Me: I wanted to write something for this ship even though I'm not as involved as I once was...
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Normal POV!
It goes like this…
Uraraka Ochako grows up absolutely in love with the idea of soulmates. She's seen the love between her parents from their eyes, witnessed soulmates meet for the first time, and has friends stare longingly at their soulmarks.
Their soulmarks, which are their first words or phrases spoken to each other written in their skin where your soulmate first touches you. It usually shows up around the time when quirks start manifesting in a person.
For Ochako, she thought her soulmark was cute. It was easy to understand what it meant — something to do with her quirk — but it meant so much more than that, and she didn't realize until she began aspiring to be a hero.
Her soulmark, "Uravity," turned out to be her future hero name. It made her wonder if she will only meet him (or her) when she's already a licensed hero. Plus, it was written in yellow ink! That meant that her soulmate must have been (or will be?) happy to see her! Her mark was located on her right hand wrist, a respectful place for a first touch too.
Nevertheless, it only gave her more reason to work harder.
After all, if she gives up now, then how will she ever meet her soulmate?
~•~
Her entrance exam in U.A. goes like this…
On her walk towards the school gate, she sees two boys her age further ahead in her pathway. She stops, mildly surprised to see the two with such distinct personalities to be seemingly close friends.
The taller boy, a spiky-haired blond with narrowed red eyes is grumbling as the shorter one fusses over him. He slouches with his hands in his pants pocket as he glares at his green-haired friend but surprisingly does nothing as the other fixes his collar.
Looking closer, Ochako notices that the green-haired one was wearing casual clothes, while the other had on a middle school uniform. Mildly intrigued, and a bit amused at the display, Ochako giggles when the angry blond huffs as the shorter boy hugs him.
Ochako watches as they part, the blond entering the gates of U.A. while the other walks away. She watches as the boy passes her by, moving out the way but stops when the boy jolts.
Ochako acts on reflex, reaching forwards to tap the green-haired teen on his right arm (the part she could reach) and activating her quirk to keep him from falling.
The boy blinks, staring dumbfoundedly on the ground as he floats from Ochako's quirk.
She tilts her head, her face getting in his line of vision. She frowns when the boy stays in shock. "Are you okay?"
The boy does not respond but opens his mouth to say something, but closes it again as his face flushes in embarrassment.
Taking pity on him, Ochako gently grabs his right arm and guides him to a standing position, deactivating her quirk as soon as his feet touch the ground. When he was finally standing on his own two feet, Ochako claps her hands and smiles apologetically. "It's my quirk. Sorry for using it without asking first."
Green eyes sparkle in realization, opens his mouth to probably reassure her, but Ochako notices that there are only a few students loitering at the gate, and she remembers that she has an exam to pass. Turning to the boy, she hopes her smile looked apologetic enough, jerking her head as a gesture of goodbye as she rushes inside. She feels a bit bad leaving the boy abruptly, but right now she has a dream to accomplish.
Frowning more determinedly, she shakes her head, putting the whole interaction at the back of her mind as she makes her way towards her (hopefully) new school.
This is her first step to becoming a hero!
~•~
When Ochako told her parents about her dream, they told her it was gonna be hard. She knew that from the start, and she's just grateful she was born with such encouraging parents like her own. She'd expected hardships, the struggle, but nothing could prepare her for the danger that comes with being a hero.
Her time in U.A. goes like this…
Almost getting killed during the entrance exam by a giant robot, and Ochako was very lucky that the entire zero-pointer attack had been staged. Still, she had never felt so helpless at that moment. But it is to be expected. After all, heroes will face danger at any given moment with their line of work.
Iida Tenya, her new classmate who had been in the same area, had approached her on her first day and apologized for not doing anything to help her. She forgave him and assured him that it was a normal response to run away from danger. They came to U.A. to become a hero. They are still learning, after all!
Next was almost getting her face exploded by a certain angry blond during a training exercise. Her partner at the time, Shinsou Hitoshi, had told her to sneak past the blond, Bakugou Katsuki, while the purple-haired teen distracted him. Apparently, his quirk lets him brainwash anyone who answers a question from him. It was a perfect strategy against someone so temperamental.
—Which did not go as planned. Unfortunately, they underestimated Bakugou's ability to be level-headed during a battle, and did not take into account that the blond might have been paying attention during the quirk assessment test Aizawa-sensei made them do on her first day (Ochako shivers just remembering meeting her homeroom teacher the first time).
