[Katsuki's POV]:

"Eh? Katsuki, you've got a soulmate mark? Seriously?"

The blonde gruffed, tempted to roll his eyes in annoyance. He usually did his best to cover it, but sometimes other guys would catch a peek of it in the changerooms. Why dudes bothered to glance in his direction he couldn't understand—those fuckin' pervs should just mind their own business and keep their eyes to themselves. Either way, he'd become accustomed to the bewildered looks and cries of surprise once others spotted his mark. And there wasn't much he could say about it, besides the fact that it was annoying as fuck.

"What's it to you?" he snarled, slipping on his gym uniform. "Worry about your own shitty self."

Katsuki was aware of the fact that he didn't have many friends; or any, really. Sure, he had those same lackeys that had followed him around ever since he was a kid, but he hadn't really considered them friends. They were add-ons, plain and simple, and he noticed the way people would shrink away from him all throughout middle school; out of fear, most likely. Good. Katsuki preferred it that way—he had an image to uphold, and the fact that others cowered from him was just proof that they knew his strength. He was intimidating; a force to be reckoned with, and the tattoo on his hip was anything but.

"I think you would look so much better with a smile."

For as long as he could remember, those were the words ingrained onto his skin. It drove him crazy, knowing that people would read that sentence and get all starry-eyed and breathless. They were surprised. Of course they were. The most head-strong, confident, and menacing guy in the school had a damn soulmate bond like that—one that painted a picture of someone who was weak, and who could be undermined with those simple words. What the fuck did it even mean, anyways? A smile, for fuck's sake. What did it matter if he fucking smiled or not? Who were they to tell him what he should do?

Katsuki didn't like one bit. No, more than that; he fucking hated the mark he'd been born with. His parents had been so excited when they'd first spoken to him about it, commenting how kind and wonderful of a person his soulmate must be. Yeah, right. Their first words to him were basically a critique; a condescending suggestion on how he should and shouldn't act. It made him feel weak. It made him feel vulnerable.

This whole "soulmate" thing was utter bullshit, that much he was sure of.

—

It was the day of the Sports Festival, and Katsuki had been having nostalgia, of all things.

He was sitting on one of the chairs in the waiting room with his feet propped up; his entire class was cluttered close by and either jumping in their seats or squirming restlessly. Damn assholes were nervous, like the pansies they were.

Pathetic, Katsuki thought. It's not like they stand a chance either way.

As obvious as it probably was to most people, Katsuki wasn't the type to get worked up or stressed out over anything. Sure, people could easily piss him the fuck off, because everyone was moronic, but there wasn't anything that made him feel scared. A feeling of weakness like that was unnecessary, and even on the off-chance that he was nervous, he sure as hell wasn't going to let it show. That's why Katsuki was content just to sit back and relax until the signal to enter the stadium went off, but his thoughts had been royally pissing him off.

He'd been annoyed with his tattoo all his life, but it wasn't like him to have flashbacks of his middle school days. Maybe it was because he was sitting around with nothing to do, or maybe it was because he spied you across the room, talking to that shitty nerd and that chick with the round face while you fiddled with the hem of your track jacket. Maybe it was the fact that he'd been staring at you for longer than he would like to admit.

Katsuki frowned, wanting to kick himself for being so damn stupid. The Sports Festival was about to begin, for fuck's sake, and he couldn't find it in him to look away. His crimson orbs raked down your figure over and over again—by this point, he'd long since committed your appearance to memory, but he was determined to pick up on more; he wanted to notice things that others couldn't possibly pick up on, no matter how hard they tried. Already, he'd realized that you had a semi-permanent smile plastered across your lips at pretty much any occasion. It was relatively small and composed at first, but it would brighten if someone said anything particularly amusing, or if you sensed that someone wasn't feeling well and you wanted to reassure them that everything was okay. Your (e/c) orbs were always soft and gentle, in a way that Katsuki just couldn't seem to understand. You spent most of your time talking to a bunch of extras, and yet they still seemed so serene and at peace; truly, they bore none of the frustration and annoyance that he himself would get whenever people got on his nerves. From what he'd seen, you almost never got angry—or if you did, you were damn good at hiding it.

You were so different than he was; hell, you'd even said so yourself. Katsuki understood that he wasn't pleasant or inviting, mostly because he had zero tolerance for annoying assholes, but for some reason, it had still pissed him off when you'd hid the fact that you were his soulmate. Granted, a lot of things pissed him off, but he'd felt strangely....hurt? Wait, no, that wasn't possible. Maybe he was just extremely pissed off. Yeah, that made more sense. Because even though he thought the whole soulmate thing was a load of shit, it was downright maddening to think that someone would try to reject him. You were looking down on him. You had to have been.

