Chapter Text
The next couple of days brought similar results.
Midoriya might need to go out and hunt, but Kacchan would interrupt with something along the lines of, "We already did all of that crap."
It was certainly odd to find himself with nothing to do other than search for herbs and allow himself to rest more often to shake off the rest of his sickness. and didn't know what to do with all the free time, but the young betas and alphas certainly did.
Midoriya started to enjoy watching them spar. Sparring among alphas and betas was common when it came to the mating run. Given the event didn't allow magic, participants liked to condition their bodies so they could win and claim the omega they desired. Midoriya himself would've liked to do so, but with how busy he'd been and the fact he was likely not to be chosen, he didn't see the point anymore.
Still, Midoriya liked to watch Kacchan's friends fight and do their best. He was glad they didn't mind him watching, and even fought in the forest sometimes while Midoriya sorted out plants he found.
He would ooh and awe, heart beating fast with the rush it gave him. Midoriya was also glad that he was allowed to be present during sparring, as he would easily be able to heal any injuries received during sparring. Oddly enough, the young group obtained more injuries than he realized, which might have made him a little woozy and sore, but it was worth it.
Midoriya always loved to help wherever he could, and the incidents only gave him more time to practice his magic.
When he noticed the ache in Sato's shoulders, he would step behind the alpha and wordlessly use his magic to help ease any discomfort there.
How Yaoyorozu would try to poke and prod to ask how his own injury was healing from the village encounter, only for him to see the discomfort she showed in her side from a weapon too big or a hard hit from one of her packmates. He would immediately redirect the conversation, pulling her closer so he could take a closer look at the wounds she tried to hide from him.
And of course, it was no surprise that they still meddled with their magic, so Midoriya would also find himself making teas and concoctions to help ease the tummy ache Aoyama got from using his own magic. He would be able to sit on a long next to Aoyama, and allowed the small beta to lean against him when he was too weary to hold himself up.
Even when Jiro tried to say she was okay and that she didn't need any help, but Midoriya was insistent on pulling her aside and assessing her injuries. He was always careful not to be too eager or overbearing so he didn't scare anyone. He knew some might find him creepy or weird for how compassionate he was, but he couldn't stop himself when it came to wanting to help.
"My mother would always sing to me when I got hurt," Jiro smiled to herself when Midoriya applied burn cream to the top part of her back, "She always did it so I would forget about how much I was hurting."
"I do the same with my pups," Midoriya smiled gently. He let the words slip past his lips faster than he could think, and the thought of that left his face burning.
Jiro was quick to quip, "Your pups? Aren't you a little young?"
Immediately, he froze and put his hands up in surrender even though Jiro couldn't see, "I—! I mean— the village kids. They're not— I don't have pups."
Jiro let out a loud laugh, and for that, Midoriya was happy to know that the beta felt safe with him to laugh, even at his own expense. "I knowwww," she smiled, kicking her legs, "It's nice. Knowing that the little ones here have someone they can look up to." She paused, then looking up at him herself, "You're…I don't know. Really…" she looked down, "Reliable."
He didn't quite know how to react to it, but based on her body language, Midoriya knew she meant for those words to be kind. He didn't expect anything else, as the whole class had been kind to him.
Touched by their kindness, Midoriya began to make them each their own gift of sorts. He and his mother didn't have much, but Midoriya made up for that in the crafts he's learned. So, at the beginning of the week, Midoriya started to put together small treat bags for them. Each were labeled with herbs and their uses, some lotions, and finally, a small pastry that he managed to bake yesterday morning. They would be good enough to last until their trip to the Mating Run Ceremony, and Midoriya was glad that he would be able to give them something as both a thank you and goodbye. It was a bit bittersweet, but Midoriya would rather leave them with something to remember him by than for them to forget him.
Now, Midoriya smiled down at Kaminari, who hurt his hand again, and finished holding it once he was done using his magic. The greenish blue glow of his hands faded, and Midoriya rubbed his own hands over the previously bruised hand. "Is that better?" He asked Kaminari, holding onto the beta's hand before pulling away to sit down in one fell swoop.
"Yeah! Thanks man," Kaminari beamed. He paused for a moment, smile faltering, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah! Yeah. Just— still trying to get over being sick. Those last little embers of it, you know?" Midoriya excused his sudden exhaustion. He didn't want to admit that this was sort of like training for him. The class of betas and alphas seemed incapable or uninterested in allowing him to do as much as lift a finger.