Almost uncharacteristically, the blond had fought them without yelling, a hard look on his face as he remained focused despite Shinsou's taunts. In the end, the blond caught her trying to sneak past him and apprehended her quickly, her partner following soon after as they were no match against Bakugou's combat experience.
They lost.
But it was to be expected. The battle only served as a lesson for her to never underestimate her opponent.
And then there was the USJ…
No one could have anticipated villains attacking them.
It had been chaotic. Twenty students fresh out of middle school with only a week into U.A. and only two pro heroes to protect them against a mob of powerful villains with a plan ready to fight against the Symbol of Peace.
Then they were scattered by some warp villain, and Ochako was lucky enough that she stayed in one place. Still, there had been no way of knowing whether her classmates were safe.
Iida, who had been in her group, managed to escape and call for help while she and some others stalled the villain keeping them from the exit.
Thankfully, the heroes arrived just in time. She doesn't know the details, but according to Asui Tsuyu, a classmate with a frog quirk that was near the center, Aizawa had been downed and unable to move, brought down by a hulking sized monster they call Noumu. Had it not been for the arrival of Todoroki Shouto, Bakugou, and Kirishima Eijirou, they wouldn't have had any teacher that year.
Suffice to say, therapy and counseling sessions with Hound Dog-sensei became mandatory thereafter.
Now, Ochako walks down the hallway without the timidness she exuded during her first day. Ignoring the whispers around her, she walks faster as she avoids everyone's gaze. News must have travelled fast about the attack, and from what Hagakure-san had said, people weren't taking it well.
She reaches her destination and immediately opens the door to escape the attention, walking inside brusquely and looking around the support classroom, chocolate brown eyes lingering on the inventions littering the ground. Spotting Power Loader-sensei, the teacher Aizawa had directed her to, she perks up and approaches the man.
"Sensei," she starts, a polite distance away as the man looks over some blueprints spread across his table. "Um, I'm supposed to meet a support student assigned to repair my costume…" she trails off, eyeing the pink-haired girl tinkering away on a nearby table.
The hero nods, straightening up as he rolls the spread. "Ah, right… It's Class 1-A's turn today, huh?" he hums thoughtfully, gaze shifting to the student Ochako is staring at. "Hatsume's specialty is more on support items. For costume repairs… hmm…" he picks up a clipboard, looking it over before gesturing to her. "What did you say your name was?"
Crash!
"—Uravity!"
Ochako jerks, turning to the doorway to see the boy she'd met with various metal parts scattered by his feet. She watches as the boy stumbles his way through her, ignoring the scolding tone of his teacher as he excitedly approaches her.
"S–sorry, uhm…" he stutters sheepishly, scratching the back of his head before turning to her again. "Y–you're Uravity, right? The cute girl with the gravity quirk!" he beams, eyes sparkling as he chatters excitedly. "Your costume was assigned to me so I got a copy of your profile so I know your quirk and I thought it was really cool how you chose a space theme while also making it tight-fitting for practical use which is presumably to minimize air resistance when you use your quirk—!"
"Midoriya-kun," Power Loader speaks up in a scolding tone, interrupting the green-haired boy, Midoriya-kun's muttering as Ochako watches in a daze.
Midoriya snaps out of his rant and shoots an apologetic look the hero's way before looking at Ochako as he says, "Sorry, I tend to get carried away."
"It's fine…" Ochako says, snapping out of her daze when a realization strikes her, only now registering what he called her.
'Uravity,' he had said. No one knows her hero name yet. In fact, her class hasn't decided any hero names yet. But the form she submitted along with her costume design required her hero name, or a draft of it, in case they needed their costumes to stick to a theme so the support students designing their costumes could make changes without making it look too different than what the hero student's expected.
Ochako panics —her soulmate is right in front of her! He spoke his words, and she nearly missed it. She stays frozen, not moving as her soulmate stands before her. Oh now… what should she say? It's her turn to say her words now, right? But wait, didn't she already speak to him before? What did she say?! Flushing, Ochako hopes her first words wasn't stupid as she tries and fails to recall the first thing she said to him.
Midoriya smiles at her as he holds out his hand for her to take. "I'm Midoriya Izuku, and I'm the support course student assigned for you. Nice to meet you, Uraraka-san!"
Ochako timidly reaches forward to shake his, but the boy miscalculated the distance and ends up grabbing her wrist. Like she expected, the telltale signs of the tingling sensation runs through her wrist from where her mark lay, and she does nothing but watch their hands as he shakes them in what would've been a one-sided handshake had Midoriya not done it so enthusiastically.
