Soul Marked

Chapter Twenty-Six

Studies and problems

I am back on time again! This isn't as long as I normally make my chapters but I had to stop it here as I thought it was a good place. Any more and this chapter would have become a monster! :D

Thank you to everyone who has kept reading and sending me reviews. You guys are amazing! I will try to keep up these once a week updates but just on the safe side probably expect them once every two weeks but that is worst-case scenario!

This chapter didn't quite go the way I had planned, the middle part snuck up on me, which is why I ended up cutting out the test for this chapter, but I'm happy with how it turned out!

As the weeks flew by she watched as Kacchan grew more distant from her, the talk at the train being their last real conversation. It frustrated her to no end that he was avoiding her, all that hard work, the steps forward in their relationship had crumbled away. With the distance she found her emotions feeling completely off, her Mark announcing the distance between them daily. She gritted her teeth as another flash of pain spiraled around her wrist. Her mood was considerably dark as she glared down at her desk, ignoring the conversations about the end of term test. A hand gently rests on her shoulder snatching her out of her thoughts.

"Are you okay?" Momo askes in worry. "You were muttering pretty unhappily over here." Kaminari stood behind the tall girl, his own face showing his worry. Izuka realizing her blunder sent them both a small smile.

"Just feeling grouchy today is all," she said as an explanation. Her stress was building up and she knew soon she would falter if some of it wasn't fixed.

"I know what will make you feel better!" Kaminari exclaimed excitedly as he pushed Momo out of the way. Catching herself on a table Momo glared at the blonde as she huffed.

"Watch it." He barely sent her a guilty look before he was hovering over the green-haired girl's desk.

"What would that be?" Izuka asked playing along even as her tension increased.

"You can help me study!" he said loudly causing a few people to turn their way. "I completely blanked on studying these last few weeks." Izuka sighed, her face still pinched as she tried to force herself to say yes. In normal circumstances, she wouldn't have hesitated but her mood was really grating on her.

"If you're passing out help I need some too!" Ashido called out as she made her way over to their group. Izuka's eyes widened as they darted around for anyone to call out for help. Her eyes connected with Momo's and she silently begged her to speak up.

"I could join Izuka with helping you guys study," she said her eyes playful as Izuka sighed. "The classroom lecture will be easy enough, but the test on the other hand not so much." Toward the end of her sentence, her voice grew darker and quieter. Todoroki who sat only a few seats away blinked at her tone. His eyes snapped in her direction as he sent her a worried look. They hadn't talked much over the last few weeks but he was attempting at least. Momo caught herself envying the ease that Izuka talked to Todoroki, but didn't blame the girl.

"I guess I could help," Izuka said with a nod. She still had to study herself, and in the end, doing it with a few classmates wouldn't make a difference. She was sure her mood would change by then anyway. There was no reason to let her bad mood affect everyone else. "It might be fun." Others began to flock over as they asked for help as well. Izuka was glad to have Momo's help with everyone. Momo herself looked beyond happy at the way things turned out.

As everyone talked excitedly to Momo about meeting at her house Kaminari turned to Izuka. "Eh, you think I can come over to your house for extra help?" he asked while rubbing at the back of his head. "I think I'm gonna need the extra studying." Not able to hold onto the dark mood for much longer Izuka smiled at her best friend.

"Sure thing!" she said with a thumbs up and a smaller smile than normal.

"See, told you it would cheer you up!" Izuka rolled her eyes at him but she did feel better.

"I'll text you tonight and let you know if my mom says you can come over after dinner."

"Awesome, thanks, Iz-chan!"

Half of the day flew by and Izuka found herself in better spirits by the time lunch rolled around. Her Mark still pained her from time to time but she wasn't solely focusing on it anymore. Kaminari jabbered away on her right side while Momo hung back a few steps, closer to Todoroki then her friends. Her eyes were downcast as they scrunched up, her mind whirling with a decision she didn't have the courage to make. Her body tensed as she blew out a sigh, her will shattering as she allowed herself to dejectedly speed up to walk with her friends. Behind her Todoroki watched with careful eyes, his own mind pushing to do the right thing. His doubt keeping him from acting on it.

