Chapter Text
Katsuki never felt more alive than when he was on the job. Nothing got his blood going quite like soaring through the air with explosions ringing around him while some dumbfuck criminal failed to get away. Even the colder weather could do nothing to save his current target, some lowlife him and Deku had been tracking for the better part of a week in hopes of finding a small smuggling operation he was connected to.
Somehow, said lowlife had caught on to the fact that he was being tailed and attacked Deku before using his quirk to zigzag between the buildings to escape. While surprised, his fellow hero was obviously uninjured so Katsuki immediately took to the air with his own quirk and began the pursuit. It wouldn’t take long for Deku to be on their tail if he wasn’t already.
The pathetic distance between Katsuki and the criminal was already quickly closing. It seemed his quirk required him to touch down on some sort of surface briefly, putting him at a severe disadvantage in a race against either hero. As he tried to get to the next building, Katsuki was almost within reach when the air felt decidedly wrong .
Before he could begin to discern any possible changes in their surroundings, purple energy crackled in front of him and the villain, causing both of them to be pushed back. Katsuki managed to land on his feet while Deku had managed to catch the criminal and pin him to the ground during the distraction. Energy continued to crackle around them, beginning to concentrate on a spot about six meters away from them.
The air around them grew heavy and oppressive while the temperature alternated rapidly between the extremes, making the sweat on Katsuki’s skin chill rapidly. As he opened his mouth to ask Deku about what the fuck was happening the air before them cracked open soundlessly with the appearance of a large piece of some kind of stone flooring. The giant mass of earth and marble was quickly falling the meter or so it took to reach the ground letting the two heroes see that there was someone on it.
Katsuki swore as the fall jarred the person forward, causing their slumped figure to slide to the ground as blood began to pool beneath them. He made sure to hit the medic call button on his bracers before approaching cautiously. They were obviously injured badly, but Katsuki also had no fucking idea how they ended up here or why. That, and they were still mostly obscured by a cloth that was wrapped around their figure despite the obvious struggle they made to push away from the ground.
Trying to pull the cloth away revealed that it was actually a cloak, being cinched off around the neck, but it also revealed the strangest looking person Katsuki had seen in a while. Wide, dual-colored eyes (one highlighted by a nasty looking scar) flicked between him and Deku in obvious panic despite the haze beginning to set in from shock. The man’s long hair was also split, one side a brilliant white while the other half was a deep crimson. More pressing, however, was the stab wound in his lower abdomen.
“That looks serious.” Deku stated, the criminal already cuffed and tossed over his shoulder like the world’s worst duffel bag.
“No shit, it’s serious.” He replied, tearing at the mystery man’s shirt to get a better look at the wound. Katsuki only meant to get the man to stop squirming so much when he pressed a hand against his chest to keep him from trying to sit up again. Instead, he watched as a splash of orange and red overtook the man’s skin where Katsuki had touched. He was so entranced that he hardly registered when the man grabbed his forearm, causing vibrant swirls of color to bloom there as well.
“Kacchan!” Deku gasped behind him, all too aware of what the new patterns tattooing his skin meant.
“Not now.” Katsuki practically growled, pushing past his own shock to begin administering first aid while his apparent soulmate’s grip began to slacken from blood loss. “We need to get that fucker in a holding cell and this weirdo in a hospital first.”
He tried to ignore how bad his hands were shaking when the panicked eyes that had been trained on him finally slipped closed and the man went completely limp. Katsuki wasn't sure how long it was, but before he could finish with his own slapshot bandages, an EMT was taking away the dual-toned man. He felt frozen between his newfound revelation and also knowing that there was a job to finish.
“Go,” Deku insisted, pushing him forward with his free hand, “I can wrap things up here and then meet you at the hospital.”
Katsuki nodded, shoving all anxiety inducing thoughts aside in favor of getting his fucking head together, before jogging to catch up with the ambulance. The EMT didn’t even question it when he joined them in the back of the vehicle, just glancing at the blur of color on his forearm.
He didn’t even resist the urge to scoff, trying not to be annoyed that his typical costume didn’t cover the spot, because who fucking cared that he had a soulmate now? A lot of his friends did, but most didn’t meet theirs under ridiculous circumstances.
Hopefully, he’d get more information at the hospital.
~~~~~
Katsuki learned jack shit at the hospital.
Neither a physical description, assumed quirk description, nor a fucking DNA analysis had yielded any results on the mystery man who had teleported into the middle of heroes trying to apprehend a criminal. It was all over the news, though. How top hero Ground Zero had finally met his soulmate, while out on a mission no less. One of the medical staff had leaked the information to the press and it had been blowing up his phone since.
He couldn’t blame his friends and family for their reactions, many of them had met their soulmates a few years prior and had worried about him feeling left out, of all things. Their concern was stupid, but he appreciated it.
