Soul Marked

Chapter Ten

Bedside Manner

So this is just a tad bit later than I wanted it to be updated, but I went on a date with my husband and wrote afterwards. We really needed some us time.

This chapter is more of a filler but it shows how Izuka is kind of dealing with it, and how Toshi and Katsuki feels.

I hope you guys enjoy it either way! Next chapter will be the start of season two! I have so much planned for the Festival, I know exactly what I'm going to do!

Review!

A black hole emerged in a badly lit bar, a man falling unceremoniously onto the floor. His body laid sprawled out, his head leaning against the splintering wood, as blood coated the ground next to him. Pain shot through each of his limbs where the bullets had entered. Rage was building inside of himself, he had been so close! All Might had been in his clutches, and even better, he had a Symbol.

She was perfect.

Her fighting style had caught his attention, for a brat she was good, and her quirk so similar to All Mights own. It wasn't until he saw the look on All Might's face upon seeing his student in the clutches of evil, oh, that's when it got good. There had been anger and desperation to get her back, but the man looked like a mama bear who was trying to protect her cub.

She would be the symbol to this world, that anyone, even someone as close to All Might, could be broken, twisted, and put back together, only to destroy the hope that they held dear. The look that the number one hero had given her, spoke more than just a student to him. Perhaps she was some kind of love child that All Might had, and if so that only made it better.

It wouldn't do to just kill All Might, no he wanted to break him down first. It was only right.

Anger coarsed through him at the thought that he had her in his clutches only for her to get away at the last second! If it hadn't been for those other pro's, he would have succeeded. A groan left his lips as he breathed evenly through his mask, forcing the pain to the back of his mind.

"I was shot," he said speaking to the screen that lay directly above him on the bar. "We were crushed, and he got Nomu. Our cannon fodder was taken down quickly, even the kids were strong. The Symbol of Peace is in perfect health! You were wrong master."

His breathing had gotten heavier. The pain that he shoved back was pulling at his attention. He barely registered that the rest from their group were exiting the hole.

"No," came a deep chilly voice. "I wasn't. We only got ahead of ourselves, we underestimated him. Did you recover the Nomu?"

"He was sent flying through the building, and unless I were to know the precise coordinates, no amount of warping will let us find him," Kurogiri said as he crushed his hand into a fist. "There's no way I could have spared the time back there."

The voice seemed to sigh before speaking again. "After all that trouble, well too bad, such a shame."

Shigaraki moved his head quickly, positioning it in a way he could see the screen, the word 'strong' having clicked something in his mind. "Strong," he rasped out. "Right. There was one, one who seemed to be as strong and fast as All Might."

There was a pause, before an interested noise sounded through the speaker. "Oh?"

"I need her, I want her, she will be our key to kill All Might," Shigaraki said his eyes closing as he thought back to who she was. "She is the symbol I am looking for."

"Find her," the man said. "Will her to do our bidding, and find stronger troops! Take all the time that you need, but do not let this girl fall through your grasp again, Tomura. We can't move freely! Shigaraki Tomura! Next time the world will know of the terror you represent!"

Coughing he smiled. It stretched across his face as his mind fell back to the last image he had seen.

That Mark.

It could be what he needed to keep her under his care.

子猫

"Fuck, Koneko," came a hoarse voice from somewhere near her. All she could see was darkness, but the voice that rose from it was like heaven to her ears. "You've got to wake up." There was a rustling and she felt something grip her hand softly. She tried opening her eyes, this voice sounded desperate, something inside of her wanted to see the face that belonged to it.

They felt so heavy and all she managed to do was grow more tired. Her mind weighing down on her and she allowed her control to slip, the voice fading away as she did.

The next time she shifted awake she was able to crack her eyes open. The light momentarily blinded her and she closed them once more, a small groan escaping her lips at the action. Something shifted at her side, and she once more cracked her eyes open. It was then that she noticed that there was a heavy weight by her hand, the bed dipping down. Trying to move her head so she could see what it was, she felt a sudden rush of pain, and with it nausea.

Her stomach rolled and she gritted her teeth against the feeling. Moving her neck sent prickles of stabbing pain and the memories of what happened rolled through her mind. She flinched upon remembering his fingers brushing against her skin and the stabbing pain that had exploded throughout her neck. Her fingers gripped the bed sheets tightly as tears began to prickle at her eyes.