Not for the first time Momo wished she had an easy relationship with Todoroki like Izuka had seemed to effortlessly form.

"Ah, Mochan!" Izuka said dragging her friend closer to them, though her gaze sharpened on the flicker of emotions that hadn't completely disappeared. She would be sure to comment on that later. "We should set up the big study fest at your house tomorrow! That way everyone has time to get permission from their parents, especially you!" Momo nodded her head, a smile covering her features at the thought of helping her classmates. It improved her mood vastly.

子猫

Izuka hovered her fingers over the send button as she lounged on her couch waiting for Kami to arrive. Yet again she was debating on texting Kacchan or not, but like every other time, she chickened out and would just erase it. Her internal struggles were put to rest as the doorbell sounded off causing her to jump to her feet and rush toward the door. Swinging it open she was met with the familiar sparky best friend.

"Ah, Pikachu!" she exclaimed loudly. "Welcome to my humble abode!" He sent her a gruff look at the mention of the famous pokemon being referenced toward him as he stepped into the apartment.

"You know I hate that nickname," he whined as he hitched his bag higher on his shoulder.

"But I do love it so." He wacked her softly on the back of the head as he glanced around. Nodding his head in appreciation he followed her toward the dining room table where he placed his bag on the floor.

"So, do I get to see your room?" he asked with a wide toothy smile. Izuka blushed thinking of all the Pro Hero memorabilia, mostly All Might, that cluttered her room. It wasn't messy by any means but it was definitely packed as much as it could be. Before she could answer her mom walked excitedly into the room, a scary big smile on her face as she turned her attention onto the blonde.

"You must be Kaminari," she said reaching out to shake his hand. "I'm so excited to meet a friend of Izuka's! She hasn't brought anyone over in years since Katsuki stopped coming over." Kaminari's eyes widened at the mention of Bakugo, he had suspected they knew each other since childhood, they did have those nicknames for one another, but with the way they acted, he didn't think they had been close. Izuka grew redder by the moment, mentally facepalming at the mention of Kacchan, and she felt like dying of embarrassment.

"It's nice to meet you Midoriya-san," Kaminari said being polite as he sent Izuka a curious look.

"Oh, please call me Inko, dear," she said kindly. "Why don't you two study in Izuka's room. That way you have access to the computer." Izuka could feel herself heat up to a whole new level at the idea of him seeing her room, the teasing she would receive would be horrifying. A distorted sound escaped her lips but her mother just kindly handed Kaminari's bag back to him and directed the boy toward her room. Feeling helpless the green-haired girl followed slowly behind them.

Upon seeing her room his eyes widened in shock before slowly turning to meet her embarrassed gaze.

"I bet you die fangirling inside when you see All Might in class."

"I do not!" she squeaked out. He carefully eyed the All Might action figure that stood on her desk causing her to groan.

"Ugh, I don't die," she said rubbing at her cheeks. "I'm just excited." He laughed as he took a seat on her bed. She eyed him with a grumpy face as she took the seat at her desk. "Just make yourself comfy won't you." Her tone dripped in sarcasm.

"Don't mind if I do," he chirpily said as he pulled out one of his books and a notebook from the bag.

"Before I die of embarrassment let's get to some studying done," she said while also pulling out her book.

"Your room is just too cute," he said taking another jab while he could. She ended up throwing the action figure at him. "I'm being serious!" He grumbled under his breath as he ribbed at the place on his chest the object hit him. "So, you and Bakugo use to be friends or something?" Izuka huffed as she turned to face him knowing this was going to come up.

"This is payback from not telling you about being in the hospital right away isn't it?" He shrugged but the look on his face told her it probably was.

"Even so I'm curious. Bakugo doesn't seem like a childhood friend. I mean I knew you guys went to the same school, you do have nicknames, but didn't realize you were good enough friends to go to each other's houses." A long sigh escaped her lips as she opened her book.

"It was a long time ago like my mom said. We haven't been friends like that since we were four." Upon realizing he probably hit a sore spot for the girl he allowed it to drop. The study group started and Izuka quickly grew untense, happy they were no longer talking about Kacchan.

