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Chapter Text

He had seen creatures of all kinds—in art, in films, in YouTube shorts. Those with an odd number of legs or a gaseous form, those that were half-plant or half-robot. He had seen creatures whose existence tested the limits of reason on Discovery Channel.

However, it was difficult to understand what one was looking at when there was no screen between the eyes and the object. When the object was three-dimensional, without the glasses or technology required to make it so.

“What am I looking at?” Aizawa asked.

Nezu leaned on the corner of the acrylic glass booth with one hand. “We don’t know exactly how they should be taxonomically classified yet so we call them ‘phooka’ for now.”

“They? There’s more than one?” Aizawa pushed his chin forward to get a closer look. Red eyes, which could be described as suspicious at best and hostile at worst, stared at him almost unblinkingly. The creature clearly didn’t like to be stared at. It crouched in the corner of the small booth with its whip-like tail wrapped around its legs for protection, ears rotating back and forth.

“Two so far. Might get a third one if our lead holds.”

“Phooka, huh?”

“Yes, like in Irish folklore. You know, since it looks like a mix and match of this and that,” Yagi explained.

Aizawa wasn’t familiar with said mythical creature. For the better part of his life, he had concentrated on working with real animals, not studying fictional beasts. He made a mental note to look it up later.

Yagi had a point though, saying that the creature was like a mix of various animal parts thrown together. Its face was something between a human and an animal. It had long fur on its head that bore a similarity to human hair but the colour was a strange bluish-white. It was repeated in the tuft of the creature’s tail and odd patches of longer hair splattered over its body, such as on its elbows and hocks. The toes of its front paws peeking from under its tail looked too much like fingers topped up with claws. Its body was lean and muscular like a greyhound’s, yet agile like a sphynx cat’s. Even so, Aizawa could tell it was malnourished, with its ribs and shoulder blades clearly visible. It had huge ears like a bat’s and a long, thin tail like a… well, demon’s. Or a troll’s. Depending on which folktale you were fonder of.

It did look like a demon, with its red eyes and contrasting white coat.

“Where’s the other one?”

”Shiketsu took it.”

“And where were they found?”

“In a rather obscure foreign-funded lab. There was a third one but unfortunately it had passed away. One of our suspicions is that they were born there. That they’re man-made. But we need to run DNA tests before we can say anything even half-confidently.”

Aizawa did not ask whether Nezu and others suspected that human DNA might be found in the creatures. He already knew the answer.

“So, what is our next step?”

“They have been mistreated. Especially this one. It’s skittish and it has some kind of skin condition. Kamaya is currently analyzing biopsies.”

In the glass booth, the creature raised his hind leg and scratched its neck with quick, jerky movements. There was a manic tone to the action. It went on until Nezu tapped the glass hard, startling the creature back into a tight, suspicious curl, but not before Aizawa could spot several bald patches around its body. It twitched its snout, which looked suspiciously like a nose, but the teeth stayed hidden.

“It has repeatedly scratched its skin until it bleeds. We need to get a diagnosis soon. It’s not scabies. Seems more endogenous. Maybe an allergy.”

“Male or female?”

“Male, but...” Nezu trailed off and tapped his fingers on the glass, this time more softly. “This is interesting. It would seem that their sexes aren’t quite what we’re generally used to in the mammalian world. It has XXY chromosomes and appears to have both sex organs, though the female organs seem to be the ‘primary’ ones.”

“But you have defined it as a male?”

“Yes, because the one at Shiketsu is clearly a female, XX. Its external characteristics are much more feminine than this one’s. But the whole thing is still under research. Kayama has reached out to a vet in an Irish zoo where the name for these creatures originated. They are working on a theory, but still quite little is understood of the species. But with their help… maybe we’ll get there.

“Meanwhile, we must try to gain its trust so that the research can continue as smoothly as possible. Frequent anaesthesia and sedation have their downsides and we have yet to learn how sedating affects them in the long run.”

“I could be wrong,” Aizawa said conversationally, “but somehow I get the feeling that locking them up in a bare glass box for people to gawk at is not the best way to go.”

Nezu let out a humourless laugh. “It’s just there so you can see what we’re dealing with. We’ll let it back in its regular enclosure soon.”

As if understanding their words, the creature rose to a sitting position in the small space, revealing its strangely lithe, yet muscular body. It was the size of a teenager, lean and agile, with powerful hindquarters. It moved on four legs but looked like it could walk on two momentarily if it so wished. It craned its head towards the ceiling, eyeing it from all angles before looking at them. There was something calculating in the gaze. ‘You just wait till I get out of this booth. I know you can’t keep me here forever.’

It looked like it could move very fast, climb and jump high. It looked like it could kill.

“This is where you’re stepping into the picture.”

“Me?” Aizawa asked, though unnecessarily. He hadn’t been summoned here just to stare at the new resident.

“Yes. Yagi, Kayama and myself are already on its blacklist,” Nezu said.

Yagi pulled up his sleeve and showed five long scratches on his forearm. They weren’t deep but that said more about the man’s quick reflexes than the harmlessness of the creature’s claws.

”We need a new person that it hasn’t associated negative things with. The choices were you and Usagiyama, but between the two of you—no offence to Rumi—you’re the more suitable one in terms of personality.” At Aizawa’s expressionless look, Nezu reacted with a shrug. “It needs a calm handler now.”

Aizawa leaned his forearm on the glass, examining the creature. “I need to monitor it first to get some idea of its behaviour and primary defence mechanisms.”

“Of course. That’s only wise. We have some video footage but–”

Aizawa interrupted, “I’ll move my workstation next to its cage so it can get used to my presence and I can observe it. I will always leave for medical procedures so that it won’t associate me with unpleasant things.”

“Yes, that would be wise too, at least in the beginning.”

“Do you have a name for this one, this ‘phooka’?”

“Yes, we call it Tomura.”

“Why would you call it that?”

“Because it was found in the same cage with another phooka that was dead.”

“You think this one killed–”

“No, it was quite evident that the other one died of negligence. And Tomura was clearly mourning its friend.”

“Probably still is,” Yagi added.

“Are they pack animals?”

“Our current assumption that they are parasocial but more research is needed.”

The creature turned around, displaying its other side with more bald and irritated spots. It raised its hind leg, reaching for the neck and almost began scratching but stopped just before the claws touched the skin. The red eyes flicked to the humans, evaluating. Would the action be interrupted again? It decided it was worth the risk and began scratching in earnest, keeping a careful eye on them all the while.

“What was the situation in which that happened?” Aizawa asked, nodding towards Yagi’s arm.

“We needed to sedate it in order to take more samples. Our little friend here figured out our plan and tried to bolt but I caught it. Not a very wise move in hindsight. Now I’m at the very bottom of its list of possible people to trust, along with Nemuri.”

“You didn’t think of darting?”

”Of course we did. It only worked once as did the other methods,” Nezu explained. “Tomura figured us out immediately. Which brings me to my final advice—or a word of warning, if you will. We haven’t had a chance to observe our newest addition for a long time but we have already drawn the conclusion that phookas are quite intelligent.”

But of course they were. A demonic-looking beast with a human-like face was bound to be smart. It could be an advantage or it could be a hindrance.

“What level of intelligence are we talking about here? Dog, pig, parrot?”

”Try primate.”

Well, fuck.

A few days later, Aizawa was hauling the last of his boxes into his new research room. It was a large space and he was planning to bring in various obstacles and climbing frames. One of its walls was acrylic glass, separating him from the creature’s space. The enclosure, decorated to form a lush woodland landscape, created a pleasant atmosphere in the room. There was a doorway in the glass that he would have to use at some point.

His bustling made the phooka emerge from its whereabouts. Its head peeked out from inside a hollow tree trunk, revealing only one bat ear and red eye. It was the one that had a scar running across the lid. The creature had been lucky not to lose the eye.

“Hello there, fairytale thingie,” Aizawa greeted it. “Or what was your name again? Tomura?” He set the box down on the floor and began unloading the various tools he used in training, activation toys and brain games, a clicker, some brushes and an artificial hand attached to the end of a long stick. “We’re stuck with each other so why not drop the formalities right away? You can call me Shouta.”

The eyelid covered the red iris for a moment, but otherwise the creature continued to watch him still like a statue.

The Google search on phooka—or púca, puka, pooka, pwka and various other spelling versions—hadn’t really offered Aizawa any useful information. It appeared that someone had just borrowed a mythological creature’s name for a previously unknown species. It was like a goblin shark, not much to do with actual goblins. Phookas didn’t even have a scientific name yet, since their taxonomy was under research. Nemuri had told Aizawa that the Irish vet was leaning towards the Strepsirrhini suborder whereas an Australian biologist had suggested a previously unknown suborder.

“You do look a bit like an aye-aye if we choose to ignore your human-like features.”

Tomura didn’t care how he was labelled. He seemed to be more concerned with the member of the Hominidae family that was clearly making himself at home right by his enclosure.

Aizawa turned his head away and continued setting up his equipment. Animals didn’t like to be stared at any more than humans.

From his peripheral vision he caught Tomura observing him for a good while before slipping back to its hiding place.

The UA Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, founded by Nezu’s late father, was a unique establishment amongst facilities that handled and housed wild fauna. While some of their residents were docile enough to be introduced to an occasional visitor, it was by no means a petting zoo. It wasn’t even a zoo even if they sometimes organized educational tours for student groups. They did work together with several zoos, participating in breeding programs for species preservation. One of the center’s more peculiar functions had been training animals for movies, TV series and commercials, although that function was becoming less significant along with the improvement of CGI quality. Aizawa didn’t miss that part. He had always found using live animals in movies a bit unethical. Dogs and cats were fine, as they had been companions for humans for thousands of years and didn’t stress out so easily, but he didn’t see the point of going through the ordeal of training a snake when the reptile could be easily created with a few clicks of a computer.

Aizawa reckoned his newest trainee wouldn’t be the primary candidate to appear in a sports car commercial or a family movie. And it would probably take a while before any outsider was invited to meet their newest resident.

*

He spent the first week merely observing the phooka’s behaviour and figuring out how it could be motivated best. Combined with the notes from the Irish vet it was reasonable to assume that phookas’ most important senses were smell and hearing but they could also see quite well and distinguish colours in the dark.

Since Tomura could not be motivated by playing and the thing he wanted most was to be left alone, the only option Aizawa had in his trick box was food. Some days he delayed bringing breakfast for the creature, waiting for him to get properly hungry and then coaxing him to come to the foreground of the enclosure. Sometimes it worked, many times not. Aizawa pushed the food bowl inside through a small feeding door and waited until Tomura had summoned enough courage to tiptoe to his meal. Aizawa sounded the clicker when the phooka began eating.

As days passed, Tomura learned to expect him. Aizawa equalled breakfast. But unlike many other animals Aizawa had worked with, Tomura made no attempt to beg for his food or initiate any other form of communication. He came to his food bowl only after Aizawa had closed the feeding door and retreated to his workstation. His behaviour suggested that he was a prey animal with a hardwired flight instinct. That wasn’t in line with anything Aizawa had ever learned about prey animals, since the phooka’s appearance and diet pointed strongly towards a predator or a scavenger. That left the assumption that he had learned to associate humans with harm and pain. And that learned behavioural pattern was harder to undo than introducing him to humans for the first time. Aizawa had his work cut out for him.

“I’ve got some new test results concerning our little folklore troll,” Nemuri said as she barged into the break room. She peered at a stack of papers in her hand over the rim of her glasses and flashed a victorious grin at Aizawa and Rumi who were sitting at the small round table that served their precious lunch and coffee moments.

”Oh yeah? Such as?”

”Mostly concerning his sex.” Nemuri pulled a chair underneath her and placed the papers on the table, reaching for a box of mochi sitting on the table. She picked a strawberry-flavoured ball and popped it into her mouth. “So, as you already know, Tomura displays characteristics of both sexes, though we have categorized him as, well, he.”

“Yes, I find it quite sexist and discriminating,” Rumi said. “I mean, he’s got a vagina.”

“And he’s got a penis as well,” Aizawa pointed out.

“The good news is that you can throw aside your discrimination views after this.” Nemuri munched and swallowed before continuing, “So far I’ve located both ovaries and uterus which seem to be working as they should. But I’ve also found testes and they do produce at least some testosterone.”

”He embodies more male features than female,” Aizawa said. “At least in the light of our cultural views.”

“Dude’s gotta minky!” Rumi exclaimed. “And his dick is, like, tiny. Minuscule even. It doesn’t look like he could use it for anything else than peeing. Actually, I’ve got a theory of mine and I’m saying it’s not a penis but an enlarged clitoris. And the dude’s got no visible balls. Are they inside his body or something?”

Nemuri tapped her nail against the wooden surface. “Hear me out, will you two? If it only came to Tomura, I might agree with you, but regarding all the information we have managed to gather so far, it doesn’t seem like a developmental disorder. He’s not intersex. Okay, in a way he is, but there’s more to it. In fact, there might be a variety of sexes and so-called dynamics amongst the species.”

Neither Aizawa nor Rumi uttered a word. They were listening.

Nemuri looked content. “First, there are the two main sexes, male and female, but within them there appear to be three dynamics, or secondary sexes if you will. The veterinarian at the Irish zoo I’ve been in contact with has outlined an introductory classification for them. She calls them ‘alpha’, ‘beta’ and ‘omega’.”

Aizawa and Rumi still kept quiet.

“This theory is so fascinating!” Nemuri declared. “According to all the information we’ve got about our phooka so far—I’ve sent his test results for Dr. Reilly to evaluate too—Tomura is what we call ‘male omega’.”

“Male omega?” Rumi repeated with a frown.

”So that implies there is a ‘female omega’ too?” Aizawa guessed.

“Indeed it does. All the possible dynamic-sexes include male alpha, female alpha, male beta, female beta, male omega and female omega. Dr. Reilly said she’s only come across male alpha, female omega and betas. Male omegas are a rarity, she had only theorized about them so she’s very excited to learn about our new resident. She’d like to come and visit our facility in the near future.”

“So what about the one that they’ve got at Shiketsu?”

”She appears to be a female omega.”

“Could they reproduce?” Aizawa asked.

Rumi scoffed. “Duh, you need a proper dick for that.”

Aizawa turned to her. “For someone who works with animals you know quite little about different reproduction methods. Should I ask Nezu to send you to a supplementary course?”

Nemuri cut in before Rumi had time to retort at Aizawa. ”An omega can’t presumably sire an offspring, not even a male one. It would require an alpha male or a beta male.”

“But instead our grumpy hermit should be able to carry and deliver?”

“There are a lot of factors to be taken into account, but he’s got the equipment for it, undeniably. The bone structure of his pelvis also enables giving birth.”

Rumi scratched her head. “This is so confusing. But you’re right, it’s interesting too.”

Nemuri beamed. “Isn’t it? This is, like, discovering a new platypus!”

“So if we wanted to breed him, we would have to find an alpha or beta male?”

“Seems like it. But we need to run more tests before we can think about breeding him. For example, Tomura has partial albinism.”

“Well, that you could tell just by looking at him.”

“It doesn’t seem to affect any other part than his skin and hair pigment but I’m not done with everything.”

“His eyesight is fine,” Aizawa commented.

“Yes, I’m aware. Whether the albinism has something to do with his skin condition is still under research.”

“Could the scratching be psychological?” Rumi suggested. “What was it called again? Dermatillomania?”

Nemuri smirked. ”Someone’s been watching Dr. Pimple Popper again, I presume. But sure, the scratching could be of psychological origin, but he does get some rashes that resemble an allergic reaction.” She turned to Aizawa. “How is it going with him? Any progress?”

Aizawa sighed. ”Minimal. He’s extremely guarded.” The only thing that could be called progress was that Tomura sometimes lounged on the makeshift rock of his enclosure while Aizawa was in the room, peering down at him, possibly trying to appear nonchalant but instead visibly tense and on guard. And that he had begun to associate the clicker sound with food.

Nemuri nodded. “I’ve noticed.”

“Any idea if it’s typical for the species or just this individual?”

“Well, they are wild animals,” Nemuri began, lifting her hand on Aizawa’s protest, “but the one they have in Shiketsu is tamer and more outgoing, so unfortunately I have to admit we drew the shorter straw here. But hey, Shouta, I have faith in you. If anyone can train our newest asset, it’s you.”

Chapter Text

After three weeks of minimal progress and constant setbacks, Aizawa announced that he was going to take Tomura home with him.

”I’m going to take him with me to live at my place,” he said. Not ‘I think he’d do better in a different environment’ or even ‘I’d like to take him home’. That wasn’t how Aizawa did things.

Nezu didn’t seem fazed, but then again, he rarely did. “He is property of the facility,” he mused, voice void of emotions.

