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Futaba never really thought highly of the whole soulmates thing. It just didn’t make any logical sense. Seven billion people on Earth and everyone just happens to exist at the same time as the person that is perfectly compatible for them? Yeah right!
And yet her mother, the leading researcher of Cognitive Psience, had no problem with the idea of soulmates. Probably because she had found her soulmate, Sojiro.
As stubborn as six-year old Futaba was, she had to admit that Mom and Sojiro were perfect for each other. But she still didn’t think that there was someone meant just for her.
Although…Futaba had to admit that being able to see the same marks on each other’s skin was really cool. She would never forget the first time she witnessed it, watching intently as Mom drew on one of her arms while the picture showed up on Sojiro’s arm. With their matching rolled-up sleeves, Futaba would admit that there may have been something to this whole soulmate thing.
Something that Futaba would have a lot of fun with. Sometimes, while sitting on her mother’s lap while she was working, she would doodle pictures and write messages to Sojiro, who would always write back. Sometimes they would play tic-tac-toe!
And while the logical Futaba thought that it was a little ridiculous that there was no scientific explanation for how it worked, the fun-loving Futaba (the one that often shared similar opinions to Kana-chan) thought it was really cool and couldn’t wait to make contact with her soulmate.
The day finally arrived on her tenth birthday.
Whenever a child turned ten, there was a common practice of doodling something large on the top of one of their hands. If a similar mark appeared on the other, it meant that their soulmate had noticed and was also of age. If there wasn’t a mark, it wasn’t a huge deal as it usually meant that you were the older of the pair. You just had to wait for the day your soulmate’s drawing would appear on one of your hands.
On Futaba’s tenth birthday, she attempted a crude drawing of Sonic the Hedgehog with Sharpie (although, admittedly it looked a lot more like Sanic). She kept both of her hands on the table, continually staring at her blank left hand.
She waited…and waited…and waited…
Yet no return drawing ever showed up!
Logically, she knew that she was most likely older than her soulmate, whomever they were, but she still felt a little discouraged.
At least until Sojiro showed up at her house carrying a cake and a large gift bag soon after.
After stuffing herself full of cake and while enjoying time with her two favorite people, Sojiro asked her about the drawings on her hands. Futaba started to explain that she attempted the custom but there was no response-and wait- DRAWINGS?!?
Sure enough on the back of her left hand was a well-made sketch of a realistic fox, done in pen. Her soulmate existed!
She wondered if maybe they were busy and couldn’t draw anything until then.
Although she couldn’t believe that it was just a normal fox, instead of Tails. How could this person be her soulmate if they didn’t even know who Sonic the Hedgehog’s best friend was?
Futaba had dubbed her soulmate Inari, as they usually drew foxes whenever a drawing would appear on her skin. It was consistent and very annoying…sometimes she refused to believe that this person could possibly be her soulmate.
And yet as time passed, she started to enjoy seeing Inari’s art on her body. Whoever he was (at least she was pretty sure that he was a he), he was most definitely an artist, and a very good one at that. Every single sketch and doodle was a masterpiece.
She would steal her mother or Sojiro’s phone to take pictures of her favorite ones.
He even managed to draw Sonic the Hedgehog once, to her joy and surprise!
Sometimes she would even draw something back. Usually something simple like a smiley face, just to let him know that she was there and that she loved seeing his work.
While she still found the concept of soulmates to be ridiculously unscientific, something that her mother supported her in researching and theorizing about to disprove, she had to admit, having Inari around wasn’t so bad.
At least during the days when her mother was there.
After her mother’s murder suicide, Futaba ended up losing her home. Sojiro wanted to take her in, but the legal system wanted to place her with her biological family. They didn’t care that Sojiro had been there since before she was born, or that he had almost finished the process of being registered as Wakaba Isshiki’s soulmate; a process that could no longer be completed.
And so, Futaba was passed around from family member to family member that didn’t want her, until eventually settling in with her Uncle Youji. He was upfront in admitting that he was only keeping her around for the government stipend. He didn’t like her, and had no trouble with showing it, as the constant bruises on her body proved.
She wasn’t even allowed food either, although she would raid his fridge whenever he was out drinking and gambling.
Everyone in school started to ignore her, something that she couldn’t blame them for. She knew that she probably smelled awful, but it wasn’t her fault that she couldn’t take a bath!
