Chapter Text
Midoriya Izuku was a statistical anomaly.
The doctor had called it a one in 7 billion chance.
His mother called him a miracle.
Izuku just wondered which god he’d pissed off in his past life to be so cursed in this one.
He still remembered that doctor’s appointment, even though he had just entered kindergarten at the time. He had hoped against hope that the weird feeling he was experiencing was a Quirk finally finally coming in after a year of disappointment. But it only took a few tests to find out that he would only be leaving with yet another letdown. His mother had been shocked at first, but it quickly bled into happiness and pride when they got the real diagnosis.
He wasn’t just one of the measly 20% of the world’s population that did not have a Quirk. No, at a mere 5 years old, Izuku had started presenting as his secondary gender; a full five years earlier than the very lowest of the low end of presentation age averages. That fact, added to the rarity of his Dynamic, Omega, which made up only about a quarter of the world’s population, made him uncommon enough. But factor in that his primary gender of male only made up a third of that quarter? That combination made his existence, even in the amazing world of Quirks, a statistical wonder. Such a phenomenon had never been recorded as far as his doctor was aware.
His mother had been ecstatic. Male Omegas were rare treasures and there had never been one in the Midoriya family before. Her whole line had been Betas as far as she knew.
The same could not be said about his father however. The man had been so disgusted at having a Quirkless Omega for a son that he refused to have anything to do with Izuku. His father had ripped himself out of Izuku and his mother’s lives when the boy had been no more than a toddler.
But therein lay a problem.
There was no shame in being an Omega, despite what his bigoted Alpha father had claimed. Alphas and Betas naturally wanted to protect them, as they were seen as precious hearts of the family. Plus there had been a big push right at the advent of Quirks for job equality so most Omegas have no problem having careers and supporting themselves financially. They can live fairly normal lives all on their own. All except for one thing.
Courting, the process of finding and bonding a partner, was a highly traditional and important part of mating and starting a family. Omegas tended to mate young, usually before they turned 25, because having a mate helped immensely with their heats. But because of how much scent and instincts were involved, it was a general practice that Omegas have a designated protector and representative, an Alpha Guardian, from the time they first presented as their Dynamic up until they found and bonded with a mate. Because people usually presented when they were children, between the ages of 10 and 13, around the time puberty started, a designated Alpha Guardian was almost always a parent or family member. This only became a problem if a child didn’t have access to an Alpha relative.
Inko’s parents, while loving and supportive, were both Betas and lived hours away from them. She had no siblings and the only family she’s known on Hisashi’s side were both adoptive and unfortunately passed. So while Inko could support her baby financially, when it came to courting legally she wouldn’t be able to help. Luckily for Izuku, the doctor had a suggestion.
Total Dynamic Suppressants.
They were a particular set of medications that could completely halt the scents and hormones associated with a person’s Dynamic. They were only used in special cases, but if there was one thing Izuku’s case could be described as it was “special”. The doctor explained that it was only meant as a stop-gap measure, something to pause Izuku’s biology until the rest of his age group started to present. This way Izuku wouldn’t have to deal with trying to navigate his social structure around his Dynamic before his peers could understand the scent signals he was giving off. It would also give Izuku and his mother plenty of time to find the boy an Alpha Guardian to represent him when he decided he was ready to start presenting again.
Izuku was more than eager to go along with the doctor’s plan. The last thing he wanted was to give kids another reason to pick on him. It was bad enough being Quirkless after all, and Kacchan didn’t need any more ammo against him. His mother took a bit of convincing, going over the different types of suppressants with the doctor and hemming and hawing over side effects, but eventually Inko was satisfied enough with their options to give her okay. They left the appointment with an ample prescription of medication and the promise of a followup when Izuku was ready to embrace his Dynamic.
The problem was that when the rest of his age group started presenting, Izuku still wasn’t ready. He still hadn’t pack-bonded with any adult Alphas. He didn’t know any that he felt he could trust. Sure there was his Auntie Mitsuki, he loved her, but he could never truly pack bond with her because of Kacchan’s constant abuse. Outside of her, most adult Alphas wanted nothing to do with him. He was Quirkless after all, he wouldn’t amount to much right? So why put in the effort?
