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Hitoshi yawned and stretched languidly, some of his blanket falling from his hip. His fireplace crackled and warmth emitted from the stone and brick structure. Frost crawled along the outside windows, bespelling just how cold it was for the evening. Winter would always be a soft place in his heart, he’d admit, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t admit how freezing the temperatures have been lately. His phone beeped silently with a message from one of the various group chats he’s somehow found himself in, someone laughing to a joke Asui Tsuyu had sent a few hours previously.
His beloved cat, Mittens, lounged along the headrest of the couch, and started to lightly claw at the furniture. Hitoshi tsked at that.
“Mittens,” he said, “stop that.”
Of course, Mittens ignored him.
Hitoshi sighed. Most of his furniture had been clawed at some point; it was Mittens way of filing her nails as well as marking her territory, even though she was the queen of the house. He could retrieve his water spray bottle, but he was rather warm and comfortable under his mountain of blankets, and thus didn’t feel like moving.
A shrill and obnoxious ring tone floated in the air, and Hitoshi groaned. He wasn’t sure why he ever let Kaminari near his phone, but he supposed even he would have lapses in judgement. Reaching for the coffee table, he pressed ‘answer,’ and placed the receiver against his ear.
“Hello—?”
“Hey, uh, hey Shinsou!” He blinked at the babbled voice, recognizing it as belonging to Kirishima Eijirou. “Hey, you’re still a Re-Registered Support Omega, right?”
Hitoshi raised an eyebrow. Had someone in the class gone feral or something? “Yes, why—?”
“Great!” Kirishima interrupted as if he hadn’t spoke. Hitoshi could overhear snarls and low growls in the distance, and sighed inwardly. He could already tell what kind of evening his night would turn into. Goodbye corny and romantic Christmas movies . . . farewell. “Still live in that fancy house of yours?”
Hitoshi snorted to himself. He could hardly count his 1 bed and bath as fancy, but as most of his classmates still either lived at home or with roommates, he supposed he could see that perspective. His own home had been a gift from his maternal grandmother when she had passed. “Yeah . . . what’s your ETA?”
“Ten minutes out! See you then.”
Before another question could fall from Hitoshi’s lips, the phone call disconnected. He scowled down at the dark screen of his phone before setting it aside. He looked over at Mittens, who had a satisfied expression on her face as she groomed herself.
“Looks like we’re going to have some company,” Hitoshi murmured, petting her for a moment, and then forced himself to leave his small nest of blankets.
He hadn’t always wanted to become a Registered Support Omega – or RSO, for short – but he supposed it gave him a better understanding of how deep people would often fall on the feral scale. He had started when he interned with the Wild Wild Pussycats during his second year of high school, finding himself intrigued by the support properties of his quirk. When he had been helping evacuate harried civilians from a landslide, many commented on the soothing flare of his scent, calming down just by his presence rather than his quirk, and it made him think of the good he could do with his instincts that he often thought of as a nuisance.
Through the various programs and licensure requirements, he became an RSO on the same evening he became a full fledged Pro Hero, and often worked both jobs round the clock. It was why he seldom let go of his free time, even for a catch-up with friends, nearly running himself ragged with the two responsibilities.
Now, though, things have cooled down, and he’s considered a Part-time RSO rather than someone always on call for the worst of the worst.
He shuffled around and prepared his living room and house for the arrival. He wasn’t entirely sure how many were feral, but considering the Bakusquad were still stuck at the hip even now, almost ten years after school ended, he could wager a guess as to the who. He stopped by his bathroom for a moment and filled the tub, knowing a hot and soothing bath could soothe some instincts better than his scent and touch ever could.
Besides, who knew what mess they were coming from anyway?
Shuffling towards the kitchen, he prepared a few mugs of warm tea and some light snacks that he’d received from his elderly neighbors, the Fujiwara’s. They were such a sweet couple and had taken to adopting Hitoshi as one of their grandchildren. It made him think of his grandparents, and their kind selves, so he found he couldn’t say no to the support and extra attention, especially as he was an omega who lived by himself.
Just as ten minutes reared its’ head, there was a series of rapid fire knocks on his door. Hitoshi wasted little time in reaching the front door and genkan, not wanting his neighbors to get concerned and call welfare services. That was the last thing anyone needed, especially if there were feral Pro Heroes on his doorstep.
He opened his door to find Kaminari and Ashido hanging off Kirishima, the man using his quirk to keep himself as safe as possible from the erratic slivers of their quirks. Behind them was Sero, wrangling both Bakugou and, somewhat unsurprisingly, Midoriya. Hitoshi immediately flared out his scent with soothing properties, blanketing the small porch with his lavender, patchouli, and vanilla, and stepped aside, leaving the doorway free for entry.
