Chapter Text
“Midoriya!” The sound of his name being called out had Izuku whipping his head up, the drawing in his hand long forgotten as Iida came jogging over.
“Hey, Iida!” Izuku smiled at his fellow classmate and friend as he shoved his notebook back into his bag and stood, brushing off his pants. It was mid afternoon and Izuku had found some relief from the blazing sun under a nearby tree while taking a quick break from his internship duties. Both he and Iida were third year students finishing their degrees at UA to become wildlife veterinarians. In just a few short months they would both be graduating and with any luck be securing full-time jobs here at the Tokyo Wildlife Sanctuary.
“Midoriya! Come quickly — Aizawa-sensei said that they’ve just received word on the hybrid bengal tiger that was rescued a few days ago! They’re preparing to unload him now!”
Anxiety pooled in Izuku’s gut as he wordlessly slung his bag over his shoulder and hurriedly followed Iida back to the transition center.
A week ago their mentor and the head veterinarian at the sanctuary, Aizawa, had informed them of an incoming hybrid shifter. While hybrid shifters in general were rare nowadays with most of society having evolved — or devolved, depending on who you talked to — into secondary genders without the ability to shift into their animal forms, predator hybrids were nearly unheard of. Almost thirty years ago society had undergone a ‘purge’ during which predator hybrids had been purposely sought out and either thrown into containment or killed due to the fearmongering of one man — All for One. In his schemes to take over Japan, and the world along with it, he’d targeted the strongest individuals in society — predator shifters — in order to eliminate any possible resistance. Thankfully a handful of brave prey hybrids led by Izuku’s personal idol, All Might, had managed to turn the tide and take down All for One. But not before a terrible cost had been exacted upon the hybrid community.
Izuku internally shuddered. Those had been barbaric times. Even now, nearly three decades later, All for One’s influence still lingered in certain circles — primarily the exotic animal trafficking rings. The Tokyo Wildlife Sanctuary had created a special team of individuals made up of the top veterinarians, hybrid experts and even local law enforcement agents to locate and shut down those trafficking rings. Any hybrids they managed to rescue were brought to the sanctuary where they underwent medical treatment, psychological help, and hopefully a gradual reintroduction back into society so that they could live out the rest of their lives in relative peace.
“Did Aizawa-sensei say what the hybrid’s condition was?” He asked Iida breathlessly as he lengthened his stride to keep up with the taller man. Even at twenty years old, Izuku was still nearly three inches shorter than most of his classmates. It was incredibly frustrating, especially considering what he was but oh well. At least what he lacked in height he made up for in agility and speed.
“No, only that unloading the hybrid was going to require all hands on deck… apparently he is quite aggressive and already bit one of the vets and two of the police officers who rescued him from the scene.”
Yikes.
It had been a while since they’d rescued anyone that combative.
They had just entered the building where all the new arrivals were brought for initial treatment and placement when he smelled it.
The overpowering stench of alpha pheromones — with something spicy mixed in that had Izuku’s mouth automatically watering as his jaw went slack, his tiny omega fangs dropping before he could catch himself.
Oh crap.
He quickly snapped his mouth shut, eyes darting over to Iida to see if the pheromones were having the same effect on him. Iida appeared mostly unfazed, although his nose was scrunched up slightly.
It wasn’t just him then. If Iida’s beta could smell that, it said a lot about the hybrid they were dealing with. Betas had notoriously poor scenting abilities and while there were exceptions to that rule, he knew for a fact that Iida was not one of them.
Which meant the hybrid they were dealing with was very powerful, begging the question of how the alpha had even managed to get captured and imprisoned by a trafficking ring in the first place.
They reached the door leading into the main holding room and Izuku paused, taking a deep breath as he tried to get his nerves under control. It didn’t help that the alpha’s agitated scent was saturating the air, making him want to instinctively whine or hiss at something.
“Alright, let’s do this.” He gave a tight nod to Iida and together they walked through the door, only to stop short at the sight in front of them.
He gaped at the massive Bengal tiger that the vet team was currently trying to restrain. The key word being ‘trying.’ The tiger had to measure at least ten feet long from the tip of its tail to its snout, muscles rippling powerfully under golden-orange fur and thick black stripes. Its massive head — currently encased in a steel muzzle — swung in their direction, having no doubt sensed his and Iida’s arrival. He felt the breath whoosh from his lungs when fiery crimson eyes drilled into him.