”I’m not claiming ownership of him. I’m just taking him home so I can finally start gaining his trust without any unnecessary hindrances.” Earlier that day, Aizawa had been sitting in front of the enclosure door, trying to coax Tomura to come out, and he had been making progress, he had, Tomura had been slowly inching closer to the door and his nose-snout had been sniffing the slice of beef in Aizawa’s hand. And then Rumi had burst into the room without knocking (she should have known better), and Tomura had spun around in a split second and disappeared inside the log. Aizawa hadn’t seen the phooka since.

He was tired of sitting at his workstation and not seeing the animal he was supposed to be training, and forcing Tomura into a bare room with nowhere to hide was not the approach he wanted to take.

“What about your cat?” Yagi asked.

Aizawa blinked. ”What cat?”

”Don’t you have a cat?”

”…no?”

Yagi rubbed his forehead, perplexed. “Oh, I don’t know why I thought that.”

“I don’t know either,” Aizawa said. “Anyway, Tomura. He needs a change of scenery.” Constant stress was starting to take its toll on the phooka. Aizawa suspected that Tomura would soon be labelled as depressed, if he already wasn’t. At this point, he was still eating.

“And how will you provide him with all the necessary stimuli? You have a two-bedroom apartment without a yard, don’t you? You can’t build a forest in it. You can’t build climbing rocks in it.”

“It’s just until he starts working with me. And there’s a small inside yard we can use, at least when nobody is there to see us.”

“And what if he attacks you? That thing is nothing but sharp fangs and claws and a nasty attitude,” Yagi reminded him.

“If I can work with him on my own terms, the possibility of him attacking me will be very small.” He had trained wolves and bears and lynxes. He had trained a fucking king cobra and was still alive and kicking and mostly intact. He liked to think that he knew what he was doing.

“But not zero.”

“Nothing is ever zero. Especially not with living things. You know this yourself.”

“I fully support Shouta taking Tomura home with him,” Rumi butted in, cheerful. “But I’ll get to train the next phooka we bring in.”

Nezu and Yagi looked confused. ”I don’t think you’re in a deciding position for any of this.”

Rumi grinned from ear to ear. “I was just making sure you know I’m ready to take the next one under my caring wing.”

“Yes, we are aware of it. And we’ll see how it goes once we get there.”

Rumi replied with an unsatisfied ‘hmph’ and crossed her arms. She was probably going to get assigned to the next phooka anyway—that is, if the facility ever got one.

Aizawa took a step towards the door. “I’m going home to make my place suitable for him. You can bring him over tomorrow. Just give him a light sedation.”

“It sounds like Shouta has this thing decided,” Yagi observed.

Nezu was quiet for a moment, thinking. It was a good sign. “Kayama has to visit at least once a week to ensure his health.”

“Sure thing.” Aizawa hoped that if—when—he finally gained Tomura’s trust, medical procedures would also become easier.

“I’m not very keen on this idea,” Nezu said. Aizawa waited for him to continue but he didn’t say anything else. He took it as an approval.

“I also have my suspicions,” Yagi added.

“Then I hope to prove your suspicions wrong.”

True, Aizawa couldn’t build a climbing wall or a forest in his flat. All the cat trees were too small for his assigned ward, but he went to a local pet shop and bought water and feeding bowls, dog puzzles, a harness, a leash and a donut-shaped plush dog bed, the largest one the shop had.

“What kind of dog do you have?” the clerk asked as she tapped in his purchases.

“Uh, a Great Dane.”

”Oh, they are very nice. Very pretty! Eat quite a lot though, don’t they? You didn’t need any dog food then?”

”No thanks, all stocked up.” The center would provide him with all the fresh and frozen meat, starches and supplements he would need to keep Tomura nourished.

He then drove to another pet shop and bought the biggest litter box they had to offer which was still quite small for an animal of Tomura’s size.

“What kind of cat do you have?” the clerk asked.

“A cougar.”

The woman blinked. “Excuse me?”

”Uhm, a Maine Coon.”

Her face softened. “Oh, they are very cute! Did you need anything else? We have a sale on our cat toys.” She nodded towards a display stand filled with various items cats might find amusing. Aizawa was about to decline but changed his mind and picked two feathered wands. He had no idea if Tomura would be interested in them but they were cheap so it was worth a try.

Despite all his preparations, Aizawa was still a little nervous on the day Tomura would be transported to his place. He wondered if he had made a mistake. He wouldn’t have housed a bear, now, would he? He wouldn’t have housed a lynx. How was a phooka, an animal they knew very little about, any different?

Well, his bedroom door had a lock so at least that gave him some false sense of security. Besides, from what he had gathered, the phooka was more prone to keeping to himself than approaching humans if given the choice. Still, he was a wild beast and should be treated as such.

Tomura arrived in the afternoon, in a crate carried by two facility workers Aizawa wasn’t that familiar with. Nezu and Nemuri were also there to watch over the procedure. She had given Tomura a light sedative. He was awake but drowsy. It didn’t stop him from glaring suspiciously at his surroundings. Something shifted in his gaze when he smelled and saw Aizawa. It wasn’t joy, but maybe it was something like… relief? Aizawa liked to think so.

“You think you’re getting a dog?” Nemuri joked, taking in the plush bed, toys and food bowls.

Aizawa shrugged. “They didn’t sell forest floors or live-size tree trunks in the shops I went to.”

She clicked her tongue. “To be brutally honest, I have my suspicions on this one. But sure, we’ll see how it goes. It’s worth a shot, I hope. I mean, the results can’t be worse, now, can they? Let’s just hope that in the near future we won’t have to walk into a scene where you’re dead on the floor and he’s eating your face.”

To Aizawa’s surprise, Nezu came to his aid, “I have full trust in Aizawa. But I’m expecting regular reports, and if Tomura begins showing violent tendencies towards you, I’m calling it off.”

“He probably wouldn’t tell us,” Nemuri pointed out.

Aizawa was already growing tired of the conversation. “Just let me give it a shot, okay?”

“We are, we are,” Nezu assured. “Do you want us to let him out or are you going to do it yourself?”

“I’ll do it myself. He probably won’t come out right away. You can leave now.”

Nemuri snickered. “Ever so polite.” She patted the top of the crate, bending to peek inside. “Alright, Tomura, I guess I’ll see you next week for your health check. Be nice to Shouta, mmkay?”

Tomura glared at Nemuri with what could only be described as burning hatred.

It took some time and a collection of good and bad advice, but eventually Aizawa managed to herd everyone out of his apartment and shut the door, deciding that if they had forgotten something and knocked, he would pretend to be deaf.

It then dawned on him that he was alone in his apartment with a life form whose species name had been derived from a mythical Irish goblin known for its dubious intentions. The idea had sounded better in his head. But he wasn’t going to back out now, not without trying. Best case scenario, Tomura would come around and start trusting him so he could train him properly, worst case… well, Aizawa preferred himself breathing and with his face in place.

“So, Tomura,” he said, crouching in front of the crate. ”This is my home and your new home too, I suppose. You can relax here, but I get to make the rules. Your job is to follow them to the best of your abilities, okay? I hope we can work together successfully.”

He was met with a rather suspicious-looking red stare.

He sighed. “I thought you were at least a little used to me already.”

Tomura’s nostrils flared and ears turned as he took in his new surroundings. But he pressed himself against the back wall of the crate when Aizawa reached out his hand and flipped the door latch. He opened the door just a little to show that Tomura was free to leave the enclosure when he so wished for and went to sit at the dining table where he had a view of the crate. The carrier wasn’t huge but it still took quite a lot of place in his living room. He had had to move the coffee table aside. It made him realize how small and unsuitable his apartment was. Tomura wasn’t the size of a bear but his agility and ground-covering gait were designed for much wider terrain. It made Aizawa angry to think that the phooka had probably lived his whole life in way too small confined spaces.

In good time, they would hopefully be able to house him in a proper habitat. Nezu had probably already started negotiations with national zoos. The phookas couldn’t be released in the wild, not with their captive background and the fact that nobody knew yet which part of the world they were endemic to—if they even were a result of evolution. Genetic manipulation was not yet out of the picture.

But why would someone want to genetically modify such a creature? Phookas weren’t useful to humans or aesthetically pleasing. They wouldn’t make good pets or draft animals.

The answer probably was, ‘Because we could’. Why did man travel to the moon? Because it was there. To prove it was possible. No need for more beneficial reasons.

“It’s not your fault you’re an ugly motherfucker,” Aizawa commented at Tomura who had inched close to the crate doorway and was almost peeking out. It was a good sign. Aizawa had feared that he would refuse to leave the crate for days.

Tomura remained in the doorway with his head and front paws out, peering around him and sniffing with dedication. After 20 minutes or so, Aizawa stood up and went to the kitchen counter.

“I’ve got your favourite grub here,” he said, taking out a beef clod. He began cutting it into smaller pieces. Tomura had the tendency to scarf down his food with haste, probably because he was afraid he might lose it if he didn’t hurry. They had started to cut the meat down to bite-sized pieces after the phooka had almost choked on pork liver. Soon he would hopefully feel safe enough to start eating more slowly. Tearing down a chunk of meat would provide good stimulation for him.

Aizawa dumped the pieces in the food bowl and sprinkled vitamin powder on top, mixing it in with a spoon. He took the bowls to the living room, making Tomura retreat inside the crate.

“No need to be afraid, buddy. Just got your lunch here.” He lowered the bowls on the floor in front of the enclosure and tapped the side of the one containing water before going back to sit at the kitchen table.

Tenko watches as the human sets down two bowls. The human taps at the side of one, making the water inside slosh a little, as if to show Tenko what’s inside.

This human is strange. He’s not the worst of them but Tenko has yet to decide if he can trust him. The place belongs to the human, he can tell by the strong smell. He doesn’t know why he’s been brought here or if this place is better than the previous one.

At least it can’t be worse than the one where he was before that. In all honesty, everything after that has been a huge improvement.

He wishes Hana would have been able to experience it. She would have liked the forest imitating space even with humans behind the glass barrier.

He wishes Kurogiri could have been here. He can’t be sure but he has a hunch that these humans understand their dynamics better than the previous ones.

The humans that currently hold him captive have hurt Tenko but something is different in their actions compared to the previous ones. It’s almost as if they try to be careful. True, he has been tied down and poked with sharp things too many times and something in them has made him lose his consciousness. But he has a hunch that without it he would have been in more pain. He would still gladly do without them and without those humans, especially the loud female who always seems to be the main culprit for his discomfort.

Then there’s this human, this male who has black clothes, long black hair and some shorter hairs in the lower parts of his face. The human who is always present. Most of the time, he appears tired, but Tenko is not fooled by it; the human is surprisingly sharp. He gives Tenko food and talks to him in an even, low voice, but it could all be a trick. Tenko can’t let his guard down.

He stays in the small cage until the human retreats for the night. He closes the gate to his sleeping cave, or ‘room’ as humans call it, and leaves Tenko alone to browse the place. First, he steps over to the bowls, drinks and eats a few bits of meat, then begins exploring. The place is quite small with very few hiding and climbing spots. It feels confined and bare. Tenko’s anxiety grows. His skin is itching more and more and he needs to stop several times to scratch himself. He rubs his face against the nearest rough surface he finds. His lip tears and he tastes blood.

Tenko already knows he can’t get out—humans are not careless creatures—so he succumbs to only checking what he’s dealing with. First there’s a large, open space that smells like food, both fresh and stale. Tenko browses through it quickly. He locates the food smell in a tall white box and smaller wooden boxes. He’s not hungry and there’s still some meat left in the bowl so he sees no point in trying to figure out how to get inside the boxes.

He finds a room that smells like water, chemicals and human piss. It has a big, white, shiny thing, hollow in the middle, and other shiny, slippery surfaces and items. Tenko quickly backs out of it. Beside it is a room with a bed in it. Tenko wonders why the human isn’t sleeping in it but finds he can squeeze himself underneath it and does just that. It’s not a perfect hide but better than anything else he has found. He curls up as best as he can, wraps his tail around himself and begins waiting. He knows he’s not going to get sleep any time soon.

Chapter Text

In the first week, there wasn’t much progress. Aizawa enforced Tomura’s association of the clicker sound with treats. He taught the phooka to do his business in the litter box. On one hand, it was an easy task as it turned out the creature was naturally prone to tidiness; on the other, Tomura provided Aizawa with a fair challenge by refusing to come out from under the guest room bed, meaning Aizawa had to drag the litter box to said room. In any case, Aizawa was grateful that Tomura embraced the litter box because at this point he couldn’t even imagine putting a harness on the phooka and taking him outside.

Even with the litter box and Tomura’s tendency to keep himself clean, Aizawa’s apartment started to smell like a wild beast. The phookas appeared to have a smell that resembled that of a raccoon dog but with distinct undertones of brimstone and moist forest floor, earthy yet tangy. It wasn’t exactly pleasant but it wasn’t overly strong either. Aizawa got used to it pretty quickly.

There were other positive sides such as the phooka didn’t destroy his things. That was probably because he was hiding under the guest room bed most of the time. He sneaked out to eat and use the litter box when Aizawa left the apartment or was sleeping.

Aizawa lost count of the hours he spent beside the guest room bed, sitting on the floor and talking to Tomura, occasionally throwing a treat near the edge and sounding the clicker every time the phooka inched forward to snatch it. He started adding a ‘Good boy’ into the mix too, knowing he would probably use it in the future out of habit. But he also made sure to leave Tomura alone so he could unwind.

The weekend rolled in. Aizawa was lounging on the couch, having a beer and clicking mindlessly through the channels, hoping to catch something interesting to watch. He had Hizashi on the speaker and they were chatting about this and that. Hizashi wanted to meet his new ‘pet’ but it was too early, and frankly, Hizashi wasn’t the quietest of people.

“But I’m good with animals,” he insisted. “Okay, not with bugs but anything with a vertebra. Dogs and birds especially tend to like me.”

“Tomura is neither.”

“Technicalities! He has a vertebra, doesn’t he?”

Aizawa sighed. ”You’ll get to meet him at some point, but first I have to make actual progress with him. Right now we’re still at the ‘Hiding under the bed’ phase.

A flash of blue and white caught Aizawa’s eye. Tomura peeked from around the corner before tiptoeing into full view. He kept a close eye on Aizawa as he slunk over to his water bowl and drank. Aizawa assumed the phooka would return to his stronghold after sating his thirst (had he forgotten to fill the other bowl in the guest room?) but to his absolute surprise Tomura stopped at the junction of the living room. He was looking at Aizawa and then the room. The red eyes landed on the plush dog bed in the corner.

”That’s for you,” Aizawa said, keeping his voice as even as he could. He was pretty sure the phooka had used the bed or at least visited it while he was out of the apartment. He had seen dents on the soft surface.

”What?” Hizashi asked.

”Shh, I’m talking to Tomura.” Aizawa grabbed the phone and took it off the speaker, lifting the device to his ear.

“Oh? What is happening?”

“He’s here. I think he’s considering coming in.”

“Should we hang up?”

“Nah, I think it’s alright as long as I keep my voice calm.”

“Alright, then let’s keep talking.”

Aizawa found it hard to continue as his attention was on the phooka. Tomura was still standing in the same spot, occasionally glancing towards the guest room but returning his attention to the living room. His ears kept turning back and forth, his tail tip moving in nervous flicks.

“You’re not talking,” Hizashi pointed out. “Tell me what he’s doing.”

”He’s still in the same spot, he’s hesitating. He keeps looking at me and then the room. Okay, now he took a step forward. He’s about three meters from me. He looks like he wants to come in, looks curious. I think he likes the dog bed but hasn’t had the courage to use it in my presence. Oh, now he took two more steps. He’s constantly glancing at me as if to make sure I’m not moving.” Aizawa paused. “I feel fucking stupid commentating this to you.”

“Still a better thriller than a Steven Seagal movie.”

Aizawa snorted. Tomura froze, eyeing him with suspicion.

“Just laughing at my pal’s stupid jokes,” Aizawa said. “You can go to your bed, Tomura. I’m not getting up.” Well, eventually he would have to. And he kind of had to pee, but he could still hold it in for a while.

Tomura had reached the middle of the room, although he was circling near the TV, staying as far away from Aizawa as possible. The gears were clearly turning in his head. He was evaluating the possible danger. After all, the bed was in the corner of the room, with no easy exit nearby.

“That bed is very comfy,” Aizawa continued. “I know you’ve already used it. Go ahead, it’s much more comfortable to rest in it than crouch under a bed on the hard floor.”

Tomura decided the risk was worth taking. He scurried the remaining distance to the bed and dived in as if its shallow plush walls could protect him. Aizawa recognized the behaviour as the same phenomenon as people feeling safe in their beds after watching a horror movie. The phooka turned around inside the giant donut, sinking into the center and placing his chin on the edge, his face towards Aizawa.

