Sorry that I'm a lazy ass and haven't been rewriting the chapters! I just got back from a vacation and now I'm sick asf but I'm still going to try and write a chapter. I really want to get these over with at this point. I'm planning to just completely rewrite up to chapter around 6 or 9. But eh. Oh!Thank you all so much for 70k reads! This is like- insane! Just a week ago it was at like 50k and it went up 20k in a week? Holy shit- are you guys trying to make me cry? Cause it's working.

Oh, and warning (I'm not going to do warnings for every chapter, probably only this one) This chapter has Self doubt and self confidence problems in it...so...uh if that's a trigger to you, stay away from this chapter.

^^^
Friday, one day before Izuku's birthday.
Before school.

Izuku hasn't left his house for over 48 hours. He skipped two days of school, and he barley even feels like moving out of his bed. For the past two days, Izuku has been refusing to attend school to All Might, instead he simply laid curled in a tight ball in his nest of pillows and blankets, trying to think positively about what had happened on Tuesday. But what was positive about that day?

Sure, Inko did end up being placed in the top hospital in Tokyo, but that was only because All Might was there. And sure, she was still alive, but she was in critical condition. Not mention, Izuku's father hadn't come home for the past days...so he assumed that could be a plus? But how could that be a plus when all Izuku wants to do is kick the shit out of him? Hell, if Izuku was really thinking hard about positive acts then sure, his friends had texted him about a thousand times, which was sweet...but Izuku really wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone.

So of course, Izuku would stay cooped up in his room for another day? Probably get dragged by his feet out of his house by Uraraka but still, Izuku would surely stay home one more day.

"You have to go to school today, young Midoriya. You can't be skipping school! I understand you are in pain...but think of this! Maybe school could get your mind off things for a little? Your friends have been asking a lot about you, they are worried. If you don't come to school today then I'm not sure Aizawa will be very pleased as well..."

Well shit. Izuku can absolutely not risk losing his place in 2-A. That was one of the only things that kept Izuku sane at this point, he couldn't lose that. So, seems like Izuku is going to be coming to school today, much to his displeasure.

Izuku groaned as he felt the morning sunrise hit his closed eyes. Peeling open his right eye, he glanced aside over at his clock, sighing as he read the much to early time that was bold in red. 5:28 . No matter how much Izuku hoped he could go to back to sleep, he knew he couldn't, not with his nerves. His mind is surely going to find something to go on a tangent about and scare little old Izuku wide awake before the clock could even hit 6 o'clock yet.

So, with his body screaming in protest, he carefully slide himself out of his tangled and bloody bedsheets. Bloody? Izuku had been cutting. It's been his way of release for over a year and he had found himself doing it before he could even comprehend it. He glared at one of the larger red patches and groaned in disgust. He was weak cutting. It was weak that his immediate reaction to emotional pain is physical, and it was disgusting. He had friends at school that asked him on a daily basis if he was okay, they wore the most sympathetic, kind, and caring emotion on their faces as they tried to look Izuku in the eye and get any type of answer from him. He had people who made it very aware that he had people who cared for him, that were there for him, but his mind never truly comprehended that. For some idiotic reason his brain decided it didn't give a flying fuck that he had people who cared, instead it continued to pump worst and worst thoughts into Izuku and make him truly believe that no one was there.

He had been used from a young age to not have anyone to talk to. Sure, he could always talk to his mother, but she always had her own things to deal with. Have it be taxes, dribbling two jobs, and sending Izuku to school, she always seemed to be too drained and tired for Izuku to talk to. Even from the age of 4 Izuku knew his mother wasn't in the best emotional state, and he never wanted to make it worst. School was a living hell for him, so of course he couldn't find any comfort in the people there. The group of young boys that simply found it absolutely hilarious to beat Izuku's confidence and hope down into the dirt, spitting on his comfort and personality just for good measure. Those boys made it clear to everyone that Izuku was a absolute unwanted wast of air. He tried his best to pass it by as a joke, not take too much time to dwell on their bickering, but the things they said hit Izuku hard. And that reason was because the person who knew more then anyone about Izuku was leading the group. The boy knew exactly what to say and what to poke at to cause his mood to drop and his eyes to spring to life with tears.

Katsuki Bakugou, his full name alien like on Izuku's tongue. Kacchan was the only thing he ever called the blond. There had been a time where he called him Baku-Chan , but that only lasted a day before he began his using his nickname. They had known each other since the age of 2 and at that time the two had been inseparable. Katsuki knew everything about Izuku and same went for the other way around. He knew Izuku's emotional problems, his worry about his mother, and even some of Izuku's views in life. He used to be someone that Izuku could talk to, someone who understood him and truly cared for him...But that didn't last long. At the ripe age of 4, Katsuki began developing his quirk, one strongly praised by his peers, and by the age of 8, he snapped. Suddenly the Kacchan Izuku had grown up with seemed foreign to him. He began being rude, obnoxious, foul mouthed (even more then he was as a child), and dishonest, sometimes even abusive. He beat his own fears and hate into Izuku and Izuku alone. But Izuku wasn't blind, he saw the face the boy wore when he would his quirk against the smaller teen, it was one of pain and subtle horror. He knew Katsuki better then anyone, well besides his mom, but almost everyone. He knew that something was wrong with him, something was bothering Katsuki and his immediate response was to beat Izuku down with things Izuku knew he had told Katsuki about as kids. His fear of not being a good soulmate, or worst, not finding his soulmate. His father, whome he hadn't ever met at the time, and his quirkless self. His words were beat down into him, ingrained in his memory...but....