He didn’t think it was a problem though.
Everyone just assumed he would be a Beta anyway, so if his scent never changed then so be it. No one would notice. Izuku could be on suppressants for the rest of his life for all it really mattered to him. His mother constantly worried about the side effects of long-term use, but Izuku honestly felt fine. Sure they messed with his senses some, he was positive he missed out on certain social cues because his sense of smell was dulled to most pheromones, but he thought that might be considered a boon in Hero work right? He wouldn’t fall to his knees at the first hint of Alpha Command if he didn’t get a whiff of the accompanying scent signal.
He’d never mentioned his Dynamic to All Might all through their training. At first he was too worried that his idol might change his mind about giving Izuku his Quirk. If All Might found out the Izuku was also an Omega, then that protective Alpha instinct might take over and ruin the boy’s one chance at achieving his dream. Izuku didn’t want to be coddled. He could prove himself just as well as any Alpha or Beta could.
He realized after a while that he never should have worried. All Might wouldn’t have cared about his Dynamic. The man had made that plain enough when he’d mentioned that the previous user, his beloved Master, had been an Omega. But at that point it had felt too late to mention it. Izuku had spent basically his whole life hiding what he was and he wasn’t about to chance any risk to his dream over it when he was so close, no matter how silly that risk seemed in the long run.
Then he’d gotten into UA and he became so focused on school and training that he didn’t have time to think about his Dynamic, never mind the suppressant issue. He’d distantly noted the handful of Omegas that were in his class. He was happy that UA is so open to admitting them to the Hero course. There were still plenty of schools that wouldn’t. But that fact never translated into a feeling of safety to embrace his own Dynamic. Besides he was now of an age where he could start courting and it wasn’t like he had an Alpha that would be willing to act as his Guardian anyway.
All in all, Izuku had resigned himself to the fact that he would just never present. He was fine with it. While it was true that plenty of Omegas were able to become Pro Hero, and that the amount of Male Omegas like Aizawa-sensei in the profession was statistically higher than most other jobs, the were almost always Underground Heroes or worked in a duo as a support to their Alpha or Beta Mates. Izuku had no problem with those types of Heroes but he wanted to stand on his own two feet. He’d inherited the legacy of the Symbol of Peace and he was going to live up to it or die trying. He wouldn’t let something like his Dynamic get in the way of that dream. So he’d live his life as a Beta, and no one would ever be the wiser.
Or at least that had been the plan.
Unfortunately for Izuku his luck, just like the rest of him, was truly improbable.
The day his life changed forever started innocuously enough. 1-A had just moved into the new dorms on campus. They had all come to realize throughout the week that there were things they needed for living on their own that they hadn’t anticipated when they’d all packed, so a trip to the local mall was organized. A group of 20 teen Heroes going to the mall together had already proven to be a huge target in the past, so this time they were going with supervision. So early on Saturday morning, Eraserhead, Present Mic, and All Might loaded the whole class onto a bus and carted them all off to go shopping.
Things had gone to hell before they’d even decided what store they wanted to go in first.
The whole class and their three chaperones were gathered in the food court, allegedly to more easily figure out how they would be splitting up into smaller shopping groups but really it was because Present Mic wanted Starbucks, when the whole mall was attacked. The culprits were a whole gaggle of small time gangsters trying to get at the bank at the center of the mall. They weren’t at the level of the mob or a yakuza family, but they definitely had some level of teamwork and preparations.
Unfortunately for them, they hadn’t planned on a mated pair of Pro Heroes, plus UA’s famous problem class already being on the scene before they struck. Eraserhead and Present Mic quickly began to pick off the low level grunts that flooded the shopping center while the students worked to evacuate civilians. When it became clear that their numbers weren’t going to be enough to win, the thugs started fighting dirty.
That’s how Izuku found himself caught in the crossfire when one of the would-be crooks started firing on some innocent bystanders. He was crouched behind an overturned table with a mother and her two young daughters, waiting for his chance to get them to safety. They were cornered by a gang member with wild blue hair and a Quirk that let him shoot sharpened shards of bone from his hands.
“Come on out little Hero,” The man taunted, chuckling darkly as he shot another shard at the splintering tabletop, “I didn’t think UA allowed cowards to hide in their ranks.”
