Chapter Text
When quirks first emerged so long ago, it uprooted everything everyone had known. Instances of super powered humans increased at a steady rate until today, with 80% of the world’s population having a quirk. That alone was a huge upheaval, but the quirks came with another odd addition.
Whenever someone's quirk first develops, they find themselves with a name on one of their wrists. For the longest time, no one knew what it meant. What was the connection to these people? Why did the names appear? Did it have something to do with their quirks? It had to, right? There were so many questions.
Over time, humanity realized what it actually meant.
That person on your wrist they called your soulmate. You were inexplicably connected to this stranger, drawn to them in a way you couldn’t be drawn to anyone else.
They weren’t all romantic connections, though that was the most common. It wasn’t too uncommon for strong friendships to form instead, or a parental connection. And once you found that soulmate …
The effects had been studied rigorously, but it still was unknown how exactly it worked. Just like everyone’s quirk was different, the effect of finding one's soulmate was different. Sometimes it was physical, like a power boost, or an evolution of one’s quirk. Some effects were like new quirks themselves, like floating, flying, electricity, fire. Almost anything could happen.
As Heroes started becoming a legitimate job, it became more and more common for hero couples to become a prominent part. They were powerhouses unlike any individual hero, though it wasn’t unheard of for individuals to rise up the ranks.
And that’s all that was really known about it, even after so many generations.
Your soulmate's name on your wrist, some sort of strong connection, some sort of additional power when you met. Those three were the only concrete rules. Everything else was a constantly shifting mess more often then not.
You weren’t even confined to just one name. Though it was rare, some people got two names. They were considered the lucky few. Two people to love, two bonus quirks, an even more powerful team.
No one ever mentioned the downsides to it.
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Shota Aizawa’s quirk developed when he was six, a little later than the other kids. His parents were delighted at the news, but they were even more delighted when the boy had two names, one on each wrist. From that moment on he was almost constantly told he would be a great hero one day.
But his quirk wasn’t all that effective in a proper fight. Even when the villains didn’t have their quirks, he would need to know how to fight and subdue them. If he wanted to become a proper hero, he would have to work hard, harder than others might. And he was more than willing to get there.
He was determined to become the best hero without having to rely on the powers his soulmates would give him, though he would never admit why to anyone. If anyone asked he would just say he wanted to make sure he was the best he could be. As he grew older, his reasons to others evolved a bit. He wanted to be the best he could be for them, so they could become the best together. He wanted to be worthy of their love and Support.
He only ever admitted the truth, to himself and someone else, in his second year of highschool.
“Shota Aizawa, huh? Nice to meet ya! I’m Oboro Shirakumo.”
The boy smiled at him brightly, too friendly for someone he didn’t know. It made him uncomfortable and he had shied away, but there was little he could do when Oboro Shirakumo decided they were going to be friends.
Especially when he was determined to help.
“Whoa, you’ve got two names?”
Aizawa immediately clutched his arms closer to his chest, scowling at the other boy. His glare did little to stop him though. He thrust his own wrists forward, right onto the desk, where Aizawa could look down in confusion at the bare skin.
“See, I don’t have any names at all!” He said with that ever bright smile. Aizawa looked up at him, confusion clear on his face.
It wasn’t unheard of for someone to get no soulmate, but he had never met someone like that himself. Shirakumo stated it himself just a moment later.
“It’s kinda like we match, in a weird way. We even eachother out!”
It didn’t really draw him any closer to the boy, not really, but it did catch his interest.
And it was a good thing it did, because it meant that the next time Shirakumo approached him, just a few minutes later, even more excited than before somehow, he didn’t immediately push him away. He let the boy grab his arm, hardly understanding the words he was spouting out as he was dragged away back to the hallway.
It meant that he let the boy lead him to his soulmate.
Aizawa knew it was him even before Shirakumo said his name. Their eyes met through the crowd of students on their way to class, their expressions matching looks of shock and awe.
His parents had told him many times what it was like to meet each other, soft smiles on their faces. His mom would describe it like there were fireworks, a burst of joy and love. His father said it was more like falling into an ocean, surrounded by an overwhelming sense of warmth and peace.
When he met his first soulmate, it wasn’t nearly as dramatic as all that. It was a small shift, only just noticeable enough to catch him off guard. It was like everything had been slightly off before only to now be put into its proper place. It was a feeling of rightness. Perhaps it was closest to his fathers sense of peace, but that wasn’t quite right. There was still something missing, the feeling a stark contrast to the relief he felt.
“We were just talking when I noticed the name on his wrist.” Shirakumo had been saying, unaware that the other two weren’t really listening. “Shota Aizawa, meet Hizashi Yamada!”
It was then, once his fears had been negated, that he dared admit to himself what those fears even were.
The fear that he would never find his soulmates.