Aizawa breathed out. “He got in the bed. He’s lying there and looking at me.” ‘Good boy’, he mouthed at Tomura, hoping he would have the clicker at hand. The phooka just stared at him. His gaze held a tint of defiance. ‘This is my bed. I’m going to use it even with you there, human. Don’t you dare try to approach me.’

“You absolutely have to take a picture,” Hizashi decided. “Can you do it without scaring him?”

“I can try. Hold on.” Slowly, Aizawa lowered the phone and went to the camera, equally slowly aiming the lens towards Tomura. The phooka’s ears pricked and he tensed a little but didn’t get up. Aizawa took a series of pictures.

It wasn’t the first time he had shown Tomura’s pictures to Hizashi, but every time his friend sounded equally surprised. He didn’t disappoint this time either.

“Damn, he looks so weird! Like someone started sketching Nosferatu but got sidetracked by a nature documentary and ended up tossing in random animal body parts!” Hizashi fell silent for a moment, apparently taking another look at the pictures. “But he seems to like the bed. Good job, man! Maybe he will learn to appreciate the things you do for him.”

In the bed, Tomura brought his hind leg forward and scratched his neck. His eyes briefly closed as he succumbed fully to his task, the corner of his mouth tugging as the paw moved, but he opened them again quickly enough, focusing on Aizawa.

“He’s got a skin condition we still haven’t figured out,” Aizawa told Hizashi. He had told that one before, too, but he didn’t know what else to say. He just wanted to appear nonchalant for the phooka. “He keeps scratching himself and has bald, irritated spots.”

“That must be quite uncomfortable. Can’t you give him something for it?”

”It’s Nemuri’s field, that one. She’s still running tests. But the scratching is getting worse so hopefully she makes a breakthrough soon enough.” Tomura was on a strict diet that didn’t contain any common allergens and scabies and fleas were already ruled out.

“No wonder he’s cranky. I know I would be if I was constantly itching.”

“I suppose,” Aizawa huffed. His eyes met with the phooka who had stopped abusing his neck at least for a while. “Yes, we’re talking about you. But you probably knew that, didn’t you?”

Judging by the blank way Tomura was staring at him, Aizawa could have assumed the creature was deaf. But that had been ruled out too. Tomura’s hearing was very sharp. The lack of any communication attempts made Aizawa think that the phooka just couldn’t be bothered.

“You have any idea how amazing of a radio show this would make?”

“No.” Aizawa honestly didn’t see it. “And you know you can’t talk about this.”

“I know, I know. Just saying.”

“Are you running out of ideas to blab about?”

Hizashi scoffed. ”Never! But the secret to great radio shows is to find topics where no one else knows to look.”

“’Today I’m going to talk about my friend who brought a mythical beast into his flat’?”

“Wouldn’t you listen to that?”

“No, it sounds like I accidentally turned over to some woo-woo channel.”

Hizashi grunted. “Yeah, I’ve heard you’re not a fan of my radio shows. Luckily, that allows me to blab about you for all I want.”

“Just don’t talk about my new trainee.”

”I won’t, I won’t.”

Tomura was still lying in his bed when Aizawa ended the call. He looked a bit tired but alert at the same time, not ready to let go of his tension. Aizawa pushed himself to his feet. The phooka went rigid, his eyes widening and ears turning towards him. But he didn’t get up. Instead, he looked more defensive. As if he was ready to fight for his right to keep resting in the soft bed.

“Alright boy, I think it’s time to say good night,” Aizawa told him before he walked over to the light switch and flipped it. The darkness descended in the room.

He heard a soft sigh from behind him as he left the room.

The second week saw some deeply yearned changes in their relationship.

The phooka still avoided Aizawa but didn’t run away like Aizawa would skin him alive if he didn’t. He didn’t wait until Aizawa was either shut in his bedroom or out of the apartment before going to his food bowl. He began lazing regularly in the dog bed even with Aizawa in the room. Aizawa moved the litter box in the bathroom and left the door ajar. He didn’t find any stinky surprises on the floors.

Tomura also started finally expressing himself. Instead of just staring at Aizawa with suspicion or blankness or completely ignoring him, he began communicating with him. It was mostly hostile but it was progress. He had probably learned in his previous life that communicating with humans was futile and had given up. Aizawa was happy the phooka had decided to give it another try.

The week went something like this:

Tuesday

Aizawa had—after a couple of sleepless nights—dozed off on the couch and overslept their breakfast time and Tomura woke him up by dropping an empty beer bottle on the kitchen tiles. When Aizawa rushed to the kitchen, startled to the brink of a heart attack, Tomura was sitting in front of the counter. He didn’t try to bolt. Instead, he stared Aizawa intently in the eye like a weird human-faced cat-dog-bat, only briefly glancing at the shattered item as if to say ‘Oh, that one? It was like that when I got here, I have nothing to do with it. But my breakfast is late, you lazy two-legged dimwit, so maybe get to it?’

Thursday

Tomura was scratching himself like crazy. Constantly. Everywhere. On every occasion. During the daytime and even in his sleep. It was getting on Aizawa’s nerves. And there were hair, flakes of skin and even streaks of blood on the floor.

Aizawa was sipping his morning coffee and scrolling through his phone. Tomura was sitting on the floor beside his now empty food bowl and clawing at his neck like it was his full-time job. His skin was red and irritated and he was strewing dander around like that poor man in the Head & Shoulders commercial prior to using the shampoo.

Aizawa put the mug down. “Tomura. Stop scratching.”

scritch scritch scritch

“Tomura. For fuck’s sake. Stop scratching. You’re hurting yourself.”

scritch scritch scritch

”Okay, you really need to stop that now.” Aizawa got up from his chair and approached the phooka. Tomura lowered his leg, hissed and dashed to the guest room, right under the bed. The ear-bleeding, nerve-searing scritch scritch continued. Aizawa fought the urge to drag the creature out and tie his legs together. It wouldn’t be very beneficial for their sprouting relationship.

But a tiny part of him was happy.

The thing was, Tomura had hissed at him. Instead of just bolting, he had expressed his opinion to Aizawa. He was communicating.

But they still needed to make that scratching stop. Aizawa called Nemuri over.

Nemuri took a look at Tomura’s skin, crawling on the floor on all fours with her ass unnecessarily high up in the air and peeking under the bed where the phooka was still residing. Aizawa heard Tomura shifting further away from the vet but he didn’t make any sounds, not at her. She decided to start an antihistamine treatment even though they had yet to figure out what it was that caused Tomura’s rash. They hid a pill in a piece of chicken and left it on the floor beside the bed. About 30 minutes in, the scratching stopped like magic.

“So it is an allergy,” she said.

”Apparently,” Aizawa said. “But to what?”

”We need to run more tests. I reckon his diet is as minimal as it was before?”

”Yeah, he only gets boiled meat, rice and occasionally steamed salmon. And vitamin supplements.”

“No spices or dairy or other grains besides rice?”

”No. But the other day he ate a slice of orange. Or more like bit into it before spitting it out. But he’s got the rash before.”

”It could be an additive in the supplements or something,” Nemuri muttered to herself. “But until we figure it out, no removing of anything. Let the meds keep his itching at bay for now.”

“Do you need to take more samples?” Aizawa wondered how that would play out. He still refused to be present whenever Tomura experienced something unpleasant so either Nemuri had to do it by herself or they would have to phone for assistance.

“Luckily, no. I have enough to run a couple of more tests. I’m gonna check more IgE’s and antibodies to some autoimmune diseases that could fit the description. If I do require more samples, he needs to be off the antihistamines for at least a week.”

”Fun times,” Aizawa grunted.

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. I need you to make a list of things he’s exposed to on a daily basis and I’d like to see the supplement packages. I certainly hope it’s not a mast cell issue since that one would be a bitch to treat.” She stood up and placed a medicine package on the kitchen counter. “I’ll leave the antihistamines to you. One pill in the evening should be enough but if the scratching resumes, you can increase the dose. Let me know first if he has some adverse reactions to the meds. It’s non-sedative but he still might feel a bit sleepy, so it’s better that you give it to him in the evening.”

Friday

Tomura was in a visibly better mood after the torturing itch was gone. It had probably bothered him more than Aizawa or anyone else had realized.

“So Hizashi was right. I guess I would be cranky too if I was constantly itching,” Aizawa mused.

The phooka cocked his head and his tail tuft swayed in the air as if waving at Aizawa. He had not retreated under the bed after breakfast, instead choosing to linger in the kitchen and observe Aizawa having his own meal.

Aizawa had a stern no-food-from-the-table policy with dogs but he supposed he should make an exception with his current trainee. He tore a slice of ham in half and offered it to the phooka, hanging his hand close to the floor. Tomura had just eaten so he could easily ignore the treat. But he didn’t. He stared at the piece of ham intently, then looked at Aizawa, then at the ham again.

“I don’t actually know if you should have this.” Processed meat could contain some additives or spices that made Tomura’s allergy flare up. But he was on the meds now, so oh well. Aizawa’s hand just happened to slip.

Tomura hesitated until Aizawa’s arm was numb from the elbow down. Then he leaped forward, snatched the ham and was back in his previous spot before Aizawa had time to blink. He ate the meat with what seemed like uttermost satisfaction, smacking loudly with his sharp teeth on full display and licking his lips thoroughly afterwards. He didn’t ask for more but his eyes lingered on Aizawa, a silent question visible behind them. ‘Why are you doing this, human? What is your ulterior motive?’

“I have no ulterior motive, beastie,” Aizawa told him as he tried subtly shaking his arm to get the blood flowing again. “Believe it or not, I get paid for teaching you to trust humans.”

Tomura tilted his head again, ears twitching a little. Eventually, he turned around and ambled out of the room.

Saturday

Perhaps the biggest milestone was the moment when Tomura trotted over when Aizawa called him.

Aizawa was preparing the phooka’s dinner and Tomura was in the guest room playing with a dog puzzle Aizawa had bought him. He sometimes entertained himself with it even though there weren’t any treats to find, but from what Aizawa had seen, he was getting bored with it. As smart creatures as dogs were, their deduction skills couldn’t match that of phookas. Aizawa considered buying him a children’s puzzle but he was a little afraid of the ends Tomura’s intelligence could reach. Besides, he had to figure out how to motivate Tomura into completing a puzzle that had no treat reward. Perhaps a parrots’ puzzle then, if he happened to find one that suited phookas’ anatomy.

Tomura was usually aware of when he was about to get fed and lingered around the kitchen, waiting for Aizawa to put the bowl down. Tonight, Aizawa had begun prepping a little early and the dinner was leftovers from lunch so there was no smell from cooking.

“Tomura, dinner!” he called when he had the cold chicken and rice in a bowl and the phooka still hadn’t appeared. The call came out of habit; until this day Tomura had ignored it but Aizawa was stubborn.

He froze when, after a moment of complete silence, he heard light steps trotting towards the kitchen.

He peered fervently around him. Fuck, where was that damn clicker when he needed it?

“That’s a good boy,” he praised when Tomura appeared behind the corner. He took the bowl to Tomura’s feeding spot and the phooka began eating, tail swinging lazily behind him. “You came when I called.”

The phooka peeked up from his bowl, munching the cold chicken. His ears pricked when he looked at Aizawa but rotated to the sides as he resumed eating. Aizawa pulled out a ham package and dropped a slice in the bowl. The phooka only glanced at him again, not showing any signs of guarding his food. He gobbled down the ham slice. The rice was left last but he ate it too.

“Do you know what this is, Tomura?” Aizawa asked him. There was a weird, unprecedented bubbling rising beneath his sternum as he sat at the table and watched the creature lick his bowl clean. “This is what we like to call progress.”

Chapter Text

“Tomura, come and check out what I bought!”

Aizawa set the box down on the genkan floor and squatted to untie his shoes. He heard the tell-tale claw clicking against the hardwood and Tomura emerged with a leisurely pace, stopping a few meters from him. It was sort of becoming a routine. When Aizawa got home after being out for more than a quick visit to the nearest konbini, Tomura came to greet him. Or maybe it couldn’t exactly be called greeting, but at least he acknowledged Aizawa’s return. It was counted as progress, too.

After removing his shoes, Aizawa carried the box to the living room. Tomura dodged him—his personal space at the moment was about a meter and a half—but followed.

Aizawa sat down on the rug, tore the tape off the carton and opened the flaps. He pulled out individually packed colourful buttons. There were six of them, the beginner’s set. They could be attached to form a puzzle-like element.

Tomura also sat, keeping his comfortable distance, his tail tuft swaying in the air as he took in the colourful items Aizawa was arranging on the floor.

“These are so-called Talking Dog Buttons. They will help us communicate. When you press one, it sounds a word to indicate what you need or want.”

It turned out that the set Aizawa had ordered included pre-recorded words that weren’t all perhaps the most useful for communication. ‘Food’, ‘Walk’, ‘Tired’, ‘Play’. Those were alright, sure. But the last two. Aizawa wasn’t sure how ‘Bitch’ and ‘Fuck you’ would contribute to their relationship.

“I need to figure out how to reset these,” he mumbled but never actually got to it.

Tomura got the hang of the buttons fairly quickly. The first button he learned was, unsurprisingly, ‘Food’ but ‘Tired’ was not that much behind. The ‘Play’ button he mostly ignored, because it was still Aizawa who initiated every communication session and they could be still described as unsuccessful at best. Tomura liked to play by himself, engaged in brain games or tossing and catching the cat toys or sometimes the throw pillows from the couch that he had hoarded for himself. It was okay, Aizawa wasn’t a throw pillow person anyway. He couldn’t even remember why he had those things. Probably came free with the couch.

Nemuri came over to perform the weekly health check on the phooka. Tomura, while he wasn’t that fond of the vet, proceeded to display what he had learned.

‘Food,’ Tomura pressed, staring at the two humans with determination.

Aizawa shook his head. “Not before seven, you know that.”

‘Food. Food.’

“You need to be patient, Tomura. It’s not your mealtime yet.”

‘Foooood. Bitch.’

Aizawa glanced at Nemuri. “He doesn’t understand all the meanings yet.”

’Food. Bitch. Bitch. Food.’

Nemuri grinned. ”Oh, I think he does.”

‘Food. Food. Foooood.’

”Come on, Shouta, give the poor hungry troll cub something to eat.”

”Nope, we are very meticulous with our routines,” Aizawa said. “It’s the smallest things that dictate who’s in charge in this household. Besides, you as a vet should know how important regular mealtimes are.”

‘Bitch. Bitch. Food. Food. Food.’

Aizawa fixed a stern gaze at the creature. ”How about being a little more polite to the person who tends to your every need?”

‘Bitch. Fuck you.’

Nemuri threw her head back and laughed so loud that Tomura rushed out of the room and dived under the guest room bed. He had mostly stopped hiding under it, the dog bed serving as his new stronghold. Aizawa made sure that he never even implied stepping over the invisible boundary that surrounded the plush donut. When Tomura was in his bed, it was his time off. A couple of times he had even pressed the ‘Tired’ button before settling in, a cue that the phooka was retiring for the night.

“He doesn’t usually press them unnecessarily,” Aizawa said. “Only if his meal is late or if he’s prematurely hungry from playing a lot. I think he tested if he could get an extra meal while you are here. Or perhaps tried to trick you into thinking that I don’t feed him enough.”

Nemuri laughed some more. “Shouta, he’s an animal. I don’t think he could be that sneaky.”

“I totally think he could.”

“Besides, I can see you’re feeding him enough, he has gained weight. And you’ve made some significant progress with his training.”

”The fucker just flipped me off.”

“Even so. He was out here in the open with us. He communicated with us. I’m happy to admit that I was wrong. Or maybe not wrong exactly since I said the outcome couldn’t be worse but.” Nemuri shrugged. “Y’know. It’s better than I expected.”

“Thanks,” Aizawa muttered. “Still a long way to go.”

”Well, we’re not aiming to domesticate him. We just want him to stop being on edge all the time.”

Aizawa hummed, nodding in agreement.

“So, talking about food,” Nemuri continued. “I’ve got some good news. I found out what he’s allergic to. At least one thing.”

Aizawa raised his brows. ”You did?”

“Yeah, it’s rice.”

”It’s rice?” How could anyone be allergic to rice?

”It’s not very common,” Nemuri said. “But not unheard of. So until I figure out which grains are safe for him, we’re switching to another starch. I say we try potatoes and corn and see if he reacts to them.”

“I don’t think I have any. Need to go shopping.”

“I have already given instructions to the food supplier. Potato and corn mash will be included in the next delivery. Just give him meat until then.”

Nemuri did a cursory check on Tomura who was still firmly situated under the bed and snarled at her as she tried to reach him. She gave up, musing that Aizawa would probably have noticed if he had health issues besides the rash. If anything, the phooka looked much healthier than before.

She had one piece of criticism, though. “Have you tried clipping his nails?”

“Are you insane?” Aizawa retorted.

