"I just don't fucking get it," Bakugou stressed for what felt like the millionth time.

"But dude, this is like, the person you're destined to spend your life with. The person who you've spent your past lives with, and the person you're going to spend your future lives with. How can you not want to find them as soon as possible?" Kirishima tried to argue, truly just waiting for the day when Bakugou would turn around and agree with him.

"You say all this, but you literally couldn't care less about all this until a few days ago." Bakugou chuckled yet again, smugly tucking his hands into his pockets as he and Kirishima exited the main school building and began heading to the dorms.

"Yeah, but it's been bugging me lately. I thought 'if it's meant to be then we'll find each other eventually' but I just got impatient."

The sky was a pretty mix of orange and pink as the sun was setting, the air chilly with a noticeable breeze that blew around the crunchy leaves that lingered on the path.

"You probably have enough points there to get their whole damn name," Bakugou commented, glancing at the number above the others head.

Kirishima began genuinely laughing. Sometimes he would forget that Bakugou never had spent even a single point, or even had the intention to. He had no idea on the pricing or even the offers. But there's one thing Kirishima did know, and that was that Bakugou was greatly underestimating just how hard it was to find your soulmate.

"Sorry, but you have no idea how it works so it's just hilarious to hear you try and talk about it."

"I fuckin' do know how it works. You go to sleep thinking of finding your soulmate, then in a weird dream thing, you pick what you want to know and exchange points for it. Then when you wake up, you'll find that information at some point that day." Bakugou closed his eyes as he tried to recall what he'd learned in school years and years ago. "How long has it been since you've spent a damn point?"

"A few years at least," Kirishima replied after a few seconds, rather baffled that it had been that long.

"And what did you get?"

"It was a note saying 'don't feel fear, for victory is their promise'. I still don't get it, it's vague as hell." Although it had indeed been a few years, Kirishima remembered those words like the back of his hand.

"So you don't even know their sex?"

"That costs so much. And even then, the possibilities for that are limited. They're more than likely a boy or a girl, so there really isn't much to question."

"I thought it'd be pretty damn essential to finding them, though."

"Maybe you're right..."

Kirishima pushed open the door for the dorms common area and held it open for Bakugou like how a typical 'gentleman' would.

"Ladies first."

"Keep that up and you're sleeping on the couch," Bakugou grunted as he walked through the door, kicking Kirishima's leg lightly as he did so.

"You gonna break my bed or some shit?" Kirishima followed along, laughing.

"At least I'm not tryna rack up points by pointless shit like holding doors open for people."

---

They were both settled into their beds in their pyjamas as the moon's light crept between the curtains at the edges. The lights were turned out and the only sounds to be heard was the shuffling of the two boys.

"Bakugouuuu," Kirishima whined, sitting up.

"Shut the fuck up." The blonde answered, clenching his eyes shut.

"What should I get?"

"I don't fuckin' know, nor do I care."

"Well, I know that they're in the same country as me, that their zodiac sign is Taurus, and they're either my age, a year older, or a year younger. Then there was that weird quote."

"Just pick one and shut up."

"Okay, okay. Goodnight."

Katsuki Bakugou... You're 17, yet this is the first time we've seen you here.

"Where the fuck am I? Who the fuck are you?"

Relax. You're the one who went to sleep thinking about finding your soulmate, no?

"Maybe, but that's because I was in a conversation about it just before sleeping."

Even so, the amount of points you have is rather... Appalling, to say the least. Especially since you've never spent any.

"And I didn't plan on spending any."

Didn't? So you're going to now?

"Well, I'm fucking here. I might as well, I guess..."

Talking to your friend changed your mind?

"Did it fuck. It's not like I'm gonna go out of my way or some shit, but I can't say I'm not a tiny bit curious. I've never said that I wouldn't try it once."

Very well. Would you like to hear the offers you can trade in your points for?

"Fuck that, just... Give me the weird quote thing that Kirishima got."

Ah, the quote that describes your soulmate while giving you advice on how they can affect you. Quite a popular one, believe it or not.

"Yeah, 'cause it's probably cheap."

...

Fair enough. It is done, upon waking up you will find the quote. I look forward to seeing you again, Katsuki Bakugou.

"You won't fucking-"

Bakugou awoke with a jolt as he sat up, sweat dripping from his forehead. His heart was beating immensely as he frantically looked around the room. It was still dark outside and Kirishima was sound asleep.

He quickly got out of bed and made his way to the bathroom, hurrying to turn the light on. As he stared into the mirror, he immediately noticed that his points had dropped. This was only to be expected, but for some reason, part of him didn't believe that it would work.

So when the fuck will I get this quote thing? He thought as he paced back and forth in the bathroom, thinking about just how this would all actually work.

After a while, he just decided to make his way back into bed and get the extra few hours shuteye that he deserved.

That's when he saw it, a scrap bit of paper on his nightstand.

Was that there when I woke up? He thought as he picked it up, honestly nervous to open it. What the fuck am I being such a pussy about? it's only a piece of goddamn paper and some words.

