Chapter Text
Midoriya Izuku awoke on the morning after his heat practically glowing. The back of his neck ached from the mating mark placed there during the last few days, but he was happy. The sun filtered through the curtains of the bedroom, and lying next to him, still asleep was his childhood best friend Bakugō Katsuki. He was facing away from the light, and from him, still asleep. Midoriya’s fingers raised shakily to trace the bite mark he placed on Bakugō the same night he got his own. They belonged to each other in a way only they could, and he was happy.
Bakugō shifted, rolling over to face him with a grunt as the light met his closed eyes. Midoriya trailed his fingers up toward the blond spikes of hair splayed out across the pillow then down his neck to his bare shoulder. He was covered in bruises from Midoriya’s hands and mouth, and he loved how obviously they’d marked each other because he knew he was covered as well.
Bakugō groaned and batted at Midoriya’s hand, pushing it away.
“Morning, Kacchan,” he chirped.
“Fuck,” Bakugō pried one slim, red eye open to glare at him. “Heat over?”
“I think so.”
He sat up. “Good.” Bakugō pushed out of the bed and immediately went hunting for clothes that he shoved into Izuku’s chest. “Get those on then go home.”
“Oh, um, okay.” He fiddled with the clothes before pulling them on slowly while Bakugō got dressed on the other side of the room.
He stood awkwardly, watching Bakugō move around the room picking things up and rearranging them to a correct order. Slowly, his attention turned back to Midoriya, and he walked over before spinning him around. His hand went into the mess of green curls on the back of Izuku’s neck and pulled up, inspecting the mark. Warmth bloomed in Midoriya’s chest, and purr started to work its way out of his throat.
“Make sure you cover that shit up. Don’t let anyone at school see it. If they ask about it, lie.”
It felt like he’d been doused in ice water. The room dropped several degrees, and he couldn’t move.
“What?”
“We don’t need anyone knowing that we mated. We’re not even friends. Hide it,” Bakugō hissed, “or I will end you.”
His palms sparked with the explosions from his quirk, and Midoriya shuddered. He hadn’t expected it after what they’d done. It didn’t feel right.
Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes, and he knew Bakugō was going to make fun of him for it, but he couldn’t help it. He stumbled over his words, his voice already watery. “Did—did you—did I—” he sniffed. “Did you not consent to this? Did I—” he couldn’t bring himself to say the word aloud and choked on it.
“No. I consented, and you did, too, I thought.” Bakugō’s stance changed, his shoulders pulling up around his ears, and he leaned away from Midoriya.
“I did, so I don’t understand why—”
“Because I don’t want anyone at school to know, that’s why. I fucking claimed a shitty, worthless, quirkless omega. I don’t want that associated with my name, Deku.”
“Oh,” Midoriya’s large, round, green eyes lowered from Bakugō’s thinner red and glanced around the room for any of his other belongings. His school bag was sitting by the door untouched, and he quickly beelined for it. “I’m sorry, I’ll…” he pointed to the door but didn’t finish the sentence.
Bakugō jerked his head in answer then turned back to the mess of the bed and grimaced.
Midoriya ducked his head, trying to fight off the sour undertones of his scent, and quickly moved through the house toward the front door. He ignored when Mitsuki, Katsuki’s mother, called a greeting to him and asked if wanted breakfast in favor of getting out of the house as quickly as possible. Katsuki wouldn’t want him to stop, and if he stayed, he knew he would spill everything to Mitsuki and be in even more trouble with Bakugō.
The apartment he shared with his mother was a couple of blocks away from the Bakugō’s giant home, and he dodged his mother’s questions when he pushed the front door open with the excuse he needed to shower. She smiled politely and continued fixing breakfast, grabbing another set of dishes from the cupboard.
It wasn’t unusual for them to smell like each other. When they were kids, they’d scented frequently and often in the way children do, not understanding the potency or impact of their scents. As they got older, they smelled like each other because Bakugō picked physical fights with him, and rolling around on the ground, sweating through the punches and grapples, was bound to spread their scents. Izuku couldn’t decide if he should tell his mother what happened or not. She was generally non-confrontational except when it came to her baby, and she knew there would be nothing stopping her from marching over to the Bakugō house and demanding answers that Izuku didn’t want.
He showered quickly, scrubbing hardest at the dried fluids on his skin. When he climbed out of the shower, he covered the mating mark with a large piece of gauze then hurried to his room and chose a higher neck sweater instead of his usual t-shirt. It wasn’t unusual for him to spend the days after his heat trying to get warmer, especially in spring, so he had an easy cover story to help hide the mark as long as he could.
Other than knowing he had spent his heat at Bakugō’s house, his mother was none the wiser as she chatted with him about school, his homework, and the newest All Might movie releasing in a few weeks. She made sure he was well-fed, and he’d never been so grateful in his life for his mother.
School was worse than he expected. He could see the very edge of the bandage on the back of Bakugō’s neck peeking above his collared shirt, but it was only because he knew what to look for. Like everything in their lives, he was naturally better at even hiding their bonding than Midoriya was. The only reason he got away with the messy application was because his curls hid the most obvious parts of the bandage.
Bakugō didn’t talk to him all day. He sat with his feet up on his desk like usual, grunting in response to the students who flocked around him. A couple of times they tried to goad him into making fun of Midoriya like normal, but he ignored them with a forceful, tch. Midoriya did his best to keep his head to his desk, but that wasn’t unusual from his normal persona who kept his head down during class because he was the only one without a quirk.
Quirkless. Midoriya sighed, louder than he intended as it caught Bakugō’s limited attention, and he quickly dropped his head further erasing a bad doodle in his notebook. He hoped Katsuki attributed the sound to frustration rather than his quiet acceptance of what he was told the day before. No one would want their name openly attached to him.
Midoriya shifted his jaw uncomfortably to the side, toying with his right canine that still had the memory of making Bakugō his, and he wanted to cry. He turned his focus instead to a sketch he made of the hero Kamui Woods along with several notes about his quirk and how it could be improved timing wise by adjustments to his flashy moves, but it would take away most of the visual impact. He bit his lip wondering if it was something the hero was interested in because part of their job as heroes was to be appealing to the civilians. With another quick sigh, he flipped a couple pages and continued the sketch he started of his dream hero costume.