“They are getting overly long. He can’t wear them down naturally, staying inside the flat all the time. Perhaps that could be your next goal?”

Aizawa wondered how he could even get to touching Tomura’s paws, let alone clipping his nails. But Nemuri was probably right. They would have to keep practising communication and touching.

It’s mealtime. The Human calls for Tenko if he hasn’t appeared before the food is ready. Today Tenko is early, sitting by the row of wooden boxes on top of which The Human is preparing his dinner. The Human glances at him and says something. Tenko recognizes some of the sounds. One of them is ‘boy’ and another one is ‘Tomura’ which he knows The Human uses to address him. The Human’s tone is even but Tenko senses a hint of tension in it. There’s a wooden, round, four-legged item on the floor Tenko has not seen before. He wonders what it is for and what is going on.

Instead of giving him the meal, The Human lowers himself on the ground in front of Tenko. He has something in his hand, a small thing that looks like green rabbit ears. In the other, he has pieces of dry meat that Tenko likes a lot.

The Human thrusts the rabbit-ear thing forward and Tenko takes a sniff. The thing smells like plastic and metal, nothing interesting. He gets a piece of meat for it. The Human places the item on the four-legged surface and reaches out his hand, touching Tenko’s front leg. He looks down at it. The Human has touched Tenko before, occasionally, not very often. Tenko allows his touch because The Human has never hurt him. He’s a little suspicious though. Something weird is going on.

He receives another treat as The Human rubs his leg up and down before sneaking his hand underneath it and lifting Tenko’s paw a little.

danger captured run away

run away bite bite

fight run away

Tenko yanks his limb to himself. The Human was not grabbing, merely holding Tenko’s paw in his hand. He lets go immediately and leans back. Tenko fights the urge to flee, since his meal is up there on the box, waiting for him.

The Human probably doesn’t mean any harm, it’s just another trick he wants Tenko to learn.

The Human sighs. He looks like he wants to give up and stop their training session before it even properly begins. Tenko grows curious. What does The Human want? He lets out a curious sound and lifts his paw.

The Human looks perplexed, almost shocked. He’s a little late to give Tenko another treat but he does it with a lot of praising words and the clicking sound. The Human pats the wooden surface, lays his hand on top of it and looks at Tenko. When he removes his hand, Tenko places his paw on it. Delight and awe are visible on The Human’s usually blank face. Tenko is getting so many treats; at this rate he won’t have room for his dinner!

While Tenko can’t say he fully trusts this human, he has decided to cooperate. As long as The Human feeds him and respects his boundaries. The space is small and unnatural but it has started to feel if not safe then at least non-dangerous. It’s okay when it’s just the two of them, Tenko and the human male. He doesn’t like it when the loud woman comes over, but she never stays for a long time.

Besides, fighting would be a waste of energy. Tenko is stuck here with The Human. So far doing as The Human wants has made Tenko’s life easier.

The Human brings forth the rabbit-eared device, touching Tenko’s paw and nails with the metallic tip. Tenko is unsure about the item because it looks like something humans could use to hurt him. It has jaws or claws like a crab, hard and sharp. His pulse quickens and he pulls his paw back a little. Immediately The Human removes the item. Tenko waits but since nothing happens, he inches his paw forward again. ‘Get to it, Human, do what you need to do. I want my dinner.’

The Human hesitates but eventually takes hold of his paw again and brings forth the metal claws. Tenko observes the action, ready to run or fight if needed. His right paw is still free, he could swat the man across the face with it, make gnarly slashes on his fragile skin.

The Human is talking to him. Saying ‘good boy’ over and over again. The metal jaws close around one of Tenko’s nails. There’s a small pressure, a crunching sound and the tip of Tenko’s nail catapults across the air, hits one of the wooden boxes and falls to the ground.

For the briefest moment both Tenko and The Human stare at the nail tip. Neither is breathing. The silence is so complete that Tenko can hear The Human’s heartbeat.

He bolts.

He yanks his paw away so quickly that The Human reels forward. He skids through the rooms to his former safe spot, under the bed. He presses himself against the farthest wall, hiding his limbs underneath him to keep them safe. He can still feel the crunching pressure in the toe where the nail tip was cut off.

The Human can have Tenko’s meal. He’s not coming out before the man has left the place.

A couple of days later The Human shows the metal claws to Tenko again. Tenko pins his ears back, bares his teeth and hisses. The claws disappear after that.

As weeks went on, Tomura began to look more like he was supposed to. He gained a few kilos that covered his previously visible ribs. Hair started growing back in the spots that had been nothing but abused, dry, red skin. His gums and tongue adopted a healthy pink colour and his eyes shone brighter, more alert. He appeared less guarded and more relaxed and sometimes even—Aizawa hesitated to say it—content.

Aizawa couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment when things turned around. There wasn’t one clear breakthrough, but if asked, he would have been able to identify three occasions when their usually dragging progress leaped forward.

The first one had been the evening when Tomura chose to rest in the plush dog bed even with Aizawa present in the room. The second was the time he came when Aizawa called him. Everything became easier after that because he obeyed Aizawa’s call 97 % of the time. Aizawa made sure he never asked Tomura to come over for nothing. He was not a dog who was happy for any kind of attention from his owner; he needed a purpose. His train of thought followed more that of a cat: ‘What’s in it for me?’ After that things had stalled for a while. The nail-clipping disaster caused a setback in Tomura’s sprouting trust and Aizawa had to leave the phooka alone for a couple of days. Eventually, Tomura came around and began hanging around Aizawa again, but he was sure to give Aizawa an immensely disapproving look.

The third occasion happened on a quiet home night. They had eaten dinner and were done with their evening routines. Tomura was in his bed, grooming himself as he sometimes did before going to sleep. Aizawa slumped down on the couch and grabbed the remote, clicking the TV on and browsing to Netflix. He went through a selection of movies but nothing caught his interest. Why not start Better Call Saul then? It had been on his watch list for ages. With the episode duration of just under an hour, the premiere would serve as a perfect midnight snack for his insomniac brain.

He started the first episode and cracked open a can of Asahi Super Dry.

Ten minutes into the episode he caught movement in the corner of his eye.

Tomura had gotten up. He walked in front of the couch and looked at the TV screen, cocking his head.

“Is it too loud?” Aizawa asked, pausing the show. Tomura hadn’t sounded ‘Tired’, but then again he didn’t always do it. It seemed that on some level—and depending on the show that was on—he enjoyed the TV’s static background noise. “I can turn it down if you want to sleep.”

”Mrow,” Tomura said. Then he hopped on the couch and settled down next to Aizawa, tucking his paws under him and lowering his head on the cushion, very, very close to Aizawa’s thigh.

“Oh-kay,” Aizawa said, but it sounded more like an exhale.

“Mrow,” Tomura said again. “Kwrrh.”

Aizawa resumed playing the episode, but his attention kept drawing to the strange creature beside him.

Tomura was watching the show too. How much he understood was unclear, but his red eyes stared at the screen intently, his ears were turned forward and his nostrils flared every now and then as if he was trying to smell things he saw on the screen. He tensed a little when there was something intense happening in the show. He sighed when the suspenseful parts were over.

They finished the episode like that. Aizawa had missed great parts of it, the distraction beside him too compelling. He might have to watch it again—or just google the summary.

A couple of days later when he put on the second episode, Tomura immediately recognized the voice of Bob Odenkirk and hopped on the couch beside him again. And somehow that became one of their evening routines.

“We’re bonding over devious lawyers and Mexican drug lords,” Aizawa told Nezu.

“Interesting,” Nezu said. “Make sure to keep track of everything.”

During the fourth episode, Tomura nuzzled Aizawa’s hand with his nose-snout. Coaxed his head under Aizawa’s palm. Said ‘mrow’ and ‘kwerh’ and ‘gurrhr’. Aizawa petted his head slowly. His hair was coarse and shaggy and his scalp warm, a little oily. His ears felt leathery and hot to the touch. He smelled like phookas did, a mix of underbrush, brimstone and tanuki-like musk. Towards the end of the episode, he opened his mouth to a wide yawn, his jaw digging into the cushion and the top of his head rising under Aizawa’s palm.

“You tired, pal?” Aizawa asked, stroking a warm spot behind the phooka’s ear. “We’re almost at the end.”

Tomura fell asleep before the end credits, his side rising and falling along steady breathing, Aizawa’s fingers still in his hair.

Aizawa’s cold, hardened heart was melting.

Do not get attached. Do not get attached.

The phooka also learned to use the remote, but that was another story.

Chapter Text

Aizawa was dying to take Tomura out. He was getting claustrophobic and surely the phooka was too. Many times he had seen Tomura stand on his hind legs, front paws placed on a window sill, staring outside. He would do that for a long time, half an hour or even longer. But he never tried to sneak out of the door even though he must know it led to outside and he could have easily dashed past Aizawa when he came home.

If they did want to go out, Tomura would have to learn to wear the harness. Aizawa wasn’t expecting a bumpless ride, after all, he had kept touching Tomura to the minimum apart from their Better Call Saul routine and Aizawa always waited for Tomura to ask for pets. He had no illusions that making Tomura wear a gear that included tight straps would go smoothly.

He started by summoning Tomura just before his dinner time, meaning he was hungry and more eager to do things for food.

“So, this is something we call a harness,” Aizawa began, sitting on the floor with the equipment. Tomura was planted opposite of him, observing the pile of colourful straps and buckles with a slight tilt of his head. He looked a little betrayed by the fact that Aizawa had called him over but wasn’t serving him his dinner, but being the intelligent creature he was, he had quickly figured that Aizawa was about to teach him something new. Learning new things always led to rewards, aka treats.

“Mreh,” Tomura said as if to urge Aizawa to move on with their task. He wasn’t very vocal (yet, because Aizawa suspected that detail would change in the near future) but so far Aizawa had witnessed a handful of sounds that sometimes reminded him of a cheetah, sometimes a wolf and sometimes whatever mysterious beast from the undiscovered ends of the world. There was a feline-like hiss and ‘mrrp’, a raccoon’s chatter and the staccato rattle of a tokay gecko. One night Aizawa had almost shat his pants when he had been yanked awake by a blood-curdling scream. In hindsight, it had sounded more like a fox screaming but in that rare occasion of having been ripped from deep sleep, his immediate thought had been to get up and find the poor lady who was being tortured to death. Turned out, it was Tomura who had stuck his face in the toilet bowl for whatever reason and dropped the lid on his head. He wasn’t hurt, just startled, but he glared at Aizawa as if it had been his fault. Aizawa started leaving the lid down.

“Here, you can take a sniff.” Aizawa pushed the harness towards the phooka who bent down and obediently smelled the tack. Aizawa sounded the clicker and threw Tomura a piece of dried beef which he caught midair.

Aizawa took the harness in his hand. Tomura didn’t budge and seemed relaxed enough so Aizawa brought the equipment near the phooka’s shoulder and touched lightly. Tomura turned his head, looking at Aizawa’s doings questioningly.

Click. “Good boy.” A treat. Click. Another treat. Tomura ate while Aizawa rubbed the harness against his shoulder.

“Okay, this is going better than I expected.” Aizawa unclasped the harness, trying to arrange the straps and figure out which went where. It had been a while since he had last used such equipment. He had no idea if it would fit Tomura since his anatomy was different from dogs, but hopefully the thing was adjustable enough.

With Tomura curiously observing his doings, Aizawa laid the mess of straps over his shoulders. The breast piece was easily identifiable as it was wider and had thin cushioning. Currently, it was hanging sideways over Tomura’s upper back.

”It’s only the first time,” Aizawa told the phooka as much as to himself. He fed Tomura more treats while he fiddled with the harness. He was paying close attention to the phooka’s reactions. If Tomura began showing even the slightest signs of stress, Aizawa would have failed. The job would be greater next time if Tomura learned to associate any negative feelings with the harness. The key was to always stay in the positive, comfortable area.

Tomura shifted his weight. He was not nervous, not yet, but he was expressing a hint of frustration which probably originated from the fact that he didn’t understand the purpose of their training session. The phooka was so fucking smart that he usually figured out after a couple of minutes what Aizawa was after. He also understood the purpose behind most of their routines. He understood why he needed to use the litter box and why he had to wait patiently for his food (didn’t mean he necessarily liked it, though). That’s why he was so easy to train now that Aizawa had gained some of his trust. But the purpose of this colourful mess of ropes and plastic buckles and metal rings on his back went beyond his deduction skills.

Aizawa pulled the harness away and placed it on the floor between them, giving Tomura another treat. “We can stop for today. That went well. You did good, Tomura.”

He left the tack there for Tomura to examine further while he went to the fridge to get their dinners. Boiled pork and beef mince with mashed corn, a raw egg, a dollop of fish oil and a spoonful of vitamin and mineral supplement mixed in for Tomura and plain microwavable canned ramen for Aizawa.

“Why is it that you eat like a king and I get the cheapest takeout meal the nearby shop has to offer?” he asked, turning the meat and mash around so the white powder blended in.

Tomura answered by flailing his tail. The harness was lying on the floor forgotten as his attention was on the bowl waiting on the counter.

“There’s a button for going out too,” Aizawa explained, pointing towards the living room at the Talking Buttons board. “You can sound it when you want to visit the yard. But we can only do it at odd hours because we can’t risk people seeing your ghoulish face. And you need to learn to wear the harness before that.”

To Aizawa’s surprise, training Tomura to accept the harness was nothing like the nail clipping incident. The next evening, he brought out the gear again and Tomura went straight to the item, sniffing it and nudging it with his paw. It was as if he was saying, ‘Isn’t that the thing from yesterday? Weren’t you supposed to teach me something with it?’

“You want to continue right away?” Aizawa asked. He had taken out their dinner and the fridge-cold salmon fillet was resting on the counter, waiting to be dropped into Tomura’s bowl. A curious thing—one of the many—about the phooka was that he never tried to snatch food even if it would have been very easy. Aizawa was pretty sure Tomura could learn how to open the fridge or the cupboards if he so wished. He didn’t seem to bother, always either waiting for his meals or sounding the Talking Board button.

Aizawa left the food on the counter and lowered himself to the floor, picking up the harness. “Let’s practise then.”

He started in a similar way as the day before, touching Tomura’s shoulder with the tack, rubbing it around his back and sides. Tomura didn’t seem fazed. He sat relatively still, only the movement of his eyes and ears giving out that he was observing Aizawa’s doings. Aizawa spread out the straps and inched closer to the phooka so he could arrange them correctly.

“Okay, this is going a little too well,” he muttered as he gave Tomura a treat. “You’re not planning to claw me, are you?”

“Mrewh,” Tomura said.

“I’ll put the salmon back in the fridge if you swat me.”

Tomura let out a snuffle that sounded like he was telling Aizawa he was stupid.

“After dinner we can go and watch the next episode of Better Call Saul. We’ll get to Season 2 soon, did you know that?”

“Swaazr.”

“Yes, Saul Goodman. And maybe we’ll get to see Mike again. He’s your favourite, isn’t he? A stoic old man, very alpha-like. Not that I know what the alphas of your species are like.” While talking to the phooka, Aizawa kept arranging the harness. It was hanging over Tomura’s back in the way he assumed it was supposed to go. The next step would be buckling it. “Fuck it. I’m going to try. Let me know if we’re proceeding too fast.”

He fastened the strap that went around Tomura’s torso just behind his shoulders. The phooka tensed up a little at the snap of the buckle. It wasn’t tight and Aizawa adjusted the harness a little so Tomura could get used to the feeling of straps moving against his coat.

He saw a hint of worry in the phooka’s gaze as Tomura glanced down at himself at the breast piece. His ears were turning quickly and the big muscles in his thighs bulged. Maybe they should stop for the day. Aizawa gave him a treat and unbuckled the thing, removing it carefully.

”Good boy. We’ll continue tomorrow.” At this point, he was fairly certain that the phooka didn’t understand just words but also actual sentences he heard from Aizawa regularly.

But as he stood up, he saw Tomura poking at the harness curiously. He seemed more interested in the equipment than his dinner. Then he did something that made Aizawa question almost everything that he knew about animal behaviour. He took the harness in his mouth and brought it over to Aizawa, nudging his side.

“What? You not done with the practice yet?”

Tomura nudged him again. He was looking up at Aizawa’s face, a determined gaze in his red eyes. It was almost as if he was saying, ‘Don’t underestimate me, human.’

“Fine, if you really want it.” Aizawa took the harness from the phooka’s teeth. He had his suspicions but clearly Tomura was eager to find out what the strange equipment was for.

Aizawa began arranging the harness on Tomura again. The phooka stood still, only his head turning from side to side and tail swaying with slight agitation. He reminded Aizawa of the treats when he hadn’t received any for a little while.

Aizawa was sure no one had ever spent so much time putting a harness on an animal.

He managed to fasten all the buckles. The harness was a little loose but stayed in place. Tomura looked down at himself and then tried to look at his shoulders to see the straps. He turned to Aizawa and made a curious sound.