“It’s going to be okay,” Izuku assured the small family, patently ignoring the villain’s efforts to get a rise out of him, “When I say go, I need you to run towards the store behind us, alright. Don’t look back, I’ll protect you. I promise.”
He waited for the frightened mother to nod her understanding before he turned his attention back to their attacker. He could tell the table shielding them was about to fail, there were too many cracks spider-webbing across the top for it to stand up to another hit. Luckily he had a plan for that. Just as the blue-haired man started up a new round of goading, Izuku struck the table from behind. The tabletop shattered, pointed fragments of dented linoleum shot like bullets at the gangster. The man screamed in surprise and Izuku shouted for the civilians to run while the young Hero vaulted forwards, wrestling their assailant to the ground.
There was a scuffle as the two of them fought. Izuku struggled to contain the man’s hands as the gangster desperately scrambled for purchase. In a last ditch effort to get free he shot off his Quirk and Izuku winced as one of the bone shards sliced him across the shoulder dangerously close to the juncture of his neck.
Izuku distantly noted that an odd odor permeated the area for a second but he didn’t have time to dwell on it. The gangster however, suddenly froze and stared up at him with wide eyed shock. It was all the opening Izuku needed to take him down. With a swift chop to the side of his neck the man was out cold and not likely to wake up any time soon. Izuku breathed a quick sigh of relief and secured the man’s hands before hurrying over to where the mother was crouched with her children just inside the doors of an electronics shop.
“See, it’s just like I said? Everyone is okay,” Izuku said with a smile, reaching out to ruffle the heads of both little girls before turning to look at their mom. “It’s still dangerous to be in here though. This store has a back exit that leads out the street. I need you to stay low and go down the aisle farthest to the right and you should find it. Once you get out there try to find a police officer, there should be some on their way right now.”
“No! What about you?!” The woman cried, pupils blown wide as she grabbed his arm with one hand and wrapped her children up in the other, “I can’t just leave you in here! It’s dangerous! Come one sweetheart, let Auntie take you outside to the nice policeman. We can get you help and find your guardian, okay?”
“What? No. Ma’am I’ll be fine.” Izuku insisted, trying to tug his arm out of the woman’s grip, “I’m a Hero student, this is what I’ve trained for. You don’t have to worry about me, just focus on getting yourself and your girls to safety.”
“No I can’t!” The woman argued, dragging Izuku further into the store, “You’re hurt! We have to get you out of here!”
“That’s so kind of you Ma’am but I really am fine.” Izuku said, firmly planting his feet and twisting out of the woman’s grasp. “But I promise to get it looked at once everyone’s safe as long as you promise to get to the police, okay?”
“A Hero student?” The woman muttered, seeming to come down a bit from her panic. She blinked at him with a look of sudden understanding coming over her, “Okay. Alright we’ll get out of here but you have to promise to get looked at after this is all over. Swear it.”
“I swear!” Izuku assured her, holding his hands up in surrender.
With a nod the woman grabbed a daughter under either arm and ran towards the back of the store. Izuku stared after them for a second, partially to make sure they got out okay and partially because he was honestly perplexed with the whole situation. What a weird lady! He wasn’t even hurt that badly, it was only a scratch. Sure it could have been bad if the shard had hit him a little lower or to the left, but as it stood the cut was mostly superficial. Maybe this was what Aizawa-sensei had meant when he’d warned them about people reacting oddly in emergency situations?
He didn’t have time to ponder on it though. The sounds of battle were getting louder. He needed to go help his classmates.
The food court was in shambles when Izuku arrived back on the scene. Sero and Momo had constructed a kind of sheltered corridor out of the remains of restaurant furniture and sticky tape which Iida, Uraraka, and Asui were using to ferry civilians down a staircase out of one of the street level exits. The rest of the class had fanned out throughout the center. Half the class, particularly those with more offensive Quirks, were aiding Eraserhead and Present Mic in taking down the hostile gang members. The other half, led by All Might, were defending evacuating the surrounding stores or protecting the extraction point the first team had set up.
