"Ne, Bakugo… Have you seen this?" Bakugo didn't have to turn around from his computer to see what Uraraka was referring to. Kirishima had already blown up his phone with a screenshot of the gossip article before he could finish his protein packed oats.

It was a series of pictures taken by the paparazzi, made obvious by the off-center angles and the glare of window panes. There were 4 in total, all accompanied by captions that made wild assumptions about the nature of the two's relationship.

The first one was innocent enough. It was the two of them sitting at the table in their civilian clothing, Uraraka looking at the menu with rapture and Bakugo impatiently cross-armed on the other side. What was annoying about it were the bolded words adorning the top of the page- GROUND ZERO AND URAVITY DATING- PROOF!

There was no other word for the second picture besides outright blasphemous. It led with the shocking attention grabber- POSSIBLE TALKS OF ENGAGEMENT? It was merely of Uraraka looking intently at her left hand as Bakugo was talking. Bakugo knew she was trying to gather more information about the red string around her pinky, but it was invisible in the already-grainy picture. It didn't help that the next picture showed Uraraka fanning her red face with tears pricking at the corners of her eyes from the spice. Those assholes must've selectively chosen the photos to line up with their made-up narrative.

But it was the last picture, the smallest one, that made Bakugo want to storm into the Gossip News office and set fire to every single pathetic employee there. It showed Uraraka in mid-bite, not noticing the stare of the man in front of her. The stare that was so intently focused on her, anyone else would have melted under its gaze. Not because of any malice, no, but because of how soft it was.

Katsuki Bakugo was not soft.

But there he was, captured in time forever, with a slight upturn in the corners of his mouth for the woman eating a bowl of soup in front of him. Looking at it made him feel a bit sick, actually. There was a lurching in his chest that he couldn't quite name. And pinpointing it made him feel more agitated so he returned to the familiar and sent his best friend a quick text with the words "fuck off" before deleting the offensive picture message that resided in his phone.

He had no doubt that the annoying, squealing girls from his high school class sent the exact same bogus article to Uraraka.

Taking his silence as an answer, Uraraka pursed her lips and examined the text on her phone for a suspicious amount of time. "Well then, where's my ring?"

"What ring?" He continued to type keywords into the search bar to identify the quirk user that bound them by string.

"If we're engaged, you have to give me a ring, Bakugo," She said matter-of-factly, staring him directly in the eyes when he finally turned around in disbelief. He felt like his brain was breaking in two.

"Let's get one thing straight, round-face. There's no way in hell I will ever get you a ring"

"Hmmm. Alright, then how about ring tattoos? That would probably work better anyway so they don't get snagged on anything during work. What do you think?"

Looking at how much irritation Uraraka could stir up in a millisecond, he would consider it a miracle if he survived the tumultuous blood pressure long enough to die a hero's death.

Gauging from the uncontrollable twitching in Bakugo's eye and the pops coming from his clenched fists, Uraraka figured that was enough torturing and broke into a fit of giggles. At the sight of her breaking character, Bakugo shot her another killer glare and turned to face the computer again.

"They really know how to twist things though, huh?"

He only grunted in response.

"Even my parents asked about it"

Oh shit.

His parents.

Feeling his twitching return, Bakugo groaned and buried his face in his hands. Now he would have to call his mom and clear things up. He could let her reach out first, but that would surely add an extra layer of nagging about how he hadn't bothered to explain things himself. His dad was nice enough, but he wondered what he must've done in his past life to deserve being born to such a crazy woman.

"Just get back to searching for the string quirk. Once we know what it does, we can clear things up with everybody."

"Everybody?"

"Your folks and mine. Probably those nosy extras from U.A. too. And that's it. Who cares about the gossip column? Everyone knows it's bullshit."

The next 20 minutes were spent with only the noise of the clacking keyboard permeating the empty room. At 7 in the morning, most people were just waking up or taking in the last dredges of sleep they could, a stark contrast to the two heroes in the City Hall computer lab. They each had a cup of coffee in their cubicle, something Uraraka thought to bring to aid their mission. Amusingly enough, they both had glasses perched on the bridge of their noses and moleskin journals to compare notes.

