Chapter Text
Midoriya didn't understand why Hitoshi had such a grim look on his face. And his tone of voice…it wasn't right. It sounded like Hitoshi had some sort of massive news he had weighing on him. From his voice, Midoriya's heart sank, wondering if Hitoshi somehow found information on his mother and her condition, but his request for information from Midoriya put that line of inquiry at a standstill.
Midoriya was usually the one paranoid, the one worrying, the one stressing. But Hitoshi? Hitoshi was the anchor between them, the calm, the laid back one. So for him to look so worried and anxious, well, Midoriya would have to pull himself together so he could be there for Hitoshi in the same way.
He sat down, disregarding the fact that their food might get cold.
"What…what do you need to know from me?"
Hitoshi took a bit to pull together his thoughts, and it was obvious that he sort of just blurted out what he said. He probably didn't want to have the conversation in this manner, but that just meant it was just as important. So, Midoriya sat himself on the couch, arms folded across his lap as he waited.
"I don't want to scare you," Hitoshi prefaced. Okay. That didn't sound good at all. "But. That feeling. When you're being watched, how often does it happen?"
"Hitoshi—…" Midoriya swallowed the lump forming in his throat, "Th-that's not— that's not funny." If Hitoshi was really serious about this and not just being overly cautious like he always was with Midoriya. Hitoshi never liked to show it, but Midoriya knew that the alpha was constantly worried about him, especially after their move to America.
"I'm being serious. That scent that you have on you it's… familiar. I recognize it," Hitoshi said as he paced the room.
Midoriya could feel the air leave him as panic settled in. "What?" He couldn't believe it. Not for a second. Had a stranger somehow scented him without him noticing? Why would they scent him if they were really stalking him? He wasn't really sure how he would have a stalker to begin with or why they would pick him. At least, why he would be a target here. He could understand if he were back home in Japan, but… "What scent?" Midoriya couldn't smell the scent of a stranger on him, "You're lying," he accused, panicked.
Most of the people in America didn't take kindly to him. Well, some did. His boss, Burnin for example. She liked using a nickname, so Midoriya only really knew her as Burnin. Still, he felt like it fit the fierce woman, and he was so grateful for her generosity. She took Midoriya in when he felt like hope was lost for finding his footing in America.
She was one of the few that had taken a liking to Midoriya, or even gave him a chance, so he couldn't imagine that he actually could have a stalker. And one without him knowing who it was? Way worse.
Unless…no. He shook his head at the thought, the utterly ridiculous thought. "Maybe they're just taking a vacation here," Midoriya replied, "I just somehow bumped into one of your friends without knowing." No one would be willing to go so far, or probably even be capable of tracking him down in a place like America.
Hitoshi shook his head, "Izuku. How often and when? Where?"
Midoriya shook his head at the bout of nausea that crept in, his mind swimming. There was no way that— what if Emiko— she escaped, didn't she? What if she found him again? What if Shigaraki found him? What if they—
Hitoshi gripped his shoulders, "The alpha scent. Were you near someone with curly pink hair?"
Midoriya felt as if he was going to throw up. Ashido? She was his friend. She was— how did Hitoshi know Ashido? Why was— she knew Japanese. She was from Japan. She knew Hitoshi. Was she following him? Keeping tabs on him? Why? We're Yaomomo and Jiro doing the same thing? Midoriya never found it weird that they hovered around his section most of the night, but he just thought— he thought maybe it was because he was a safe spot for them. Not because—
"Fuck," Hitoshi must've figured it out by his reaction. "We— Izuku. We need to find someplace else. It's not safe here anymore."
"Safe? Hitoshi—" Midoriya felt himself getting choked up, "Why?" It was all he could muster up the courage to ask. Suddenly the room felt too small and the place he started to settle into and call home now felt unsafe, uneasy, frightening. He had half the urge to tuck himself away and into a nest, but found himself unable to pinpoint a safe place where he might be able to do so. He felt as if their apartment was now a ticking time bomb ready to go off.
Midoriya stood from the couch despite feeling a little lightheaded. He just wanted to run, to go somewhere, anywhere but there.
"Those people want you killed, Izuku. If they knew about you with the facility, then they must've been friends with me to try and— to try and blackmail you or something! But then we got here and—" Hitoshi let out half a growl, his alpha side peeking out with the way his fangs began to emerge and become more pronounced.
"They—they wouldn't," Midoriya denied helplessly. "Ashido— Yaomomo, Jiro— they're all—they're all so nice to me—" He sobbed out the last part, his voice cracking as he tried to reel everything in.