At least, that was what he'd thought.

The reality was that no matter how hard he tried to convince himself that you were undermining him and thinking that you were better, he just couldn't see that in you. After all, here you were, practically shaking in your boots because you were so damn nervous. You carried yourself with poise and elegance, but he'd come to the realization that you actually considered yourself to be weak. You had little confidence in your abilities, and whenever you would use your Quirk in battle, your smile wavered and you looked unsure of yourself. The only time you seemed genuinely confident and at ease was when you were healing others. To this day, Katsuki still hadn't forgotten how you'd touched that red-haired bastard, and for some reason, it pissed him the hell off. But your smile was back then, and you seemed as if you were actually happy to be able to help others. It had been the same when you'd used it on him after USJ. He still remembered the warmth of your touch, and the way your fingers had—

...Wait. What the fuck am I even thinking?

Katsuki gritted his teeth, unaware of the fact that his cheeks had slowly reddened. He was still staring at you from afar, and he couldn't seem to make sense of the tight sensation in his chest. It felt like he was choking; as if something was gripping down onto his heart. He'd never felt this way before, and quite frankly, it made him want to punch someone in the face. It was a good thing the Sports Festival was about to begin, because he was just about ready to bash some heads in.

His fingers drummed the tabletop, but they paused once he heard the sound of your laugh. It was faint and contained, but an inexplicably pleasant sound. Katsuki realized by the way you were smiling that you'd laughed at something Deku had said, of all people. This just pissed him off even more. Seriously, was the universe just determined to sour his mood today?

He was churning in place—the spiky redhead tried to say something to him, but he didn't quite catch it since he was so immersed in his stare. Katsuki wondered how you hadn't noticed that he'd been looking at you for what felt like an eternity. You were so oblivious it was actually laughable. And you were still...smiling. At someone other than him.

Why did that make him so damn angry?

Katsuki could only let out a grunt of relief once the signal to enter the stadium could be heard overhead. Finally, he could focus on something that made sense to him—kicking people's asses. He stood up from the table, sparing one final glance in your direction, and shoved both hands into his pockets as he headed for the doorway.

"Ah...Katsuki-kun?"

He stopped in his tracks. Even with his back turned, he knew full well that you were the one speaking to him. Katsuki glanced over his shoulder, brows furrowed and eyes narrowed. You were smiling again, but it wasn't as bright as when you'd been with your friends. He clenched his fists.

"I know you don't really need someone to wish you luck," you chuckled, "But I still felt like I should say it nonetheless. Let's both do our best out there, alright? I'll be rooting for you."

You were looking up at him with those soft, unwavering eyes of yours. Katsuki felt his breath hitch in his throat, and the tightness in his chest returned. Then he remembered the way you'd been laughing so carelessly in front of Deku, and he glared.

"Piss off, you annoying bitch."

It didn't take long for your expression to sink, and it only made the pain in his chest worse. Truly, Katsuki didn't know why the hell he'd said that. You were just trying to be nice to him, the same way you were nice to pretty much everyone, but knowing that you showed others expressions that you didn't show him just made his blood boil. Maybe he was wrong, and in some way, you were still looking down on him. It felt like he was just making excuses to himself and looking for reasons to get pissed off, honestly, but whenever you were concerned, he found himself getting angrier than usual. What the fuck was happening to him?

"...Okay, then," you mumbled, slumping your shoulders. "Sorry for bothering you."

Katsuki watched as you strode past him and headed for the stadium. You looked so dejected he would've thought that you'd just been to a funeral. Seriously, it was just a few fucking words, so what the hell were you getting so bummed out over? Why was he the only person that you ever looked so sad around?

"Shit," Katsuki cursed, bringing a palm up against his forehead. He didn't even care if others could hear him. "Shit, shit, SHIT!"

Why the hell did I say that? Why the fuck can't I just say 'hey' or 'thanks' like a normal fucking person? Why does seeing her look so sad make me wanna rip my fucking heart out??

The rest of the class had already made their way through the door, leaving him to stand alone in the room engulfed in a tumult of emotions. It was the Sports Festival—the single most important event that he'd take part of this year, and he'd just been rendered absolutely powerless just by seeing the dejected look on your face. He wished he could take it all back. He wished he could go back and wrap you in a hug and smile, just like you wanted him to.

He honestly wished those things could come naturally to him, but they just didn't. It was funny, actually. You thought of yourself as weak and had little to no confidence, and yet he was the one who couldn't muster up the courage to face you the way he wanted.

Katsuki realized for the first time that the two of you really were different, in ways that he hadn't even imagined.