Soul Marked
Chapter Forty-Two
I'm back again! This chapter is brough to you by the muse gods once again bestowing their light upon me. I'm currently almost finished with the next chapter and with how things are looking it'll be done soon so I decided to go ahead and update this.
QUICK ANNUOUNCEMENT
I plan on ending Soul Marked in the next couple of chapters. Now I'm not going to be ending it permanently, but I've decided to start the next part separately. It starts the next part of Izuka's life where things start to majorly change for her and I wanted to celebrate that by portraying it with the brand-new title: SOUL BOUND.
It will follow Izuka from where we leave off here, to the Overhaul Arc, Sports Festival, Meta Liberation, to the War arc and beyond. This story will be given a proper ending and I even have a sequel set though that will probably be written in the form of one-shots rather than actual chapters, but we shall see. I haven't set anything in stone yet with the sequel.
Anway! Please enjoy this new chapter.
Also, to everyone that recently reviewed you guys are amazing. You really helped inspire me to kick my butt into gear and write. It's nice to have a reminder that there are still those who are waiting patiently for me to update. And for all of those silent readers you guys are just as amazing! Thank you all so much for supporting me.
Intentions
In the end, Izuka found herself alone in her dorm room, after Toshi had asked to see the two of them after their punishment, which had ended up being only two days. Aizawa-sensei had seemed disappointed in them, but when it came out that they had been dealing with Soulmate issues his hands had been tied, and they only got in trouble over choosing an irresponsible destination. They had been given a warning that in the future they were expected to come to Aizawa for a private place to talk things over.
Izuka hadn't realized how many rules and regulations were set in place to protect the privacy of Soulmates at UA. It made her think about how easily Aikawa had agreed to keep her bond with Shigaraki a secret.
Falling back into her bed she let out a quiet sigh, rubbing her cheeks, as her eyes still felt scratchy from all the crying.
Katsuki had told her he loved her.
She felt her chest squeeze as if something had constricted her heart, but instead of panicking, she felt a burst of excitement bubble up.
He loved her.
Those walls that kept cropping up between them had all been burnt down and Izuka felt as if she was floating with the knowledge that finally, finally, their relationship was moving forward.
Not only that but something had healed within her mind with Toshi tonight. She hadn't felt the insane need to fall apart, or the fear that gripped at her heart, and curdled her stomach. She had hugged him, allowing her emotions to fall out, and she had let out her greatest wish, and he hadn't corrected her. Izuka was still uncertain if he had only kept quiet because this had been the first time they had talked in weeks, but she liked to believe it was because he felt the same way and that hopefully when their relationship began to go back to normal, she'd get her answer.
She wanted her family back.
All of them.
It would be a struggle, and her heart was still battling a war, but she wanted to live happily ever after with everyone.
Rolling over she glanced over toward her clock where the neon lights stated that it was now in the early hours of the morning, and she wasn't sure if sleep would be possible. Her mind felt alight with the euphoria of emotions, all good, and not a single one of them being bad. Izuka simply wanted to bask in it. How long had it been since she had truly felt this way?
Her gaze drifted toward the knob of the drawer where she had stashed the strange phone and without hesitating, because why not settle the mystery now, momentarily forgetting that normal people slept at this hour, Izuka reached over and tugged the phone out of its hiding place. She booted it up, noticing the generic background, the way it held no personality, and how there was only one number in it. It bared no name, no identity, leaving her uncertain of who would answer on the other end, but she was determined, and if they hadn't wanted to be woken up in the middle of the night, then maybe the girl shouldn't have snuck it into her pocket during their strange fight.
If anything, Izuka was certain that she wouldn't feel guilty about waking her up. Not after the awkwardness she had been dragged through during the exam.
Her finger hovered over the call button. Momentarily she wondered if she should be calling at all. Far too many strange, and dangerous things had been happening to her lately, and this could just be another trap. That tugged hesitantly at her, forcing her to think this through, but something else pushed her into doing it. It was insistent and demanding, and with a shaky breath, Izuka pressed call.
