Aizawa ran a hand through his disheveled hair. "Oh, about that expulsion thing—it was a lie."

"EHHHH?!!!"

Your class let out a series of squeals and other garbled noises at your teacher's reveal. Uraraka had pressed her palms up against her rosy cheeks; Izuku was practically on the verge of passing out. And just as well, too—if it had been for real, he would have been expelled for placing last.

You couldn't quite wrap your head around why he got injured so severely after using his Quirk, but you figured that everyone had their own share of troubles. And speaking of troubles, you still hadn't recovered from your earlier realization. Bakugou was off in his own world right now, having been restrained by Aizawa shortly after his attempted assault on Izuku, but the words he'd spoken were still ringing through your mind.

"Get in my way, and I'll fucking kill you."

The writing etched into your skin from birth had been throbbing ever since he'd uttered his first sentence to you. It was a hot, searing pain; the likes of which made your flesh sting and feel as though you'd been pricked by a thousand needles. And honestly, you could deal with the pain. Something like that, you could handle. What you couldn't handle was knowing that the person you were destined to spend your life with was someone who couldn't have been farther from what you wanted.

"[Name]-chan, you okay?" Uraraka prodded, having picked up on your gloominess. "You've been pretty quiet for the last while..."

"Oh." You straightened up in a hurry, forcing a smile. "I'm fine. Don't worry, Uraraka-chan. This whole apprehension test just took me by surprise, so I'm feeling a little more worn out than I expected."

She interlinked her arm with your own, grinning up to her ears. "In that case, I guess it's time to get changed and head on home for a nice rest!"

"Yeah. You're right."

Uraraka led you along in the direction of the changerooms, but you couldn't help spare one last glance towards the ash blonde. He was standing in place, much like before, as stiff as a statue and with eyes wide as saucers.

You didn't think it was possible, but his expression bore even more malice than before.

—

"Ugh...that was a long day," you muttered, finally having changed back into your uniform. You were dragging your feet listlessly through the halls, but still needed to stop by your locker to pick up the last of your belongings. Uraraka had gone ahead with Iida and Izuku, but they'd promised to wait for you outside.

You groaned.

I can't wait to take a bath. I still feel so sweaty from earlier.

Begrudgingly moving along, you opened up your locker and began rummaging through it for the books you'd left behind earlier. You fiddled with the zipper of your bag, opening it up and dumping the extra contents in one swift, fluid motion.

You were about to leave when you heard an abrupt slam.

"Eek!"

It had been so loud and startling that you'd inadvertently let out a small squeal. When you tilted your head back to look at the source, you found a pair of narrowed, crimson orbs staring straight into your own. You stiffened almost immediately, watching as Bakugou sorted out the last of his stuff and prepared to be on his way. Unfortunately, he must've noticed that you were looking back at him through widened eyes, and scowled.

"The fuck do you want?" he spat. "You gonna keep staring at me?"

Your lips were halfway parted before you clamped them shut, remembering exactly how the markings worked.

If I talk now...he'll know that I'm his soulmate. If at all possible, I want to avoid having a conversation with him. Besides, isn't there a chance that this could all be wrong? Maybe he's NOT my soulmate; maybe these things are just wrong sometimes. Right...?

You realized that you were more so trying to convince yourself, but you honestly just couldn't imagine falling for a person like him. He embodied pretty much everything you didn't want in a partner—rude, violent, brash, unpredictable. And....resentful.

Maybe, just maybe, a bit of time would do you good. So that you could fully wrap your head around the situation.

Which is why, with great effort on your part, you held your tongue and instead flashed Bakugou a shaky smile. He was silent for a little while, but you realized that your smile wasn't very much effective, since his glare only deepened.

"I believe I asked you what the fuck your problem was," Bakugou growled, slowly inching his way closer to you. "Are you trying to fuck with me? That what this is?!"

