Chapter Text
They were a ruler in one life.
A grand ruler.
King or Queen, you weren't sure, but you remembered they ruled lands as far as the eye could see from the tallest spire in their castle. You were sure the foggy old memories your brain held didn't do the beauty of their kingdom justice, but as a child, you still loved to bask in the magnificence of it all. And they had dragons. Well, they had one dragon, at least. The only one you could recall was huge, colored a brilliant scarlet, just like the cape your ruler wore. To know those had actually existed in some other life time was amazing! And to think that you ruled beside such a strong and powerful leader who was respected by their subjects yet feared by their enemies, their forever faithful partner, there when they needed you.
It was enough to have your six-year-old self bouncing off the walls with excitement, squealing in your mother's ear once the very first wave of memories finished.
"That's amazing, sweetheart," your mother had gushed after pulling you over to sit in her lap. "What were they like? Did you get to see their face?"
You paused for a moment, scrunching your button-like nose and closing your eyes as you tried to sift through the memories that had just been dumped into your head. "No, I didn't see their face," you answered, not at all disappointed by that small fact while your little brain was reeling at all of this new, fascinating information. "But, Momma, they were big and strong and, guess what? They had a dragon! He was big too, bigger than my soulmate, and he could breathe fire!" In your hurry to explain every detail you had gathered from your new found memories, you were unable to catch the worry that flickered across your mother's face.
Your mother did well to hide her concern quickly though, she didn't want to spoil your joyous mood by worrying you over something that might work itself out later on. Still, though, she couldn't help but wonder why you couldn't remember your soulmate's face. Could it really have been that long since you and your soulmate had been together? Even then--
"They were so cool momma! In their castle, there was this one really tall tower that they loved to go to when they wanted to watch the sunrise, and I guess it was a special place to them because they said they had never brought anyone there before." Ah, right, she could worry later, her main focus was keeping you happy right now. Though by the looks of it, you were doing a pretty good job of that yourself. "At least, I think that's what I heard, I dunno, they're voice was kind of muffled, like they were talking under water or something. But it was so beautiful Momma, you would have loved it!"
She let out a soft laugh, "I'm sure I would have, sweetheart. It sounds beautiful, and your soulmate sounds wonderful. Do you remember anything else?" A content smile found its way onto her lips as you launched into the detail of another memory. Maybe there wouldn't be anything to worry about, especially if you weren't at all affected by the missing information from your memories. Your mother held faith that things would end up working in your favor, missing face or not.
Not knowing what your destined beloved looked like truly hadn't bothered you until your last year of grade school. You had come to find that it wasn't, in fact, normal to not remember what your soulmate looked like from all the stories you had gathered from your friends and the memories they had of their soulmate. The tiny missing piece never seemed important to you. Since you had discovered those first memories, all you had cared about was how they had been in their past life, nothing else mattered to you. Who cared what they looked like, right? As long as they remained to be the great person they were before. But that mindset only lasted you until one of your classmates decided to bud into a conversation that clearly had not involved them.
"You say your soulmate was a ruler, right Y/n?" The snotty voice immediately drained the smile from your face, and you turned away from your friend to frown at the new person. "You've said they ruled over this huge beautiful kingdom with a dragon, and that they were the greatest leader to ever grace their lands, but how do you know? You still don't actually know what they look like, do you? I wouldn't be surprised if you were making it all up. I mean, really, a dragon? That's just something you pulled from a bedtime story."
You couldn't fight the flush that rose to your cheeks out of embarrassment. Of course, you were aware of how unbelievable it all sounded when faced with the facts of this present life, but you knew that your memories had come from ages ago. "It's not from a bedtime story," you defended, frown quickly turning into a scowl. "And I know what they look like just not what their face looks like. They wore a red cape with a fluffy white collar, probably from some animal fur and --."
Monoma scoffed, waving his hand dismissively, "That won't matter in the real world, idiot. Don't you think it'll be hard to find this grand soulmate of yours if you don't have any idea what their face looks like? You're not gonna find anyone walking around in a dumb red fluffy cape with a dragon in this lifetime, now are you?" He had stumped you there, and the little brat knew it too as a smug smile spread across his face, revealing his row of braced in teeth. Why hadn't you thought of that before?
You desperately tried to defend yourself, to defend your soulbond, but how could you argue against him when you knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was right. The little jerk was completely right. How were you supposed to find your soulmate? Everyone you had ever met knew exactly what their significant other had looked like and already had a plan to meet them, or knew where they might start their search. How were you going to start your search?
A wave of frustration overcame you, and you suddenly wanted nothing more than to pop the wires off his stupid teeth while simultaneously letting the Earth swallow you whole. "That's enough Monoma," your friend, Ochako, finally said, glaring at the boy still hovering at your lunch table. "Leave her alone or I'll tell the teacher you're bullying Y/n when we get back to class."
He laughed, "I'm not bullying her, I'm simply telling her the truth." His awful smile only grew wider as he looked back at you, "I hope you have fun soul searching without a picture to go by. Maybe you'll have more luck in the next life."
You wanted to say something, anything that had as much bite as the truth he had just told you, but your mind was spinning with far too many questions to come up with a cohesive comeback. Besides, you were sure nothing you said would make the pain you now felt in your chest subside. Not to mention, he was already walking away. That same frustration only fueled the anger you felt towards him, you could feel the heat of your irritation bubbling up beneath your skin, making its way down your arms and legs, tingling in the palms of your hands and the tips of your fingers. You wanted to cry and scream all at the same time, but then--
"Y/n, snap out of it!" The nervous panic in your friend's voice is what yanked you out of your thoughts, forcing you to blink enough times to realize that your skin was glowing and your hands were clenched into tight fists. You gasped, forcing your body to relax as you pulled your arms away from the table to reveal scorch marks. "Are you okay?" Ochako asked, reaching across the table to touch your shoulder, only to retract her hand when you jerked away from it.
