Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia.

"You get under my skin
More than anyone's ever been"

- Rock Bottom, Hailee Steinfeld & DNCE

"Hey! Did you guys hear about the fortune teller? Apparently her quirk lets her see who your soulmate is!" Raccoon Eyes announced enthusiastically, clearly she was invested in the topic.

"That's bullshit! I've never heard of any quirks like that." That was Kirishima. Katsuki for the most part trusted his judgement, so he was about to tune out of this dumb ass conversation that had caught his ears. That was until he heard her voice.

"Even if it's not real, it still would be interesting to see what she has to say." He knew why she was interested in this topic. If it weren't for her cheesy crush on Deku she probably wouldn't have cared. Well, she might still have been interested, he admittedly didn't know that much about her interests. Uraraka was someone he, for the most part, did not interact with, outside of being stuck in the same room together all the time or having to fight baddies in the same situation. The most interaction they had really ever gotten together was the sports festival when they were matched with one another. Up until that point he'd not really given her much thought. She seemed like someone who would be easy to beat, definitely not a threat to his goal of becoming number one. Of course, as with everything that didn't stop him from going all out, what's the point if you're not giving 100% all the time?

But she managed to surprise him. Suddenly, this girl was on his radar as she held her own. Sure, he still beat her, but if he'd not been so goddamn great at everything he does, she probably could have given him a run for his money. He liked that. It's no fun getting to kick someone's ass who can't hold their own. Okay that was a lie, it was a little fun. But it didn't boost his confidence nearly as much as it did to provide a beating to someone who wasn't a scrawny weakling. Seeing that she wasn't ENTIRELY useless, she had earned a smidgen of respect from him.

He also refused to admit that he had fallen head first into one of Cementoss' concrete walls in love with her. Even though as he monologued in his head he definitely was admitting that he was in love with her. Realistically, he didn't believe in love, at least not that easily. Even he knew that a relationship took a little more getting to know someone than he was comfortable with. As dumb as his parents were, and as little of a match as other people saw them, he knew that they got along because they knew each other better than anyone else. Hell, he'd probably have an easier time dating Kirishima than Uraraka. Getting to know people wasn't exactly his strong suit, however he was good at observing people and zeroing in on their insecurities.

He could tell that Uraraka had a huge ass crush on Deku. Who the fuck knew why, just cause the guy got a little beefier after middle school didn't make him as drop dead gorgeous as Katsuki was. Of course, pretty much everyone in their class could already tell that Uraraka had a thing for Deku, everyone except for Deku the oblivious bastard. She seemed to like fluffy shit, and Katsuki didn't think they got any fluffier than Deku, even if they were literally covered in fur. That was really the only thing he could think of as to why she'd like the guy. Of course, if he was to listen to his insecurities he'd also know it was because she looked up to him as an inspiration for becoming a hero. Who in their class didn't? He was supposed to be the next All Might after all, it was only fitting he'd be an icon.

Bakugo was just loud. Or at least, that's probably what everyone thought about him. Not like he actually gave a flying shit, he'd prove them all wrong anyways. It only really mattered a little bit when it came to her, because he knew she'd never look at him the same way she looked at Deku. He could live with that though. His first ever crush on a real girl and he could live with it never coming to fruition. First crushes weren't supposed to work out anyways. Right? Or was that first relationships? Did it really fucking matter? They might as well be the same damn thing.

However, her interest in this fortune teller thing had him interested. Even if she'd never love him, maybe he could at least understand her better by showing interest in her interests. Though, a bullshit psychic was really the last thing he wanted to show interest in or ever admit to having shown interest in. If he was actually being honest, he was kinda curious what the fortune teller would have to say about him. Would she tell him what he was already sure of? Or would she tell him that Ochako was actually meant for him? Not like that would change anything.

"See! Ochako thinks it'd be fun! Let's all go!" Raccoon Eyes chimed in again. Apparently the conversation was still going, but he saw fit to tune out for real now. He got up from the chair he'd been sitting in, heading up to his dorm. Kirishima, seeing Katsuki's exit, hopped up to follow after him.

"Are you gonna go with them, dude?" He stupidly asked.