Izuku’s eyes scanned over the chaos, trying to find where he’d be most useful. It appeared that most of the Villains had already been knocked out or apprehended by 1-A, with only a few stragglers giving Bakugou and Todoroki some trouble. Just as Izuku was about to throw himself into the fray, he noticed a large man trying to use the smoke from the battle as cover. He was inching closer and closer to one of the unguarded exits, a metal safe-box clutched tightly in his hand like a briefcase.
“Hey you!” Izuku yelled, using One for All to rocket himself over to the thief trying to make his escape, “Stop right there.”
“No. ” The man growled, teeth bared in a feral snarl as he whirled on Izuku, “ You stop!”
Izuku’s head exploded with pounding pain and his world tilted to the side. He instantly dropped to the ground, the momentum from his Quirk causing him to roll in a flailing heap. He heard himself wheeze out a whine and the familiar feeling of blood trickled out his nose. His mind raced as he tried desperately to make his limbs move, but his whole body felt like stone.
“Well well well, what have we here?” The man snickered sinisterly, seeming to forget the fact that he was trying to escape moments before and instead running his eyes consideringly over Izuku’s prone form, “A little Omega hiding behind suppressants? You can’t hide from me with your scent gland all cut up like that, kid. You know you little Heroes and those teachers of yours caused me and my boys quite a bit of trouble here, I think that it’s only fair that I get something extra out of it after all this. Something like a ripe little Omega---”
Izuku didn’t find out how the man planned to continue his nasty little speech because it was interrupted by a classic Texas smash.
Izuku looked up in shock. Where once there was a menacing villain leering over him; there was now All Might, in his full Muscle Form, standing guard in front of his fallen student.
Such a site should have been impossible, but Izuku blinked and still it was there. The hero’s near constant smile looked more like a snarl as a deep warning growl rolled over what remained of the attacking gang members. Most of them were forced to their knees at the sound. It was all the opening the two other teachers needed to neutralize the threat.
All Might deflated with a wheeze, his energy to transform dissipating just as quickly as it came, just as police began to flood through the doors of the mall.
With a great gasping breath, Izuku found he could once again move. He was on All Might in an instant, checking the man over for injuries.
“Are you alright All Might?” Izuku asked, hands ghosting over the tall man’s body, searching out any hurt that may be there.
“Am I alright?” Yagi asked, grabbing Izuku by the shoulders and holding the boy at arm's length, “I should be asking you that, my boy. You gave me quite the scare when you just dropped like a sack of bricks.”
“Oh yeah it was crazy,” Izuku said, swiping a sleeve across his nose and starting to mutter in that way that meant he was about to go on one of his tangents, “He must have some kind of vertigo Quirk. The air got all ozone-y and then it felt like my head was being squeezed and everything went sideways. His voice sounded odd too, perhaps it’s sound based like Yamada-sensei’s Quirk. But that wouldn’t account for the ozone smell or the feeling in my muscles when I went down. Perhaps a command Quirk then like Shinsou or maybe--”
“That wasn’t a Quirk shitty-Deku,” Bakugo huffed, stomping over to the pair as he dusted debris off his shirt, “It was a goddamn Alpha command, you moron.”
“What?” Izuku mumbled, blinking at his childhood friend in confusion, “No that can’t be right…”
“Of course it’s right! Are you dumb, Nerd?” Bakugou challenged, puffing up his chest “You calling me a liar?!”
“Hey easy now, no fighting,” Yagi said, deftly stepping between the two students to try and deescalate the fight before it could start, “We have more important things to deal with at the moment. Let’s regroup with the rest of the class and assess damages. You’re Heroes in training, when you deal with the public you need to act as such. Understand?”
“Yes Sir,” Both boys nodded, averting their eyes from each other. Yagi sighed feeling like that wouldn’t be the end of it, things were never that easy with those two, but at least it was dealt with for now.
“Eraserhead, what’s your status?” Yagi called out, herding the boys back towards where Aizawa had gathered up the rest of the class, “Any injuries that need immediate attention?”
“A few cuts from the guy with the bone Quirk but nothing too concerning,” Aizawa huffed, looking up from where he was examining a shallow gash above Shoji’s knee, “At most some of them might need stitches but I’m sure Recovery Girl will fix them up when we get back to campus. All civilians were successfully evacuated with minimal injury and all hostiles have been taken down. The food court took more of a beating than I would have liked, but I guess these things happen.”
