Chapter Text
‘No, he didn’t visit today, either. Sorry, Mina.’
Kaminari let out a long sigh after sending the message, promptly clicking his phone off while he waited behind the counter for more customers. Some were browsing their selection and others had come up to ask where certain things were, but other than that, it had been slow. Given that, Kaminari knew they didn’t need a lot of help. Aoyama, Ochako, and Tsu were there to help, and Jiro had stopped by to lend a hand as well. Though, he let Aoyama and Jiro go home early; Toga swung by to say hi and asked about Izuku as well, but Kaminari had no kinds of updates on him whatsoever.
Jiro had been one of the ones to be mutual friends with one of the omegas who had been fawning over Izuku, Todoroki, and from what Kaminari heard, he and the other two were actually nice people.
It was why Kaminari trusted them with Izuku. That, and because he could see this look in Izuku’s eyes whenever the omega trio came up. Or how Izuku would sometimes bring them up in a conversation that barely pertained to them. To Kaminari, it had been obvious that Izuku liked the three omegas. And it was obvious that they were obsessed with Izuku, but…
Izuku never told them about him being an alpha.
Kaminari only found out about the whole situation around a couple days after he’d sent them off to find Izuku. Which, Kaminari had been pissed about to begin with. The omega trio left Kaminari and his friends on hold, just to say Izuku was fine and that they had to take care of the Kirishima guy because he went into heat.
Bakugo had only stopped in briefly, and Ochako tried to rip him a new one because of his now-unconcerned manner towards Izuku, but Kaminari thought it was understandable once he said that he was only stopping by for nesting materials because their mate had gone into heat unexpectedly. They were right to be concerned, and Kaminari could hear Bakugo talking to Kirishima on the phone as he tried to calm him.
Apparently Kirishima was supposed to be asleep while Bakugo ran out for supplies and their other mate Todoroki was home with him, but Kaminari could hear Kirishima’s whines and pleas from behind the counter. So, yeah, it was understandable why Bakugo wasn’t concerned about Izuku when his other mate was in heat. Kaminari knew how painful they could be if they didn’t have the comfort of the people they wanted the most, so it wasn’t surprising that he was preoccupied.
At first. The thing that had caught Kaminari’s attention the most was hearing Kirishima’s cries and pleas on the phone turn to focus on Izuku.
“I want Izuku here…Katsuki…bring Izuku home…want…please…”
Kaminari would’ve been oblivious if not for Bakugo’s scoff at Izuku’s name. It almost looked like the mention of Izuku made Bakugo reel in disgust, when just the other day, the three of them were scrambling to get information on Izuku. Even more so when Bakugo tried to dismiss the thought of Izuku to Kirishima as he walked through the aisles of nesting materials, trying to convince Kirishima over the phone that Izuku wouldn’t be there.
Kaminari’s final clue was when Bakugo had begrudgingly walked up with nesting materials, mostly reds, oranges, and blues, but under it all, was a fluffy green bunny plushie, as if Bakugo were trying to hide it’s existence. Kaminari originally thought he had been embarrassed to buy it, but what Bakugo said turned the hiding of the plushie into a completely different story. Somewhere along the lines, Bakugo muttered something on the phone to Kirishima about an alpha, and then it all made sense.
The three omegas finally found out that Izuku was an alpha, and they obviously weren’t taking it well.
It had been a tough blow, Kaminari knew. Most likely the most devastating to Izuku, who didn’t bother to stop by for a good three months since that had happened. All of them had been worried sick about Izuku, though they had yet to outwardly express such, Kaminari could tell that with each passing day that Izuku failed to respond to Kaminari’s messages or fail to come into the store, everyone’s moods dampened that much more. Of course, Izuku didn’t ever announce when he would come in, and it wasn’t all too often, but for it to be so long?
Something had to have happened.