Izuku never blamed Katsuki.

No matter what, Katsuki was someone Izuku had trusted from a young age. Even if the boy was different, hostile, and a jerk, Izuku could still see his childhood friend in his eyes. His red-golden orbs that swam with so many emotions that people never really understood what he was feeling, so they usually based it on his facial expression which was almost always a scowl, so of course they thought he was always just mad. But Izuku knew there was more to that look.

Jerking his head out of his thought process and quickly pushed himself all the way out of his bed. He winced as his arms moved and more of the stinging sensation came back to him. He laced his fingers in front of his eyes before harshly palming at his closed eyelids. Removing his hands, he grimaced as he glanced around his room, noticing it was probably the only room in his house that didn't have any beer bottles in it. He groaned, shaking his head and began shuffling towards the bathroom. His thighs ached from the strain of having weight put on them after not standing in almost a full day.

Izuku stepped onto the freezing cold bathroom tiles and immediately crouched down and grabbed his First Aid kit. As if he was a broken robot, he wrapped both of his forearms without even blinking and placed the box back. The short teen snapped his gaze to the mirror and examined his physique, groaning as he sees the disheveled freckled face stare back at him. All the "You should love yourself!"  "You are adorable! Don't worry about what other people say!"  "Don't look down on your appearance, embrace who you are!" "Everyone is beautiful in the inside!" And the "Whats inside is what matters!" Came to Izuku's mind. All the times his mother had tried to raise his confidence, all the times Uraraka had complimented him, and the times he had heard people attempt to make people happy about how they look. What bullshit.

Frowning at his reflection, he aloud his head to hang down, staring bullets into his sink. He could do this, it's just school for crying out loud! He had been doing it his whole life- this isn't some type of new concept! All of sudden something devastating happens in his life and he can't even face his peers? It's not like he hasn't gone through pain before, why was he having problems now?  What happened to the smiley, charismatic boy that he used to be? Oh what a simple question.

"Hisashi Midoriya happened" Izuku spat, his voice seething.

He dug around in his cabinet and took out his toothbrush and toothpaste, deciding he might as well get this day over with...

Oh wait, he had a whole weekend to get through too.

"Ugh." Izuku groaned, continuing with his morning routine.

—

Izuku readjusted his tie, trying to at least make it look decent. It's not like Izuku wasn't a fan of his school uniform, it's just that he hated ties. He could never figure out how to correctly get that god forsaken piece of fabric to lace together how it was supposed to. Once he deemed himself presentable enough for school, he left silently, slipping passes the door as if his father was going to jump out of no where and slit his throat.

Almost immediately after he began his trek to school, his mind began to wonder. Wonder to something that Izuku may think about a little too much.

Soulmates.

Sure, Izuku may be terrified to have one, but who wouldn't at least try and hold onto the hope that someone would be able to pull you out of the deep black hole that you had fallen in? The idea that someone out there can help Izuku, comfort him, be there for him when he needed them most... Oh god did Izuku wish what people say was true. He wished that it was true that someone could walk into your life and make all the pain go away, make him feel better. That's all he asked for, but he knew it couldn't happen. It just seemed so...unlikely? It was like fiction, the stories people told were like fiction. Everything went way to smoothly for it to be realistic. He wished real life was like fiction...

Izuku was haunted with the idea that his soulmate, the person fate chose for him, was going to wake up the day after their birthday and look down to see the most stunning art clinging to their arm. The fact that he knew that they would be baring his own pain with him...baring a mark that showed it too. He felt terrible for the person who is going to or already is feeling his pain, every hit, every kick, every ball of smoldering fire to the face, every scrape...oh god he felt horrible. Soulmates are a blessing but a curse.

But...there was always the possibility that Izuku's soulmate doesn't care about soulmates... maybe they had already found someone, didn't care about the mark on their arm and simply wanted to be with the person they knew they loved unconditionally... what if his soulmate doesn't go looking for him? What if he's stuck like this? Living this lie, this shit show? Izuku took a large gulp of air, the cold temperature leaving a stinging sensation at the back of his throat.

Trying his best to push the thoughts to his back of his mind, he continued on. He decided that he didn't want to have a episode in public again this month.

A few minutes later, Izuku was walking up the dramatically sized steps and entering through one of the three massive red doors at the front of U.A. It was around 6:40 at this point so not many people were walking around in the halls. People who come at this time in the morning usually either go straight to their classroom, the library, and a select few went to the computer room. Izuku decided to just head to his classroom and stay there for the remaining 20 minutes until school starts. He hesitantly opened the door to 2-A, relishing that the the large door didn't squeak. He slipped passed the doorway and quickly headed to his seat.