"The hell, why would I go with them?" Bakugo scowled, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Kirishima gave him a look, leaning in closer, "I mean, Ochako-"

"I fucking told you to drop that."

"I know!" He held up his hands defensively. "I didn't think it would hurt to ask though."

"I'll make it hurt."

"Alright, I get it!"

What had brought him to standing in front of this gaudy looking storefront? Curiosity? Genuine interest? No, a fucking dumbass cute girl had. Katsuki had fallen so far from his middle school years. He'd gone soft.

Not soft enough to let anyone know he was coming here, not even Kirishima the smug bastard knew that Katsuki had made an appointment to come get his fortune told by the so-called soulmate finder. It was dumb. It was really fucking dumb. Except he couldn't shake the feeling that he just had to know. So he opened the door and walked in, cool as a cucumber on the outside, but internally he wanted to break something.

It was boring inside. No surprise there. Would it kill the bitch to put up something nice? His dad could probably do wonders in this place, even though he just designed clothes, he had a better sense of style than whoever ran this place. He looked around, seeing the frosted glass window in the wall. Was he supposed to go up to that? Shit, he couldn't actually bring himself to bring attention to himself for once. Was he actually freezing up here? No. No fuck that. He was Katsuki fucking Bakugo. A fortune teller did not intimidate-

"Everyone knows she's got it bad for Todoroki! Come on guys let's stop stalling and go inside!"

Fuck.

What the fuck were those assholes doing here. No, he knew why they were here. He realized he probably should have paid attention to their conversation the other night just a little bit more so that he could avoid showing up here on the same night they did. Too damn late now. He was royally screwed if the noticed him before he could get out. What would he fucking say? His reputation ruined just like that if they realized he was here to find out something so lovey dovey as who his mother fucking soulmate was.

"This… isn't really what I was expecting." Raccoon Eyes would say. "It's a lot less-"

"Mystical?" The fact he couldn't pinpoint where the voice was coming from meant it was See Through.

"Yeah."

Nobody had noticed him yet, so he pushed himself into a far corner away from the group. He surveyed the participants in the room. Obviously Raccoon Eyes and See Through, there was also Dumb Face, Ponytail, Deku…

And Uraraka.

Shit.

Everyone's attention was pulled to the glass window as it slid open. Good. This was his chance. Except fucking DEKU WAS BLOCKING HIS WAY. He'd yell at the bastard, but he had to hold it in if he didn't want to be found out. If anyone were to turn and see his face, they'd think he was constipated.

"Do you have an appointment?" Asked the woman on the other side of the window. He recognized her as the fortune teller from the picture on her website. Ha! They'd have to leave because they didn't make an appointment, fucking losers.

He was even more of a loser FOR making an appointment.

"Um, do we need appointments to get our fortune told?" Inquired Raccoon Eyes.

"Not necessarily, but someone did call to make an appointment, so I was curious if it was one of you seven."

Fuck.

He did the math.

There were only six people in their group.

The bitch had ratted him out.

"No it's not one of- wait, seven?" All eyes turned to him. God dammit. He stood there stiff as a board, wanting to murder the bitch who just put the spotlight on him when he was hoping to escape without a scene.

"Kacchan?" Of course Deku was the first to speak. The little twerp. "What are you doing here?"

Think of something. Think of something dammit! "Someone had to point out how dumb you losers are for doing this bullshit." Perfect.

Everyone seemed to buy it.

And so he stood in the corner, pretending like he wasn't super uncomfortable or like they hadn't just caught him red handed. Thank fuck Kirishima wasn't here, he'd be able to smell out his lie like it was a pile of rotting shit.

He paid no attention as everyone went in and out of the back room. He didn't even care how the fortune teller's quirk actually worked. There was no point in this now. It was dumb. He was dumb. He was a goddamn genius but he was dumb as shit. He risked flicking his attention over to Uraraka. He didn't have to worry, she was looking at Deku. She was always looking at Deku, even if her eyes weren't physically staring at him. Why did it have to be Deku?

