Arc 2: Making Progress
Hawks was crouching on one of the rooftops of Yokohama, they had gotten some clues to Loup-Garou’s person and whereabouts, but there wasn’t any evidence that he was involved in the stuff that happened here. He was kinda frustrated that everything went so slowly. But doing research into another country’s underworld wasn’t an easy task. It was freaking annoying.
He heard steps behind him and turned his head to see who was approaching him. He raised his eyebrows when Dabi appeared. “Yo,” the villain mumbled.
“Hey, what’s up?” Hawks asked.
Dabi looked at him with a strange look. Hawks noticed that he had closed the coat he was wearing completely. This was new …
The villain stared at Hawks for several minutes before he exhaled, frustrated. “Damn … this is harder than I thought … Look,” he paused again. He put a hand on his neck and didn’t know why it was so hard … “Don’t laugh but let’s make a deal, okay?”
Hawks’ eyebrows shot up. “What deal?”
“You want information about this alpha lady, right? I could give you some, but you need to help me first,” Dabi’s voice sounded off. Hawks stood up and mustered Dabi again. He noticed that he was wearing scent blockers.
He would have joked about it, but something in Dabi’s voice held him back. The villain was serious. “Depends on what you need help with.”
He could see Dabi’s jaw clench and unclench. This really wasn’t easy for him, huh? Much to his confusion, Dabi opened his coat. He pressed down the shirt that was slightly moving from the wind.
Hawks looked at him dumbfounded. “Huh, didn’t really expect that … How far?”
“A bit about four months … It gets harder to hide. Especially from Shigaraki … But Toga is very suspicious of me too. She has been pestering me ever since I started wearing scent blockers.”
“So, what exactly do you want from me? And what information do you have?” Hawks still couldn’t believe it.
“I want you to take me in for the next five months or hide me somewhere where they can’t find me! I mean, I could run away on my own, that is not the problem, but I need someone to help me with … everything else!” He sounded desperate.
“As for the information … there was this alpha-chick with Shigaraki. She had surprisingly good control over him. I heard that you were looking for her. So maybe that is the chick in question.”
Hawks exhaled deeply. “Damn, you … This could get me in trouble … hiding a villain away.” He looked Dabi in the eyes.
“C’mon, man! You can’t let me hang! Help a fellow omega out!” He stopped for a second. “And if not for me, do it for the pup! I don’t want her anywhere near the League. Especially not Shigaraki …”
Keigo looked Dabi again in the eyes. He thought about it for a few moments. He then closed his eye. “Fine … I’ll help you …”
Dabi sighed in relief. “Thanks …”
Eri was now with Deku and the others on a daily. She visited them one after another, which was quite time-consuming, but it worked. They relaxed more and more, even Shoto and Hitoshi.
Shota could go into their rooms without problems now. They didn’t growl at him or anything, maybe because his scent was all over Eri and vice versa.
They were now three and a half months into their recovery. For a very long time, they hadn’t displayed signs of aggressiveness. Instead, they seemed more themselves again.
Today they wanted to try something. How would they react to each other? Could they be in the same room without complications?
They brought Izuku first into the new meeting room. There was a large desk, and Eri was already sitting there. She had some paper and crayons. “Hello, Mr. Deku!” She smiled brightly.
Izuku was happy to see her too. “Hey, puppy! How’re you doing?” He grinned as she held up the paper she was drawing. It showed him and her so far.
“I am doing good. And you?” She asked.
“‘M fine. I feel so much better thanks to you.”
It was true; he could think for himself more again. The constant fog that was in his head all the time was slowly but surely getting weaker. Of course, he could sometimes still feel the beast inside of him. But for the most of it, he had chained it far back in his mind.
At first, the power was amazing. It was a rush, a need to be so strong. He wanted to dominate everything. He wanted to have his omega by his side. His beastly instincts had taken over completely!
But now that he was clearer again, he felt incredibly guilty. His memory was still clouded, but he knew that he had done something really, really bad to Kacchan.
The dark voice in his head was still there. Trying to seduce him, to unchain the beast again that was roaring in the back of his head. To release the chains, to give into the temptation, to just take what he wanted …
But ever since he saw Eri again, something clicked in his head. His true self was coming to the surface again. He wanted to protect the little pup! Both his human side and his beast side agreed on that. Protect the little pup no matter what!