Right behind the blonde that just so happened to already be here already.

Izuku could feel the few prying eyes in the classroom immediately drop to him. He felt the stares at the back of his neck, and his dropped face. Izuku tried to ignore the stares but he hated attention. This was hell.

"Oh, Midoriya. Glad to see your alive." Izuku snapped his head up, looking to his right to see Todoroki calmly sitting at his desk, a pencil twiddled between his fingers. Momo sat next to him, chatting happily with him. Izuku nodded in understanding, placing his head in his hands. He could infer that Tokoymai and Tsu were here as well. He could faintly hear their whispers from their corner of the classroom. But the most dominating was the blonde in front of him. That stare. It was like hot coals and it was pointed straight at the greenette, causing Izuku's face to heat up.

Izuku had a sudden, random rushing thought that came from the back of his mind to gain its presence.

What if his soulmate was in this class?

It was...likely. It wasn't odd to hear about people having their soulmates in a couple classes in high school. However, since 2-A did all their classes together, it lowered the chances of Izuku's soulmate being in his class.

What if they are here...right now? His mind supplied cheekily and Izuku groaned.

Yeah sure, like they would end up being any of these people. He highly doubted he even had met his soulmate yet. And Izuku was in no rush to find out. Sure, he wanted to find his soulmate, but going hunting for them seemed a little much. Soulmates are literally tied at fate. If they're real, then you will meet them. No matter what.

It was scary to think that such a big part of your life was already planned out for you. Of course, things could always not go as planned. But the path to the end can change. This is what Izuku had been told from a early age, and he still hoped it was true. Knowing Izuku, he would probably mess up his chances with his soulmate when he learns who they are. He will probably make the person hate him.

Izuku groaned again, wincing as he accidentally moved his arm too fast.

"Hey, shit stain, you dying?" Katsuki slowly said from in front of Izuku. The greenette lightly tipped his head up, glancing at Katsuki's calmly slouched broad shoulders. Izuku felt a strange tinge at the tone he chose, but he quickly pushed it to the side like he had so many times before.

"N..no?" It seemed like more of a question then a response. Katsuki sighed in distaste, clicking his tongue against his teeth before assaying anything again. He was still staring holes into Izuku. When Izuku was about to palace his hands back down in his arms, he noticed then reason why Katsuki was mainly starring at him. His sleeve had slipped down, revealing the slowly growing red patch on his badges. Izuku's breathing hitched as he pulled his sleeve back down. Katsuki's eyes darkened with something Izuku could only decipher as anger...but it didn't exactly look like anger, so what could it be? Oh lord, was Izuku really getting this bad at reading Katsuki's emotions? He used to be the only one who could do that...but that's seems to have changed. Izuku's mood dropped even more, sadness leaking more into his eyes as he glanced around Katsuki, refusing to meet his eyes.

"What are you hiding, nerd?" He whispered, scooting his chair closer towards Izukus desk. His breathing hitched again and he shook his head, moving his arms so they rested under the table. "No-nothing...." He said weakly, his throat aching from the past nights of screaming. Katsuki slowly lifted himself out of his chair. His movements seemed very hesitant and like how Izuku's mind loves to do, it supplied him with a bone deep realization.

Katsuki looked scared.

Izuku blinked rapidly in confusion. Katsuki Bakugou, scared? That's bullshit. Sure, Izuku knows he has been scared before, but this boy is extremely good at hiding his emotions and Izuku knows it. He's seen it thousands of times before, where he had seen just that small glint of horror pass his eyes. It was only something you could notice if you spent your whole life staring at those scarlet eyes. Nothing else showed his emotion, he played it off like he was some type of unkillable god with no emotion then anger and win win win. But Katsuki isn't blind, he isn't that arrogant. Now, without even glancing at his eyes, Izuku could tell that he was scared. By his hesitant steps, his quieted tone, Hell, even the lack of words the blonde was spewing out of his mouth was enough for Izuku to tell something just wasn't right.

Izuku heard a few more of his classmates enter the classmates, their voices and greetings blurred. He was able to peel his eyes away from Katsuki's standing figure and instead peered at the clock for just a moment.

6:55

Class started soon, of course people were coming in now. 

His breathing hitched as he felt a warm hand come in contact with his sleeve. His eyes snapped to the blonde who was now standing straight in front of him, slightly taking his wrist in his surprisingly gentle grip. "K- wait!-" Izuku protested as he felt Katsuki begin to peel down his sleeve. He heard Katsuki lightly murmuring something to himself, but for the life of him, Izuku couldn't decipher it. However, right before Katsuki was seemly going to pull down his sleeve and uncover his already stained red wrap the intercom turned on.

beep

Izuku Midoriya, please report to All Mights office as soon as possible.

He was saved...

Or was he?