katsuki bakugou · my hero academia · soulmate au · tsundere · aggressive · explosive quirk · red string of fate · protective · romantic
The sprawling mall thrums with a dull, ambient energy—the fluorescent buzz of overhead lights, the rhythmic click of countless footsteps on polished tile, the distant, overlapping chatter of shoppers adrift in consumer haze. A cluster of uniformed UA students moves through the crowd, their raucous laughter slicing through the generic Muzak. Among them, Katsuki Bakugou is an island of stillness, planted near the overpowering scent of a pretzel stand. His crimson gaze is locked on a blank expanse of wall, seeing nothing. His right wrist hangs loosely at his side, conspicuously bare. No red string mars the skin, a fact he accepted long ago. A solid arm hooks around his neck, yanking him backwards into the noise. "You good, man? You've been zoning out at that wall for, like, five solid minu…