"Ashido wants you dead," Hitoshi snarled, "She was there. She was there at the hospital before it blew up— she was friends with Kaminari! They—ugh! FUCK!"
Midoriya couldn't say a word when Shinso broke off into growls of anger, trying to collect himself to discuss what was meant to be said. Not when Midoriya remembered something that just made everything all too real.
It had been after the party, after Shindo humiliated him in front of all those people. Sero was there, offering to help him, to aid him. Midoriya saw him as a sort of savior, someone who was there at the right place at the right time. Though, now, Midoriya couldn't help but think that Sero being there wasn't a coincidence after all. Sero was someone he'd seen before in his classes, someone who was a transfer student of sorts. Midoriya never paid him any mind, but he knew of Sero because of how often he would show up in his classes.
Like the class that he had the say after the party. Sero was there, but he said goodbye to Midoriya to return to his seat. He went to go talk with his friends—
"The blond," Midoriya breathed out heavily, like he was gulping for air after being drowned, "He had—He was standing— that was Ashido. The guy had the black streak—" He always wondered why Ashido looked so familiar, why this blond guy that he sometimes caught looking at him in the library gave him deja vu at times that he would see him.
Midoriya felt like he was going to vomit.
He forced himself to the floor, sinking down and laying flat to avoid the nausea and the black ring around his vision. His breathing was too fast, too heavy as he filtered through everything he'd been feeling and everything that was happening.
His panic carried into the night, even after they both collected themselves enough to realize that their inaction could cost them their lives, especially when they didn't know what the others were waiting on before they struck. All that they knew was that they had to move, so, even as late as it was in the night, Hitoshi and Midoriya gathered up some essentials and hurried to a place in town to book the hotel.
Midoriya just didn't understand why they were so nice to Midoriya. He didn't understand their reason for giving him generous tips when they had a target on his back, but at least he could use the money to try and get away from them.
He thought that his life was over. Starting from scratch, just to be knocked down again, he thought that everything was over, that he couldn't rebuild what he already built from the ground up.
Midoriya had to quit his job, barely even able to step foot in the place and inform Burnin himself. He really wanted to, but he got scared as soon as he saw a tuft of pink hair near Burnin, seeing Ashido there with Yaomomo and Jiro talking to Burnin like they were old friends. He dropped out of school, and Hitoshi had to switch jobs. Thankfully it was easier for Hitoshi to switch locations, but for Midoriya, he had to accept the fact that he wouldn't be able to finish school for the moment, at least for his safety.
Not wanting to take any risks, Midoriya applied for remote jobs, only going outside when necessary. The only thing was that it was eating him alive and tearing him apart, not able to go out and pursue the things he wanted, to be able to do the things that he wanted to do. It made him have more time to reflect on himself, and therefore be faced with more reasons to hate himself and the situation he found himself in. Maybe if he wasn't an omega, then this whole thing would've been over. He would just be a beta passing by in the world, back home in Japan with his mother.
Why did he have to be born an omega?
It was a question he found himself asking more often than not, and his traitorous mind brought some pretty gruesome ideas of how he could fix it.
"Scent glands and the skin around it are very sensitive…"
He wasn't quite sure what brought him to the moment. He was scrolling on his phone, looking for anything that could help him feel better. Something that could solve all of their problems.
"If you start at the most sensitive gland first, it could be dangerous."
And if Midoriya didn't have an omega scent anymore, then he would be entirely useless, right? He wouldn't have to worry about standing out too much because he would blend in. He wouldn't have to worry about Emiko and where she was at, if anywhere near him. He had to wonder if Ashido, Sero, and Kaminari were working under Emiko, and their kindness was one of her ways to manipulate him into falling into her grasp yet again.
He readied the scalpel against his wrist, watching the video play from his phone.
"You have to make sure you're using the right tools when making the incision. Too big or too small, you could cut out too much or too little."
He wouldn't have to worry about Enigmas tracking his scent if he couldn't be smelled, right?
Taking a breath, he zeroed in on the spot around the gland, pinpointing where he would need to cut. Soon after, he tilted the scalpel away from him. Already he could feel the sensitive spot react, and he felt a hint of pain from the pressure he started to put there.
"The easiest to remove first would be scent glands located on the wrist. Chin and neck glands are too difficult to look at properly, and the thigh glands would be too far from eyesight to properly see where you're making your first cut. Until you are satisfied with the two and think you have a good handle on it, wait to progress to those more sensitive glands."
Maybe after this, he could go back home. Maybe after this, he could be with his mother. He could live without care again. He could live without fear.
Biting on a towel, he pushed the scalpel into his skin.