“Deku.” Bakugō kicked his desk suddenly, and he startled, grabbing for the notebook and shoving it into his bag.
“Yes, Kacchan?”
“We’re on cleaning duty after school. Don’t even think about skipping out on me and going home early.”
“Thank you for the reminder,” he said softly.
Bakugō stayed by his desk. He reached out a hand, and Midoriya flinched away on instinct. He shot to his feet.
“I need to go to the restroom.”
He hurried out of the classroom and into the bathroom where he crashed through the door of a stall and locked it behind him. He tried to catch his breath. It was so much worse being mated to Bakugō than he thought. He’d had some vain hope that their relationship would change, but it didn’t. He was starting to regret agreeing because it was Bakugō who suggested it. He fisted his hands in the uniform pants and pushed back the tears.
When Midoriya returned to the classroom, Bakugō was back at his desk, and while he didn’t acknowledge him, his posture did soften slightly. Izuku considered that a win. He sat through the rest of his classes feeling dazed. He could feel something bubbling under the surface of his skin waiting to come out.
In their last class of the day, the teacher handed out preliminary interest forms for high schools they wanted to enter. It wasn’t an official declaration, so they were told to choose whatever school they wanted even if it might not be realistic. The teacher made a joke about them all choosing their future hero school wisely, and Bakugō made a noise that was clearly derision. The class snickered because they knew who he was thinking of.
Swallowing hard, Midoriya wrote down U.A. at the top of his paper anyway. He wouldn’t let Bakugō scare him away from his dream. He couldn’t because he already let the alpha trap him once, and he wouldn’t let him take his future away, too. He turned in his paper as discreetly as he could, but he still saw the frown and pitying look from his teacher, and the few students at the back of the class caught it as well. He ducked his head, trying to make himself impossibly smaller through the laughing.
After school, Bakugō’s friends hung around to talk while they cleaned the classroom. Midoriya moved in silence and tried his best to not be noticed outside of completing another necessary task. When he finished his portion, he returned to his desk with the intent to work on some of his homework, but his hero notebook found its way out of his bag again, and he was working on a new sketch of Death Arms, a popular alpha hero with a strength quirk. He made a few notes about his observations from fights alongside the detailed drawings.
In a moment, Bakugō leaned over him and grabbed the notebook from off his desk.
“What the hell are you playing at, Deku?” he growled. “We aren’t done from earlier.”
“What do you mean?”
“Our forms.”
“You don’t have anything to do with my form.”
“Katsuki, what do you have there?” one of his friends called.
“Is it a diary or something?” the other asked.
Bakugō turned the cover, so they could see.
“No way, he’s writing notes on how to be a hero?” Both friends burst into fits of laughter, and Midoriya made a swipe for the notebook.
“R-really fun-ny, n-now give it b-back,” he tried to make himself more confident, but it never worked in the face of Bakugō.
“You’re not going to be getting into U.A. when you’re a quirkless piece of shit. Here’s how it’s going to go, Deku. Only the best of the best get into U.A., and I’m going to put this shitty middle school on the map by being the only one strong enough to get into the top class of the top school. People will start talking about me for that achievement.” He placed the notebook between both hands and activated his quirk. The notebook burnt but not all the way through, just enough to indicate it had been lit on fire.
Midoriya considered that a small victory because he could’ve obliterated the entire thing, but he still panicked at the sight of it being destroyed then it was tossed out the window behind him. Izuku yelled after it, pushing past Bakugō to watch it fall into the fishpond below.
Bakugō tilted his head slightly. “You get it? If I’m going to be the best, then I’m going to shine all the way from the bottom up. There’ll be no doubt of where I deserve to stand at the end of it, and we all know it’s at number one.” He placed a hand on Midoriya’s shoulder. “So, don’t even think of applying to U.A., got it? I will end you.”
“Why, Kacchan?” his voice came out so soft he knew the others wouldn’t hear it.
Bakugō simply made a soft tch sound and started heading for the door. Midoriya trembled next to the window, watching his notebook float across the water as curious fish started to turn up and nibble at the edges.
“Maybe he’s finally going to get it through his thick head that he’ll never be a hero,” the first friend laughed again. “Can’t believe he’s hung on this long.”
As Bakugō pulled the door to the classroom open, he looked back over his shoulder again at Midoriya. “If you really wanna be a hero that badly, Deku, I thought of an idea.”
Izuku turned slowly, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
“Pray you’ll be born with a quirk in your next life and take a swan dive off the roof.” The command slipped through his lips like it was nothing, and Bakugō barely registered its existence. His friends grew uneasy but laughed and pushed him out the door.
Midoriya’s eyes glazed over. The command of a mate was harder, if not near impossible, to ignore, and adding onto the day he already had, Izuku couldn’t even attempt to shake it off. His footsteps were slow and methodical, the steps of someone not in their right mind, but no one stopped him on his journey through the halls and up the stairs to the roof door. Midoriya vaguely registered that the door was supposed to be locked, but he pushed through it without resistance.
It was still daylight outside as students prepared for club activities to start around four, but none of them noticed Midoriya climbing the protective fence. They didn’t have a reason to look up, so when the body hit the pavement next to them, they stared for a long while before anyone started screaming.
Pain like he’d never felt before went through Bakugō suddenly as he walked home from school. It felt like his body was being ripped apart from all directions, and he couldn’t even put together a single thought. He could vaguely hear the extras following him around asking him questions, but the only thing he felt was the need to get to Izuku. He turned back to the school, telling the duo in whatever words he could muster to “Kick rocks.”
At the school, he couldn’t get back in. The teachers were guarding the gates and guiding students out. There was an ambulance pulled up inside the school that was being loaded with a gurney before it was tearing out of the school with sirens blaring. Once the ambulance left, Katsuki was let back into the school courtyard where a group of people were huddled around something on the ground.
Bakugō ignored it, taking the stairs two at a time as he hauled ass back to the classroom. Izuku’s backpack was still on his chair, and when he looked out the window, the notebook was starting to sink into the water. He turned trying to figure out what steps Izuku would’ve taken, but he couldn’t put together why he’d leave his backpack there in the first place.
