Soulmates. A word you heard over and over again. Everyone had them, of course. But somehow everyone still treated the whole soulmate thing like some new craze.

There were three different kinds of soul marks: First Words, Symbols, and First Touch. First Words seemed like the best. A reminder of a first meeting that you could keep with you at all times. Symbols were like couple tattoos. Cute. Plus, tattoos were pretty cool. You would have loved to have either of those marks. Anything would have been better than the bright red handprints on your cheeks.

The thought of the gesture was nice, at least. You liked to believe that maybe your soulmate was going to gently hold your face and stare lovingly into your eyes. Maybe lean in and...

Well, imagining could only relieve your frustration so much.

What you hated the most was that you always looked like you'd been slapped. It wasn't like you could cover them up either; any and all makeup you tried to apply to the marks just wouldn't show up. People would look at you weird. Usually it was with concern. Hell, even your middle school friends would joke about how your soulmate was probably going to smack you.

Double slap you though? At the same time? It seemed unlikely.

Your parents had been lucky. They were both pro heroes (albeit not very famous ones) and had teamed up on a mission once. They both had marks on the palms of their hands, and when they high-fived to celebrate a job well done, they discovered that they were soulmates. Fast forward a couple years, they got married, and here you were.

Speaking of your parents...

Your mom pulled up in front of the school. You walked down the steps to the car, opened the door, and hopped into the passenger seat.

"So, honey, how was your day?" she asked as you shut the car door.

"Oh, you know, same old, same old," you replied with a small smile. School was ending soon, and you were excited for that. But you were also nervous for what came next.

"Are you excited to apply for UA?"

Wow, it was as if she'd read your mind.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, super excited."

"Well, I know the test is a good while away, but I think it's never too early to start preparing yourself. Your dad and I are both willing to help you train if you need it," your mom said, then laughed. "Oh, as if you'll need it. I have no doubt in my mind that they'll accept you."

You gave a small chuckle in response and turned to look out the window and escape this conversation. Sure, you were excited, and there's no doubt you were pretty strong. Even so, doubt still nagged at your mind. There had to be dozens of kids stronger than you who would make it. And what if you didn't get in? Your parents had both been students there, and they had high hopes that you would also attend UA. You didn't want to disappoint them.

You were abruptly pulled from your thoughts by a commotion further up the street. There was a giant plume of smoke rising above the buildings. You stared out the windshield, trying to figure out what was going on, but you couldn't get a good look. Your mother pulled over to the side of the road just a few blocks away and parked the car.

"What is it? A villain?" you asked.

Your mom nodded. "Seems like it," she replied, opening the door and getting out. "I'm going to go check it out. Stay. Here." She emphasized those words, but like hell you were going to listen to them.

As soon as she got a good distance away, you climbed out of the car and followed suit.

The crowd was dense and you had to fight your way through for a good look, but soon you could see exactly what was happening. Fire burned rampant through the street. There was some kind of gooey, liquid-like villain in the center of the crowd. Heroes were scattered around the scene working on putting out the fire and keeping the bystanders safe, but none of them were doing anything about the villain. You didn't understand.

And then you saw him.

The giant glob was holding a boy hostage, and it looked like it was trying to absorb him or something. The boy seemed to be holding his own. It looked like he had some kind of explosive quirk he was trying to fend off the villain with.

The heroes had no way to help the boy. Most were stuck doing damage control, and none of them had the right quirks to fight it. They were forced to wait for someone else. You worried that if it took too long, the boy might not survive.

The boy turned his gaze towards the direction of the crowd. His crimson eyes were begging, pleading for help. You gasped, taken aback by the pure terror and pain in his gaze.

Suddenly, a boy with green hair darted forward. You stared at the scene wide-eyed. He was going to get himself killed! The heroes yelled for him to stop, but he just kept running. The green-haired kid threw his backpack at the monster, his belongings scattering out. The villain was surprised and loosened its grip on the boy. The other kid clawed at the liquidy mess, trying to free him. It was only a few moments, however, before the villain regained it's senses. It lifted itself up, surrounding him and preparing to strike. The heroes rushed forward. A huge cloud of smoke suddenly appeared.

Holy shit, was that All Might?!

He had rushed in front of the kid, taking the blow for himself. All Might gripped the boys' arms and brought back his fist.

"DETROIT SMASH!"

The top hero's shout seemed to reverberate throughout the city block. He drove his fist into the sludge. It was blown away from the force. A great wind roared around you. You had to grip onto a nearby street post to keep from being blown away. As suddenly as it came, it was gone. And there was silence.

And then it began to rain.

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