He assured them multiple times that he was well enough to do work and that he had for the last couple days, but that didn't stop them from worrying. Who knows what they would do if they knew how much his magic took out of him. It's why he likes to lead them to the forest, and why he tried to be as discreet as possible as not to alert Kacchan.
"Oh," Kaminari pouted a little with a frown, "Is there anything I can get you to help? I don't want you to miss out on the Run if you're not good for tomorrow's departure."
Another reason why Midoriya had been pushing himself and forcing his magic. He figured that if he were too sick to participate, then they would just have him marked as ineligible for the year. He would likely still have to do other duties as the head omega, but he wouldn't have to actively participate in the Run.
"I'll be fine either way," Midoriya shrugged off.
"You keep saying that," Kaminari pointed out.
Midoriya huffed out a self-deprecating laugh, "Well. Yeah. I going to be the same thing. I'll go in there, get all dressed up, and then—…" the omega had to stop himself mid-sentence, sensing the way he was getting choked up. "Sorry," he shook his head and looked down. His shoulders scrunched up by his shoulders while his hands gripped the log he sat down on. Tears boiled over despite wanting to resist them.
"Kaminari, are you good now? Uraraka wanted to know if you still—" Ojiro approached but stopped in his tracks. "Midoriya? What's wrong?"
Midoriya opened his mouth to speak, but closed it just as quickly when his thoughts and doubts came back to hit him tenfold. All from a simple two word question. How embarrassing. He managed to spit out, "It's nothing. You— you can go back. I need to—…" Midoriya tried to stand, but the woozy feeling he had came back again.
Kaminari and Ojiro, despite the betas being shorter and smaller than him, were quick to embrace him in a hug to hold him up and stop him from falling. "Hey!" Kaminari shouted in alarm. Just as quickly, he lowered his voice, "Hey hey, you're good."
Midoriya managed to lower himself to the ground with their help, but even then, the betas hadn't pulled away. In fact, Ojiro guided him gently into a hug, with Kaminari joining in after. Kaminari made sure to avoid his collar, but the beta still managed to bury his face into the back of his shoulder. Ojiro held his head and tucked him into his chest, holding Midoriya in a way that made him feel special.
That was really all it took for Midoriya to break down.
Kaminari's alarmed shout must've made its way to the others, because soon after,he could hear Uraraka and Iida making their way over.
"Oowwhhh," Uraraka cooed out in sympathy, "Is he hurt? What's wrong?" He could feel her walk up behind him, the alpha crouching down to offer support by combing her hand through his hair. Midoriya leaned into it despite his disoriented state.
"I wouldn't mind assisting Midoriya to his home if needbe," Iida piped in, "If it's your leg that's hurt, Midoriya, I can carry you if you don't mind."
"He's going to say it's 'nothing' but the Run really has him stressed out," Kaminari mumbled into his back.
"Huh? Why?" Uraraka asked, and the question seemed directed at him based on her inflection. She added, "You know it's nothing to worry about."
But that was the problem. Midoriya didn't have to worry about the wrong beta or the wrong alpha to catch him, because they didn't intend to do so. It was just going to be another year for Midoriya, and seeing the younger group prepare for their first Run while he was there, still unmated, well, it started to hit him a lot harder.
And it made him ashamed and embarrassed. The need to hide and shield himself from judgement rapidly built up inside of him to the point he couldn't take it anymore. He had the overwhelming urge to just—. Flee.
And it's exactly what he did.
Flight or fight mode kicked in as he hastily distanced himself from the alphas and betas. He didn't even catch the words spoken when they let out jumbled noises of alarm. The only sound that he could register was the sound of birds chirping in the forest and the sound of wind rushing past his ears. He wasn't sure how fast they were or if they were even going after him, but Midoriya weaved through the forest that was so familiar to him, determined to make that much more distance between them.
Even if the others were trying to get to him, he's sure that their unfamiliarity with the forest would slow them down, especially with where he was heading.
He ran until the air he breathed in felt as if it was burning his lungs, uncaring of the way his vision started to go spotty when he finally reached a spot he deemed as 'safe'. He hastily removed the moss that hid the spot, soon crouching to make his way into the little cave he was a far too familiar with.
Here, he would put together his thoughts. He would write in his journals, he would take an occasional baby animal in, heal it, and send it on its way. "Here" was actually a place no one knew about. Well, except for the animals he would sometimes share it with.
Midoriya settled himself down, tucking himself into the extra furs he managed to keep there. He loved helping out the children in the village, helping out his mother, and making sure she was well and taken care of, but he couldn't help but want to get away from it all.
