Promptugust 2026 Day 7 - A bouquet of flowers
The prompt for this was "You get flowered tattoos wherever your soulmate receives a scar"
Katsuki is four when he gets his first flower.
It's tiny, would have almost been unnoticeable if not for the fact that it sits high on his cheekbone, dark against his bronze skin.
He's excited about it, because it means he has a soulmate, that someone out there is meant for him and him alone and even the fact that the flower means his soulmate got hurt can't diminish his excitement.
~*~*~
Katsuki is five when flowers start showing up more frequently on his face, high on his cheekbones, like the very first one, but also over the bridge of his nose and under his chin.
They are strangely placed, almost seem to follow a pattern, and even though Katsuki can't feel them or the scars that caused them, he traces his finger over them over and over again, until his parents slap his hands away.
"Stop that," his mother scolds him. "You shouldn't be drawing even more attention to them."
He doesn't understand because why it would be bad for anyone to notice that he has a soulmate, but he gets slapped every time he raises his hands and so he forces himself out of the habit.
Still, he admires them in the mirror every chance he gets and keeps wondering what could have caused such a pattern.
~*~*~
He's seven when flowers start to show up on random places on his body.
Small ones on his arms at first, almost crescent shaped. Then the heels of his hands get covered in them, closely followed by his knees.
It almost seems as if his soulmate is clumsy and maybe falling a lot, but Katsuki's parents keep exchanging looks whenever they see the flowers and the looks are not happy ones.
They tell him not to pay too much attention to his marks and Katsuki starts to think that maybe he shouldn't find all the flowers beautiful.
~*~*~
He's eleven when flowers start to show up on his back in neat lines, criss-crossing over themselves.
It's never many at once, but they keep coming and coming and Katsuki isn't stupid.
He has long since figured out that the ones on his face—fading sometimes, before coming back with a vengeance, or staying stark black all the time—are from a muzzle.
Katsuki is not stupid, so he knows that someone is hurting his soulmate and the flowers on his back only drive that point home.
Katsuki is eleven when he first experiences genuine hate.
~*~*~
Katsuki is thirteen when the flowers on his arm show up.
Compared to all of the others, these should be inconsequential, because they are small and neatly lined and not nearly as dark as some of the ones on his face but Katsuki knows what they mean.
He knows that his soulmate is hurting himself and it's no wonder why, because the flowers on his back are still growing and the ones on his face get darker every month and Katsuki isn't stupid.
He knows that he's looking at signs of abuse, can see it on his own skin every time his soulmate is mistreated so badly that it leaves a permanent imprint on him and the anger that fills him is almost all-consuming.
Katsuki is thirteen, sobbing into his pillow and promising himself to kill whoever is doing this to his soulmate.
~*~*~
At fifteen there's no chance that the flowers on his face are ever going to fade away.
They are pitch black, etched so firmly into his skin that he'll forever wear them, just like his soulmate will forever wear the matching scars and that deep-seated hate is still there.
It's colouring his every interaction now, because the world hates his soulmate and so Katsuki will hate the world and still, he hasn't met them.
Katsuki had hoped that maybe he would meet them at UA, but none of his classmates have the scars to match his flowers and even a quick scope of Class 1-B doesn't reveal a voice-activated quirk.
Because it has to be that—why else would they force his soulmate to wear a muzzle day after day until the biting edges have permanently imprinted themselves into his face if not for a voice-activated quirk and some deep-seated fear.
It's stupid and ridiculous and Katsuki is still going to murder whoever caused those scars, his own future be damned.
~*~*~
Katsuki is fifteen, the first time Present Mic strolls into class, a funny quip on his lips and then immediately faltering when his eyes fall on Katsuki, tracing the flowers decorating his face.
Katsuki sneers at him, because Present Mic is campaigning against the use of muzzles, has been for as long as Katsuki can remember and the success of that campaign is plastered to Katsuki's face.
"Bakugou, stay," Present Mic calls out when the class ends and Katsuki slowly packs his stuff away, waiting until everyone else has left the classroom.
"You're a failure," Katsuki says as soon as the door closes behind the last of the extras and Present Mic winces.
"It's not possible to get rid of them entirely," he gives back, at least not pretending that he doesn't know what Katsuki is talking about. "It has to be on a public level first, before we can tackle the private homes."
"Good thing that is doing," Katsuki bitterly mutters and traces a finger over the flowers on his cheeks.
"Do you know them? If so, we have to help."
For that, Katsuki bares his teeth at him.
"You think if I knew who they were I'd be standing here? I'd be in fucking prison for murder," he spits out and Present Mic goes pale.
"That seems a bit extreme," he forces out but Katsuki couldn't give less of a shit.
He knows what he said and he made peace with the fact that he'd go to prison one day years ago.
And not even a fucking pro hero can change his mind about that.
~*~*~
Katsuki is fifteen when he meets Shinsou Hitoshi for the first time.
Well, second time. Or something.
The time-line's a bit wonky in Katsuki's head because he remembers some tall, purple haired extra spout some bullshit in front of their class, and he remembers white pupils locking onto his face for a moment before the ringing of rage had overtaken his hearing but he hadn't really noticed Shinsou then.
Not like he does when Present Mic announces that his quirk is Brainwashing and voice-activated and immediately, Katsuki is locked in.
Because this could be it.
Except Shinsou's face is plastered onto every screen in the stadium and there's not even so much as a hint of a scar on his face and for a moment, Katsuki feels dizzy with relief.
At least Shinsou is safe. Unlike Katsuki's soulmate.
~*~*~
Katsuki is fifteen and fresh out of a war when he gains a small, almost delicate flower on his forehead.
~*~*~
Katsuki is fifteen when classes resume almost as if nothing happened at all.
He's fifteen when Aoyama gives them a tearful goodbye.