More pressing, however, was when the Hero Commission contacted him over the matter and demanded he find out whatever he could about the mystery man who was apparently in no government database they had access to. Despite the almost panicked tone of the operator relaying his orders, there wasn’t much action to be had.
Deku had stubbornly told the Commission that he was sticking with Katsuki on this case like had on nearly all of their cases. He knew he had fiercely loyal friends, but it still stunned him to see it in action most times. Especially when their biggest concern was that his soulmate might have ties of the illicit nature that resulted in his identity being wiped.
Hospital staff had discovered more injuries (and scars) on the man which only worsened his condition. And now, two days later, Katsuki was stuck in a nondescript hospital room while machines endlessly beeped around him. Deku had gone to fetch coffee for both of them while Katsuki looked over photos from the previous incident.
The scene before him was almost gruesome.
He hadn’t noticed in his previous panic and adrenaline, but the photos showed a circle filled with various symbols that were all drawn in blood. All the samples matched the man he was currently watching so it seemed to be related to his quirk from anyone’s best guess. At least until he woke up.
When he finally opened his mismatched eyes, there was an obvious moment of panic, a tight gasp getting choked off as he looked around the room before staring at Katsuki. The question in his eyes was obvious, so Katsuki made his way over.
“You interrupted a criminal apprehension that was in progress.” Katsuki stated, hoping his frown would convey his disapproval without being “too harsh” as some people called it.
“You’re my soulmate,” he stated, voice low and smooth, eyes flashing to the blurry swirls of blue and purple that decorated Katsuki’s forearm. “And somehow I’m not dead.”
“A miracle of modern medicine,” Katsuki huffed, irritation mounting at the man ignoring his question. “Are you going to tell me what the fuck you were doing there and how or do we need to get the police involved?”
“The what? I’m here because you’re my soulmate. That’s what the spell is for.” He explained, even though it made no sense. “It’s old blood magic that was forbidden after the ‘cleansing’.”
He practically spat the last word, making something in Katsuki’s gut twist at the severity of his convictions even if his words were nonsense. “Can you at least tell me what your name and quirk are?”
“Todoroki Shouto, I’m not sure what a quirk is, but this is obviously a very different world from my own.”
Katsuki could tell that the man was trying to explain despite the gibberish leaving his mouth. “Different world? Do you need your head checked?”
“Ah, Kacchan!” Deku interrupted the two and began to drag Katsuki into the hallway. “I just need to borrow him for a moment.” Once the door was closed and they were alone Deku’s expression hardened as he pressed a cup of black coffee into his hand. “The Commission called again. There were some anomalies with the blood test.”
“Is his blood from a different world too, then?” Katsuki snorted, “He’s hardly been awake but he sounds like he needs to get checked into psych ward.”
“Well they can’t seem to figure out the blood type either way, but it does match what was used to draw out the symbols in the photos. I don’t think I’ve ever heard about a quirk teleporting between worlds either. Seems like it almost killed him.” Deku mused, starting to already descend into some wild line of thought. “If he is from another world, would he even have a quirk? Is he from another planet like an alien or a different dimension do you think?”
“Why don’t you ask him yourself? Are you seriously buying into this bullshit?” Katsuki bit back.
“Well it’s better than your soulmate being hitman or yakuza.”
Well, fuck. Katsuki couldn’t argue with that. “Let’s just get his whole story first.”
Deku didn’t say anything, his face was plenty smug when he opened the door for Katsuki. Todoroki hadn’t moved either, watching the two of them in a way that made Katsuki feel too transparent for his comfort. He took a gulp of the too hot coffee before taking a seat in the chair next to Todoroki’s bed. “The nerd here is gonna take notes,” he explained.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Midoriya Izuku and I’m partnered with Kacchan here. We’ll be studying your case.” Deku smiled, warm and welcoming as ever, but Todoroki just scowled while his eyes turned icy.
“Partner?” He practically spat the word, making Katsuki roll his eyes.
“Not that kind of partner, Halfie. We work together.” The man’s face softened immediately, looking almost embarrassed by the mistake before he became stoic again.
“I’m still not really sure what kind of situation I’m in.” He said, looking out the window toward the city. “Am I going to be forced to stay here?”
“You’re not our fucking prisoner.” Katsuki wasn’t even sure where he would get that kind of idea from. “We just need you to fill us in on your story and who you are before we can make progress.”
“Well, I already told you my name is Todoroki Shouto, and I’m here because I used some forbidden blood magic that was supposed to take me to my soulmate. It worked so I suppose it was worth the risk even in my injured state.” When Todoroki looked back at them he seemed a practiced sort of unbothered. “After my brother stabbed me and one of the guards almost stopped my escape I didn't see any reason in staying.”
“Your brother?” Deku looked as shocked as Katsuki felt, his hands gripping the notebook tightly. “Do you know why he would try to kill you?”
Todoroki looked amused by the question, “My father probably put him to it. Either a threat or a promise. I’m not dead and he can’t fix that while I’m here so it hardly matters anymore.”