子猫

For the next several nights Izuka spent a few short hours studying with her friends and classmates at Momo's house. Momo was in her element guiding everyone to the right answer in a patient, and calm manner. Her enthusiasm for the subjects coming out as she lectured them. Izuka was happy to see her friend happier than she had been at the beginning of the week, but when her chance came to get her alone she took it. As everyone said their goodbyes Izuka hung back and walked over to her friend.

"Hey Mochan," she called out causing the taller girl to smile and turn around.

"Oh, Iz-chan," she said softly. "I thought you would leave with the others. It's going to get dark soon." Izuka shrugged knowing she could just take a later train not caring if it was dark or not.

"Well I was but there's a question I need to ask you." Momo thinking it was about the study group whirled happily around getting ready to explain anything she needed help on.

"Sure!" she said. "If there's anything you don't understand I don't mind breaking it down for you."

"Oh, no, that's not it." Izuka held out her hands as she smiled apologetically. One hand coming up to rub at the back of her neck. "Actually I've been a little worried about you this week. You seem down at times and I just wanted to check on you and see if you needed an ear." Momo froze at her words before slowly a frown tugged at her lips.

"You noticed," she said quietly. "I'm sorry for worrying you but I assure you it's nothing you can help me with. I'll be fine." Izuka bit her cheek, she couldn't just let it go. Let it be called a bad habit of sticking her nose where it didn't belong, but she was usually helpful in her art of being nosy.

"Even if I can't help sometimes just having someone listen can be a weight off your shoulders." Izuka could see Momo crack, whatever that had been pulling her down was wanting to come out.

"It's my soulmate," she whispered barely loud enough for Izuka to hear. "I just can't find the courage to talk to him, and he hasn't made the first move either. I think that might be why I'm wary of saying anything to him. I'm afraid of the reason why he hasn't even tried talking to me." The problem floored Izuka, it was slightly too close to home with her own problems, and she felt like she wouldn't be helpful. It didn't matter as she wasn't here to be helpful, just an ear. "I just don't know how to connect to him."

Izuka leaned over to pat her arm as she sent her a strong smile. "Well, I don't know what to say that can be helpful, honestly I'm having the same problems myself, but I know it will work out Momo. You're great, and I don't believe he's not talking to you because he doesn't want too, maybe he's just stuck like you." Momo nodded thinking about Todoroki and how he hadn't ever been approachable until recently, and any past interactions the two had between them could be different now. Unfortunately, it was their past conversations that kept her from making the next move. Izuka did make a good point but Momo's fear outweighed anything that could be told to her.

"Thank you, Izuka," she said as she moved forward to hug her friend. "I appreciate your words and you listening but you should hurry to the train. I feel bad that you will have to travel in the dark, and would hate if you missed the train due to my problems." Izuka squeezed her tightly for a second before stepping back.

"Don't worry I'll be fine!" With a wave goodbye, Izuka quickly exited the house and made her way toward the train station. It was a good fifteen-minute walk away from Momo's house, and she noticed the last rays of light fell behind the horizon covering her in inky darkness. Momo lived in a good neighborhood so Izuka wasn't really worried about being harassed but that didn't stop her from staying observant of her surroundings.

Jogging lightly she made it to the station in record timing but that then left her with waiting for her train to arrive. Boredom threatened to overwhelm her when she spotted familiar red and white hair, perfectly divided down the middle, walking her way. His head tipped forward gazing down at his phone screen, a small frown on his lips. Her legs acted on their own as she briskly walked over to cut him off.

"Hey Todoroki!" she said happily as she came to a stop in front of him. His eyes snapped up to her and the coldness lifted slightly. His expression turning to curiosity at her presence. "What are you doing here?" A flicker of amusement shined in his eyes before it was smoothed over and showed nothing but polite interest.

"I live near here," he said with a quirk of his lips. "I should be asking you what you are doing here." Izuka chuckled lightly as she rocked on her heels, excited by the fact she wouldn't be bored the entire time waiting for the train.

"I just left Momo's from the study group."

"Hn, wasn't there others you studied with?" His eyes gaze around the almost empty waiting area. "Where are the others?"

