Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window

Hi everyone! Here's chapter 2! I hope you guys like it. It's been longer than two weeks, but I have a longer chapter this time! I hope that makes up for it.

Please let me know what you guys think! Reviews give me motivation. Even if it's just a couple words, it means a lot to me.

Song of the Chapter: "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield

TW: slime villain pt. 2

Chapter Word Count: 4,545

Izuku couldn't believe it.

He and All Might were Soulmates.

He'd been attacked by a villain and was saved by All Might!

He and ALL MIGHT were Soulmates.

All Might was chronically hurt and could only do hero work for six hours a day.

He and ALL MIGHT were SOULMATES.

He wondered if he could get All Might's autograph.

HE AND ALL MIGHT WERE SOULMATES!

As explosions continued to go off in the distance, Izuku wandered. All Might had tried to get him to a paramedic, but Izuku told him he'd stop by a clinic on the way home. The Number One Pro Hero had better things to do than walk a Quirkless kid home. Not that he said that out loud. Despite Kacchan and their parents' protests, Izuku knew how the world viewed Quirkless people.

It was likely that any paramedic All Might took him to would turn him away the second his Quirk status was revealed. Soulmate or not, he wasn't ready for that revelation.

Suddenly, Izuku realized that the explosions were getting louder. He was back at the Tatooin Shopping District. He must've wandered towards the villain fight subconsciously. Well, he might as well do some analysis while he was here.

Izuku wove his way through the crowd, moving towards the front rather quickly. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed All Might standing at the back of the crowd assessing the situation. Izuku wondered when he'd step in, or if he was even able to. He did mention that he was out of time for the day.

When he reached the front of the watching crowd, Izuku took off his backpack and went for his analysis notebook. Before he could even unzip his bag, though, he heard a familiar voice. A voice he'd known his entire life. Izuku froze when he realized it was coming from the villain's hostage.

"Let go of me, you fucking asshole! I'm gonna blow your head off!"

Kacchan. The hostage that the villain had was Kacchan.

Why wasn't anyone doing anything? The Pro Heroes were all standing around or moving people far away from the area. He understood Kamui Woods and Backdraft, they were doing other things to prevent people from getting hurt. But Death Arms and Mt. Lady should be finding a way to help.

Izuku wanted to do something, anything. That was his Soulmate in trouble. He had to help him somehow, but what could he do? He didn't even have a Quirk.

Then, something that had never happened before, or ever would again, happened.

All of his Soulmates, all 17 of them, pushed him forward at the same time.

Even Kacchan and All Might, who were just a few meters away from him. Even Game Controller, who always seemed to avoid touching Izuku when they were around. Even his Romantic Soulmate, Peony, who always seemed unsure about how to act around him.

The combined push made Izuku stumble a few steps forward. And then he was running.

The next thing he knew, Izuku had thrown his backpack at the sludge villain. It hit him in the eye, which gave Izuku the time to run up and grab Kacchan's arm, pulling hard to try and get him free.

"Zuku?! What the hell are you doing here? You should be home right now! Get out of here, it's not safe!"

"It's a bit of a story, Kacchan! But I couldn't just stand by and watch you die! I had to do something. And my Soulmates agreed with me. All of them, including you, pushed me forwards just now!"

Kacchan's eyes widened in surprise. It was very rare for a Soulmate to be at someone's side both physically and not. Rare enough that less than five thousand cases were reported yearly in Japan.

Before either teen could say anything else, the sludge villain thrashed and screamed. Izuku pulled as hard as he could and was finally able to free Kacchan. As the two Soulmates scrambled back, the sludge villain reached his hand out to try and grab them again.

Whelp, Izuku couldn't help but think, this is how we die.

Izuku raised his hands to protect himself and braced for the blow. When it didn't hit, he looked up and gasped. There stood All Might, blocking the villain's arm.