Uraraka Ochako grew up absolutely in love with the idea of soulmates. She expected a lot of things. From nervous stuttering to something magical when first meeting her soulmate. Elated, she looks up, blind adoration in her eyes because she found her soulmate and meets with green eyes to
find
nothing?
~•~
So it goes like this…
Ochako expected a lot for her first meeting with her soulmate. She thought it would be magical, romantic, exciting.
What she didn't expect was for her soulmate to feel nothing during their first meeting.
Stupefied, and mildly offended, she frowns as Midoriya continues on to his workshop table, Uraraka trailing behind in a daze as the boy, her soulmate, rambles about her costume while laying out the copy of her design on the table, not noticing the heavy gaze Uraraka set on him.
Clearing her throat, she taps his shoulder politely prompting him to stop and smile at her shyly. "Sorry, was I rambling again?"
The earnest look on his face melts the frown that was beginning to form on her face. Now that she's closer, she notices that the boy had freckles littered across his face, and he also seems to have a habit of scrunching his nose when confused or nervous. Cute.
"Uhm, a little." she smiles, Midoriya chuckling nervously with her. "But uhm, Midoriya-san, didn't you notice anything… strange earlier?" she rocks on her feet, gaze hopeful and expectant as she stares at him as he tilts her head, confused.
"Uh… you… didn't bring your costume?" confused, innocent, oblivious, the green-haired boy lets a wobbling smile strain his cheeks as Uraraka stares at him blankly. Perking, he jerks when he realizes something.
"Oh!" Uraraka jolts, surprised. "You didn't bring your costume." he smiles, like he got a correct answer to a question, but he didn't, and Uraraka is left staring at him in shock.
Midoriya must've seen something on her face because he smiles comfortingly and places a hand on her shoulder. "That's okay. We can just start with a new one. There was too much damage on it anyway and I have a few ideas I want to add that will require a new fabric…"
And that was how her fateful meeting with her soulmate went.
~•~
So, it goes like this…
Ochako spends her lunch not at her usual table with Iida or Asui, but between Ashido, or Mina as she asked to be called, and Hagakure with Yaoyorozu and Jirou across them. Thankfully, Iida and Asui had been understanding enough that they left her alone.
"He ignored you?"
Ochako nods, absentmindedly poking her food once she told her pink-skinned classmate the story.
"It's not that he ignored her. It sounded like he just didn't notice." Hagakure chirps, picking up her drink in all her invisible glory as her collar moves in a way that suggests she was nodding. "But it was still rude of him to not acknowledge it. Who doesn't pay attention when meeting new people?"
Yaoyorozu and Jirou nod in agreement while Ochako slumps further. Ever since the manifestation of soulmarks, people are always wary of meeting new people, especially when you can meet your soulmate any time.
Still, Midoriya is such a sweet guy. She only met him for a short while but she knows he's a kind, considerate person with how thoughtful he was asking her for input while redesigning her costume. As disappointed as she was that he didn't acknowledge their soul bond, she couldn't bring herself to hate him.
Feeling a hand on her arm, she looks up to meet a pair of concerned gold pools on black scleras.
"Ochako-chan, want me to talk to him? I can give him a piece of his mind for you." Mina grins, Jirou silently agreeing with her.
Ochako smiles, but raises her arms up in defense. "No need for that! It was an honest mistake! He couldn't have known that today would be the day…"
"Still, it is quite disrespectful to not keep track of your soul bond when meeting new people." Yaoyorozu adds, voice carried elegantly that matches her form.
"Thank you, Mina, Yaoyorozou-san, but there's really no need." she bows, grateful and overwhelmed with happiness, vaguely hearing the taller woman's 'please, call me Momo.'
She was so lucky to meet such good people in U.A. Ever since the attack during their trip to USJ, the class has grown closer in such a short period of time, bringing the girls closer and even making it easier to make friends with the boys. After an experience like that, it was nice to know that Ochako can trust her class to have her back.
"What's this guy's name, anyway?" Jirou scrunches her nose, violet eyes scanning the cafeteria in search of something. "You said he was from the support course, right? I heard their workload increased exponentially since the villain attack, so they must be having a hectic time right now keeping up with our repairs."
Ochako mutters his name, startling when she hears a snort from behind. She doesn't turn, but she knows it was Bakugou that was seated behind her by the boys' table. Hearing him stand up, Ochako chances a look and watches him saunter across the cafeteria to meet a certain green-haired teen that just entered the cafeteria.
She watches as the blond greets the other, Midoriya smiling when he spots his friend. They talk for a bit, the shorter one doing his habit of rubbing the back of his neck as he says something to Bakugou. She sees Bakugou roll his eyes before leaning closer, hand low but subtly gesturing towards her direction.