"Oh, I stayed behind for a little while." Izuka shrugged as she shifted her weight, easing the pressure on her shoulders from her bag.

"You should be careful going home," he said in concern. "It's nightfall." Izuka blinked and glanced around in mock shock.

"Really!" she said a smile cracking across her face. "I hadn't noticed." She allowed the laugh to leave her lips as she waved his concern away. "Don't worry I'll be fine! You sound like Momo."

"She has a point being worried. Bad things can happen in the dark."

"I don't live too far away from my stop, no need to worry! Where are you going anyway? If you live here than your probably heading away from home. It's dark yah know, you could get hurt." The last sentence was said teasingly. He simply frowned at her as she waved away his concern.

"I'm visiting my mother," he said but not willing to drop the conversation. "Usually I do it earlier in the day but unforeseen circumstances kept me. I have a few hours before visiting hours are up." Izuka nodded wondering if it was his father that kept him from going earlier. It wasn't her business the only thing keeping her from asking. "You really shouldn't be out after dark. You did say how those villains had shown an interest in you. Aren't you worried they might take this opportunity to grab you?"

Izuka could tell his concern was real, and she found herself hesitant to outright deny that they wouldn't. It would be stupid of her to completely dismiss the idea.

"I don't think they would," she said slowly. "They haven't shown any sign of interest in me since, so perhaps I got lucky and they decided I wasn't worth the fight. Either way, if you're worried then you can accompany me until my stop! Your stop is after mine anyways."

Todoroki nodded his head in acceptance. "Alright."

"Hey, do you care if I call you by a nickname?" Izuka asked randomly as they began to board their train. "I give one to all of my friends." Todoroki blinked at being referenced as a friend, the word having never been a label he carried before. He found himself not rejecting the idea right away like he once would have. Slowly he nodded.

"I suppose." She clapped excitedly her eyes lighting up with her choice of a nickname.

"Ok, Totoro-kun!" His eyebrows rose at the name but as she jabbered away he didn't question it. Neither noticed the light blue-haired male that sat several seats away. His chapped lips pulled into a scowl as he watched the two in irritation.

The hood pulled over his head kept most of his hair hidden, shadowing his features, only allowed the dark crimson gaze to pierce through. His fingers clenched at his sides, but one finger always hovered above the rest.

The sound of scratching drifted through the almost empty compartment causing the young girl to stiffen at the noise. Todoroki gazed worried at her as she stopped mid-sentence, her eyes darting to the people around her, but she couldn't place where it had come from.

"Is something wrong?" he asked her as she repeated her motion of crowd searching over the same faces again.

"I- um, no I guess not," she said laughing trying to shrug it off. "It's nothing. I just thought I heard something." Shigaraki could feel the smirk spread across his face as his gaze bore into her. The words easily drifted over to him and though the night would seem to be a bust once more he found humor in the fact that she had overlooked him. Her looks easily conveyed the girl he once knew so long ago, but she would have never overlooked him.

"Something?" Todoroki asked in concern at the way she had gone from carefree to jumpy.

"Just paranoid I think," she said breezily trying to shove bad thoughts from her mind. "Mentioning the villains caused me to think I heard something that he did a lot during the USJ fight. Scratching." Though Todoroki hadn't heard anything he still felt worried for the girl wondering if it really was safe to let her walk home alone.

"I could catch the next train and walk you home," he offered. Izuka was already waving him off as she pulled out her phone. She appreciated his offer but at that moment she wanted to be near someone else, to feel secure near him, not Todoroki.

"I couldn't ask you to give up time with your mom," she said as she typed away at her phone, the message sending in the next moment. "Visiting hours are only for another hour and a half at the very least. That's not a whole lot of time. Besides, I'll just have someone meet me." Now if only he would answer her back before the train did come to her stop. She knew if he did he could beat the train to the station, he lived closer than she did by a few minutes and they were still a good ten minutes away.

"Are you sure?" he asked not wanting to miss time with his mother but also not willing to let Izuka walk home alone if she wasn't comfortable. Izuka hesitated as she glanced back down at the message she had sent.