"Don't worry, boys. It's alright. Do you know why? Because I AM HERE!"

~~~SYMC~~~

Katsuki sat next to Zuku in the ambulance doorway. The two Soulmates had been given blankets and hot tea after a paramedic with a minor telekinesis Quirk removed residual sludge from their lungs (Katsuki did NOT recommend the experience).

Death Arms and Kamui Woods stood in front of them. Not even five seconds ago, Death Arms was scolding Zuku for stepping in and saving Katsuki's life. And now he's telling Katsuki that he has a "great Quirk" and to reach out for a sidekick gig in a few years.

It made Katsuki sick.

"Oh shut the hell up!" The heroes jumped at Katsuki's yell. Good.

"Why is it that the middle schooler had to do your job? I heard you complaining that your Quirks were bad matchups or weren't strong enough. Well, that's too fucking bad. Zuku doesn't even HAVE a Quirk and he acted a million times more heroically than you did today. You tell me you want to have me as a sidekick when I go pro? Well, I wouldn't, in a million years, want to work with Quirkist assholes like you!"

Katsuki was pissed. He very rarely pulled the Quirkist card. It's not that he didn't think Quirkism was a thing. In fact, it was the opposite. He knew that people would deny it unless they were backed into a corner like they were now.

Death Arms looked taken aback, like no one had ever spoken to him that way before. And maybe Katsuki was the first. Good. The asshole could be taken down a peg or two. One day, he and Zuku would be in history books and Death Arms wouldn't even be mentioned.

Kamui Woods, on the other hand, looked a little remorseful. He didn't say anything to defend himself, but he didn't apologize or say Katsuki was right either. So that put him just a little above Death Arms in Katsuki's book. And he'd been helping evacuate people rather than just standing around.

Though to be fair, he WAS made out of wood. Katuki didn't blame him for avoiding explosions and fire.

But that didn't change a damn thing about how they were treating Zuku.

Behind the two sorry excuses for Pro Heroes, Katsuki could see All Might walking away from the news crews and towards them.

"Ah, hello again young Izuku!" Wait, how the fuck did ALL MIGHT know Zuku's name?! And why didn't Zuku tell him about this? "I'm glad to see that you're alright. And you as well, my dear boy," he added to Katsuki. And, wow, having the Number One Pro Hero talk to him was an experience. And he'd only said one sentence.

Then The Symbol of Peace turned to the other Pro Heroes at the scene.

"I couldn't help but overhear what you were saying to these two boys. And while I understand that you mean well, I can't help but agree with this young man. There are many ways that you could have handled this situation better. But this is a good opportunity for you to learn from your mistakes and be better next time! Now, I have to go, but I hope you reflect on today and strive to do better from now on."

Not once did he drop his smile, but from the looks on Death Arms and Kamui Woods' faces, you'd think he'd been yelling at them.

All Might's words had a much bigger impact than those of Katsuki, but that's to be expected. That's the way the world worked. Right now, he and Zuku were nobodies. One day they'd be topping The Hero Billboard Chart. But today, All Might's word meant more than theirs.

Both Pros gave Katsuki and Zuku a begrudging apology. They leave, and All Might gives the two teens one last smile before he follows.

The streets slowly emptied as they got further from the site of the attack. As soon as they were alone, Katsuki rounded on Zuku.

"Ok, what the actual fuck, nerd?! How does All Might know your name? And what the hell were you thinking, running in like that? You could've been hurt! And yes, I know heroes get hurt all the damn time. But we're not heroes yet. And you didn't have any sort of protective gear!"

Zuku, predictably, starts talking a kilometer a minute.

"Well, you see, I maybe sorta got attacked by the same villain on my way home! But All Might stepped in and saved me then too. Oh, also, it turns out he's one of my Platonic Soulmates! He had to leave though when he realized the villain had gotten away because he'd been distracted by discovering our bond. Oh crap, I totally forgot to ask for his autograph!"

Katsuki could only stare at Zuku as he tried to process that.

While he was still on the Soulmate thing, All Might himself jumped in their path.

"I AM HERE!" The Number One Pro Hero then coughed up fucking blood before… deflating? with a literal puff of smoke.

Great. Now Katsuki had to reboot his brain again. And figure out how the fuck Zuku wasn't surprised.

"Young Izuku. I came by to speak with you. However, I was not expecting you to be with anyone else. Would it be possible for us to speak over there?" He pointed down the street. " It will only take a moment, and you and your friend here can be on your way."

Katsuki finally found his voice.

"No," he said. "Anything you have to say to Zuku you can say to me. I'm Bakugou Katsuki, by the way. Thanks for asking. Zuku and I are Soulmates, so we tell each other everything."

He didn't trust anyone, not even the Number One Hero, to not take advantage of Zuku. The damn nerd was too trusting for his own good.

All Might looked at Katuski with a mixture of surprise and understanding. Maybe he finally realized Katsuki was the kid he had saved not even an hour before. "I admire your dedication to your Soulmate, young Bakugou. But I assure you, it's nothing bad. I just want to talk to young Izuku about something that needs to stay a secret."

"Um, All Might?" Zuku's voice was quiet but certain. "I just wanted to let you know that all of my Soulmates are here right now. Well, besides you and Kacchan. It seems that whatever you're about to tell me is something that's meant to be shared. At least with them."

All Might looked like he wanted to insist on speaking with Zuku alone, but eventually, he opened his mouth.

What came out of it had to be the most convoluted and crazy thing Katsuki had ever heard. He hadn't even fully processed it before Zuku was on the ground accepting All Might's offer.

What the fuck was today? What the fuck was Katsuki's life?

Several days later, Katsuki was thinking the same exact thing as he stared out at Takoba Municipal Beach Park. Massive piles of trash lay on the sand and in every direction. This place had been a dump for years. Certainly for as long as Katsuki could remember.

Sure, he and Zuku went for runs and did weight training. But this was just crazy. Then again, Plus Ultra.