“Did you come to collect Midoriya’s things?” Their homeroom teacher pushed open the classroom door.
“No,” he said. “Why would I be here to get his trashy belongings?”
The teacher blinked slowly at him before quietly walking across the classroom and closing the backpack before leaving with it, never answering Bakugō’s question. He frowned at the lack of response and wandered down to the courtyard to grab the notebook. He could give it back, waterlogged and all, to the nerd when he saw him next. A group of students passed by chatting.
“Can’t believe he jumped like that.”
“That was terrifying. Do you think he’s dead?”
“There was blood all over the concrete, of course he’s dead.”
“They’re still cleaning it up, aren’t they?”
“Don’t think they’ll get the blood out all the way, or is it going to stain?”
“That’d be a title for the next school paper. ‘Quirkless Loser Stains Concrete Permanently Upon Suicide.’”
Katsuki’s blood ran cold, and he turned to look at them. There was only one quirkless kid in their entire school, and he couldn’t process what he was hearing.
“That’s rude. Our school’s rating is going to go down if he died.”
“Why’d he have to go and kill himself on school property anyway? Would’ve been better if he did it at home. Let his loser of a mother find him.”
Bakugō was running, notebook in hand before he realized it. When he circled around to the front courtyard, the teachers set up a wide area with cones and tap, and they were working with a contingency of police to clean up the scene of something. The red was clearly blood splattered in every direction. Nothing was spared.
His breathing was increasing rapidly. He couldn’t have—Deku would never have done that—he couldn’t.
Bakugō was interrupted from his panic by the ringing of his cellphone which he dug out of his pocket. It said Hag at the top, and he answered without thinking and without his usual vitriol.
“Kaa-san?”
“Get home now. Inko’s just messaged me that she’s on her way to the hospital. Izuku tried to kill himself, and he’s barely alive right now. We’re going to meet her there.”
He stopped breathing. The world shifted. He somehow teleported home. That was the only explanation. All he could remember was hearing the news and registering the way he said what he did and recognizing the command far too late. Bakugō didn’t even know he was crying until his mom pulled him wordlessly into a hug and started for the vehicle.
“I can’t go,” he said. “I can’t be there.”
“Why? Mitsuki asked. “You love Izuku. You’ve been inseparable for years.”
He shook his head. “I told him to do it.”
“What?” She paused, keys dangling from her hand.
“I told him to kill himself—said it as a command without meaning to.”
“Katsuki!” His mother’s mouth dropped open, and her face went incredibly pale.
He thought it was too light an action. He expected her to scream and hit him—it was what he deserved.
“I can’t face them after what I’ve done. If Izuku doesn’t survive, it’s because of me. I can’t be there.”
Mitsuki’s face morphed into an angry frown. “No son of mine is going to be a coward and not tell the mother of the child he almost killed to her face. You’re going, and you’re telling her the whole story.”
Mitsuki grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and steered him toward the car but stopped when Katsuki cried out in sudden pain. She pulled down the back of his shirt collar and stared at the bandage before pulling it up to inspect.
“A mating bite?” she gasped. “What else are you hiding from me, you brat? You are in middle school! Where did I go wrong with you, huh? When did I ever teach you that it’s okay to tell someone to kill themselves? When did I approve you being mated with someone? Whose is it?”
Katsuki’s lower lip trembled, and he bowed his head. “Izuku’s.”
“And you bit him, too?”
He only nodded.
“Fucking—you mated him, what during this last heat?”
He nodded again.
“You mate him then tell him to go kill himself. What is wrong with you?”
“I don’t—I don’t know. I’m so sorry. Please, kaa-san, I’m sorry.” He was hiccoughing now from tears.
“If sorry put a broken vase back together it would be worth something.” She scowled. “Get in the car. You’re going to explain everything in detail to Inko, and she’s going to decide what your punishment is.”
Bakugō nodded and slowly climbed into the passenger seat of the car. Mitsuki spent the entire ride to the hospital berating her son and saying a slew of swear words that would make a sailor blush with shame. Katsuki cried through it all, and on the drive to the hospital, he realized his bid to be hero was over. No school would ever admit a kid who commanded someone to kill themselves. It wasn’t hero behavior. He ended his own dream before it ever started.
They waited to tell Inko the whole story until Izuku was out of surgery and safely tucked away in a private room that Mitsuki insisted on. She paid the difference in the cost saying it was the least she could do, and Inko cried out of gratefulness. The guilt ate away at Bakugō as he sat staring at the floor.
When they were safely tucked away in the room, and Inko had time to sit with her son, they told the whole story. Izuku was covered from head to toe in bandages and despite all the healing quirks available at the hospital, she was informed his skin would scar, and he wouldn’t look the same. He also most likely wouldn’t move the same from the amount of broken bones and potential head trauma. They could tell from scans that he had fallen in a way that he protected his head, but there was always a possibility of something else affecting him that they hadn’t noticed.
Before they completed their surgeries, they informed her of the mating bite on his neck because it wasn’t registered in the system, and that was the first secret Bakugō told her. He felt especially awful seeing the brief flash of happiness cross her face because he knew she would regret it.
“I want to talk to Izuku,” Inko said after hearing the full story. Her mouth curved into a deep frown. “I want to talk to him about this.”
Bakugō couldn’t remember the last time he cried, and he definitely set a new record that night. Mitsuki nodded at Inko and forced her son to stand. Bakugō left he burned and soggy notebook on the small table.
“I completely understand. We’ll leave you alone for the time being and let you figure out what you’d like to do for your family.” Mitsuki reached over and grabbed Inko’s hand. “Whatever you decide, we’ll support it. You and I won’t stop being friends because of what my son did. I promise.”