He unfolded it and looked, his heart beating quickly as his eyes danced over each word.

Keep your face towards the sun and your shadows will fall behind you.

He let out a breath of a chuckle, before dropping the paper on the floor. That was stupid, he thought, don't know what I expected.

Eventually, he went back to sleep and was lucky enough not to have the same damn dream.

---

"Bakugouuu. Bakugou!" The blonde was shaken awake by Kirishima, who was hovering over his bed with an excited expression.

"What the fuuuck?" He replied in a sleepy state, tempted to throw a fucking punch straight into Kirishima's face.

"Your points have dropped!" The red head exclaimed, knowing exactly what it meant.

"Yeah, so fuckin' what? Because of you, I ended up having the dream and getting something ended it quicker." He grunted, eyes scanning to the neglected piece of paper on the floor for half a second. Kirishima still noticed.

He bent down and picked up the paper, then read the contents. His eyes lit up immediately in excitement as he re-read it, then read it again.

"Dude this is such a cool one! You can see it as your soulmate being the sun, and how you'll look towards them as an equal so some of your personal issues will be pushed away. Or that they'll be similar to the sun, therefore the light in your life to push the issues away."

"I prefer yours. Someone promising you victory so you don't feel scared can be representative of your future relationship with them. It sounds as though they wanna protect you and shield you from anything that could potentially do you harm through straight up beating whatever it is causing you threat. Whether that be emotionally, physically or mentally." Bakugou growled out in his morning voice, sitting up in his bed.

Kirishima watched in awe as he explained, admiring every single syllable that fell from Bakugou's mouth. The red head had never heard him be so analytical yet weirdly optimistic and positive. It was so unlike him. Maybe he felt as though the word victory had a very strong connection with him, so he maybe understood the perspective of the quote.

"I never really thought of it like that. At first, I thought it was kinda narcissistic. Heh, who knew you were such a poet?" Kirishima smiled, placing the paper on Bakugou's nightstand as the new perspective he saw the quote in made him think more about it. He didn't need protecting, but damn it sounded manly when thought of that way. "When you put it like that, our soulmates sound like they have similar goals, but completely different approaches. It's cool." Kirishima noticed, plopping down onto his own bed at the other side of the room.

"So what did you end up getting? Your points have dropped a fair bit." Bakugou asked, actually curious. He was more interested in Kirishima finding his soulmate than him finding his own. That was for a particular reason.

You see, Bakugou was jealous of Kirishima's soulmate. That's the only way to put it.

"I thought about what you said a lot and it actually made complete sense, so I decided to find out their gender." He said, admittedly nervously.

I hope they're a girl Bakugou thought without any remorse. Kirishima was pretty attached to the idea that soulmates had romantic relationships, (which they more often than not did) but if that person was a female then the chance of that would be extremely slim.

He couldn't help but be jealous of Kirishima's soulmate, yet he absolutely despised them on a deep level. Why? Because they had started to receive a lot of attention from Kirishima to a point where he had to grit his teeth whenever Kirishima began talking about how he imagines his soulmate to be. The later they find each other the better.

Kirishima always liked to be extra early for breakfast so he could mix together multiple different kinds of cereal in one bowl without being judged for it. He began getting dressed, not paying attention to the fact the Bakugou was in the room.

Being roommates and all, they got changed in front of each other quite often. Going into the bathroom for things that weren't underwear was just unnecessary and pointless. It's not like they were looking at each other anyway (or admitting to it).

As Kirishima was putting on his grey blazer, he put his hands in the pockets to make sure that he hadn't left anything in there from the day before, when he felt a scrap of paper that was vaguely familiar.

He stopped moving altogether and took a deep breath, trying to mentally prepare himself for this. He took the piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it, almost closing his eyes in denial and fear.

Male

Oh, thank god! Kirishima thought, his heart releasing a lot of adrenaline as he didn't realise just how much he held his breath.

"Hey-" He turned around and faced Bakugou, who was unsurprisingly buried in his covers once more. He grunted in response, letting the red head know that he was still at least listening.

"They're a guy!" He chipperly remarked, sorting out the rest of his blazer. He left shortly after, a certain eagerness in his step.

As soon as Bakugou heard the door shut, he couldn't help but scream.

"Fuck!" He exclaimed, gripping his covers until his fists turned white. Of fucking course. Just his luck.

Bakugou hated soulmates and the whole fucking premise of it because falling in love with someone who wasn't your soulmate absolutely sucked ass and seeing them look for theirs so actively was like being literally stabbed directly in the front without them even fucking knowing it. It happened, and it happened way more fucking often than you'd think to kids their age.

The phrases 'meant to be' and 'destined' just pissed him off so damn much. Why couldn't people just love who they love without having to put this stupid label on it? How were people even allowed to fall in love with someone who isn't their soulmate? Like, why the fuck was that a thing?

Bakugou didn't know, but he was on the receiving end (not for the last time) of this. His heart ached every single time anything happened with the red head's soulmate, or even when he did so much as think about Kirishima with literally anyone else.