Can you meet me at the train stop? Something strange has happened and I don't feel comfortable walking home alone. -Koneko

She thought that if he didn't answer back then she would just ride to the hospital with Todoroki and text Toshi to meet her there. After hearing that sound, the same noise that haunted her dreams, she wasn't sure if she could manage the walk home alone. She had a preference on who she would rather be near but no control over forcing them to actually come. If all else failed she would wait at the hospital with Todoroki until he was done visiting with his mother and then take him up on his offer to walk her home.

Her heart stuttered at the three dots signaling that he would actually respond back to her. The waiting caused her stomach to roll with unease as she waited for a positive or negative result.

When? -Kacchan

The short reply caused Midoriya to release a breath of air she had been holding as her thumbs flew across the screen telling him how far out she was. Her body slumped forward in relief causing Todoroki to eye her strangely, wondering who she was talking too. Izuka, herself, was feeling a strange sense of apprehension and excitement at the thought that he would be meeting her. They hadn't talked in weeks, and she didn't want the harsh tension to settle between them. Any glanced that was shared between the two had been heated on his side, anger, and another emotion she wasn't familiar with glinting in his eyes.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," she said peeling her eyes from the screen and sending him a smile. "He's going to meet me." Todoroki felt the question of who would be, on the tip of his tongue but he swallowed it down. It wasn't like him to care but he was curious, especially when he noticed her rubbing at the wrist everyone's Mark was imprinted on. It seemed to be an unconscious action on her part.

"If you're sure," he said instead with a nod of his head.

When the train came to a stop and she took off after a goodbye Todoroki barely noticed the man in the black hoodie that followed closely behind her. The sight of light blue hair a stark contrast to the black but the sight meant nothing to him, or so he thought. The sight bugged him, a memory trying to break through, but he pushed it to the back of his mind.

Izuka feeling an odd aura behind her spun around after a few steps had been taken from the train. Her gaze narrowed as she noticed a few people walking away but none that jumped out at her. She began to silently wonder if Todorokis' words truly had caused her some paranoia. Unease crept up over her causing a shiver to run down her spine. The uncomfortable sensation had her desperately searching the quickly dispersing people, looking for any sign of the face that was behind the scratching from earlier. Her hands clenched to fists at her side as frustration and a hint of fear blindsided her.

Her heartbeat sped up to catastrophic levels when she felt a hand grab her shoulder roughly. The hand pivoting her around harshly as she felt her body automatically start to react to protect itself before in the next instant she felt a rush of ease to flood her body, washing away the fear from seconds ago. A sigh hissed forcefully through her teeth as she felt her body slump forward.

"Kacchan," she said softly, her voice quiet so only he would hear. Bakugo glared down at her as he watched the emotions of fear melt away. His eyes automatically flashed around to see what could have caused her to look like that, but all he caught a glimpse of was familiar white and red hair on the train as it rushed away. His body tensed at the rush of jealousy that flooded his system as he turned his attention back down to her.

Off to the side hidden in shadows Shigaraki watched. He bit his lip as he allowed failure to capture her once again wash over him. The kid showing up had been expected, and he found himself amused with her fear to be alone. It made it annoying to work around but he would be lying if her jumpiness wasn't comedic to him. Carefully he watched as they began to walk away.

"What the fuck was he doing here?" he bit out. It didn't take more than a second for Izuka to register who he would be talking about. There was only one person she was around that Kacchan would recognize after all.

"I ran into him after leaving Momo's," she said evenly. "We rode the train together, we were going in the same direction."

"Whatever," he said as he grabbed her arm and began to drag her toward the exit. "What the hell is up with your text?" Stumbling she tried to keep up with him, but an odd feeling like she was being watched settled over her intensely. Emerald searched the room one last time before falling upon a fiery set surrounded in darkness. The inky black swallowing up the pinpricks causing Izuka to wonder if she had imagined it. Tripping over her own feet she clutched tightly at Kacchan as she ripped her gaze away and focused it on the pissed off ash blonde in front of her. 0

"I thought I heard the villain from USJ on the train," she said after catching up with him. "I didn't see him but I didn't want to walk home alone." A scowl settled heavily over his features as his red eyes darted down to her stumbling form.