The line rang.
Izuka barely had the thought of maybe the girl would ignore it, make her wait until a decent time during the day before calling back when suddenly the ringing tone disappeared, and she realized that somebody had answered. Her breath hitched as she heard a voice that wasn't female.
"Which one of you assholes took the phone?"
This was NOT the girl she had gone up against in the exam.
It was tired, scratchy, irritated, and far too familiar sounding.
Izuka froze, words stuck in her throat, as she listened to the way he cursed whomever he thought was on the other end of the phone.
"None of these are meant to be just taken. We've gone over this." He sounded exasperated, thoroughly done with the members of his group that he, unfortunately, had the displeasure of being the leader of in times like this.
She was breathing a little harder now, stuck between answering, or hanging up, as she wondered why she had been given a phone that only had his number in it, and why he didn't realize who she was automatically. Had he not been a part of this plan? Had that girl done it without his knowledge?
Her silence hadn't gone unnoticed, and Shigaraki had clearly picked up on it, his voice going from annoyed to suspicious, as a darker tone took over.
"Who is this? How did you get this phone?"
His tone had her jumping to answer, an automatic gut reaction to keep him from thinking she was someone with malicious intents, as her head swam in confusion, because what were her intents now that she knew who was on the other side?
"I'm sorry!" The words tumbled from her mouth without much thought for them. Her voice caused silence to flare up on his end. "Shigaraki?" Cause this was Shigaraki. She had recognized his voice the moment he had answered. Something within their bond flared up, an emotion from his side that was silenced as quickly as she had felt it. Far too quick to properly analyze it. "I-I seem to have taken your phone."
She wasn't sure why she was still talking. Why hadn't she hung up?
A part of her didn't want to. It wanted to see how this would play out. That part wanted to see why the fates had decided to tie them together. She couldn't just cast this man aside without finding out the answers.
From the other end of the phone, she could hear frenzied whispers. He wasn't alone. Izuka thought she recognized the feminine voice, and knew, now that Magne had died, Toga was the only female left in the group. And she was the only one who could have given her the phone. Izuka should have suspected that.
"I see." His voice, no longer muffled, whispered into her ear, sounding almost as if he was at a loss for what to do, or say. It made her feel slightly better, the last time they were near one another she had been entirely at his mercy, constantly playing catch up, and here she had the chance to be the driving force moving their interaction along. He had been caught off guard.
He seemed to be struggling. Izuka wondered if he felt as she did, conflicted, and wondering what to do to move forward.
The last time she had seen him Izuka remembered the struggle that had gone on inside her mind. She remembered that sensation of peace that he had brought her. Izuka had seen the look in his eyes when she had shot up into the air, away from everyone, away from him.
She wasn't ready for him to regain ground and in her desire to keep him on edge, until she could figure out what the hell she was doing, Izuka ended up spitting out the first thing that came to mind.
"I'm sorry about what happened to Magne."
There was a flood of embarrassment as she realized she had basically just admitted being inside his mind when that happened, but she did feel sorry, knowing how it had affected him, to see that happen. She was certain he wouldn't admit it, but Izuka had felt what he had been feeling at that moment, and their relationship had gone deeper than just a group he ruled over. Shigaraki thought of them as his family. It had been surprising to connect that with him. Shigaraki cared for a group of people to the point that he would feel hurt over their disappearance.
When he didn't answer Izuka grew worried, he had maybe hung up, that she had been the one to push too far this time, but she could see that the call was still connected, and if she listened close enough, she could hear him breathing.
"So, you were there."
"In a sense."
Why was she still talking to him? Shouldn't she hand this phone directly over to the police? The mere thought of doing that caused a part of her to flinch at the idea. The bond frenzied, causing shots of electricity to build under her skin, as it nudged viciously against the idea.
"Why are you talking to me like this?"
That wasn't good. He was trying to regain control over the situation. She didn't know how to answer that. Why was she talking to him? Because of this bond that linked them together. Was that even enough to keep her interested if she truly didn't want to be?
