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The wind was cold over the Musutafu district as several students from Class 1A perched on a rooftop, looking down into the bustling streets below. The constant buzz of people and car horns filled the air, having the effect of white noise. If they weren't searching for a known villain among the countless bodies, Katsuki would've thought it was relaxing. Instead, his entire being was coiled tightly like a spring, storing potential energy and just begging to be set in motion.
Sweat droplets pooled on his palms, so he discreetly wiped them on his pants legs while glancing around. Tonight's team consisted of Deku, Uraraka, Hagakure, and Iida. The two girls were ready for a hopefully stealthy capture, Iida was prepared for a high speed chase, and he and Deku were backup in case the plan fell through. Katsuki hated being out late just to serve as a safety net, but he begrudgingly admitted to himself that it was part of the job.
He cast a suspicious look at Deku over his shoulder, who was making small talk with Ochako as they studied the streets below. It had only been a few weeks since Ground Beta and their conversation after, but in that time, their relationship had become decidedly different. Katsuki wasn't sure he liked it, but he didn't have the heart to push Deku away again, not right now. Ugh. Stupid feelings.
Since their talk, Katsuki had paid a visit to his teacher, Aizawa. It had taken every ounce of courage he had to tell him the truth, no matter how much he trusted the man. Katsuki knew very well that lying to U.A. about his secondary gender could get him expelled, but he also knew that annoying, infuriating Deku was right. If he didn't get off those illegal suppressants which were slowly damaging his health, he could kiss his career as a Pro Hero goodbye.
Katsuki had been expecting a thousand different responses from his teacher.
“You're expelled.”
“We'll have to relocate you to the Support Course.”
“Omegas can't be heroes. You're putting everyone in danger.”
Not a single one of them was: “I know” with a bored shrug.
“You knew?” Katsuki gaped, folding his arms over his chest instinctively to keep his palms from sparking. The information hit him harder than a slap in the face.
“Sure I did, Bakugou. Do you think I'm stupid?” Aizawa deadpanned. “I spend all day every day with teenagers, and I've seen an Omega in hiding before.”
Katsuki scowled.
“The hell is that supposed to mean?”
Aizawa clicked his tongue and stared down at his desk.
“It's not my place to tell you, but I'll say this: just because there haven't been any Omegas officially listed as top heroes doesn't mean there have never been any at all. If you really want this Bakugou, like I know you do, then nobody can stop you. Is it going to be harder for you than others? Yes. But I believe you can overcome it, or I wouldn't have passed you during the entrance exam.”
Katsuki nearly choked.
“You knew since the entrance exam?!”
“I had my suspicions,” he replied with ease. “Now, about these illegal pills. That I did not know about. You do realize U.A. has a strict policy on illegal substances, yes? Bootleg suppressants fall inside the same domain as narcotics, Bakugou.”
The teen boy kept his eyes fixed steadfastly on his shoes, shame creeping into his bones. He'd known the risk; he'd just always assumed the results outweighed it. Aizawa sighed and rubbed his temple, exhaustion evident in his body language.
“Legally, I'm required to report this to Nedzu. However, with what's going on with Midoriya's quirk, I don't think this'll be high on his priority list. But what we will be doing is getting you safe medications, Bakugou, and I don't want to hear a word out of you about it. I can have it delivered to your dorm room. You must take them, or we're going to have a serious problem. Do you understand?”
Katsuki hung his head for a moment and then nodded, adrenaline washing away under the feathery weight of relief. He wasn't going to be expelled, and Aizawa wasn't going to tell anyone at school.
Wait.
“Sensei.”
“Yes?”
“Are you going to tell my parents?”
“They don't know?” he replied with a slightly surprised expression.
“No.”
A brief silence followed as Aizawa thought, tapping his fingers against the desk’s surface.
“Legally, yes, I'm supposed to tell them. U.A. is required to tell parents about any changes to their children's health while they're under our care. The only exception is if it would put the student in a dangerous home environment.”
Katsuki stuck his hands into the pockets of his uniform to hide the sparks that erupted from his palms.