She remembered the helplessness she had felt, watching as All Might had desperately try to reach her, and the look of pure panic on Kacchans face. Shigaraki had almost gotten away with her! That fear she had felt had shaken her whole body, she never wanted to be in that kind of position ever again. She was supposed to be strong enough to protect those she cared for, not weak to where they had to protect her.

She could have been taken, Izuka didn't want to think about what would have been done to her to get her to agree with killing All Might. Tears rolled down her face and she felt a sob growing in her chest before it spilled out of her.

There was some shuffling but her eyes were tightly closed, trying to force the tears to stop and for her handle on her emotions to get a grip.

"Koneko?" a voice mumbled as she felt the person shift again. The weight on the bed disappeared and she opened her eyes only to stare up into the blurry face of Kacchan. He was wiping at his eyes, a yawn escaping his mouth, but he paused cutting it off as his eyes took in her face. "Shit, are you alright? Are you in pain?"

His words only seemed to cause her to cry harder as she opened her mouth to speak but only a small choking noise came out. It hurt! It felt her throat was on fire, being rubbed raw, and she snapped her mouth shut.

"Let me get the nurse," he said standing to move away. Her eyes widened as she clutched blindly at his hands, happening to grab a hold of one before he could move away. His eyes widened at the contact staring down at their hands before darting back up to her face. "Hey, um, calm down." The tears were still coming causing him to panic. He had never needed to deal with her tears before, in the past he had always ignored them, but today it didn't feel right, not like it ever had. "Crap, hey, it's ok."

She tightened the grip she had on him causing him to shuffle forward moving to sit back down on the chair he had been using. Izuka wanted to speak but her throat refused to cooperate. With her free hand she motioned at her neck.

"Don't worry," he said. "The doctors said you'd be able to talk again soon. You've been out for several days now, another healing and you'll be able to speak again. You'll still have to wear the wrappings though, you won't be fully healed for a while."

Izuka nodded her understanding but her grip never left his hand. She felt the need to be close to him, and with the way he didn't tug his hand back angrily she wondered if he felt the same way. They hadn't had the time to talk after their battle, and unfortunately now wasn't going to be possible.

"Koneko, you-" he hesitated swiping his hand across his face as his eyes stared down at the bed. "Don't fucking do that again." Her fingers curled around his hand several times telling him silently that she was listening. "We need to t-."

The door burst open showing skeletor hunched over himself as he walked into the room. The usual baggy clothes hanging off his body as his head snapped up looking at our connected hands with a surprised expression on his face.

"Ah," he said his voice sounding pained as he shuffled more into the room so he could close the door. "I wasn't expecting anyone to be here." Her eyes lit up at the sight of Toshi as she tried to sit up only to have Bakugo use his free hand to push her gently back down.

"Don't move stupid," he said with a roll of his eyes but he was still watching the strange man who had just entered the room. "Who're you?" He shifted his body to be in front of Izuka, his eyes glaring at their new arrival.

"I'm sure she'll tell you," he said with a light awkward laugh not sure what to tell the kid. It was never planned to be seen with her while in this form. There had never been a cover story made up, so he was at odds with what to say. "You wouldn't happen to let us speak in private, neh?"

Bakugo narrowed his eyes at the question. After what had happened to her he wasn't planning on leaving her alone with sketchy looking people. "Fuck that," he growled out, his fingers tightening around her own.

Izuka began to tug at him trying to gather his attention. It was so frustrating not being able to talk, to tell him that it was ok. Toshi wasn't anyone to be worried about, but instead she was stuck with simple actions.

"The hell," Bakugo said his eyes scrutinizing the older man. "Do I know you?" He felt like he had seen him before, an irritated feeling rising inside of him at the sight of the man. He was sure he had never actually seen his face before, but something about him tried to push through his mind.

Toshi began to panic and wave his arms around as he shook his head. Another hard tug caused Katsuki's head to glance over his shoulder at her. She tried communicating with her eyes, telling him it was fine, that he could leave them to talk. Bakugo seemed to understand what she was trying to say, but there was reluctance in his actions.

