Katsuki's words made his tongue tingle. They rang out in his head.

He had. A fucking. Soul mate.

And apparently, his soul mate was the one and only Ochako Uraraka. A classmate of his. Somebody he didn't actively talk to on a daily basis.

Speaking of Ochako, she raised her empty hand to toy with the red string. Her body part simply phased through it, not interrupting the red. "Oh, wow," she whispered in awe.

His mind reeled. He had to be dreaming, possibly hallucinating. How could this be real? How the ever living fuck could he have one? He wasn't supposed to have one.

Ochako pulled her hand back, having it join her other one in holding the cup.

The movement caught Katsuki's attention. This wasn't right. He hadn't watched her take a drink. Professor Kayama was very clear that the potion would allow vision of the string.

"How can you see the red?" he demanded.

Her head tilted a tad to the side. "The potion?"

He curtly nodded at her hands. "You haven't touched yours, Round Face."

"I drank some earlier." A bashful look came across her face. "I felt weird coming over here with only one cup for you."

Katsuki attempted to wrap his head around the situation. Round Face. His soul mate.

A commotion sounded from the dance floor area. Katsuki and Ochako both looked over, catching glimpses of red and pink hair surrounded by their classmates. "Is that...Mina and Kirishima?" she wondered aloud.

Katsuki directed his attention back to the sorceress before him. He couldn't worry about damn extras when he had his own problem to worry about. Problem? Shit, was that the right word? Situation? Turn of events?

"Oi, did Deku set you up for this?"

Ochako turned back to look at him. She puffed her cheeks out in dismay, making them look rounder. "Izuku isn't like that."

Katsuki clenched his jaw. He knew the two were on good terms, but he still didn't like hearing Izuku's name come out of her mouth. "Tch."

"I'll have you know that I came over here on my own accord."

"Good for you, Cheeks."

Soul mates. The word popped up in his head. It was persistent and aggravating. He didn't want to think about that right now. It was already past his normal self-set bedtime of eight o'clock, anyway.

"What's wrong?" Ochako asked.

His words had more bite to them then intended. "Oi, who said anything was wrong?"

"The look on your face..." Her breath hitched, face turning ashen. Her voice came out in a whisper as she clutched her cup. "Are you disappointed it's me?"

"Who said anything about—" He cut himself off, dragging a hand down his face. He definitely didn't have time to deal with this shit tonight. "Relax, you're stressing self out over nothing."

Her chest expanded as she deeply inhaled through her nose. She exhaled out of her mouth.

"We can talk about this tomorrow sometime. I'm leaving."

His last two words surprised her. "What? Why?"

"It's late, and we have class tomorrow."

Her face scrunched together in confusion. "It's not even nine o'clock."

"Tell me about it," he grunted. "I've wasted too much time here already."

Her bottom lip trembled. "Wasted?"

He had to regard his next words carefully. "No potion's gonna tell me who I'm supposed to like. I'll decide that for myself."

Her voice got caught in her throat. Did he plan to completely disregard her even though he knew they were soul mates? Could one soul mate fight fate to not be with the one they were meant to be with?

"Hey, Ochako!" Izuku greeted from behind her.

Regaining her composure, she turned to look, while Katsuki looked past her to glare.

Izuku approached with somebody in tow.

Tenya Iida was relatively tall and had a wide, muscular frame. His dark blue hair parted on the left side of his head. Rectangular glasses were in front of blue eyes. His eyebrows were thin and long, hooked inward on the ends. His blue tuxedo paired with a white dress shirt, gold tie, a pressed pocket square, and black dress shoes. He carried a full cup in one hand.

Katsuki glanced at the red string connecting him to Ochako. It was proof they were soul mates. Before he could tell the two extras to fuck off, he calmed down the second he remembered only the matching pair could see the connection. Regardless, he didn't have time to deal with the two. Four people would feel like a crowd. "Tch, I'm outta here." He thrust clenched fists into his pockets and stormed off. He left behind an angry wake along with the cup he had dropped and the sorceress in the pink dress.

Izuku and Tenya avoided bumping shoulders with Katsuki. The two stood by Ochako, watching Katsuki get further away.

"Something's wrong with Kacchan," Izuku stated when Katsuki was out of earshot.

"What makes you say that?" Tenya asked.

"I've known him since we were little."