Or was it the fact that something about Shigaraki nagged at her? She hadn't been able to latch onto it while she was back with him, being held against her wishes, as the fear had corrupted all their interactions, but in the past few weeks, she had gone over that time with a fine-toothed comb under Aikawa's care. Izuka had noticed a strangeness in his behavior. How he almost seemed to be two different people within moments of one another.
Even during her most terrifying moments, Izuka had realized there seemed to be almost two of him fighting for dominance, the one that was worried for her, and the other who had a plan, and only that mattered, no matter who she was to him. Those two sides of him had seemed to struggle with one another when it came time for her reconditioning.
But most importantly that strange glint in his eye that would appear right before he moved along with the plan, how his irises would grow hazy, and blank, before blazing back to life.
It bothered her.
She wanted to know more.
Why had he acted like that?
"I'm your soulmate, aren't I?" Her voice didn't crack or waver. He had danced around the topic back when she had last asked, and then his plan had been engaged, and after her mind had been so fucked up, she hadn't been able to focus on thoughts such as that, but right now she could, and would, get answers, or she would hang up. Izuka was tired of not knowing, of being kept in the dark, and not having things out in the open. If Shigaraki were her soulmate she would know now, and she would do what she should have done with Kacchan before the bond could get even more fucked up than it already was.
Her mark was still gone, but Izuka knew that the bonds were still there, and so it made her wonder if it had disappeared due to the fact that it recognized the two separate bonds she had and struggled to broadcast them. Or was it something else, a block of some kind, and Izuka had something she needed to do to fix it? Aikawa hadn't been able to find any information on that subject yet and Izuka had become desperate for answers.
She had surprised him yet again, forcing him into silence, as he struggled to answer.
"Yes."
He didn't try to lie to her. Izuka was certain he never would. He had said something to her back then, about how he spoke what was on his mind, how he didn't see the need to lie. He had always been so frustratingly blunt.
"Your name… I called you Tenko… why?" She wasn't sure what exactly she was asking for, because she knew why she had called him that, could remember that little boy telling her that she would save him, but what had that even been about? Izuka expected him to be just as confused as she was over the situation and didn't expect a real answer, but she craved answers regardless, and if something were by chance handed to her, maybe she would begin to breathe a little easier.
"I don't know why you called me by that name." He spoke softly, hesitantly, as if he were forming the words inside his mind, but still not finding what he needed to say. "You shouldn't know that name. How did you? It had been erased a long time ago."
"It's who you are, right? That was your name. Why do you go by Tomura? Is Shigaraki even your name?"
She heard him groan, the sound pained, as he hissed, and she could almost picture him clutching at his head. Hadn't he done that at one point during her stay with him? What had triggered that? Something she had asked. Izuka was almost certain. The bond between them flickered, pushing the sensation of stabbing needles that caused her to wince. Was that what he was experiencing right now?
"That name doesn't exist anymore. Forget it."
"I don't think I will." Izuka found herself frustrated by the way he immediately shot her down. "It seems important to me. Otherwise, how would I have known about it? Why was it so important to our bond that it showed me it?"
She could hear his heavy breathing, as he struggled with the headache beginning to cloud his mind, as he wondered why he was feeling this way, and over such a simple name. It had been his, but it was hard to think about it, about when he was a child. Those memories were clouded, bringing only pain, and he shied away from the memories that her line of questions was bringing.
"Stop. Please. I don't know. I'm Tomura, it's the name my master gave me, and that's all that matters now."
Izuka didn't like that answer. His voice sounded different. He didn't sound like himself but hated the knowledge that she was obviously causing him pain, she didn't want to do that for anyone, so she backed off.
She would figure this out, but it would have to happen over time, as she was worried if she kept pushing something would happen. It would either be him hanging up on her, but she worried it would be something worse, like the pain flaring even more.