Uraraka turns, embarrassed as she keeps her eyes glued to her food. A hum, and then Mina speaks.
"So that's him?" Ochako peeks up and sees a contemplating look on her face. Then, she stands, and Ochako makes a move to stop her but Mina turns to her in reassurance. "Don't worry, I'm just gonna talk to him."
Mina strides towards the two, leaving Ochako nervous about what she's about to do. Momo and Jirou share a look, but ultimately do nothing as they watch their pink-haired classmate approach the two.
They talk, too far for them to hear, although Jirou appears to be using her quirk as they watch Mina talk to Midoriya. They see Bakugou frowning, the amusement from before disappearing in his eyes as he says something harshly to Mina, Midoriya casting a nervous look at the two. Then, the anger becomes more evident in the blond's face, his voice raising slightly while Mina continues to talk, turning to Midoriya as she tries to make her point across.
Midoriya's face scrunches up, looking uncomfortable, and Ochako wants to walk over and put a stop to it before it escalates, but then Mina makes a move, Bakugou being too slow to react when she grabs the shorter boy's arm. She makes a pull to his arm, yanking too harshly until…
...his
arm
fell
off
…?
Gaping, the cafeteria quiets as everyone stares at the scene with horrified looks, Mina having her eyes wide in shock and mortification as Bakugou seethes by Midoriya's side, who looks unfazed but also embarrassed by the situation.
"Oh my god I am so sorry I didn't mean to–to take your arm!" Mina exclaims, the silent room carrying her voice everywhere, face flushing turning her skin into a darker shade of pink, hand trembling as she tries to… put his arm back in Midoriya's.
Meanwhile, the green-haired boy only takes the arm and says, "Don't worry. It's a prosthetic. It looks real because Mei made it so, but my arm hasn't been here since middle school." reassuring Mina, though she is still a bit shaken, Midoriya explains this like it's not the first time he had done so, a resigned expression on his face.
"Still!" Mina blushes, bowing with a remorseful look on her face, shame flashing in her eyes. "I shouldn't have just grabbed you like that, real arm or not."
Midoriya gives her a small smile, a bit embarrassed with all the attention, but reassures Mina that it was fine, Bakugou calming down slightly at his side, seemingly appeased with Mina's apology.
The cafeteria bustles again into its usual noise, some whispering about what transpired while the others choosing to continue with their meals and respectfully ignoring the incident.
Mina makes to bow again, Bakugou scoffing and muttering something under his breath as Midoriya keeps smiling in reassurance. Mina says something, and suddenly Ochako finds curious green eyes directed her way.
Ochako jolts, but does not break eye contact as she watches Midoriya say something to Bakugou, the blond rolling his eyes but walking away as Mina leaves to return. Before the pink-haired girl could reach their table, however, Ochako was already walking towards Midoriya.
They clearly need to talk.
~•~
And so, it went like this…
Midoriya Izuku grows up without a quirk, but was lucky enough to get a soulmark. Soulmates are, after all, in no way linked to quirks.
He grows up so happy that he still gets a soulmate despite being quirkless. A lot of people made fun of him, teasing him how unfortunate his soulmate would be once he or she realizes that he was quirkless. But Izuku did not mind.
After all, his soulmate is a kind-hearted person, based on his mark.
His soulmark was located on his right arm near his shoulder blades, a simple phrase that says "Are you okay?" written in pink ink that shows how genuine it is said. The color is a rather rare one to find in a soulmark — most marks are either written in black or white depending on the politeness of the words. Soulmarks can be tricky, especially since meeting people does not exactly bring strong emotions on the first meeting, especially one that's genuine. It makes him happy, knowing that his soulmate is going to be someone nice.
And then, it went like this…
Bullying, teasing, and taunting.
From his dream to become a hero to the subject of his soulmate. It gets even worse when even Kacchan leaves his side, always angry and explosive, ridiculing his dream, naming him 'Deku.' Kids can be cruel, and Izuku tries not to mind, but he can't ignore the sting whenever they make jabs about his soulmate. He was lucky enough that it was placed so high up on his arm that a simple T-shirt can hide it.
And by the time he enters elementary school, he hasn't looked at his mark once.
Then, it went like this…
Izuku got too close while walking home with Kacchan, triggering his explosive response as he yelled and yelled and yelled while Izuku trembled, absolutely cowed and confused as Kacchan huffs and leaves. He tried following despite the other boy's angry remarks, aiming to grab his arm when the blond snapped, slapping his hand away and grabbing his collar.