He was now mere inches in front of you, forcing you back against the lockers. From up close, his features were much more striking, and you could clearly see each and every crease in his brow; every tremble of his lips as he clenched his jaw. You realized—with great dissatisfaction—that he was actually very handsome, but his expression alone was enough to make you quiver in fear.

You barely dared to breathe, worried that a wrong exhale would all but make him pound you into dust. Just earlier, he'd tried to assault Izuku, so who was to say that he wouldn't do the same to you?

Bakugou continued to eye you down, and all you could do was urge your expression to remain as placid and unreadable as possible. Your smile had long since wavered.

"...Tch. What a waste of fucking time." With a scoff, Bakugou pulled away from you and flung his bag over his shoulder. You watched as he walked away, muttering under his breath what a "shitty day" he'd had.

The second he was gone, your knees buckled underneath you.

"S-shit..." you cursed out. "That was close..."

It might've been stupid to keep denying reality, but as things were right now, you wanted nothing to do with Bakugou. Even now, you were trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, but those blood-red eyes were so completely and utterly devoid of any compassion—they held only bitterness and anger. There was a lot you could tell about someone just based off their eyes alone, and you may not have had all the answers, but a picture was slowly coming together.

This just wasn't what you wanted.

—

[The following day]:

Despite your first day having been such a wild ride, the second was...oddly lackluster.

For lack of a better word, it was just incredibly dull. You realized that you'd be receiving lessons in academics like the other high school students, but you might've been hoping for something a bit more exciting than Present Mic yelling about English.

"Well, I guess that's just to be expected," you mumbled. "The majority of our Heroics training will be done in the afternoon, after all."

The morning classes went by rather slowly, so you were relieved when it was time for lunch. Uraraka waved you over to come take a seat alongside her, Izuku, and Iida. You smiled to yourself, realizing that you'd already managed to form a close-knit group of friends.

"It's the cooking hero, Lunch Rush!" Izuku cried out, barely about to contain his glee. "Woww...!!" He was generally the shy type, but you noticed that he always seemed to get excited whenever pro heroes were involved. A fanboy, perhaps?

"White rice ish so yummy!" Uraraka enthused, spooning another mouthful between her lips. "The cafeteria food here's pretty good, right, [Name]-chan?"

"...Huh? Oh." You nodded hastily. "Y-yeah. It's delicious."

You were trying your hardest not to stare, but you just couldn't help stealing a few glances at the ash blonde seated a little distance away. He was eating alone; most likely because everyone was too intimidated by him to even bother getting close, and his brows were just as furrowed as always.

I wonder why he's always so angry.

Uraraka flashed you a worried look. "[Name]-chan, you good?"

"Uh...yeah. I'm fine."

Forcing your best smile, you did your best to focus on your food for the rest of the lunch period. Before long, it was time for the main event—Heroics Training.

"I HAVE COME...through the door like a normal person...!!"

Your eyes lit up almost immediately as they fell onto the robust frame hovering by the doorway. That signature smile was one that everyone knew, and you still couldn't get over the fact that All Might was actually going to be one of your teachers.

Off to the side, Izuku was practically jumping in his seat, grinning ear-to-ear as he gazed up at the tall blonde. You stifled a laugh.

Yep. Definitely a fanboy.

All Might cleared his throat, still smiling widely. "Now, then! For today, let's jump right in with this—!" He outstretched a placard for the entire class to see. "The trial of battle!"

The students began cheering out in excitement, and All Might proceeded to state that you'd also be using the costumes you sent in to match with your Quirks. The wall opened up to reveal small compartments—each of them storing the corresponding gear for every student. You lined up behind everyone else, feeling a swell of excitement in your chest.

Before long, you'd all run off to get changed and headed to meet back at Grounds Beta, where your very first hero training session would be held.

"Ah! [Name]-chan, you look super pretty in your costume!" Uraraka chimed out, clasping her hands together. You took a second to scan your eyes down her own costume, smiling in response.

"Thanks. But I think your costume is really cute, too."

She chuckled bashfully. "Well, I wasn't very detailed with my description...so it turned out a bit puffy, aha."