“Thank you, Mitsuki.” Inko didn’t look at them, she just stared at the small bit of Izuku’s face they could see. “He’ll pull through. He’s always been strong. My hero,” she whispered.Bakugō wasn’t allowed to see Midoriya. That was the first stipulation of their meeting post Izuku waking up in the hospital. It was a demand made by Inko and no one else. They were to have no contact with each other outside of attending classes when he was finally able to return to school. He wasn’t so much as to breathe in Izuku’s direction and if anyone mentioned Midoriya directly to him, he was to change the conversation. If Izuku came up to him, he was to reply politely in short sentences and excuse himself as quickly as possible. Bakugō kept his head lowered the entire time that Inko how they would proceed.
His mother had already taken his phone and gone through the entire contents looking for something, some influence that made him think the way he did, but she found none. He couldn’t have it back for another few months, but he didn’t care. He’d thrown himself into schoolwork in the meantime, but he was already a straight A student, so he spent most of his time looking at other careers he could have since he was certain his hero dream was down the drain.
“And here’s the stipulation that Izuku agreed to after a lot of arguing,” she said softly. “We won’t be reporting this as an incident, so that you can continue your hero career.”
“What?” His head snapped up.
“I didn’t want to. Izuku begged me to let you still become a hero. He said he couldn’t be the one to ruin your dream.”
“It wasn’t him who ruined it. It was me,” he whispered. “It’s not his fault. I already accepted it.”
“Yes, well, that was part of our argument because I agree with you.” Inko took a deep breath. “If you are unable to keep to the other stipulations of this situation, we will go back and press charges. Mitsuki helped me draw up an official contract that you’ll sign. There are number of other things in there as well, and if you can’t agree—”
“I understand.” Bakugō took the packet of papers from her. “I’ll read through this real quick, so I understand all of it.”
Mitsuki and Inko were quiet as they watched him carefully read all the bylines of their contract. They had no doubt he fully understood the implications of each item on the list.
i. Perpetrator is barred from contacting the victim by letter, phone, visitation, or by any other means.
- a. Limited contact is allowed within an educational setting for the purpose of attending and participating in class.
ii. Perpetrator cannot approach the victim physically.
iii. Perpetrator is to avoid looking at the victim where possible.
iv. In the case of unaffiliated parties approaching the perpetrator and attempting to engage him in conversation about the victim, he is to change the subject and not speak of the victim.
- a. In the case of a teacher or person of authority needing information on the case or these filings, the perpetrator is within their liberty to disclose this information and provide a copy of the signed contract if requested.
v. Perpetrator is allowed to hold polite conversation with victim if approached by the victim, but the perpetrator should keep the conversation brief and move away from the victim.
vi. Perpetrator will submit his personal devices for searching on a semi-frequent basis to ensure the contract is fulfilled for the protection of the victim.
vii. According to the law regarding mated alpha and omega couples, the perpetrator and victim will be registered as mates, but they are to not engage in any mate activities such as the following:
- a. scenting
- b. intercourse
- c. renewal of mating bite
viii. Perpetrator will not be allowed access to the medical records of the victim.
ix. Perpetrator will not be allowed access to the educational records of the victim.
x. Perpetrator will not be allowed access to the financial records of the victim.
xi. Perpetrator will not be allowed access to the personnel information of the victim in the case the victim chooses to find a job.
xii. Perpetrator will not be allowed access to the personal records of the victim outside what the perpetrator already knows.
xiii. Perpetrator is mandated to attend regular therapy sessions to help with anger and control issues.
xiv. Perpetrator will not be allowed to attend any formal school events for the rest of his middle school career.
xv. Perpetrator will be trackable via cellular device at all times to ensure location cannot cause further harm to the victim.
xvi. The perpetrator will not be informed of any major life events of the victim, but those events may be shared with the perpetrator’s family.
Should the perpetrator violate the contract before both parties turn eighteen, the perpetrator will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law for the injuries inflicted upon the victim including the command laid upon him while under a mating bond which instructed the victim to kill himself.
In that event, the perpetrator must forfeit all intent to becoming a hero and find a new line of employment if allowed by law. Additional stipulations may then be placed by an official court of law for the continued protection of the victim.
At the end of the document was a place for the party members involved to sign, and Midoriya’s signature was already present on the victim line. Bakugō swallowed past the lump in his throat and carefully placed his name on the line without asking any questions. He would follow every line so closely that they wouldn’t be able to call him out on violating any part of the contract. He would even carry it on past the age required. He would let Midoriya be the one to contact him first if he ever wanted to. Otherwise, he would live with whatever the media made up about him and his bonded status. It was what he had to live with because Izuku had sacrificed everything else.
“No questions?” Mitsuki asked.
“No, I understand. I’ll stay away from him. Something like this will never happen again.”
“It better not, kid, because there’s no one else like Izuku who would even entertain the idea of fighting for you to continue a hero career after this kind of incident.”
“I know.” He bit his lip. “He’s too kind for his own good. I don’t deserve it.”
“You don’t, but perhaps you will in the future,” Mitsuki sighed. “I’ll talk to you later, Inko.”
Three weeks later, Midoriya returned to school. He was still on a single crutch to help him walk easier, but most of his injures were considered “healed” by the various healing quirks used on him. He still had his left arm in a sling. When he walked into the classroom, all conversation halted to stare at him. During the three weeks, his teacher moved his desk to the back corner closest to the rear door to make it easier for him as he’d been informed that morning, so he quietly slid into that desk and got his things out for the day.
Everyone’s eyes were on him including Bakugō’s. Izuku remembered the contract said he wasn’t supposed to look at him, but he figured the shock of the change in his appearance would make anyone stare. He wouldn’t tell his mom that Katsuki was staring because he felt like he deserved to know what happened. Out of everyone, he should know and catalogue every injury.
Midoriya’s school uniform hid most of the damage, but the most visible was the chunk of hair they’d cut off the side of his head for surgery, the surgery scar through it, and the giant scar under his right eye running all the way down to his chin. The freckles that once decorated his right cheek were gone, and discolored skin replaced them. The scar from the surgery, as part of their operation to make sure his brain drained properly, was wide, but he could eventually cover it with his hair when it grew out again.
There were noticeable scars on his hands, and several of his fingers wouldn’t stretch into their original positions anymore. The scars ran up under his uniform across both arms, down his chest, and into his legs. There was no part of him that looked like the child he’d been before the incident. He struggled to open his bag one-handed and get a clean notebook and pencil, but he did it all while no one else moved a muscle. Izuku could barely hold the pencil, but he pushed forward and opened the brand-new notebook and started writing the hiragana alphabet.