He looked away, trying to ignore the annoying feeling in his chest when he thought about his crush having a crush on his rival. Really it wasn't specific to that subject, it happened any time he looked at Uraraka. She was a fucking witch, tempting him with her big brown eyes and bright smile. She didn't have to touch him to make him float. He hated that so fucking much. He hated her for making him want her so bad when he couldn't have her.

"Are you gonna go Uraraka?" His attention had been pulled back to the group when Deku spoke up, apparently Uraraka was the last one left and she was frozen in her seat. He bet it didn't help she was just asked why she wasn't going by the person she was 100% here for. Katsuki wasn't a mind reader but he could read her expression.

"Y-yeah! Just, hyping myself up!" She lied.

"The fuck is there to hype up? Just go in there and get it over with. You can't be scared of a fake fortune." It took him a moment to realize it was his voice that had just spoken. Why was he encouraging her? At least he'd sounded annoyed to all hell. Because he was.

It had worked though, she hopped up like a perky little bunny rabbit and with determination marched to the back room. His eyes had followed her all the way until she'd disappeared through the doorway.

"That was nice of you to give Uraraka a boost of confidence, Kacchan." Fucking Deku again.

"Yeah, I mean it was in your usual fashion but it was surprising to think you'd even care." Raccoon Eyes piped up.

He crossed his arms, trying not to explode this whole fucking building just to revel in the rubble left behind. It was also effective body language for saying Don't fucking talk to me. "I don't care. I could practically hear her teeth chattering in fear. It was annoying."

Deku settled back into his seat, but with a knowing look on his face. "Right…" Green fuck was gonna get it again if he didn't shut the hell up.

Again, he tuned out of the conversation and stared at the wall angrily instead. Every few seconds he sensed Deku's eyes on him, as if the bastard was trying to analyze his behavior. Did the scrawny shit ever stop!? He was about to give him, or anyone in this room a piece of his mind when the sound of stomping and yelling erupted from the hallway. The brunette emerged through the doorway. His mouth went dry.

Uraraka was hot when she was angry.

"Uraraka how did it-"

"I'm not talking about it!" She even interrupted Deku. Oh man she really was a woman. He watched as she sped through the room and out the door. He pitied any creature that got in her way as she raged all the way back to the dorms. Not really. He'd gladly watch Uraraka punch the shit out of some unsuspecting bystander. Not that she actually would, she was still too goody two-shoes and if she did hurt someone she'd snap out of her fire and immediately start apologizing.

"I love it when I get reactions like that." The fortune teller chuckled as she came out from the back room.

Slowly everyone thanked her and started heading out, with Ponytail going last to pay for their sessions. Bakugo went after her.

The fortune teller caught his arm before he could leave.

He wheeled around to deck her but stopped midway with his fist in the air when she ran her thumb over his pinky. An amused grin played on her lips.

"She doesn't look it, but she's a firecracker just like you. Good luck, Katsuki Bakugo."

Kirishima nearly spit out his drink. "You did what!?"

"I ain't fuckin' saying it twice, dipshit. You heard me." Katsuki angrily munched on a piece of toast.

"I mean, yeah, but dude I didn't think you'd actually try to get your fortune told!" The spiky haired idiot said maybe a little too loudly for Bakugo's comfort so he stepped on his foot. "Ow!"

"Keep your voice down."

"Look who's talking…" He grimaced at the pain in his foot. "So what did she say?"

"I thought you said it was hokey shit. Besides, I didn't get to see her."

Kirishima shrugged, leaning back. "Well yeah, but if my best bro thought it was worth his time, clearly she isn't that much of a fraud."

"No, she is. And overly handsy." He shivered at the memory of how she touched his hand. Like some sort of connection had been made between them when she touched his pinky. As if she was delving deep into his soul, sucking away at his secrets like a vampire. She'd seen right through him. It wasn't a quirk, she was just good at guessing your insecurities just like him. The hand motion was just a distraction so that she could read your features and read your body language. If your crush was written on your face like a book, she'd vaguely imply it was your crush. Apparently he wasn't as good at hiding his affections for Uraraka as he thought he was. It was why she couldn't find Raccoon Eyes, Dumb Face, or See Through's soulmates (at least that's what he'd overheard), because a) the first two probably didn't like anyone enough to let it show in their body language, and b) See Through was fucking invisible. Ponytail of course, had it written all over her face, so with a few vague comments it wouldn't be long before the fortune teller pinned her with Half 'n Half.