“So you decided to ditch the family drama with a convenient teleportation spell?” Katsuki sneered. He could almost tell the fucker had family issues from looking at him, but the fantasy stuff just seemed like bullshit.
“No better time to use blood magic than when you’re already bleeding out. I happened to have access to some materials that are rare or illegal, so here I am.” Todoroki looked bored, glancing back out the window. “I don’t really think I have any other pertinent information for you.”
“Well let’s get you signed out of this place and settled into Kacchan’s guest room then!” Deku surged to gather up their supplies as he descended into his muttering. “I’ll be staying too since you don’t really have an identity in the technical sense and obviously seem to be unfamiliar with how all this works. Does someone from a different world even have a quirk? I know you mentioned magic, but will you be able to do that here?”
Katsuki rolled his eyes, having already called for a nurse during Deku’s rant so they could get their new candy cane companion unhooked from all the machines. Her arrival was swift thankfully, obviously a bit put off by the two heroes, and soon enough they were heading out.
The ride back to the high rise Katsuki’s apartment was in didn’t take long, courtesy of vehicles provided by the Commission. They had also given Katsuki an extra binder of information from the government and international accounts as well as a change of clothes and a decently large stack of money that was to help him with food and other necessities for his new roommate. Apparently everyone was invested in his soulmate becoming a well-integrated member of Japanese society.
A peek at the binder seemed to tell him that there various accounts throughout history involving these “off-world” soulmates, but they were usually infrequent and managed to blend in quickly because of their partners. His head swam a little at the prospect of his soulmate being a fucking mage of all things, but he had also seemed sincere when relaying his story so it fit.
Once he had shown Todoroki around a bit at Deku’s insistence he took him to the guest room and gave him the new clothes. “The clothes you were wearing were damaged so they got you these. We’ll get you something better later.” He explained before retreating to the kitchen to let Todoroki change.
Deku had already commandeered his dining room table; all their previous files as well as the new ones Katsuki had received were spread out across the wooden surface. He looked deeply engrossed, eyebrows scrunched in concentration while his mouth moved with the words he read. Looking in the fridge, Katsuki glared at it’s pitiful contents before slamming it closed.
“I need to get more groceries if I’m feeding all three of us.” He stated, reaching for his keys and wallet before Deku shot up.
“I’ll get them! I, uh, need to get my futon anyways. And you can just message me an extra ingredients list to get on top of what I know you like. Maybe ask Todoroki what kind of things he likes?” Before Katsuki could think to argue, his fellow pro hero was grabbing some of the bills from their government given stack and pulling his obnoxious shoes on.
It was obvious that Deku wanted him to have a “feelings” talk with Todoroki, but he wasn’t really interested in that sort of thing. Right now, Todoroki was just part of the job, and one that would keep him from being able to do any kind of normal work for the future. He wondered how that would impact him in the rankings. This meant the smuggling ring mission would probably be passed onto another duo if it wasn’t already. So he could babysit.
“Did the wall make you that angry?” Todoroki questioned, now dressed in somewhat loose jeans and a dark blue long-sleeved shirt.
“Just thinking.” Katsuki let his scowl fall and instead turned to his new guest. “What kind of food do you usually eat anyways? You’ve been on liquids for a couple days so I need to know what to make for dinner.”
“I don’t think I’m very picky since there’s a wide array of food in my hometown. I am fond of noodles though, if I had to pick a favorite.” Todoroki answered even as his eyes wandered, taking in the decor. “Are you, and uh, Midoriya close?”
“We work together now, but we grew up together I guess. Parents were friends and neighbors and all that.” Katsuki explained, “He met his own soulmate while we were in high school but he’s always had my back anyways.”
“Is it normal in this society for soulmates to not see each other then?”
Katsuki scoffed, put off by the man’s disdainful tone. “Just because some fucking colors show up doesn’t mean shit. If two people don’t know each other then I’m not going to go out of my way to force something. I don’t owe anyone anything.”
Todoroki looked a bit shocked by his words at first, before his eyes turned cold. “You’d lose any chances you have just like that? You don’t even want to try?”
“No one in charge of my life and I’m not about to start letting it be controlled by a tattoo.” Katsuki countered, clenching his fist in irritation. “Just because you fell out of the sky and into my life doesn’t mean my life revolves around you now.”
This time, Todoroki scoffed, “As if I chose to leave my home. Clearly I’m not wanted in this place, however.”
Without saying anything else, he pushed past Katsuki and was out the door before he could think. He felt stunned for what felt like too long before running to the hallway outside of his apartment. Even though the door hadn’t closed yet, Todoroki was gone. Katsuki cursed himself because the asshole could fucking teleport as he had seen earlier so who knew where he could have gone?
Katsuki was pacing in his living room when Deku found him, his smile dropping at the obvious distress. Before his long time friend could ask, however, Katsuki spoke.
“I fucked up.”