A/N: Another entry for the RuroKen week; this one was day 7, Free Day and I decided to go with another AU because I frigging love them. (the other AU I haven't posted yet)

The concept of soulmates always fascinated Kenshin; whether it be the belief that a person existed out there tailored to your needs and you to theirs, it was gobsmacking. A fateful meeting full of longing stares, or sharing nothing but a stolen glance as you pass by each other on the road in a hurry; maybe the cliché of meeting your soulmate by chance as they came to save you or even the idea that your first meeting would be horrible, disliking each other in a heartbeat, only to slowly open up to one another and, in the end, see you were meant for one another.

He loved the concept; but most of all, he loved the little tattoo in the inside of his wrist that bore the words "would you pass me the bottle?"

These are the first words your soulmate will ever speak to you, his stepmother had informed, a wistful smile on her face as she held him in her arms. And that's how he would know he met the person he was supposed to spend the rest of his life with.

Or at least that's how it went for most people; for instance, his father had two soul mates, after the first one died at childbirth. He, his father, didn't have the first words his soulmate would ever speak to him on the inside of his wrist though, no; he simply had the day of the week and a number that represented the year tattooed on his shoulder. The place and content of each tattoo was different for each person, and it faded once you met your soulmate; others tattooed it back through regular means—ink and the like, but the truth of the matter was, the soulmate tattoo disappeared after you met. That way, even if something happened to one of the two, the other could eventually go on, were they strong enough, to have a new tattoo appear.

It wasn't a bad deal; it certainly was merciful. But there was a romantic tone to all of this that Kenshin loved.

.

After Kenshin met his teacher, a man named Hiko - when the first made a run to the convenience store to buy some chocolate and pads for his stepmom - his opinion on the soulmate thing although didn't change, certainly was broadened. The man had an entire army worth of tattoos on both of his uncovered, muscly long arms. Some tattoos where names of cities, other of people and some of places like restaurants or bars. At first, Kenshin had presumed the man did them himself. After he became his disciple, though – by successfully stopping a mugging at said convenience store and Hiko being impressed by the ten-year-old's talent to diffuse a situation with minimal effort, yet well-placed hits when needed – some months later in fact, he finally mustered up the nerve to ask about it.

That was when his admittedly handsome teacher sighed, flipped his long hair and informed him that "these have been here my whole life, kid. They started appearing when I was three and they didn't stop adding till I turned twenty."

"So these are all…soulmate tattoos?"

He simply shrugged, uncaring, cool as always.

Kenshin had never seen anything like that, but he said nothing; maybe this man was supposed to meet a lot of people and travel to a lot of places till he met his soulmate. Or maybe he was so unlucky, his fate couldn't decide. No matter what, it wasn't to be envied that he could be certain of.

.

The second person he met and thought their soulmate tattoo was weird, was his very own soulmate. He was eighteen years old and she was twenty; they were both at a local bar when she spoke those six little words…and the words were erased from his wrist. And he just stood there, staring. This beautiful woman with the long black hair and the plump, soft-looking lips was his soulmate.

So he stared; and stared; and stared some more. She seemed to be doing the same thing, as if speaking those words jolted something within her. So she looked down on her own wrist and saw letters appearing there. The same ones that had just disappeared from his—the ones she had just spoken. That was odd, he thought. This was supposed to appear early on in your life. But he hadn't cared one bit, nor did he dare mention it because the only thing he could think of was…wow.

He would have known she was meant for him just by the flip his stomach made upon meeting her eyes. Something burned at the back of his throat. Did his sense of smell just became more acute, too because damn, the scent of cherries invaded him!

Swallowing the knot that had formed awkwardly, he immediately asked for her name. "I'm Tomoe; Yukishiro Tomoe," she'd said in a daze of her own. "Pleased to meet you, Kenshin."

.

The following months were something out of a fairy tale. Maybe she wasn't as expressive as other people and she always seemed more nostalgic than eager, but he felt at ease around her. She could calm his conflicted heart like no other and even served to drive him away from all these escalating turf wars happening all around that he once took a very prominent place in. He steadily gave up on being a tool for one of the two mobsters in the area, downgraded to simply stopping fights between gangs, till he was nearly all but indifferent.

And that's when it happened.

The truth was revealed and he found out that Tomoe wasn't sent to him by accident, no; one of the opposing mobsters put her on his trail, per her own request, when she found out that her fiancé was beaten to death by Kenshin. Of course no one told her he was never really beaten to death, he simply fell off the bridge while Kenshin tried to punch him. Still, her sentiments and actions were driven by that pure hatred and revenge and she wanted to make him pay. But then the tattoo appeared, just as she had finally decided to take action and make contact with her target. Thoroughly taken aback, she decided to put a relative stop on this business, until she could figure out the truth. After all, no tattoo had ever appeared before, not even when she met her fiancé. What did this mean?

As the months passed, Tomoe understood; Kenshin was her soulmate. His kind demeanour, his will to protect the people of the neighbourhood – his downtrodden parents included – made her heart warm again, just like the first time she had met her fiancé. She felt she betrayed him at first, falling in love with the man that killed him, but as she spent time with him, she realised this person wouldn't kill anyone. If he did, more factors were at play. So she decided to stop this farce, come clean to her new love and the man who set her on this revenge.