And as the days, weeks, and months passed, Kaminari couldn’t help but have everything build up inside of him. Not only sadness and worry, but an anger that flared up and grew until it roared with such a force that rattled inside him, that burned so bright until the only thing he could do was release it before it consumed him whole.
SMACK
And with his cluttered mind, the only logical way in his mind was to go to the omega trio’s house and give a huge punch to Todoroki once he had answered the door. Kaminari couldn’t say he didn’t regret it, either. Not when he knew what they had done to Izuku’s already-fragile heart.
Kaminari could already see the gears turning in Todoroki’s head, and watched as the angry blond one came over once Kaminari started talking.
“Do you have any idea what you did? What the HELL is wrong with you idiots?” Kaminari growled out. He didn’t care if he was making a scene. Nor did he care that he was doing so on their property. He just wanted to let them know how much they sucked and how fucked up they were to build up this thing with Izuku and drop him like he was nothing.
But also, Kaminari might’ve been an idiot, too, especially since he decided to smack Todoroki without thinking about after the fact. Like how all three of the omegas are taller and most likely stronger than him because wow— they were built.
And Kaminari regretted that very much when he got a punch back from Bakugo. Not sure how he managed to look menacing with an apron on, but hey, who was Kaminari to judge.
“Hey! What’s going—“
Kaminari’s only saving grace was the redhead named Kirishima, who had popped out to see what was going on. Kaminari would be forever grateful because he’s sure he would have had his ass handed to him if Bakugo wasn’t being held back by Kirishima. Kirishima also had a hand on Kaminari to keep him away, with the redhead sending him a look over his shoulder.
Kaminari decided to back up and put his hands up in surrender, anger quelled with the satisfaction of getting back somewhat for hurting Izuku. He was still pissed about it, but he figured talking might be better in his situation.
“Shoto, what happened?” Kirishima attempted to ask while he put his all into holding back Bakugo.
“I answered the door and he punched me…. He called us idiots. I’m guessing because of—…” Todoroki seemed reluctant to finish the rest of his sentence as he trailed off.
“Oh…” Kirishima instantly deflated, and Bakugo seemed to slowly lose his drive to fight. Kirishima’s hold immediately loosened, so Bakugo was able to slip out.
“Look. Sorry about that. But Izuku is hurting right now because you idiots don’t know when to stop!” Kaminari didn’t care, he was going to make them feel bad for what they did. The throbbing on his cheek only motivated him further. “You really hurt him. He’s been avoiding everyone— which is the worst thing he could do— and he’s already torn up about other stuff like this that happened to him. I trusted you guys with him because I wanted to give you a chance, but you only showed me that you’re no better than any alpha you guys were afraid Izuku would be.”
Kaminari was expecting an argument, yelling, something, but all he was met with was silence when he finished speaking.
Finally, a meek reply came from Todoroki, unusual from him, Kaminari could guess by the other two’s reaction. “He knew about our preferences. He knew—…” Todoroki sounded almost like he was trying to convince himself that how he acted was justified.
Kaminari jumped in to defend Izuku as soon as the excuse tampered off, “Yes! He did! Which is why he tried so hard to avoid you three! But all you wanted to do was push and push until he had no choice! Izuku is the kindest person I know, and you just blew that up in his face!”
It wasn’t fair to Izuku for these three to do what they did. For them to treat Izuku the way they did, and for Izuku to have to deal with the consequences. And Kaminari knew now how much Izuku took things to heart. How much he let the things that people do and say fester inside him, how he’ll say he’s fine or brush it off, when deep inside Kaminari knows the alpha is hurting. Because that’s just who he is. Too kind for his own good to correct people for the things they do to hurt him, and in turn, those same people think it’s okay to hurt him over and over again.
Well Kaminari knew better, and now he was in a position where he could set those people straight. Now he could talk some sense into these omegas and let them know how much they really hurt Izuku.
“We…I’m sorry—sorry we hurt—” Kirishima started speaking after a long bout of silence, but Kaminari cut him off.