Pretty.
Strong.
Ours.
Wait - what? Izuku blinked, shaking his head as he tried to clear that uncomfortable thought from his mind.
The tiger released a low growl, eyes appearing to narrow on them before abruptly lunging forward and dragging half the handlers with him.
“Bakugo! Calm down!” Aizawa raised his voice in an attempt to get the tiger’s attention but it seemed completely focused on them… well maybe not so much on Iida as on him.
Bakugo.
That’s a good name.
“Midoriya! Get back!” Iida was suddenly yanking on the back of his collar, trying to pull him away as the tiger managed to haul itself almost to Izuku’s feet.
Maybe it was the excessive amount of pheromones in the air right now rattling Izuku’s omega, or maybe he just didn’t particularly appreciate being handled so roughly, but he turned and hissed — loudly — at Iida and the whole room froze as everything went dead silent.
Yeah.
So that was the things about omegas. They were really damn friendly… until they weren’t.
Izuku could safely say he’d only ever omega hissed three times in his whole life, the third being just now at Iida.
It was mildly horrifying and definitely not his proudest moment, but he’d have to go home and have a mental breakdown about it later — right now he had the attention of every single person in the room, including the tiger shifter who was now staring at him with a look that Izuku couldn’t quite decipher.
From this close, those crimson eyes looked even more devastatingly beautiful and dangerous. A patch of fur under his right eye was missing, probably a scar leftover from some type of fight. Also, wow. Bakugo was big. He was really big. Izuku absently started doing the math in his head as he tried to figure out just how tall Bakugo would be once shifted into his human form.
Considering the top of the tiger’s shoulder came to about Izuku’s chest… pretty damn tall.
He sighed, mumbling under his breath.
Always the short one. His curse in this life.
Then he remembered that he still had an audience and there was still a very dangerous, possibly feral, alpha shifter standing less than two feet away.
Slowly, as not to startle Bakugo, Izuku raised both of his hands in what he hoped was a placating manner and smiled.
Apparently that was the wrong thing to do because one minute he was upright and the next minute he was grunting as he landed heavily on his back, the air being knocked out of his lungs while all four-hundred plus pounds of an angry, hostile tiger glared down at him.
Crap!
Was it his fangs? Had they been extended when he’d smiled? Had he accidentally issued a challenge to Bakugo?
Izuku was embarrassed to admit that he had very little experience around predator shifters… but he’d learned from his mom and his own studies at UA that flashing your fangs was considered to be some form of territorial provocation. Usually he didn’t have to worry about such things. He spent most of his time around prey shifters or betas and they didn’t respond to fangs the same way predator shifters or alphas did.
A deep growl rattled from above him and he felt hot breath ghost across his skin as Bakugo lowered his massive head. The steel muzzle around his snout grazed against Izuku’s cheek and heat seeped through his clothes from where Bakugo’s heavily muscled body was making contact with his own. A shiver traveled down Izuku’s spine and he swallowed thickly. He’d never felt so small or vulnerable before in his life.
So this is what it feels like to be prey.
The thought almost made him giggle hysterically as a trickle of fear and something else he didn’t want to name zipped through him.
“Midoriya, do not move.” Aizawa sounded incredibly calm given the situation. Izuku fought the urge to search out his mentor’s presence in the room; he didn’t dare look away from Bakugo.
“Don’t think you need to worry about that.” Izuku managed, a nervous chuckle escaping him that had Bakugo’s ears twitching.
Another burst of pheromones flooded the air, the scent turning burnt and bitter, causing Izuku’s stomach to roil. He needed to get Bakugo to calm down… but mainly, he needed to get the big shifter off of him before something else set the tiger off.
“I-I’m gonna try something, you might want to cover your noses if it’s too much.” Izuku hesitated for just a second before slowly reaching up and peeling the scent patches off of his neck. It wasn’t commonplace to wear them anymore considering most of the population consisted of betas, but Izuku did anyways on the off chance he ever crossed paths with an unmated or overly aggressive alpha. Kind of like right now.
Except instead of trying to hide his natural scent, he was going to use it — and it was either going to work just as he expected or it was going to backfire spectacularly.