And when he agreed on something with the beast, he suddenly got more and more control over it. They switched places now. Before, Izuku’s human side was locked up in chains. Now it was the beast’s turn. However, the chains were not strong yet. They could snap easily, and it took all his might to hold the beast inside of him back.
He sat down next to Eri and started to draw too. But after a while, he noticed that someone was coming. A threat … He started growling.
The door opened, and Hitoshi was brought in. Izuku stood up and clenched his fists. What did this alpha want from them? Was he a threat to the pup?
But Eri jumped off the chair and ran over to Hitoshi. Izuku tensed. So did Aizawa, Hound Dog, Midnight, and Hizashi.
“Hello, Mr. Toshi!” She grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the table. “Mr. Deku, don’t growl, please! Mr. Toshi is nice! Aren’t you friends?”
Izuku and Hitoshi glared at each other. That was the moment of truth …
After a few very tense seconds, Izuku sat down, still glaring at Hitoshi. The purple-haired boy took a seat across from Izuku. “But he’s dangerous, little pup,” Hitoshi growled.
“You are!” Izuku snarled.
“Stop! Don’t fight!” Eri pouted angrily.
Izuku sighed. “Fine … Let’s call it a truce.”
“Alright …”
The teachers sighed. At least this seemed to work. They gave them a few minutes until they brought Shoto into the room. He was much calmer than Izuku or Hitoshi. Eri brought him over to the table, and he sat down a few seats away from Izuku.
After a few more minutes, they finally brought Eijiro. Aizawa was very tense because Eijiro was more aggressive, especially toward Izuku. As soon as the redhead entered, the tension in the room grew. Izuku snarled at Eijiro. “You!” Izuku lost control over the beast. He saw the alpha that had tried to take away his omega!
For Eijiro, it was the same. Izuku wanted to claim his omega! He couldn’t let this happen! Eijiro jumped at Izuku, and the greenette grabbed Eijiro’s hands. They both snarled and growled when they crashed.
Eri shrieked, and Aizawa and Hound Dog were immediately there to protect the pup and get the students off each other’s throats.
Izuku knew that this was wrong. Kacchan wasn’t ‘his.’ He shouldn’t be so angry, but it was so hard to control himself. He was overwhelmed by Eijiro in his Unbreakable form. He pushed him back and onto the ground. Hound Dog tried to pull Eijiro off, but it was nigh impossible.
“PLEASE STOP IT!” Eri screamed. “NO FIGHTING BETWEEN FRIENDS!” She had tears in her eyes. She escaped Aizawa’s grip and stood at Eijiro’s and Izuku’s sides. “Please stop it, you two!”
Eijiro released his quirk, and both boys looked at Eri. Then Eijiro looked down at Izuku. Something in his head clicked. Not an enemy … Izuku was not an enemy! They were friends …
Izuku stared too. For a long time, they just looked into each other’s eyes. They try to figure out how to handle this. Even though the teachers were agitated, they didn’t dare to interrupt. They had to settle this on their own! They had to choose to stop it.
Their faces relaxed after a while. Eijiro was still mounting Izuku. “I … I am sorry,” the redhead mumbled. He stood up and held a hand out for Izuku. Hesitantly the other alpha grabbed it.
“Me too.” The greenette replied. Shoto and Hitoshi relaxed too, and the same was for the teachers. This was a huge step!
“We’re sorry, puppy!” Eijiro and Izuku said in unison.
Eri wiped her tears away. “It’s okay. Everything is okay now?”
“I think so … at least for a while …” Izuku murmured.
“Yeah,” Eijiro added.
Shoto looked over at Hitoshi. The purple-haired boy nodded in agreement. Yes, everything was okay for now.
The meeting was still a bit tense but otherwise went great. Eri really kept the mood high. She was all cheery, and this rubbed off on the alphas. But it had to end at one point. So the boys were brought back to their rooms.
Izuku thought about the different emotions he went through today. He wanted to lock up this beast for good! He didn’t want to hurt his friends anymore! Why was it so damn hard?
Eijiro was contemplating about the meeting too. He was still so angry at Izuku for no real reason. Katsuki was his friend, not his possession. Katsuki wasn’t an object. It wouldn’t be right to claim him. He felt awful for kissing him after he had remembered the incident. How was he supposed to look at his friend again? It was Eijiro’s first kiss, and he guessed it was the same for Katsuki.