And to make matters worse, Sojiro hadn’t visited like he promised he would!
She was lonely, the only person that she could interact with was her uncle. And he didn’t want anything to do with her, except whenever he needed a punching bag.
She was completely alone…or almost alone.
She still had Inari.
While they weren’t at an age where written words would show up (that wasn’t until they met each other face to face), he would still continue to draw pictures to keep her from losing her sanity. Sometimes just watching him doodle on her arms or thighs was a calming sight to her.
It really helped that he had as bad a sleep schedule as she did. Curling up on her blankets on the floor, she’d sometimes catch him doodling at odd hours of the night, the ink reflecting off of the streetlamp from the window close to her “bed.” Most of the time she would wake up from a nightmare-ridden sleep to see all that he had drawn.
One time she caught him awake during one of her late night food raids. Excitedly, she snuck over to her backpack and found a pen.
After slinking back to her blanket pile, she uncapped it and drew a random scribble near where he was drawing on her arm, signaling that she was awake.
His sketch stopped, and Futaba feared for a second that she had lost him too. But he resumed drawing, this time near where she had made a mark. After another minute, her scribble had been turned into a bird in flight. Futaba let out a small “heh heh” as she came up with an idea.
She made another random shape, and Inari turned that one into a dead tree. Another became a lobster. And of course one became a fox. Classic Inari.
They almost had to stop when they ran out of space on their arms and it took Inari way too long to realize that her down arrows meant to move onto their legs.
With her arms and legs covered in doodles, Futaba fell asleep with a smile on her face for the first time since her mother died.
They played the game almost every night. Futaba would start a drawing, and Inari would finish it. Futaba started to keep a pen hidden in the pocket of her pajama shorts. It was the only relief from the constant abuse at her uncle’s hands.
And soon their sketches turned into mini conversations. While they still couldn’t write words to each other, they found ways around it. For example, a question mark was their way of saying “How are you?” which would be followed with an emoji representing their feelings (or at least that was how she would respond-Inari tended to draw semi-realistic faces).
It was there that they learned simple things about each other. Like finally confirming that Inari was a boy (by drawing gender signs) and learning that he was a year older than her (drawing shapes with the number of lines being their age).
And things were starting to look up, at least for a while…
During one late night game of Doodles, Uncle Youji found out.
She was sitting on the floor and quietly giggling when a dark shadow covered her. She looked up to see him towering over her.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” He bellowed. He grabbed for the pen, creating a dark line as it broke through her skin.
“I-I…” She was visibly shaking while trying to explain herself.
“Conversing with your soulmate, were we?”
He looked angry and Futaba knew that nothing she could say would calm him down. So she settled for nodding, hoping it would end faster. Her hands subconsciously covered the mark on her thigh.
“It’s bad enough you killed my sister! And now you’re trying to leave me?”
Futaba’s mouth dropped open. That wasn’t even close to what was going on. “N-no…I…”
“After all I’ve done for you!?! Giving you a place to stay. Keeping a roof over your head. This is how you repay me? By trying to leave? You bitch!” She barely saw his hand before it slapped her cheek.
The impact knocked her to the floor. His foot made contact with her stomach. Again. And again. And again…Futaba just laid there and let it happen.
Eventually, the beating stopped, and Uncle Youji drunkenly staggered back to his bed. Futaba refused to uncurl herself from the ball she had rolled herself into and simply cried herself into a dreamless sleep.
Early the next morning, she ran down the hall and into the bathroom before her uncle woke up and would literally throw her out of it.
Pulling off the worn old clothes she slept in she reached for the shirt of her school uniform only to pause when she saw herself in the mirror.
Inari had turned each bruise and blemish on her skin into a work of art. There were several foxes (classic Inari) and other animals on her stomach, albeit upside down. The line of ink on her leg was transformed into a beautiful mountain landscape painting. It was a breathtaking sight to see, and it was just for her!
Futaba felt tears well up in her eyes. Somewhere, she had someone that cared about her.
Months had passed, and Futaba never worked up the courage to initiate another game of Doodles. But Inari was always there for her. After every beating, there would be a drawing on or near the injury. It was a comfort that helped get her through the hell she was living in.
And then one day, Sojiro came to visit. And he took one look at her and brought her home with him.