“Would it put you in a bad situation, Katsuki?” Aizawa asked softly. So, so softly. That tone should make Katsuki bristle, the same way All Might’s hugs did, do. And yet, just like those embraces from his childhood hero, he really wanted to enjoy the gentleness being extended to him. It was one of the many reasons he'd disliked Deku so intensely for so long; how dare he be gentle to Katsuki? Didn't he know that Katsuki didn't deserve it?
He wanted to snap, to rear his head and raise his defenses so high that nobody could ever see him crack. But that wouldn't really fix anything, would it? His fight at Ground Beta had at least taught him that much.
“...I— I don’t think it would be good, Sensei. My parents already seemed disappointed enough when I said I was a Beta. I don't think— my mom wouldn't take it well. She'd probably try to pull me out of school.”
“I see. In that case, it'll just stay between us, okay?”
“Okay. Thank you, Sensei.”
“Oh, and Bakugou?”
“Yeah?”
“I think you should consider letting your classmates help you. You can't know if they'll have your back if you never give them the chance to. I think you'll find they care about you more than you know.”
“...maybe,” Katsuki replied quietly. Then he left, letting the door shut with a soft click. He remained in the vacant hallway for a moment, collecting himself.
Now he stood tall over the skyline of Musutafu, trying to assure himself that it was alright. The people with him were safe. They'd come to rescue him from the League of Villains when they didn't have to; surely that had to mean they were at least a little trustworthy.
But there was that one part of him, the part that festered in darkness and fed on his secret fears, that told him no, they weren't safe. Deku might keep everything under wraps for now, but as soon an opportunity presented itself, he'd expose Katsuki just to get the upper hand.
(He knew Deku would never do that, but reason didn't work on this feral, paranoid, Omega part of his brain.)
He didn't get much more time to muse over that, though, because a second later he caught sight of their suspect.
This villain was unassuming, which made him all the harder to catch. He was of ordinary height and build, slinking through the streets in his signature dark purple coat. None of the citizens around him were afraid, however, because this man operated underground as a hit man for the highest bidder. His typical clients were usually yakuza or rival street gangs, but he'd also attempted a hit on a wealthy man's wife and failed. The only reason he was even discovered was because he assumed the woman dead. In reality, she laid perfectly motionless until he left, then carefully removed his weapon of choice: poison darts.
That was how the pro heroes had finally gotten a lead on the infamous villain known as Bolt, but since most of them were spread out intently searching for the League of Villains, apprehending him had fallen to hero students. Not ideal, but arresting this guy wasn't a first priority for top heroes like Miruko or Endeavor.
That was fine with Katsuki, though, because he loved kicking butt.
“Cheeks, there he is!” he called roughly. In an instant, he was surrounded by his team, each craning to get a look at the villain.
“I'm on it,” Hagakure answered, slipping down the side of the building to begin the start of their plan. Uraraka gave Deku a fist bump and followed her, leaving the three boys alone on the vacant rooftop. He heard Deku mumbling under his breath, calculating the probability of their plan's success or some other nerdy crap. Iida stood at attention and waited for the signal from Uraraka over the comms.
The wind continued to whistle through Katsuki's hair, and for a brief moment he worried…
No. He was on suppressants and wore his patches devotedly in the field. His scent should be practically nonexistent, even if he was in heat.
Uraraka's signal came a second later, and it wasn't what they wanted to hear. The villain was on the move, and he knew there were heroes in the area. Ochako had barely avoided one of his darts, and Hagakure was struggling to keep eyes on the target.
Go time.
Engines revved, palms sizzled, lighting crackled, and the three teens were off like missiles on a mission.
Katsuki relished the feeling of speeding through the sky. The only one sharing the airspace with him was Deku, but as much as he hated to admit it, that wasn't a problem. He and Deku worked way better together than he'd ever dared to believe.
He stole a quick glance at the figure next to him. Deku was lit up with One For All, causing his silhouette to glow against the dark skyline. The teal light danced in his eyes and colored the tips of his hair. His expression was determined in that way which used to infuriate Katsuki, but now brought him a strange sense of comfort.
