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For as long as society can remember, soulmates had been a constant, unexplainable variable part of everyone’s life. Long before quirks had even begun to surface, some people shared a connection from birth so strong that it bent the laws of everything known to Man. No matter how far apart, those who shared such a connection would find each other in their dreams. Whenever the darkness of sleep took them over and they found themselves surrounded by the worlds of their subconscious’ making, they would be led to a place only they could share.
From around the time other kids his age had started developing their quirks, Izuku’s dreams had started to lead him somewhere unlike anything he had ever witnessed. He followed that path earnestly, eager to meet with the one the universe had deemed to be meant to love him wholly. Their shared dreamscape is an open meadow filled with vibrant green grass and tiny, colourful flowers. Snow falls softly from up in the sky, covering the tiny clearing with poufs of fluffy white, but it isn’t chilly, somehow. It feels incredibly warm, comfortable, and in the middle sits a bench with Izuku’s initials carved onto it along with someone else’s.
TS & MI
From the moment his dreams started to lead him down that beaten path towards his soulmate, even learning that he was quirkless didn’t hurt as bad as it could have. Mean words from his classmates, Kacchan’s painful explosions on his skin when he first discovered his own quirk, the bitter sting of loneliness… Sure, it all still left his heart battered and bruised, but walking towards that beautiful meadow and knowing he shared it with someone helped him stand back up each time he was knocked down.
Every night he remembers his dreams, Izuku walks to their dreamscape, he sits on the bench, dangling his feet over the edge, and he waits. Sometimes he will trace his soulmate’s initials with the pads of his fingers, wondering what their name might be, what they might look like. Other times he will play with the snow and build all sorts of shapes with it. The cold lingers on his fingers, fills his skin with tiny prickles, but it doesn’t really burn as the icy fluff should have.
Izuku knows that his soulmate needs to be sleeping too, that they need to be dreaming and to follow the path to him. But it never happens.
“They could be in a different country.” His mom tells him. “Maybe when you’re sleeping, your soulmate is awake.”
So Izuku tries to take naps all throughout the day whenever he can. He tries the morning once, around lunch another time, the afternoon. He goes to bed earlier than he needs to. And every night he goes to the meadow, he sits, and he waits and his soulmate never shows.
Little by little, Izuku starts to lose hope that he will ever see them, starts doubting whether they even exist. But just like every other dream, Izuku doesn’t want to give up, he wants to keep thinking positively and believe that someday his soulmate will come to him and meet him. As he grows older, he begins wondering if something might be wrong and anxiety sinks its sharp claws into his heart.
“What if something happened to them?”
“For as long as your soulmate is in this world with you, there will be a path to your place for them to take.” His mother assures him, taking his hands and squeezing them comfortingly. “You know, I’m remembering something… A friend of mine had a soulmate too. She only started dreaming with him around her teens—a lot later than you, aren’t you lucky—” She smiles and, in spite of everything, Izuku can’t help the little twitch to his own lips. “—and she told me that the first few nights they didn’t meet each other either. Their place had two paths but one of them was closed when she first got there. But one time, she slept in because she was sick, and the path opened before she woke up and there he was.”
“So, his path only opened when he saw her?”
“They talked that time. Apparently, he worked a night shift, so when he was awake…”
“The path was closed.” Izuku completed, his eyes shining hopefully. “I can check if my soulmate is awake then!”
His mother smiles brightly at him, framing his face with her hands and placing a kiss on his forehead before ruffling his hair. Those following nights, Izuku goes to bed with renewed confidence, running all the way down the path until he breaks through the thicket and into the short grass. On the other side of the meadow there is another path, the trees arching above his head as he steps closer to inspect it.
He notices a myriad of strange flowers that Izuku doesn’t recognise growing by the entrance; purple, orange, yellow, a small red one with many thin tendrils, all of them continuing down the path. They are nothing like the ones growing in the meadow, even if some share the colours. Momentarily, Izuku wonders if there might be a reason for that but he has other things to worry about.
After all these years, Izuku never really tried to walk this way. He had always been told his soulmate would come to him, that they would meet here and talk, get to know each other. He thought he wasn’t meant to walk any other path than his own.
Taking a deep breath, he takes a step in, almost expecting to be bounced back by some invisible force. Nothing happens. Darkness seems to be thicker further down past what looks like a wooden gate. Izuku can’t help but notice how it’s wide open.