She finally had a bed. She finally had access to a bathroom. And she finally had food whenever she wanted.
And the bruises stopped, along with the pictures that came with it… or at least they were supposed to. After weeks of living with a non-abusive guardian, bruises still marked her skin. She knew that bruises went away with time and asking the Internet on her new top of the line PC proved it. Futaba wondered if she was permanently broken.
Until she poked at one and didn’t feel any pain…
It took Futaba far longer than she would ever admit to realizing that the bruises weren’t hers. But once she did, she knew exactly what she needed to do.
Futaba started digging through the piles of trash in her room, looking for anything that would work. Sojiro never cared about the state of her room, and for once she was a little bit miffed that he never forced her to clean it. It would be so much easier to find things if he had!
After searching for a few more minutes, she finally found something that would work: a pen. She had no idea where the lid was, but that didn’t matter. Inari was hurting and she wanted-no, needed -to be there for him the way he had always been there for her.
So she started drawing on the bruises. Small things. A smile. A Poké Ball. For a while she debated drawing a heart, but ultimately decided against it. Simple drawings, but still more complex than the ones they would draw during their games. She hoped it would let Inari know that she was there for him.
And on the largest bruise, she attempted a crude drawing of a fox.
Somehow, she knew it was something that he needed to see.
Inari, thankfully, did not have bruises on his body after that incident. She hoped that wherever he was, he was doing better. But she couldn’t say the same.
Physically she was better. Sojiro fed her, clothed her, and took care of her. He never laid a hand on her. She was safe from her uncle’s words and fists. But no one, not even Sojiro, could protect her from her own mind.
Without the constant threats and fear of getting in trouble keeping her busy, Futaba’s mind was free to wander. And from there, she was able to really consider how big the role she played in her mother’s suicide was.
It started off as just the voice in her head, hating and reprimanding her. Then those voices turned into memories of her mother scolding her. But her heart and mind kept escalating things.
Her mother started appearing before her, followed by her uncle (despite Sojiro’s reassurances that she would never see him again) and the rest of the Isshikis. All of them told her that she didn’t deserve to live, and she believed them.
She found it harder and harder to talk to people. She begged Sojiro to let her wait to start high school, and he easily agreed. And soon she found it harder to talk to him face to face, choosing to text him from behind the safety of her bedroom door. And some days even that was too hard.
She was slowly losing the desire to grab one of the many pens on her desk to draw something to talk to Inari. The voices in her head told her that murderers don’t deserve love and happiness. But she still doodled something, knowing that Inari probably needed it.
Too bad his soulmate was a murderer….
He deserved a soulmate better than her…
It would be better for him if she was dead.
So maybe, she should stop drawing back so that he can get used to not having his soulmate around.
She didn’t know when was the last time she had picked up a pen and drew something for Inari, but it was probably months at this point. Inari still drew on his body regularly, and while she still enjoyed seeing the masterpieces, she no longer took pictures of them.
After all, she was going to die in her tomb of a bedroom, soon. She couldn’t look at them if she was dead.
Sometime in May, Futaba saw several different drawings on her body, all some combination of a top hat with a mask and a flame. All of them looked really good.
Inari soon drew a question mark and to her the meaning was clear: he wanted to know which one she liked the best.
She wasn’t going to respond-he deserved better.
But there was one on her right thigh that really took her breath away. The shadows on the hat and the shape of the flame looked amazing!
Without really realizing it, she had grabbed one of the pens that she still kept on her desk and circled that one. She added a star for good measure.
And while her mother was screaming at her, saying that it was wrong for a murderer like her to pursue a relationship with someone, she still felt good.
It was going to be her last good deed before she died, after all.
Imagine her surprise, a few days later, when the doodle she circled was front and center on the calling card the Phantom Thieves sent to Ichiryusai Madarame.
Inari…was a Phantom Thief????
He was clearly a very talented artist, so maybe he was just commissioned by them?
For the first time since Medjed, she had a purpose to go online. No longer wanting to punish wrongdoers (except for herself), she created a new online identity: Alibaba.
She researched online for every piece of information and rumor she could get on the Phantom Thieves. Who they were, what they did, and even if they commissioned a particular artist. She couldn’t find anything. The most information she got was from the Phansite, and even then the moderator didn’t seem to know anything.