Obviously, the second one didn't take it so well. But he also hadn't cared, because now he was holding an important card: her. And she couldn't leave now. So Kenshin would and did come for her…only to find people trying to kill him left and right. So what did he do? He fought and fought and fought and fought till he had no strength left. And then the final boss appeared and boy, was he ever on the rampage. He took out a real sword, not the wooden ones Kenshin always used; he tried to kill him many times, giving him thankfully non-lethal wounds. But Kenshin was tired and the other man was not. He dominated him. And just as he was about to deliver the finishing blow, Kenshin saw them—the two daggers he had previously thrown his way. In a final effort, he picked them up and aimed; he would throw them right back and would disarm the man. He took aim and threw…

Only one found its intended target though; the other lodged itself straight into Tomoe's back and came out her chest. As one pierced the manic man on the shoulder, rendering him completely useless, the other killed the woman, the love of his life.

Desperate, through tears and curses, he inched his way close to her, chanting apologies in her ear. She wiped them all away, smiling in death. She showed him his wrist. Look, she said through a satisfied smile, the words are fading; they served their purpose. Stroking his cheek one final time, she expired in his arms.

.

The third time he ever encountered an abnormality with the soulmate tattoos was the day he turned himself in.

He had gone on the warpath, eliminating men that belonged to the group that sent Tomoe against him. When they were finished, he turned on the mobster that had once used him and took out his entire group, too fearing what they would do to people if so much power was given to them overnight. When he was done, despite the fact he'd killed no other than his own lover, he turned himself in to the very man who had been after him all this time but could never seem to have anything to pin on him: Saito Hajime.

He was a police officer, quickly rising on the force to become detective; he was but 25 years old when Kenshin turned himself in, a year later and it was him, the third abnormality in this soulmate tattoo business. Where others had names, dates, places and the like he had a timer. It was at the back of his neck, where Saito definitely couldn't see it unless he really tried or someone told him. Kenshin himself hadn't taken any notice of it, till he had to watch the man remove his tie and shirt because a prep splashed hot coffee on him. He changed in his office instead of the locker room – where Kenshin was sitting hand-cuffed opposite Saito's comfy-looking chair – because that's where he decided to keep his spare clothes. And Saito even knew he was there, he just hadn't care.

"So you finally turned yourself in, huh?" As if he knew he would do it eventually, his tone made Kenshin's skin crawl; he'd never forget it. They had several run-ins before, too so this must have been a special occasion. Maybe the universe was trying to tell him something, Kenshin thought and kept his ears sharp. And his eyes and that's when he noticed the numbers. "What are you looking at?"

"The tattoo on your neck…!"

Saito's eyebrow shot very high. "Are you talking about that thing back there?" He snorted then. "Ever the romantic. What do you want with my timer?"

"Nothing it's just, it has-"

"I couldn't care less what it does."

That sentence put Kenshin on full alert. He did not care? How could he not care? This wasn't the confusing kind of tattoo his master had—it felt like an insult! "Still counting down or not, I don't give a damn. For me it's already done with."

"But how can you be sure if you don't check it?"

"We're not all idiots like you; I don't believe in soulmates or anything so ridiculous."

Kenshin's mouth hang at his insolence. What was wrong with this man? "Why would you call it ridiculous even when-!?"

"If you believe in soulmates then you believe in fate deciding things for you, too but I don't believe in anything I have no control over. Besides, you think life is always so simple, spoon-feeding you all the important things, like whom you get to spend the rest of your life with? Or did you not, by your own freewill, come in here to surrender? Did you not, by your own freewill, go on a bloody rampage, leaving people beaten left and right? So why would you rely on some dirt on your skin telling you who you should want and when?"

"So you believe in yourself so much that you can't be wrong—the timer can, but not you?"

"Exactly."

Kenshin was left sitting there, torn between feeling insulted or apprehensive. This wasn't what he believed in, not even what he accepted; but the man had valid points. Also, that was some self-confidence! He'd like some, too. Then again, that sure was some fancy talk coming from the guy with that convenient timer behind his head. If he wanted, he could know at a moment's notice when fate has what in store for him. Even if, admittedly, this man's tattoo was peculiar.

"If we're done with your sentimental musings, please confirm for me what possessed you to beat up all these people before I properly close the file on you."

Just as Kenshin was ready to snap something very scathing back at him, the landline rang; and the bastard must have had the most advanced landline on the force because his was like a cell phone, touch screen and everything! The caller id showed a number, not a name, but the man recognised it immediately, because he picked it up in a second.

"This is Saito; yes, I know." The person on the other end must have said something in a frantic tone, because he rushed to calm them, saying: "I'm fine, I simply received an urgent call."

He listened again, while Kenshin tried to eavesdrop out of curiosity, yet at the same time tried to stop himself out of common curtesy. But then Saito interrupted the other person, telling them as soothingly as possible "I know, just go back to sleep. This is about that case…once it's over I'll be right back. Good." Silence. "I love you, too but go back to sleep. But if anything happens, call me again immediately."