Angrymadfurious red eyes glared him down, and Izuku had squeezed his eyes shut as Kacchan shouted and set an explosion near his face, barely flinching —he was used to this, when the blond jerks him away.
A honk, a screech, it registered too late that he was thrown too far from the sidewalk, and the last thing he saw was the fear in his friend's eyes.
So… it went like this…
The accident broke too many bones in his arm for it to heal, and it became too harmful to stay on his body. So in his first year of middle school, Izuku became an amputee.
Bitterly, the first thing Izuku noticed is the pitiful glances thrown his way. Suddenly, the bullying stopped, and Izuku couldn't decide if this was a better situation than before.
He decided that it wasn't when his mom started treating him like glass, Kacchan turning quiet with his gaze lingering on his bump from time to time, or when the teachers began scolding anyone who so much as touched his left side.
He remembers his soulmark, and suddenly he understands why those were his soulmate's first words to him. Maybe it had been pity after all.
It became worse when he heard the whispers of 'villain, villain, that Bakugou, haven't you heard?' and suddenly it was too much.
He spoke to his mother, told her about the bullying before the accident, and how much he hated the way they treat him now. Inko cried, and Izuku felt bad making his mother cry, but she thanked him for telling her anyway.
Then, he talks to Kacchan, told him to move with him.
'This school is not good for us.' he had said. 'You want to be a hero, right? Then this is not the place for us.' and when the blond went to protest, Izuku shook his head and said, 'Don't listen to what they say. They don't know anything. It was an accident. You're not a villain.'
Kacchan disagreed, guilt suffocating him as Izuku met his eyes, resolute and so, so forgiving.
'You're not a villain.' he repeated. 'And you need to prove them wrong. But we can't start here.'
The first time Bakugou Katsuki cried is in the arms of his childhood friend, the only friend who stayed true and by his side the whole time. He has a lot of years to make up for, but Izuku was right. He can't start here.
And so, it went like this.
Izuku and Katsuki spent their last two years of middle school in a new school, where they met Hatsume Mei that got Izuku to shift his focus from heroics to support when she made him a realistic looking prosthetic arm three months in. It made him realize that more than being a hero, he wanted to help people, save them, and support may just be the thing for him.
And by the time they graduate, Izuku does not remember what his soulmark looked like.
~•~
"I didn't mean to, honest." Izuku bows, ashamed as he fidgets across Ochako in the empty corridor. "A lot happened, and I know it's no excuse, but I was so focused on getting into U.A. that it just slipped my mind."
"You don't have to apologize!" Ochako shakes her head, stopping him before Izuku could start his muttering spree. She could tell he is nervous, if the guilt in his face is anything to go by. So Ochako rushes to reassure him. "I'd forget too if I were in your shoes." she smiles, not unkindly. "Besides, without your real arm you wouldn't have felt anything when I first touched you." she adds, remembering the time she used her quirk on him, recalling how the touch felt more like rubber under clothing rather than the sensation real flesh can only give.
"Still, I basically ruined our first meeting." Izuku shrinks to himself, but Ochako shakes her head.
"No, you didn't." She frowns, holding her hands behind her back as she toes the floor, unable to look at the other's face as she stays eyeing the ground. "I should have said something, anyway. I had too many expectations on soulmates that I ended up romanticizing our first meeting." Ochako chances a look, seeing Izuku blushing and making her relax at not being the only one on edge. "I'm sorry for assuming things." she scratches her cheek, holding out her hand, the one with her soulmark, while shyly avoiding his gaze. "Let's start over."
Izuku takes her hand, bringing Ochako's attention back to him. His face morphs into a small smile, causing blood to rush up Ochako's face, but she musters up a smile of her own in the face of her soulmate.
"I'm Midoriya Izuku." softly, Midoriya Izuku smiles at her kindly. "And I am honored to be your soulmate."
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Me: Just to clear things up, the first touch aspect works differently per person. Their marks were in different parts because Uraraka touched him on his right arm (the prosthetic one) so his soulmark is supposed to be placed there, but soulmate connections can't really predict that he'd lose his arm. It may not be part of his body, but his mind recognizes it as 'his arm' and so the soulmate link counted it as such. For Uraraka, her mark is not on her palm that touched Midoriya's because the touch was not reciprocal. She gets her mark during the handshake because that was the moment her soulmate willingly touched her. That said, hope you liked it!
Midoriya: Don't forget - the author now has a link to a discord server (tdNdHA9).
Me: Oh yeah, xD Uhm... please remember that it's NEW.
~~~CHAO!~~~