“Still trying to figure out what it’s for, huh? Well, I’ve got the leash here, too.” Aizawa took said item and brought it forward for Tomura to sniff before securing the snap hook into the ring on the harness. “There, all set. We could go out right now but I think that would be too much.”

Aizawa straightened up, however, and applied some pull on the leash. Tomura immediately went rigid as a board and dug his overgrown claws into the floor. Aizawa sighed, allowed the leash to go slack and crouched in front of the phooka.

”You wanted to try it,” he reminded the beast and gave him a treat which he ate but not as enthusiastically as before. The previous curious look was absent from his face, now he looked only unsure and tense. Aizawa could see he was battling against his instincts that told him to fight the pressure and flee.

“Yeah, I should have listened to my instincts.” Aizawa unfastened the leash. “Wanna wear the harness while you eat? Get used to the feeling?” He wanted to give Tomura a feeling of success since the phooka had been so eager to learn about the harness.

Tomura seemed to agree but he did gyrate around, scratch at the straps and shake off while trying to enjoy his dinner. But damn, if he didn’t look proud of himself after he finished his meal and was still wearing the harness. After his bowl was cleaned, he walked or more accurately pranced around in a rather comedic manner, lifting his legs unnecessarily high and wiggling a lot. Aizawa observed the show over his portion of microwaved ramen.

”Did they do something to you in your previous life or is it just your instincts kicking in?” he mused out loud.

Tomura decided he was done with the harness for the night and came to Aizawa with a demanding ‘mrew’ and a telltale full-body shake. Aizawa unbuckled the thing and Tomura stepped out of it, shaking off one more time before trotting to the living room and hopping on the couch.

“I’m still eating,” Aizawa pointed out.

Tomura found the remote on the coffee table and put his paw on it. The sound of a news anchor speaking carried over the small space. Aizawa had yet to witness the accuracy of the phooka’s finger work (or toe work) but it wasn’t the first time Tomura had opened the TV. He didn’t know how to navigate to Netflix (and Aizawa rather he didn’t learn it) but the message was clear. ‘Where is my favourite show?’

“Tomura, I’m still eating. Let me finish my meal.”

Tomura flopped down on the cushions and sighed theatrically. Aizawa rolled his eyes, hiding his smile behind his hand.

The next day, Tomura wore the harness again and allowed Aizawa to attach the leash. He tensed up again at the pull but he was clearly fighting his wild instincts. It was as if he knew something new and big was about to happen—something that he would like—but for that he needed to tolerate the harness and the leash. Aizawa tightened the straps and walked towards the living room. The phooka followed. They did a small tour around the house. The leash stayed loose.

The day after that Tomura stayed somewhat relaxed with the harness on. Aizawa tried pulling at the leash a little. Tomura pulled back at first but yielded quickly.

“Tomorrow night we could try going outside,” Aizawa said, though he did wonder if it was too soon. There was no guarantee of how Tomura would act outside. His instincts could override his domesticated side in a matter of seconds upon experiencing the outdoor world. It was amazing how quickly even the most domesticated dogs became feral when losing contact with humans.

Before their trial, he adjusted the straps again, making sure they were tight enough so that Tomura couldn’t wriggle free. Tomura didn’t like it, which he expressed by flattening his ears and scrunching up his nose. The harness wasn’t too tight, just tighter than before.

“Too bad, this is your only option to visit outside,” Aizawa told the creature. He was sitting in the genkan, putting on his shoes. The loop of the leash was around his wrist and Tomura was sitting a meter away from him. Aizawa could see gears turning under the unruly mop of white hair. Tomura knew what Aizawa putting on his coat and shoes meant; but never before had he been included like this. There was a slight tremble in his lean body, he kept shifting his weight, swishing his tail and licking his lips. Aizawa couldn’t tell if he was excited or just nervous.

“There won’t be other people, hopefully.” It was past midnight and the small inside yard was pretty secluded. Sure, someone might look out from a window but Aizawa hoped in the darkness Tomura would pass as a dog. ”You could pretend to be a French bulldog and Saluki mix.” He reached out his hand and Tomura extended his neck, allowing Aizawa to pet his head. Aizawa stood up and gave Tomura a small treat. “If only you were a darker colour, this would be a lot easier.”

He opened the door, listened to the hallway for a moment to make sure it was empty and stepped over the threshold. Tomura followed after two seconds of hesitation.

It took them fifteen minutes to get outside, mostly because Tomura refused to enter the elevator and they had to take the stairs which he also viewed as extremely suspicious. Aizawa could see why that was, after all the stairs were bare, slippery-looking and there were gaps between each step. On top of that, the hallway echoing caused Tomura to shrink in on himself. After three sets of stairs his eyes went wide as he realized there were more and more of those slippery constructions and he began quietly whining—a sound that Aizawa had never heard before.

“Let’s just take the elevator. It’s so much easier,” Aizawa encouraged him. He pulled Tomura towards the elevator door and the phooka followed. But getting him inside was whole other ordeal, especially when the automatic door tried to slide shut once Tomura placed a paw over the threshold and the phooka leaped back, yanking the leash in Aizawa’s hand. The pull threw him into a panic and he began thrashing against the restraint, letting out distressed snarls. Then suddenly he went completely limp and slumped down on the floor, a panting, whimpering lump of fur and blown-out red eyes staring into the distance with terror.

Aizawa raked his free hand through his hair. “Oh for fuck’s sake.”

His immediate thought was to return up. There simply wasn’t any plausible explanation he could give if any of the other residents happened to cross their path. But going back to the safety of the apartment would leave Tomura with the image of a scary hallway with no reward. Fuck no, they were going outside even if he had to carry the beast.

He went to Tomura, evaluated the scene for a fleeting second and hauled the phooka up, securing one arm under his chest and another under his butt. Tomura was lighter than he had anticipated but it was hard to get a proper hold of the phooka’s completely boneless body. Well, at least he was not clawing Aizawa.

He maneuvered them inside the elevator and pressed the ground floor button. As the doors slid shut, Tomura began wailing like Aizawa was about to take him to his execution. The worst part, it sounded like a donkey choking.

“God, shut up, you’re waking up the whole building!” How was it even possible for an animal to make so many different sounds?

Somehow, they made it downstairs and outside of the building. Tomura stopped crying in an instant when he smelled the brisk night air and Aizawa lowered him to the ground.

“See, you were making a scene over nothing.”

Aizawa guided Tomura to a grass patch situated between the buildings and a parking area. One side was bordered by a shallow stone wall and Aizawa sat there, waiting to see what the phooka might do. Tomura lowered his head to the ground and began smelling around, his ears and tail moving rapidly as he took in the new environment. His demeanour did a complete 180. He was still tense but excited as well. Seeing his amazement totally made up for their difficult journey down.

”You should start doing your business here. Not that I’m complaining but cleaning your litter box is not my favourite part of this housing arrangement.”

Tomura roamed around the small area, completely engaged in new sights and smells, but he did squat to pee eventually. Aizawa sounded the clicker. He was not sure if the phooka heard it.

They stayed in the yard for 40 minutes. Aizawa began feeling cold in his thin coat. The January nights could be chilly and he had forgotten to bring gloves and a scarf. Tomura looked a little cold too, shivering occasionally, but it wasn’t enough for him to stop his exploring.

”Alright, time to go back inside. It’s way past our bedtime. We can come back tomorrow night.”

Tomura was a little reluctant to leave but with some coaxing and a handful of treats he followed Aizawa back inside the building. He didn’t want to enter the elevator this time either, instead pulling towards the stairs. He scurried up them, forcing Aizawa to lope after him. They made it up to his apartment faster than the elevator would have taken them. Tomura stopped behind the correct door, probably recognized by the smell, and waited for Aizawa to open it.

“All in all, I think that went well. You were a good boy,” Aizawa said as he unharnessed the phooka in the genkan. Despite the scene in the hallway, Tomura had behaved exemplarily in the harness. He had quickly understood the range of the leash and, even more notably, accepted it. He had not tried to bite the leash or pull the harness over his head. Aizawa had expected him to protest returning inside more.

With his tail in a high, proud curve, Tomura strode to his water bowl, lapped up some water and padded to the living room, jumping on the couch and looking at Aizawa expectantly.

“No Saul Goodman tonight,” Aizawa said, hanging his coat on the rack. “It’s too late.”

“Mrow,” Tomura said and poked at the remote.

“It’s late, Tomura. It’s sleep time.”

”Mraaw!”

Aizawa stopped and placed his hands on his hips, a little confused by Tomura’s sudden stubbornness. “Tomura, no Saul Goodman tonight. Now go to bed.” He pointed at the plush bed in the corner.

Tomura took the remote and dropped it on the floor with a clunk. The battery cover broke away and one of the batteries rolled out. The sound was horribly loud against the wooden floorboards.

”No! Go to your bed.” Aizawa took a warning step towards the phooka who cowered against the cushions. But he didn’t look scared. Instead, there was a spark in his eyes Aizawa hadn’t seen before. He pinned his ears back and bared his teeth when Aizawa approached him, his tail swishing against the cushions.

“Bed, now.”

Tomura snarled and hissed. Then he lashed out with his right paw, claws extended, before bolting to his bed with two long leaps.

Aizawa realized a second later that the phooka wasn’t being serious. In his bed, Tomura lowered his chest on the floor and looked at Aizawa with his ears pricked and tail wagging. When Aizawa started towards him, he bolted again and rushed to the other side of the room, then turned to Aizawa, this time his tongue hanging out.

“Oh god, you’re not having evening zoomies, are you?” It was past midnight. Aizawa absolutely couldn’t play with a wild phooka at this hour in an apartment building. “You’re too big to get evening zoomies, in every sense of the word.”

Tomura apparently disagreed and ran to the guest room, then across the small hallway and to Aizawa’s bedroom. By the sound of it, he had jumped on Aizawa’s bed.

“If I liked evening zoomies, I would have gotten a puppy!” Aizawa called towards the bedroom and went to pick up the remote and the battery. He sat on the couch and turned the TV on.

He didn’t have to wait for long. Hearing the first tunes of Better Call Saul’s intro, Tomura returned to the living room with haste. He jumped over the armrest, meaning he landed directly on Aizawa’s lap, long claws digging into Aizawa’s thighs. Thankfully Aizawa was still wearing jeans but a breathless ‘oomph’ left his lips nonetheless.

“Tomorrow we’re bringing back the nail clipper,” he told Tomura who was settling in his usual spot on his right side, still panting from his little bout.

“Mre-eh.”

”Yeah, yeah, you won tonight. But only one episode! Then you’re going straight to bed.”

Tomura plopped his chin on Aizawa’s thigh, peering at him from under his fringe with an expression that could only be described as ‘I’ve seen your weakness, human, and I’m planning to take full advantage of it’.

Aizawa brought his hand behind Tomura’s ear and scratched lightly. “You’re one curious thing, did you know that?”

Tomura answered with a smug, satisfied purr.

Chapter Text

Encouraged by Tomura’s recent receptiveness, Aizawa began initiating play sessions with him. It didn’t always work because Tomura didn’t do things just to humour him, but every now and then he caught the phooka in the right mindset. Sometimes Tomura preferred physical activity such as chasing a teaser but many times he wanted to rack his brain with the games and puzzles Aizawa had bought him. But honestly, Aizawa was running out of ideas. Dog puzzles and brain games were not enough for the phooka and Tomura saw no point in trying to put together a human puzzle—nor did he have the proper anatomy for it.

“Should I buy you a Rubik’s Cube?”

”Nyaar,” Tomura said and shook his head. He had most apparently learned the gesture from Aizawa but didn’t understand the meaning that well. He sometimes did it just to see Aizawa’s reaction when he suggested something. Aizawa was certain that if phookas could laugh, Tomura would have been snickering at his stunned expression.

Aizawa purchased a big wooden Tic Tac Toe. He expected Tomura to catch the idea of the game quickly and the phooka did just so. The game didn’t become one of his favourites, however, because Aizawa won most of the time. Letting Tomura win didn’t play out well either, since he realized Aizawa was giving him a handicap. One of their games ended in Tomura seizing the board with his teeth and throwing it across the room.

“Someone is a sore loser,” Aizawa hummed, standing up to collect the pieces.

Tomura pressed the ‘Fuck you’ button and hopped on the couch, clicking the TV on and turning the volume up high. He had done that once at three a.m. which had resulted in Aizawa locking the remote away for a week. Tomura still didn’t know how to open Netflix and Aizawa preferred it stayed that way. He always made sure to conceal the correct buttons from the phooka’s eyes (even if Tomura sometimes tried to sneak a peek).

“Just how fucking smart are they?” Aizawa asked Nemuri during her weekly visit. “Have you talked to the Irish vet about it? I’m getting kinda scared.”

”I don’t think it has been tested but her guess was that they are at least as smart as toddlers.”

“I’d say smarter.”

”Maybe? I hope you’re taking lots of notes. But you know, you can always bring him back to the facility if you’re afraid he’s plotting your murder.”

”That’s not going to happen. Not when he’s making so much progress now.”

“Suit yourself. I hope we’ll soon get another sample that you won’t hoard to yourself. You know, a phooka we actually get to keep in the center.” She smirked.

“Oh, have you got more clues?”

“Yes! I happened to hear Nezu talk with authorities the other day. We might get our second phooka sooner than we thought!”

“Rumi will be delighted.”

”Shit, yeah, tell me about it! She is not shutting up about it and the beast hasn’t even been found yet, let alone promised in her care.” Nemuri turned to look at Tomura who was lying on his back on the rug, tossing a soft ball in the air and catching it with all his four paws. While he didn’t like Nemuri, he mostly tolerated her presence and examinations nowadays when Aizawa was there to encourage him (Aizawa had figured that at this point Tomura wouldn’t make any ill associations anymore even if he was present). Occasionally he did find a reason to press the ‘Bitch’ button and watched intently for the vet’s reaction.

“So how is your ‘not domesticating Tomura’ project going?” she then asked with an arched brow. “From what I’ve seen, he’s becoming a big housecat.”

“He’s like that only with me,” Aizawa corrected. Okay, so maybe Tomura was becoming more pet-like than his previous wild trainees but didn’t that also tell something about the species? How easily they could be domesticated when given a chance. The other shelters and zoos could benefit from that piece of information. “How is the phooka they’ve got at Shiketsu?”

“She’s doing fine. She’s mostly docile but can be unpredictable at times. They keep her in an enclosure much like the one at our center,” Nemuri said, emphasizing her last words. Aizawa ignored it. He was certain that given Tomura’s guarded and evaluating nature, taking him back to the facility so soon possessed a considerable risk of him reverting.

“Did they come from the same place?”

”They did but they were kept in different enclosures,” Nemuri fell silent for a moment, an uncharacteristically serious look on her face. “She has been bred at least once. No trace of the possible cubs if they made it. The information Nezu and Yagi have managed to gather suggests that they probably tried to breed Tomura too but failed.”

”You sure it failed?”

”Yes. I’ve examined him several times. He has not given birth. But remember when they told us there was another phooka in the same cage—let’s just call those cramped boxes what they were—and that unfortunately he had perished when they were discovered.”

“Yes.” Aizawa wished the phookas had been found just a little earlier. The thought of Tomura—who was now becoming more playful and relaxed by the day—in a small, dirty cage with a dead fellow phooka made him sick to his stomach.

“We can’t be sure, but Nezu thinks they wanted those two to mate but the other phooka refused, so they starved him. They had no equipment for artificial insemination so their only option was to get them to do it the traditional way.”

“And starving them is the way to do it?”

”Hey, beats me! Maybe they just got frustrated and wanted to punish them. From what I’ve learned, the keepers weren’t exactly professionals in animal care.”

”Was the other phooka an alpha?”

”No, a beta. In theory he should have been able to fertilize an omega but for some reason it didn’t happen.”

Aizawa had a couple of theories of his own, the first one being that not many animals wanted to reproduce when there were more urgent matters, such as lack of a comfortable environment and food.

“So we’re hoping that the third phooka we get a hold of is an alpha. Because, you know.” Nemuri shrugged. “We are expected to participate in the international breeding program.”

“Maybe let’s not get too ahead of ourselves,” Aizawa muttered, leaning to the side to take a look at Tomura. The phooka had the ball in his paws but his eyes were on them. Aizawa saw a calculating glint in the phooka’s gaze. Then, with an aim that even Simo Häyhä would have been jealous of, he hurled the ball right into the back of Nemuri’s head.

”Oww, what the fuck!” Nemuri burst, spinning around. The ball was too soft to hurt but she rubbed her head all the same. Tomura sprang to his feet and surged to his bed where he took cover and hissed at her.

“He fucking did that on purpose, didn’t he?”

Aizawa was having a hard time keeping a straight face, especially when Tomura stared back at him with obvious glee. “Maybe.”