He sighed as he put the phone down but noticed Kenshin who was left staring, for more reasons than one. "What?"

"Nothing, just…you didn't strike me as a romantic either. I mean, you didn't sound the part, but you definitely talked the part."

Knowing exactly what he was talking about, he felt himself twitch. "What part of telling your wife you love her is romantic? That's just what it is."

"Wife...you're married!?"

"…so?" The "yes" was silent.

Well, that made sense; whatever he said, all of his lofty statements. He didn't care what that timer said, because as far as he was concerned, he had already found a person to spend the rest of his life with. And maybe, just maybe, the universe knew in advance how this person would be, so he put the so convenient timer at the back of his neck, where he couldn't easily see it on his own, because he really didn't need to see it. Also, when he'd walked in the room and Kenshin first noticed his timer, it said: 00:00:00:00.

So if he had already met his soulmate, why was it still there? But once he put the phone down, his question was answered because now the timer was running again and it showed 00:00:01:34…and when he looked again, just before his tie was tied some minutes later, it showed 00:00:01:29. And then Kenshin finally realised.

"How long does it take to book someone?"

"Not long; the tricky part will be your statement. But usually, we're done in an hour."

A smile spread on his lips. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Because all this time you haven't been doing just that."

Ignoring the comment, he smiled almost a little wickedly and asked "how long does it take you to get home from here? Maybe twenty minutes?"

"The hell are you asking, you delinquent-?"

"Never mind."

So there were these type of people, too, Kenshin decided; the ones that fell in love with their soulmates every time they saw them. No wonder his timer never stopped. Tch, and he had the gall to call him romantic.

.

While in prison, his father, stepmother and teacher visited him regularly; that was when he noticed it: Hiko's tattoos were significantly lessened! Gone were the sleeves of writing on his arms. Thinned out and much more easily read, now only a dozen of them were left. It gave him hope for his master; maybe he could finally experience the same thing as him, even if he only felt it for the shortest of times.

But come seven years later, after time served and a whole year wandering Japan to make up for the life he had taken – the one that mattered to him the most that made his life not worth living – he saw the fifth and last strangest thing in his life. A new tattoo showed up on his own wrist! For the longest of times, he could not believe it, but…there it was. An arrow. It was pointing left. After several minutes, when he decided to make the first step, and the second, and the third and the fourth and so on, he realised…his arrow was moving. And now it pointed left and slightly to the back. It was a compass! He felt a rush of adrenaline flood his veins! Happiness mixed with it and he felt the most unexpected cocktail of positive emotions; a new soulmate. His new soulmate.

But as quickly as it came, it left, too; did he really deserve to be happy? When he had killed the only person he truly ever cared for? How could he believe a second accident like this wasn't meant to happen? Could he put this woman through the same? No one deserved to lose their lives because of love. Besides, love was meant to lift you up. Protect you; not kill you. So he walked at the opposite direction, compass be damned – ignoring how much he really wanted to turn back and go after her –. So he wandered. He wandered for another week; and another; and another, always doing his best to avoid the fated meeting.

Until it literally came crushing on him.

It was a Tuesday and he had to visit his parole officer. He always hated driving, so he decided to walk. As he was ready to walk on the crossing, the moment the light turned green for him, he heard tires screeching. He looked to the left and saw a red smart car ran into him! His body jolted backwards and he landed on the road, backside-first! Thankfully, his reflexes were top notch and the car was not going all that fast so he avoided any and all injury.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow; I think I dislocated my butt cheek…" he complained to no one but himself.

But then, the door of the car flew open and two bare legs, tanned from the sun but only just, came into view, boots on the farthest end. Then a hand appeared, clad with wristbands and a watch and in the end, the head of a young woman, black hair up on a messy ponytail. As she fully exited the car, her hands rested on the band of her high-waist jean shorts.

"YOU!" she shouted and stomped all the way to the fallen man. "Would you quit running away, you idiot of a soulmate? I've been driving up and down this prefecture for at least a month now! Stop running away from me damn it!" she puffed air out of her nose with determination, offering her hand in help. "The name is Kamiya Kaoru and you better not forget it!"

Then he noticed how his tattoo had been pointing at her from the moment she stepped out of the vehicle! It disappeared only after he really noticed it and was certain it was pointing at her. His smile became wide but apologetic. After all, when you avoid a soulmate you're not the only one being hurt. He took her hand and allowed her to pull him up. "I'm sorry I had to be so troublesome; please forgive me. My name is Himura Kenshin. I'm very pleased to meet you, Kaoru-dono."

A/N: And that was the soulmate AU! Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it because lemme be honest, I LOVED writing it. Also, I'm thinking of maybe doing this for Saito in a multi-chaptered story so tell me if you think I should. I'm thinking of including Hiko, too because DAMN IT he needs some love. Sure, he loves himself too much so one could say he has all the love he needs, but no. I think he needs more.

So, I'll probably expand this to make a proper story for Saito, should I try for Hiko as well? I dunno...please let me know your opinion~~