“Kacchan!”
Shoot. He'd lost his concentration by staring too long.
He swerved and followed Deku, who was descending on the villain at a frighteningly quick pace. The two heroes-in-training fell from the Musutafu sky like shooting stars and landed with the fanfare of an asteroid. Thankfully the villain had run away from the overcrowded parts of the district, but that didn't mean it was devoid of civilians. Out of the corner of his eye, Katsuki saw some bystanders beginning to scramble. He knew by instinct that Deku would attend to them first before tackling the villain, which left it a 1v1 between Katsuki and Bolt since Iida had stopped to check on Uraraka.
“Good grief, they're sending children after me now?! How low are the pros willing to go?” the villain drawled. Katsuki could see him reach for a pocket that surely held his darts, but he couldn't tell exactly where it was.
Bolt's quirk produced a natural poison from his body that he could control similar to Mina's acid, but more refined. The lethality came from his custom darts, which he could manipulate at will. They almost never missed.
“You wish they'd sent a pro!” Katsuki roared, charging forward with his signature right hook. “I'M WAY NASTIER, BUDDY!”
Bolt darted to the left and pivoted, swinging around to try and stab Katsuki's right shoulder. Katsuki ducked instead and went for the sweep, but he wasn't fast enough to get it. The dance continued back and forth for a rough thirty seconds with Bolt throwing taunts and Katsuki chucking them right back. Somewhere in the background Deku was evacuating citizens, who were especially panicked when they saw the smoke from Katsuki's quirk.
His fatal mistake was letting Bolt get in his head.
He had him. An explosion was ready to fire off from his left palm, and Bolt was cornered with nowhere to run. Katsuki could've just ignored him. Should have.
“Well, well, what do we have here? An Omega hero? In heat too, poor little thing. Who let you out of the house?”
Katsuki's heart plummeted, and he faltered for an instant, which was all it took. Just as the fire of indignation began lighting up his blood, he felt a sharp prick to the back of his neck. He staggered from the impact, which gave Bolt an opening to land a massive punch just beneath Katsuki's jaw. His vision swam with colors as the taste of blood filled his mouth.
Shit. The poison.
Katsuki threw a hand behind his neck, desperate to pull out the dart, when he realized another major issue. The dart had struck his scent gland, and even worse, it was buried up to the fletching. Removal wouldn't be quick, and this poison acted fast, usually finishing the job within ten minutes. Shit!
Another punch came from Bolt that he barely managed to block. He gave up more ground though, and now Bolt was basically free. A tingling feeling started creeping down Katsuki's arms. It was very light, but it was there. In a few minutes he'd be totally incapacitated.
Bolt brought his fist back once more, and this time Katsuki knew he didn't have the strength to counter. His body was starting to feel numb around the edges, and his movements had grown a bit sluggish. Even his explosions were detonating slower.
The villain surged forward and grabbed Katsuki's left arm instead, pushing him to the ground. His weight fell heavy on the concrete since he was too slow to brace for the fall. Normally he'd be up on his feet quickly after a cheap trick like that, but this time the hit sent a vibration up his spine that left him nauseous. Katsuki rolled in a weak attempt at escape, but Bolt just shoved him over onto his stomach.
Really, he should've assumed the dude had a knife.
A hot, stabbing pain erupted in his shoulder blade, eliciting a shriek of agony from Katsuki. His vision went completely white, and nothing else registered in his mind but pain pain pain pain. He'd dealt with plenty of injuries from quirks and fists, but nothing prepared him for being stabbed from behind.
He'd never had his Omega panic in battle before. Not when losing to Deku, not when fighting All Might, not even when he was kidnapped by the League of Villains. He'd heard of heroes using secondary instincts in battle, but he'd always kept them under lock and key. His instincts would only weaken him; they were useless in a fight. He wasn't sure whether the panic was coming from his Omega or himself, but suddenly the two were one in the same.
A sickening keen pierced the air, and belatedly Katsuki realized it belonged to him.