Perhaps Ochako could ask Izuku for help in reading Katsuki better. She knew he kept journals full of notes. Maybe there was one specifically for the ill-tempered blond.

Izuku looked at Ochako. "Are you okay? Did he say anything rude to you? Do anything?"

She attempted to brush it off the best she could. "He's just tired."

Izuku thoughtfully nodded. "It is late for him."

"Why were you over here with Bakugo?" Tenya inquired. "Izuku said he left you at the basin, but you weren't there."

What excuse could she give? "I saw him all alone over here and wanted to say hi."

Izuku and Tenya glanced at each other before looking back at Ochako.

"What?" she asked, feigning innocence.

"Are you feeling well?" Tenya questioned.

"Of course."

"You came over to say hi to Kacchan?" Izuku asked as if he hadn't heard her correctly.

"Yes. We're classmates, aren't we?"

And on top of that, bigger than that, soul mates. Ochako bit her lower lip. Could she tell her friends what she had discovered?

Izuku scratched the back of his head. "I guess. I mean, you are, yes. It's just that I don't think I've seen you and Kacchan talk a lot."

Ochako straightened back her shoulders. "I think it's time to reach out more to classmates. Time for a change!"

Tenya nodded. "What a way to think!"

Izuku smiled. "That's the spirit!"

Ochako smiled back. She could do this. She'd make an effort to speak with Katsuki about this tomorrow. This was something that couldn't be brushed under a rug and be forgotten about.

"Izuku told me he already drank some, so"—Tenya held out his cup—"cheers to us, Ochako."

They briefly joined cups and drank from them. Ochako finished all of hers, not that she needed any more. The string protruding from her chest traveled the path that Katsuki had taken. It winded around students and professors.

"Well?" Izuku prompted in excitement.

Tenya was looking up. "Mine goes through the ceiling."

"Mine went through a wall earlier." Izuku looked at Ochako. "What about you?"

"It goes that way"—she nodded in the direction—"and goes through the doors on the other side of the room."

"None of our soul mates are present in this room," Tenya stated as he lowered his head. "The odds of that..."

He had a point. Katsuki wasn't in the room with her anymore.

xXx

Katsuki felt like he could breathe again the moment he entered the hallway. The red string he continued to see was the only reminder that something had transpired in the room behind him.

Alone with his thoughts, he broke down what happened. Ochako knew they were soul mates first. She then got him on the same damn page. Did she tell any extras before she walked over to him? By now, she could have said something to the damn nerd and four eyes. How would people react to the news he was her soul mate? The two of them didn't seem like the ideal couple.

Wait, who the fuck cared? So what if they were soul mates? That didn't dictate a damn thing. He didn't have to have feelings for her, anyway. Maybe not right away. At least. Right?

"Feelings are fucking stupid," he muttered under his breath.

He rounded the corner and noticed a professor approaching him.

Nemuri Kayama was in her early thirties. Tall and curvaceous summed up her body type. Her dark purple hair was layered and long, going past her waist. Bangs would hide her face if they weren't styled. Long lashes framed her sky blue eyes, and a small mole was under her left one. The gown she wore hugged her figure and dropped to the floor. It had long sleeves with beautiful detailing. In all honesty, it looked like a wedding dress.

Surprised to see him, she stopped in place. "Master Bakugo, are you not enjoying the gala?"

"Was already there," he said, walking around her.

"Did you try the potion?"

Coming to a halt, he half-turned to face her. "Who cares?"

She carefully regarded him. "Did you not like what you saw?"

Why did his mouth feel dry? "I wasn't expecting it."

A knowing look came across her face. Her expression softened. "There are times there is no string. Sometimes it means your soul mate no longer exists, but that doesn't mean you can't find someone someday—"

"She was there," he interrupted.

Her lips curved into a smile. "That's wonderful!"

"Tch."

"Why aren't you with her now?"

"I'll decide the one I'll be with, not some damn red string."

Professor Kayama softly smiled. She turned around and walked away, hands clasped behind her back. Just as she rounded the corner, she made eye contact with him. "Try as you might..." she said in a sing-song voice before she disappeared.

Katsuki kicked the floor as he turned and headed for his dormitory. He ignored the red in his peripheral vision. He grumbled to himself.

Try as he might what?

xXx

A/N: Oh, forgot to mention this last chapter. I have a Twitter account if you wanna follow me for nerdy reasons: @RayreeAnne