Slowly, the classroom returned to conversations, but eyes never strayed too far from him.
The longer he sat there, the braver the class got until one of the students who followed Bakugō around leaned over to him and spoke with enough intentional volume to carry.
“Quirkless idiot can’t even kill himself properly.”
Izuku stopped writing.
There was a sudden explosion from Bakugō’s palms as he grabbed the front of the kid’s shirt and yanked him down with force.
“You say one more fucking word, and you’ll be going home in an ash tray.” He turned and sparked his free hand at the other kids in the class. “That goes for the rest of you damn extras, too.”
The silence returned, and only cautious whispers broke through every once in a while. When the teacher entered, they slid into their seats without complaint and continued through the day quieter than normal.
Izuku struggled to keep up with the notes. His sentences were half-formed, and he could feel the frustrated tears burning at the corners of his eyes. He closed his notebook and left it on his desk during their last period of the day which the teacher made a free period. Using his crutch, he struggled to his feet before hobbling to the bathroom down the hall. Everyone gave him a wide birth, and he figured he had to thank Bakugō’s reputation for the peace it afforded him.
He returned to his desk a few minutes later and found a stack of papers on top of his notebook. Meticulous notes of all the content not just from that day but from the past three weeks he missed of school. They were organized and highlighted. Midoriya placed his hand on top of them before trailing his eyes to Bakugō’s chair several feet away. He wasn’t looking at him, but Izuku recognized his handwriting and note taking style easily. He managed to not only take notes during the school day but to reproduce exact copies at nearly the same pace.
Midoriya sank slowly into his chair, smiling, and started studying the notes. When the bell rung for the end of the school day, he waited for the students around him to leave before he started packing his things. Bakugō hung back as well, but he hadn’t made it obvious. The students gave him a wide berth, and with only a few people left in the classroom, he felt safe speaking.
“Kacchan.”
Bakugō grunted.
“Thank you.”
“Whatever, nerd.” Bakugō vanished a moment later.
Izuku struggled to his feet again and managed to hook his backpack over his right shoulder before heading home. It took him twenty minutes to descend the stairs, the school didn’t have an elevator, and no one was in the main entry with the shoe lockers when he arrived. Not one person who passed him on the stairs asked to help, and he supposed that was simply his lot in life.
His mother told him she would be willing to pick him up from school, even Mitsuki offered while assuring that her son would walk home alone, but he didn’t want to put them in an awkward position. It would take him longer than normal, but Izuku liked to have that time to think. He hobbled forward, pushing on despite his pain. He could feel it building in his feet and into the damaged bone, but he pressed on without calling his mom as he promised to do when it became too much.
He crossed through the usual tunnel that passed the pedestrian traffic under the main road, but before he could reach the other side, a villain in sludge form emerged from the manhole cover and rose above him. Midoriya froze in fright, and he regretted not calling his mom.
“You may be broken, but you can work for a skin suit still. Nobody will expect it.”
Midoriya screamed and tried to run, but he couldn’t get more than a couple of wobbly steps before the villain swept him up into his grasp and shoved his sludge through every available orifice.
“Don’t worry! I’m just taking over your body. It’ll be easier if you don’t fight back.” He laughed. “You’ll feel a lot better soon.”
Midoriya couldn’t strain against him the way he normally would with limited movement in his body and mourned his death so shortly after having survived something much worse. He supposed that then the kids at school could at least admire that he went out killed by a villain if they admired him at all. He realized with a pang of sadness that he would only continue to be the laughing stock. The quirkless kid who couldn’t kill himself died to a villain—the way it should be. Survival of the fittest.
He didn’t want to leave his mom alone, but he had no choice. At least he would leave Bakugō in peace to not be saddled with him as a mate. He closed his eyes and gave in.
The grate to the manhole blasted off suddenly, and a large imposing figure burst free. Midoriya’s eyes shot open to see the imposing alpha, the hero he looked up to the most, standing in the tunnel and speaking.
“Have no fear, young man! I am here!”
All Might rushed forward, blasting a Texas Smash through the sludge villain and sending Midoriya flying. His eyes closed in a haze, and everything went black.
Yagi Toshinori, better known as All Might, surged to catch the young boy as he fell. He saw the injuries and the crutch only after the fact, and a wave of panic rushed through him at possibly hurting the kid even more. He gently moved out of the tunnel to lay him in the sun, and that was when he noticed the scent.
“An omega,” Yagi whispered. “What happened to you, young man?”
With the civilian safe, he had to figure out what to do about a villain as annoying and nasty as the sludge. There were bits of the villain scattered all over the tunnel, but he was certain he wasn’t dead. Yagi reached for the sack he bought at the konbini that had the liter bottles of soda.
“Such a waste,” he mourned as he poured the soda down the manhole into the sewer system before using the empty bottles to gather the bits of the sludge villain into something transportable. “Absolutely disgusting. Is there even a human in this?”
He shook the bottle with the eyes then set them both in the sack for temporary safekeeping. Yagi walked back to the omega and gently pried off his backpack to find any identifying information he could. The omega’s name was Midoriya, he was fourteen, and he had several notebooks in his backpack including a burnt one labeled as his Hero Research. Yagi flipped through the pages amazed by the detailed notes and sketches.
What happened to it for it to be burned like this? he thought. There’s no way the person who writes such detailed notes would purposefully attempt to destroy it.
He took a pen from inside Midoriya’s backpack and quickly scribbled his signature in the middle pages before returning it to his bag. As Yagi rolled Midoriya over, looking for newer injuries, he spotted the bitten mating gland on the back of his neck.
He’s awfully young to be mated. He glanced over the injuries again. What has happened to you, young man?
Midoriya groaned, and his lids fluttered as he started to wake up.
“Careful now,” Yagi said.
“All Might!” Midoriya suddenly snapped to attention and tried to push away from the hero, but he had no strength left.
“Take your time, it’s okay.” He helped the boy sit up. “I’ve already put a signature in your notebook in your backpack, so don’t push yourself thinking you’ll miss an opportunity.”