The minute the scent patches were gone, Bakugo’s entire demeanor changed. Although he seemed more confused than anything else as he gave a rough shake of his head. When it became clear Bakugo still wasn’t going to move, Izuku carefully pushed more of his own pheromones into the air. Just enough to offset the ones emanating from Bakugo. He could tell the second it worked because the alpha’s scent abruptly changed. The burnt, bitter stench was replaced with something spicy and earthy. It reminded Izuku of cinnamon and his mouth watered again, fangs threatening to descend a third damn time today.
Oh wow.
Ohhhhh. Wow.
That smelled… really, really good. He couldn’t recall a time when he’d ever found himself so attracted to another alpha’s pheromones before and he found himself wondering how Bakugo would taste on his tongue.
No. Bad Izuku.
He quickly doused that train of thought before any hint of arousal could bleed into his scent. The last thing he needed in his life right now was to find himself knotted up to some unfamiliar, half-feral, alpha shifter.
Keeping his jaw tightly clenched shut, lest his fangs make another appearance, he released another burst of pheromones. Relief and mild satisfaction filled him as he watched the big shifter on top of him respond so quickly to his scent.
A dart came zipping through the air, embedding itself into Bakugo’s neck with a dull thunking noise. The unexpected sound startled Izuku, causing him to flinch, and a sudden spike of adrenaline rushed through him, turning his pheromones slightly sour before he could calm himself. Whatever hypnotic hold he’d had over Bakugo was gone in an instant. With a roar, Bakugo reared his head back and lifted one giant paw. Izuku cringed and pressed himself against the floor as hard as he could, bracing to be squished by that paw. Instead Bakugo whirled around, his paw clawing roughly at the dart. Izuku stared wide-eyed at Bakugo’s back. The big tiger appeared to almost be standing protectively in front of him while facing off against the rest of the handlers.
No, that doesn’t make any sense.
Just seconds earlier Izuku had been certain that Bakugo was about to slice through him with those lethal-looking claws. Why would he suddenly be protecting him?
Aggression was pouring off of Bakugo in thick, suffocating waves. It was even more intense than what Izuku had smelled previously and it made him dizzy. Nausea swamped him as he tried to sit up, only to yelp in surprise when hands dug into his shoulders from behind and dragged him backwards.
Aizawa.
He recognized the slightly muted alpha scent of his mentor before it was overpowered by something much stronger.
Bakugo roared again, turning that wild gaze in Izuku’s direction and the look in those eyes made something in Izuku’s chest spasm painfully. Bakugo looked… afraid.
The big tiger lunged, a paw outstretched in Izuku’s direction before stumbling as the effects of the sedative started to kick in. Bakugo refused to go down, though, even as his limbs appeared to shake violently. He kept staggering forward, as if he was trying to fight against the drugs flooding his system. His gaze was locked entirely on Izuku, something determined and desperate in those eyes.
“Dart him again!” Aizawa called out, hands still gripping Izuku by the shoulders before he suddenly felt himself being hauled to his feet.
“Go! Outside, now.” Aizawa’s voice was firm with no room for argument but Izuku still hesitated, his eyes sliding back to Bakugo before someone was tugging him towards the door.
Iida.
“Come along, Midoriya! We need to get out of here!”
Izuku didn’t reply, his thoughts too jumbled and chaotic as he let Iida drag him along.
Another broken roar reached his ears, followed by a desperate, low-pitched whine that had Izuku stumbling. He looked back over his shoulder, catching one final glance of orange fur and crimson eyes before the door slammed shut behind him.
Both he and Iida panted against the wall as they listened to the handlers finally manage to get Bakugo under control.
“Well… that was quite unexpected.” Iida finally stated, pushing his glasses higher up on the bridge of his nose as he turned to give Izuku an appraising look.
Izuku merely nodded, unable to speak as he tried to calm his racing heart.
“I would imagine this is going to be a particularly difficult rescue and rehabilitation effort after witnessing all of that.” Iida continued, clearly not anywhere near as rattled as Izuku.
Yeah. Difficult. That was one word for it.
He had a feeling that difficult didn’t even begin to describe what Bakugo was.
Katsuki Bakugo only knew two things for certain in this life: trust no one, not even your own blood, and showing weakness meant death.
