Thread by @andi_diiii

#kazuscara #scarakazu Soulmates + Rivals AU

Scara never believed in the concept of soulmates.

Soulmates? Who needed that, Scara was already passionate enough.

What was his single passion?

Beating Kaedehara Kazuha…

Although Scara didn’t care about soulmates, supposedly everyone had one. Upon meeting them, your heart would instantly know and light up with passion.

And at 18, each person received a single letter they could send to their soulmate.

Still, Scara didn’t care about that.

Beating Kaedehara Kazuha was his sole goal.

He hated that rosy streaked blonde, the show off that he was, with his nimble fingers as he struck every white and black key with utmost elegance.

A stolen performance, that was what Scara had always remembered him for.

He remembered it as if he was still 16 when he had met the seemingly shy pianist.

It was required that he needed a pianist to accompany him for his violin solo for the festival.

It was an honorary performance, meant for him and only him.

He was the one who had risen through the ranks in order to claim his rightful accolades.

But Kazuha had ruined that all.

In their rehearsal, little to none was said between the soloist and his accompaniment. Scara liked it better that way.

Kazuha’s skill was surprisingly adequate. Scara had met better pianists though, but Kazuha was perfect.

Skilled enough to meet the requirement, yet not too skilled as to steal his show.

Oh how wrong that would prove to be…

The performance had been like no other, yet in the end it was not his performance, it was Kazuha’s.

The quiet Kazuha who had never shown his true skill before now did so in a show of prowess.

And a battle had ensued in stage.

Kazuha drilled his fingers in an unforeseen artful grace and in return Scara played louder and faster in a robustly brilliant way. He wasn’t going to concede.

But neither was Kazuha.

It was then that Scara realized how little he actually knew about Kazuha.

Yet in the end, Scara was left beaten. The audience clapped in the highest applause Scara had ever received, but in the end it wasn’t meant for him.

All Kazuha did was bow with a smug smile on his face, completely knowing of what he had done.

And that was the day Scara vowed vengeance against Kaedehara Kazuha.

He would never let himself be humiliated such again. And soon that burning revenge turned into a raging passion.

It had almost been two years since Scara last saw Kazuha, but his name pestered Scara everywhere

He was known throughout the music world as a renowned performer, appearing from nowhere and filling each concert hall in Teyvat.

Even the news sang their praises of him calling him the next rising musical prodigy.

That was supposed to be Scara’s spot, or it had been his spot.

Now all he got that talked about him were little slots or occasional blog posts.

Kazuha had stolen it all and there was nothing more that Scara wanted to see, but a sigh of defeat from his pretty little face.

Scara spend every hour he could practicing.

Yet, at 18 most other people had different focuses.

18 was when most people met their soulmates. Of course you could by chance happen to meet them before, but that was almost impossible.

18 was when each person was granted a single letter they could write to their soulmate.

While other people were trying to meet their soulmate, Scara was practicing his violin.

There was nothing he could love more than his goal of beating Kazuha. A silly soulmate would only stand in his way.

So, he never wrote the letter nor did he receive one. Good, it was better like that.

As months passed by a new festival was approaching and Scara decided he’d grace it with his presence by performing.

Naturally, he was give the top spot, the featured act of the whole thing.

But in the day of the festival that had been stripped away from him.

Last minute, Kazuha decided to preform and the organizers easily swapped out Scara. He was now just a side act like everyone else.

Of all places why did Kazuha have to reappear in his life now?

Yet, as furious as he was, Scara took the opportunity to directly challenge Kazuha.

He didn’t want to see Kazuha unless it was him admitting defeat.

“Ah, Scara, I was unaware you would be playing in this festival, how have you been?”

Was Kazuha really pretending to act all cordial after he had pulled that stunt 2 years ago? Scara wasn’t going to feed I to niceties.

“What are you trying to get at Kaedehara?”

“I was simply asking how you’ve been, I quite admire your talent, but if no conversation to be…

…held will be civil, I will take my leave.”

“Admire my talent? There’s no need to lie, I prefer it as it is, you know that.”

“It wasn’t a lie, Scara, but if you happen to take it that way then I cannot help you. I had come to wish you best of luck on your performance.”

“It is you who needs the luck.”

“Perhaps so, I have not seen you perform live since then, I am quite excited to see your talent’s improvement in person.”

“In person?”

“I won’t lie, I have watched some of your performances online.”

Scara had done the same.

Kazuha was acting as if there was no rivalry between them and it irritated Scara.

Their conversation was soon dismissed and the night passed on, it was time for Scara’s performance.

Spotlights in his face, violin in one hand, bow in the other, he fiddled the stars and moon away with each graceful note.

The crowd cheered, the audience applauded and Scara basked in it all. Yet as he turned to exit he could’ve sworn he saw Kazuha there watching, admiring him.

But when he blinked the pianist was gone.

What exactly was he playing at?

As always Kazuah’s performance was enchanting and Scara could not reason his own performance better than the pianist’s.

His eyes had been glued to Kazuha’s fingers the entire performance in a trance, but in doing so he hand t it iced the pair of red eyes focused upon his figure.

And although Kazuha was still better than him, he could still appreciate his art.

