Spirit Bound - A Banana Fish Soulmate AU - art by @ashconny

Soul Bound But Worlds Apart

Since many people liked my soulmate AU, I decided to turn it into a little story of its own. The first part was part of the Fictober stories I've uploaded, so it's possible that you've already read it. But the second part is new🙂 I hope you'll enjoy it. I really love soulmate AUs✨

An invisible red thread connects those destined to meet, regardless of time, place or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle. But it will never break.

Eiji had grown up with this saying. In his world, everyone had a soulmate. All his classmates had one, his parents and his sister. Most people had a soulmate that didn't live far away, and they could communicate telepathically, just by sending thoughts or feelings to each other. They also heard if the other one was injured or scared, overjoyed or happy if the emotions intensified.

Now that he was going to school, he wondered why he couldn't communicate with his soul mate. His parents had tried to explain that a soul mate's bond was easier to connect to if both people sharing the bond lived next to each other. If his soul mate lived far away, maybe in another country, the bond was still there, but it was impossible to communicate telepathically. But you still noticed your soul mate's presence and could send emotions through the bond. Your soulmate was always present, like a little humming sound in the background.

Eiji hadn't believed his parents. He felt the presence of his soulmate, but it was faint, and he felt lonely because all the people around him could communicate with their soul mate, and they were best friends that shared everything. So Eiji often dreamed of meeting his soul mate and was convinced he would meet him one day.

One night, he woke up screaming. Tears streamed down his face while fear, panic and pain surged through him, making his whole body tremble while tears flowed down his face without knowing the reason.

After a moment, he realized that those horrible and intense emotions were coming from his soulmate. He was scared to death and was suffering so much that it affected him as well. Eiji felt that he was injured. The emotions were so intense that Eiji could feel the injuries and the pain on his body as well. Eiji felt the raw pain as if it were his own. It was nearly unbearable, and he wondered how much more his soulmate had to suffer.

He curled up in a ball and hugged himself while he cried, and his whole body shook from that horrible experience. His soulmate's emotions were so intense, they overwhelmed him, and he couldn't control them.  All he could do was cry himself to sleep. His parents didn't know what to do, either. In their country, people lived peaceful lives, and a soulmate that experienced traumatic events or physical pain was rare except for minor injuries or accidents. So their doctor had no advice either about how to handle this unique situation.

His parents always ran to him and hugged him, assuring him they were by his side until he had calmed down. But at that point, he woke up screaming every night, and his parents grew worried.

One day, his mom asked him what he wanted to do. She assured him that if he could control the bond, he could also influence the emotions that came through to him from his soul mate's side. She also told him of the possibility to block his soul mate's emotions so that he wouldn't feel them anymore.

"No, I'll never do that!", Eiji exclaimed angrily. "My soulmate is suffering. I can't just block him when he goes through so much pain! I want to be there for him. What can I do to help him? To show him that he isn't alone?", he asked her desperately while tears streamed down his face.

His mom gently stroked his hair and placed a soft kiss on his forehead.

"You're a good boy, Eiji. It's only natural that you want to help your soulmate. But please be careful. If emotions get too strong, they can affect you and your mental or physical health as well.", she explained to him while she looked at him with concern in her brown eyes.