So far, the pages were filled with keywords crossed out- string, connect, attach, track, Hosu city, female, senior, invisible, red, pinky. On and on.

Half an hour later, nearing the time to give up the search for the day, Bakugo came across a picture of a woman who looked suspiciously like the old lady. There were the same deep set gray eyes and thin smile, just about 10 years younger. Thinking it was a relative, he clicked on the profile to expand it.

Fuku Hoshino

Date of Birth: July 26, 2108
Sex: Female
Place of Residence: Okayama Prefecture
Relatives: Mother, Father, Sister (deceased)

Quirk: Fate
Licensure: Medical

Nature- Ability to detect inevitable long-term outcomes ie. health, relationships, occupation
Method- The results are made apparent by touch. Some examples include colored lights, string, or vibrations
Limitations- Each use ages the quirk holder by an estimated 1 day
Manifestation- Age 4, described seeing a white light from her pregnant mother's abdominal area

Updated: 09:34:52 January 4, 2149

"Hey… Look up Fuku Hoshino."

A few clicks later, Uraraka was looking at the same profile on her screen. "If this page was updated 3 years ago and her quirk ages her, this could be the woman you saw yesterday. It's hard to believe she's only 44, but it's not entirely out of the realm of possibility." She confirmed what he had been thinking. "It mentions string, but not really what it means. I mean, fate… That's pretty vague."

Bakugo twisted his face in annoyance. "Fate, destiny, none of that is real. You make your life, not some predetermined bullshit." He couldn't help but think about the green-haired nerd and how he managed to defy all odds and become a hero almost on par with him. "And if that hag thinks she can tell me how my life, my work as a hero is going to pan out, I'll go out and prove to the world that she's a hack!"

"I don't know if it has anything to do with how well you do your job, Bakugo. No one would doubt that. Besides, how do I tie into all that?"

That's right. The quirk didn't just reveal something about him, it connected him to Uraraka somehow. "She told me not to 'squander it away' or something like that."

"Yeah, but implying that I have something to do with your health, that doesn't make sense. And I don't have anything to do with your work as a hero. So…" Oh god. "So that just leaves the relationship part." A slight smattering of pink dusted over her nose and cheeks.

Bakugo could feel the heat rush to his face at the implication. Did the string cause him to have… feelings for Uraraka? Is that why he had those strange thoughts last night? It would certainly clear a few things up, but it brought a lot of complications too.

He cleared his throat, trying to overcome the embarrassment. "Doesn't matter, it still doesn't mean anything. We're in control of our own choices, not some freaky quirk."

Uraraka nodded through her own flushed face.

"And now that we know how useless this thing actually is, we can get on with our lives." He logged out of his computer, gathered his journal and pen, and stood from the chair. Cracking his back, he turned to get out of City Hall. It was good to finally get some answers and move on with his life. But Uraraka was still in her chair with her hair shielding her eyes.

"Would… Would it really be so bad to be with someone like me?" Her small voice cut through him like a knife. She was sitting legs folded under her and arms crossed tight around her body. It looked like she was retreating inside herself, creating a tight ball of armor.

A memory flashed into Bakugo's mind from their last year at U.A. of Uraraka sniffling at her desk. He later found out that she had confessed to Deku, who had turned her down because he had wanted to solely focus on his goal as a hero. He remembered begrudgingly agreeing with his rival back then, wondering what was so great about romance that would make so many great heroes throw away their careers.

But looking at the woman in front of him, he found himself feeling anger towards the green-haired twerp in a new way. Why would she tie her worth to someone like Deku and what he thought?

"Listen up, because I'm only going to say it once." He growled in a low voice, angry at Deku, at her, at himself, at that damn old lady. Uraraka looked up from her carefully moulded shell with uncertainty.