“Fucking hell. What a sadistic beast.”

“He remembers what you’ve done to him.”

Nemuri let her arm fall and sighed dramatically. “Yeah, yeah, the fate of a vet. Never getting the deserved appreciation from my patients, instead being the most loathed human in their lives.”

“I think his previous keepers have a pretty good grip on that trophy.”

One night after dinner and a bath (an activity that had taken quite a lot of training for Tomura to accept, not because he didn’t like water but because of the slippery surface of the tub) Aizawa was sitting at the kitchen table, browsing news headlines on his phone with one hand and swaying a teaser absentmindedly with the other for his unusual flatmate. It was late so he didn’t want to initiate anything too rough but Tomura had some pent-up energy he was hoping to wear out before going to bed.

He was so engaged with an article about a train accident in the neighbouring town that at first he failed to register what happened. He simply felt a sharp pull on his hand and something else that he immediately couldn’t quite put together but that he knew he shouldn’t have felt. He dropped the phone on the table and yanked his hand to himself.

Tomura was frozen in a position like he was waiting for a starting pistol to go off. He was looking up at Aizawa’s hand so Aizawa looked at it too. There were deep dents on both sides of his palm and they were quickly filling with blood.

For the following seconds both Aizawa and Tomura just stared at the bleeding hand, completely unmoving and silent. Then Tomura whined and backed away, crouching beside a wall.

“It’s okay,” Aizawa assured him. “It was an accident.” He staggered up, went to rip a handful of paper towels out of the roll and pressed the clump against the wound. The initial shock was fading and the injury began to burn and throb at an accelerating pace. Aizawa pressed the towels against it for a good minute before daring to take a peek.

Yup, it needed stitches. Besides, he would have to get a tetanus booster and probably antibiotics as well.

Aizawa grabbed his phone and dialled the first contact to pop into his head.

Hizashi picked up after five rings.

”Hey man, you doing something important right now?”

Hizashi hummed. ”Hmm, it depends. Why are you asking?”

“You’ve said you want to meet Tomura.”

“Yes?”

”Can you come over?”

”Now? But it’s already past nine.”

”Excuse me, are you 31 or 81?”

Hizashi laughed but sounded a little absentminded. He was probably working. “What’s going on, Shouta? Just spit it out.”

Aizawa sighed. “I have to go to an emergency clinic and I need someone to look after Tomura meanwhile. I’ve never left him alone this late and who knows how long it’s going to take?”

”Wait, why do you have to go to an emergency clinic?”

“Tomura bit me. I need to get it bandaged or stitched up.”

”Your feral ward bit you and you want me to come and babysit him?”

“I’d ask Rumi but she’s out of town. And Tomura didn’t do it on purpose. He was trying to catch a toy and my hand got in the way.”

He heard a suspicious murmur from the other end.

”Are you available or not? Because I really need to get going and I have to call Yagi or Nemuri but Tomura hates them bo–”

”I’ll be there in 20.”

Blood was seeping through the paper towels. Aizawa grabbed a kitchen towel and pulled it tight around his hand, then rummaged through drawers until he found a roll of masking tape. He used a good half a meter of it to secure the towel into place.

Tomura was curled up in a corner, paws tucked underneath him, tail wrapped around his body, red eyes peering timidly up to Aizawa. If Aizawa didn’t know better, he would have said the phooka looked ashamed. Afraid and ashamed.

“’s okay, boy, really. It was an accident.”

Tomura’s tail tip swayed a little.

“I need to go to a hospital anyway. Don’t know how long it’s going to take but my friend is coming over to keep you company. He’s a nice man. A little loud but he won’t hurt you. His name is Hizashi.”

”Mrzaw.”

”Yes, Hizashi. You can watch Better Call Saul together or something. I mean the earlier episodes. Don’t get ahead without me, you understand?”

Tomura lowered his head on his paws and sighed, eyes still lingering on Aizawa through his unruly bangs. He knew something was going on. That something new was going to happen.

Hizashi was fast. Aizawa’s phone clocked 17 minutes since the end of their call. He was also smart and didn’t ring the doorbell, instead texting Aizawa to come and open the door.

”It’s him,” Aizawa told Tomura as he got up from his chair. “I need you to be on your best behaviour, okay?”

Hizashi’s eyes immediately landed on the makeshift bandage concealing most of Aizawa’s hand. “Jesus. Can you even drive?”

“Called a taxi. And it’s not so bad, he just nicked a vein good.”

“Are you sure he’s not aggressive?”

”No, we were playing and he caught my hand instead of the toy.”

“But towards strange people?”

Aizawa would have lied if he had said he wasn’t a little worried. But he had no choice. And he wanted to trust Tomura. ”He’s mostly been evasive of strangers, not aggressive.”

Hizashi didn’t look convinced. “Alright, let’s see what we’re dealing with then.”

Tomura visibly tensed when he saw the strange human walking into his space.

Hizashi stopped and his eyes widened. “That him?”

“No, that’s the other fairytale troll I’m keeping in my apartment.”

”Shut up. I just… I had no idea he’d be so big! You can never get a clear picture from photos.” Hizashi wiped his face and continued up on top of his head, running fingers through his hair. They caught in the elastic band keeping his hair in place and he pulled it free. “I thought he’d be the size of a big cat or, like, a Labrador at most.”

But because Hizashi was Hizashi, he crouched down in front of Tomura, leaving a comfortable distance between them and straightened his arm towards the animal, the back of his palm up. “Hey buddy. You are bigger than I thought. Damn, you’re one weird looking thing, aren’tcha? Like a Pokémon prototype the designers discarded as too scary for kids. What’s with those ears? You part bat or something?”

As expected, Tomura remained rigid as a board. Aizawa saw only his eyes and nostrils move a little as he took in the new human.

”Will you be alright? I can still try to reach Yagi.”

Hizashi stood up and stepped away from the phooka. ”Nah, we’ll be fine. Get going already, will you? I think I saw a vacant taxi parked in front of the house. The meter is ticking.”

Aizawa went to the genkan, Hizashi following two steps behind him. He wiggled the coat on himself and forced his feet into the sneakers. Everything was surprisingly hard with one hand.

“Just turn the TV on, Tomura likes it. But don’t let him watch Better Call Saul ahead of the episode we’re at.”

Hizashi’s face was the epitome of bewilderment. He looked like he very much wanted to ask but instead he just opened the door for Aizawa and shooed him out. The door clunked shut quickly after, Hizashi perhaps fearing that Tomura could try to escape.

The waiting area in the emergency clinic was as crowded as ever. After talking to the nurse behind the info desk and the initial evaluation, Aizawa was declared as not the most urgent patient—there were mothers with red-faced wailing children and a woman with such severe stomach pain that the more correct address for her would have been the ER—so he went to get a cup of coffee from an automat and tried to make himself comfortable in a cheap plastic chair. His hand was throbbing and tingling but that wasn’t his main concern; he was more worried about Tomura and his new babysitter.

After sitting in the waiting area for almost an hour, he texted Hizashi.

‘I think this is going to take a while. Everything okay?’

‘yeah, everything’s fine. just take your time.’

Hizashi was able to answer him so that must mean that he was still breathing and had at least one arm attached to his body. Aizawa willed himself to calm down. Tomura would probably hide under the bed if anything.

He was on his third cup of stale automat coffee when he was finally called in.

He cooked up a story about playing with his dog and the dog accidentally biting him. Yes, it was a friendly dog, just a little boisterous sometimes. What breed? Oh, uh, a Rottweiler and St. Bernard mix. After blurting that out he hoped the doctor didn’t ask to see a picture.

Luckily the doctor was in a hurry with the waiting area still packed with patients and he worked efficiently, cleaning and stitching up the wound and then jabbing Aizawa’s shoulder with a tetanus booster.

Aizawa left the examination room with a white bandage around his hand and a prescription for antibiotics in his pocket.

There were no calls or more texts from Hizashi. That must be a good thing, right? Hizashi would have called if something was amiss. Except if he hadn’t had the time to do it. If Tomura had suddenly attacked him or…

Everything seemed calm in the building. No ambulances or police tapes marking a suspected homicide scene. Aizawa still felt uneasy when he opened the door to his apartment. It was quiet apart from faint noises that sounded like a TV show. A light was on in the genkan and in the kitchen.

He removed his shoes and inched further, peeking around the corner with growing worry.

The sight that greeted him made him blink several times.

Hizashi was sprawled on the couch, legs propped up on the coffee table. Tomura was also on the couch, curled up in a ball except for his head that was resting on Hizashi’s lap, and watching whatever was playing on the screen. Hizashi’s hand was stroking the phooka’s hair absent-mindedly. Seeing Aizawa, he lifted his free hand.

”Hey man, how did it go? You gonna live?”

Tomura sprang up upon seeing Aizawa and jogged over to him, tail swishing anxiously and small whines erupting from his throat. He pushed against Aizawa’s legs and hand, circling him while grunting and crooning. Aizawa was stunned. Tomura often came to greet him when he came home, but he merely acknowledged Aizawa’s return; he never fussed around him like a dog suffering from separation anxiety.

“I think the little buddy was worried,” Hizashi said, wiping his hands on his pants and hauling himself to his feet. “Why didn’t you tell me he’s such a lapdog? The atmosphere was a bit tense at first but we got along well after the initial ice melted. He’s a real cuddler, that one. Or is it ‘she’? You use male pronouns for him but I’m telling you, man, that thing’s got some pretty obvious lady parts on him.”

“He’s a male omega.”

”The fuck is that?”

”A long story.” Aizawa glanced down at Tomura who was still circling his legs and letting out mewls that sounded both worried and relieved. “Thank you, Hizashi. I owe you one.”

”No problem, man. I’ll babysit this ugly-cute fuzzball any time you need.”

“So what did you do? Did you watch Better Call Saul?”

”Nyaar!” Tomura declared.

”We watched Gremlins,” Hizashi supplied, shrugging right after. “You know, because he kinda looks like one.”

Tomura sat right in front of Aizawa, head tilted back, staring intently at him like a shepherd dog. His wagging tail was sweeping an inverted triangle in the dust covering the floor. Yes, it had been a while since Aizawa had vacuumed. He had put it on Tomura getting scared by the loud noise but perhaps it was time to admit that was just an excuse.

”I hope you didn’t get any ideas from it,” Aizawa said, reaching to stroke the phooka’s head between his ears.

“Oh, I don’t know. At first he was on Gizmo’s side but towards the end he started to relate to Stripe more I think.”

“So when he starts chasing me with a chainsaw I know who to blame?”

“Well, it was either Gremlins or Devilman Crybaby and the latter has scenes that might not be suitable for such innocent eyes.”

“You’re telling me there were only two options to watch on my Netflix?”

”I had to distract your goblin baby! He kept making weird noises, like ‘szaarz’ or ‘swoors’ and tried to snatch the remote from my hand.”

“Yeah, that means Saul Goodman.”

Hizashi blinked and mouthed ‘what in the living hell’ before shaking his head. “Anyway, I picked Gremlins, he was content and you’re welcome. Always happy to help a pal out. But seriously though, I’ll come and look after him again if you need me. We still have the sequel to watch, don’t we, Tomura?”

“Nref!”

“I’ll take that as a yes.” He leaned down and shout-whispered in the phooka’s ear, “Has Shouta told you about Breaking Bad?”

Aizawa rolled his eyes. ”Yes, it’s on our list.”

“Great. In my humble opinion, it’s still the better of the two. But oh well, I guess I’ll be heading home now.”

”Wanna crash here?” Aizawa asked. “The guest room bed is made, I think.”

“Nah, it’s alright. I still need to work on my show.”

”But it’s already past one.” While Aizawa himself was a chronic insomniac, some people actually needed sleep to function.

Hizashi smirked. “Well, some of us need to work like we’re 31.” He took his coat and shoes and pulled them on. “Bye then, Tomura. See you soon.”

Tomura waved his tail tip at Hizashi as he left the apartment.

A couple of days later Aizawa received a message from Rumi. The authorities had found the third phooka and brought it to the facility. It was assigned to Rumi. She was over the moon about it.

The new phooka was a male alpha. They called him Dabi.

Chapter Text

Days blended together and before Aizawa knew it, they were already in February. After Tomura had learned to wear the harness, Aizawa felt he was under control in the small yard, and he had introduced Tomura to the back seat of his car, he took the phooka to an enclosed dog park. It was late at night, no dogs or owners around and the park was mostly concealed by large trees and bushes. He knew he was taking a risk, but he wanted to give Tomura this. Wanted to give him a chance to explore the outside world without the constant pull of the leash.

He realized his mistake when he had already let Tomura off the leash and the phooka was curiously sniffing grass, taking in his surroundings.

The park fence was chain-link.

While it served its purpose to keep dogs inside, it wasn’t much of an obstacle for a climbing animal.

“Fuck,” Aizawa cursed under his breath. He hoped Tomura wouldn’t notice. At the moment the phooka was more interested in smelling the plants and grass and an occasional dog shit (which made him visibly grimace and quickly retreat). He seemed the most excited Aizawa had ever seen him so he didn’t have the heart to immediately call him back. But he did start to think about excuses to tell Nezu and the facility.

Tomura skipped around the enclosure, even spurted and binkied like a rabbit, showing off his extraordinary agility and speed and making Aizawa realize that he could never catch the phooka if he decided to run away. Tomura let out small thrilled noises and rolled around in the grass but first made sure there was no dog poop.

Eventually he became aware of the chain-link fence, stopping in front of it and sizing it up and down with eyes that shone in the dim light like a cat’s. He put his front paws (that looked so much like hands) against the metal, testing its adherence, making it rattle. Gathering his hind legs beneath him and swishing his tail, he was preparing to kick off the ground. Aizawa’s heart leaped into his throat.

He took a step towards the beast but made himself stop, realizing that if he showed any signs of worry or, god forbid, tried to chase the phooka, Tomura would bolt. He would be over the fence before Aizawa had taken two steps. Rule number one with any animal, domesticated or wild: Do not fucking chase it.

He forced himself to turn back towards the bench where he had left his water bottle and Tomura’s treats and leash.

“Tomura,” he called, making his voice sound as unconcerned and light as possible. “Come on, boy, it’s getting late. Time to go home.”

He picked up the leash and the treat bag, glancing over his shoulder. Tomura had his head turned towards him, ears moving with hesitation. One of his front paws was still holding the fence, the other one touching the ground. Then he tilted his head back, looking up the fence again.

He knew as undeniably as Aizawa that there was nothing the human could do to prevent him from escaping.

“Tomura, come here!” Aizawa called again and shook the treat bag. Please don’t climb the fence. Please don’t climb the fucking fence.

Aizawa realized that he had put his mental money on Tomura running away, because why wouldn’t the phooka do it? Humans had caused him nothing but harm and while Aizawa tried his best, roaming free and wild in nature totally outweighed living in a cramped human apartment.

His knees almost gave away because of the surprise-filled relief that whooshed over him when the phooka let go of the fence and started trotting towards him. He managed to keep a nonchalant composure until Tomura reached him and he secured the snap hook into his harness.

His voice was shaking when he praised the phooka and fed him a handful of treats. “Good boy, Tomura. Good boy.”

After they had returned to Aizawa’s car and he opened the back door, Tomura jumped inside of his own volition and lowered himself on the seat, not batting an eye when Aizawa attached the harness to the seat belt and closed the door.

”Good boy,” Aizawa said again because he was void of other words. He gave Tomura a small extra meal after they got home. He wondered if the phooka regretted not seizing the perfect opportunity to escape.

He did not take Tomura to that park again.

“Rumi is coming over tomorrow with the alpha,” Aizawa told Hizashi on the phone. Dabi had been at the center for a month and had mostly settled into his new environment so they reckoned it was time for the fellow creatures to meet.

“Oh, you’re gonna try to breed them already?”

”No, we’re just introducing them. See how they react to each other.”

”I wanna be there to see it.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, having too many strange humans hanging around. Tomura needs to feel like he’s in control of his space.” He glanced over at the phooka who was arranging the throw pillows in his bed. Some evenings, he spent quite a lot of time arraying them in an order only he could see. Sometimes, he didn’t even remember them, leaving them discarded all over the living room. But when Aizawa had taken the pillows back and put them neatly on the couch, Tomura had looked almost hurt and snatched them back, glaring at Aizawa like he was the thief.

“Come on, man. Rumi’s gonna be here anyway, isn’t she?” Hizashi objected. “I mean, she’s not gonna just throw the alpha in through the door and let you deal with the results. She’s gonna stay and observe. And Tomura doesn’t mind me. I’m not a stranger anymore.”

“Still, too many people might interfere with their communication. Besides, it’s my first time meeting the alpha too. He has been isolated from other animals and humans alike, with the exception of Rumi. To my understanding, he’s wary of humans and possibly aggressive.”

