Chapter Text
Every person has a soulmate, the one person born to be with you for your whole life. Whether romantic or platonic, your soulmate is an extension of yourself, your saving grace and number one fan. A child would gain their soulmate mark around the age of ten, usually the morning of their 10th birthday. They would go to bed, nervous yet excited, and wake up to the mark gracing their skin. Soulmate marks came in a multitude of forms, from words to symbols, the marks were as diverse as the people who had them.
Kaminari Denki remembered the day he gained his soulmate mark vividly. The night before his 10th birthday he struggled to fall asleep, his mothers smiling at him and shaking their heads. Kaminari spent the night wiggling around his bed, guessing what his soulmate mark would be. He imagined swords and fire, a badass mark to show how tough and magnificent his soulmate is. His soulmate would be another hero, and together they would form a deadly duo who struck fear into the hearts of every villain they crossed paths with. Kaminari fell asleep with a huge smile, dreaming of adventure and romance with his soulmate.
Kaminari woke up to a slight burning feeling on his collarbone. He sat up, yawning and rubbing his eyes with his hand. He headed to the bathroom, where he started his morning routine. Rubbing the burning sensation on his collarbone again, Denki remembered what day it was. He ran out of the bathroom, screaming for his mothers. He ran into Ma at the kitchen, who laughed and picked him up, bringing him into their bathroom. Mum walked in behind them, excitedly greeting her son and wishing him a happy birthday. His Ma asked where his mark was, and Denki poked his chest with a huge smile. “Well,” Ma spoke, “let’s see what our little superstar got for his mark!” Denki cheered as Ma finished speaking, facing them and taking off his shirt. Gazing at his chest, his mother's faces went from happy to shocked. Denki stared at them, worried. “Honey,” Ma whispered out, “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Mum nodded, too shocked to speak. Suddenly, Ma broke into roaring laughter. “I can’t believe-” she choked out, “I can’t believe our son’s soulmate mark says fucking ‘spicy quesadilla!’” Mum slapped her wife’s shoulder, trying to hold in her own laughter.
That was the day Kaminari learned that his soulmate mark was a bit… odd compared to others. While most soulmate marks represented the soulmate, like an image that’s relevant to them or the first words they would say to you, Kaminari’s was a two-word terror. Almost everyone who saw his soulmate mark would laugh at the absurdity of it. ‘Spicy quesadilla.’ Fellow children would tease him that his soulmate was, in fact, a spicy quesadilla. Teachers would try to cheer him up, suggesting that maybe his soulmate worked in the food industry, and would one day take his order. Kaminari shot that one down though, as he was not even sure what a quesadilla was, so he was unlikely to ever have one. So Kaminari lived on, training to become an amazing hero, all while ignoring his odd soulmate mark. For five years, Kaminari went to school with kids who would tease him about his mark, so when he was accepted into the prestigious hero known as UA, he was ecstatic. Finally he would be away from his other classmates, and he could make better friends who would not tease him about his mark. Maybe, if he was lucky, he could even meet his soulmate. It wasn’t uncommon for soulmates to meet in high school, so Kaminari put hope in his heart and headed to his new school.
UA was both what Kaminari expected, and not what he expected at all. UA was full of crazy strong heroes and students, but it wasn’t as strict and scary as he expected. Most of his classmates were friendly, besides that explosion kid, and he made friends quickly. A pink skinned girl with horns and an acid quirk named Ashido Mina, a rather plain boy with a friendly smile and a tape quirk whose name was Sero Hanta, and a tan redhead with a sunshine smile and a hardening quirk named Kirishima Eijirou quickly became his best friends. They sat together for lunch and often tried to partner together for hero exercises. Ultimately, the topic of soulmates came up in conversation.
“I want to meet my soulmate already!” Ashido whined one day, interrupting the boy's conversation, “My parents met in high school and they said I might as well. I bet she’s going to be beautiful.” Ashido sighed longingly, resting her hand on her palm.
Sero raised an eyebrow at her, “How do you know your soulmate is going to be a girl?”
Ashido narrowed her eyes at him. “Because I’m a lesbian Harold. And before you pull the ‘maybe they are a platonic soulmate’ shit on me, I can tell that it’s going to be a romantic bond.” Ashido winked at them, “It’s a cute, gay soulmate mark.”
Kirishima’s smile was bright and cheery as always, “That’s awesome!” Kirishima cheered at her, Ashido smiling back at him. “I believe you!”
“Thanks Kiri. Besides,” she looked back at Sero, smirking. “If it was a platonic soulmate mark, my soulmate would most likely be Kiri.” She jammed a thumb in Kirishima’s direction, who nodded in agreement.