He was surprised though that through this revelation about the woman's technique, that Uraraka had been so upset. Shouldn't she have been floating on a cloud to hear that Deku was her soulmate, since her crush on him wasn't just written on her face, it was painted on a fifteen fucking meter billboard. Unless…

Unless her crush wasn't actually on Deku?

"Dude, you're staring at her again."

"Shut your damn trap." He brought his eyes back to his breakfast, stabbing a scrambled egg with a fork and unbridled fury.

"I wish chill pills were real and that I could force feed you one right now." Kirishima sighed, shaking his head.

He rolled his eyes, daring to stare right at the girl in question. If anyone were to notice, they'd think Uraraka had pissed him off in some way, based on the rage burning in his eyes. She was sitting with Frog, talking about something that had her blushing and fumbling like a cute idiot. It was probably Deku. It was always Deku.

He furrowed his brows in frustration. Why did it continue to bother him when he knew he should just let it go. She'd never reciprocate anything except friendship with him. And like hell he wanted to be fluffy fluff buddies with her. He wanted to slam her up against a wall and angrily kiss her. Not that he actually could do that on his first try. He'd probably just sputter and be too embarrassed to even look at her if he got that close. If she just knew that his biggest weakness would be kissing her, she could subdue him with no effort at all.

Katsuki looked away just in time to avoid making eye contact with her for the third time.

"You're so obvious man, she's gonna figure it out." Kirishima started, but then he shook his head. "Actually, she'd probably think you're out for her blood before she ever guessed you got the hots for her."

"Don't say it like that." Grumbled Katsuki.

"Right, sorry, you like softer phrases like having a crush or you've got feelings for her." Teased the red haired boy.

"I'm gonna fucking strangle you, Spiky Hair."

"Oi, we're not backpedaling to nicknames again are we!?"

"First pair. Bakugo and Uraraka. Second pair. Todoroki and Hagakure. Third pair. Sero and Ashido. Fourth pair. Asui and Kaminari. Fifth pair. Midoriya and..." Aizawa's words had trailed off in his ears at that point, having heard the only two names of any true importance to him. Katsuki didn't see any reason to this exercise, it was clearly all a ruse, because some of these pairs were not actually terrible. For instance, and he wasn't biased or anything, but clearly he and Uraraka were a great combination quirk wise if their match up in the sports festival was any sign. If all anyone had to go on was poor communication between the two, they could easily match him up with any other student in this class and get the same result.

He figured all this exercise was made to do was trick you into being on edge with your teammate, but that didn't work with him because even if he had a dumb crush on Uraraka, he wasn't gonna listen to a single thing she had to say anyways. That was, unless she showed him the same grit that she had during their match. He still wouldn't submit fully but he'd be more inclined to her suggestions. He glanced over to Uraraka, expecting to see a grin or something enthusiastic.

She looked anything but happy however. Her eyebrows had creased in concern and she twiddled her thumbs like she wanted to object to the pairing. Katsuki figured she just wanted to pair with Deku instead, but she'd never seemed to visibly dislike pairing up with him before. Then again, they didn't usually get paired for anything. When was the last time they fought side by side? He… couldn't actually recall a moment they fought together explicitly. They had always been pitted against each other for school, and during villain attacks they never really crossed paths. They really were complete strangers. So why did it have to hurt so bad to see she was uncomfortable partnering with him?

He didn't like this.

"Alright, that should be everyone. First pair, you get to stay here while the rest of the class heads up to observation with me." Aizawa finished, walking away. Kirishima gave Katsuki a thumbs up.

He was going to break his thumbs later.

"Well! I guess we'll just have to make the most of this!" He glanced down to see Uraraka standing next to him, obviously forcing a smile. She looked so nervous. He hated how she trembled like a fucking mouse.

If he was really the cause of this, he figured the sooner they got done, the better. "Or we could just get this bullshit over with." He said, looking ahead with indifference.