He hated walking around a village he couldn't escape. He hated being stuck there, unable to do the things he wanted like traveling the world. He hated the fact that some of the people in his old class would stumble upon him at times, with their mate or talking about the great things they've seen, the things they've done. And all Midoriya had to show for the last couple years was…nothing.
He didn't have a mate, he didn't have a place of his own that he could call home, and he most certainly couldn't travel as an unmated omega. The others would nod along, encouraging him that things will change soon, that it just 'takes others a bit longer', but he already gave up on his dream life the moment he received that letter of being the head omega.
Well, at least they'll have their gifts to remember me by… Midoriya thought sadly to himself, I hope they like them…
So he let his tears fall, the heartache and mess of feelings pouring out of him while he stayed in the cave.
Rain started to pour, and there was still no sign of Deku.
When Bakugo heard of the news, and that they lost track of him, he immediately gathered everyone so they could spread out into groups to look for the nerd. He's sure the omega is just stuck in his own head like he tended to do, but Bakugo didn't want to quite ruin the surprise they had for him.
It was fairly common for alphas and betas now to announce their courtship or intent to make an omega their mate before the Mating Run. This made less competition, as others would be aware of the intent and therefore back up off of omegas that were already seen as 'taken'. But that kind of ruined the purpose and fun of the Run, didn't it?
It was why, traditionally, the omega of choice wouldn't be aware until the Run began. It would give both beta and omega or alpha and omega that rush, the excitement of the Run. After all, if the omega just gave in because they knew the alpha or beta's intent, then it would ruin the whole thing. Not to mention, if done the traditional way, then the alpha or beta would be able to properly prove that they were the best choice for the omega, because they caught the omega despite other competition.
Mirio was going to back off this year, but fighting off competition should be easy enough when it was their whole class that would be involved.
When Bakugo would watch Deku the other years (as much as he could see from his seats in the stadium), Deku seemed to develop a pattern.
First, he would wait a few moments to allow the other omegas to run. Deku watched all of them, taking note of each and every one of them silently. Then, he would take off into a direction that none of the others chose, likely so he could be secluded. Bakugo wasn't sure if it was because he didn't want to hear the mating that sometimes tended to happen, or if it was because it would decrease the amount of people running after him. He must've figured that any alpha or beta would rather go for a whole group than go for one omega that they weren't guaranteed to get.
Even if the Mating Run only lasted a day, Deku proved his resourcefulness every time.
Bakugo watched him the first year, how he looked for berries in the forest, how he carved a spike to kill fish in the lake, and how he was able to keep himself hidden from alphas and betas he wasn't partial to. Bakugo was worried that first year for Deku. He hated not knowing if the omega would be claimed or not by someone that wasn't him. It was horrible, especially with how much of an asshole some of the alphas and betas were in Deku's class.
Not to mention that he didn't put into consideration some other arrogant assholes that were likely to be coming from all over the place.
Still, it was obvious that no one that year was of interest to Deku, so he actively worked towards not getting caught.
It was where his improvement came from the following years, that motivation. Bakugo noticed Deku's better ability to hunt, even going to the point of being able to make a temporary bow and arrow with the tools around him. How he was able to make a fire the next year, and how he was able to use the environment to conceal himself. Even if Deku seemed to get a little less concerned with hiding himself as the years went by, it was obvious that he had the skills to do so.
Bakugo hoped he would be able to utilize them this year, especially with word of Deku's healing magic finally breaking through the confines of their small town.
Betas and Alphas with magic were common, almost expected. Strong magic? Less common, more desired. But for omegas? It was rare to get one with magic, more or less such a strong and rare magic as Deku's. And unfortunately based on the rumors Bakugo and the others have heard floating around, Deku was starting to become somewhat of a popular pick for those money hungry enough to want to benefit from their omega's magic.
So, yeah, Bakugo wanted Deku to hone in his skill for avoiding and hiding from people, but he didn't want him to use it now.
Not when they want to spend the last night at the village with him so they can really show that they care for him and not his magic. Not when the wind was picking up and the sky was turning darker like a bad storm was only just starting to brew.
Not when the others told him that Deku left them, that he ran away sobbing.
Deku cried, sure, but sobbing? Deku didn't tend to do that as often as some people thought. He had to be so far in his head about some shit that Bakugo would have to pull out of him somehow.
Well…maybe he wasn't quite the right pick for that kind of thing.
He could see Yaoyorozu, Kirishima, Kaminari, or Ashido for that sort of thing. Maybe Uraraka as well.
Still, Bakugo only brought Kirishima and Ashido with him for the job, and grabbed Kouda as well.
