Chapter 21
Expanding a Horizon
The brunette came every day, sometimes multiple times a day. It was comforting for Izuku. Her scent was becoming one of his favorite smells. The comfort that tangy scent brought immediately after the door to his barren room opened soothed away his anxieties.
Yui was very kind in everything she did. The other omega was so attentive as she helped him eat, change, bathe and walk around the room to help stretch his legs. They would talk the whole time she was there; laughing and sharing little things about their lives. Mostly about their happiest memories and how they were as pups. Every day they discussed their favorite cartoons, food, and anything and everything to help pass the time.
Yui never asked about his time after he was kidnapped, and would even change the course of their conversation when she sensed where it would go. It was like she was wired tapped into Izuku’s brain, easily able to notice the tiniest shift in his mood and thus reacting to it subtly.
It was weird at times, the way she seemed to know before Izuku was able to recognize his own emotions. He hadn’t realized how little he allowed himself to feel certain things until the other omega showed up and took the opportunity away. It was like she was able to alter them, move him past it and almost distract him from the aches and pains that plagued his mind.
But it was nice all the while, to have someone guide him through things instead of having to do everything himself. He hadn’t realized how exhausting having emotions were until Yui was there to deviate the course of them.
Izuku found himself becoming more at ease in this room and with this next step in his life. His bed was slowly being filled with things he hadn’t had ever. Yet, within a few days he had the best nest; a plush pillow, two extra blankets beside the fitted sheet on the mattress and a t- shirt with Yui’s scent on it.
It was no longer a struggle to fall asleep at night. The comfort he gained from his little nest was like heaven. The remaining pheromones of his new friend helped him drift off into a deeper sleep than he was used to, but thankful for. It had been so long since he had been able to wake up and not feel tired.
Everyday, Yui was there to help him and encourage him to do simple things. Her constant praise over the tiniest things filled Izuku with warmth and contentment. Her habits of sneaking in an extra pudding cup for him, or a piece of gum truly lifting the dull air that would fill his room when she left.
Yui was never gone for long. Her entrance brought along a new adventure or story to share with him. Like today. The omega basically danced into his room, spinning with a large grin on her face. Her scent was happy with excitement as she crossed the room to where he was sitting on the bed.
“Izuku~” She sang, prancing by his bed. It was still early in the morning, the sun not having peaked through the tiny window at the top of the wall. Though that didn’t mean much when he only got direct light for a couple minutes a day through that small glass.
“We are going for a walk!” Yui cheered while grappling Izuku's arm and shaking it. “You’ve made a lot of improvement during the past week, so I’m taking you to wander through the gardens.”
Izuku smiled as he sat up straighter. His mood turned beyond excited as he scooted out of his nest and tucked his feet into his slippers. “Really?!”
”Ya, come on”
Yui clasped his hand within her own and guided him out the door. A small twinge of uncertainty formed in the back of Izuku’s mind as the door closed behind them. Izuku hesitated, the lack of smells around them beyond creepy as disinfectant filled his nose.
He hadn’t been out of his room before, hadn’t smelled this before and it was concerning his omega. Though that really didn’t mean much, he hadn’t been to many places since he was a teenager. Even when he was transported to a new ‘home’, there was always a sack over his head or a trunk he was shoved in. His omega reminded him every time that the world was just as scary as it was when he was younger.
Yui, like always, noticed right away and gave his hand a light squeeze. “The garden is just down the hall. Then we will take the elevator and be able to see outside of the garden.” Her smile was sweet as she gently pulled the green haired omega to follow her. “When was the last time you saw the sun? You are really pale.”
”oh.” Izuku felt uncertain as he tried to think about it. But he couldn’t really think of a time where he had been able to just sit outside. “I don’t know.” He finally whispered, head hanging low as he tried and failed to think of any time that hadn’t been before he was kidnapped.
“It’s okay.” Yui sighed. “We are changing that today. It’s getting warm out and soon the blossoms will bloom. I’ll take you outside every day that I am here.”
Izuku smiled at that, the girl was truly an amazing person. Even though his nerves were alive with terror, Yui was there to help him through the long hallway. There were cupboards running along one side while doors spaced along the other, an occasional nurse or doctor walking across the hall.
Yui was right, though, like always when they finally left the elevator and walked out a set of glass double doors. The air was warm and the smell of dirt and wet cement from the sprinklers tingled the omega’s nose. The sun was high above them, peaking through white clouds and practically waving at them with the gentle breeze.
“Over here!”