He’d learned the first lesson when he’d been eight years old after his old hag of a mother had given him up, selling him off to an underground trafficking ring. He could remember that day perfectly; Mitsuki Bakugo had been unusually happy and affectionate with him, even taking him to his favorite café for lunch and then stopping at the mall to buy him an All Might trading card. His personal hero, or at least, had been when he was younger. He’d been so excited when he’d managed to find a Golden Age version of the card but his excitement had dimmed when he saw the price. He knew the hag could never afford to buy it for him. Except… she did, and if Katsuki had been just a bit more experienced in the ways of the world he might’ve questioned how his mother, who could barely afford to put food on the table every day, could somehow afford a limited edition trading card of his idol.
He learned very quickly how after Mitsuki drove them to a derelict, rundown part of Tokyo, yanked him out of the car and walked him over to a middle-aged man with rounded glasses, graying hair and a noticeable gap in his front teeth.
The man had looked down at Katsuki with an unimpressed, almost bored expression as he’d rolled a cigarette between his gnarled fingers.
“This runt? Really, Mitsuki? I have shoes worth more than him.”
His mother, known for her explosive temper, had been oddly calm as she’d responded.
“He’ll be an alpha and with my blood you already know he’s going to be strong. His first shift will be soon — I can smell it on him. If you don’t want him then I’ll just sell him to the Yakuza instead. Your choice, Giran.”
Katsuki had been too young to understand what his mother was saying or why the man in glasses had suddenly looked so interested in him.
“Fine, I’ll take him.” Then Katsuki had been handed over to the man called Giran like he was nothing more than cheap currency. That was the last time he had seen his mother. Or life outside of a cage.
The second lesson Katsuki had learned was when he was sixteen years old. He’d been thrown into the fighting pits with a meek little prey hybrid. The girl had looked about his age, reeking of fear and despair. It had taken pitifully little effort to back her into a corner. When he’d raised his paw preparing to slash her throat out, he’d faltered. For just a split-second all he could see was the raw terror in her eyes and he’d felt remorse at the idea of killing her. That brief hesitation was all it had taken for her to unsheathe her own tiny claws and drag them down his chest, slicing into his heart and damn near killing him. He couldn’t even be pissed, really. He’d hesitated, she hadn’t. But that was the last time he ever allowed himself to feel empathy or show any form of weakness for others again.
When the trafficking ring was busted by the Tokyo Wildlife Sanctuary’s so-called team of rescuers, Katsuki really couldn’t have given a fuck less. While the other prisoners had rejoiced, he’d remained silent and broody. In his mind he was simply trading one cage for another, except this cage was presented under the guise of being ‘rescued’. He didn’t want to be rescued.
He could have escaped his captors plenty of times over the years. He just didn’t have a reason to. He had no family waiting for him outside of these walls — at least no family that he wouldn’t kill on sight if he saw them. He had no friends, no money, no home… and he knew nothing besides fighting, eating and sleeping.
So naturally he’d fought when those same rescuers had tried to move him. Too bad he’d only been able to sink his teeth into three of them.
When they had arrived at the rehabilitation facility it had looked like nothing more than another cage to Katsuki. He’d purposely stunk up the air with his alpha pheromones, putting everyone’s teeth on edge around him. He knew how off putting his pheromones were, even to all these weak-nosed betas. The only one who hadn’t seemed bothered by it was that exhausted looking black-haired alpha who Katsuki had heard the others call Aizawa. He instantly did not like Aizawa. The older alpha wasn’t a shifter, that much he was sure of, but his pheromones were subtle and yet powerful in a way that grated on Katsuki’s nerves.
Then two new individuals had entered the room, drawing Katsuki’s attention away from Aizawa and everyone else as he assessed what level of danger these newcomers posed to him.
It had taken him less than ten seconds to dismiss them as a threat. Especially the shorter one with curly green hair. Still… he’d found himself unable to look away. Katsuki had never seen hair that looked so soft — it made him want to reach out and run his claws through it. He’d also never seen such big, mossy green eyes or so many damn freckles on a person's face before. Curiosity had him clawing his way towards the newcomers, dragging his handlers along with him. When he got within several feet of the green-haired one, he paused and sniffed. He wasn’t able to catch any sort of tangible scent and for some reason that irritated him. With a growl he started inching forward again, nearly snarling in outrage when the taller beta with glasses reached out to yank the shorter one back. A warning hiss suddenly sliced through the air, cutting off Katsuki’s own snarl and everything inside of him froze. The green-haired one had hissed — loudly – as tiny little fangs peeked out from beneath those bitable-looking lips and the sound was enough to make everyone in the room go deathly still.
