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She couldn’t believe it.It just wasn’t possible.Sakura stared her arm, but no matter how hard she looked, the colors splashed across her arms did not change. Green vines starting from her palm twisted up her arms and onto her shoulder blade. There, the vines made way to beautiful fully blossomed red carnations. While the design was one she was one she very familiar with, one she saw every day, the colors made it seem entirely new. The lime green of the vines and the blood red of the carnations gave her once pencil like marks an entire new meaning.When she was younger, Sakura was obsessed with having a soulmate. After watching her parents argue and fight every day, the promise of having someone who would love and care for her seemed like a perfect dream. A dream she used to escape her toxic childhood. During the day, she bullied at school and ignored at home, but in her dreams, she was a beautiful princess safely cradled in her soulmates arms. She wanted someone to come sweep her off her feet and away from all the abuse she faced.She just didn’t expect that person to be Ino Yamanaka.The small girl transferred to their school in the 3rd grade and immediately caused waves with the rest of their class. Ino’s bluntness caused her to make quick enemies and Sakura’s bullies quickly forgot about her in favor of turning their attention to the blonde. Unlike Sakura however, Ino fought back. She never needed to throw punches, all it took was a few words to leave them crying in a corner.Although she was kind of scared of her at first, Sakura couldn’t help admiring the other girl’s ruthlessness. The way Ino walked around as if she didn’t care if anyone liked her or not fascinated her. Ino was confident and tough as nails, everything Sakura wanted to be. Before long, Sakura’s daydreams turned into thoughts of Ino. She wanted to know everything about the other girl, but years of bullying and abuse caused her to hesitate. She didn't think she could ever approach the blond on her own.As it turns out, she didn’t have too.One of Sakura’s old bullies decided Ino was too much trouble and turned their attention back to the girl who wouldn’t fight back. Sakura was curled up against the back wall of the school with her knees pulled to her chest in fright trying not to cry as another girl hovered over her with taunting jeers and a cold smirk. Whenever she moved closer, Sakura moved back. They continued this until Sakura was backed into a corner and the other girl held a fist of pink hair. Sakura closed her eyes and waited for the blow that never came. Instead her heard sounds of a scuffle and someone running away, but she didn’t dare open her eyes until someone flicked her forehead. She wearily opened her eyes to see an unimpressed Ino standing in front of her.“You know, if you wanted to cry in a corner the ones in the classrooms are comfier than out here.” Was the first thing Ino had ever said to her. The first time Ino touched her was when she flicked her forehead and gently grabbed Sakura’s hand to help her stand.They held hands and talked until it was dark and Ino’s father drove Sakura home, much to both girl’s disappointment. That night, as Sakura fell asleep grinning, a small bud bloomed onto her palm.The thing about soul marks was, they were incredibly tricky. Someone could look at the mark slowly growing on their skin and think the last person they talked to was their soulmate. However, it doesn’t work like that. Meeting your soulmate was the catalyst of the marks, but once the marks are there, they continue to grow on their own. The initial marks are pencil-like outlines that are not permeant. The marks become solidified and colored only if the bond between two potential soulmates is requited. If not, they slowly faded away.Truly requited soulmate bonds were rare, but once they formed, they could not be broken. Non-matched people, like Sakura’s parents, often formed relationships after their bonds were broken. Of course, not all un-matched couples let their bitterness over having an unrequited relationship with their soulmate taint their other relationships the way Sakura’s parents did. But seeing their distain of each other made Sakura fearful of losing her connection with her soulmate. It was because of this that she never made a move or told the person she knew to be her soulmate how she felt. Looking at her arm now, Sakura realized that there wasn't a need for concern. The red in carnations clashed boldly with the green of the vines signaled to her that she never needed to live in fear again. She fell in love with her knight in shining armor, and amazingly enough, her knight loved her too. The fully colored vines and carnations were proof of that. Sakura knew what they meant. And she hurried climbed out of her window and ran to the girl she knew was waiting for her.Ino didn’t looked surprise to see her, nor did she ask we Sakura was at the park at dawn. Instead, a small smile stretched onto Ino’s lips.“Late as ever hun Sakura?” She taunted with teasing smile on her lips. Her voice was softer than Sakura had ever heard it.The truth was, Sakura’s connection with Ino started when the too were lonely 8-year-old girls forging a new friendship with each other, and now, sitting next to her on a park bench 10 years later, Sakura is sure there isn’t anyone she would rather spend the rest of her life with.And when their lips touched for the first time, their matching red carnations bloomed happily in the early morning sunlight.