“Hey, has anyone figured out where that weird hurt-Omega scent is coming from?” Todoroki called out from where he was helping Present Mic cuff the still-knocked-out mob boss, “I thought it might have come from one of the gangsters trying to throw us off but everyone we’ve arrested has been either an Alpha or a Beta.”
“Oh man, Dude, you’re right!” Kirishima exclaimed, head whipping around as he frantically searched the ruins of the food court, “Did we miss a civilian? It smells really close. HEY, YOU CAN COME OUT NOW! IT’S SAFE!”
“All right everyone, fan out,” Iida commanded, quickly taking charge of the situation, “There is an Omega in distress and it is our duty as Hero Students to find and assist them. Pair up and move outwards in a grid. Leave no stone unturned until they are found!”
There was a bit of shuffling as the kids moved to follow the class rep’s order. There were several raised noses as they all tried to scent out the distressed Omega. Izuku frowned and stepped aside to let the others do the work. The suppressants had long since made it impossible for him to follow his nose to locate someone. After a few minutes of searching, the whole of the food court area and its surrounding stores had been thoroughly canvassed with no sign of the missing Omega.
“How puzzling,” Iida murmured, rubbing his chin in thought, “The scent smells extremely close, but there’s obviously no one in the vicinity. Perhaps the scent was left on a chair or some rubble when the Omega escaped with the rest of the mall patrons? But then the scent would be fading as it dissipated instead of staying constant. Maybe it’s someone hiding with a Quirk? ”
“Hey I know!” Mina chimed in suddenly, waving her hand excitedly at her idea, “What if some of us Alphas send out calming pheromones?! That way if there really is an Omega hiding, we’ll be able to lure them out. But if it's just a scent trail left behind, the Alpha pheromones will override it and we’ll know for sure the area is clear.”
“Ashido that’s brilliant!” Iida cried, raising a hand in victoriously, “Alphas please commence with this plan at once!”
There’s a moment of fond chuckles at their class rep’s exuberance before the other students did as they were asked. Izuku smiled at his friend’s antics as well, content to let his classmates handle this particular situation, until he suddenly felt very strange. His stomach fluttered, like it was filled with butterflies, and his head felt like it had been filled with cotton. He staggered dizzily, barely catching himself before he fell to the floor once again, but not before Bakugou saw him stumble with a drunk look in his eyes. Izuku watched Bakugou raise an eyebrow and scan him head to toe. When the blond boy’s gaze landed on the cut on the side of Izuku’s neck his eyes went wide.
“Wait a goddamn minute,” Bakugou growled, stalking angrily over to Izuku and swiping a finger through the blood still slowly leaking out of the cut. He brought the finger to his face and breathed in deeply.
“IT’S YOU!” Bakugo yelled angrily, making Izuku jump back, “WHAT THE FUCK DEKU?! YOU’RE A FUCKING OMEGA?!”
“What?!” Izuku yelped, Bakugou’s accusation drawing the whole class’s attention, “No! I’m on suppressants! You shouldn’t be able to tell!”
“YOUR SCENT GLAND IS SLICED OPEN YOU MORON” Bakugou roared, pointing an accusing finger in Izuku’s shell shocked face, “I CAN FUCKING SMELL IT!”
“He’s on suppressants?” Kaminari asked, casually ignoring his explosive friend’s outburst, “Is that why his scent smells so off?”
“Yeah that could do it,” Hagakure confirmed, hurrying over to try and get a better look at the boy in question “Especially if he’s been on them for awhile. Those kinds of meds can really mess with your hormones.”
Izuku suddenly realized that they had an audience and nervously ducked behind All Might. Oh god, this was the worst possible outcome. How could this have happened? What would his classmates think of him now? Would they call him a liar for hiding his Dynamic?! Would they hate him for that?! He’d finally started to make friends! Of course his Dynamic would ruin everything again! It felt like the walls were closing in, like Izuku couldn’t get any breath, and the familiar prickle of tears threatened to spill down his cheeks.
Luckily for Izuku; All Might was always there to save him.