Something squeezes tightly in his chest and his eyes begin to prickle. Could it be that they just didn’t want to meet Izuku, wanted nothing to do with him?
He bites down on his bottom lip to stop it from trembling, swallowing down the lump in his throat as he sniffles. It’s not really fair, is it? He wants to be a hero but he was born quirkless. He has a soulmate but they don’t ever come to meet him.
Wiping at the corners of his eyes with his shirt’s sleeve, Izuku takes a step back wondering if he can return to his own dream if he walks back down his path. Then he pauses, blinking the stray tears away, and looks down the dark tunnel of trees. His breath hitches when an idea takes shape and he walks forward once again.
Hesitation roots him in place and Izuku takes a look back at the peaceful meadow before facing the darkness ahead once more. The apprehension settles deep in his gut, twisting his stomach into knots, but he can’t stop thinking about what it might be like to finally meet with his soulmate and know what they are really like. It might be that he can convince them that he is worth it, that if they are together things can be wonderful.
Before he can think better of it, Izuku pushes past all the fear and forces himself to run all the way into the blackened tunnel, determined to break through whatever unknown higher power might try to stop him, push him back. He will make it to his soulmate no matter what, he will meet them at least once if it’s the last thing he does.
And if they tell him to go, that they want nothing to do with him… Izuku will respect their wishes. But he needs to know them first, get a glimpse of them… know why they haven’t come to see him.
As he continues down the path, everything around him starts to morph into something else, the forest giving way to long hallways and screen doors, a rustling breeze slowly replacing with hateful hisses.
Izuku slows down his pace, looking around with wide eyes and trying to find a source for the whispers. They seem to be all around him, one moment far away and unintelligible then harsh and reverberating in his skull the next. His body starts to ache and he doesn’t know why, but still, he continues on his way to find his soulmate, gritting his teeth and covering his ears in a futile attempt to stop the noises.
Suddenly, screaming and crying rings loudly in his ears and he curls in on himself, squeezing his eyes shut and pushing tears to roll down his cheeks unbidden. A woman’s voice shouts for someone to let go and a man’s yells in return, booming like thunder and making the world around him shake.
When Izuku finds the courage to open his eyes again, everything is covered in an orange glow. He gasps and chokes on bitter ash, turning around to flee towering flames and coming face to face with a shadowy figure towering above him, large arms crossed over a puffed-out chest. Izuku’s heart jackhammers against his ribcage, almost painful, and he can do nothing but step back from the looming shadow, the only hint of colour two icy blue eyes filled with contempt.
Terror grips tightly at his insides and Izuku wants to scream but his voice dies in his throat and he stumbles onto his rear, wanting to breathe but only inhaling smoke from everything burning around him.
“Get back here and fight.” The shadow roars, demanding, and Izuku crawls away until he starts to burn, boil.
The horrible dread lights every one of Izuku’s nerves up in alarm and he shoots up on his bed with a shrill cry, tears streaming down his face and refusing to stop no matter how much he wipes at his eyes. His mother bursts through the door soon after, searching the room frantically for any threats until her gaze locks with Izuku’s. Without wasting another breath, she throws herself into his room and wraps her arms tightly around him, hiding his face in her chest and running her fingers through his hair soothingly.
“It’s okay, Izuku. It was just a nightmare.”
As he sobs, Izuku cannot find the energy nor the words to tell his mother anything. Perhaps this was his punishment for going somewhere he shouldn’t have. His soulmate really must have wanted to keep him away.
For the longest time, Izuku refuses to go back to their shared dreamscape, terrified and hurt. He doesn’t tell his mother what happened, but he also will not mention his failed attempts to meet his soulmate anymore either. Any dreams he has he avoids steering away from them, following through nonsensical plotlines and ignoring the strange door in the middle of the track field, or the slide in the park that seems to go on forever.
All the paths that would eventually lead to the forest and their meadow, Izuku walks right past them, his heart splitting at the mere thought of returning to a place where he isn’t welcome.
It’s only when he wakes in a cold sweat from a nightmare of his own that Izuku realises something. In that dream he felt like he couldn’t run, like whatever was chasing him—humiliation, worthlessness, defencelessness—would catch up to him no matter what he did. Izuku felt trapped, like all he could do was try to hide for as long as it took to be found again. Something as simple as a conversation where he was ridiculed felt inescapable.