She would have given up, if she hadn’t found the best piece of information in her own backyard…or at least in Leblanc.
Shortly after moving in with Sojiro, Futaba had placed several bugs and hidden cameras around the cafe. Sojiro bought her excuse that she was just curious about what life was like outside the “safety” of her bedroom walls. In reality, she just wanted to make sure that she’d never have to see Uncle Youji again.
But Sojiro did not know that she also bugged the attic. And so she listened in as the Phantom Thieves celebrated the success of stealing Ichiryusai Madarame’s heart over hot pot. Just like Alibaba, she had discovered the thieves’ den!
And while they were talking, the girl briefly mentioned the art on the calling card. Futaba held her breath, wondering if she would be able to track him down.
Only for one of the boys to complement another member for improving on his original design. So Inari was a Phantom Thief!
If Futaba was a normal teenage girl, she would be jumping up and down with excitement (and maybe nervousness) over the idea of meeting her soulmate. But she wasn’t. She wasn’t going to be around for much longer, so it made no sense for her to try to meet him. And there was still the chance that it wasn’t even him in the first place.
She came up with an idea to check, and decided to wait for the one that lived in the attic to finish explaining his backstory. Futaba felt really bad for him, in part because she was no better than the man that had ruined his life.
Her mother’s voice rang through her head again, declaring that she didn’t deserve a soulmate after taking her away from hers, and Futaba almost dropped the pen in her hand. She knew that she shouldn’t attempt to communicate with him, but her curiosity was getting the better of her. She had to know who was unfortunate enough to be stuck with her.
When she uncapped the pen, her mother’s voice grew louder, but Futaba quickly drew a star on her left cheek before her mother’s spirit would talk her out of it.
“What the hell happened to your cheek?!?!” A loud voice in the attic yelled.
The only female voice gasped, like the sound you make after being woken up. “Calm down Ryuji, it’s probably just his soulmate. It’s not like you haven’t done it to me before!”
Futaba couldn’t believe it! A mark appeared on the Phantom Thief artist’s cheek! That had to be her Inari!
Inari-or Yusuke, as she had learned his name was, spent the night over at Leblanc. From what she heard, it sounded like he was going to be staying at Leblanc for some time. She could potentially meet him and say goodbye to him before she finally succumbed to her fate.
But that also meant leaving the safety of her bedroom to go outside and she wasn’t really ready for that.
Sojiro managed to see her leaving the bathroom that night. If he noticed that she had a similar star on her cheek to the one he saw on Inari’s hours earlier, he didn’t say anything.
The following morning, Inari left. Which was fine, because she probably wouldn’t have left the house anyway.
But the conversation he had with Sojiro, where he opened up about some of the things that happened to Madarame, made her heart break for him. She couldn’t believe that her soulmate had been through so much.
Maybe…she could live a little longer for Inari. For Yusuke.
And maybe, just maybe she could ask him and his friends for help.
It took Futaba a little over a month to work up the courage to ask the Phantom Thieves to steal her heart. And after finally sending them the text that could save her life, she was kind of regretting it.
Talking to other people, even through texting, was way more stressful than she ever thought that it would be. Which is why she tried to backtrack and cancel her demands several times.
Not that the Phantom Thieves listened, instead choosing to help her anyways. They even broke into her own home!
Which was terrifying, but this did give her a chance to see with her own eyes that Yusuke was her Inari. Not that her previous tests didn’t hold any water, she just wanted to really confirm it.
It just seemed so cliché, having her soulmate be a part of the heroic team that was going to come to her rescue. Every time something like that happened in an anime or in a video game, she would always roll her eyes. Kana-chan would have found that sort of thing to be romantic…if only Futaba could get better so that she could see her again…and that was partly why she had to keep playing, no matter how badly she wanted to forfeit!
Futaba thought that her first test was decent, and if it wasn’t broken, why bother fixing it? So, she once again pulled out the marker and drew something on her cheek, this time drawing a strange misshapen doodle that no one else could accidentally perfectly replicate.
Stealing her courage, she slipped into the blackened hallway during the thunderstorm.
She was 100% sure that she had accidentally traumatized the brunette girl. Yet Futaba was pleased with herself, as she was positive that she saw the same scribble on Yusuke’s cheek! He must be her soulmate!
