as he adjusted his glasses.

00:04:59

A girl ran in.

00:03:26

She had long brown hair, and shining eyes that looked like milk chocolate. She looks like… Chihaya? Arata's ocean-colored eyes widened slightly.

00:02:17

She slammed her purple laundry basket, and was breathing heavily. "Sheesh kid, be quiet will yeah?" The middle-aged manager stated.

00:02:09

"Sorry Manager."

Her voice was soft, but strong.

"I'm kind out of breath, but I'll be out of here in no time."

00:01:35

Arata glanced at his countdown clock. "No way…"

No…

Way…

00:01:19

Arata began to freak out as thoughts were aimlessly popping in his head. Th-that's her! That's my… my soul mate! Should I say something, or keep quiet? Wow, she's definitely pretty. No, no, no! I can't think about that now! Okay… wait…

Breathe. Breathe.

Relax. You can do this.

00:00:37

The girl glanced at the countdown watch on her wrist, and realized something more important. She began hitting her cheeks with both of hands. "I'm so stupid!" She reached out for her mirror, making sure she looked okay. "I can't believe I forgot about my soul mate-watch-countdown-thingy!"

00:00:10

Arata looked down and stared at his wrist.

00:00:05

00:00:02

00:00:01

00:00:00

As the young woman walked by the young man, she fumbled and landed face-first into the young man's chest, her hands on both sides of his thighs. The countdown watch on both of their wrists made a faint alarm-like sound.

Click!

The watches fell to the floor. As soon as the young woman realized her position, she awkwardly stood up and fixed her dress, smoothing any wrinkles. Her hair was in a top bun, and her dress was dark red with black lace on the edges, and knee length. She was wearing black flats, and small red earrings. She put a determined look on her face, trying to smile at the shocked boy. "M-m-m-my name is Ayase Chihaya! I am in my second year of University! I don't have any hobbies! Please take care of me!" She then bowed to hide her face, which was a deep shed of red.

It took a moment, until Arata realized what the gawky girls name was. "Chi-Chihaya… my name is Arata! Do you happen to r-remember me?"

Chihaya looked up. "What?" "Huh?" "WHAT?!"

She went in for a bold embrace with the surprised young man. "Arata-kun! I can't believe it! It's been more than ten years! I can't believe were a couple now. We're going to be together forever!" Arata gasped at Chihaya's sudden hug and words. Small murmurs can be heard from people passing by. "O-oh. Right." As Chihaya realized her actions, she backed away. "Anyways, we have a lot to catch up on, right? How about we go to the neighboring café? If you l-like." Arata invited.

They were going to be together forever, after all. They might as well start right now.

Author's Note: Thank you for reading my first, ever, fan-fiction that I've posted! I tried my best to make this as mistake-free as possible, however, I will warn you: I hate editing and proofreading! So if you find many mistakes, please inform me. (:

If you liked my story, please, please, please tell me! I enjoy your feedback greatly!