Kaminari hoped that would be the end of the conversation, but lady luck was not on his side. “Talking about soulmates,” Kirishima continued, rolling up his sleeve. “My soulmate mark is so manly! It’s an explosion on my bicep.” Kirishima flexed, showing off the soulmate mark.
Ashido gasped in awe, “That’s so cool! Mine’s a rose on my thigh.” She gestured to her skirt. “It’s so romantic. Can’t wait for my lovely lady to come sweep me off my feet.”
Sero laughed, “You all already know what mine is.” He showed the timer on his wrist, which was motionless. “And you all already know I’ve already met my soulmate-”
“Yea yea, I’ve heard this story one too many times.” Ashido laughed, turning her attention to Kaminari. “You’ve been quiet Kami. Everything ok?” Sero and Kirishima turned their attention to him as well, worried looks in their eyes.
Kaminari chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. “Yea I’m good.” He spoke, meeting Ashido’s eyes. “I’m just not very… interested in soulmates?” It came out as a question, causing confusion to show on Ashido’s face. “Not that I think they are stupid or anything!” Kaminari corrected quickly, “I just. Have a bad experience with my soulmate mark I guess? Kinda ruined it for me…”
Kirishima looked at him, worried. “What do you mean ruined it for you? Is everything ok?” Kirishima’s eyes grew sad, “Did something happen to your soulmate?”
Kaminari understood Kirishima’s fear rather quickly. Sometimes a person could lose their mark, meaning that their soulmate died. Other times, a person would reject their soulmate, causing the mark to become dull. “Nonono nothing like that!” Kaminari rushed out, shaking his hands. “Nothing like that. I just have a dumb mark and got teased for it, that’s all.”
“You had me worried there bro.” Kirishima sighed, his smile coming back onto his face. “But bro, there is no such thing as a dumb soulmate mark.”
Kaminari frowned. “You won’t be saying that after you see my mark.” He sighed, uncomfortable. Looking up at his friends, Kaminari wondered if they too would tease him for his lackluster mark. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. I mean,” he joked, forcing a smile, “if anyone is going to have a dumb mark its going to be me.”
“You don’t have to show us if you aren’t comfortable,” Sero spoke, Kirishima and Ashido nodding in agreement. “We won’t judge you for your mark dude.”
With a nervous look, Kaminari unbuttoned part of his shirt and showed off his collarbone. Kirishima narrowed his eyes, looking at the words resting just below Kaminari’s collarbone. “Does that say… spicy quesadilla?”
Nodding, Kaminari laughed nervously. “I told you it was dumb.”
“DUDE!” Ashido yelled, slamming her hands on the table. “What do you mean dumb? Thats awesome!”
Raising an eyebrow, Kaminari met Ashido’s eyes with his own. “Awesome? How is it awesome? It literally says spicy quesadilla.”
Ashido shook her head, “It’s so unique!”
Sero laughed. “It’s definitely unique. I think it suits you very well.” Sero smiled at him, “It’s like a meme or something.”
“Holy shit…” Kaminari whispered, awestruck. “My soulmate is going to be a memer just like me.”
Laughing, Kirishima slapped Kaminari on the shoulder. “A match made in heaven.”
That was the end of the conversation, but Kaminari would always remember it. It was the first time no one laughed and made fun of the oddness of his soulmate mark, but instead enjoyed it. With the acceptance of his friends, Kaminari grew to enjoy his soulmate mark. For the first time, he felt connected to his soulmate. He started to show it off more, waiting for the day he would meet his soulmate. He was teased a bit for the mark, but never rudely. Now the jokes were friendly, teasing comments about how his soulmate would be a giant dork just like him. Kaminari could not wait until the day he could welcome his soulmate into his life.
The Sports Festival changed a lot in his class. Although Kaminari himself did well, he wasn’t as stand out as some of his other classmates. Suddenly, the world’s eyes were on his class, especially three of them. Midoriya, Bakugou, and Todoroki stormed the Sports Festival, their power drawing praise from heros all over the world. Although Kaminari already knew how powerful his classmates were, he couldn’t help but still be struck by their abilities. Especially Todoroki, whose power was even stronger than anyone first thought of. Kaminari was still awestruck by Midoriya and Todoroki’s fight, even after multiple days since it took place.
Suddenly, it was as if Todoroki did a 180. Kaminari’s silent, emotionless classmate was now participating in group activities, and was more open to conversations. He spent most of his time with Midoriya’s group, but could be seen hanging out with Yaoyorozu on occasion. Kaminari’s group gained a new member themselves, Bakugou, but Kaminari couldn’t help but be more interested in Todoroki. The boy was an enigma, and Kaminari wanted to understand.
“Do you think it would be weird if I sat with Midoriya’s group for lunch?” Kaminari asked one morning, looking over to Ashido and Bakugou.