Kirishima dragged Kaminari and Ashido inside, the two almost lyrical in their snarling subvocal sounds. Bakugou and Midoriya seemed to be the worst of it, and poor Sero needed a handoff, the omega not quite used to having feral packmates like Hitoshi was.
“Give ‘em here,” said Hitoshi, opening his arms, and it was like a canon went off in the two Alpha’s veins. Glueing themselves to his side, Hitoshi tilted his head and flared his scent once again, leaning to rub his cheek and nuzzle against the side of Bakugou’s face. “Come inside,” he murmured, voice muffled against Midoriya’s curls. “It’s cold as shit.”
“I’m freezing my tits off,” said Sero, who wasted little time in crossing the threshold and shutting the door behind them with his foot. He looked exhausted, weary lines dragging his face down as if he’d spent the last three nights working on a double-case.
Hitoshi took careful steps towards the living room nest with the two still attached to his side. Only years of experience as an RSO had him able to maneuver around, what with the curdled and burnt scents near overwhelming his.
Sero covered his nose and explained. “Mission gone wrong—one of the ‘perps had a Quirk that could induce feral behavior, and those four had the largest impact.”
A purr rumbled in the back of Hitoshi’s throat as he spoke. “Well, shit. Kiri – think you could handle these two in the bath while I settle down Denks and Mina?”
Kirishima looked relieved at having to relinquish the two to Hitoshi. “Yeah, I can handle it.”
“Want me in there?” Sero offered even as he looked as if he smelled something rather foul. Feral scents could take some time to get accustomed to, after all. “With my scent and all.”
“More the merrier,” Kirishima chirped as he moved to wrangle a snarling Midoriya and a frighteningly quiet Bakugou away from Hitoshi’s sides.
Ashido made a low croon in the back of her throat, her normally black and gold irises now a deep, violent reddened black. Hitoshi shivered at the sight of it—even now, all these years later, he could never quite get used to how ferality warped someone’s features.
“You’re safe here,” Hitoshi responded in a low, soothing purr, reaching her and Kaminari’s sides with ease. He wrapped an arm around her waist, and another around Kaminari’s, pulling them closer against his warmth. It helped that he had taken a shower about an hour ago, and his scrubbed scent glands were free of any other scent except from his own.
Slivers of electricity shoot off from Kaminari’s form, and it feels as though he’s being prickled by a thousand little fingers. Not quite the best feeling in the world, but by far not the worst that Hitoshi’s been through. He can stomach being electrocuted for a bit, at least while he helped settle the two down. He released another rumbling purr from his throat, leaning down to dip his nose against the outline of Kaminari’s scent glands. He nosed around the area for a moment, coaxing some of Kaminari’s citrusy scent out, before turning to do the same to Ashido’s peppermint and cocoa scent.
He wasn’t going to move them towards the nest quite yet – not until they had their time in the bath, at least. He wasn’t sure if the villains’ quirk had any remnants on their clothes and skin, and thus didn’t want to risk it spreading on his nest blankets and pillows. Then everyone would be feral, and that wouldn’t be the best of times to be had, in Hitoshi’s opinion.
Mittens had made herself scarce when the door had been knocked on, likely sensing the feral scents before Hitoshi’s own senses could. Hitoshi wasn’t too concerned about her, though, knowing she’d be safe and secure in whatever hiding spot she’d created.
Ashido crooned once again in the back of her throat, and a broken purr echoed in Kaminari’s. Hitoshi echoed the two noises with another soothing rumble of his own. “You’re doing so good,” he assured, the praise butter soft against his tongue as he spoke. “Do you remember me? Do you know my name?”
“Toshi . . .,” Kaminari mumbled as he buried his nose against the scent glands along Hitoshi’s collarbone. Ashido was attempting to become one with Hitoshi’s left. “. . . Safe.”
“That’s right,” Hitoshi replied softly. “I’m safe here. You’re safe here.”
A darker shadow from the corner of his eye made him turn, and he blinked in surprise to see Bakugou slinking down the hallway. From the flare of his scent and the protective tilt to his mouth, Hitoshi could tell he was attempting to search the area for threats and mark the territory as Pack, so that intruders would be warded off.
Hitoshi wouldn’t have minded it normally, but he sort of wished that Bakugou had put on some of the clothes he’d left in the bathroom first.
Kirishima skidded after him, sputtering, “Katsuki! You can’t just – this is Tosh’s home, you can’t be butt naked!”
Bakugou responded in a low huff, and then promptly ignored the rest of Kirishima’s squawking as well as the pair of clothes in the man’s hands. Flushed, Hitoshi turned his attention back towards Ashido and Kaminari. Midoriya appeared at the end of the hallway, half-dressed and eyes darting around before they settled on members of the pack, and he settled.