“I’m not the one you should be talking to,” Kaminari mustered the coldest voice he could before turning to leave. He’d been sure he got his point across if Kirishima’s wobbly voice was enough to go by. Though, from what Kaminari guessed, Kirishima wasn’t all too much to blame. He probably just followed his other mates and kept his mouth shut.
Still, Kirishima was partially responsible for letting his mates act like that and not intervene at some point these past couple months.
Kaminari just hoped that Izuku was doing okay. And he really hoped the alpha was doing better than how he shut down after his last relationship.
It was a slow day at the shop. Though, it was expected after a local festival in town finally died out. Thankfully for that, the business had done super well, especially with the amount of tourists that stopped in the shop, as well as some locals that popped in out of pure curiosity. Some had even become loyal customers after that, coming in for nesting repairs or items.
Given the huge success, Kaminari brought the team out for drinks to celebrate. What they found on their way there was not what they were expecting.
The bar wasn’t all too far, so they decided to walk since it was nice out. It was always nice to smell the cool summer air at night, and the breeze helped with the humidity.
Their happy atmosphere was cut short when Uraraka noticed something. Toga had followed her girlfriend closely behind while Tsu stayed with the rest of the group. Kaminari was hoping Uraraka would save them from whatever thing she heard with her awesome fighting skills, and Toga with her— WAS THAT A KNIFE? Oh Kaminari was going to remind himself to stay on Toga’s good side.
Just as they were bracing themselves to fight (or defend themselves) the scent of someone in distress hit their noses like a freight train. Not only that, but the smell of that person was an alpha.
It was enough to garner Kaminari’s curiosity and attention as he moved closer to where Uraraka and Toga were, seeing the brunette and blonde drop their guards with the way their shoulders dropped. Getting closer, Kaminari found out why when he could hear faint sobbing.
“Hey—are you alright?” Uraraka’s voice was the first to try to break the silence.
Kaminari finally caught up to where they were, taking in the scene with some apprehension. Sometimes it was good to be cautious in situations like these, because sometimes the crying was a trap to lure people in to rob, hurt them, or worse. But Kaminari’s tune changed as soon as he got a look at the alpha.
The first thing Kaminari noticed were his bright green eyes that were glossy with globs of tears that fell down his face from his sobbing. From there, Kaminari noticed a harsh bruise on his face, a deep, ugly color. It had to be fresh judging by the deep reds, blues, and purples. From there, Kaminari could see blood trickling from his nose, that had an irritated pink color to it as well. The next clues were shaggy, disheveled hair and messy clothes that looked uncared for.
The alpha forced himself to speak through a hiccup, “I’m f-fine. I’ll be okay.”
Kaminari could hear the frown in Uraraka’s voice as she spoke, “You’re bleeding. It’s not too cold, but I think warming you up would do a little good, huh?” Uraraka tried to persuade the alpha, but this one was stubborn when it came to accepting help (similar to currently).
The alpha shook his head, “I would—wouldn’t w-w-worry about it. I can handle it.” The freckled alpha was stuttering through his words with his hiccups and crying, that alone a dead giveaway that he needed the help. Kaminari also noticed that this alpha was tiny in height, though he was a little wider, sort of stout with a little chub on him (though currently a ‘little’ was more like a ‘decent amount’).
“That’s not what we asked. We’re telling you that you need help,” Toga was serious, and Kaminari was shocked at her eagerness to help. She would normally take longer to warm up to people (if even at all– Kaminari wasn’t even sure if she was warmed up to him and it had been almost a year). Not to mention that this guy was an alpha, with him being around Uraraka and Tsu, Toga was normally more on guard, but she must’ve seen something in this alpha that changed her mind.
Taking the chance, Kaminari stepped forward and let out some comforting omega pheromones, “Come on, we’re just trying to help. You don’t have to be scared.”
