Chapter Text
Time and time again, bruise after bruise, hits and kicks repeat. Pain followed by pain followed by pain…
It hurt, honestly.
It wasn’t just the pain from the bruises and being hit repeatedly that made him hurt. No. It was the fact that his so called soulmate and childhood friend was just watching as two of his teammates bullied him. He didn’t even know what he did to piss them off again this time. Oh, right. Nothing. He did nothing. Well, besides the fact that he exists, he did nothing. Just like all the other times.
~~~
Izuku just wanted to change into his gym uniform for his fifth period and head back in the gymnasium. That’s all he wanted to do. But no. In the locker room with him were two students on the basketball team, Neito Monoma and Sen Kaibara. They knew he would be the last one to change and come out, which is why they went over to him and began their attack.
They pushed him against the lockers, cornering him. “Ha, look at this pussy! So weak and good for nothing,” Monoma mocked as he held Izuku by the shirt, smirking at him.
Sen followed up by putting his hand in Izuku’s hair and yanking it, slamming his head against the locker. “He could be good for a quick fuck,” Sen suggested.
At that, Izuku’s eyes widened. He didn’t want that. To be taken against his will, and even more so by his bullies. Gritting his teeth, Izuku kicked Monoma between hit legs, efficiently getting loose and shocking Sen. Not wasting any time, he quickly made a run for the door, trying to make it out before they caught him.
Of course, he wasn’t as fortunate because Sen recovered from his shock and ran after him, grabbing his arm and yanking him back. Izuku knew he was gonna suffer from a beating worse than usual for his stunt.
~~~
If he was being honest, which he is, Izuku would say he felt sorry for whomever his bullies’ soulmates are. But then again, he’s in no position to feel sorry for them when his own soulmate won’t even love nor acknowledge him. Hell he doesn’t even know if Bakugou still likes him as a friend. ‘Of course he doesn’t.’
As he lay on the floor of the locker room, all beaten and bruised, Izuku couldn’t help but think about the past. It’s been ten years since Bakugou had gotten his soulmark. It was a teal grey waterfall placed on the side of his waist with a single raindrop falling from the sky into the river. At the time, Izuku didn’t know they were soulmates, seeing as though his soulmark hadn’t appeared yet. He was happy for him, truly. But, he couldn’t help but feel a tinge of jealousy. He did have a crush on him at the time. He still does.
When they turned ten, however, Izuku’s soulmark had appeared. And to his sad relief, it was the same as Bakugou’s. Except, instead of being a glistening teal grey, his was completely dull. Before Izuku had received his soulmark, three years after Bakugou’s soulmark appeared, Bakugou’s behavior towards him changed. He would start getting rougher when they play wrestled, he would start calling Izuku harsh names, and even called him a good for nothing because he didn’t have a soulmark. Izuku didn’t let it get to him at first. It was Bakugou. He was always a little rough and harsh with his words. But when Izuku saw that his soulmark appeared and saw that it was the same as his childhood friend’s, all those insults began to hurt. Terribly so. He’s tried to tell him. He really did. But, every time Izuku tried to talk to him and show him his soulmark, he would either get cut off, shoved, or just ignored. So he gave up. Came to the realisation that his soulmate didn’t want him. His soulmark changed. Instead of one raindrop, it became many. Silently falling into the river below as it flowed down the waterfall.
~~~
Izuku managed to pull himself together and change out of his gym clothes. He didn’t bother going to his gym class. It wasn’t like he could participate in activities with all his bruises and pain. ‘At least they didn’t hurt my face… It’d be hard explaining that to Mom.’
Walking down the hallway, he spotted his group of friends waiting by the cafeteria door. Ochaco, Shinsou, Todoroki, Iida, and Tsuyu were chatting away while he walked over to them. If they all noticed him limping when he walked, they said nothing. They already had a solid guess of what happened, and it made them furious.
After he greeted them, they made their way inside to eat lunch. Well, Izuku didn't eat lunch. He didn't have any lunch money with him today and he didn't have time to make his lunch this morning. As he watched Ochaco, Tsuyu, and Shinsou get in line, he made his way to an empty table, Shoto and Iida following close behind.
There was a tap on his shoulder a minute later. Turning his head to his left, he saw Shoto holding out a sandwich towards him. “Here. I made two because I knew you'd forget to make your lunch again.”
“You, my friend, are a lifesaver. I didn't get to eat dinner last night so I'm starving!” Izuku smiled at him before he took the sandwich, moaning in delight when he bit into it. “You just earned a free slice of any cake you want at the coffee shop.”
At that Shoto smiled. “Fuck yes.”
“If that's all it takes to get free food from your job, then I can give you lunch too. I could use the extra coffee.” Shinsou joked as he took a sit across from Izuku.
“I want free cakes too! I demand so as your best friend!” Ochaco piped up too when she took a sit next to Iida with Tsuyu beside her.
Izuku sighed when he finished eating. “First off, no can do, Toshi. Your cooking sucks. Secondly, don't be such a glutton, Ochaco, I can't give away too much free stuff. It comes out of my paycheck y'know.”
Ochaco faux a hurt expression before digging into her food. Tsuyu shook her head at her before eating her own. Iida began scolding her for eating too fast. Telling her to slow down.
What Izuku didn't notice, however, were the pair of red eyes on him.
~~~
Going to his locker to get his notebook for Ecology, Izuku was shoved against the lockers, which made a harsh wince escape him because of the pressure being put on his bruises from earlier that day. “The fuck outta the way, Deku!” Their eyes locked only for a moment as Bakugou stormed past him, and as he did so, Izuku felt like he was being stared into his soul. And it burned.
Sen and Monoma were right behind him, turning to Izuku and glaring at him before getting to their class.
He could feel the hate rubbing right off of them. He doesn't know if it's from them believing he doesn't have a soulmark, or because he just disgusts them. All he knows is that they hate him. And what hurt the most is that his soulmate seems to hate him.
Trying to shake off the remaining feeling of those red eyes staring into him, Izuku gets his notebook and heads off to his sixth class.
~~~
The classroom was dimly lit as Izuku walked in. He saw that almost all the desks were taken. Since there were no assigned seats, he sat in the back by the window.
Izuku just had one more class before he could leave. Just one more. And it was one he dreaded every single day. Art. Don't get him wrong! He liked art. It was just Sen took that class too and would almost always fuck with him, and he couldn't help but feel like something bad was going to happen to him after school.
‘I'll be fine. Nothing bad is gonna happen… Nothing except what usually happens.’
As much as he tried to shake that feeling away and assure himself, he couldn't help but still feel anxious.
‘ I'm going to be fine.’
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He was wrong...