“T-t-thank you,” Midoriya stuttered. “I thought I was going to die this time.” He took a deep breath. "I can’t believe you’re All Might, in the flesh, in front of me!”
“Do you feel alright?” Yagi asked, helping him to stand.
“I—what happened to the villain?”
“I’ve contained him, don’t worry about that. I’m more worried about your wellbeing. I generally try not to get civilians caught up in the mess when I capture a villain.” Yagi handed him his crutch to lean on.
“It’s alright, he had me in him, so there wasn’t another way to free me.”
“You swear you are alright and can get home without help?”
“I’m fine. I just—I have a lot of questions I want to ask you, All Might, sir.” Midoriya’s large green eyes settled on him, and he nearly gave in on the spot.
“I would love to answer your questions, young man, but,” he reached for the sack with the villain, “I need to get this guy to the police, so they can do their part of the job. We’re on a time crunch I’m afraid.”
Yagi stood and secured the bottles of villain into his side pockets. He prepared to jump, and the only warning he had was a brief shout of, “Wait!” from Midoriya before they were both in the air. Midoriya clung to his leg with his one good arm, and the crutch was awkwardly pinned under his arm in the sling. His backpack was falling off his shoulder and starting to fall open. Yagi reached down in a sudden panic and grabbed onto the boy, holding him and his things in place.
Midoriya tried to speak, but Yagi told him to be quiet until they landed. He stopped on the roof of a building, recognizing they were now far from where he should be especially in his injured condition. He sighed.
“Knock on the door up here and get someone to let you in. They can help you down the stairs then call someone to pick you up. You shouldn’t be walking this much when you’re injured.” Yagi walked toward the edge of the building.
“All Might, please!” Midoriya shouted between tears now. “Can I—Is there any way I can become a hero even if I’m quirkless and unwanted?”
He stopped just as he put his foot on the railing in front of him. He turned back to look at the small omega, body already broken. The wind shifted, and he picked up on another scent stirring with his—not the one that he assumed was his mate, but something softer and full of danger for what it meant if true, and he felt his stomach drop out from under him.
Midoriya sniffled. “I’m just a kid without any powers and a mate who doesn’t want me. Is there any hope that I can be like you in the future?”
“Without a quirk?”
A rush of pain cut through him suddenly, and he could hear Midoriya talking to him, but he couldn’t process the words. He could only use One for All for a certain amount of time during the day, and he used too much of his power hunting villains, especially the sludge, that day already. He gripped the railing with his hand as his body slid back to his emaciated form.
“—just like you,” Midoriya finished. He looked up at Yagi for hope and was met with the form very few people knew he had. Midoriya screamed. “You deflated! Wait, you’re not him are you, you’re an imposter All Might.”
“I am All Might,” Yagi said. “It’s kind of like…” he tapped his finger against his chin. “Like when you’re flexing and it changes your body shape but more extreme.” He coughed and spat blood on the roof of the building. “It’s part of my condition.”
“No way!” Midoriya stared with open mouth. “All Might’s a giant of a man who saves everyone—he’s the ideal alpha hero. He always has this fearless smile.”
Yagi sighed. “It’s not fearless.” He sat on the roof and pressed his back against the railing. “Come sit down. I’m counting on you to keep your mouth shut about this.” He waited for Midoriya to step closer. “You can’t talk about this to your friends or to people online.” Yagi lifted his shirt and showed him a giant scar running up his left side. It dipped past where he could visibly see and far up his chest. “Five years ago, I was caught up in one of the nastiest fights of my career. He landed this hit on me, and it completely destroyed my respiratory system, and I lost my entire stomach. I’ve had numerous surgeries, but they’ve exhausted my body to the point where I can only do hero work for three hours a day. It can’t be fixed at this point, so once I’ve exhausted my three hours, I look like this the rest of the time.”
Midoriya sat on the ground in front of him. “Was it your fight with Toxic Chainsaw?”
Yagi grinned. “You know your stuff, huh shōnen?” His grin fell away as quickly as it appeared. “No, it was a fight that most people don’t know about. I did everything I could to bury the existence of this fight. I’m supposed to be out there as the symbol of peace, always smiling and never afraid, right? But the smile is what hides my fear because the pressure as a hero is immense and unpredictable. We are always risking our lives, and there are some villains that get the best of us. In this world, I believe it is impossible to be a hero without a quirk.”
“Oh,” Midoriya said softly. “I understand.”
“If you want to help people, there are plenty of ways to do so without going into hero work. It’s time that you looked into those other options, shōnen.” Yagi pushed up from the roof and walked to the roof access door. He turned the handle, surprised to find it already unlocked. “It’s not bad to have a dream, but you have to make sure they are attainable. Realistic.”
Yagi walked down the stairs and reached into his pocket for the sludge villain he apprehended, but when he reached in, he was gone. He panicked, realizing that the villain must’ve fallen when Midoriya grabbed onto him in his panic. Yagi sighed and hit his head against the wall before continuing down the stairs. He heard the door open above him and listened to the panting voice of Midoriya struggle to descend the stairs, but he couldn’t go back and help now. He would already struggle to get back to his apartment, and it pained him that he couldn’t do more than kill the dream of a quirkless child—someone who was like him and could have potential to carry on the legacy. However, the underlying scent on the omega was what made him the most hesitant.
He gritted his teeth and started his trek to the police station. Yagi had to tell them about the villain who escaped, and he hoped Midoriya took his advice to call for a ride home because they were far from where he was originally walking. He was almost to the station when an explosion went off a few blocks away. A giant column of smoke rose into the air, and Yagi turned around.
He had a feeling that it had to do with the escaped sludge villain, and he considered it his first priority. Yagi panted as he caught up with the crowd standing watch at the scene. Multiple buildings were on fire, but the heroes were standing around watching as the sludge continued to set off explosions, wreaking havoc across the shopping center.
Yagi gripped his injured side as he watched the sludge villain through a small gap in the crowd. It’s my fault, he thought, I was too worried about the time limit that I made a rookie mistake—and after I lectured Midoriya-shōnen about being a hero. I can’t even do anything about it.
