Chapter Text
The class fell silent and Izuku’s breath caught in his throat. He had started making friends with at least a couple of his classmates and he absolutely knew that now he would have 0. They would make fun of him like those before them. He was prepared for it. He braced himself for harsh laughs and loud jeers. He braced himself for Bakugo’s voice. But nothing came. The room continued to stay silent. Izuku put his hands on his desk and started to get up from his seat so he could bolt from the room. He was up and ready to begin running when a hand connected with his back and made a muffled smack. Izuku yelped and whipped his head around to find Kirishima smiling at him.
“It’s okay that you don’t have a soulmate, dude!” Kirishima kept his tone as upbeat as ever. Izuku was grateful for it.
Others chimed in with their agreements. They wouldn’t pick on him for not having a soulmate. Izuku swore he even heard Kirishima mumble that it wasn’t manly to. Izuku smiled and thanked the others for their kindness. Near the front of the class, Aizawa cleared his throat.
“Do I need to be concerned about what’s going on or can you call sit down?”
Izuku and the others mumbled soft apologies and went back to their seats. Aizawa began to ramble about something Izuku knew he should probably listen to, but he was too busy smiling and thinking back to Kirishima’s words. He said it was okay to not have a soulmate. That must mean it was okay to have more than one, right? Now if only he could work up the courage to write to Todoroki and Bakugo… Yeah, there was no way he was going to do that. He wasn’t stupid and he didn’t have a death wish. Todoroki and Bakugo were incredibly strong and he didn’t want to make them upset for keeping this from them for years and also basically lying to them. He knew firsthand that Bakugo didn’t like being lied to. Even though he hadn’t lied about being quirkless before…
The bell ringing snapped Izuku out of his thoughts. Homeroom was finished already and he hadn’t paid attention at all. He’d have to sheepishly ask Iida what was said at lunch later. He set his elbows on his desk and rested his head in his hands. The other classes leading up to lunch seemed to move quickly. Izuku knew he was paying attention as he could easily recall Mic’s English lesson, but his mind raced and time seemed to keep the same pace. Before he knew it, the bell for lunch rang and he was walking through the corridors with his friends and classmates. In the cafeteria, he grabbed a simple lunch and sat with Iida and Uraraka. Asui was sitting next to Uraraka and listening to Uraraka express her immense happiness. Asui had never seemed to have a smile so big before. Izuku was happy for both of them. They looked cute together.
He slid in next to Iida at the table and gently nudged him. Iida glanced over at Izuku and released a soft sigh. Izuku looked down at his hands. Iida already knew he hadn’t paid attention. He was that predictable, huh?
“We went over some basics, Midoriya.” Iida gave him a quick pat on the back. “Nothing to worry about!”
Izuku let out a sigh of relief. He was worried that he had missed something important. Though, he’ll admit that his worry was farther back in his mind than he wished. The thought of being able to talk about his soulmates had been at the forefront all morning. He knew he needed to get it together. He couldn’t daydream all day; even though he really wanted to.
“Hey Deku.” Uraraka pulled him out of his thoughts.
He hummed to let her know he was listening.
“You’ve been in your head the whole morning, why is that? You haven’t been like this before.”
Izuku’s panic began to rise. He searched for an excuse. “Oh, well, you know my problem with mumbling–”
“See that’s the problem. You weren’t mumbling.”
“Oh.. Um, I was trying to figure out why everyone accepted me? I’m not used to it.” He said nervously.
Uraraka stared at him a few moments more before going back to talking with Asui. Izuku guessed that she either believed him or she only accepted his answer for now and would hound him later… He really hoped it was the former. He couldn’t come up with a better excuse. At least, he couldn’t at the moment. He’d think of one throughout the rest of the school day just in case.
The school day is finished and Izuku is standing at the front of the school shaking because he couldn’t think of a better excuse. He couldn’t even think of how to elaborate on his previous one. This was going to make him look absolutely guilty of something and he knew it. No, he just needed to take deep, deep breaths. In and out. Everything was fine. Uraraka wasn’t even outside yet or she had already left to go home. He didn’t need to worry. I was able to go home without a problem. With that in mind, Izuku took a few more steps and then turned once outside the school gate so he could head home. One, two, three steps–
“Deku!”
So close.
Izuku allowed his mind to race so he could think of something to help her believe him. While he did, his guard dropped and Uraraka was able to sneak up behind him. She listened to her best friend mumble for a moment before curiosity overtook her. Very carefully she snuck over towards Izuku’s left arm and gently rolled up his jacket sleeve. She glanced up at him; he was still mumbling and completely unaware. Uraraka very carefully unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt sleeve and rolled it up his arm. There she found a couple sentences. For a moment, she thought that Izuku had written himself some notes but then she noticed the handwritings were different from each other but also from Izuku’s handwriting. She had never seen something like this before. She was very interested in her new discovery. Maybe she should peak and see if she can find any names. One name, two names–oh. Very interesting, indeed.
“Deku.” She sing-songed.
He hummed at her during a break in his mumbling.
“Why do you have two different sets of handwriting and two different names on your arm?”
Uraraka blinked and suddenly had Izuku gripping her shoulders and looking at her as though she had just told him he was going to die right there. In Izuku’s mind, she basically had. His grip on her shoulders was tight but his arms were shaking. His throat and chest tightened as though constrictors were getting ready to kill him. He felt his eyes begin to water, but quickly shook his head. Uraraka stared at him and felt herself beginning to get worried.
“Izuku–”
“You can’t tell anyone.” he breathed out.
