Reassurance
Ochako's hopes of knowing her soulmate drifted away with every interaction. Kirishima had greeted her warmly with a friendly high-five. Tsuyu asked what she was upset about. Todoroki offered her help with studies after what he heard from Midoriya. Sero invited her to a karaoke night.
Usually, no one offering her death threats was good news.
'I'll fucking kill you, put me down!'
She kept thinking of those words. How would she find her soulmate if she didn't just start randomly picking people up? It didn't really matter, why should she want to even associate with them anyways? They sound like a jerk.
...
Ochako found herself going to the karaoke thing back at the dorms. She wasn't totally in the mood for it, and she had to wear a long sleeve shirt to cover up her new mark, but she hadn't interacted with her classmates for a while, after the break and moping all day, so she decided to do it anyway.
Everyone in class was there. Well, everyone except for Bakugou. According to Mina he wasn't feeling good or whatever. The only reason Ochako noticed his absence was the distinct lack of screaming. She didn't care though, instead she just sat and listened to everyone take their shot at singing. No one was that amazing at it except for Jirou, but that just made it even more interesting.
Everything was going fine with small talk until Kirishima confronted her, and asked if they could talk in private. She agreed, but found it strange. Kirishima and her were friends, of course, way closer than they used to be, but he seemed serious. Ochako had rarely seen him look anything but pumped honestly.
They went to Kirishima's dorm, for privacy reasons, and her anxiety spiked. "Kirishima? What.."
"Sorry I should've explained why I was dragging you away like that." He gave a toothy smile, and she saw he was nervous too. That helped her calm down.
"It's okay what's up? You seem pretty serious.." She fidgeted with her finger pads as he sat on his bed, thinking.
He gave her a strange look of pity. "You don't have to be with your soulmate y'know? You seem especially down about it all.. Who is it?"
She gulped. She had prepared herself for this conversation, but she found her palms sweating anyways as her right arm gripped her left sleeve. She didn't pull it up yet though. "I-i don't know who it is yet, but.." Her voice trailed off. But I should give them a chance? They sound like an asshole! Would I be mean if I just decided I didn't want them before even meeting them??
She pulled the loose sleeve, awkwardly and uncomfortably, all the way up to her shoulder. He got closer and gently moved her arm to read the words, and her breath hitched. Her heart accelerated a bit at the proximity, but Ochako ignored it. Kirishima was just a friend, helping a friend.
'I'll fucking kill you, put me down!'
Kirishima gave an expression filled with even more concern and she didn't meet his eyes. Kirishima moved an appropriate distance away and let go of her arm. Her heart sunk as she remembered the mark.
"Uraraka"
She met his eyes, and despite the mood his smile was reassuring. "You don't have to pick your soulmate. I didn't and that's okay.. I just really want you to know you have that choice." His hand absently rubbed the back of his neck and he blushed a small bit. "I'm not really good at comforting am I?" He smiled wider, his nervousness was sweet and his words were so genuine that she felt herself getting choked up.
"You were great, thanks." Ochako offered her brightest smile. "You're the first one to tell me that in full certainty Kirishima." It was true. Her parents tried to reassure her of a similar thing, but their words sounded hollow, like she wouldn't be happy if she wasn't with her soulmate. She didn't need a soulmate to be happy or in love, Kirishima reminded her of that, and she felt happy to be acknowledged.
...