"I won't be long," Toshi said trying to persuade the young kid, having not realized that they were on talking terms for him to be there. Though Izuka hadn't spoken out loud who her Bonded One was with he had guessed long ago. There was too much there to not know, but he had kept it to himself, never bringing it up, knowing that she would in her own time.

He hadn't spoken about his own Bonded after all.

Izuka tugged at his hand again, this time more insistent. "Fuck!" he grumbled letting go of her hand as he stalked toward the door. Without another word he left the room, knowing that even being here was going against his 'avoid Izuka' plan, but he wasn't able to keep himself away. She had almost disappeared, and was hurt right before the point of it being irreparable.

He had felt a tightening fear in his chest the farther he stalked away. Seeing her unconscious, seeing her held by that guy, being hurt, had been too much for him. Leaving her alone with someone he didn't know took every ounce of will power he had, he wasn't happy, but she had told him too. An explosion went of in his palm as he pushed open the nearest exit, taking a deep breath of the chilly air, as he pulled his hood over his head.

His hand drifted to his left wrist where the Mark was. Gritting his teeth he dropped his wrist and began to walk to the nearest dining place, giving her enough time before he came back to walk her home.

子猫

Izuka stared up into Toshi's eyes, the blue looking more dull than normal as he shuffled over to the seat that Bakugo had exited. "The doctor will be here in a couple of minutes to do a final healing," he said his eyes downcast. "You should be able to talk after, but they want you to continue to see Recovery Girl until you're completely healed after you are released."

She wasn't able to talk or nod, but she blinked showing him that she understood. They fell in silence after he spoke. Something was weighing on his mind, she could see that, but without her voice she wasn't able to ask what was wrong, and he wasn't speaking up himself. Her fingers twitched on the bed and his eyes snapped to the action.

He looked sad, it made her want to do something, anything to make the look go away. Much like she had felt with Kacchan.

Reaching out blindly she quietly asked for his hand. Rolling his eyes he reached out and she smiled brightly. The look in his eyes dimmed but she could still see it there, but for the time being she would just be happy that she was able to do something. The room fell into another lapse of silence, but this time it felt more content.

The next time the door was opened it was accompanied with a knock first. A tall man with dark hair swung it open, a bright smile lighting up his face.

"Ah, Midoriya-san," he said in a charming tone. "You've awoken, that's good. We were hoping it wouldn't be too much longer. It seems that after this final healing session you're free to go home." Striding forward he sent her another smile this one with a calming undertone as he moved to stand next to her bed. "I'll be removing your bandages and then healing your wound."

Taking a second to see if she understood the doctor then reached down and began to unwind the wrappings. She winced at the feeling of her skin tugging along with it but just swallowed against the prickling pain.

It felt ten times better than when she had gotten the wound. She mentally flinched at the memory, her fingers digging into the sheet that was pulled up to her waist, her other hand digging into Toshi's skin.

"Eh, sorry if it still hurts," the doctor said figuring she had flinched due to what he was doing. She blinked and stared up at the ceiling only glancing over when the doctor activated his quirk. His hands began to glow green as he hovered them over her neck, a tingling sensation began before an almost soothing warm feeling took over.

She let out a sigh as the quirk was deactivated leaving her with almost a hollow feeling in its wake. "Ah, I must apologize for the after feelings my quirk leaves an uncomfortable presence after the warmth of the healing."

Izuka felt her throat become scratchy, only a slightly annoying feeling, but she felt the urge to clear her throat. "You should try to speak now," he said with a wave of his hand. "I'd like to observe and make sure nothing is wrong with it."

A frown tugged at her lips but she opened her mouth to do as she was told. Clearing her throat she coughed loudly, almost choking on the feeling. Her voice wouldn't have been used in about a week now, she suspected it to come out sounding hoarse.

Her cheeks grew warm at the thought that she had no idea what she would even say. "E-eto," she choked out, another round of a coughing fit coming over her. Toshi leaned over letting go of her hand to grab a glass of water that was at her bedside table. The doctor leaned over her his hand resting on her back as he carefully helped her to sit up so she could take a sip.

Toshi held up the glass to her lips and she took a greedy sip. The cool water felt refreshing against her parched throat, the water rejuvenating against the dryness that had taken residence inside of her mouth.

"T-thank you, T-toshi," she sighed as the doctor helped her ease back against her pillows once more.