Katsuki is fifteen when Aoyama announces a new addition to the class and Katsuki is still fifteen when Shinsou Hitoshi steps through the door, a small scar on his forehead and a dark flower on his cheek, right under his eye and Katsuki is fifteen when Shinsou laughs sheepishly at the attention of everyone and raises a hand to scratch at the back of his head and Katsuki is fifteen when he realises that Shinsou's right hand is covered in flowers.
Katsuki is fifteen when he meets his soulmate and finally knows it.
He's beyond relieved to see his soulmate—Shinsou—alive and as well as can be after the war and then the last eleven years slam back into him, when all the flowers on his body burn as if they are being branded into his skin.
And all there is is rage.
"Aizawa, a word," Katsuki presses out without looking at his teacher and he shoulders past Shinsou without a look at him, too.
"Bakugou," Shinsou hesitantly speaks up, clearly having followed him outside instead of basking in the attention of his new classmates and Katsuki whirls around to him, a sharp reprimand already on his tongue, but Shinsou ducks into himself as if he's expecting to be hurt and all the anger drains from Katsuki in an instant.
Instead of yelling at him, Katsuki steps close and raises a hand, cupping Shinsou's cheek before he swipes his thumb over where a scar should be.
Is, really, because there's a smudge of make-up on Katsuki's thumb and a thick white line on Shinsou's cheek and then Shinsou is stepping out of his reach.
"Don't," Shinsou says, almost warningly, but Katsuki couldn't give less of a shit and just in time Aizawa joins them in the hallway.
"What," he drawls out, too lazy even for inflection and Katsuki nods towards Shinsou.
"He's being abused at home."
Aizawa's gaze goes over to Shinsou, catching on the barely visible spot of scar tissue on his face, before he turns back to Katsuki, tracing the corresponding flower on his own face.
"I should hope not," is Aizawa's listless reply and for a moment Katsuki isn't sure he really heard that before rage overtakes him, all-consuming and white hot.
He distantly hears his quirk going off.
"Bakugou, don't," Shinsou almost yells out and steps between Katsuki and Aizawa and that is really the only reason Katsuki doesn't explode that motherfucker on the spot.
"Get out of the—"
"I'm out!" Shinsou cuts him off frantically. "I'm out, I'm all good now!"
"What?" Katsuki's quirk stutters to a stop and the rage turns into something much more manageable at hearing that but he still needs more explanation than that.
"He's been training me since the Sports Festival and he noticed shortly after. He got me out. I'm living with him and his husband now and it's good. I'm good."
Katsuki wrecks his brain but he can't remember any new flowers showing up in a few months. The ones on his face surely didn't get darker and no new ones were added anywhere else, except for faint outlines of flowers on his hands.
Which would make sense if Shinsou is training with the capture weapon.
"And the people who did it?" Katsuki asks, his gaze going back to Aizawa who shrugs.
"All in prison, serving for life," he tells him and Katsuki scoffs, because that hardly seems like a fitting punishment.
"I would have killed them," he grits out and Aizawa's gaze goes sharp while Shinsou sucks in a surprised breath.
"Murder is generally frowned upon," Aizawa almost mildly informs him and Katsuki sneers at him.
"Couldn't give less of a shit. Decided I'd do it at thirteen and I was prepared to see it through, too."
And it's the truth—he would have killed them without hesitation. That's his soulmate they hurt and they were going to pay for that.
"You can't just—just say that," Shinsou cries out and when Katsuki looks back at him, he sees the tears in his eyes.
"I can because they hurt you," Katsuki gives back completely unapologetic about it and Shinsou's lower lip trembles before he steps close and drops his head to Katsuki's shoulder.
"I wasn't sure if you'd want me," he admits, his voice muffled in Bakugou's blazer and Katsuki almost feels offended even though it does explain why Shinsou didn't say anything before today.
Clearly he knew that Katsuki is his soulmate but if his own family did this to him—yeah, Katsuki understands.
"You're an idiot," Katsuki gets out and raises his hand to bury it into Hitoshi's hair. "You're my soulmate. Of course I want you."
There's not a world out there where Katsuki wouldn't want him, he's certain of that and he feels Shinsou shudder against him.
Aizawa gives them a few more moments before he sighs and says "Hitoshi, go reapply your make-up or wash it off, if you no longer care, class will start soon."
Shinsou untangles himself from Katsuki who can't say that he likes it much but he leaves without a look back and Katsuki turns back around to Aizawa, feeling his gaze on him.
"What?" he snaps out and Aizawa gives him a manic grin that almost makes Katsuki take a wary step back.
"Don't tell him that but the trial didn't take that long because we needed to make it air-tight. It took that long because his family was having an extended stay in a hospital. Tragic, really. Their lives will truly never be the same."
It takes a moment for the implication to hit but when it finally does, Katsuki barks out a laugh.
"Good," he nods and grins back at Aizawa and he's almost not quick enough to wrangle it back when Shinsou comes back up to them.
"No longer hiding," Aizawa mutters. "Good."
Katsuki frowns, unsure what that is about but when he looks at Shinsou he sees that he evidently washed all of the make-up off, because the white muzzle scars are stark and prominent on his face.
The sight of them make Katsuki's stomach drop out because how dare they but he wrestles it all back.
"Took you long enough, idiot," he grumbles and then bumps their shoulders together before Shinsou's face can fall. "I was waiting."
"I'm here now," Shinsou mumbles and carefully leans into Katsuki, cautious as if he could step away at any moment and Katsuki burns at the clear display of insecurity but Aizawa's gaze is soft and proud and maybe this is already a huge step for Shinsou.
Katsuki can't wait to find out more about him.
Katsuki is fifteen and more excited for his future than he has ever been before.
Link to the series on AO3