“Yet you’re bringing him to your tiny apartment.”

“First of all, my apartment is bigger than yours. Secondly, we want them to meet on Tomura’s ground.”

“First of all, I don’t keep wild animals in my flat. Secondly, what if the other phooka attacks Tomura and you can’t pull them apart?”

That was actually something Aizawa was a little worried about. But Rumi had assured him that she had the alpha under control, whatever the fuck that meant. “How would you being here help with that?”

”One more set of hands to separate them.”

“Or one more person to rile them up.”

Hizashi huffed. “Alright, at least take a video of their meeting, okay?”

“That I can promise.” He had to do it for Nezu and the rest anyway.

“I hope it goes well. I don’t want our cute troll baby to get hurt.”

From the first glance it was obvious that the two were of the same species despite them being different colour. Dabi’s coat was purple mahogany apart from the hair on his head, tail tuft and feathers that were stark black. He had visible scars of which some looked like burns, but the most prominent feature was his strikingly blue eyes. They were the shade of aquamarine: electric and piercing. Aizawa had never seen such colour on a creature whose coat was completely dark, which pointed towards genetic manipulation.

“He’s gorgeous, isn’t he?” Rumi said, grinning widely at Aizawa’s stunned expression. “But a complete asshole.”

Whereas Tomura had been evasive and quietly hostile, Dabi was oozing self-confidence and boldness, teetering on arrogance.

Upon stepping over the threshold, he pulled straight to Aizawa, sniffing him all around without hesitation and poking him with his nose. His ears were pricked and he carried his tail in a high curve, the tufty tip swishing from side to side like he owned the place. He seemed docile enough but he had that aura of a tamed tiger: you could live with it peacefully for years until one morning you became the beast’s breakfast.

Aizawa turned his hand around, letting Dabi sniff his palm before slowly reaching for his hair to pet him. That’s when the phooka dodged and pulled away.

”Didn’t think so,” Aizawa mused, letting his hand fall to his side.

Rumi chuckled. “He does enjoy a good scratch every once in a while, but it has to happen on his own terms.”

Dabi pivoted from Aizawa, rushing in the opposite direction, towards the living room. Rumi held the leash tight, stopping the alpha in his tracks. Dabi turned to look over his shoulder, casting a disapproving glare at Rumi who merely shook her head.

“Remember what we talked about? You have to behave.”

Dabi let out a snort that could only be described as contemptuous before turning his attention back to Tomura who had gone iron still, cowering in the middle of the living room rug. Under the fringe his red eyes were huge and his nostrils widened as he took in the fellow creature.

* *

There’s an alpha in his space.

Every muscle in Tenko’s body has gone rigid. His mind is skipping between options. The alpha doesn’t seem hostile. He has lowered himself on the ground, ears forward, tail wagging. His expression is eager.

alpha kin friend? Tenko’s conscious mind asks.

mate? his hindbrain suggests. Tenko ignores it.

Because why does it have to be an alpha? Couldn’t they find him an omega or a beta playmate?

‘Hey, omega,’ the alpha greets.

Tenko doesn’t answer. He waits, on guard.

‘This your place, huh? Your den?’

Tenko still keeps quiet. The alpha inches closer, staying low and approaching with his shoulder first, possibly trying to appear unintimidating. He looks like he has had a rough past; he’s quite young to carry scars like that. Tenko wonders what happened to him.

’I used to call myself Touya. The new humans call me Dabi and I kind of like it more. What about you?’

’Tenko.’

The alpha’s tail thumps against the ground, cheerful. ’Hi, Tenko.’

Tenko glances over to the humans. They are staring at him and Dabi, evidently taking notes of their behaviour. He remembers the female from the previous location he was kept in. She is loud and boisterous but she never actually hurt Tenko. Quite the opposite, she mostly stayed away from him.

Now she has brought the alpha here. She is holding him in a system of straps quite similar to what Tenko’s human uses when they go outside. A harness, it’s called, isn’t it? Does it mean that Dabi lives with her the same way Tenko lives with his human?

‘Can I smell you?’ Dabi interrupts his thinking process.

‘…I guess.’

Dabi proceeds, then frowns when he feels a tug of the harness. He glances down in irritation. ‘Damn, this doesn’t really work with this stupid rope.’

He turns his head towards the female human. ‘Hey human, untie me!’ He takes the rope between his teeth and yanks, making his point clear.

* *

“Do you think it’s a good idea? Tomura still seems wary of him.”

Rumi crouched next to the bigger phooka, unfastening the snap hook but leaving the harness on. ”Nah, Dabi will play nice. If not, I’ll just put him back on the leash. He knows I can do that. He knows I can kick his ass.”

Aizawa peered at her. “Dare I even ask?”

Rumi told him because that’s how she was. ”During one of our earliest training sessions he suddenly lunged at me.” She lifted her arm, showing distinct bite and claw marks on her skin. “Wouldn’t let go, was like a fucking mad pit bull latched on to its prey, the stubborn fuck. I had to choke him unconscious to get him to loosen his grip.” She slapped her thighs, very mentionable muscles bulging underneath the thin leggings fabric, and chuckled at Aizawa’s horrified face. “After that it’s been peaceful. Easy even. I don’t think he likes me, but he respects me and works with me. I think he’s one of those you need to assert your leadership to by sheer force. I don’t know if it’s all alphas or just this one. I take it you didn’t have to wrestle Tomura into submission?”

”No, if anything, he was evasive. Took him ages to come and sniff me of his own volition. And it took me almost two months to gain some sort of trust in him.”

“I take my imaginable hat off to you. Honestly, I would have given up. I prefer the more straightforward approach I had to take. We fought for dominance, I won. I’m the boss now and Dabi acknowledges it, he respects it. It makes everything less complicated.” Rumi trailed off to look at the two creatures crouching on the floor, still sizing up each other. Dabi was wagging his tail and bobbing his head slowly, making curious rumbling and cooing sounds. Tomura remained quiet, eyeing the alpha with various emotions crisscrossing over his face, ears turned back in suspicion, limbs tense, ready to flee. Damn, the beasts could be expressive.

“Maybe don’t tell Nezu I choked my assigned phooka unconscious?” she said then, side-glancing at Aizawa.

“I won’t but there’s a surveillance camera in the room.”

”Yes, but they are not staring at the footage all the time. I’d rather they didn’t have a reason to go through the old tapes.”

* *

Once freed, Dabi crawls closer until his shoulder is right under Tenko’s face. Carefully, he brings his nose near Tenko’s neck, breath warm against his skin. While he takes in Tenko’s scent, Tenko does the same, inhaling near the alpha’s scent gland. He smells like soil and fallen leaves, with a burnt, bitter undertone. Very alpha. Pieces of information flash in his brain: young male, unmated, virile, strong, could be hot-headed, probably produces healthy offspring.

Dabi’s ears keep turning as he gathers information from Tenko. Tenko knows the alpha can tell he is unmated too and at a good age for breeding. He then proceeds further along his side, nudging against Tenko’s flank before sticking his nose under his tail.

Yes, very alpha.

Tenko plops his butt on the ground and Dabi takes a step back.

‘Just had to make sure,’ he says, amusement clear in his voice. He sits too and licks his nose and lips, tilting his head a little as he observes Tenko. ‘Say, Tenko, you live with that human in his home? Maybe you could come live with me in the center? I have a big place to myself with a lot of trees and bushes and grass. It actually smells like nature and not like human constructions. There’s plenty of space for two.’

Knowing alphas, Tenko can sense the ulterior motives in Dabi’s suggestion—Dabi wouldn’t suggest it if Tenko was an alpha or a beta—but he lets it slide. ‘I don’t think my human would like that. I used to live in the center before I was brought here. Things are better now.’ It’s more quiet and predictable in here. Tenko likes predictable, it makes him feel safe.

Dabi tilts his head. ‘Is that so? I thought you smelled a little familiar. Maybe you were in the same space before me. But this place looks so dull. Is there anything to do in here?’

Tenko feels his defences rising. ’It’s not so bad. It’s warm and I have a soft nest to sleep in. I get food three times a day and I also have some toys and games. I watch living pictures with The Human. Almost every night we watch this living picture thing that sort of continues, it’s like actual things happening but it’s not real.’ He doesn’t know how to explain it better to Dabi who probably has never seen a TV—that’s how The Human calls the box. ‘And he pets and grooms me. We go outside and sometimes to a place where I can run free. The Human asks me to do different things and then gives me treats.’

Dabi grins. ‘Oh, my human does that too.’

‘Like sit quietly when he pours water over me and go over to him when he calls me.’ The humans still use the sound ‘Tomura’ for him. Tenko doesn’t know why, nor does he really care. He supposes they wouldn’t be able to articulate his real name even if he made them aware of it.

‘You can trick them into giving you more treats if you pretend that you don’t understand what they want at first.’

Yes, Tenko knows that and he has done it too. Especially when he knows The Human wants him to touch something or pick it up. If he doesn’t immediately touch the target but merely leans in or wiggles his paw towards it, The Human still gives him a piece of meat.

‘But you can’t drag it out for too long,’ Dabi continues. ‘I admit I overdid it once and my human figured it out. She’s not as stupid as she looks. Quite strong too.’

‘Does she understand you?’

’Sometimes. I haven’t really bothered with it. I’m not that interested in making friends with her.’ He looks around the space, then back at the humans. Their incessant staring is making Tenko a little uncomfortable. What are they expecting of them? Do they want Dabi to mate with Tenko? Too bad, that’s not going to happen.

Dabi turns back to him. ‘What about your human?’

‘He’s getting better at it, yes. He got me these colourful things. If I press them, they make human sounds, for example the orange one says “food”. The last two make my human quite irritated. It’s quite funny to watch.’

Dabi looks interested. ‘Oh, show me?’

Tenko walks over to the Human Sound Board. ‘Here they are. These two make the funny sounds. But you have to press them only on the right occasion to get the perfect reaction. Too much and they won’t react to it anymore.’

Dabi presses the purple button, glancing over his shoulder at the humans. They look satisfyingly appalled. Amused, Dabi presses the red one and his human actually scoffs, her eyes going wide. “Dabi!” she barks out.

‘You’re right. That is funny,’ Dabi admits, pressing the red button one more time. ‘I wonder if I could get these too.’

‘I doubt after this,’ Tenko muses, a smile tugging at his lips. His guards are slowly coming down. Maybe Dabi isn’t so bad, despite being an alpha. It’s nice to communicate with his own kin after such a long time. Trying to make humans understand what he means can sometimes be very frustrating, although he has to admit his human has been quite fast to learn.

* *

“Shouta, are you recording this?” Rumi asked for the millionth time. Meanwhile she was scribbling down some haphazard notes on a piece of paper that looked like it had been ripped from a copy machine with the other half still stuck inside. Some people preferred using actual notebooks and then there were people like Rumi who just grabbed whatever writable surface was available. Aizawa had seen her taking notes on a parking ticket.

“Yes, I’m still recording.”

“Tomura totally taught him that!”

’Fuck you,’ Dabi pressed one more time. Phookas’ facial expressions didn’t include a smile in the human sense but the alpha was obviously laughing inside. Tomura looked amused too.

So far things were going amazingly well. Contrary to his fierce appearance, Dabi had behaved calmly in front of Tomura and the two were hitting it off, even if it had only been 20 minutes or so. Aizawa was about to voice his thoughts when Dabi suddenly lowered his front and then leaped towards Tomura, nipping him in the shoulder. Tomura jumped back but bared his teeth and snarled, his right paw shooting up, claws ready to slash.

“Oi!” Rumi cried and took a step towards the phookas but Aizawa stopped her.

“Hold on, I think they are playing.”

Tomura nipped Dabi in the cheek in turn and the alpha lunged at him, pinning him under his weight and biting one of his ears, then trying to reach his snout. Tomura squirmed onto his back and kicked Dabi away. Soon they were wrestling and rolling around, growling, panting and yelping and occasionally laughing like foxes. Dabi’s voice was somewhat deeper than Tomura’s and had a dominant tint to it, especially when he growled.

”My apartment is not designed for this,” Aizawa muttered when they crashed against the TV stand. “Tomura, if you break that thing, there won’t be any Saul Goodman for a while!”

Tomura sprang away from the TV, closer to the couch… and on the couch, Dabi following in his tracks. The sound of fabric tearing made both humans grimace. Then they were running to the guest room, paws and claws slipping on the floor. Aizawa groaned when he heard another crash.

“Next time they should probably meet at the center,” Rumi suggested.

”Or we could take them to a dog park at some point. I know one where we could let them run free.”

Rumi snorted, her voice full of sarcasm. “You think Dabi would let me catch him if I let him loose in an open area?”

“I’m pretty sure he would follow Tomura,” Aizawa said even if he wasn’t completely convinced. So far, Dabi seemed quite interested in his new friend but since phookas weren’t pack animals, he might choose escaping over his fellow being. But the park Aizawa was talking about had a tall metal picket fence that curled inwards at the top. Aizawa had no idea why someone would build such a thing for a dog park since it looked more like a feral-proof fence but he was glad he had found the place.

“And if he didn’t?”

”Then we would have to come up with a plausible explanation for the early-morning dog owners.”

Chapter Text

The next time Tenko meets the alpha, it’s late at night and they are outside, in an enclosed area where The Human has taken Tenko a couple of times.

‘Hello again, omega,’ Dabi greets him, his tail wagging. Tenko wants to remind him that he has a name too, but holds his tongue. He’s unexpectedly happy to meet Dabi again. And the humans have chosen a better environment this time. Here they can actually run and play without breaking The Human’s things.

Dabi slinks over and nudges his cheek against Tenko’s neck, then rubs his own neck against his shoulders and sides. My omega, my playmate, his scent claims. Tenko scents him back, just a little. He’s not completely sure about Dabi but he assumes that tonight he’s going to learn more about him; what kind of an alpha he is.

Dabi croons at Tenko’s small gesture before stepping back and looking around. ‘I guess this is the place you told me about.’

‘Yes, I’ve come here a couple of times.’

‘It’s smaller than I thought.’

Well, it’s better than not being able to run free at all. Tenko notices that the female human has left the harness on Dabi whereas Tenko’s human took it off. His human trusts him, knows that Tenko will stand still long enough for him to get the harness back on.

‘But I guess it’ll have to do.’ Dabi lowers his nose to the ground and begins exploring. Quite soon he yanks his head back up and sneezes. ‘What is this horrible stink?’

‘Dogs,’ Tenko says.

Dabi sneezes again, shaking his head to get rid of the smell. ‘What are those?’

’They are like wolves but smaller. Humans keep them as companions.’

Dabi cocks his head, realization dawning on him. ‘Oh, I think I know what you mean. Some of them look very weird. Like, they don’t have a snout or a tail or their legs are very short.’

’I know. I think this is a place for humans to allow their dogs to run free.’ Tenko peers around himself. The surroundings are quiet and calm, with only an occasional human-made sound. The night air is brisk and the grass feels cold under his paws. His human and Dabi’s human are sitting on a bench, their heads turned towards Tenko and Dabi. They are observing them as intently as before but in a more open area, it doesn’t bother Tenko that much.

Dabi saunters around, taking in all the new scents, but soon returns to him. ‘So, what do you want to do? Want to chase me? Or want me to chase you?’

Tenko is not sure if he likes the tone of that latter suggestion. But maybe that’s just how alphas are, that’s how they express themselves. He can’t say that he has that much experience with alphas; he’s mostly relying on what Kurogiri and Kaina told him about them.

Instead of giving a straight answer, Tenko lifts his paw and pokes Dabi in the chest so hard that he staggers a little. Then he bolts, running towards the other end of the area. Dabi surges after him. He’s fast and could probably catch Tenko quickly if he wanted, but he’s playing along and pretending to miss when Tenko changes directions abruptly.

There’s a lonely tree in the middle of the area. It has been quite a while since Tenko has last climbed a tree. He doesn’t know if he still has the muscles to do it. But he tries. His nails sink into the bark and he kicks off the ground. He faintly hears the humans shout something but ignores it as he hauls himself up the trunk.

He climbs to the lowest branch. It’s too weak to support his weight, but he anchors his upper body on it and peers down at Dabi who is circling on the ground underneath him, choosing to not climb. His head is craned back and his blue eyes are shining in the moonlight, his lips stretched into a grin, tongue hanging out from one side of his mouth, tail swishing with the excitement of the hunt.

Tenko estimates the distance, then pushes himself off the trunk. He almost manages to land on Dabi but the alpha dodges and Tenko’s nails catch his backside. He bites the alpha’s tail, just a little. The snarl Dabi lets out is fierce. In a blur of dark fur, he spins around and seizes Tenko.

They snarl and play-bite and wrestle on the ground and it’s fun. Tenko feels the pent-up energy release from his muscles and nerves. He’s panting and his body feels so light and so fast and so strong. He likes The Human and he likes the things they do together, but no human can ever play like his own kin, their fragile skin and stiff bodies are not cut out for it.

