Soulmate System

L AND R TIME

September. 22. 2023.

"Stand up for myself?" You repeated, as Karma suggested the idea to you in the car, on your way to his home. You were kind of in disbelief at his suggestion. What was this junior high? Were you standing up to the students on the main campus or something? "What're you talking about?"

"Oh come on," Karma rolled his eyes, looking over at you as he stopped the car for a red light. In the dark, the only thing that illuminated your faces were the lights you passed by. It made a shadow cast over his face, and it almost felt like you were one of the delinquents Karma had a habit of running into. "Don't act like you can't do it."

"They're not bullying me"-

"They're making you do all their bottom of the barrel work, Y/N," Karma said firmly, glaring at you. "They're taking away your time and opportunities you could be having if you only focused on your work, rather than helping them with the petty shit that basic artificial intelligence, nowhere near Ritsu, could get done. You have to stand up for yourself."

"I'm new to the job, Karma, I mean you understand that," you tried to defend yourself, but obviously it would never work.

"No, I don't," Karma cut you down. "But you know what I do know?" He leaned in, taking up your personal space as he looked into your eyes.

June. 26. 2015.

"Oh, sexy guy," Professor Bitch read aloud. "'It's a miracle!' See? Simple. Icebreakers like this guarantee a good first impression. Now, I'm sure we all know someone who's absolute crap with small talk," she chuckled lightly. "Maybe we are that person. The trick is to put yourself in the shoes of your target. Kimura, throw me an icebreaker, quick!"

Kimura stuttered before getting out a, "Hey there."

Professor Bitch crossed her fingers. "No, no! Your shifting the burden of conversation! If you want a meaningful response, the other person has to feel you're pulling your own weight. Try coming at them guns blazing with an interesting observation," she suggested.

Kimura nodded, hesitant still. You were understanding what she meant though. You were well versed in English. It was definitely one of your best subjects, along with Japanese. Really, you excelled at any language once you put the thought and time into studying them. As a child, you were always told you excelled at it, that you had a natural gift for the art of language. And you did, it came to you naturally. But once you started doing poorly in math and science, you started to shift your focus there, and your hang on even languages began to slip.

"Conversation is a challenge for the best of us, and that's okay!" Professor Bitch reassured. "Don't think in terms of finding the right words, let them come find you. Just let the conversation flow. Finesse it like a full tongued kiss."

As the class continued, Professor Bitch had the class start at least ten conversations for the rest of the class, and she assessed as the class went on. The class needed someone to start and get them going. Realizing this, Professor Bitch called on you.

"Y/N, you're not the top scorer in English in this class," Professor Bitch called out, immediately making your confidence falter. She was a good conversationalist sure, but good teacher, not completely yet.

She was right though. When it came to exam time or just generally on tests, Nakamura and Karma always had you beat. But they were geniuses; could you really compare to them?

"But from what I've seen, I think you have a fair grasp at the art of conversation," she analyzed. "How would you start a conversation, with let's say Karma. Or, if you can't think of that make up an icebreaker."