"Right…" She didn't sound any happier. Fuck why was he so bad at this? Why couldn't she be excited to partner with him? She just wanted to partner with Deku.

It was always.

Fucking.

Deku.

"Ready yourselves." The teacher's disembodied voice called to them through the sound speakers. He didn't have to tell Katsuki twice. He got into a fighting stance.

Uraraka just stood there.

"Oi, Uraraka, open your fucking eyes!"

.

.

.

Clearly they had both learned from their experiences of being pitted against one another, and were using each other's quirks to their advantage. He'd break something, she'd make it float, then drop it on the hunks of metal they were "fighting." Katsuki didn't really think it was much of a fight. These bots were no match for him on his own, especially not since he'd worked on getting more precise with his explosions. Really, he could probably take these things out without her help, but mandatory pairings made a good excuse to bond with her. This was bonding right? It felt like bonding. Especially when she was actually doing a lot more than just using her quirk. She'd learned those moves during her internship hadn't she? Uraraka kicking ass was his love language.

Once they'd actually started fighting, her entire demeanor had changed. She relaxed, and looked like she was enjoying herself. Maybe her terror earlier had been his imagination. From what glimpses he caught of her while they fought, he could see she was smiling like the sun. Her voice had a power to it that really got him going. The rubble wasn't the only thing soaring as she fought beside him. Fuck who was he kidding, he wasn't getting over her any time soon.

"Bakugo watch your right!"

"Uraraka, float that bastard so I can knock him to space!"

"Don't blow that up! That looks like apartments!"

"Shut up! I know what I'm doing!"

"I think we're almost done here!" She called out excitedly.

However, suddenly she went quiet, Katsuki glanced back in her direction to see she was standing still with a blank face. He was confused, she'd been fine this whole time, and suddenly with the flip of a switch she was paralyzed. What the fuck was wrong with her? Worse yet, she chose to do it in the middle of battle. At the moment one of the giant pieces of scrap metal was hurling a clanky arm at her.

And she just stood there, like she couldn't see it coming straight toward her.

Protective instinct kicked in as he shoved her out of the way. "Wake the fuck up, Uraraka!" He shouted, blasting the robo bastard to smithereens.

He glanced down at her once the nuisance was taken care of. He didn't know what kind of expression he expected to see, but certainly not one that made his heart jump into his throat.

She was blushing.

"R-right! Sorry!" She stammered, and she was back to the fight, pushing whatever thing it was that had changed her mood so suddenly to the back of her mind again apparently, because it didn't bother her for the rest of the mock battle.

He ended up landing the finishing blow, ending what had seemed like an hour long fight, but had really only been a few minutes. Uraraka's tension had somewhat returned once they were no longer fighting, but she was then distracted as Aizawa drilled into her about her mistake. He blamed it on fear.

Katsuki knew better. Sure, all this time she looked afraid of him, but it was occurring to him she probably wasn't afraid. Her blush after he'd shoved her was all the proof he'd needed. She only blushed like that around Deku. This time it was him. This time it was Katsuki Bakugo who had made her blush. He felt even more like a superior being than usual.

Uraraka was acting like she had a crush on him, and not Deku. It occurred to him she hadn't gushed over Deku in days. She'd been actively avoiding eye contact with Katsuki, whereas before she would have stared him down with determination. She wasn't afraid to be around him, she was nervous. Could what he had thought was impossible have actually happened? Did Uraraka actually have a crush on him or was it his imagination? He'd never been good at reading people's opinions of him, or maybe he'd been too good and he just pretended it was admiration instead of fear after a certain point. The only thing that made him think he was right here was that she'd behaved similarly with Deku.

"Just fucking tell her you love her already, dude. It's pathetic how you just keep staring." Kirishima groaned.

"What's going on? Bakugo's got a crush?" Dumb Face piped up, Katsuki shot a glare Kirishima's way for talking about Uraraka around someone other than just the two of them.

"N-nah I'm just messin' with him! He's just pissed that Uraraka stopped mid battle. Right, man?"

"Piss off."

"See!"

Dumb Face looked unconvinced, but didn't argue. Damn right he'd let it go if he knew what was good for him.