Now with proof, Futaba wasn’t sure how to feel about it, she was mainly relieved that he hadn’t seen the drawing on her cheek. That gave her a better chance to properly introduce herself when she got better!
Better…it seemed strange to think that soon she would no longer fear going outside. But, no matter how contrived it seemed, asking her soulmate and his friends for help just felt…right.
It was taking them forever to steal her heart. No matter how much she threatened to turn them in, they just didn’t do their job! And to make things worse, every threat to call the police ended up with Inari daring her to do that. He was so annoying…she was almost certain that there had been a mix-up when handing out soulmates.
But eventually, the day came when the Phantom Thieves entered her house with a calling card in hand. It was exactly what she wanted…but she was once again having second thoughts.
At least until she heard Yusuke’s voice. And then she made her decision.
She took a deep breath and then swung open the door, shouting “Th-there! Now steal it!!”
But the Phantom Thieves couldn’t do it right then and there so Futaba holed herself back into her closet. The calling card was slipped under the door and after reading it, she thought about what they had done the previous times they had come to talk to her.
And a weird app had showed up on her phone so, naturally, she wanted to find out more about it.
So after repeating what the loud boy had said, she pressed enter and found herself in front of an Egyptian pyramid.
Soon some strange pharaoh version of herself kept talking to her, ordering her to remember her relationship with her mother. Futaba thought it was pointless, she knew the truth. She was a murderer.
At least that’s what she thought, until making it to the top of the pyramid.
The Phantom Thieves were all on top fighting some weird fusion of her mother and the Great Sphinx.
And soon she was awakening her Persona, and then she was helping the Thieves take down that evil version of her mother. And then she was tired and overwhelmed and just ready to sleep for a month.
She left and most of the day’s events were mostly a blur, but a few details had stuck with her.
And as she made her way down the pyramid’s steps, she thought about the Phantom Thieves' outfits, all the reds and blacks and blues that mixed together in her mind. And yet one outfit stood out to her clear as day.
After all, only her soulmate would dress like a kitsune fox.
The first few days after waking up were once again overwhelming. She spent a whole day hacking and destroying the imitation Medjed. And then the next day was spent with all of the Phantom Thieves and they were too much. Even the knowledge that one of them was her soulmate didn’t help much. Especially because he was sitting the closest to her.
Her heart was stolen, so why was she still not okay with crowds? Had something gone wrong with stealing her heart? Should she not have joined in on the fight?
She knew now that she was not a murderer, but maybe she should keep her distance just to be safe.
But the guy that was living in Leblanc, Ren, seemed nice and understanding. He took the lead in helping the group interact with her.
With his help, the team decided to break off into smaller groups, just to help Futaba get to know all of them.
The first day had Ren, along with Makoto, the brunette girl she traumatized during the thunderstorm. Joining them was Mona the cat and…her soulmate.
She was not ready to officially meet him…but she couldn’t just kick him out. They were meeting up in her room to help expose her to people, so she couldn’t just refuse their help. She had to keep getting better!
So, she would just ignore him, and wait until the perfect time (which was hopefully never) to tell him that she was his soulmate.
So instead, she half-listened to what Makoto was saying about food and the weather, doing her best to tune out whatever he was doing in the background.
Only she should have paid attention, as he was messing around with her beloved Featherman figurines!
She ran over to him and smacked his hand away. “My children, you murdered my children!”
He rolled his eyes. “I simply improved them. They look much better aesthetically now.”
“They’re valuable collector’s items! This is all your fault, Inari!”
“Inari?” he questioned and she realized her slip up. But at least it was one that she could easily play off.
“You know, inari sushi? The tofu things foxes eat in the old stories? What else should I call you after all of the foxes you’ve drawn over the years?”
The second it left her mouth, Futaba knew she had said too much. Why did she say that-this was not part of her plan!! And now he was going to not want to be around her and she couldn’t join the Phantom Thieves and find Mom’s killers. This wasn’t supposed to happen yet!
“I..How do you know?” he stuttered out. “No one should know about that…except for…” His eyes were piercing as he looked her up and down and tried to figure her out.
Ren immediately sensed what was going on. “Let’s give them a few minutes,” he said, picking up Morgana and holding him under his arm.
“I don’t think we should…” Makoto started, clearly aware of how distressed Futaba looked and felt.