Eijiro felt so goddamn terrible that he stole that from him in such a brutal way. Would Katsuki be able to forgive him? However, he didn’t remember the incident where he was on his best friend, trying to forcefully mate him. It was still too blocked out by the fog. God, he wanted to apologize so badly to him. But he was so scared that he would lose control again.
Hitoshi sat on the cot in his room and thought about the day. He had to hold himself back all the time. He was clear for most of it, but the beast was tugging at his nerves. Always trying to overpower him. It was so damn hard to fight. It would be easier to just let go and let himself get swept away. But he couldn’t. He knew that he couldn’t! His parents were still there. The little pup had a great effect on him. He could relax a little when she was around, and the beast would rest. It didn’t want to scare the little one.
But still, it was so hard … But he had to fight! They were waiting for him! He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. He thought he saw a flashing lighting strike in his mind. Yeah, he wanted to go back …
Shoto meditated again. He was sitting on the floor, cross-legged. Meditation really helped him to keep the beast under control. He was good at suppressing things. He did it all the time, but even for him, the beast was hard to tame. Maybe he had better control because he was a heat?
He was sick of being in here. Most of the time, he was clear, at least for the last few days. He didn’t want to be here anymore. He wanted to see his friends again. But on the other side, he knew he was still dangerous to them. He was so ashamed of himself for attacking the others. Would they even want to be his friends any longer? He guessed not. The things he did were too terrible.
All Shoto could do was wait and try to be good and non-threatening. But he wanted to go back. That’s why he had to control himself.
The meetings continued for a few more days, and with every session, the alphas became more and more relaxed around each other. There were no significant problems with Shoto; he seemed to be the most controlled. And he seemed to enjoy the company of the others. Hitoshi didn’t seem to mind it anymore. Izuku and Eijiro were still kind of aggressive, but they were working on it.
Eventually, they would let the students go into the room alone, without Eri. They wanted to see their reactions. They seemed a bit tenser and stayed as far away from the others as possible, but no one lashed out, which was again a huge success.
But, now, they had to test how they reacted to unmated omegas. They didn’t care for Aizawa at this point anymore, but when asked, they just answered that he already had a mate. The scent was not good.
So, the teachers decided to ask a few students to help them out.
Dabi looked around the house. It was pretty big, and he felt uncomfortable here, like on a presentation plate. Nervously he bit his lower lip. The living room was huge; the kitchen was huge; everything was just huge. He was visibly tense. Everything was so open.
Keigo was next to him, and his feathers rustled slightly as his wings moved. “Well, that’s my home,” he said after clearing his throat.
“It’s big …” Dabi mumbled. He curled his hands into fists and trapped some fabric of his shirt with that action.
“Yeah, it is. But it is also safe. It has security cameras everywhere. The windows are bulletproof, et cetera. And I got a spare bedroom; where you can live.”
Keigo reached out to lay his hand on Dabi’s shoulder, but the villain flinched back. He looked to the ground. Keigo observed him; Dabi was even tenser now. “I’m sorry,” the winged hero muttered. “Follow me. I’ll show you around.”
Dabi nodded and walked behind Keigo. His hands were over his small belly, and he caressed it to calm himself down.
They entered a blank bedroom; it was Keigo’s guest room. There was a blanket and a pillow neatly placed on the bed, but there were no other decorations, just the bed, a big closet, a mirror, and an armchair in the corner. Next to the bed was a nightstand as well. “I’ll buy you some stuff in the future, but I didn’t expect a guest,” Keigo said; he turned toward Dabi.
“Doesn’t matter, I … I’m going to bed. I’m tired.”
“Alright … I’m next door if you need anything.” The hero mustered his new roommate. Dabi nodded and waited until Hawks had left the room. He looked around, but there was nothing there. He huffed a little and walked to the second door in the room. It was a bathroom. Good to know; if he had to throw up, he wouldn’t have to walk very far.
He was still rubbing over his belly. He exhaled shakily and walked over to the bed. He kicked his shoes off and the coat and lay back on the bed. He was shaking as he stared at the ceiling. He was gone … he was away from the League of Villains.
These thoughts overwhelmed him. He was away … He didn’t have to see them any longer! He was away … gone, just like that … He could feel the blood pooling out under the burned skin. He couldn’t believe it yet. This seemed too easy!