And if he felt that way with just one nightmare then… How does he know that his soulmate doesn’t feel that way every single night? How can they find Izuku if they are lost in their on nightmares, afraid, alone, defenceless?
Izuku may have been told he can’t be a hero, but he still tries. And what kind of a hero would he be if he doesn’t even try to save his own soulmate from the darkness surrounding their soul and keeping them from him?
The very next time he finds his way to the meadow, Izuku stands in front of his soulmate’s gate until it opens for him. This time he doesn’t hesitate, not once does he look back. Someone needs his help, and even if Izuku is terrified of what he might find, his body moves on its own.
As the forest fades to black, Izuku starts to feel heavier and heavier, his movements slowing to the point where he can hardly push himself forward anymore. Suddenly it feels like he is floating and sinking all at the same time, and everything around him is a black abyss. His surroundings start to bubble and Izuku realises he is underwater, frantically trying to find the surface but unable to tell up from down, right from left.
His skin starts to burn.
Izuku flails and thrashes, desperate, closing his eyes. He should be drowning but he can breathe, except it burns horribly each time he does. Shaking his head, he claws at his face even though he isn’t sure why.
A voice sounds muffled in his ears and Izuku’s heart fills with something warm and comforting for a moment. Opening his eyes once again, he tries to move in that direction, finding himself in an empty hospital wing. He checks himself for any injuries, noticing how he is completely dry. Sniffles sound from the distance and Izuku waits for a moment, trying to see if there is anyone around other than him. His soulmate has to be around here somewhere.
Swallowing thickly, Izuku starts towards the soft crying, unease slowing his every step. It feels like he’s being watched, as if the walls themselves have eyes, and yet he is crushed by a sense of loneliness akin to what he feels every second he is at school. Surrounded by people but so alone, isolated from everyone because he isn’t like them; a living nightmare. Does his soulmate feel this way too?
Izuku stops when he sees a door open just a crack, light peeking shyly from the sliver. When he pulls it open, a woman with hair as white as the snow in the meadow is talking on the phone in what looks like a kitchen, her eyes filled with tears and her voice laced with overwhelming fear. Is that woman Izuku’s soulmate?
The doubt gives Izuku pause. For some reason, Izuku had expected to know the moment he laid eyes on them. Perhaps because he had always thought they would meet alone. That place was meant for them and no one else. This is a world of his soulmate’s alone and whoever is in it is a part of their life in one way or another. But somehow, this woman feels important, though not in a sense Izuku might have expected his soulmate to feel.
He opens his mouth to speak, but before he can say anything, ask anything, the woman’s head snaps towards him, her gaze frozen with something Izuku can only pinpoint as absolute horror and maybe even a hint of hatred. The kettle on the stove hisses and it sounds like a woman’s scream.
His heart rate picks up and Izuku turns to run the other way, his muscles locking in place when he sees a small child being dragged out of the hospital by the large burning shadow Izuku had seen the other night. Their face is covered in bandages and Izuku’s own cheek starts to itch and sting something terrible.
Izuku still doesn’t know, not for sure, but something inside him tells him to follow after them. Without a second to waste, he runs after the child, hope sparking in his chest as he bursts through large glass doors into an entirely different place.
It looks like a dojo, but something about it feels wrong. The walls are warped and covered in large burns that darken the wood, there are no windows at all, and the air feels heavy. It’s suffocating, almost like a cage. And in the centre of the room, a young boy around his age is lying on the floor, surrounded by the shadow’s dark flames and trembling.
Izuku tries to call for them but his voice fails him. The shadow man’s eyes turn to him, cold as ice, and Izuku feels his blood chill in response. When that unforgiving gaze turns back to the boy, a large hand reaches down to lift him up to his feet. Breath hitching, Izuku takes a step forward, only to have the flames burn hotter and push him back further than he managed to advance.
“Fight back. Be stronger. Be as great as you are meant to be.” The words sound like they should be encouraging but Izuku can only hear anger, a dark demand.
The flames rage and Izuku feels like the flesh might sear right off his bones, but beyond them, he sees resentment and sadness in two mismatched eyes, a fire-red scar throbbing in phantom pain that echoes on his own face. A stray tear falls from the corner of his eye and the boy’s mirrors it, his feet dangling for purchase and hands clawing at that shadowy arm. Izuku doesn’t care about the burn, he surges forward and throws himself at the shadow man.
