Chapter Text
—————Izuku—————
I gave a small groan, fluttering my eyes open.Today was going to be a long day. I can already tell. Though when is it not when I need to deal with Kacchan... or Hisashi? It’s only a few days after winter break and I’m not happy with this. Not at all. I sat up only to see something that is honestly terrifying and confusing. I have TWO soulmate strings. One was a snowy white color, while the other one was a simple plum purple. I took two deep breaths to try and calm down. Of course… That didn’t help. “WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!” ‘WHY DID THEY WAIT UNTIL NOW!’ I watched the two strings move slowly as if the owners of the other ends were moving about. I shook my head in frustration as I watched the strings in utter confusion. “I have two strings? What… What does one do when they have two strings? How is that possible I thought that your soulmate was your other half so if they were my other half how can I half two of them on another question similar is why one seems so much longer than the other is that because they are further away or because they’re closer?”
I could have continued rambling if I hadn't noticed how cold it was. I quickly snuck into my room through the window and showered, getting dressed before I headed out. Time to deal with Kacchan… fun. Don’t get me wrong, he’s going to be an awesome hero… But that gets to be more questionable by the day. With a tormented sigh I went through the motions, watching the white string move about as if they weren’t in school. That one seemed to be at the farthest distance.
Once classes ended Kacchan snatched my books. “Stupid Deku! Why were you staring at your hand all day huh? Are you just too good for this school you don’t need to pay attention?!” He didn’t wait for a response as he tore my Quirk analysis book in half and chucked it out the window. “If you really wanna be a hero? Take a swan dive off the roof!” And he left me to slide to the floor and cry.
I’m not quirkless. But my quirk is terrifying. My father constantly forces me to sleep outside or go hungry at night simply for accidentally using it. See, what kind of hero uses blood and solidifies it as a weapon? But those words of his still hurt. I sat there crying for what felt like hours before I stood up and left. I didn’t go home, I knew I wouldn’t be allowed inside today as dad has friends over. Soon though I accidentally walked into a man wearing black pants and a long sleeved shirt. “Watch it kid!”
I jumped and looked up with wide eyes “huh o-oh I didn’t mean to run into you!” I kept my head down and hurried away. He just scoffed and went about his day. At some point I found an ally that looked clean enough and safe enough so I slid to the ground. “I’m so tired…” the sound of a woman screaming in pain.
I scrambled over only to see three people pinned down somehow. One was stabbed with a knife to be held against the wall, another was stabbed through his hands to the floor, and the final one was being pressed into the wall by a man. He looked up and gave a wide smirk. “Oh this is too good. Come here brat, or I’ll kill this woman!” I squeaked, scrambling to stand in front of him, terrified as he put his hand on my throat.
In a split second pain seared at my body, making me writhe in his grip as a gurgled scream left my lips. Blood splashed out from my mouth. Once the pain subsided he let the woman go, dragging me to the woman pinned down on the floor. He slammed his free hand on her wrist and the pain washed over me again but much stronger. “PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!” I continued to shake and convulse as I was dragged to the final man and the pain increased tenfold. Screams spilled past my lips before I ultimately threw up from the pain and passed out.
By the time I woke up, the sun was up and steadily rising into the sky. Shit, guess I’m going to be late… Again … pain was still aching all over my body and I could tell I smelt like throw up. The taste of blood reminded me that I must have coughed it up. Carefully I used my quirk to shift all the blood up and off myself, manipulating it to carefully clean off the vomit before splattering it into a nearby trash bin. “Disgusting…” I shook my head and slowly made my way to school, arriving just at the late bell I sprinted into class.
The other kids only scoffed and the teacher sighed, marking me as absent and not tardy. The teacher called on me plenty of times, seeming to enjoy my struggle to answer correctly for once. I was distracted by the lingering pain that still burned under my skin. Once class let out for lunch I was quick to try and dart away but Kacchan yanked me closer. “Oi! Fuck face! Why the hell do you smell so bad! Your uniform is a wreck! What kind of soulmate would want such a useless Deku!