Sero appeared soon after, slightly disheveled and smelling of Hitoshi’s body wash. “I’m ready for the rest of ‘em.”
It took a moment to separate from Ashido and Kaminari, but with a crooning chirp from Sero, they separated from him and attached themselves to Sero’s side. Seeing that Hitoshi’s side was free, Midoriya made a low chirp in the back of his throat and essentially glomped his side. Sero snorted at the sight, and then disappeared back inside of the bathroom with the last of the feral packmates.
Hitoshi shifted a bit beneath most of Midoriya’s weight, the alpha crooning low and soft in his ear. He smelled softly of Hitoshi’s lavender and citrus soap, as well as his own musk. “C’mon, Izu, let’s head to the nest,” Hitoshi murmured and sort of crab-shuffled the other man towards the nest in the common space.
Midoriya followed along, though Hitoshi was well-aware the other man was searching for threats much like Katsuki still was, unbothered by Kirishima’s squawking and attempts to clothe him. Hitoshi only sighed at the chaos embroiled in his home, knowing it might be some time before their feral states dissipated. If Midoriya were more cognizant, he may have some ideas as to the quirk gas they had been hit with, but as Hitoshi had little to no details about the mission they’d been on, he’s just running on assumptions of past experiences.
Hitoshi led Midoriya towards the nest, and the alpha happily snuffed and grabbed him around the waist, pulling him down beside him against the fluffed pillows and blankets. Prior to their arrival, Hitoshi had gotten out his extra nesting materials he often took out when he was feeling particularly lonely and in need of some extra comfort. He knew how important nesting materials were for those who were feral, and so he went “all out,” so to speak.
Midoriya chuffed and stuck his face right in the crevice of Hitoshi’s neck, licking his scent gland. Hitoshi squirmed, laughing.
“Watch yourself,” he warned with a low snarl, as Midoriya licked the sensitive area again. He wasn’t quite so close to his mate gland, but it was close enough for a warning. No one needed a feral mate bond right now.
Midoriya made another low croon, and Hitoshi rolled his eyes for a moment before he responded with his own chuff and chirp, keeping his tone as light as possible to not make Midoriya believe he was truly upset.
Kirishima appeared at the edge of the nest a moment later, looking a bit wheezed and exasperated. “Well – he put on some pants at least,” Kirishima said with a short huff, hands on his hips as he peered towards where Katsuki was stalking against the windows, alert for any kind of enemy movement. Though what enemies would appear in the countryside, Hitoshi had little idea.
“Thanks for that,” Hitoshi said, still flushed at the side of Katsuki’s . . . rather attractive body. What? He was a healthy, of-mating age omega. He could look.
“No problemo,” said Kirishima, and then glanced back towards the bathroom where sounds of a bath and Kaminari’s playful growling, along with Ashido’s higher pitched yips, could be heard. “’M gonna go check on them, see if Sero needs some backup.”
Knowing those two, he probably did.
Hitoshi turned his attention back to the two feral Alphas in his presence, and gently flared his scent. He didn’t overdo it, not enough to make them feel dazed or threatened—or worse, that he was sending an offer—but enough that they would feel relaxed and calm by the soothing components of his scent that most omegas naturally had. He happened to have an above average production of them, thanks to the additives of lavender and patchouli in his scent glands.
Midoriya purred deep in the back of his throat, and Bakugou – finally – turned his attention away from the potential of outside threats, and towards the nest. Hitoshi caught the alpha’s reddened black gaze, and chirped quietly, invitingly, but did nothing more than that. Alphas who were high alert were a bit trickier to calm down, and most wouldn’t feel completely safe until the entire pack – or those the inner alpha deemed to be “safe people” – were in their line of sight.
Shuffled movement caught his attention, and he glanced back to see Sero corralling Kaminari and Ashido towards the nest, the two dressed in some spare pajamas Hitoshi had lain out before their arrival. He had made a correct guess as to what would fit them, thankful that he often hoarded clothes out of habit from his time spent in the foster care system.
Kaminari happily dove towards the nest and crawled up against Hitoshi’s side, sticking his nose into the other free crevice of Hitoshi’s neck. Ashido’s limbs sprawled around them as she carelessly made herself comfortable, uncaring whether her foot stuck against someone else’s side or not. It seemed she wanted to have at least one part of her limbs touching someone else’s to feel grounded.
Which, understandable.
Bakugou took careful steps around the nest, circling it slowly. If not for his previous experiences as a Support Omega, Hitoshi wouldn’t know that the alpha was essentially herding them and making sure they stayed within the relative safety of the nest. Sensing he was about to be herded, Sero made his way towards the nest and settled in beside Kaminari, reaching to card his fingers through the blonds’ hair. Katsuki even herded Kirishima towards the edge of the nest, not allowing him to step any farther from the rest of the vulnerable pack.