~~~SYMC~~~

Hitoshi groaned as his alarm went off. He turned it off, scowling at the offending time of 6:30 before snuggling deeper into his blankets. He was tempted to just roll over and go back to sleep, but he knew that Papa would come in and wake him up anyway. With a groan, he threw back his blanket and stood up. Tora, the thief that she was, moved from the foot of his bed to his now vacant pillow.

Hitoshi couldn't help but feel jealous of her. Jealous of his cat, what is his life coming to?

By the time Hitoshi was dressed, Papa was already halfway through making breakfast. Hitoshi didn't think he'd ever figure out how Papa could have so much energy at this ungodly hour. He'd been trying for the past six years to no avail.

Hitoshi flicked the kitchen light off and on a couple times in case Papa had his hearing aids out this morning. When the blond man turned to him though, Hitoshi could see that they were in.

"Morning, Papa."

"Morning, Toshi. Would you please set the table? Oh, also, your Oyaji just came back home three hours ago, so you have time for one of your longer runs before he's even up."

Hitoshi nodded as he got out two sets of chopsticks. Sometimes Oyaji came home late after a night patrol, affecting Hitoshi's training plan for the next day. With just under three months before the UA entrance exam, he'd been training every day to get ready.

Both of his dads had been helping him with strength and agility training for two years, but Oyaji had given Hitoshi his own capture scarf for his birthday. So, for the past five months, Hitoshi had been learning how to use it from the expert himself after his morning run. How long that run was depended on how late Oyaji was going to sleep in.

As Papa put two plates of omurice on the table, Tatsu came barreling into the room, almost crashing into Papa's legs.

Neither human was startled. This was perfectly normal. If Tatsu woke up and Papa wasn't there, she would run circles around the apartment until she found him. For this reason, Papa always made sure Tatsu was awake when he left. He forgot once, and Tatsu had destroyed all the couch pillows and knocked over a vase looking for him.

Hitoshi laughed and stood up. "I'll feed her, Papa. You get the rest of the food on the table."

As Hitoshi fed the cats, Papa added two bowls of miso soup to their meals. The two ate in relative silence, the occasional clink of chopsticks accompanied by the sound of Tatsu's crunching. Hitoshi finished before Papa, and he rinsed his dish before putting it in the dishwasher. After giving Papa a wave bye and a quick pet for Tatsu, he put on his shoes and left.

Hitoshi exited their apartment building and felt the cool November breeze ruffle his hair. After a quick warmup down the street, he started his run in earnest.

Hitoshi had been adding length to his daily run, and today was the first time it was long enough to reach Takoba Beach. Even with all the trash, Hitoshi liked the sound of the ocean and wanted to run by it for a bit.

He was actually rather proud that his route was long enough to pass by. Takoba was several kilometers from their apartment.

By the time Hitoshi reached Takoba, the sun was high in the sky. As he neared, the purple-haired teen could hear the sound of the waves as they came to shore. What he didn't expect was the sound of metal hitting metal accompanied by some cursing. Was there someone on the beach? Hitoshi knew the homeless sometimes went there looking for anything they could use or sell. Out of curiosity, he stepped off the path and onto the beach itself, following the sounds.

Was the beach always this clean? Hitoshi could've sworn that there used to be a lot more trash. Maybe someone started cleaning up and gave up part way through. It wouldn't be the first time that happened.

What he found just confused him more. A green-haired teen around Hitoshi's age was pushing various pieces of junk across the beach. He seemed to be moving it all toward a truck at the sand's edge. With him were two blonds, one a teen also around Hitoshi's age and an older guy who looked like a strong wind could knock him over.

He hadn't planned on approaching them, but Hitoshi accidentally kicked an old can, knocking it their way and getting the trio's attention. Oyaji would be disappointed at his lack of stealth.

He considered just turning around and leaving, but that idea was stopped when the green-haired teen called up to him.