All at once, Bolt's weight was gone. He vaguely registered the sound of something hitting the ground with a thud. That was definitely more force than they were allowed to use in the field. Suddenly, Deku's voice rang out loud and clear next to his ear, sounding incredibly enraged.
“IIDA-KUN! I need you to secure the villain! Kacchan's been hit!”
“On it!” Iida replied. Uraraka's voice and footsteps could be heard farther down the alley.
“Call Sensei too!” Deku shouted over his shoulder.
More cries drifted to Katsuki's ears in a voice that didn't sound anything like his own. It was too high, too anguished. He sounded like he'd just had his meltdown at Ground Beta.
“Kacchan, I'm going to pull the knife out on three so I can move you, okay?”
Katsuki couldn't reply, vision still hazy from pain and poison. Surprisingly though, the smell of a warm summer day washed over him, and his aching muscles that were guarding the wound relaxed instantly. Deku’s voice was so calm.
Safe.
“Good job, Kacchan. Okay, on three. One… two… three…!”
Another burning sensation spread across his shoulder, and he couldn't suppress the groan that tore out of him.
“Good good good, okay, uh—”
Deku sucked in a shaky breath, and the smell of a warm summer day quickly turned into the thick scent of an incoming thunderstorm. Fear.
“Okay, it's going to be a while until help arrives, but— but no worries, I've got supplies! I just need— to— shit, move you. Okay, right Izuku, just move him. I'm going to pick you up now, Kacchan.”
Katsuki felt himself being gently lifted off the ground into Deku's arms. His vision had cleared a little since the removal of the knife, so now he could see how white the other boy's face truly was. If Deku was this concerned, the damage must be bad.
They reached a destination that Deku must've deemed okay, because Katsuki was slowly set down against a concrete wall. The cool sensation of water hit his face, finally washing away the stickiness of his own sweat and blood. Katsuki took a deep breath and opened his eyes again to see Deku smiling at him. The panic was thinly disguised in his expression.
“There you are, Kacchan. Okay, the stab wound isn't too deep, so the poison dart is more important. Let's get that out first and then I'll stop the bleeding–”
Wait a second.
If that villain had somehow known he was in heat, then surely Deku could tell too. Katsuki glanced down at his wrists in bewilderment to find that his right sleeve was badly ripped and his scent patch along with it. The wind was still blowing, and Katsuki knew then he was in really deep trouble.
“N–no, Deku, you can't.”
Deku was already pulling out first aid supplies from his belt with lightning efficiency. He looked up in surprise and confusion.
“What? Kacchan, we have to.”
Adrenaline pumped back into Katsuki's system, coursing through every fiber of his being. The pain didn't matter. The poison didn't matter. Help would arrive before he died from it… probably.
No, what mattered was that he was weak and in heat and there was an Alpha less than a foot away from him. One that could definitely smell his scent.
“Deku, hell no.”
His speech had returned to him crystal clear despite the pain just for the sake of keeping Deku away. It lacked his usual fire, but it stung enough to get his point across.
“Kacchan. You have a dart in your neck!”
“Exactly, dumbass!” Katsuki snapped.
Deku's frown deepened.
“Please, Kacchan, I know that has to hurt. Just let me get it out! It'll take five seconds—”
“Do. Not. Touch. Me,” Katsuki growled, voice low and dangerous. Without thought, his fangs and claws made themselves known. Deku's eyes widened in shock, then understanding.
“Oh Kacchan,” he whispered in something akin to horror.
“I don't need your stupid pity!”
“It's not pity. I just care about you, okay?! Sue me for not wanting you to die!”
His scent had grown thicker now, tinted with something sharp. Anger.
This was bad. This was really, really bad.
Run. Hide. Escape.
“Why won't you just let me help you?” Deku asked quietly, his eyes focused on the roll of bandages he was twirling in his fingers.
“You know why,” Katsuki huffed. “I— you wouldn't understand.”
“Understand what?”
“Being helpless like this!” Katsuki hissed, and as soon as the words left his mouth he realized his mistake. Deku's expression grew so exasperated he could've challenged Aizawa.