"Well, let me go get those release forms ready for you," the doctor said. "You should be able to leave in another hours time." She nodded, wincing at the slight stiffness of her skin around her neck. Her hand reached up to run her fingers against the cloth was that wrapped around her neck. Once the doctor was gone a sullen mood seemed to fill the room once more. Her gaze snapped to Toshi who was hunched over the bed his shoulders slumped.

"Toshi?" she said now that her neck had gone through another healing session she had gained a little more mobility with it. It still hurt to move side to side, but pulling her body forward, as long as she kept her neck still, was doable.

"Hm?" he hummed still staring down at his hands.

"What's wrong?" she asked her eyes staring at him questioningly.

"Neh," he said with a shake of his head as his eyes darted up at her. "It's nothing to worry about Izu-chan."

"It seems to be bothering you, so it's something. So come on, spill it." He sighed, his hands coming up to wipe at his face as he turned his head to look at her.

"I have to apologize young Izu," Toshi said his eyes downcast, she could see regret reflecting in his eyes. "I wasn't able to save you."

"But I was saved," she said giving him a confused glance not understanding why he was feeling so guilty.

"Ah, well you see, I wasn't strong enough to save you," he said his voice sounding cracked and broken as he refused to look at her face. "All those months ago when we met I hadn't prepared for how close I'd get to you, and then seeing you in the clutches of that villain. I wasn't even able to save you, I had used too much of my time up earlier that day, and then when all the other pro heroes came, I wouldn't have made it much longer, that villain would have been able to escape with you. I had in the end been useless."

"That isn't true," she said softly her hand reaching out to hold his once more. "You had defeated the Nomu, you were the only one who could. Heroes have to prioritize sometimes, and without doing what you did, no one would have been able to get close to me. You can't save everyone."

Toshi could feel his fingernails dig into the skin of his free hand. He felt anger and frustration at the whole situation. "I should always be able to protect those who are precious to me." Izuka squeezed his hand and went to open her mouth about to say something else to make him feel better but the door swung open before she could.

"Tsukauchi!" Toshi yelled out in surprise, blood dribbling down his chin as he did so. Izuka's grip on his hand tightened as she was startled. He patted it with his free hand seeming more relaxed now that they had been interrupted from the topic they were speaking about. "I hadn't realized you were going to be talking to her today."

"I was told she was able to talk again and figured we could get this over with so she could go home and rest," Tsukauchi said with a small bow in her direction. "It's good to see you again All Might."

Izuka rose her eyebrows in surprise having not been aware of the fact that there was someone outside the school that seemed to know All Mights real form. "This is my favorite detective on the force, good old Naomasa Tsukauchi!"

The young girl looked at him noticing how the sadness and anger seemed to evaporate from his body, but there in his blue eyes it faintly still shown. She sighed but realized they would have to talk about it later.

"May I ask a question before I answer any?"

"You may," Tsukauchi said with a smile.

"How are the others?" I only know that Kacchan is alright. Did Aizawa-sensei make it out ok as well?"

"Everyone is doing fine, all who were injured have been cleared of any danger I assure you."

"That's a relief to hear," she said with a small smile. Tsukauchi glanced down at where All Might was holding her hand, giving her silent support.

"Now, I'd like to hear your story of the events that happened at USJ last week," he said kindly trying to keep her at ease. "From what I understand they had planned on kidnapping you with them." Izuka gave a deep breath as she opened her mouth and began to tell everything she knew and what had happened to her in great detail. By the end of it she could start to feel the panic from before bubble back up because of the retailing.

Her breathing was becoming more rapid as she tried to force down the feeling of absolute fear. A burning in her throat had taken over her thoughts as she blocked out the detective and Toshi saying their goodbyes. She could feel the tears build back up in her eyes but she forced them away.

She couldn't break down in front of Toshi, he was already feeling guilty enough about the situation.

Her hand had been dropped by Toshi as he stood up to walk the detective out. At the exit of Tsukauchi All Mights shoulders had become more tense with every second they were left alone together. She was about to open her mouth once more when the door was banged open, causing Izuka to almost sigh at all the disruptions they were getting.

"I've been told you can leave now, Koneko," Kacchan said walking into the room, his eyes set into a glare as he stared at Toshi who had been standing off to one side.