“Enough! Take 3 steps back everyone,” Yagi instructed sternly, cutting off the conversation about Izuku’s Dynamic, “Give Midoriya some space. Eraserhead, come look him over and make sure it’s nothing serious”
“You heard him, break it up troublemakers,” The adult Omega called tiredly, wading through the mob of students to check on his problem child. “Let me see the cut.”
“I-it’s r-really fine, Aizawa-sensei” Izuku insisted in choked whisper, covering the split skin of his collarbone with his hand in a vain attempt to stem the steady trickle of blood, “I just n-need a bandage or something.”
“I’m glad you’re not in pain, Midoriya,” Aizawa said, gently pulling the trembling boy’s hand away from his neck and wincing at the sight beneath, “But given the placement of the wound and the fact that it is still bleeding, I want Recovery Girl to look at it. In the meantime we can cover it up so it doesn’t get worse.”
“Does somebody over there need a band-aid?” Yamada called, holding a first aid kit up by two fingers as he strolled over to the other two teachers, “Which Little Listener took a tumble?”
“Midoriya,” Aizawa huffed, snatching the first aid kit from his Mate and starting to clean Izuku’s shoulder before covering it with a gauze pad and some medical tape.
The slightly off scent of distressed omega dissipated from the air almost immediately after Izuku’s wound was covered, causing many of the Alpha students to breathe a sigh of relief. Izuku blushed bright red and had to resist the urge to bury his face in shame.
“I’m so sorry for making it stink everyone,” Izuku apologized, eyes downcast and refusing to meet anyone’s gaze, “I know my scent isn't exactly fragrant.”
“No no, Midoriya, I’m sure your natural scent smells fine,” Jirou quickly assured him, “But the tinge of hurt and sickness in it right now is what was making us all worry. We’re all just relieved that there’s not actually a distressed Omega after all.”
“....Right,” Izuku nods, eyes still downcast as he silently pressed himself into Yagi’s side. There was a beat of silence after his answer but Izuku couldn’t bring himself to look at his classmates’ reaction.
“UGH whatever,” Bakugou groaned finally, seemingly snapping everyone else out of their thoughts, “Are we done here now? Let’s get back to the dorms so I can take a fucking nap. All this stupidity is making me tired.”
“Is that why you’re always taking naps?” Todoroki asked calmly, “Because your own brain tuckers you out?”
“WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU SAY ICY HOT?!” Came the familiar scream followed by an explosion.
“Do not destroy any more public property!” Iida commanded as the rest of the class laughed, “We have to wait for our teachers to finish speaking with the authorities!”
“Pack it in people,” Yamada cried out, gathering the students together and herding them towards the exit, “Let’s all boogie our butts back to school. Nothing left to see here. Come on!”
“Are you sure you’re alright, Midoriya my boy?” Yagi asked softly, wrapping a thin but sturdy arm around his successor’s shoulder. Izuku nodded silently, clutching tightly to the back of his mentor’s shirt and hiding his face in Yagi’s side. “Okay kiddo. Let’s get you back to Recovery Girl. We’ll figure all this out after that, no worries.”
Izuku just nodded again and clung all the tighter to Yagi’s side. His mentor allowed it without a thought, merely patting the boy on the head and walking over to start the short trek back to the school with rest of 1-A. The man let Izuku hide silently behind him the whole way back to campus, easily fending off any student that tried to talk to the boy. Izuku once again found himself feeling eternally grateful to have All Might on his side. The man really was his Hero in every way, even when Izuku’s troubles were his own doing.
“Unfortunately” Izuku thought, as their group paused outside the gates of UA, “I think I’ve finally found a problem All Might can’t fix. After all, you can’t save someone from their Dynamic, especially when they’ve spent their whole life lying to everyone about it.”
With a final defeated sigh, Izuku pulled away from All Might’s hold. With stuttering steps he followed his class up the hill towards the main building, ready to meet his fate. He didn’t know what Recovery Girl would say, what repercussions there were for falsifying all his records to say he was a Beta, but he knew it couldn’t be good. But it had been his choice to do it and he would face the consequences of that choice himself.
He’d spent his whole life making his bed, he guessed it was finally time to lie in it.