He is swallowed by the darkness but he kicks and punches, he scratches and bites, does everything he can think of until the boy falls back to the floor. Izuku turns to him and picks him up, supporting almost all of his weight with his body and making for the door only to be pulled back. The man is holding onto the boy’s arm, tugging at him with such force Izuku’s feet drag along with him.
The boy doesn’t seem to be fighting back, resigned to his fate.
Eyes widening in mild panic, Izuku tries to call for his attention, his voice once again nothing but a soundless scream. This isn’t his place, and he has no voice here and his soulmate seems to have lost his too. But Izuku will not give up without a fight. He keeps tugging, keeps trying to call him, and no matter how much the man keeps dragging them both away, Izuku resists. Tears roll down his face, blurring his vision, fear grips at his soul and threatens to paralyse him, but he keeps fighting until he no longer has any strength.
Slowly, his soulmate lifts his head and starts to look his way, and when their eyes meet, Izuku’s heart skips. He squeezes the boy’s hand and mouths for him to help him fight. Confusion shines in his gaze and he turns his head towards the large man, the darkness slowly creeping up to his right elbow and consuming him in its wake. Izuku screams for him yet again, his mute voice falling on deaf ears. Izuku’s grip falters and his soulmate starts slipping further into the darkness.
Come on, come on, come on. Fight back, be stronger! Izuku’s mind yells, desperate.
The boy’s eyebrows twitch and his head snaps back. Izuku shouts it over and over, hearing nothing but the roar of flames, but his soulmate seems to hear it, deep within him. Give it your all, break free! I know you have the power to do it!
Turning back to the shadow man, his soulmate clenches his jaw and sets his feet securely on the ground to pull away. Izuku holds him tighter and lends him his strength. Slowly, but surely, the darkness’ hold slackens and the boy’s arm starts to tug backward. Both of them keep pulling until the very last moment, until finally he can wrench free, and Izuku wastes no seconds to keep tugging them away from there.
He looks for anything that might seem out of place, something that might look like his soulmate’s path, but all he finds is long dark hallways and even if he doesn’t look back, Izuku knows that they are still being chased from the urgency settling in his chest. They skid to a halt when the large man appears in front of them, ducking down the nearest exit.
They are back in the hospital wing and Izuku’s heart sings when he sees the hall morph into shrubbery at the end. One glance at his soulmate and Izuku starts for it, his grip on the boy’s hand never letting up.
“Shouto!” The booming voice thunders behind them, and he feels the boy flinch but keeps running and pulling him along with him.
Sterile walls give way to tall trees which open into the clearing and Izuku falls to his knees on the nearest pouf of snow, breathless and whimpering. His voice finally sounds in his ears and the relief is such that his limbs turn to jelly and he rolls onto his back, eyes fixed on the boy still standing by the meadow’s entrance, staring perplexed at everything around him.
“Where am I? Who are you?” He asks and his voice is smooth and low, quiet, as if he is scared of speaking any louder should he draw unwanted attention.
Izuku forces himself to sit up and smiles brightly at him. “I’m Midoriya Izuku and I am your soulmate. This is our dreamscape. It’s nice to finally meet you—Shouto, was it?”
His soulmate nods absently, unable to tear his eyes away from the meadow. “You’re… I have a soulmate?”
“Yeah. Yeah, you do.” Izuku breathes. “It took a while for us to finally meet though, huh?”
“I-I… What do you mean? Since when have we been soulmates?”
“Around when I was four.” Izuku tells him. “It’s been about seven years.”
Shouto rubs at the back of his neck, stunned, then slowly sinks to his knees, taking in a shaky breath. “I don’t know… what to say…”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to say anything at all.”
Scooting closer, Izuku places a hand over Shouto’s and squeezes reassuringly. Beautiful blue and grey eyes stare into his, and Izuku thinks he can see a sheen to them, relief radiating off of his soulmate in waves. The corners of Izuku’s lips twitch further up.
“We’ve got a lot to catch up on. But it’s okay. Every night, all you need to do is come find me and you’ll be safe from everything beyond this place.”
“And what if… what if I can’t find my way here? I didn’t even know that… this existed.”
“Then, no matter how many times it takes… I will come find you.”
Shouto’s breath hitches and he stares at a far corner of the meadow. “Why?”
“Because that’s what heroes do.” Izuku says firmly, and from the look Shouto gives him in response, he believes him.