He thought that maybe, just maybe he and Kirishima were actually on the same page. But then he started giving a shit about his soulmate out of nowhere and now he never felt further from Katsuki's reach.

But more than anything, Bakugou's thoughts immediately turned to that bastard better love and appreciate and take care of him or else he'll have me to fucking deal with.

There was no way he'd be able to get an extra ten minutes sleep now, his mind was racing too much and going round in circles.

He went to eat breakfast shortly after Kirishima had. He'd normally wait a little while longer but he was getting pissed off with his own thoughts and wanted to distract himself at least a little. Kaminari, Sero and Ashido were all there already, silently judging Kirishima as he finished his bowl of cereal.

"Katsuki Bakugou..." Kaminari said slowly as the blonde took a seat opposite him and next to Kirishima.

Bakugou didn't verbally respond, he just gave a look of 'what the fuck do you want?'

"Don't look at me like that, you totally spent points last night!"

"I didn't think you'd change your mind about soulmates so suddenly." Sero smugly suggested.

"I fucking haven't, I still feel the same about that shit. I never said I wouldn't spend any damn points though. Shitty hair made me fuckin' think about it right before sleeping so it just happened." He was being strangely defensive, slamming his fist on the table as he gripped it.

"Tell them what you got!" Kirishima excitedly nudged him. He was way more excited than Bakugou was about this.

Bakugou rolled his eyes at the red head but reached into his pocket and pulled out the piece of paper before placing it on the table. Ashido snatched it before anyone could get a look.

"Keep your face towards the sun and your shadows will fall behind you." She read out, holding the paper extremely close to her face.

All three of them somewhat scoffed as they bickered over the paper, wanting to read it for themselves. After they had calmed down (not really, are they ever calm?) Sero wanted to bombard him with potential analysis points, his English oriented brain jumping for joy. Ashido looked as if she was holding a screech in and Kaminari just looked dumbfounded.

"To be fair... Isn't anyone a sun compared to Bakugou?" Kaminari laughed to himself. Bakugou took it upon himself to block him out. It was too early for this shit and he'd already had a shit day.

"Kirishima, what did you get? Your points have dropped a hell of a lot." Sero commented, his eyes squinting at the number above his read.

"I found out their gender." He smiled, remembering the wash of relief he felt as he found out.

"What is it‽" Ashido kind of aggressively questioned, eyes widening.

"He. They're a he." The red head stated, cheeks slightly dusting pink.

"Geez, you're acting like you've already got feelings for him," Kaminari commented.

Bakugou was biting his tongue to the point that blood was drawn. It was impossibly hard to keep a straight face and not lash out in anger, but he had to just sit, breath and bear with it for the time being.

"No, dude! I can't like a guy I've never met. I'm just fascinated, I guess. Bakugou helped me figure out what my quote could mean and I feel kinda differently about it now."

"You got a quote‽" Ashido piped up again, her knuckles turning white because of how hard she was gripping the table.

"Yeah, it was a while ago though. It said 'don't feel fear, for victory is his promise'. It said their at the time, but I might as well change it now." He giggled, rubbing the back of his head. "At first I thought it sounded pretty narcissistic, but Bakugou helped me realise that there's more to it than that. Even with the narcism thing, I still think it's super manly!" The red head ranted on, a soft smile covering his face the whole time.

"Bakugou? You okay dude? Your whole face is bright red!" Sero pointed out, drawing everyone's attention to the hot head.

Bakugou quickly stood up from his seat and began walking away. He was only red because of how long he held his breath for. If he even did so much as breathe, he would've lashed out at someone which would've caused them all to worry more.

"I feel sick." He responded as he continued to walk away, without looking back.

Kirishima's happiness is what he considered most important, but he had rather strong emotions too. So when one conflicted with the other, he had to take himself away from the situation to protect them both.

"Dude, are you sure about this soulmate thing?" Kaminari's attitude immediately changed as he turned to Kirishima.

"Whether I'm sure of it or not... I need to somehow move on. There's no chance with him, and the sooner I accept that the better." His voice shook as he spoke as he was clearly trying to be optimistic about a situation he could see no positives in.

"Kiri... Even if you find your soulmate today, that wouldn't stop you from being in love with him. You know that." Ashido seemed to switch like Kaminari as her comforting tone of voice filled Kirishima's eardrums.

"Yeah, I do, but it's worth a shot. I could meet this guy, and immediately my feelings for Bakugou could vanish! We don't know." He insisted, clinging on to the last bit of hope he had left.

He was only now looking for his soulmate because it was too damn painful being in love with someone who he thought wasn't. Besides that, he didn't care for soulmates.

I love soulmate AUs and although I've seen prompts for ones like this, I've never actually read one so I decided to write it myself! I don't really know whether to do longer or shorter parts or to lean towards more angst or fluff (there'll still be both) because I don't know how long this will be but I'll figure it out. Hopefully it's not too garbage, let me know what you think!