Tears burned at my eyes as I reached up to try and pry his hand off but as soon as all of my fingers touched him he yanked away from me, screaming bloody murder in pain. He stumbled to the floor as he gasped and screamed in pain, choking back sobs before passing out. All eyes were on me as I stared open mouthed and wide eyed. I fucking messed. Up… . but wait…. that’s not…. that’s not how my quirk works? I didn’t touch his blood so I couldn’t have caused that… right?”
I stumbled back, kacchan’s limb form in front of me before I blasted down the halls. I ran out of the school and to some random abandoned beach. I let blood pierce out from my thumb to wean back and around my torso, forming wings I flew up as high as I could with the blood wings. I had developed a way to fly with my blood. As soon as I was up, well over the clouds now I let the tears well up. And then, I let the blood stop. And I went plummeting.
—————Shouto—————
I sighed as I sat in the quite school hall. I ate slowly as I stared at my two strings. They both seemed to be far but what intrigued me was the emerald green string. It was almost straight up now. But when that string began to rapidly fall I felt myself choke, watching helplessly as the string frayed and then ultimately snapped. Tears burned at my eyes as I stared at it. “They…. they just…” I refused to let the tears fall, schooling my expression as I ate in silence once more.
I tried to eat more but my throat felt clogged so I covered my bento and sat in silence. My left hand felt a tug so I looked at the green string that started glowing and rapidly growing, a firm tug making my wrist get tugged forwards. Confused, I decided to call Fuyumi. “Hey sis? Um…. My uh… one of my strings just? Flew straight up then crashed back down… It had snapped but it’s been like five minutes and It just…. Reformed?” My sister gave a confused noise. “What? That’s really Bizarre? A quirk maybe?” I gave a confused agreement. “Maybe…” She paused before responding to me quietly “You should go back to class, or eating… I don’t want you to get into trouble.” With a resigned sigh I exchanged goodbye’s and hung up. What is happening anymore? First I woke up to see two strings… And now one of them is acting strangely?
—————Hitoshi—————
I sighed, annoyed already as I sat under a tree. My food untouched was beside me. I shook my head and watched my classmates hanging out, laughing, joking…. Being a normal teenager. Why is it that I can’t have that? Why does life seem so insistent that I need to claw my way up for a scrap of anything. This damned villains quirk… I’m not…. I’m not a villain. I refuse to be. I lowered my gaze to the two beautiful strings on my hands. What will they think of my quirk? Will they abandon me too?
I was snapped from that thinking when the green string went whizzing up, then plummeted down and lay limp on the floor, fraying before snapping. I opened and closed my mouth as I tried to wrap my head around what just happened. Slowly I just pulled my knees closer to my chest and burrowed my face into my knees. Nothing… Works for me, does it? Using my knees to muffle it I started to cry softly, face hidden from my hair and legs. I was only like this for the most of five minutes before my right hand was tugged forwards in the direction of where it had snapped, the string regrowing rapidly. What?
—————Izuku—————
I gave a tiny groan, opening my eyes. My body felt like it just went through a grinder, but that’s ok! Hint hint… sarcasm! I sat up and looked around myself. The pavement under me had a large amount of blood spilt and if I patted at my head, I felt the warm sticky substance in my hair. A small sob left my lips but I shook my head. Slowly I managed to stand up and use my quirk to remove the blood off of me and the pavement, sending it hurtling out to the ocean who knows how far.
With a small limp I began to make my way home. Who knows, maybe I can at least get some food before getting kicked out. The sun has gone down some, suggesting school should be out by now. While walking I had my head down low. I only looked up when I once again bumped into someone. A small yelp left my throat as I staggered back, rapidly shoving my hands into my pockets to prevent myself from touching with my hands… I don’t want whatever happened to Kacchan to happen to some random stranger. However, when my viridescent eyes locked onto indigo eyes, my heart seemed to stop beating. The boy’s hand had two strings. One was green half way, but changed to purple on the half connected to my hand. The same white string leading elsewhere. “I-I….”
The boy’s eyes widened as he saw that his hand was most definitely attached to mine. We just sort of stood there, our eyes shifting between holding eye contact and looking each other over to get a basic idea of the kind of person we are. “Y-You… So you’re my soulmate? Well…. One of them?” His voice was low pitched, a tired drawl. “Do you bump into people on the streets often?”