What he said must have said swayed him, because the alpha started to get up, though Kaminari noticed his avoidance of using the blond’s hand that he offered. When it seemed he was ready to accept the help, everyone in their little group started to chat about where they should go now, and if they should go back to the shop or continue on with their night out once they helped this stranger.
Kaminari stood off to the side with him, noticing the way he stepped away from the group to create some distance. Something about the situation didn’t feel right, not when he saw the alpha desperately trying to wipe the tears that were constantly falling, and how he made an attempt to stifle his hiccups and clamp down his sobs. Now that he was standing, Kaminari noticed how short the alpha actually was; he was even shorter than Kaminari, and from what he could guess, maybe shorter than some of the others in their friend group. He was definitely short for an alpha, and if Kaminari hadn’t smelled him, he would’ve thought he was an omega or beta.
From a distance, Kaminari watched the alpha try to gather his composure as quickly as he could, but whenever he tried, he would burst out into more tears and try to force his sadness back inside. Kaminari only interfered when he could see him mumbling to himself and pulling at his hair.
“Hey! Hey, don’t do that,” Kaminari was a bit frightened at that point. He had to wonder if this guy was actually just crazy and did the damage to himself. Either way, he needed help.
“I’m sorry. I don’t want to be a bother,” the freckled man choked out, “Everything hurt. I needed to…they…”
Mina tsked from the side of them, and Kaminari hadn’t even known the beta was even there listening. She took Kaminari’s place, likely knowing that he didn’t know what to do about such an emotional response from someone he didn’t know. Kaminari really could help his friends, but for someone he didn’t know, it was a bit out of his zone. Mina took the reins as Kaminari watched from the side, watching as she held his arms with her hands, “Did someone hurt you, hun?” Her voice was gentle and it took a second for the alpha to respond with a nod. “Do you remember their names? What they looked like?”
“Um– n-no…” There was hesitation and a shakiness in his voice. Kaminari might be a little slow, but it was obvious he was lying. And from the smell of his breath, it was obvious that he had been drinking as well. Although, from the look in his eyes, Kaminari could see that the alpha was mostly sober.
Mina must’ve sensed it as well, but she didn’t push, likely because of how stressed he already was. Instead, Mina nodded and moved on, “I”m Mina. What’s your name, sweetheart?”
The alpha took one of his arms away from Mina to wipe at his eyes and Kaminari had to wonder what actually happened. Turns out, they didn’t have to wait too long. After a few more minutes, Uraraka suggested they go back to the store to figure out what to do. They all noticed the slight limp in the alpha’s step, and it seemed to ignite a surge of protectiveness among all of them. Toga went off by herself (whether it was an excuse to find their new friend’s attackers, Kaminari didn’t know), but she came back with drinks and snacks since they were unable to go out to celebrate.
They learned that the alpha’s name was Midoriya, and Kaminari took note that he kept eyeing some of the nesting items in their store.
“You can take one, if it helps,” Kaminari thought he would offer comfort the only way he could with objects. He knew it wasn’t common, but he remembered reading some alphas liked to nest. Especially if an alpha was in a decline, nesting usually helped. It wasn’t really spoken about, and some of the older generations saw it as a weakness, but Kaminari didn’t see how it was an issue.
“No, I don’t need it,” Midoriya opposed, his tears now dry.
“But you want it…?” Kaminari didn’t know how to approach the topic because he wasn’t really sure how Midoriya would respond.
Midoriya stayed silent and chose to turn his attention to Uraraka when she asked if he wanted something to drink. She then panicked and confirmed if Midoriya was old enough to drink. Turns out, he was (thank the gods or else Kaminari was going to be even more worried since he had already been drinking), and he was actually in university like the rest of them. The shop was a sort of side project for all of them while they were in school, but they hadn’t anticipated for it to blow up like it did. It started off with Kaminari, Aoyama, and Mina, but then they met the other three. They only specialized in repairs at first, but soon grew when Aoyama wanted to take on blanket making, and branched out into ordering things when it got big enough. The fact that they were located near a college campus definitely helped with the business.