The brunette ushered the two toward an area with a bench. A tiny fountain across from it attracted a few birds and frogs. An occasional butterfly landing on a flower as a bee accompanied it. It was beautiful; the trees, water, pebbled walkway and creatures that moved about their day with no regard to the two of them sitting so close to where they were.
“I like sitting out here on my break. ” Yui said, leaning back and closing her eyes. “The water helps clear my mind.”
Izuku copied her, letting his head fall back to let the sun warm his face. It was nice, a feeling that he hadn’t felt in a long time.
So many of these simple things were far different from what he was used to. Like the smell of dirt here was warmer and deeper than he remembered it being, the dirt of the ring was always cold and dusty. Even the feel of the wind was crisper against his skin, it raised goosebumps on his arms without even getting him cold.
But really, it was the feel of the dirt path that had been the most unexpected. It wasn’t as sharp under his feet like it had been in the ring. His ankles didn’t ache from just standing on it for a few minutes, it was like the earth was hugging him. Everything here in this garden felt softer, warmer; far more welcoming than anything he was used to.
It was a new consideration for the omega. Would the world outside of this hospital be as soft as it was here? He couldn’t remember very much about what it was like before everything happened, but he still remembered the happiness he felt laying on grass and the refreshing water of a creek that he would run around in.
Would it still be like that now?
”When will I be able to leave?” Izuku asked. He wanted to see if it was. Wanted to know how much things had changed since he was a pup.
Yui shifted next to him, but didn’t answer. After a moment Izuku opened his eyes to look at her. “I am feeling far better than I did even in the ring. Isn’t that enough to at least go to a halfway house or even move in with someone-?”
“Izuku, you need to understand a few things.“ The omega cut him off. She sat up and turned to look at him, a frown set on her face as she took a breath. Before she could speak however, she was cut off.
”You should be discharged within the next week.” A deep voice came from their side.
Izuku whipped his head around, eyes growing wide at the sigh of the man he had been seeing in the door’s window. He was obviously an alpha, his lack of scent did little to convince him otherwise. He was tall and even with the baggy jumpsuit, it was obvious how much muscle was rippling underneath. His confidence and demeanor was powerful as he looked back at Izuku.
“My name is Aizawa Shota.” The man said. “My mate and I are in charge of your care.”
Izuku turned to Yui, missing the glare the alpha leveled the other omega with. “Oh, I guess that would make sense since you work with the hospital.” Izuku laughed, but it was a fake way to try to elevate his stress. “I don’t know why I expected you to keep caring for me if I am well enough to leave here. Silly me.”
Yui grabbed his hand, her eyes finding him instead of looking over his shoulder. “I can come with you if that is what you like. There are programs that I can apply for to be a home nurse.”
Green eyes widen before scrunching in happiness. “Really?!”
Yui’s eyes were back to looking over his shoulder, a smile growing on her face as she seemed to focus on something. “Of course? There is no reason for me not to. Right?”
The green haired omega turned, remembering the alpha- Aizawa- was still there. “Oh, would that be too much?” He asked. “Since you are the one who is in charge I guess.”
Aizawa stared at the nurse, his face blank of any emotion as he seemed to study the brunette. “If that is what you need, it can be arranged. Though I doubt the pay is as good.”
Yui chuckled, waving the man’s words away. “I don’t do this for the money. I just want to help people.”
”Wouldn’t you be able to do that more effectively here than following a single patient?” Aizawa retorted, raising a brow at her. Izuku furrowed his eyebrows as he turned his head to look at each of them while they talked. The conversation was beginning to give him weird vibes. The two didn’t seem to like each other for some reason.
Yui’s smile grew wider. “I rarely get to see a patient recover fully. So this will be a good change for me.”
The alpha didn’t reply, just continued to stand there and watch the nurse. Just as Izuku was going to ask what was going on, a beeping went off on the nurse’s pager. She fumbled into her pocket before looking at Izuku, “Let's head back upstairs.” She said without even looking at him. She stood up quickly, only glancing down at him when he pulled his hand from hers.
”Would it be okay if I stayed here a little while?” Izuku asked, not taking the hand that was still reaching out to him by the brunette.
Yui’s smile fell as she glanced back toward Aizawa. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to watch you, I have to head back up to help another patient.”
”I will stay with him.” Aizawa’s rich voice concluded for them. “No need to take him back so soon. He could use a bit more sun.”
The nurse looked at the alpha for a moment before nodding slowly. Her hand fell back to her side as she looked back to Izuku with an intense stare. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. But feel free to return to your room even if I’m not there. Okay?”