“Really, Kacchan? Are you serious right now?”
Katsuki stewed in stubborn silence.
“If anyone knows how it feels to be helpless, it's me.”
And he knew Deku was right. Honestly, it had been a really horrible thing for him to say.
“Fine. You're right, okay? But...do you even realize what you're asking me to do?”
“I'm asking you to let me pull a dart out of your neck, Kacchan.”
“No you're not, Deku! You are asking me to give you access at my absolute weakest moment. I can't— if you wanted to—”
“Kacchan,” the other boy warned, voice growing hard, telling him not to go there. Well sucks to be Deku, because Katsuki didn't tolerate any Alpha bossing him around.
“... you could take everything from me, and I wouldn't be able to stop you. Is that getting through your thick skull?!"
Deku sat still, too stunned to reply.
“What if— what if you lost control, Deku? What then, huh?”
And while he was certainly taking this too far, his fear wasn't completely unfounded. His entire life he'd grown up hearing the adults around him blame Omegas for everything. If an assault occurred, it was never the Alpha's fault. Well, they just couldn't help themselves, you see. Omegas simply shouldn't put themselves in situations like that. Why were they wearing that outfit if not for an Alpha's attention? Were they on their suppressants? Why didn't they just call their mate? The list went on, and on, and on…
“Do you think that little of me?” Deku asked. There was a wobble in his voice, and Katsuki was sure his eyes were filled with tears.
“...what?”
“I said, do you think that little of me? That I would hurt you? That I can't control myself?” he whispered, hands clenched into fists. “I thought… I thought we were past this. I thought you knew that all I want, all I've ever wanted, is to help you.”
He sounded defeated, and the air was laced with the strong smell of his disappointment.
“Did I… Did I do something wrong, Kacchan? Something to make you feel like you can't trust me?”
It hurts. Let Alpha help.
Obeying his stupid instincts, Katsuki carefully studied Deku's expression despite the colors swimming across his vision. His face was filled with hurt and anguish, eyes squeezed shut to try and keep the tears at bay.
How many times was Katsuki going to hurt Izuku? How many times would he make him cry? How many times would he let Izuku believe he wasn't good enough?
“I— look, Deku. My whole life I've heard these horror stories about Alphas going haywire, and I know you've heard them too. It's not— not you, okay?”
Suddenly he lurched to the side, nausea and dizziness overtaking him. He could barely make out Deku who extended his hands before drawing them back.
Hurts. Hurts. Hurts. Let Alpha help.
“I know. I know, Kacchan. I'm sorry. I get it. You have every right to be afraid, but please, let me prove them wrong. I— I don't want you to die, Kacchan! Can you please trust me, just this once?”
You can't know if they'll have your back if you never give them the chance to.
Aizawa's words echoed around in his throbbing head, and in spite of his physical haze, his mind finally felt clear.
This was Deku. This was Izuku, the boy who had run out to save him with no quirk and no plan. The boy who had chased after him with two broken arms. The boy who had taken all of Katsuki's broken feelings at Ground Beta and tried his best to share the burden.
If he couldn't trust Izuku Midoriya, the nicest and kindest person he'd ever known, then who on earth could he trust?
“Okay,” Katsuki wheezed, his breathing beginning to grow shallow. It had suddenly occurred to him that he really could die here in this dirty alley because he was too scared to accept help. “Okay, fine.”
A weak smile crossed Izuku's face as he wiped away a single tear.
“Right. Thanks for trusting me, Kacchan. You won't regret it. I'm gonna save you.”
The warm, sunny scent that Katsuki loved returned. It reminded him of long, hot days spent chasing bugs and drinking from the hose. Days spent with Izuku before quirks, when everything was simple. Days when being heroes was just a grand childhood fantasy instead of a harsh reality.
Alpha is so good.
“I'm going to touch you now, okay?”
As soon as Katsuki nodded, Deku carefully turned him so that his neck was exposed. The most intense throbbing was definitely coming from the back of his neck, both from the dart and his inflamed scent gland. He felt a soft touch on his nape as Izuku tilted his head forward to inspect the injury. Katsuki sucked in a breath and tried not to think of how vulnerable he was or how close Deku's teeth were.