"Ah, I'll leave her in your capable hands, Bakugo-san," All Might said with a bow as his eyes darted over to Izuka. With a sigh he walked over to the smaller girl and bent down to kiss the top of her hair, then patting the same spot. "I'll talk to you later, kid."

"Yeah, we will, Toshi," Izuka said with a light glare. "We have more to discuss." Toshi didn't respond to that as he strode from the room wanting to leave the area quickly. He couldn't look into her face right now, not while she was trying to make him feel better.

"Here," Bakugo said holding out a bag to the girl his eyes looking anywhere but at her. "You're mother had been here earlier in the day but was forced to go into work, she packed a bag of clothes for you. She asked me to walk you home. So fucking hurry, alright." His eyes darted over to her once before back out to the window.

"Thanks, Kacchan." she said quietly as she grabbed the bag and began to pull herself to the edge of the bed. A grunt escaped her mouth as she tried pulling herself to her feet. Having not used any of her muscles for a week she found herself feeling quite weak. She wasn't sure if she would be able to walk the short distance to the bathroom.

She knew that once she got up and moved around she would feel better, more stable but it was the getting up that was troubling her. Her arms shoved off from the bed and her feet hit the cold floor of the room, a gasp leaving her lips as she wobbled. There was a hand on her elbow helping to stabilize her.

Izuka could feel the wave of tiredness that overtook her. She was mentally and physically exhausted. Her fingers dug into the skin on her palm as she gritted her teeth. She had almost died. What was worse was she had almost been taken away to be brainwashed. Brainwashed into killing Toshi. Her stomach rolled at the thought and she felt the need to puke.

The mere thought of killing someone, worse someone like Toshi, she wasn't sure if she could handle it. Her stomach heaved harder and she pulled at the hand that was grabbing her elbow.

Shigaraki had planned on twisting her, breaking her, all to change her view for his own personal gain. She could feel the bile rise in her throat and she forced her legs into working. She was only able to go a few steps before her legs seemed to buckle underneath her. Bakugo's hand tightened and helped propel her the last couple steps so she could bend over the toilet releasing her stomach contents.

He stared around the small bathroom awkwardly as she began to puke. His hands grabbed at her hair before he realized his actions and pulled it back away from her face. Her body began to shake as she emptied her stomach, the tears she had been able to hold at bay rushed forward and spilled over her cheeks.

Limply she wiped at her mouth trying to clear any spit that had clung to her chin. Her body began to shake for a different reason now, her tears had built up in her chest and they wracked through her body violently.

Bakugo's eyes widened as he watched her. He wasn't comfortable in this situation especially with her crying. He hovered over her unsure as his eyes darted from her back to the door. He wasn't sure if he should just give her privacy or try to cheer her up. That wasn't something he had tried to do since they were kids, and unfortunately he found it didn't come naturally like it once did.

His hand hovered over her back before lightly patting at it. At the motion Izuka swung her body around, her eyes tightly closed as she flung herself into Kacchan, using the last little bit of strength she seemed to possess.

"Kacchan!" she whimpered her head burying into his chest. Eyes wide in fright, he stared down at her, his hands raising off to the sides.

"Fuck," he growled out. "What the hell Koneko."

"I-," she felt her throat close in on itself causing her to choke on her words. "I was so scared!" Instinctively at those words his arms wrapped around her body, caging her in to him. Her fingers clutched at his shirt and she knew that her tears were ruining his shirt but he didn't seem to care.

Pulling her over to where the bed was he held her tightly to him as she clutched at him desperately. It didn't matter to either of them at that moment that they weren't on the best of speaking terms. That they had hardly talked to each other besides the yelling matches.

"Neh, calm down will you?" he said feeling bad about having spoken those words. It wasn't how he had meant for them to come out, rude and harsh, but he wasn't good at this shit. "I mean we're fine."

"He had planned on taking me away!" she hiccuped knowing that Katsuki would listen to her. "He wanted me to kill All might, to make me into a weapon." His grip tightened on her. An angry huff escaped his lips.

"I wouldn't fucking let him do that." He forced her away from him cupping her chin and moving her face to look up at him. "You got that! Stupid, Koneko."