He turned his head to look back at Uraraka and Frog, but just as he'd caught sight of those gravity defying locks, Frog made eye contact with him. Quickly he ducked his head. Shit. She was definitely going to try and bother him about it later.

When the exercise had ended and the class made their way out of the observation room, Katsuki stopped next to Aizawa.

"That was all bullshit. You knew Uraraka and I would work together just fine." He accused, glaring up at his teacher.

"Actually, I expected you to be more lacking in communication. Even I was surprised by how in sync you two were. I suppose I underestimated you." Aizawa said, his voice oozing with exhaustion. Despite this, he eyed Katsuki suspiciously. "I almost wonder what it is that had you actually functioning like teammates." He paused. "Almost."

"Do you like, Ochako? Ribbit."

He had been caught off guard when Frog happened to catch him walking alone back to his dorm. Well, it hadn't really been off guard, he had expected her to bombard him at some point. Except he hadn't imagined it would be so soon. They literally had their team building exercise earlier that day.

"What makes you think you got the right to shove your nose in my business?" He glared, but she didn't seem phased.

"You stare at her a lot, and you saved her from that robot earlier. Ribbit." Frog explained, "And as her friend, I wanted to make sure she's in good hands."

"I glare at her a lot, because she's Deku's friend, and I saved her because that's what heroes do, right? So piss off." He started to walk away.

She didn't let him.

"The teachers wouldn't have actually let her get hurt. Ribbit. They would have noticed something was wrong and stopped the robots if it got too close. However, you jumped in and saved her before that was necessary. Ribbit. Even though you didn't need to."

"I told you, it was what a hero would-"

"You don't usually let heroics get in the way of doing something you don't need to do." Frog was sharp for a- well- a frog.

Katsuki grit his teeth, she had him. He'd slipped up. It's true, he knew there was no reason to put in the effort to save her, but his feelings had taken control and he'd gotten protective. Like she was something of his that he didn't want to get broken. Even though he knew she wasn't fragile, in that moment she'd left herself wide open and he knew if it were a real battle she'd be dead or at best injured.

"So what." He finally huffed, his expression still sour. "She likes Deku doesn't she?"

Frog put her finger to her chin, like she was deep in thought. "I wonder. Ribbit."

"The fuck does that mean?" He wanted to dig deeper but this was getting annoying. Everyone was too cryptic. Even he was full of secrets at this point, but at this rate Frog was gonna spill his secrets with her sharp intuition. He'd rather that not happen. "Tch, fuckin' forget it. Just keep this shit to yourself or you're dead."

"You should tell Ochako how you feel. Ribbit. It would be good for you both."

"Yeah right! Like you know what's good for me." He pushed past her.

"It would be good for you both." The hell did she mean by that? It certainly wouldn't be good nor would it be easy! Frog didn't know what she was talking about. Katsuki clenched his fists as he stomped back to his room.

He was gonna have to get better at hiding this crush before the whole fucking class found out about his brown eyed weakness.

Oh.

He just remembered he still has to break Kirishima's thumbs.

Katsuki laid in bed staring at the ceiling. Normally he'd be asleep by now, but his mind was too occupied to fall asleep. Earlier, before he'd gotten in bed, there had been a knock on his door and a piece of paper slid under it. He'd opened the door to see who the fuck was disturbing him this late, but the perpetrator was already gone or hiding. He didn't have the time for some nonsense prank, so he just shut the door. He wouldn't have noticed the note if he hadn't stepped on it.

Come to the common room after everyone has gone to bed. We need to talk.

Was all it read. There wasn't even a signature on it or anything. Who the fuck did this person think they were? Summoning him at an ungodly hour of the night to talk? Katsuki didn't fucking talk. Or at least, his version of talking used his fists, and he doubted this person wanted to duke it out in the common room.

Also why did they think he was going to do it. Anyone who had been living in this dorm knew that Katsuki was in bed like a good boy at a reasonable hour on most nights. You can't kick ass without a good night's sleep. Which, to be fair he wasn't getting right now. His mind was occupied with that note.