"Hi, there! Were you looking to scavenge for something? We've been cleaning up here for a while, so we know where a lot of stuff tends to be."

Hitoshi wasn't sure if he was offended that the guy assumed he was homeless or appreciative that he was willing to help. He chose a mix of both. Hitoshi carefully maneuvered around the trash piles until he stood two meters from the trio. No sense in them shouting to each other.

"Um, no. I'm just going for my morning run and was just passing by. If I might ask, why are you cleaning up here? People have tried it before, but it never sticks."

The blond teen answered with a scoff. "The nerd is training for the UA exam. Since this place is such a dump, he's been working out by lifting and moving all the shit around here. The goal was to be done by the week of the exam, but at this rate, he'll be done by the end of the month."

Well, that explained why the beach was a lot cleaner. Hitoshi had to hand it to the other teen. He had dedication. He must have been working on this for months judging by what was done already.

"Oh, you're trying for UA too? I'm guessing the hero course from the fact you're doing physical workouts." The green-haired teen nodded.

"Yeah! Kacchan and I are both aiming for the hero course! Oh, I'm Midoriya Izuku, and these are my Soulmates Bakugou Katsuki and Yagi Tosinori." Kacchan. Interesting nickname. Though it didn't get a reaction beyond an eye roll, so Bakugou must be used to it.

Hitoshi nodded back to the trio. "I'm Yamazawa Hitoshi. I'm also aiming for the hero course."

Yagi grinned. "Good for you, young man! I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors!"

Hitoshi was about to bid them goodbye and return to his run when Midoriya raised his hand to move his hair out of his eyes. And that's when Hitoshi saw them.

There were many Soulmarks on Midoriya's wrist, but two of them caught his eye. And not just any Marks. Hitoshi recognized one outline as a lounging but stern-looking cat, which matched the colored version on his own wrist. Right next to it was a happy-looking cat face that he recognized from Oyaji and Papa's wrists.

He must have been staring because Bakugou yelled and made him startle.

"What the fuck are you looking at Zuku's wrist like that for, asshole?" A quick glance at the blond's wrist showed no sign of Hitoshi's Mark, but he could see half of Oyaji's.

Hitoshi didn't trust himself to speak quite yet. Instead, he lifted his own wrist, showing off Oyaji's Mark.

"You both have my Oyaji's Mark. And that other cat on Midoriya's wrist is mine." He held up his left hand, a clear invitation if Midoriya wanted to take it.

After a moment of hesitation, Midoriya reached out with his own hand and grabbed Hitoshi's. At first, nothing happened, and Hitoshi wondered if this was just going to be a super embarrassing story he told his dads. It was rare for people to have identical Marks, but it wasn't unheard of.

Just when Hitoshi was about to pull his hand back and apologize, he felt the telltale prickling on his wrist. Looking down, he saw that his lion Mark had been filled in, the black outline now a full-color picture. He smiled at Midoriya, who returned it.

"Oh great." Hitoshi jumped. He'd forgotten Bakugou and Yagi were there. "I hope the rest of your day is free. Zuku is going to want to learn everything about you."

Hitoshi laughed and pulled out his phone.