There was a subtle clicking on the ground behind him as Midoriya slowly joined the fray, but he was clearly out of it because he did not acknowledge Yagi as he shuffled past. He stopped at a gap in the crowd and glanced toward the villain before audibly gasping in recognition of the villain. He watched Midoriya’s expression change to one of horror as he realized he had been a part of releasing the villain back on the world.
“How come the heroes aren’t doing anything?” an onlooker asked.
“I think they’ve met their match. None of their quirks are doing anything against him, and he captured a kid, so they have to be careful about how to approach it.”
Midoriya’s head started to swivel as he inspected the scene.
“Wasn’t All Might chasing a villain like that earlier?”
“Does that mean All Might lost? There’s no way. He’s probably close by, right?”
Yagi ducked his head.
“Maybe someone can call him to the scene?”
“How has he not shown up already?”
Yagi made himself smaller, clutching at the pain in his side. I’m worthless. I can’t do anything. It’s pathetic. A disgrace. I’m not even a real hero like this.
The sludge turned the head of his victim to face the crowd, and before Yagi could process what happened there was a clatter as Midoriya’s crutch hit the ground then he was through the crowd and past the barricade, running on his injured leg and screaming.
“Kacchan!”
Adrenaline had clearly taken over his system as he bobbed around the heroes and ran panting directly to the villain. Yagi knew that he saw the victim and moved without thinking, and that, if anything, was the purpose of a true hero even if it put him in danger. Midoriya yanked off his backpack and threw it as hard as he could at the villain, the contents going flying and hitting the sludge in the eye. He released his strangling hold on the other kid, and Midoriya’s hands were there pulling at the sludge and crying the name, “Kacchan!” over and over.
“Why the hell are you here?” Kacchan yelled.
“I just saw you and my legs started moving.” He tried to tug harder. “I couldn’t stand there and watch you die.”
Yagi moved. I have to do something, no matter the cost. He pushed himself, and his body took on the bulkier form of All Might. The sludge lifted a hand to swipe at Midoriya, and the heroes already in the alley reached forward to grab him, but they were too late.
Yagi wasn’t. He rocketed forward with enough speed to catch the swing of the sludge and block it from hurting Midoriya more than he already was.
“I really am pathetic,” he said.
“All Might!” Midoriya gasped.
“I told you the traits of what makes a great hero, but I wasn’t even living up to my own ideal!” He freed his arm from the sludge and wound back for a punch. “Heroes are always putting their lives on the line for others, that’s what it means to be a true hero.” Yagi grabbed the exposed arm of the other kid Midoriya risked his own life for.
“All Might!” the sludge gurgled.
“Detroit… Smash!”
The punch went through the villain, creating a tornado that not only blew the villain away, but extinguished the fires from where the villain had used the boy’s quirk. When the air cleared, it started raining, and Yagi gently placed the boy on the ground next to Midoriya. The crowd started to cheer, and he kept up his All Might persona for the crowd as he checked the children for new injuries. He pulled back on the high collared middle school uniform the boy wore and that’s when he noticed the mating mark scar. It only took him a moment to register him as an alpha, and all the pieces clicked together. Midoriya hadn’t just moved on instinct because he saw someone in trouble, it had been his mate. He defied everything for the person who he claimed didn’t even want him. Yagi tried to not let the corners of his mouth pull into a frown.
He got them both sitting on the ground safely away before handling the police and press while the other heroes worked with the police on clean-up. Eventually, the heroes separated the two boys, and Yagi heard them tearing into Midoriya for his recklessness while they praised his mate for his exceptional bravery while being held hostage by the villain. All Might couldn’t break in and say anything or it would complicate matters further. Midoriya sat there and listened patiently while agreeing. He didn’t deny any of the accusations, and he ignored the glare that his mate leveled on him.
The heroes did find and return his crutch to him, and Midoriya hobbled from the scene at an even slower pace than he walked before. Yagi wouldn’t be surprised if he reinjured himself and needed medical care, but he denied the help and ambled away, cowled.
Yagi followed after him as soon as he could get away from the police, and he was about to step out from between a row of houses onto the street, back in his emaciated form, but there was a sudden shout as the boy came running up behind Midoriya.
“Deku!” he yelled. “I never asked you to save me! You think you could’ve anyway? I was going to beat him myself—how dare a quirkless failure like you pity me. It’s not going to win me over! I can’t stand you mocking me.” He turned away then back for a moment. “And this conversation never happened, so I didn’t violate any part of that shitty contract, got it‽”
He stomped away, and once out of sight, Yagi stepped out to confront Midoriya.
“All Might?” he asked. “Why are you here?”
“I came to you because I have a proposal, but it’s not what you are expecting.” Yagi coughed. “If things were different, perhaps, I could help make you a hero, but there are circumstances that you’re not fully aware of yet.”
“What do you—”
Yagi cut him off by holding up his hand. “If I hadn’t heard your story or watched you act on instinct, things might’ve turned out differently today, so I thank you for your strength because that is the kind of heroism that spurs others to act. Quirkless or not, you mattered today, Midoriya-shōnen. I want to reward that, and I think I know how.”
“But I caused so many problems. I can’t possibly—”
“You can! I believe in you Midoriya-shōnen, but I need to speak with you and your parents if that’s alright.”
“Yes, sir.”
Yagi walked side by side with him, helping to steady him when needed as they finished his trek home to the apartments. He had trouble climbing the stairs to the third floor, and Yagi found the strength to transform back just long enough to carry him up the stairs and relieve the stress put on his injuries. When his mother opened the door, she yanked him immediately into a protective hug.
“I’ve been so worried about you because you didn’t come home in time. What happened? You look like you’re more injured than when you left this morning. Did Katsuki do something? Do we need to go back to the hospital?”
“Midoriya-san,” Yagi interrupted softly. “If I can, I can explain what happened today. I also have something I would like to offer your family.”
“Who are you?” she pushed her son instinctively behind her to protect him. He could see how much Midoriya took after his mother in looks. His height already outpaced her, but they were near identical.
“My name is Yagi Toshinori, and I am better known as the pro-hero, All Might.” He transformed again for a moment before the coughing took over him again. He tried not to spit the blood on the Midoriya’s doormat.