He looked at the clock. Fuck it was late. It was like, 11 o' clock. Alright, whoever the bastard was who left the note was going to regret meeting him because Katsuki was going to leave a hole in his face. It aggravated him beyond belief that a stupid note had grabbed his attention like this. Except, way far in the back of his mind, something nagged at him telling him it was important, and he'd regret not going.

So he stomped- quietly- out of his dorm room. He was pretty sure everyone would be in bed by now. If they weren't he'd yell at them. It wasn't like he kept track of anyone else's schedules in this damn dormitory. The people he gave half a rat's ass about were Deku, Uraraka, and Kirishima, and he didn't even know when they went to bed either.

When he got to the common room, it was empty. Nobody was there. He'd been sitting in the dark for a while in his room so the lack of light in the common room, or the rest of the dorm for that matter hadn't affected him. Sure his night vision wasn't great, but he could make out shapes, and the moonlight from the windows helped illuminate a lot of the objects. He wondered if his note leaver had chickened out. Of course they did, idiot probably grew enough brain cells to piece together how dumb this was.

Then he heard footsteps, and saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Katsuki jumped up, ready to beat the shit out of whoever made him WAIT down here for some bullshit nonsense that he didn't actually give a shit about.

Except he recognized the shape of the person approaching. Was she the one who'd written the note? He opened his mouth, but her voice filled the room before he could get a word out.

"Tsu?" She called out. She appeared to be stumbling through the darkness, she must have been sitting in her room with the light on. "Did I get here before her..?"

"Uraraka?" He finally got it out. If he'd heard her correctly—which he doubted he misheard her since it was deathly silent in here—she'd been calling out for Frog. At least, he was pretty sure that was Frog's name.

Then it clicked.

"B-Bakguo! What are you doing up this late?"

"Fuckin' frog." Shit he said that out loud.

"What?" She'd heard him too.

"I said what does it matter to you?" Yeah, like that sounded anything the same. Get your act together dumbass. Uraraka was still getting closer. He could see her pretty well by now, but there was still a veil of darkness over her face. "I'd ask you the same damn thing, but something tells me I don't need to. Waste of time anyways."

"R-right…" She looked unconvinced, but she didn't press the matter. Thank god.

He had a good idea why Frog called them here. "It would be good for you both." Her words repeated in his mind. Fuck it, but he wasn't going to open with pouring his feelings out. That wasn't like him anyways. No. But he did want to know what the hell was bothering her this whole time, and frankly there was no better opportunity to weasel it out of her.

"I'm not gonna beat around the bush, Uraraka, like that bastard Deku. What's your fucking problem lately?"

"Excuse me?" Jesus why did she make this so difficult. She looked like a deer in headlights.

"Not that I give two shits, but you've been acting funny. And that stunt during our training? I know you well enough to know you wouldn't've frozen up like a little bitch baby over some scrap metal." He called her out. She wasn't fragile, he knew that for a fact. But she had acted fragile, and that had caused him to nearly give away his shitty teenage crush on her.

"I just-"

"No. Not 'I just'. I want the cold hard shit stained truth." Okay maybe that was a little much with the language, even for him. Too late to take it back now.

"Geeze you can tone it down a little…" She even called him out on it.

He crossed his arms impatiently. "I'm waiting."

"It's… embarrassing…"

"Don't care."

"You'll laugh."

"Deal with it."

"I don't want to tell you!"

This back and forth was getting really annoying. "Do I gotta beat it out of you?!"

"No! Ugh… fine! But… it's… it's really just… actually it's stupid…"

Oh please, if he had to put up with anymore of this he'd have to blow something up. He liked this girl, but seriously she needed to get over this. It was not even occurring to him that maybe she didn't want to talk to someone she technically barely knew and did not have a very friendly rapport with to begin with. That was mostly his fault. "Well that's no fucking surprise."

He heard her huff, fuck it was cute when she was angry. "Fine! You wanna know? It… the fortune teller. It's her fault! She told me you were my soulmate, and… and it can't be true right? I mean sure we can fight together, but a relationship between us just wouldn't work! Except she put it in my head and now… now I just can't stop thinking about it… And it's dumb… it's really dumb that I let this get to me!"