“Huuuh?” Bakugou growled, “Why the fuck would you sit with those fucking shitnerds?”
“To expand my friendships Bakubro!” Kaminari answered, smiling widely at the angry blond. “One day we are going to be heroes and we will be working with these guys. Good to form bonds sooner than later. Plus,” Kaminari smirked, “It’ll be one less person to take Kirishima’s attention from you.”
Ignoring Bakugou’s excessive cussing, Ashido laughed. “I don’t think it would be weird Kami. We will miss you at lunch though,” she jokingly batted her eyes at him, “do return if you get lonely.”
Kaminari saluted her. “Sounds good! Make sure Bakubro doesn’t kill Kirishima or something while I’m gone.” Kaminari spared a glance towards Bakugou, breaking out into a dead sprint when he saw the look of murder on the blond’s face. Bakugou ran after him, explosions blasting from his palms. Ashido followed behind, laughing.
When it was finally lunch time, Kaminari waved goodbye to his friends and headed towards Midoriya’s normal table. The group was already seated, Uraraka laughing at something Tsuyu had said while Iida spoke exuberantly to Midoriya and Todoroki. Kaminari approached the group with a smile, stopping in front of the table. Midoriya looked up at him, his face breaking out into one of his well-loved smiles, “Kaminari! What are you doing here?”
Kaminari laughed, shifting his lunch tray into one hand and using the other one to rub the back of his neck. “I was wondering if I could sit with you guys today? Uh…” he trailed off, a bit nervous when groups eyes landed on him, “Bakugou is…. Annoying me?” It came out as a question, causing Kaminari to wince a little at the blatant lie.
Luckily, no one called him out on it. Uraraka gave him a soft smile, “Of course you can sit with us.” Kaminari sat down next to her with a laugh, smiling at the whole table. Everyone went back to their conversations, and Kaminari froze. Unsure of what to do or say, he looked at his lap and pulled out his phone. Shooting Ashido a quick text, he looked up and made eye contact with Todoroki.
Todoroki looked at him curiously, blinking slowly. “What was Bakugou doing that was so annoying? I thought he was your friend.”
Kaminari choked at the cute, confused head tilt Todoroki did. “Oh y'know…” He laughed awkwardly, “Just Bakugou being Bakugou.” Todoroki blinked at him again, causing Kaminari to blush slightly in embarrassment. “He keeps flirting with Kirishima it's annoying to sit there and watch them flirt back and forth and do nothing about it.” He blurted out.
“Oh?” Todoroki looked shocked for a second, before chuckling softly. “I can see why that would be a bit annoying.” He smiled, causing Kaminari’s heart to stutter. It was unfair for one man to be so beautiful. “Well I’m happy you are sitting with us today. We haven’t had many chances to talk since the Sports Festival.”
Kaminari laughed, “True true, a lot has happened since then.”
Todoroki nodded, having their conversation cut short by Midoriya’s loud laughter. They both turned their attention to the boy, who was snorting while Uraraka’s face was red with laughter. Iida looked at the two with amused disapproval, and Tsuyu was smiling at the two. “I’m telling you,” Uraraka gasped out, body still shaking with laughter, “it’s ramen noodles.”
“I can never look at him the same again.” Midoriya groaned out, laughter breaking out in puffs of air.
“I feel like we are missing something?” Todoroki asked, watching his two close friends laugh.
Midoriya smiled at him, “Uraraka was telling me that Bakugou’s hair looks like ramen noodles.” He shook his head, laughing again.
Kaminari smirked. “Oh yeah, I can see that. But,” he locked eyes with Midoriya, “I raise you this.” Slamming his hands on the table, he stood up and pointed at Todoroki. “Malk.”
Todoroki choked, paling a bit. “Oh yeah?” He shot out quickly, breaking eye contact. “Well you look like a…. Spicy quesadilla….”
All was silent before Uraraka broke out in laughter. “Shouto what does that even mean?” She wheezed out.
Kaminari paled, before turning and running towards Kirishima and the others. He ignored Midoriya’s call, reaching the table and grabbing Ashido and Kirishima’s arms. Kirishima cut off his conversation with Bakugou, looking at Kaminari with confusion. “I need to borrow you two real quick.” Kaminari rushed out, before dragging the two of them away from the table.
He lead them outside, where Kaminari let them go and started to pace back and forth. Kirishima looked at him, worried. “Bro whats wrong? You look pretty pale…”
Kaminari spun and looked at them, eyes wild. “Did you tell anyone about my soulmate mark?”
Ashido frowned, raising an eyebrow. “No, why? Did someone say something to you?”
“Oh my god.” Kaminari gasped, shaking his head. “I think Todoroki’s my soulmate.”