“What?”
“You can’t tell them! I know you know who they are and that’s cool. I’m happy to know them too, but I’ve kept this in for almost ten years.” Izuku’s lips trembled. “Kacchan hates it when people lie to him. If he found out I’ve been lying to him for ten years, he’ll… He’ll kill me! And I’m sure Todoroki will be mad too! Uraraka please, please, please don’t tell them. I’m begging you.”
“I promise.” Uraraka whispered.
She had never seen Izuku so scared. Nor had she ever seen him so relieved. His knees buckled and he gripped onto her a little tighter. Uraraka carefully maneuvered him to help support him while he calmed down. They took things one step at a time while Izuku took deep breaths and figured out how legs work again. Uraraka bit her lip to keep from asking him about anything or make him panic again. That lasted about a minute.
“So, like, why didn’t you tell anyone?”
Izuku stared at her, thought for a moment, mentally argued with himself, and finally let out a defeated sigh. “My mom told me not to. She was worried for me.”
“I guess I can understand. I’ve never heard of this before, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. Maybe if you said something, Bakugo wouldn’t have picked on you.”
“He would have. He had and has an image to keep. He would’ve left me alone when it was just us and Todoroki, though. Maybe.”
“Does Todoroki know?”
“Of course not. My mom said no and he’s super intimidating! I get stressed out just thinking about saying hello to him.”
Izuku moved away from her to walk on his own. As they continued on their way, Uraraka stared at Izuku and tapped her index finger to her chin. Izuku glanced at her a few times but tried to ignore her. He knew that she was going to try and find something to bring up that would make him realise he had to confess or they’d find out. He glanced at her again. She was staring at his right wrist.
“Izuku.”
There it was. “Ochako, I understand that you’re worried and–”
“Scars and bruises show up on your soulmates.”
“Huh?”
“Yeah. If you have scars on your arms, legs, hands, and feet they’ll show up on your soulmate. Scars on the chest, stomach, and back are very faint. Scars on the face don’t show up at all. You have a couple scars on your hands. If Bakugo and Todoroki realise that your scars match theirs, they’ll know.” Uraraka spoke matter-of-fact.
Only silence followed her explanation. She looked away from Izuku’s hand to his face and understood why. He was absolutely frozen in terror. She waved her hand in front of his face a couple times and called out to him. A few people walked by with concerned looks and she waved them off. She circled him a couple times before ever so gently poking his nose.
“Do you think they know?!” he shouted.
Uraraka jumped and stared at him.
“Sorry, um, do you think they already know?” he asked.
Uraraka shrugged. “It’s possible.”
“I’m gonna die.”
Once at home, Izuku bolted straight to his room to look at his hands. There were a handful of minor scars that could be easily overlooked. He wondered how many of those were actually his. There was one larger scar though that was along his wrist. It was still healing from the fight he had with Bakugo when they had teams. Bakugo and Todoroki probably played it off as Bakugo hurting his wrist somehow. As long as he kept that one hidden, they wouldn’t see that it’s the same scar and he wouldn’t be questioned. He just had to wear long sleeves for a while, which was fine. He could handle long sleeves. Or maybe he could wear bracelets or something similar. Izuku sighed happily. There was no need to worry, he had plenty of options. His current hero suit also covered his wrists, so that wasn’t a worry either. He was fine!
A chime sounded and Izuku scrambled for his phone. He opened it up to find a message from an unknown number. He shrugged and decided to entertain the sender by reading their text before deleting it.
[Unknown] Subject: none
Hello. It’s Todoroki Shouto from class. I got your number from Uraraka and I wanted to speak with you. I ask that you please meet me in the park near the school this Sunday. Please don’t panic. I know that you like to do that sometimes.
Izuku stared at the message then switched to his conversation with Uraraka.
[Izuku] Subject: why
Why would you do this to me Ochako…
Izuku leaned back in his chair and sighed. He should agree to go. He knew it would be rude if he just said he couldn’t, and me may look suspicious if he didn’t. He saved Todoroki as a contact and bit his lip as slowly typed out his response.
[Izuku] Subject: none
Sure thing! I hope you’re not mad at me for something…
Alright, things are fine so far and Izuku didn’t know why he panicked earlier. Izuku laughed to himself. Todoroki could just be wanting to hang out with him. A chime sounded and Izuku felt calmer as he opened his phone to read it.
[Todoroki] Subject: none
I’m not angry. I would just like to ask you a few questions and see your wrist if you so please.
That was a cause for concern. Izuku really didn’t want to do this. He didn’t. He knew now that Todoroki somehow knew… He had to have him promise something.
[Izuku] Subject: none
Okay… But please, please promise not to bring Kacchan. That might sound like a kind of confession, but.. Please. I’m sure you can understand.
At least that part was out of the way. Bakugo was Izuku’s main concern. He didn’t want Bakugo blowing up at him for lying for almost ten years about not having a soulmate. He especially didn’t wanna see Bakugo’s face when he found Izuku was another one of his soulmates. Sunday wasn’t going to be a fun day. The fact that it was two days away made Izuku dread it a little less. Maybe with this day in between he could prepare. He just hoped that Todoroki wouldn’t say anything to Bakugo. A thought occurred to Izuku, and it had him shaking: Bakugo may already know. If he already knows then he may be waiting for the perfect moment to corner him and start shouting. Another chime pulled Izuku away from his head.
[Todoroki] Subject: none
I do understand. I’ll ask that he not join, but if what I believe is confirmed I will be telling him. He has a right to know.
Well, this got worse.