“Alright, I can pull it out, but I'm going to use One For All to do it so I don't risk leaving any behind.”
“‘S gonna hurt,” Katsuki croaked, body ready to give up from excruciating pain.
“Yeah, it will, but just for a second. You're the best, Kacchan. You can handle it. Just focus on me, okay?”
The comforting scent around him grew stronger, causing some of the tension to melt away. Katsuki sighed and let out a small, content noise that would definitely haunt him later during sleepless nights.
“On three. One. Two. Three!”
Katsuki felt like he'd been tased as the sensation of the dart being ripped out overwhelmed him. It stung worse than his quirk when he'd broken open blisters on his hands.
What really spooked him though was the sudden, firm hand directly on his neck after the dart was removed. Katsuki gasped and hissed as pulses of heat and pain raced through his body. He wasn't sure anyone had touched him there since he was a little kid, and the effect was overstimulating to say the least.
“Ah–! What the hell, Deku?!”
“You did so great, Kacchan,” Izuku crooned, voice agonizingly low. A pleased rumble rattled his ribcage, and Katsuki’s throat burned from the effort of keeping it down.
Good. Alpha is so good.
“I'm gonna put a bandage here to stop the bleeding and then I'll look at your shoulder.”
“Please,” Katsuki gasped raggedly. “Don’ leave.”
“What? I'm not going anywhere, Kacchan, I promise.”
But Katsuki found he wasn't really in control of what left his mouth anymore. It was as if his most inner thoughts had hijacked his brain and wouldn't let regular Katsuki take the wheel again.
“Hurts,” he whined. If he had his faculties, he'd be horribly embarrassed. “Please help, Alpha.”
Izuku faltered for just a moment, face flushing before he realized what was happening.
“Oh, no, um—”
“Please. Hurts too much.”
“Right, right! Okay, mmm hmmm. Here we go.”
The warm touch left his neck and was replaced by the cotton feeling of gauze. Katsuki's Omega mourned the loss, spurred on by the pain and violent hormones. He was sure his scent must be overpowering, but Deku hadn't said a word about it.
He repositioned Katsuki again, this time so he could doctor the wound on his shoulder. Katsuki's body was through putting up any kind of resistance. He sank into Deku's touch, lacking the energy to keep the low rumbles in his chest down.
His consciousness was definitely slipping.
An unknown amount of time later, Deku was tapping his face.
“No, no, Kacchan, stay with me. I got your shoulder propped up, and we got the dart out well before the ten minute window. You're going to be fine. I just need you to stay awake.”
“Mmm… wanna… go to sleep…”
“No,” Deku said more firmly this time. “You can sleep in a little while, okay? I need you to hold on for just a few more minutes until the ambulance gets here.”
“ ‘S nice,” Katsuki replied, eyes fluttering shut anyway.
“Kacchan?”
“Kacchan!”
“Katsuki!"
“Wake.”
Katsuki's eyes shot open faster than a bullet, his whole body standing on edge. He wasn't quite sure what happened, but Deku appeared genuinely shocked. He was laying in the other boy's lap, head cradled by one arm.
“What… what did you just do?”
Izuku paled slightly, internal panic clearly visible behind his eyes.
“Ummmmm I just… asked you to wake up.”
“No you didn't—” Katsuki slurred, rage coming to him even though he didn't know why he was angry.
“I– I totally did! That's exactly what happened—”
“You used a shitty Alpha command on me, didn't you?”
“...maybe? I'm really sorry! I just needed you to wake up—”
“‘S fine, Deku,” he sighed, lacking the energy to really pursue this argument any farther. He'd give Deku hell for that another day.
When the sound of sirens drew near, Deku stood, keeping Katsuki in his arms with the utmost care. He hurried with the help of One For All while Katsuki squeezed his eyes shut against the bright lights and loud sounds. The last thing he remembered was the smell of antiseptic which quickly gave way to that warm summer day again.