The omega nodded in understanding, happy he wouldn’t have to leave so soon. ”Thank you, Yui.” Izuku said, a smile pulling at his lips. He watched the omega walk away, curious as to why she kept looking over her shoulder before turning out of sight.
“Can I sit by you?” Aizawa asked after a moment. Izuku nodded, watching the alpha closely as the man came to sit beside him. Even this close he could get a whiff of a scent, though it wasn’t much of one for him to decide if it was the man’s.
“Are you an alpha?” Izuku blurted before he could think twice. He ducked his head in embarrassment, but refused to take the question back. He refused to believe that his instincts were wrong.
“I am.” Aizawa gave a tiny smirk. “My mate is a beta though, so you won’t be able to pick up his scent on me either.”
Izuku's eyes widened. “Really? A male beta and an alpha isn’t common.”
The man chuckled. “Not anymore, kid. The past few years has seen a lot of acceptance with couplings of alpha and betas. Even alpha alpha pairings are becoming more common.”
That had the omega going through a loop. His brain was trying to wrap itself around this as he stared at the man. “Wow! I guess I have missed a lot. I’m sorry if what I said was rude.”
”Don’t worry,” Aizawa casually replied with a wave of his hand. “I would be surprised if you were up to date on cultural matters.”
“I guess that’s true. Didn’t really have a TV or a radio back at the ring.” The omega agreed with a nod. “Though I was able to find a newspaper here and there, even if it was already out of date by the time I got it out of the trashcan.”
Aizawa nodded along. His gaze roamed the garden slowly, enjoying the mid morning sun. “That is better than nothing. We can get you a phone if you would like.”
Izuku tilted his head. “What would a phone do for me? I don’t have anyone to call.”
”Well, you can access the internet and read whatever you like.” Aizawa explained. He frowned when Izuku just looked at him confused. He pulled out his own phone and showed it to him, the omega’s eyes growing wide. He hadn’t realized how far behind the omega was with small things like this. He had missed quite a bit living separated from society.
“Wouldn’t that be expensive?” Izuku asked. “My mom had a phone that could access the internet, but she was clear for me not to use it since it cost so much to use.”
”That isn’t true anymore, most phones don’t charge for using the internet.” Aizawa informed the other. “And don’t worry about bills for now. Those will be during the stages where you start looking for a job and apartment.”
”My own place? But can’t I just stay with my mom?” Izuku asked, not understanding why there seemed to be so many steps before he could just be left alone. “I know she would let me come back home, I’m sure of it. I doubt she would even let me go to a outpatient facility.”
Aizawa turned himself on the bench so he could look at the omega directly. “I’m going to be honest with you, Midoriya. We haven’t been able to contact your mom yet. She left the country a while back and didn’t leave any contact information or even a new address before she did so. We are still trying to reach out to her.”
The omega’s eyebrows pulled together, his scent turning a bit sour as the alpha continued.
”We weren’t able to arrest Overhaul either, so you will be going to a safe house-“
”And Eri?! Where is she? Will she be coming with me?” Izuku rushed out, panic clear in his voice.
Aizawa shook his head. “It will be safer to keep you two in two different locations. My mate and I will be taking Eri to our safe house. We will take care of her and make sure she gets everything she needs.”
“But, she needs me.” Izuku stated, his lips parting to show a hint of fangs. “I am her family. I can’t take care of her!”
“I understand where you are coming from.” Aizawa sighed. “I really do. I can have you visit her on occasion, but both your safety is more important than comfort unfortunately. We haven’t figured out the reason Overhaul was so attached to the two of you specifically. So until then we have to be careful. Eri will be safe with me, I promise Midoriya.”
Izuku lowered his head, face drawn down in sadness. He seemed to understand what Aizawa was saying, though his scent didn’t change from its expression of sadness.
“You will be going to a safe house that one of my heroes has set up for special cases like this. And surprisingly you fit the criteria perfectly.” Aizawa continued with a small smile.
Hitoshi rolled over with a huff. He was sweating and his bladder begged for relief. A groan on the other side of the bed did little to bring him back into the cuddle that he was trying to free himself from. Really it only made the alpha smirk at the neediness from the other.
”You fucker, get back here.” Katsuki growled, his voice deep with sleep. “It’s too early.”
Hitoshi reached for his phone, the late hour not surprising him one bit. “It’s 11. We should get up.”
“No.” The grumbly alpha replied. An arm grabbed Hitoshi’s shoulder and pulled at the fabric in an attempt to drag him back.
“I have to pee.” Hitoshi laughed as he pushed the hand off of him and rolled to the side of the bed.