Omega.
His tiger supplied with barely suppressed glee as Katsuki registered the hiss — and the meaning behind it — instantly.
Even Katsuki, with his own limited knowledge, knew better than to piss off an omega.
But then the omega turned back around to face him, hands raised in what appeared to be a placating gesture, flashing those very same fangs at Katsuki and the need to assert his dominance overrode everything else.
Logically he knew that the omega hadn’t been issuing a challenge — that he had simply been attempting to offer a reassuring smile — but Katsuki wasn’t exactly using the logical part of his brain right now.
He pounced, the sudden action surprising his handlers as he felt the rope they’d been trying to use to restrain him snap under the force. The omega was clearly caught off guard, releasing a strained grunt before staring up at him wide-eyed as Katsuki towered over him. A flicker of satisfaction ran through him.
Right where omega belongs.
His tiger cooed happily even while Kastuki struggled to decide what exactly he was going to do with the aforementioned omega. Three different base needs were all battling for dominance inside of him as he tried to figure out if he wanted to fight, fuck or feed the omega pinned beneath him.
The decision was made for him when the omega peeled away what Katsuki could only assume were scent patches and he got his first real whiff of the omega’s scent.
Holy fuck.
It smelled like fresh rain with hints of mint. He couldn't remember the last time he’d smelled anything quite so intoxicating. It made his gums ache and saliva pool in his mouth.
His pheromones instantly changed; the burnt, bitter stench fading away as his body instinctively relaxed, leaving him feeling very confused.
Not once in his life had he ever reacted to anyone this way. He glared down at the omega, annoyed that whatever this freckled-faced idiot was doing was causing him to melt like a goddamn ice cream cone.
What he did know, however, was that he wanted to lick, rub and bite that smooth, porcelain-looking skin until every inch of it was covered with his scent and his teeth marks.
He distantly recognized the thwacking sound of a dart being loaded into the empty chamber of a tranquilizer gun but he was too confused — and mesmerized — by the big green eyes staring up at him to care about what was happening around them.
It was only the sudden souring of the omega’s scent when the dart pierced Katsuki neck, along with a startled flinch, that set Katsuki off — not the fact that he’d been fucking darted… again.
His mind blanked, except for three thoughts:
Scared omega.
Protect omega.
My omega.
Wait - my omega?
Later, when he wasn’t reacting on pure instinct, he’d seriously need to reevaluate the words that had slammed through his skull. But right now he was seeing fucking red and for the first time since arriving here, Katsuki was truly angry.
He roared, raising a paw as he tried to dig the dart out with his claws while whirling around to face his attackers. Baring his fangs, he quickly assessed everyone in the room who posed a threat to his omega — and who he’d need to kill first. He’d built up a tolerance to sedatives thanks to his time spent in captivity and he could fight for one minute — maybe two — before he’d start feeling the effects.
Enough time to kill at least half of these fuckers.
A surprised yelp from behind him had him faltering, head whipping around as he watched his omega being dragged away by that sleepy-looking fucker with the annoying alpha pheromones.
His chest seized as something flipped in his brain and his emotions spiraled out of control as fear and rage took prominent front row seats in his mind.
He suddenly forgot where he was; only that he knew what happened to omegas in places like this — in places with cages.
The omegas in the trafficking rings suffered horribly and they died even worse deaths.
Over his dead body would he let these fuckers do the same thing his omega.
He registered the sting of another dart and gritted his teeth before releasing an angry bellow as he fought through the effects of the drugs, staggering forward on unsteady limbs.
Fight… just a little… longer.
Before he could reach his omega, however, the beta with glasses was suddenly there and Katsuki released an enraged roar as he watched his omega being dragged away from him yet again.
No!
His rage and fear coalesced into pure panic — something he was wholly unfamiliar with.
A broken, desperate whine escaped him and he saw the omega stumble, glancing back over his shoulder as those emerald eyes met his own with a pained look. Then the omega was gone, disappearing through the door as it slammed shut behind him and Katsuki bellowed one last time before he collapsed, his body no longer able to resist the powerful pull of the sedatives coursing through his veins.
His last thought was that he was going to save his omega from this place. No matter what it took.