"Just give me a second to cool off," you grumbled, taking a deep breath to calm yourself.
You waited for the bright yellow glow to fade from your skin before deeming it safe to slouch back onto the table, tucking your face into your arms to hide the redness of your eyes. A lump had settled in your throat, making it hard for you to breathe, and you were sure you could feel every pair of eyes in the cafeteria resting on you. Especially, Ochako's. If she wasn't worried after your human glow stick act then she was definitely worried now. Like most kids your age, you were still learning to control your quirk, so often times when you were upset, your quirk would act up. Thankfully, it had only ever gotten out of hand once.
"How many people saw?" You mumbled, nestling further into the warmth that still lingered through your arms.
"Not many," Ochako answered. "I stared them all down, so they'll leave you alone. You can look up now."
You shook your head, pulling your arms tighter around your face. A few more seconds like this would be fine for you, at least until the tears stopped. The end of lunch would be better, honestly. Maybe everyone would leave you here and you could go home early. You didn't mind walking home. Although your parents would definitely mind at first, they might not once you told them what had happened.
"Don't listen to what Monoma said, Y/n." You shrank back at the reminder of that painful truth, flinching when the pain in your chest returned with a vengeance. Your brain had been rambling on, actually entertaining the idea of figuring out a way to leave school early to distract you from the hurt you were feeling. It had been working, but, of course, Ochako couldn't stand to see you upset. "That jerk doesn't know anything. You'll find your soulmate, I know you will."
She's just trying to be a good friend, you told yourself once you began to feel the slight inkling of annoyance creep up on you. "How do you know that?" Yes, she was doing her best to make you feel better, but the bitter hopelessness of the truth was still eating away at your heart. There were over a billion people in the world and all you had was old memories to go off of. When would you know that you had met the one?
"Well, because you're you. " She said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and you couldn't help but scoff at the statement. "I'm serious Y/n. If there's anyone who can figure out a way around it it's you, it has to be. You're so smart, that big brain of yours will come up with something eventually. Besides, who says they won't come looking for you first?" That definitely helped your mood. How come you hadn't thought of that when Monoma was still around?
So much for a big brain. But Ochako was right as well, there was no way of telling that your soulmate had the same issue as you or not, but you weren't about to let that hope die in you. "I guess you're right," you mumbled, finally peeking up at your friend, who was giving you a bright triumphant smile that you just couldn't help return. "Thanks, Ochako, that makes me feel a bit better."
"Of course," she grinned, then reached across the table to grab both your hands. "Trust me, Y/n, you have nothing to worry about. I have a feeling that when you meet your soulmate it'll be like coming face to face with a firework." You quirked one brow questioningly which made her giggle. "Like, you know, sparks everywhere. You won't be able to stay away from each other."
You scrunched your nose, feigning disgust as you wiped the tears from your eyes, "Jeez, I don't know about all of that mushy gushy stuff, but I'll trust you. It's the least I can do for you seeing as you're my best friend."
"And as your best friend, I guess it's my job to mention to you that both of your sleeves are pretty burned up from earlier." A glance down at your uniform made you grimace. That was way worse than you had expected. Your parents were not going to be happy when you got home. Ochako laughed at your expression, "Don't worry, I'm sure the nurse has an extra shirt to spare. I'll ask Mrs. Sayung if I can take you when we get back to class, okay?"
You couldn't help but smile at your friend. She really was trying her hardest to lighten your mood, it made you extremely thankful for her friendship. "Thanks again, Ochako."
"No problem!"
That had been years ago. And although you still received new memories every now and then about your soulmate, you didn't bother to fuss over the fact that they never held a single image of your soulmate's face. Honestly, the thought of your younger self having a full mental break down over it made you cringe. It wasn't the end of the world if you didn't know who your significant other was. Of course, you were still curious as to what they looked like and how you would one day begin your search for them, but it was no longer a pressing issue for you.
Especially, not when you were watching the acceptance video you had received from one of the best hero schools in all of Japan. There were bigger aspirations in your life now. Becoming a hero had been your dream since you could remember, even still while you had been distracted about the prodding issue of your broken up soulmate memories. Up until now though, it had only seemed like a childish ambitious dream that you didn't have a chance at fulfilling.
You had never thought you would get farther than the written exam, no matter how many times your friends and family assured you that your mind was brighter than you liked to believe. But now it was really happening. You would be attending U.A. High School, where the countries top hero elites like All Might, Endeavour, and Best Jeanist had attended.
Your heart was pounding out of your chest and an elated scream broke from your lips.
Who had time to worry about soulbonds when this was happening? Training to become the best hero Japan had ever seen was now your top priority, everything related to your soulmate could wait a while. If the universe really needed it to happen then it would happen, you had no control over it.
U.A., you thought wistfully, still spinning around in your computer chair from when you had pushed away from your desk in pure joy just seconds ago. The school that spits out top tear Pros practically year.
Both of your parents burst into your room, looking panic-stricken, "What? What's wrong? What happened?"
You threw one hand against the wall and your chair came to a complete halt. The room was whirling around you so fast you could hardly make out your parents faces, but you were smiling. Smiling so bright it would have put the sun to shame if it weren't for the clouds in the sky that day. You looked both your parents in the eyes as best you could and took a deep rattling breath, then shouted,
"I made it into U.A.!"