I gave a small squeak and shook my head, patting my cheeks to get a hold of myself. “I um. No? Lately though I question that…. And yes… I suppose you are one of my soulmates…” I rubbed at the back of my neck with one hand, the one that had the green/purple string attached. I really hope that the boy couldn’t smell the few things I know I couldn’t ditch. Throw up, and blood. No matter how much blood I remove from myself the smell still lingers.
The boy, because fuck my stupid luck, pulled a face. “That’s um… An interesting smell? Are you hurt or something?” I ducked my head, trying to shake it to say no but for some reason I couldn’t help but nod yes. The boy bit at his lip and looked around a bit. “Here then um… Shit. Here, you can clean it up at my place and bandage it up if need be? Or I can walk you home if you prefer that way?”
My eyes widened slightly as I stared at him, before smiling tiredly “Thank you… and uh… If i’m not bothering you, your place is preferred? I’m not exactly sure if I’m allowed inside yet.” I blinked in surprise that I admitted that small issue and my hand flew up and slapped over my mouth.
The boy also seemed surprised and an awkward worry formed on his face. “Shit uh… You can stay a bit at my place until you think it’s good then?” I gave a small, equally awkward nod and he led the way. We walked for a few minutes before he spoke up. “My name is Shinso Hitoshi, and um….. My quirk is called Brainwashing. If I ask a question and you answer, I can choose whether or not I want to take control of the person who responded. I know… It’s a villain's quirk.”
My eyes widened slightly before I looked down at the floor. Both my hands slipped into my hoodie again. “I don’t believe that your quirk is a villain's quirk. You could help so, so many people with it. Imagine a hostage situation? You could easily get the hostages out. Or you could end fights before anyone gets seriously hurt.”
I looked over and he had a shocked expression, looking as if he wanted to cry or perhaps just grin like a maniac. “You… You really think so?” I smiled faintly with a nod and we continued to walk. “You… You didn’t say your name? I don’t care if you say your quirk or not though.”
I took a small breath, feeling like I may just break. “My name is Midoriya Izuku. My….. My quirk is called Ice Blood. I can control any blood that I touch. I can also make the blood harden to a crystalized form, stronger than steel from what I’ve checked on it…. But…. I….” I hung my head and felt tears bubble up. “The uh… reason I probably smell so bad is because some shit happened last night….” I swallowed thickly, trying to decide how to explain what happened, or even get it out at all. Thankfully Shinso was forgiving with how long I was taking. “I was just about to fall asleep in my normal safe ally that’s not far from my home…. But… I heard a woman scream so me being a self sacrificing idiot as I’m so often told I am…. I ran to the scream instead of calling for the police or a hero. When I got there I saw three people pinned in some way or form. A man ended up keeping a hand on my neck and went about touching the three people in some way…. It was… Extremely painful. I think I threw up before passing out?”
Shinso’s eyes were wide as he looked at me, a flash of some sort of emotion behind his eyes. He went to speak but I accidentally cut him off. “I… I didn’t get a chance to get home this morning so heh… Went to school and dealt with the bullying again. Except when I tried to pull off the hands of one of them…. He…. Fell to the ground screaming in pain… I don’t know what happened? I know I didn’t make his blood boil because I wasn’t touching his blood…. That’s um… Why I thrusted my hands into my hoodie like that.”
Shinso nodded slowly, before running a hand through his dark lavender hair. “Well damn.... I uh… If you need a place to sleep you’re more than welcome to crash at my place.” I gave a thankful smile at him and soon we were walking into a smallish looking home. Shinso didn’t speak a word to call any sort of showing he had come home. He simply took his shoes off and I did the same. He led me up to a bedroom that once inside was clearly his room. “You um. Can borrow some of my clothes and I can wash your uniform while you shower.”
I felt guilty for just coming in and having Shinso do all of this for me but I smiled faintly. “Thank you…” He nodded and dug around his drawers, tossing a shirt and shorts at me before leading me into a bathroom attached to his. With a soft thank you he left me to undress and shower. I slanted the door open to place my uniform besides the door before turning and getting into scalding hot water. My eyes closed as I lifted my face into the water stream. My mom will probably be the only one who would miss me at home… And father kicks me out most nights… would it really matter if I never went home?