It hadn't been a coincidence. That pain had flared up when she had begun to push. The bond had made that very clear to her. Even now, as she stayed silent, she could feel the struggle happening on the other end of the bond ease.
"I'm sorry."
"You apologize a lot," he muttered, his voice back to normal, almost as if a switch had been flipped.
Izuka filed away that piece of information. Her mind was moving rapidly through the puzzle she had latched onto.
"You don't apologize nearly enough." She hesitated. Then corrected herself. "At all." He had grown angry, she remembered when she had come out of the conditioning worse off than he had wanted, but there had never been any pleas to be forgiven.
Izuka wanted one.
She didn't care that she was taunting and demanding things from a known villain. She wasn't afraid of him. Not anymore. Not with the knowledge she had.
"I have nothing to be sorry about."
He had just lied to her.
They both stiffened at the realization. She had felt the moment he realized it for himself.
"So, you can lie. How very human of you." That may have been a little petty. She regretted it almost immediately.
There was a second of panic that fluttered through the bond, but it was erased, swallowed up, and Izuka was met with a strange feeling that it hadn't ever existed, to begin with. The bond urged her to keep listening, to keep a close eye on what was being shown to her. It was as if it was trying to tell her something, but Izuka lacked key information and struggled to line it up.
"Will you turn this phone in?"
The question was sudden, flinging her away from the bond, as she refocused back on what was being said.
"I don't know." She hesitated to answer because she didn't know. "I doubt they would find it helpful if I did."
"No. They wouldn't. I'd get rid of this number. Just to be safe."
"If you were smart, you'd get rid of it regardless after this conversation."
"If you had been smart you would have hung up as soon as you realized it was me answering."
He had her there.
"I've been known to make choices that aren't good for me." Hadn't she when she continued to chase after Kacchan? That had done nothing but bring on pain, and hurt, for her, but look where that had led her. Those choices had led her to a moment in her life where she had a soulmate bond that wasn't fucked up and a future that looked brighter with the person she had chased after her whole life.
"Will you make another?" She hesitated, sensing the desperation leaking through the bond, a need for her to say yes, and that caused her to stay silent as she waited for him to ask. Izuka already knew what he wanted before the words were even spoken. "Will you meet me?"
She shouldn't.
It was stupid.
Completely against anything, and everything, that was healthy, or good for her, but that didn't stop her from hesitating, the no on the tip of her tongue, but a yes whispering through her thoughts. It was only unhealthy because of their past interactions, and the fact that he was a villain, but it would be far more of a risk to her health by ignoring her soulmate.
They needed to heal, and be fixed, just as much as she had needed it with Kacchan.
Except something needed to change, and Izuka needed to know that she could trust Shigaraki. She needed something from him first.
"I won't come alone."
"Who would you bring?" His voice had twisted, unhappy, but it didn't hold the unwavering stubbornness she was used to. No, he hadn't shut it down immediately, as he was waiting for her answer. He was more desperate than he wanted to let on. She could feel it. He wasn't able to hide from her.
"I won't come alone," she reinforced, deciding that he needed to trust her, to show her that at this moment, one that she needed, Izuka would have the upper hand. He scoffed; she could hear the grumble under his breath before the next moment he relented.
"You'll bring someone with you, but how do I know you won't bring a hero and try to get me caught."
"You'll just have to trust me."
"You would be an idiot not to try to capture me in a moment of weakness."
"It may be a moment of weakness for you, but why would it be any different for me? We're both connected. I don't agree with your convictions, or at least, the way you're going about them. There are other ways to change society and to bring out those goals of yours without bending toward villainous ways. I remember our talk. I'm not naive enough to keep thinking that it would be easy, or that people would rally behind me, but I genuinely want that change. I'm going to make that happen. You'll just have to trust in the fact that I would never do something that would hurt you." She took in a shuddering breath. Izuka forced her nerves back under control.
There was silence for a long while on his end. Izuka could practically hear the way his mind was battling against itself. The decision to agree was waging a war inside of him, and she hoped that their bond would win out.
"I'll trust you."