"That's not true. I think it looks great." You cocked your head to the side, smiling coyly off to the side. "Don't you think so, Izuku-kun?"

Surely enough, Izuku was standing a little distance off wearing a green-hued jumper. He'd also had a mask fashioned to resemble All Might, which pretty much solidified your theory that he was a huge fanboy. It was a simple, pragmatic design, but it was cute. And you could still see him blushing from behind his mask.

"E-eh?!" he jolted, eyes flickering every which way as he looked both you and Uraraka over. "Y-you guys look nice—I mean, your costumes look nice!! Uhh...I mean..."

Every second he just seemed to become more of a flustered, blushing mess, and you couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.

He really is cute.

You stuck close to your friends' sides, but you spotted Bakugou a little distance away. Immediately, you cursed yourself for always seeking him out—whether it was involuntary or not. Ever since you'd discovered that he was your soulmate, it had become nearly impossible to keep from looking at him, even though you desperately wanted to. Worst of all was when he caught you staring at him.

Just like now.

You'd been gazing at him almost in a trance, unable to help the small blush that rose to your cheeks when you saw him in his costume. Save for the gauntlets around his hands, much of his forearms were exposed; revealing the toned musculature of his biceps. You'd never seen him out of uniform before, but he really was attractive.

He was also glaring back at you with a passion.

You hastily averted your gaze, realizing too late that it would probably just arouse even more suspicion. All you could do was clench your fists and mentally chant to yourself that you would do your very best to avoid looking in his direction again. All Might had begun explaining that you would be pitted against each other in a two-on-two team battle—one team would be acting as the "heroes" for the exercise; the others would be serving as the "villains".

"Alright, then!" All Might bellowed, holding out a large box. "Your teams will be chosen by lottery! Come up here and draw your fates, young ones!"

If at all possible, you would've liked to be paired up with Uraraka, but you knew that you couldn't afford to be picky. Honestly, anything—literally anything was better than being paired up with Bakugou.

You dug your hand into the box, biting down on your lip to quell your nerves. When you withdrew your hand, you were staring back at a paper with the letter 'A' messily scrawled across.

"Team A..." you mumbled out.

"Oh, you're team A, too?" To your great relief, Izuku's voice was the one who had spoken out. He peered over your shoulder, smiling crookedly. "L-looks like we're paired up together, [Name]-chan."

You let out a weary sigh. "Oh, thank god. I'm so glad I'm paired up with you, Izuku-kun."

"E-eh?! Really...??"

"Yeah, really," you smiled. "Seriously, I'm so relieved. Is it okay if I hug you right now?"

"EHHH?!!"

The boy had basically begun hyperventilating at your words, cheeks flushing a bright red. Uraraka had been paired up with some pink-haired girl, and they seemed to be getting along fairly well. You didn't have time to relax, though, since All Might had already dug his hands into two separate boxes.

"The first pair to do battle...will be the following!" All Might withdrew both hands simultaneously, revealing lots A and B. "Pair A will be heroes!" he announced. "And pair D will be the villains!"

You blew out a whistle of surprise. "We're up first, huh? I'm a little nervous, what about you, Izu—ah. A-are you okay??"

Izuku was actually very much not okay, if his trembling frame was anything to go off. He'd broken out into a nervous sweat, and you could see the way his lips were quivering uncontrollably. He was so pale you would've thought he'd seen a ghost.

"T-this is bad..." he choked out. "Team D—that's Kacchan."

"Kacchan? Who's—"

You didn't quite have time to finish your sentence before being abruptly shoved to the side. It didn't take long for your eyes to widen, spying an all-too familiar tuft of blonde hair walking beside Iida. Those gleaming, crimson orbs made sure to glare daggers right into your chest.

Why, why, WHY?

Just as you'd resolved to keep your distance from him, the universe just had to pull the two of you together. You bit down on your bottom lip, inadvertently taking a step back and away from Bakugou.

This really wasn't what you wanted.