She had said it so fast he almost didn't hear it all. He'd definitely caught the important bits though. If she could see his face, which he doubted she could, she'd be able to see the shock written all over his features.

The fortune teller had told Uraraka he was her soulmate. That threw a wrench in his whole fucking idea that she was just guessing people's crushes. No way had Uraraka had a crush on him all along. Unless she didn't even know about it. She seemed like the type to be in denial. Still, he seriously doubted Uraraka had a crush on him before.

Especially considering she basically took a knife and stabbed him in the heart with the words, "... but a relationship between us just wouldn't work!" Fuck that shit hurt worse than a blow to the head. He should know. He swallowed the lump in his throat. God dammit he hated this stupid fucking piece of shit bullshit situation he was in. She hated the idea of being with him so much that it had her acting like a fucking mess. He knew there was no way they'd ever get together, but did she have to say it out loud herself? Katsuki wanted to rip his own heart from his chest to make it stop aching.

"So?" He spoke through gritted teeth.

"S-so? What do you mean. 'So'?" She just stared at him.

Stop looking at me with those doe eyes when you're taking my heart and putting it through the shredder! He screamed in his head. He stepped closer so that she could see him in the moonlight, sliding his hands into his pockets to try and look like he wasn't falling apart. "Why the fuck should it matter what that phony said? I told all of you who went you were idiots for believing any of that shit. Besides, fuck destiny and fuck fate. You're the only one who chooses your future. Just like nobody is telling me- or you, that you can't be a hero. Because you can bet their fucking asses I'm going to be at the top of all the damn best heroes in the world. That scam artist fortune teller ain't telling you who your soulmate is, because that's for you to decide."

He was mostly saying it to himself than her.

He'd need to borrow Kirishima's punching bag.

And tape his own face to it.

"Now get your shit together, Uraraka, or I'll have to knock some sense into that pee-brain of yours." He groaned, turning his back to her. "And go to bed. It's the middle of the fucking night."

"R-right- um… thanks? Good night, Bakugo."

"Fuck off." He hoped his voice hadn't wavered just then. He was not going to cry over this shit. It was just a fucking crush. Now that she'd rejected him, he could get over it. That's how this shit worked right? He wasn't a fucking baby like Deku. He could hold himself together.

Despite this, his stomach was twisting all the way back to his dorms. He wanted to vomit. How could a girl, especially Uraraka, make him feel like this. Was it really her fault though? It was his fault for letting his guard down. He let her in by simply accepting her as someone who wasn't weak, who wasn't just a bystander in his story.

It was almost hilarious that he'd nearly invested just as much into what that fortune teller had to say as she had. Actually, he was still doing it. He was emotionally crushed, but his hope clung to one tiny thing.

The fortune teller couldn't have been a fake, because he'd seen how Uraraka had been looking at Deku there in that waiting room. Anyone with eyes and a brain cell could have picked up on her crush on Deku, including the fortune teller. So why on earth would she pick Katsuki for Uraraka's soulmate? It was possible she just wanted to fuck around and mess with Uraraka's head because she'd seen that Katsuki had a crush on her, which if that was the case she was successful.

So, as much as he was telling himself it was done, the last smidgen of a chance he might've thought he had was squished like a bug under a bus tire, he clung to the idea that maybe the fortune teller wasn't a fake. Which would mean, Uraraka was his soulmate. The idea made him so happy it broke his heart just a little bit more.

"... but a relationship between us just wouldn't work!"

Dammit. Why couldn't he just take his own advice.

A/N: I know this part was a lot of repeating what happened in the first half, but I thought that it would leave more impact if we had King Explosion Murder's thoughts on everything that transpired. I made sure to include some new tidbits too just because I didn't want you guys to feel cheated with my repeating everything. Good news is, I've already started work on a multi chapter sequel to this. So don't lose hope yet for our OTP. It might be a while, because I want to at least get a couple chapters done before I share it with you all, but the outline is done. That's right. I know what happens already. Does that scare you? It should.

Anyways, thank you for reading, and remember that reviews and feedback are always appreciated! I hope you enjoyed Fate Wrapped Around Our Little Fingers!