“Ugggg. FINE!” Katsuki whined, his voice far louder than it needed to be. “Get out then.” A kick to Hitoshi's butt had him falling off the bed with a loud thud.
“Shit!” He groaned out. “Was that really necessary?”
”If you don’t want me, you don’t get my bed.” The blonde growled. The bed swayed a bit as the blond alpha got comfortable with the extra space that was now available.
Hitoshi laughed under his breath as he got to his feet. As he had expected, Katsuki had rolled himself into the rest of the blankets and was now laying diagonal across the bed- head in one corner, feet in the other. Honestly, Hitoshi couldn’t be mad. The blonde alpha looked cute rolled up like an earthworm.
The dark haired alpha made quick work of doing his business, not wanting to be away from his angry cactus longer than needed. So it was a surprise when he walked back into the room to find the blonde wasn’t there. He hadn’t expected for him to be up and out of bed in just the few minutes he was away.
His investigation found himself in the kitchen, Katsuki at the bar counter with a paper and pencil as he held his cell up to his ear. Hot ginger had already started to seep throughout the entire room, the pheromones not very pleasant to stick around in.
Hitoshi took the seat next to Katsuki, looking at the paper that he was currently writing on. It had little notes scattered around on it with no organization at all. One portion being a name and number, another that looked like a website for the hospital. It didn’t provide much information for the alpha to understand so he waited patiently.
The light mumbling on the other side of the line wasn’t loud enough for Hitoshi to understand, so it was startling to hear what his partner was saying in return.
”So, the samples are fucking missing?” Katsuki growled and then paused. “Why would they notify an eye doctor and not the damn patient?” Another pause as the person on the other side answered as the alpha huffed. ”I appreciate your help. I will raise hell on the issue once I talk with my lawyers.” The blonde gritted out, his hand squeezing the pencil he was holding.
Hitoshi waited for the blonde to hang up, his worries growing more when Katsuki didn’t even acknowledge him. He just called another number and tapped his pencil repeatedly on the table.
“Hey, I need your help to look into possible issues at the hospital.” He quickly said with no care to pleasantries.
”My blood samples have been missing for 6 days and I wasn’t notified-“ He stared before getting cut off. “Yes, those tests were to confirm if I have any blood infections or diseases from my last assignment. I haven’t been able to get my eye fixed because of this.” He continued, stress clear in his voice though it was still gruff with aggression.
There was a rapid amount of rambling from the lawyer that had Katsuki relaxing his shoulders slightly. The ginger around them eased back a tiny amount, the scent no longer burning Hitoshi’s sinuses while he sat so close.
“Perfect. I want to go after these idiots but there is something off about all this. These nurses are fucking good and don’t half ass their job. As you know they have to go through crazy background checks to even walk into a hero’s room, let alone treat them. They’re contracts have to be solid, so it’s weird that this is suddenly happening.”
After another few minutes of the alpha listening, there was a quick conclusion. ”Alright, talk to you later.”
The blonde hung up his cell and quickly wrote down a final note. Medical malpractice forms with a huge circle around it were written in large letters. After what seemed to be forever, Katsuki finally turned to the alpha next to him. His face set in an unhappy frown that aged him significantly.
“Have you gotten any updates on your blood test?” He asked, his red eye narrowing.
Hitoshi shook his head slightly, the confusion no doubt clear on his face. “What was that all about? Do you think something has happened?”
Katsuki sighed heavily, his attention drawing back to the paper in front of him as he thought. “Something.” He replied. “I got a call from my eye doc, he wasn’t able to get any results from the hospital. He finally submitted a formal complaint to their processing department and within the hour received a call that my samples were missing and they had to follow protocol.”
Hitoshi furrowed his eyebrows. “Wouldn’t that mean getting you in to pull more blood?”
”Ya, that is what is setting off a lot of alarm bells for me.” Katsuki mumbled. “I haven’t gotten one call. I mean, fuck! Blood tubes don’t just disappear, especially since this hospital has a separate clinic for Heroes. Something is happening and I can only assume it has to do with the rade.”
Understanding suddenly hit Hitoshi like a brick. “Do you think this has something to do with Overhaul?”
”It’s the only thing I can think of. I have my lawyers doing the back end work to get an investigation underway. I would like to sue the hospital’s ass, but this feels like it goes far deeper than just semantics.” Katsuki said, his face growing even more solemn.