"You're strong as hell, Uraraka," she perked up at his use of her actual name. "And you're smart and good. So stop moping around thinking you're somehow lacking because you deserve better than that. If you're looking to settle down with someone, it's not gonna be because a string forces them to. You should be with someone who worships you and the ground you step on. Got it?"

She looked up at him with so much hope in her eyes, he couldn't stand to look into them any longer. Swallowing back a wave of tears, she nodded and stretched her body back out to stand up.

"Thank you"

"Yeah, yeah. Just don't expect me to say any of that again. You have your annoying posse to go on about how great you all are, or whatever you girls do, so go cry to them."

"That's true. But it's different coming from you, Bakugo."

Not wanting to dwell on what that could mean, Bakugo hurried out of the computer lab. They scanned their hero badges to sign out of the building and made their way to the sidewalk where they would both head to their respective agencies for the day's work. By then, it was around 7:45 and most of the shops were getting ready to open. The streets were now packed with cars heading to work and the two rookie heroes were not the only ones awake anymore.

"So… See you around, I guess?"

"I guess."

They both racked their brains for an excuse to meet up again, but couldn't find one that wouldn't give away the embarrassing truth- I want to see you again. Too scared to admit it outloud, they parted ways without another word.

"We're coming for you! Your glamorous little life won't look so pretty after we're done with you!"

"Your luck will run out eventually! No one is safe!" At this point, the villains were yelling out to anyone who would lend an ear.

Bakugo really wished there was a quirk out there that would cancel out people's voices. He rolled his eyes at their rant as he handed the raging, rabid men to the police officer. "Yeah, yeah. Save it for someone who cares." He was just about to turn back and survey damage control when he saw her.

The fate lady.

She was standing about a block away, irritatingly smiling at him with her hands clasped in front of her with rapture like she was watching something beautiful unfurl before her. With complete disregard to his unfinished job, to the surprise of bystanders and police officers, he marched over to the frail woman. She made no movement to shield herself from his anger or hide her satisfaction.

"Did you like your gift?" She asked patiently.

"What the hell were you thinking, putting this damn thing on me and Uraraka? You like playing with people's lives, like some sort of sick matchmaker? Is that it?"

"Matchmaker?" A hint of amusement tinged her small voice.

"You-you put these weird thoughts in my head and manipulate my feelings," He spat out the last word like it was poison. "All for what? Because you think we'd look good together? Well, tough shit! We aren't your little puppets to play with!"

"Oh, my. It seems you misunderstand my quirk." She reached out and took Bakugo's hand again. And just like last time, he didn't seem to have the strength to pull away. "I reveal the unavoidable, what your soul is destined for. Who you long for, how compatible you are, I don't determine any of that. I just make it seen."

She skimmed the string with her bony fingers. "Red string is for soulmates, lovers. But I've also seen white, purple, black, yellow, all kinds of thread. I don't make it so, just visible. Same with your inner light or the vibration of your soul. Do I choose your path for you? Heavens, no. That would really be some feat." She chuckled. "That Uraraka was already someone special to you and you were always going to collide with her. I just prematurely disclosed it to you."

"B-But why?" He hated how he couldn't seem to speak straight in front of this mysterious lady.

A grim look cast over the older woman. "I met a young woman last month. I've aged this much because I used my quirk multiple times a day as a trauma nurse, I judge what patients will need- diligence for healing, or comfort for their last days. My quirk reveals what is most heavily on their heart, you see. The people who come to the emergency room are almost always concerned for their health. But this patient… When I touched her, I saw a vision flash by, which had never happened before."

Bakugo stood quietly, enraptured by her story.

"I saw you, although I didn't know who you were back then. And I saw your red string. I've spent the last month trying to find you and activate my quirk on you so that this vision would come to fruition. I don't know exactly how, or why, but you need that girl of yours in order to come out victorious in this upcoming challenge."

"I don't understand." Bakugo couldn't help but think he just lied.

He could feel himself shaking his head and wrenching his hand out of her grip, trying to stop her from saying the next words.

"She's going to save your life, young man."