No it wouldn't… Silly Izuku… since when has ANYONE cared about you? Now? This boy is the only person in the world who has ever shown any love to you.
RUN AWAY!
LEAVE!
GIVE UP!
StOP thIS LiE nOw!
Tears burned at my eyes as I collapsed to my knees. I looked down at my hands. I raised them to my head and pulled at my hair. Suddenly, it felt like the subtle pain that had been there from the hot water and my tugging of my hair… has gone down to nothing. In fact. I can’t feel anything. With me dropping so fast I started crying as my hands clawed at my skin, clawing and scratching and even as blood started to rise up I CAN’T FEEL ANYTHING! Please…. Make me feel something! It hurts so much but at the same time I can’t feel anything at all. My fingers brushed against my skin as I continued to scratch… and all of a sudden, the feelings were back like normal…. And it hurts like a BITCH. I bit back a scream, splattering my blood over my mouth and crystalizing it to make a makeshift gag.
The sound of someone worriedly knocking on the door caught my attention. “Midoriya? Are you ok? I heard a whimper from in there and a thud. Did you fall?” I looked to my arms and at the water that was extremely red.
Slowly I allowed the blood over my mouth to shatter. “I-I um… If I’m to be honest? I uh… I-I’m not d-doing too hot… I uh… Just had a mental break…. I um…. Scratched my arms ki-kinda bad.” My voice was wavering in an attempt to withhold a cry of pain.
Shinso sighed faintly “Alright, can I come in to help you?” I gave a shaky affirming hum and he opened the door. Carefully he walked over to me and turned off the water, then grabbed a soft looking towel that was a soft purple. He silently helped to pat me dry, careful with my arms that were still bleeding slightly. Once that was done he grabbed antiseptic wipes and bandages, cleaning the wounds and bandaging my arms. “Do you want to talk about it?” He had been there tending to me for close to half an hour.
I bit my lip before shaking my head no. He nodded and grabbed the clothes he was lending me. “Do you need help dressing?” I shook my head no, my face a soft red as he nodded and got up, walking and sitting in the doorway, his head turned to look away but close enough to hear if I need help or drop again.
I closed my eyes as I got dressed, wincing when I’d brush against a bandage. Once dressed I wobbled over to him and he carefully but awkwardly placed a hand on my back, leading me to sit down on his bed and rest against a pillow. “Are you hungry?” I nodded and he gave a small nod back, disappearing down the hall.
I closed my eyes as I rested. When was the last time I was able to have a hot shower? When was the last time I was able to eat dinner? When was the last time I laid in a bed? My mind had too many when’s for something that should have been a simple and easy to answer question. Shinso returned, placing a bowl of white rice on the bedside table, a glass of water next to it. “I didn’t know if you would be easily nauseous after that so I made you some simple white rice.” He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke to me.
I gave a small smile and shifted to give him space beside me. “Thank you Shinso…. It really does mean a lot to me…. I can’t…. Remember the last time someone cares the way you seem to…” He gave a small acknowledging hum as he sat in the space I gave him.
We were quiet for a while before he spoke up. “I know what that’s like. My parents don’t speak to me. If I want to ask or say something to them we have to use sign language. Even then they hardly acknowledge me. So… When someone finally saw something in me… even if it was just a bright side to my quirk… not…. Not the bad I could do with it… I guess it made me feel alive and normal again? I wanted to give something to you that you clearly needed… Something maybe we both needed?” He had a somber tone, a sad undernote to it. It took a few moments for us to absorb what he said before he sniffed “It’s not like me to be so damn emotional and sentimental or shit. Sorry if I’m awkward.”
I smiled slightly and shrugged “That makes two. Think the third member of our little party is as fucked up as us?” He snorted in response and somehow we ended up asleep, peacefully curled into each other, my hands wrapped up in fabric to prevent something weird from happening.
But this… This is the start of something… Something special.
Something…
Extraordinary.