"Y-yeah," she said, her fingers still clutching at his shirt but at arms length away. He nodded and pulled her fingers from his shirt as well.

"Go change," he said firmly. "I gotta get you home." He stuffed his hands into his pocket and strode over to where the window was. Grabbing the bag from the bed she clutched it to her chest tightly. Spinning around she darted over to the bathroom, stumbling several times on her shaking legs before locking the door.

Not taking the time to pause and get her thoughts straight she pulled off the hospital gown and shoved her new clothes on. They were a simple sweatpants and tank top but they were more comfortable that what she was wearing before. Walking over to the sink she stared at her reflection in the mirror another strong urge to puke powered over her.

Her skin was pale, the green curls lying limp over her face, as her eyes looked dull like she had been sick recently. Turning on the faucet she splashed water hoping it would help her appearance. It didn't.

"Hey!" yelled a voice as Katsuki banged on the door. "Hurry up." Sighing she shut the faucet off and picked her bag back up. Slowly she walked over to the door and pushed it open coming face to face with Kacchan. "Let's go." He grabbed her arm and began to tug but moved at a slow pace so she could keep up.

The whole way to the subway was tiring but with the pace that Katsuki kept at she was able to push through it.

Relief flooded her body as she caught sight of the metro, hoping to be able to sit down and relax for the long ride. When they entered she instantly felt regret and sadness. There was no seat, they would have to stand. She gritted her teeth, the bandages at her neck was itchy, and with all the moving she had been doing her neck was beginning to ache something bad.

Kacchan dragged her over to a clear spot that would fit the two and stood behind her grabbing at the handle to keep himself steady as the train lurched forward. Izuka reached up going to grab at it herself but flinched at the pain it caused her to do.

Moving her hands above her head irritated her wounds. Wincing she let her hand drop and lost her balance as the train moved below her feet. Katsuki reached out with is free hand wrapping it around her waist as he pulled her to a stop so she wouldn't fall over. He stayed silence trying not to bring too much attention to what he was doing. His jaw stayed locked in an irritated position.

Izuka's cheeks heated up at the action but she too stayed silent, only a small 'eep' escaping her lips. She began to bite at her bottom lip as they swayed lightly with the motion of the train. His arm stayed securely around her waist, he was highly aware of her flush against him. His own cheeks began to grow red only causing him to grow irritated with his feelings.

This was not avoiding her. This was the complete opposite. He wasn't keeping to his promise, a growl ripped from his chest causing the girl to flinch. His grip on her tightened keeping her in place. The rest of the ride was more than awkward to Izuka as she continued to hear him make angry noises. She wasn't sure if it was her fault or perhaps just something on his mind.

As soon as she could move from the train she did, she was tired and wore out, wanting nothing more than to curl up in bed and sleep. She ripped herself from his grip and moved with the rest of the crowd.

He frowned but moved after her, his eyes following her every movement to make sure she didn't collapse or get pushed down. His eyes moved to where the bandages around her neck were and another round of cursing left his mouth. Just the idea of someone having laid there hands on her pissed him off. What more, he hadn't been able to do a thing about it.

She seemed to be moving faster now, they were only a few blocks from their house, and he was sure she wanted to get home. He could at least make sure she didn't fall.

Running up to her front door she froze on the last step. Half way turning her body around she stared at him.

"Thank you, Kacchan," she said letting a smile slide over her face. "For putting up with my crying, and walking me home." His hands were dug into his pockets like usual. A frown covering his face as he stared at her.

"Hn," he said before turning around and walking away. Her eyes followed after him as he made his way back toward his house, they had passed it on the way to her own home. He had been different with her today. The anger like usual was there but it was somehow kinder, he had taken his time with helping her instead of pushing her along and forcing her to keep up with him. Not only that but he had hugged her back when she was crying.

She wasn't sure where this left them, but it felt positive to her. A step in the right direction.

It was only when she lowered herself to her bed that she realized he had tried to tell her something back in the hospital room when Toshi interrupted them. She wondered what it was. Soon she would force him to sit down and talk to her, they had a lot to get over with.

I feel Bakugo is once again a little OOC in this chapter but well I think I did him justice. Everytime I try to balance out normal Bakugo and soulmate Bakugo it seems to clash and I move to close to one side or the other.

Hope you enjoyed!