It clattered against the ground of the bathroom, a muffled scream coming from him as he filleted the skin. With it, he was granted his wish, but not in the way he wanted.
Midoriya wouldn't be an omega, soon. It should've been something to celebrate, he thought initially, when he was setting up the video and getting supplies. He thought that after he got the first gland done, he would easily be able to go through with the others, but he was sorely mistaken. Confidence depleted, Midoriya felt a sense of doom hit him as he stared at the blood dripping rapidly onto the floor. He never— He never wanted this. He just wanted to be normal. All he wanted was…he just didn't want to be an omega anymore.
Midoriya Izuku wouldn't be an omega soon, because soon, he would cease to exist.
"He just…disappeared? Or did you just lose track of him?"
Todoroki was listening in on Kaminari's report on Izuku, but Kirishima's line of usual questioning started to take a turn.
"He wasn't there today! He usually likes going there, and Ashido told me he wasn't at work the other day, either. Burnin told her that he was supposed to come in, but he never showed up," Kaminari explained.
"School's sayin his professors have been marking him absent," Hatsume informed Bakugo, who had been looking over her shoulder for any indication of good information.
"He can't be sick for that long…" Todoroki mumbled, "Has he been seen outside of that? What about Shinso?"
Hatsume gave a thumbs up, starting to mess with her computer to scour information about Shinso's place of work. Todoroki looked to Bakugo and Kirishima, seeing the unease growing on their faces.
"What's stopping us from getting him, anyway? Why can't we just take him an leave? He's a big omega but you guys can carr—" Kaminari was cut off by Bakugo's palms crackling in warning. "I'm just sayin! We can't do it but you guys are literal giants! Sure there's that whole thing about Enigmas not being welcome in America so-to-speak, but if we're quick…"
"Midoriya's compliance, or rather non-compliance might be a problem," Kendo reasoned. "He could oppose us, cause a scene. Besides, we still need a way to get to Shigaraki and find out what exactly he's doing."
"Yeah but it's getting a little harder to contain these guys for a rut," Kaminari pointed a thumb back to them, "Ms. Midnight has to knock them out for most of it with her ability, now. What if they get too—no offense—but crazy from being away from Midoriya for so long?"
Yaoyorozu hummed, having brought the information from the bar in the first place. Ashido and Jiro were still there just incase Izuku did show up. Todoroki had to admit that some of Kaminari's concern had reason. They were essentially forced to be fine without Izuku, but it was incredibly hard to control their Enigmas at times because all it wanted was their omega.
"That is true. Though Ms. Midnight and Shirakumo were able to be so far from Mr. Aizawa and Mr. Yamada for so long…maybe it has to do with secondary gender?" Yaoyorozu turned, looking up to Todoroki. "I'm not familiar, but is there any cultural or instinctive difference when an omega is involved?"
"Yeah 'cause you guys haven't really claimed him," Sero wondered, "But you're somehow more anxious than the others when it comes to being separated."
"Maybe it is because Midoriya's unmated," Hatsume threw out.
Just the thought of Izuku being unmated, and further the idea that he very much could be mated by someone else… They already committed to the idea of having him as their mate, so just the idea that Izuku might go off to mate with someone else just wasn't—well, they hated it more than anything. They've quite literally killed for him, and Todoroki wasn't sure if they would be able to hold back on killing any potential mates for Izuku in the future.
"Uh, Todoroki's gettin that look in his eyes," Kaminari warned.
Immediately, Todoroki shook his head, blinking to right himself. "Sorry," he excused, "I think I need to go lay down for a bit." He left the room while the others were trying to locate Izuku. He would have stayed, but Kaminari was right about his Enigma coming out more often than not. He's sure the others will update him if anything really does pop up. He's sure that Aizawa will come around soon enough asking for information, anyway. Hawks was going to be sharing more information for the week soon, anyway, so they were probably going to have a meeting about it.
Todoroki headed to his—or rather their den. He's not sure if it was the time spent in the facility, the years spent alone compared to the single room they shared when Izuku visited, or the way they shared Izuku's cramped room in his apartment for those few months afterwards, but they just couldn't quite deal with having separate rooms. They didn't see a use for it, because when they attempted to have their own rooms, they all just found themselves sleeping in the same one, anyway. Shirakumo was quick to reassure them that he was in a similar situation, and as was Ms. Midnight. The isolation for such a long period of time was likely a factor in it, so the three of them decided to share a den.
They would need to share a den, eventually. He's sure Izuku wouldn't want to be going room to room or feel conflicted if they each did have their own den. If Izuku wanted a separate room for his nest, then they wouldn't mind, but would make sure to get a room that would accommodate a nest if they really needed it.