Since their business had been doing better, they also had other things organized, like donations and nesting supplies for some of the college kids who couldn’t afford it. They weren’t necessarily tight, especially after the festival, so Kaminari made himself scarce when Midoriya was busy with the drinks.
One thing led to another, and soon enough, Midoriya was telling them bits and pieces of why they found them the way they did. They didn’t get the full story of tonight in particular, but Midoriya expressed that he was hurt and where, to which Aoyama and Tsu helped patch him up every time he brought up a new injury they missed. Kaminari even noticed the brace on his leg, which now sported a huge, ugly bruise. It must’ve been the reason he had a little limp.
“Oh I was in an accident,” Midoriya spilled out. It wasn’t hard to pinpoint Midoriya was a little more than tipsy because of how loose his tongue was and how he was now smiling. “Broke my femur, stunted my growth. Blah blah boring,” Midoriya murmured. And ouch. Yikes. That sounded painful. Kaminari had to wonder if the bruise irritated it, because there was a shift in Midoriya’s eyes for a moment while he stared at his leg before pulling the pant leg down again.
Mina and Uraraka started to pry, and Midoriya finally admitted that he got dumped by his hopefully-future mates. Kaminari was mostly sober, so he was able to have more sympathy for Midoriya when he sobbed about his fucked up relationship.
Midoriya talked about how he understood why the omegas and beta dumped him for another alpha, saying to himself that he wasn’t any good as a mate or an alpha. That he was too selfish and not strong enough to support them. Kaminari felt there was something horrible at play, and had an inkling that Midoriya was manipulated and taught to believe that he was wrong. Because Kaminari could see that Midoriya was a good person. He saw it when Uraraka got a little clumsy on her feet, and nearly stumbled over Midoriya’s leg while she was passing by. Midoriya let out a pained noise because she irritated his bad leg, but the alpha still reached out to catch her before she could fall.
“Are you okay?” Midoriya seemed to sober up a bit by the seriousness of the situation, his face full of concern. Kaminari could tell that Midoriya had a big heart, and the partners that Midoriya had were insane to dump him after a year.
On his birthday, no less.
Kaminari only found that out after he learned more about Izuku. And the more he learned, the more he felt like he was right about his thoughts towards the alpha the first day they met. Izuku was so sweet, but it was obvious he didn’t feel like he deserved the same kindness he offered to others. Kaminari knew part of Izuku’s insecurities came from that relationship, and that the remaining scars of it were still healing. Kaminari tried his best as Izuku’s friend to get through to him, but it was just too difficult. Izuku was just too good at keeping his own secrets, especially after he spilled about his relationship to them so openly as strangers. In fact, they hadn’t seen Izuku until a few weeks after that, and only met him again when he brought them cupcakes as an apology and wanted to buy something from the store, saying he needed it for his mother.
That night that they met was the most open he’s seen Izuku– well beside when Kaminari brought him to his place after the soba fiasco. The alpha hadn’t opened up much since.
But with those three omegas–...Kaminari could just see it. He could see the shift in Izuku. He could see how his green eyes always looked to them, and Kaminari could pinpoint a certain look in his eyes when the alpha was thinking about those three. He wanted Izuku to have a happy ending, because his friend deserved it, but Kaminari isn’t sure that will happen if the three omegas don’t turn things around soon.
Hopefully, with time, the world will be kinder to Izuku.
Kaminari’s eyebrows furrowed, looking at his missed calls and texts to Izuku. Quickly, he switched to another tab, looking up hospitals that had a partnership program with universities nearby. On top of that, he would have to see what rich businesses made any generous donations to one local hospital.
Kaminari made his decision as soon as he found the hospital he was looking for, and copied the address to be used the next morning.
If the world wasn’t going to be kind to Izuku now, Kaminari isn’t going to make him wait any longer.