“He’s such a mother hen,” said Kirishima fondly as he took a seat against the plush pillows and blankets. Ashido made a happy croon in the back of her throat, mixed with a half purr, and dove for his torso, wrapping her arms around him in an embrace. “Aww . . . love you too, Mina.”
Ashido purred.
Hitoshi continued flaring out his scent and making sure it had the perfect amount of calming and grounding pheromones. Kirishima flared out his scent as well, mixing in some of the Beta’s soothing scents, though it was a bit choppy as he wasn’t entirely used to it like Hitoshi and Sero were. Soon, the nest was a mix of comforting, soothing scents, the low and soothing croons and chuffs from Midoriya and Kaminari, the grounding purrs from Ashido, Sero, and Hitoshi, and the soft padding of Bakugou’s feet against the floorboards.
Hitoshi reached for Ashido and carded fingers through her hair, careful not to jostle Midoriya or Kaminari too much, and smiled softly as she arched into the touch almost like a cat. Speaking of cats . . . Mittens was making herself scarce with the new additions to the household, understandably. She was a prickly little thing and was selective with who she allowed herself to be around.
Perhaps he should’ve named her Queenie, instead.
“Thanks for helping,” Kirishima said some time later, as some were beginning to nod off thanks to the soothing and grounding techniques. “I dunno what we would’ve done without you.”
“For real,” Sero said as a yawn opened his mouth, looking quite comfortable and relaxed as he spooned against Kaminari’s back. “You’re a lifesaver, Shin-chan.”
Hitoshi huffed a soft laugh at the old nickname, one that Ashido christened him with when he arrived at 1-A and refused to call him anything else. “No problem . . . I’m just glad you guys got here safe enough,” he added after a moment, knowing how perilous it could be to travel with feral packmates. Especially feral packmates who had highly specialized training in defense and offense.
“No kidding,” Kirishima snorted, and then jabbed a thumb towards Bakugou, who had stilled and took a seat at the edge of the nest but hadn’t joined in the cuddling just yet. “I was afraid that one would’ve started a brawl at the train station.”
Hitoshi chuckled. That would’ve been a fight to see, for sure. Pro Hero Dynamight, getting into scuffles with pedestrians who looked at him wrong. Then again, on a normal day, Bakugou just would’ve cussed them out and called it a day. He’d never been one to back down from a scuffle or challenge, no matter what state he was in.
“Well, fighter,” Hitoshi said and turned his attention towards Bakugou, raising an eyebrow. “You gonna get in the nest or are you just gonna stay out and stare at us like some creeper?”
Bakugou chuffed for a moment, as if offended he’d even be mistaken as a peeping tom, and then sat besides Kirishima when the man patted the empty space beside him. Hitoshi counted it as a win, to be honest. High strung Alphas like Bakugou were the some of the worst to handle when feral, but thankfully they weren’t by themselves.
“I dunno how you could do this for a living,” Kirishima said as he now had a handful of both Bakugou and Ashido in his arms. “This shit’s exhausting.”
Hitoshi snorted softly. “Why do you think I’m only a part-time Support?”
“Bless your soul,” muttered Sero, some of Kaminari’s hair in his mouth. “. . . How long does this shit even last?”
“Depends on the person,” Hitoshi said after a moment, reaching another one of his hands to pet Midoriya’s curls after the man gave him a pleading expression and a croon. “For some, it’s half an hour, but considering they were hit by a quirk . . . it could be hours, honestly.”
“Fuck me in the ass,” said Sero, groaning. “It’s barely been two hours!”
Kirishima made an ugly snort whilst Hitoshi laughed against the crown of Midoriya’s forehead. Kaminari’s purrs deepened at the laughter floating around the nest, and Ashido made happy chirps in the back of her throat. Bakugou started to sound like a well-oiled motorboat, given how deep his purrs wracked down his chest. If not for their feral states, it would’ve been a rather peaceful nesting session.
For now, though, they would just have to weather through the storm. Thankfully, the worst of the feral behaviors have seemed to be dulled by his scent and actions, and now they were entering a sleeping phase. It happened when the one who was feral had felt safe enough to relax entirely, allowing their walls and defenses to fall as they were in the pack nest.
A part of Hitoshi wondered why else they sought refuge in his home and nest, as he wasn’t the only Support Omega they knew in the Heroics field—hell, even out of their old classmates, there was Tsu and Kouda . . . but those were questions for another time, another day.
For now, he focused on grounding and soothing their frayed, frazzling nerves, lulling them in to a sense of security and safety as they dozed.