He rolled to the side and pulled the blanket over his body. He pulled it even over his face. The bed was gigantic, and he felt slightly unsafe in it. He made himself as small as possible and tried to stop the shaking of his body.
His burned hand reached for the scent blockers on his neck, peeling them off. He hopefully wouldn’t need them anymore.
Exhausted, Dabi closed his eyes. He tried to sleep but was still too much on edge. He had trouble calming down enough. The shaking started again, and it kept him awake. More bloody tears ran down his cheeks.
Keiko walked over to the living room, sat on the couch, and looked up at the ceiling. He sighed, exhausted. What was he getting into? This could break him the neck when someone found out that he was hiding a villain.
He pinched the bridge of his nose. Goddamn, why did he say yes? He wasn’t close to the villain. They had worked together while Hawks had spied on the League. But that was the full extent of their relationship.
How should he proceed now? He had to get some stuff for Dabi, some normal clothes, especially maternity clothes. Maybe some blankets? Hygiene products, for sure … He wasn’t sure what a pregnant omega needed. He never had the time to think about stuff like that.
He bit his bottom lip and exhaled deeply. His wings moved a little. How would the rest of the pregnancy go? What if Dabi had to see a doctor? Was he seeing a doctor in the first place? What could they do? He didn’t know, and that drove him crazy. And he couldn’t ask someone how all of that went down. No one could know about Dabi …
Hawks stood up and flapped his wings a few times. He started to pace through the room. What could he do? He needed some kind of doctor for Dabi. He needed clothing and other products for him. He would ask him first how he handled himself before regarding the doctor. He clicked his tongue. He grimaced and walked over to the kitchen.
It was still relatively early in the morning. He decided to make something to eat; he wondered if Dabi would want something too. Keigo sighed; he didn’t even know what Dabi liked in the first place.
He was in the middle of making breakfast when he heard sounds out of Dabi’s room. He furrowed his brows and took the pan from the stove before he walked over. He knocked on the door, but Dabi didn’t answer him. So carefully, he opened the door and stuck his head in. He saw Dabi rolled up in the bed. He could see the shivering of the blanket. The villain moved, and he whimpered.
Keigo entered the room and walked over to the bed. “Hey, Dabi!” carefully, he touched him on the shoulder. Dabi immediately sat up straight in bed. He was breathing heavily. “Hey, hey, hey! Calm down. Everything’s alright.” He patted Dabi’s back.
The villain needed a few seconds to calm down, he looked around the room frantically, and suddenly he jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom. He rushed to the toilet before he started to vomit.
Hawks frowned a little but ultimately was behind him after a few seconds. Didn’t exactly know how he should proceed. Dabi didn’t like to be touched. So he waited until it was over and gave him afterward a glass of water.
“Is it better now?” Keigo asked.
Dabi took the water and cleared his mouth from the puke. He looked over to Keigo. “Thanks … b-but don’t touch me. I don’t like that.”
“Sorry,” Keigo mumbled.
Dabi flushed the toilet and put down the lid before he sat down. He was again rubbing over his belly. “I fear this will happen more often. It’s pretty bad.” He warned the hero.
“No problem, it happens.” Hawks cleared his throat. “Uh, I was preparing breakfast for myself. Do you want anything?”
“Anything but fish. I hate fish,” Dabi grimaced.
“Okay, then I’ll make more. I’ll call you when I’m done, okay?”
“Sure.”
Keigo returned to the kitchen and proceeded to make breakfast, scrambled eggs with chicken and rice.
After he was done, he put it into two bowls and called out for Dabi. It took the villain some time, but eventually, he appeared. He sat down opposite Hawks.
They ate silently for a while, but Hawks eventually began to speak. “So, let’s talk about some stuff.”
“Great …”
“Oi, that’s part of the deal! You promised to tell me stuff.”
“Yeah, yeah. So, what do you want to know?”
“First of all, I want to know more about you.” Dabi lifted his eyebrows at that. “Do you see a doctor of any kind?”
“Nope, I didn’t want anyone to know about it. Besides, it’s not that I could just walk up to a doctor’s office and get an appointment. And I don’t know any midwife who works in the underworld,” he sighed in frustration.
Hawks clicked his tongue. “We have to find you a doctor. You need to go to check-ups.” Hawks pushed the now empty bowl away and placed his elbows on the table. He lifted his arms and supported his chin on his intertwined fingers.
“Good luck in finding one …” Dabi looked to the side.