"Let me text my parents and see if you can come over. Oyaji will want to meet you both."

~~~~~SMYC~~~~~

Hizashi looked up as the front door opened, setting his grading on the couch beside Tatsu and walking towards the genkan. Toshi had texted asking permission to bring a couple people over, but he didn't give any other information. That piqued Hizashi's interest since his son usually shared everything with his parents. Not to mention the fact that Toshi tended to avoid conversation, much like Shou. It annoyed Hizashi to no end.

Two boys about Toshi's age were following him inside the apartment. Hizashi could hear the tail end of what his son was saying.

"— should be home, probably grading papers. I'm not sure if Oyaji will be up yet. He works at night and got back later than usual."

"He's still asleep." Hizashi had to suppress a snort when the two unknown teens jumped. "Hi there, kiddos. I'm Hitoshi's Papa. You can call me Yamada or Hizashi, whatever you prefer."

The green-haired teen made a sound that reminded Hizashi of a tea kettle. Hizashi looked at him in slight alarm. Was he ok?

"Y-you're Present Mic!"

That… was not what he was expecting to come out of the kid's mouth. A glance at Toshi's surprised face revealed that his son hadn't told the teen who he was. He started heading back towards the living room, talking as he went.

"Wow, I'm impressed, little listener. Not many people have recognized me out of costume."

This seemed to open the floodgates.

"Oh my gosh, you're so cool! Kacchan and I listen to your radio show all the time. Thank you for bringing up and fighting against discrimination towards Quirkless people, you're the only Pro who does. I love your Quirk it's really awesome. And you have such good Quirk control, you have to if you don't want to burst people's eardrums all the time.

"Oh, I'm Midoriya Izuku by the way, and this is Kacchan… um… Bakugou Katsuki. We're Soulmates, but we've known each other our whole lives. And I'm Soulmates with your son. It's such an honor to meet you, sir! Oh, and apparently Kacchan and I are also Soulmates with Yamazawa's Oyaji, who I assume is your husband. Is he a hero too? Oh Kami, you're a UA teacher! What's it like? Kacchan and I have wanted to go there for as long as we could remember."

Hizashi couldn't help but be stunned at the teen's words. Setting aside the earlier (and slightly more worrisome) point about Quirkless people, this was Hitoshi's Soulmate. The boy certainly seemed like an energetic kid. He had a feeling it would take a while for Shouta to get used to him.

The blond, Bakugou apparently, scoffed as he sat in one of the armchairs in the living room.

"Sorry about Zuku. He's a hero nerd and just generally excitable," the boy paused before adding, "But are you really Present Mic? Zuku's never been wrong when noticing heroes out of costume, but there's a first time for everything."

Toshi, who'd been holding in a laugh during Midoriya's spiel, finally let out a huff. "Yeah, that's him. Like he said, almost no one has recognized him before, and certainly not with just a look and hearing him speak less than 20 words. I'm impressed."

Midoriya's cheeks turned a little pink, but anything he might've said was interrupted by a tired voice behind Hizashi.

"Why has the number of people in my apartment suddenly doubled?"

All four of them turned to look. Shouta stood in the hallway, wearing bright pink sleep pants and a long-sleeved Put Your Hands Up T-shirt. Zoku was draped over his shoulders, the one-eyed feline watching the newcomers carefully. To most people, Shouta would look indifferent, but Hizashi had known his husband for half their lives. He could see the surprise and slight wariness in the other man's eyes.

Hizashi watched as Shouta, not even waiting for an answer, padded to the kitchen and started making coffee. He turned back to their guests.

"Wait," Bakugou said, eyes wide, "that hobo is supposed to be Soulmates with both me and Zuku? Who even is he?"

"He," Shouta said as he walked back into the living room, mug in hand and Zoku still on his shoulders, "can still hear you. Especially with how loud you are." He sat down next to Hizashi on the couch. "Now who exactly are you?" Although he seemed to be talking to Bakugou and Midoriya, Shouta was looking at Hitoshi, so their son was the one who answered.

"This is Bakugou Katsuki and Midroiya Izuku. I met them while they were cleaning up Takoba Beach. I noticed my Mark on Midroiya and Oyaji's on both of them, so I thought I'd bring them over to meet you guys. Oh, and they're both looking to enter UA's hero course."

Hizashi couldn't help but be a little impressed. Cleaning Takoba would be no easy feat. He glanced at both boys' wrists as they held them out, and sure enough, the Marks were there. Shouta sighed next to him before holding out his right arm, rolling up the sleeve as he did.

"Are any of these yours?" Green and red (huh, Christmas colors, neat) eyes widened. Hizashi couldn't blame them. He had the same reaction when he first saw Shouta's arm. It wasn't every day you saw someone with Soulmarks halfway to their elbow.

"Um," Midoriya recovered first. "Yeah. The lion is mine. And that starburst is Kacchan's."

Cautiously, both teens reached forward to touch Shouta's hand. Soon, all three of them were rubbing their arms to get rid of the prickling.

Well, Shouta was 4 for 5 in terms of Soulmates who wanted to go to UA, not counting Tensei and Nemuri. Hizashi could see a pattern forming. Looks like Shouta's class this year was going to be an interesting one.

So, confession time. The point up to the end of Katsuki's POV was supposed to be in chapter 1. But my brain decided to not function for a few days so I broke it apart. Then I was going to have chapter 2 end there but Hitoshi decided he wanted to join the party. Then I wanted to split the chapter after Katsuki's POV so I could keep my biweekly updates. But at this point, it was just getting ridiculous so I kept writing. And here we are.

Me: Ok, let's get chapter 1 done. It should end right before the entrance exam.

Izuku: How about nah.

Me: Fine. Then chapter 2 we'll get to the exam.

Hitoshi: You forgot about me!

Me: Fiiiiine

Also, this note is already too long so I'll put it in the next time we see them, but I have extensive background info on the Yamazawa cats lmao. Well, extensive given that they're cats.