“This is a conversation that they should have alone.” He said, placing his hand on her elbow and leading her out of the room. “We’ll come back if we hear yelling or throwing or something.”
The door shut behind them, although Futaba was pretty certain that at least one of them (maybe the cat?) was listening in.
Inari stood across the now empty room from her, waiting for her to start speaking, but Futaba could only breathe heavily. So he took the initiative and cleared his throat.
“I have always loved drawing foxes. Just the shapes of their bodies and how flexible they are was always interesting to me. I wanted to study them, and I did draw them a lot as a child. But Sensei…Madarame…he wasn’t a big fan of me doing that.
“He wanted me to focus on other things, other styles. Are you aware of his crimes?”
Futaba nodded, remembering the news stories she looked up about Madarame stealing his pupil’s works.
“He wanted me to focus on other subjects, not allowing me to have an artistic fingerprint so to speak if I or any other student of his came forward to expose his plagiarism.”
His voice was oddly calming, and Futaba’s breathing started to calm down.
“But I admit that I was a little rebellious, so I continued to draw them in places he wouldn’t see.”
“Like…your body?” Futaba whispered.
He nodded. “Yes, the only thing in that atelier that was truly mine. Something that he couldn’t take away from me. And something that only one other person knew about.”
Futaba, who had sat back down in her desk chair at some point during his story, had immediately turned her chair around, refusing to look at him.
“You’re my soulmate, aren’t you?” he whispered.
Futaba remained silent.
“I guess I did give it away by asking for your opinion before finalizing the Phantom Thief logo,” he stated while chuckling.
He stayed silent after that, and while Futaba was curious about why he wasn’t speaking, she was still too anxious to turn around and look at him or ask why.
He took a few steps closer to her and Futaba could feel the panic coming back. Why was he coming over here? Was he going to try to kiss her or something? Was Inari a hopeless romantic like that? Or was he going to tell her to her face that he hated her and never wanted to interact with her again? Futaba wasn’t sure which scenario she was more afraid of.
“May I?” he asked. She nodded, unsure of what he was asking.
He leaned over her desk to grab one of the many pens that she still kept on her desk. He then walked back over to her bed and sat down.
He uncapped it and started doodling. Futaba watched mesmerized as the drawing started to appear on her left hand. It looked like her Palace.
“The day I turned ten,” he started. “I wasn’t allowed to do the tradition. There was some event or art show and Madarame wanted my hands to be bare. He didn’t want any fraction of attention to be taken away from him. But that night, I went behind his back and drew something anyway.”
“Was it a fox?” Futaba timidly asked.
“I don’t remember exactly, but it probably was.” She turned slightly towards him and noticed a hint of a smile on his face. “And then I got up early to wash off the evidence so I wouldn’t get in trouble. It ended up being a waste as my soulmate drew on my hand about a year later.
“Thankfully, there were no events so I was allowed to complete the ritual when my soulmate initiated it.” He capped his pen and handed it back to her.
Futaba reached for it with her left hand automatically, regretting it immediately as she realized her mistake.
He could definitely see his drawing on her hand!
“I..” she started before cutting herself off and turning further away from him.
She wasn’t ready to let him in the way he was letting her in.
But…that didn’t mean that she wouldn’t be ready another day.
Taking a deep breath, she uncapped the pen in her hand.
As she attempted to draw a fox on her right hand, she started talking about something that she knew she could talk about.
“I know you think that my figurines look ‘aesthetically better’ the way you placed them, but they were designed so you can have them replicate poses from the show.”
“Really? I was not aware of that.”
As she started talking about Featherman and the imagery behind it, she found herself turning her chair towards Inari’s direction. He was listening to her intently, and soon they were having a full conversation with each other. And once her drawing was done, she put the pen down, stood up, and sat next to him on her bed. It felt weird, sitting on her bed next to a stranger, but it also felt right. They knew things about each other that no one else knew.
When Ren, Makoto, and Morgana came back into her room, if they saw the matching drawings on their hands they didn’t say anything about it. But they joined in on their conversation about art in pop culture, and Futaba knew that she had completed a step in her healing process.
As she looked at Inari, her soulmate, she mentally made a note for a future promise list that she would tell him everything about her past and ask him about more of his. But until then, she thought that maybe, things would be okay.