"Why didn't you have half-and-half bastard walk you home," he asked gruffly. Izuka huffed as she tugged at his hand trying to get him to slow down.

"I didn't want him too," she scowled, annoyed about being dragged around like a rag doll. "He offered but I wanted you to walk me home." Her words caused him to pause mid-step only to be pulled forward by Izuka who hadn't expected for him to suddenly stop. Realizing what he had done he pushed himself forward, this time at a slower pace that she could keep up with. "Thanks." He didn't bother to answer her. His face was set in a passive tone but his mind kept going over what she had just told him.

She had wanted him to walk her home.

He could feel the anger begin to leak away as they echoed inside his head. The rest of the walk was made in silence, neither one of them realizing that their hands stayed connected the whole time. Each of them just feeding off the peaceful emotions the bond echoed throughout them. A rare moment between the two.

Jealousy was for the time being forgotten, secrets put aside, as they basked in what the bond offered to them. Izuka calmly wondered to herself if this could last after tonight, but realistically she knew tomorrow would hold a new day, Kacchan would go back to himself, and too many things would be left unsaid.

子猫

As Izuka had guessed the next morning she found Kacchan ignoring her like he had been for the last few weeks. The only difference being that he had walked her to school that morning not uttering a word the entire time. As Izuka walked with the rest of her class she found herself thinking about the night before. Her fingers twitched at the reminder of having held his hand the whole walk. It had put her mind at ease from the fear that had swirled since the train rain. At the sight of all the teachers, Izuka pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind as she self consciously readjusted her hero costume. She gazed curiously at the number of teachers that had appeared instantly causing her to doubt the fact that all they were doing was going up against robots.

"Right, the test exercise will begin shortly," announced Aizawa-sensei announced. "You can, obviously, fail this test too. So if you want to head to the forest lodge than there better not be any mess ups. I have no doubt that you all have found what you could of the test beforehand and have a vague notion of what you need to do." Several students began to grow excited as they thought about how easy it should be.

"It'll be just like the entrance exams!" Kaminari yelled out excitedly. Izuka could vaguely hear Ashido yelling about what she expected to happen at the camp, her hands gripping Kirishima happily as she jumped. Izuka was still frowning as she stared at her teacher unsurely. This was the only reason she caught his capture weapon begin to shake as if something was moving within it. Her eyes widened and body flinched when a small creature like form jumped from where it was hiding. She instantly recognized their principal and calmed until he began to speak.

"Wrong!" he yelled out loudly causing Aizawa to flinch slightly. "Due to many reasons, we are changing the contents of the test, starting today!" Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Kaminari fall backward like he had been hit in the face with the news. Ashido ceased her jumping as her mouth fell open and eyes blinked slowly. She listened as he began to explain how the teachers had come together and spoke about the threats and fears of more villain attacks and how they came to the conclusion to have them fight against real people. "In conclusion, we will have you form pairs to engage in combat with one of these here educators!"

Izuka could feel herself grow nervous with each word. Their senseis were pro's, years of experience on them, and they would have to fight them. It felt impossible but logically she knew they would not be going one hundred percent on them. She began to force herself to breathe normally as she focused on the principals' words.

"We have already decided on who you will be paired with and the teacher you will go up against," Aizawa continued for him. "The way you move, your grades, and degree of familiarity are only just a few things we compared when pairing you up! The first group is Todoroki, and Yaoyorozu as a team, against me! Midoriya or with Bakugo as a team." Izuka froze as his words caught up with her. Hesitantly her green eyes flickered to her side to stare at Kacchan who had stiffened as well. She could see the shock on his face and she wondered with the problems they were having if this was a good idea. "As for who you will be going up against-"

There was a rustle of wind that drew Izuka's eyes before they bulged in slight horror and amazement. "I'm here to oblige!" All Might towered above the two as he stared down with determined blue eyes. "Now cooperate and came at me to win, Wonder Duo." Izuka could feel the dread flood throughout her system.

"Fuck," muttered Izuka as she could only continue to stare up at the giant of a man in front of her.

That is like my favorite nickname for Todoroki by the way!

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