She quickly ushered him in and showed him where the bathroom was, so he could get cleaned up before meeting them in the living room to talk.
Yagi recounted the whole story for Inko, as he was told to call her, but he made sure to leave out the part about Bakugō, he was also informed of the boy’s name, approaching Izuku before mentioning some contract he was not aware of. If Midoriya had no plans to tell his mother, then Yagi wouldn’t break that trust.
“I think I could help give him a future in hero work if you approve,” Yagi concluded.
“You want to make him a hero?” Inko asked.
Midoriya shook with excitement, and that smell he sensed before grew stronger. He saw Inko turn in surprise as she recognized the milky scent as well.
“Midoriya-shōnen, can I please speak with your mother privately for a while?”
“Oh, um, sure. I’ll just go do my homework.”
“If you don’t mind, could you bring me all your hero notebooks first?”
Midoriya nodded and quickly retrieved the twelve from his bedroom before placing the torched and ruined thirteenth on the stack from his backpack. They waited for him to vanish into his room before they spoke in low whispers that wouldn’t carry if he tried to listen at the door.
“Inko-san, I know you smelled it there as well.”
“You think my son is pregnant,” she said.
“Yes, I do. I saw the mating marks, and he is mated with Bakugō-shōnen, yes?”
“He is—it happened just a few weeks ago.”
“Can I ask what happened with his injuries?” Yagi flipped open a couple of the notebooks and smiled. He was skilled at analysis even without a quirk, more skilled than some people who had quirks to help them. It was a talent built from having nothing else.
Inko relayed the story, and Yagi listened without judgement. He saw in front of him a woman who had given everything for her son, who had her heart broken alongside him to crush his dream, and now to nearly lose him—she was terrified, but she knew Izuku wouldn’t stop.
“If the circumstances had been different, I might’ve been able to help him become a hero with your blessing. I have a quirk that can be passed on when it’s time to pass the torch, as they say, and I am quickly approaching that point. However, in light of the extent of the damage already inflicted on his body, and the fact we can both smell his pregnancy on him, that is not an option.” He slid the open notebooks closer to her. “Midoriya-shōnen shows a proclivity for quirk analysis which is a very important job inside hero work. He would still be able to do many of the things he loves while being protected. It’s not a perfect solution, but—”
“How do you expect to convince him to take this path?” Inko asked. “He’s never given up a day in his life.”
“I can see how strong he is, and so my offer is one for both of you. I have connections to I-Island if you’ve heard of it. It is a place made up of the best support item designers in the world in addition to quirk analysts among other important work. I would like to offer you and your son a place there sponsored by me. You would work, they will have a job for you. That’s not all, I am worried about the lasting impacts that this pregnancy will have on Midoriya-shōnen if he decides to carry it to term. He would be protected there and given the best chance for a bright future. One of my old sidekicks from America works there, David Shield, and his daughter Melissa is quirkless like Midoriya-shōnen. They’re around the same age, and I think they would be a support to each other.”
“This is all so much at once,” Inko said. “Could we really be comfortable leaving this behind?”
“You are welcome to discuss with your husband, of course.”
“Oh—he’s—he passed a few years ago. It’s just us.” Inko considered him. “Would Izuku have a better future if we moved to I-Island than if I encouraged him to enter U.A. in the general studies course?”
“He would have a much brighter future there. I think Bakugō-shōnen expects to attend U.A., yes?” Yagi continued when Inko nodded. “I think it would be best to separate them. I know it would be hard with them mated, but from what you’ve told me, it’ll also be hard for them to stay near each other. I’ve only known Midoriya-shōnen for a few hours, but from what I’ve seen, I’m moved to want to help him and see him succeed. I don’t want him stuck here chained to whatever fond memories he has of Bakugō-shōnen. They both need space to grow, and they need to do it unattached. I hope I am not overstepping by suggesting this.”
Inko shook her head. “No, I—I’ve wondered about that myself. Especially with him…” she drifted off. “He commanded my baby to kill himself. He claims it was an accident, but I just—I can’t imagine the pain, and yet Izuku still cares about his future. It makes me so angry.”
“This would be a good opportunity for the both of you to start new. I can leave you time to think about it if you’d like.”
“I—let me just ask Izuku.” She raised her voice to call his name, and he rushed back into the living room. “Yagi-san has very kindly offered you a great opportunity to work with heroes but not as a hero if you would like.”
“Really?”
Yagi nodded. “You would study hero support items and quirk analysis with David Shield and his daughter Melissa.”
“David Shield‽” Midoriya lit up immediately. “Really?”
“We’d move to and live on I-Island, if you’d like,” Inko said. “The decision is up to you.”
“So, everything here would be left behind?” Midoriya went quiet, and he was obviously considering the implications of it. Yagi swore he could hear the echo of Bakugō telling him he was a “quirkless failure” not even an hour before. He looked up sharply, green eyes alight with a fire of determination. “I want to do it. I want to go to school on I-Island and learn from the best.”
Yagi grinned. “I’ll contact David tonight to set-up all the transfer paperwork. I’ll leave you and your mother to pack your things.”
“Do I have to go to school tomorrow?” Midoriya asked. “With everything that happened today—”
“No,” Inko said forcefully. “I’ll call the school tomorrow and discuss withdrawal forms. You don’t have to go back. I’m sure they’ll catch you up to speed on I-Island, yes?”
“Of course,” Yagi smiled. “They have a school for the children of the scientists, and it’s one of the top systems in the world. It’ll be the perfect environment for someone as smart as you.” He paused. “You don’t mind if I inform David of these events, so they can prepare for your arrival?”
Izuku shook his head.
“Perfect.” Yagi stood. “Let me just get your number, and I’ll contact you with the moving details when I have them.”
“Thank you so much, Yagi-san. You are too generous of a man.”
“It’s nothing,” he brushed off softly. “You can call me Toshinori if you’d like—that goes for you as well, Midoriya-shōnen. I thank you for letting me into your home. Have a good night.”
“Good night, All Might… Toshinori-san!” Midoriya said with a wide smile. “Thank you.”