He never thought it wouldn’t have been a challenge and he practiced harder than he ever had before.

But one day, October 29th, his daily rituals had been interrupted.

It was the arrival of a letter, the letter from his soulmate…

And although he still didn’t believe in such things, he still read it and was quite surprised at its contents.

Dear Soulmate,
I regret to inform you that I have already found the love of my life regardless if he isn’t my soulmate. His is of the most charming nature and has…

completely enthralled me. But, I still feel the obligation to write this letter to inform you of my feelings for another. I believe that regardless of assigned soulmates, love still continues on like the endless winds.

Sincerely,
Your Soulmate

So his supposed soulmate didn’t even like him.

In all honesty, Scara didn’t care. He never cared about soulmates before, so why would he now? They would only be a nuisance.

The next few months and flown by and Scara had forgotten all about his supposed soulmate.

But he hadn’t forgotten about Kazuha.

He never would.

In fact Kazuha’s presence only became more common.

It seemed that every competition Scara was in, Kazuha was there to.

He had seen Kazuha more in the past months than the 2 years prior and he couldn’t tell if he hated it.

He absolutely despised Kazuha, with his overly polite mannerisms and such, but on the other hand his performances were absolutely mesmerizing.

As a musican Scara wouldn’t deny that Kazuha had talent.

But as consequence of seeing him often, he talked with him more often.

Kazuha would always approach him with the oddest questions.

“I congratulate you on second place, Scara, if the judging had been left up to me, you wouldn’ve placed higher.”

“Dumbass, if I placed higher you wouldn’t have gotten the first place you desired.”

Kazuha shrugged.

“I suppose my rankings are different than the judges. Regardless, I think you have been improving much lately. Do you practice often?”

“I spend every hour practicing.” He was quite proud of that.

“You are 18, are you not? Don’t you care about finding your soulmate?”

“I don’t but why do you care to know, huh?”

“My apologies I didn’t mean to intrude, but it was simply sense of wonder. I had written a letter to my supposed soulmate the day I turned 18.”

“So who’s your soulmate?”

“I don’t particularly care to know, they never sent a letter…

…Like you, I have been focusing on practice even though we have come to equal footing now.”

“Next competition is Inazuma National, I expect to see you there, Kaedehara, prepare to lose your lead.”

And with that Scara left.

He didn’t have time to bother with folly like soulmates, but deep down maybe he felt a little disappointed that Kazuha, like him, wasn’t focused on love.

Regardless he didn’t think much of it, he had a competition to win, the one where he would finally beat Kazuha.

The competition came faster than expected, he would be in stage in a matter of a few minutes and Kazuha was no where in sight.

He couldn’t help but feel a little bit disappointed.

He had gotten used to seeing Kazuha backstage before he went out to the spotlight.

Yet the show must go on and he could feel himself as one with his violin as he performed a spectacle for the judges. The strings of his violin might as well been his heart strings.

And unbeknownst to him in the background Kazuha had been watching.

Of course after Scara’s performance was over he watched Kazuha and he already knew that he had been beat.

The pure emotion that flowed through the room charging it was sadness, regret, and longing for love had already set his score higher than Scara’s.

Kazuha’s performance was the last of the competition and soon scores would be posted and he would accept his loss again, yet he didn’t mind second place so much this time.

But before the judges finished writing their final reviews, Kazuha had a shocking announcement…

“I will be conceding this competition, my apologies for the inconvenience, but please respect my wishes.”

Scara was absolutely appalled, how could Kazuha just give up like that? He didn’t even care if that meant he was first now.

The second he was able to reach Kazuha, he almost tackled him.

“Why did you concede? You would’ve won?”

“I felt it unfair for me to participate in such a competition.”

Was Kazuha bragging? That was unlike him.

“Why?”

“Well a large part of my performance is the emotion…

…put into it, and that emotion has only been channels through me by someone else competing, so I felt it unfair to compete against me muse.”

“Oh.”

Scara didn’t know why he wished he could’ve been that person to inspire such a masterpiece.

“Scara, it’s you…”

“What?”

“You’re my soulmate.”

“No I’m not, my soulmate already likes someone else.”

“Scara, I‘ve loved you since I met you. I didn’t know you were my soulmate before…so that’s why I wrote the letter in such a way, but now I’m sure you are.”

“Shut up!”

“I love you Scara!”

And with that Kazuha placed a kiss on Scara’s lips.

The violinist was left dazed. He loved Kazuha back, that was what that feeling had been all these years.

He had never cared about beating Kazuha.

Or maybe he had but now now.

He simply admired Kazuha, he strived to reach that level of merit. And in that adoration had love formed. Scara wasn’t easily impressed, but Kazuha had stolen the strings to his heart since their first performance together.

“I love you too, Kazu.”

“You know all those years ago at our first performance, I tried to show off to impress you.”

“Dumbass, why didn’t you just confess?”

“Why didn’t you confess, Scara you never even sent me a letter?”

“And you sent me one saying that you had found someone else!”

“I suppose we both might have not had the best communication the last years.”

“You think?”

Regardless of how moody Scara could be he was absolutely overjoyed.

And each time after that, they performed together not as a soloist and accompanist but as two dueling soloists on the stage of love.

The end!