The darker haired alpha felt a pang of sadness as he watched the blonde. Unlike Hitoshi, the blonde was in need of those blood tests to be complete. His arm was already almost healed, his ability to use it getting better every day. But Katsuki was in a predicament. If he waited then he could lose sight in his eye, but if he caused too much of a fuss he could cause delay in the Commission getting on top of this. He was no doubt already on a tightrope with what happened during the raid, so the Heroes Commission wouldn’t be too happy to deal with more of his attitude.
All of this was incredibly concerning now that Hitoshi was giving it a bit of thought. “It would have been heavily documented that your condition requires immediate processing with the condition of your eye. Leaving you without quirk intervention will impede your work. So a delay would have to mean something more than just crappy nurses losing your samples.”
And at that, it all clicked together for the hero. That is what had to be happening. Katsuki and himself had made quite a ruckus in that basement. They both fought the villain personally, and did some heavy damage on him as well as his business. They also got Izuku and Eri out, intervened with whatever was going to happen and no doubt put a stop to whatever plan Overhaul had.
There was no way for the two of them to return to work until it was medically confirmed that they weren’t carrying possible diseases or infections. It was a strict law that required blood tests before the possibility of returning back to their jobs. Heros got hurt a lot, blood and other fluids mixing even with prevention, it was part of the job, and thus part of the process to continue it.So to delay or possibly stop that process would restrict the two alphas from their work and thus not able to guard the two that had been taken from Overhaul.
“They have someone on the inside, in the staff then.” Hitoshi concluded out loud. Katsuki turned to him and nodded, “There has to be more than one. If Overhaul truly wanted to intervene and cause us to be barred from being close to Izuku and the pup, then he would need eyes on all the moving parts.”
What the blonde said made complete sense. So there would need to be one for each person at least. “So we are thinking there are at least four people.”
Katsuki got up from his chair, his knees popping with the effort. “We need to meet with Aizawa. This isn’t something that we can wait on and hope is overthinking on our side. We need him to scout this out since we are restricted from the Commission.”
Hitoshi was on his feet as well, walking behind his partner. Katsuki was typing away on his phone, do doubt texting their insomniac leader. He thought that they were heading to the door, but instead the blonde made his way back to the bedroom. The alpha slumped back into the bed, his back rising with a huge breath.
“Katsuki?”
“God, why am I so tired? I walked 40 feet max and I am ready for a nap.” The blond groaned.
An alarm started playing from the blonde’s phone, the chime quickly being turned off as the blonde got up and sat on the side of the bed. “Can you get me some water? I need to take my meds.”
Hitoshi nodded, easily getting a glass and returning. He watched as the alpha took 7 pills from 3 different yellow bottles.
“God I hate these.” Katsuki frowned, taking them all in one go and making a face. He yawned while putting the empty glass down, his shoulders falling more with evident sleep. ”Okay, I’m going to sleep until Aizawa gets back to me. I am far too tired to haul my ass to the agency if he isn’t even there. So wake me if I don’t get up when he texts. okay?”
Hitoshi nodded, his eyes narrowing in on the bottles as he half listened to the blonde. His mind returned as he heard a light sound come from the blonde.
”Um…” Katsuki had his head lowered, fingers picking at a nail as he seemed to hesitate. Hitoshi smiled, already knowing what the alpha wanted.
”I’m tired too, so don’t hog the blankets this time.” He said with a teasing tone.
Red eyes whipped up to meet purple, the blonde pursing his lips as he tried to stop his own smile from taking over his mouth. “Then don’t take up the entire bed. Your long ass legs belong on your side.”
Hitoshi just laughed as he gently pushed the blonde further into the bed. “But I like to cuddle you. You’re so warm and comfy. Like my own teddy bear-“
”The fuck did you call me!” The blonde barked. A hand suddenly appeared in Hitoshi’s face, the massive appendage pushing his head back and away from the blonde. “You just lost your rights, go sleep on the couch!”
The alpha smiled despite the hand. Effortlessly pulling it away as he looked down at the blonde. “Oh, so I have a right to sleep next to you now?” Hitoshi teased. He kept his eyes locked with Katsuki as he inched closer.
Heat flooded Katsuki’s cheeks as he stared up at Hitoshi. “Shut the fuck up!” He growled. He quickly scooted to his side, wrapping the blanket around him and practically slammed his head into the pillow.
Hitoshi could only laugh at the other. ”Don’t worry Kats, I won’t abuse my rights.”
A grumble came from the mass next to give. “You better not. I’ll beat your ass if you do!”
The boys are so smart
Word Count: 4920
We got a few issues to figure out, don’t we. Poor Kat and Shin have a bit of a problem on their hands on top of the crap they already have to deal with. Let’s home they can figure it out.