“I’ll hear around; there must be someone who can help. If not, I have to pay someone to keep their mouth shut,” he pursed his lips.
“Do what you want. I didn’t need a doctor before.”
“Are you not worried about her? You came all the way to me to keep her safe, and now you say you don’t need a doctor?”
The villain looked down at the table. His hand caressed his stomach again. “I … I don’t know. I just don’t believe any doctor would be willing to help me,” he murmured. “I’m honestly not used to people helping me.”
Keigo clenched his jaw when he heard that. He observed Dabi. The villain was still slightly shaking. “What happened?”
Dabi stiffened after hearing that question. He stared at the table and couldn’t move.
Hawks raised his eyebrows and tilted his head slightly. “I … I don’t want to talk about it. I can talk about that alpha bitch. That’s what you want to know, right?” Dabi looked up, and his turquoise eyes stared into Keigo’s golden ones.
“Sure, go ahead.”
“Well, this bitch showed up a couple of weeks ago. She talked with … Shigaraki. I don’t exactly know what they said since they left the room, but he’s all over her ever since she appeared.”
Keigo was surprised. “Hmpf, never guessed Shigaraki was the type to fawn over someone? I mean …”
“No, you’re right,” Dabi answered quickly. “He’s usually not. But she had this aura of power surrounding her. And she stank after money. She looked rich as fuck. Maybe that’s why. You know, the League needs money,” Dabi murmured.
“Huh, that is surprising. Not enough shady business?”
“That’s not fucking funny,” Dabi growled. “He made us do so many odd jobs before he was bitten, that is. Afterward, the money got really tight. Nobody cared to take on shitty jobs.”
“So, he’s on good terms with her because she got money? What does Darleen look like? I’ve not seen her properly; she was the only one that did not have a clear mug shot by the police.”
Dabi exhaled. “She has long white hair and eerie ice-blue eyes.” He furrowed his brows when he thought about her. “She’s about … thirty? Give or take. She has pristine skin, and she radiates dominance. Her whole appearance screams authority figure. She knows exactly what she does. She’s long in the business …” Dabi stopped for a while.
“She examined me when I first met her. I think she instantly knew that I was pregnant. She has this … predatory look on her face. But she doesn’t like omegas. She treated Toga and me like we were her servants … well, more slaves. She snapped her finger at us and got agitated when we didn’t comply. She had no trouble using alpha commands on us.” Dabi paled at that memory.
“She said that Shigaraki had some stubborn little pets. So he should keep us on a shorter leash.” Hawks could hear the bitterness in the villain’s voice.
He was shocked when he listened to Dabi. Seeing omegas as pets? From which century was this woman? It was forbidden to treat omegas as mere pets for over twenty years now.
“That sounds terrible,” Hawks mumbled.
“It was …” Dabi gulped. He pressed the back of his hand against his mouth. “’scuse me.” He sprang off the chair and ran back to the bathroom. Hawks looked after him. He heard the retching sounds from the bathroom.
He exhaled deeply and got up as well. He collected the dishes and brought them to the dishwasher. He cleaned the rest of the kitchen before walking to his room. He opened his drawer and pulled out some old blankets, a very old and way too big sleep shirt, some sweatpants, and socks. He brought them over to Dabi’s room.
“I got you some clothes and more blankets,” he informed him. He stayed away from the bathroom this time. “I’m in my room. You can wake me if something’s up.” He waited for an answer, but Dabi said nothing.
He returned to his room and closed the door. He changed into his sleep clothes and hopped into his nest. Crosslegged sat there for a while and stared at the other wall of his room. This Darleen woman sounded absolutely terrible. They had to find her as soon as possible. Alphas with that type of worldview were dangerous …
Dabi returned to his room and saw the pile of blankets. He changed into the new clothes and then looked at the other items. He pursed his lips and looked around the room. This bed was so massive … He didn’t like it one bit. He felt so helpless in it.
Sighing, he walked over to the closet. He opened and inspected it. The ground was even, nothing in the way. Good! He took all the blankets and the pillows he had and brought them over to the closet.
He placed them at the bottom and started to prepare a nest for himself. It took him a while, but eventually, he was happy. He made it as good as he could with the materials he had.
Dabi walked in and sat down; he closed the doors from the inside. He wrapped himself in the blankets and closed his eyes. The omega felt much safer now than in the big open bed. He could finally find some sleep.