"There's no way he'd be sulking in the rain. He would take cover," Bakugo explained the deeper they went into the forest, "I bet he found a cave or something similar." Bakugo turned and pointed to Kouda, "Can you ask one of your pets to show us any caves or burrows they can fit in?"
If watching Deku in the Run all these years told Bakugo anything, it was also the fact that Deku had a knack for finding burrows or caves to hide in, and he was damn good at making sure he wasn't found in those places. Bakugo could even see it from the slight panic in Mirio's eyes when even he lost sight of Deku.
Now Bakugo understood first hand that Deku knew how to keep a spot secret, even though when they were pups, Deku couldn't keep a secret for the life of him.
Kouda signed to him, knowing he wouldn't be heard over the russling of leaves in the wind or the sound of rainfall. 'Maron knows a few near here' he gestured to the huge wild that Kouda somehow managed to make his companion, not that Bakugo was complaining now.
The big wolf would stop occasionally to duck into a spot that was sort of discreet, but none of them garnered any reaction. Rain began to pour harder, and any hope of finding Deku through his scent was lost.
Bakugo was ready to call it off and go back to see if Deku had returned home. He was ready to see if he should see if Ragdoll was willing to use her magic again, but Kouda's wolf decided to. turn sharply, making his way to a tree. Oh great, was he just looking for a tree to piss on?
Bakugo wanted to sigh, but the sight of the wolf ducking and diving into an opening beneath the tree's roots made Bakugo pause. Maron barked, tail wagging when he found something they might be looking for.
Barely hidden was a cave that was formed under the tree in some freakish miracle of nature.
Leaning in, Bakugo could smell Deku. He could smell signs of distress and sadness, like Deku was so deeply distraught about something. The smell never sat right with Bakugo. Even as a kid, the smell of burnt vanilla and davana would leave him panicked and wanting to know exactly what was wrong with Deku. He didn't know what davana was as a kid, the herb being completely foreign to him, but all he knew was that it smelled completely and utterly like Deku. It's what made his scent special, contrasting deeply with the common smell of vanilla.
Once, Auntie Inko had been attempting to make a new pastry and burned the vanilla she was using.
The rest of the day, Bakugo stuck close to Deku's side, refusing to leave the omega because of his natural reaction to smelling accents of Deku's distressed scent. His own Amber and Caramel scent would burn with hostility to anyone who came close to even looking at Deku the wrong way on days like those. The older omega never minded, with Deku obliviously chalking Bakugo's reactions up to 'instincts', but Bakugo knew better. In fact, he's not sure how Deku never noticed with the amount of times that Bakugo would cook, hunt, or try tk make a nest for him.
Bakugo would've done the same tonight, but one glance in the cave told Bakugo of Deku's absence.
Ashido, Kouda, and Kirishima were disappointed by the news, but Kirishima was the only one to say something.
"Kaminari said that he was stressed about the Run, but I'm starting to wonder if this goes beyond just that," Kirishima frowned, "I don't get it. Dies he notice our signs? Or has he noticed, and that's why he's stressed?"
The question was one Bakugo had in his head as well, even as they made their way back to the inn they all stayed in as a pack the next town over. No matter where they looked, Deku wasn't there. Eventually, they grouped back up to see what they should do, but the group that was meant to gather near Deku's house came back with a basket full of items.
Tsu was the first to say something, "Ms. Midoriya said Izuku needed to somewhere quiet…She claimed he wasn't feeling well, but he still had these that he wanted all of us to have." She frowned, but she still held out the basket in order to display the items.
The basket wasn't something Bakugo paid much attention to. No, instead, Bakugo was focused on figuring out how he could erase any doubt that Deku may have in his head about them. They were going to make a bolder statement, and it would have to start with the gathering nights.
Gathering nights were a way to get to know others before the Mating Ceremony officially started. It was a friendly party where Betas and Alphas could both scope out their competition and see what omega piqued their interest the most. During those couple days, alphas and betas were given the opportunity to train, a rundown of the rules, and the chance to solidify their choice of omega.
Omegas were given a fancy tour or something, told who their head omega was, and given the opportunity to explore the arena for the Mating Run. Omegas were able to get a lay of the land so they wouldn't be at a terrible disadvantage. The constructed arena would change every year, and the place would have different terrains that would make hunting for their omegas that much harder.
Though, Bakugo knew they would find Deku before then and get everything sorted out. Bakugo was going to drill into Deku's head that their pack was the only one he should and would be in. He was going to make sure that Deku knew that they were worried, and that they were going to do everything in their power to make sure they made him theirs.