Todoroki entered the large room, settling himself in the den's nest located on the far back wall. It was a temporary room, but they still made sure to keep the clothes that Izuku last scented for them right in the center of it. It had lost its scent by now, but they all held onto the clothing, wanting at least something to remind them of Izuku. With it were the stuffed plushies and blankets that Izuku bought them during their time at the facility. The biggest one, the bunny that almost matched Izuku's height, was at the very center, and Todoroki reached over to cling to it, hoping that Izuku was okay.
They would love to take Izuku in, and they fought really hard with themselves not to charge through and snatch him up as soon as he was located. They missed him so much, and being away from him for so long was obviously having some negative impact on the three of them. They would often force themselves into working on other projects in order to avoid being involved in Izuku's case.
They all knew that the more involved they were, the more it might push them to make brash decisions and therefore ruin their mission. So it wasn't odd to find them running other missions involving collecting debt from others or even taking down other yakuza organizations that were located nearby to establish their own authority.
It wasn't a surprise to hear the den doors open. Todoroki knew that at one point or another, the other two would become just as anxious as him and have to force themselves to return to their den.
Todoroki barely glanced over his shoulder to see the two figures of Kirishima dragging Bakugo along, "Updates?"
"Not yet," Kirishima answered. With his words, Todoroki could hear the flicker of a lighter and the clink of the candle lid coming off. "Hatsume just said that Shinso's job hasn't heard from him either, at least his coworkers. She has to take a bit more time to get any inside details as to why that is." The candle was lit, and Todoroki didn't need to look to know it was the candle that smelled like Izuku. "Ashido's also hangin around the bar to see if Izuku does show up."
"This is such bullshit. If that damn alpha can't take care of him when he's sick, then why can't we just help? We take Deku in, explain shit, and get him to lure out Shigaraki and his Loser Squad. He'll know what's goin on and be able to handle being in a shit situation!" Bakugo flopped on the bed, opposite side of Todoroki to take one of the smaller plushies. He made a poor attempt to pick up a scent from it, only making the blond growl more.
Todoroki sighed, feeling the foot of the bed dip with Kirishima's weight. "We don't know if it would compromise the whole plan. There is a chance that it would be safer if he knew, but there's also the chance that he could make more reckless decisions if he knew. We just don't know how he would react," Todoroki rolled onto his back, facing the ceiling as he hugged the plushie to his chest. Even if it were huge to the others, with their large size, they dwarfed the bunny plushie. Todoroki often imagined Izuku taking the bunny's place, and how it would be so easy to hold Izuku, to make him feel safe and protected.
"And knowing Izuku, it's probably going to be the second option," Kirishima pouted, settling himself down in the middle of the bed, but a bit lower down. Todoroki was sure that he didn't quite fit on the bed given that Kirishima was the tallest of the three of them, but the other didn't seem to care.
"That selfless idiot would probably want to fight Shigaraki himself if he knew the organization that he was involved with," Bakugo grumbled before cursing. "There's also the issue of finding All Might," he added, "Aizawa mentioned something about him being an ally, but we just haven't had any chance to locate him yet."
They were told that All Might was an Enigma as well, one that trained his ability and held a lot of raw power that could potentially help them take down Shigaraki.
"Ah. Right. It is a bit weird to imagine an Enigma that managed to escape being forced into a facility," Kirishima pondered.
Bakugo sat up immediately, and Todoroki watched the blond's red eyes go wide. "Shit! What if that's why—" They didn't get more of an explanation, because Bakugo rushed his way out of the den.
"Wait up!" Kirishima was quick to get up as well, chasing Bakugo up and out of the room. Todoroki followed suit, quick to blow out the candle to see just what was so important.
Though, Bakugo didn't get the chance to voice his explanation very well.
Their team was gathered around, crowding….something. They couldn't quite see what it was, but everyone seemed to be hovering. The worst part was seeing Recovery Girl there, one of their best nurses that they had. Shit, did that mean that Hawks was back? Had Shigaraki found out that he was some sort of double agent? If Recovery Girl was there, then how badly was he hurt? They must've carried him in—
Todoroki froze when he finally saw exactly who was there. Seeing him also told Todoroki exactly why he was there. The exhausted look, the blood coming from somewhere on his arm as recovery girl desperately tried to stop the blood flow while trying to move everyone out of the way. Those green curls, freckles, and green doe eyes were unmistakable. Though the worst part of it all-- the likely reason he was surrounded and being helped as urgently as possible-- was the unmistakable smell of an omega in a drop.
"Izuku…" he breathed out before he could think. It was the only word he could utter before the omega was herded towards the closest medical room.