Izuka felt the way those words weighed heavily on him. He hadn't handed them over lightly to her. She could feel the dread that had built up, the unease, and she was certain he did not live feeling these types of moments often. If at all.
"And I want you to stop killing."
"What?"
"You heard me. I can't accept that. Not at all. Not from someone who's my soulmate. I just can't."
"Do you even know what you're asking?" His voice had risen, bewildered, and surprised. "What if they're trying to kill me? I don't interact with many people who have anything other than malicious intents."
"Then you need to find a different circle to hang around in." Izuka would not back down on this. "There are other forms of action you can take outside of automatically using your quirk to wipe them out. That's not how functioning people react, Shigaraki."
He didn't reply. She was certain she had offended him, but she wouldn't agree to meet him until he gave in to these two things.
"Would you like me to quit being a villain as well? Turn myself in? Reform?" Izuka scoffed at his childish words. The way he had delivered them sounded like a kid who was being scolded and now had begun to pout.
"You should stop being a villain regardless of what I want. It's going to end up getting you killed one day."
Her words were truer than she liked to think about. It was highly likely that Shigaraki could end up dead by some lucky asshole who managed to get in the perfect shot. A spark of unease shot up her spine as she simply ignored that line of thought.
"I won't come otherwise." She would stand firm in this. If he couldn't prove to her that he could change, that there was something in there she could save, that wanted to be saved, because she believed there was, then Izuka would force herself to cut her losses. It was dangerous to be caught up in this as it was. Trying to save Shigaraki, interacting with him like this, could cost her, her dream, but if Izuka was anything it was self-sacrificing.
She wanted to save people.
That's the whole reason she wanted to become a hero.
If she couldn't save her soulmate, then could she truly be a hero?
"I won't kill anyone." His voice sounded like he was struggling like that headache had come back, and she could almost feel it, the ghost-like sensation of it roaring within her head, but he pushed past it, to grit out those words. "I'll keep that promise. For you, little mate."
Izuka pushed the pet name of his out of her mind, not wanting to dwell on it, to be thrown back into the past. It wasn't time for that. Instead, she focused on using the bond to keep an eye on the pain he felt, trying to figure out what the bond was urging her to realize, as she continued to listen to him.
"Meet with me this weekend."
"I can't." She wouldn't have agreed to it being that soon regardless of the trouble she had found herself in. Izuka needed time to think. She needed to talk this over with Kacchan because she wasn't going to go without him, but she also needed to think over whether or not she truly would keep this from the heroes. She didn't want to bring them down on him, not during this meeting, she felt that she needed to find out what was going on with Shigaraki, that it was important. If she were to ever be the reason Shigaraki was taken in its because she had done it personally, and Shigaraki had been the one to turn himself in.
Izuka wasn't an idiot. This soulmate bond was doomed to fail if he continued on this road of being a villain. She couldn't interact with someone who went against everything she believed in, but she couldn't ignore the soulmate bond either, and that put her between a rock and a hard place.
"When then?" She listened as his voice tightened, upset with her rejection, but unwilling to push her into ignoring him completely by demanding it.
"I got in trouble earlier tonight. I'm forced to stay within the confines of my dorm until Monday morning. Next weekend. We can meet then." It was true she had been told to stay in her dorm room, but that hadn't been the only punishment Aizawa-sensei had placed upon them, and when they weren't eating, they would be cleaning the building Class 1-A resided from top to bottom.
It seemed surreal to her as she spoke to Shigaraki about when and where they would be meeting up, willingly. She hadn't thought she would ever be at that point. It made her head swim as their conversation ended and Izuka realized how exhausted she was.
Her mind and body begged her to hang up the phone and go to sleep.
"You may not believe me, or trust me, but I'm going to save you," Izuka said right before she hung up the phone.
What did you guys think about this chapter? I have a lot to reveal to you guys over time, but I'm super excited to do it. Here soon we'll even get to see the change to her hero costume which has been something I've been extremely excited about revealing.