It’s fun until suddenly Dabi is on Tenko’s back and he’s reaching for Tenko’s scruff and his front paws are grabbing Tenko’s midriff and his position is wrong. Tenko’s play-snarl turns into a growl and he swirls around, snapping his jaws towards the alpha, a warning.

Dabi jumps off, ears turned back, looking sheepish. Tenko snorts and shakes off, putting some steps between them. The female human is shouting something at them and Dabi perks up to look at her, then pins his ears back, his face sour.

Tenko turns away and roams around a little, pretending to be interested in the smells. He can’t help but feel disappointed. Stupid alphas. Should have known they are all like that.

Dabi comes over after a short while, his head and tail hanging low, his posture apologizing. Tenko allows him to nudge his neck and cheek. A warm, rough tongue begins grooming his ear and he relaxes again. Grooming by his own kin is also something that he hasn’t experienced in ages. Humans can be quite skilled with their hands but it isn’t the same; their pets don’t hold all the same meanings and can’t satisfy his need for social interaction.

Eventually, he lowers himself to the ground and Dabi follows, still licking his ear and rumbling deep in his chest, the deep alpha rumble no omegas or betas can master. Tenko’s ancient omegan instincts make his body respond to it and he lets them take over, sinking into bliss. A content purr rises from his throat and he stretches his paws in front of him, toes spread, kneads the ground, yawns. The surrounding world is cold but Dabi is warm, and he smells strong and protective.

‘What happened to you?’ Tenko dares to ask.

‘What do you mean?’

‘Your scars.’

‘Oh, that.’ Dabi falls silent, the crooning coming to an abrupt halt and Tenko regrets asking. Dabi goes back to his task, draping himself over Tenko’s shoulders but this time it’s just friendly and protective, and begins grooming his other ear. ‘I got burned.’ He doesn’t elaborate.

‘Do they hurt?’

‘Sometimes but not that much anymore.’

Tenko tries to imagine Dabi without his scars. He would be handsome. He’s handsome even now with all the hairless spots. Hana would have liked him.

Dabi continues his task and Tenko sinks back to the sweet numbness where only the scent and warmth of another being exists. Where he doesn’t have to think. He could almost fall asleep right here and now.

He supposes Dabi is okay when he is like this.

All too soon their humans call for them. Dabi ignores the female but Tenko’s head rises automatically when he hears the sound his human uses for him.

‘I think we are leaving,’ he says, getting up to his feet and shaking grass and dirt off his coat.

Dabi grunts, disappointed. ‘Stupid humans.’ He rolls onto his back and rubs himself against the grass, not showing a sign of obeying.

“Tomura, come on, here, boy!”

Tenko trots to The Human and receives some dried meat and a scratch behind his ear. He sits still as The Human puts the harness on him which earns him some more treats. The female looks to be in awe of Tenko’s obedience and says something to his human. Tenko recognizes Dabi’s name.

They sit there and wait for Dabi who is still rolling around in the ground and trying to catch invisible bugs.

Tenko is starting to get cold. He wants to go home already and maybe persuade his human to watch some living pictures. It’s late and The Human doesn’t usually allow living pictures after their nightly outings but Tenko knows a trick or two. But the longer they stay outside, the more improbable his success will be.

‘Dabi!’ he barks, flailing his tail in frustration. ‘Come here already!’

Dabi turns the right way again and looks at them, ears pricked. He seems surprised by Tenko’s command.

He lowers his chin to the ground. ‘I don’t feel like it.’

‘But I want to go home.’

‘You can go with your human. I’m staying. Who knows when I get to come here next time?’

‘I don’t think we’re leaving without you. And I’m sure your human will bring you here again.’ At least if Dabi allows himself to get caught.

Dabi still lies on the ground, playing with odd tufts of grass.

Tenko bares his teeth and snarls. ‘Come on, alpha, I’m cold!’

Dabi snorts and rubs his sides against the ground one more time before hauling himself to his feet and slouching to them painfully slowly.

‘You’re his pet,’ Dabi says once he reaches Tenko. He doesn’t sound accusing, he’s merely stating it as a fact.

‘I’m not his pet. I just live with him and I like the place. I do things because I want to, not because he forces me.’ And hey, does Tenko know a thing or two about forcing! This human does everything so differently than the previous ones and Tenko has learned to appreciate it.

Dabi looks like he wants to repeat his observation but chooses to stay silent. He saunters over to the female and waits for her to attach the rope. He stands proud but is not above taking some treats from her hand.

The Human guides Tenko back to the big metallic carrier, or a ‘car’ as humans call it. He jumps in, settles down on the soft seat and waits for The Human to tie his harness to the weird springy belt; one of those unexplainable things humans do. Tenko doesn’t like being inside the car very much, it makes him a little nauseous but he tolerates it because the journey is not that long and the car takes him to this place.

Before The Human closes the door, he catches Dabi looking at him, his expression both curious and perplexed. He must be wondering why Tenko accepts everything The Human does so willingly. Maybe someday he will explain it to the alpha. If he can. He’s not always so sure about the reasons himself.

Throughout the next two weeks, not much happened. Nemuri visited to do the health check on Tomura, a procedure nowadays stretched out to every other week. She commented on the phooka’s stage of domestication again but left it at that. Tomura was in good health, if not a little chubby due to lack of natural exercise. It wasn’t a bad thing considering the spring was already in full blossom and that indicated the mating season for most animals, but she advised Aizawa to cut back on starches anyway.

Aizawa and Rumi exchanged some notes about their assigned phookas. She declared that Dabi was already as tamed as he would ever be. He mostly did what Rumi asked of him but a cold evaluation was always present in his eyes, asking ‘What do I benefit from this?’ and sometimes ‘If she just turned around for a second, I could maul her.’ Rumi could never let her guard down with him like Aizawa could with Tomura.

”I would never sleep in the same space as him. I can barely sit my ass down,” she said after Aizawa told her how he had fallen asleep on the couch and found Tomura curled up beside his feet in the morning. “The Irish vet told Nemuri that according to her quite limited experience, alphas, especially male alphas, are more prone to aggressiveness and unpredictability, but I’d say Dabi is still in a league of his own.” She sighed but couldn’t fully hide her excitement. She had always liked a challenge, even more than Aizawa. “But he’s had rough experiences with humans too so I can’t fully blame him.”

* * *

Hizashi came over on a Saturday evening for some beer, pizza and movies. They watched Gremlins 2. Tomura expressed his opinion on the sequel after the first 20 minutes by seizing the remote and dropping it on Aizawa’s lap, barely missing his sweatpants-covered balls.

“Swaarz,” he said.

“You don’t like it?” Hizashi asked. “Probably because Stripe isn’t in it. He died in the first movie, don’t you remember?”

”Nyaar.” Tomura stared at Aizawa. “Swoors!”

“You have to learn to compromise, Tomura. We can’t always watch Better Call Saul.” Aizawa placed the remote on the coffee table and they resumed watching the movie. Tomura looked at him, eyes wide, appalled that his request was ignored. He grabbed the remote again and tossed it on Aizawa, this time hitting his shoulder with some force.

“Fuck, Tomura, stop that!” Aizawa rubbed his shoulder and hid the remote behind his back.

“Swaarz!”

“No, we’re watching this movie now. If you don’t wanna watch, you’re free to leave.”

Tomura huffed and plopped down on the couch, seemingly succumbing to his fate. But he began making disapproving noises, not leaving his opinion of the sequel unclear. And he inched more towards Hizashi, begging for some scratches and pets from him.

“Aww, who’s pretending to be a good boy?” Hizashi cooed, stroking Tomura’s hair and ears. The phooka spread out on his back between them, his head and shoulders resting on Hizashi’s lap, his butt on a cushion and his hind legs in the air towards Aizawa.

“I swear, if you fart on my face, you’re going in the bathroom for the night,” Aizawa warned him.

The phooka didn’t fart but every now and then he would ‘accidentally’ kick Aizawa.

“Somebody is in for some screen time detox,” Aizawa said after a paw hit him under his chin. He grabbed the limb and held it until Tomura began struggling in earnest. “I’m going to shut you in the guest room if you don’t behave.”

Tomura hissed, squirmed upright and maneuvered himself on the other side of Hizashi, away from Aizawa.

“He’s like a parrot,” Hizashi commented. “As stubborn and cheeky. But he’s cute.”

“Uh-huh. He’s stealing shrimps from your pizza.” Aizawa nodded towards the coffee table.

“Damn, Tomura!” Hizashi yanked the pizza away from the phooka’s reach.

Aizawa paused the movie and stood up. “Alright, I think you’re done for the night. Go to your bed and be quiet.”

Tomura refused. He hid behind Hizashi, or at least tried. Unfortunately, he was bigger than Hizashi’s torso and his ears would have been visible even behind a redwood tree.

“Bed, Tomura.” Aizawa pointed at the plush donut.

“It’s fine, I don’t even like shrimps that much.”

“No, it’s a matter of discipline. He’s purposely being a mischievous imp right now. Tomura, bed!”

After a rather long battle of wills, Tomura jumped down and shuffled to his bed, slumping down in the center of the donut with a dejected sigh. Aizawa threw a warning glance at Hizashi whose face was twitching with sympathy.

“He can join us again if he behaves himself.”

“But he looks so sad,” Hizashi whimpered. Surely enough, the phooka was lying limp in his bed, staring blindly into the distance, ears drooping like he was the only kid in the hood who wasn’t allowed to join a street football game.

“He’s faking it. He knows he did wrong.”

With that, they went back to the movie. Tomura moped for some time but eventually began toying with one of his brain games, ignoring the two humans. In the morning, he had forgotten about the incident and was his docile self again.

It was a rainy, gloomy March afternoon when Aizawa received an epochal phone call from Nezu.

“We got Dabi’s genetic test results back.”

”And?”

”He is not closely related to Tomura and doesn’t have any of the tested genetic mutations that cause albinism.”

“So that means..?”

”That the facility will try to breed them, yes. It is our duty as a holder of such rare species to participate in the breeding program.”

”Alright.” Aizawa wondered if Nezu wanted to take Tomura back to the center to monitor him more closely.

“He can still stay with you,” Nezu said as if reading Aizawa’s mind. “I think our best chance for successful mating is to keep him in a familiar environment. Usagiyama will bring Dabi over to your place when it’s time. That is, of course, if you are okay with all this?”

Aizawa didn’t know if he was, but one thing he knew: Tomura was going nowhere if he had something to say about that. “It’s fine. So, now we’ll just wait for their natural mating season or something?”

”Yes, it shouldn’t be long now. Kayama informed me after talking to Dr. Reilly that omega phookas seem to have a fertile period from mid-March to the end of May, depending on the environment and climate they are situated in. They are polyestrous, meaning they experience several estruses throughout the period if not impregnated. But it’s not uncommon for an omega to have an odd estrus outside of the period, too.”

“Mmh, are they sure that applies to male omegas too?”

“As you know, there’s not much information about male omegas or their reproductive behaviour but Dr. Reilly seems positive that it applies to them as well.”

”What about the alphas?”

“Always ready.”

Aizawa wondered why the species was so rare.

“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see then,” he mused, glancing over to Tomura who was napping on the couch, slouched on his back, head hanging over the edge, front paws folded against his chest and hind legs spread in a manner that suggested his hip joints would come loose any minute. “What if they won’t cooperate? Artificial insemination?”

“We’ll think about it if it comes to that,” Nezu said jovially. “First we’ll try the natural approach. According to Dr. Reilly, there is next to zero information about phookas’ mating habits so we’re hoping to gather some valuable study material too.”

“So I have to keep an eye on Tomura and let Rumi know when or if he starts showing signs of heat.”

”Well, us too, preferably.”

”Yeah, of course.”

“Good. Hopefully everything goes smoothly. Oh, and when the time comes, you’ll need to install a camera to monitor their behaviour around the clock. The facility will supply it, naturally.”

Nezu had other news for him too. They had gotten their hands on some early material about Tomura. It still didn’t clarify where he originated from but now they could estimate his age to be around 12 which made him a young adult. Nezu also had some pictures of him as a cub.

”They were quite endearing, I have to admit. I sent them to your email. There’s also a little surprise towards the end.”

Aizawa fetched his laptop, sat on the couch next to the sleeping phooka and navigated to his email. As he opened the first attachment in Nezu’s mail, he couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

The abrupt sound made Tomura wake up from his nap. He scrambled to his feet, staring at Aizawa in a state of shock. His ears were quickly moving back and forth as he tried to decide if the sound coming from the human was dangerous. Aizawa wasn’t usually the one to laugh out loud—or even laugh at all.

Aizawa beckoned the phooka to come and take a look. “Tomura, you have to see this!”

A little wary, Tomura inched closer. Aizawa turned the screen towards him. “It’s you. As a baby.”

Aizawa didn’t know what he had expected but the white, fuzzy troll-like creature was both the weirdest and cutest thing he had ever seen. Oddly enough, he could identify the tiny fur ball as Tomura. The cub had the same eyes, the same curious yet stubborn stare as he peered at the camera. His enormous ears were pricked and he had something like a rubber ball in his mouth, his tiny fangs digging into the springy surface. His body looked under-proportioned against his big head and paws and his tail tuft was like an exploded feather duster.

Tomura’s eyes had gone huge. Carefully, he brought his face up close and sniffed at the image.

“Sorry, boy, it’s like the TV, you can’t smell it. But it’s you, do you recognize yourself?”

Tomura grunted.

“You were a funny looking thing, weren’t you?”

That made the phooka scoff.

Aizawa petted his head. ”You were cute too. Honestly. Like a demonic Dumbo with those huge ears of yours.” It appeared that phookas’ ears grew faster than the rest of their body.

He clicked onwards and more pictures of baby Tomura appeared on the screen. Fuck, wasn’t he just the cutest demon-troll baby that the world had ever seen?

Then he landed on an image that made him stop and lean forward. The picture had another phooka in it. It was also a cub, a little bigger than Tomura and it had a stark black coat.

He felt Tomura freeze next to him.

Despite the difference in their colours, they bore some resemblance to each other. The black cub had brown eyes but its facial features were very similar to Tomura’s.

Aizawa lowered his hand on the phooka’s back, stroking slowly. “Breathe, boy. It’s okay. Who is that?”

“Mrew,” Tomura said, barely audibly, his eyes not leaving the screen.

“Damn, I wish you could tell me where you were back then. What happened to you and what happened to that other phooka.” The background looked quite bare, grey cement floor and walls, but there was at least a worn-out blanket, a water bowl and some toys. Tomura and the other phooka didn’t look neglected, not yet.

Before he knew it, Aizawa was reaching for his phone and dialling Nezu.

“I take that you’ve made it to that certain picture,” Nezu said, sounding amused.

“Yes, who is that? Do you have any idea?” Beside him, Tomura was nosing at the screen and even licking it, a quiet whine rising from his throat. Aizawa pushed him away gently.

”We aren’t sure yet but we think it’s his sister.”

Shit, Tomura had a sister. What had happened to her?

“We don’t know about her life events or whereabouts,” Nezu continued, again predicting Aizawa’s next question. “But sadly, we have reasons to assume that she’s dead.”

Well, that turned depressing quickly.

Aizawa ended the call, not ready to hear the details yet. He clicked back to the first picture and rubbed his face, trying to catch the happy emotions it had evoked in him. But they were gone, evaporated into the thin air by the mental image of Tomura’s presumably dead sister.

Sometimes, their life now being so domestic and comfortable, Aizawa forgot how rough Tomura had had it in the past.

Tomura was still looking at the screen but he didn’t ask Aizawa to click back to the image of the other phooka. There was a grim undertone in his posture but he exhaled and straightened himself like he was trying to brush it off.

Aizawa stroked the phooka between his ears. “Sorry, boy, didn’t mean to upset you.”

“Mrow,” Tomura said nonchalantly. ‘It’s okay.’

“Tell you what. I can show you pictures of myself as a kid to make it even. Some day, not today. But I promise you, they are so embarrassing. Bet you would laugh your ass off if you could.”

“Mref.”

Aizawa observed the phooka carefully. “You sure you okay?”

Tomura lay down on the couch and sighed again before proceeding to lick his front paws in a self-distraction kind of manner. Aizawa petted his back, smoothing the short hair against his spine before closing the laptop’s lid and pushing the device aside.

“Nezu originally called me about you and your new alpha friend being a genetically good match. The center is going to try to breed you two. Would you like some cubs of your own? Huh, what do you say?” Tomura didn’t seem like the parent type, he was quite cub-like himself, but then again, not many animals did before the hormones stepped into the picture.

Tomura said nothing. He had lost interest in the topic or at least wanted Aizawa to think so. He started playing with his tail tuft like he had just now discovered it, catching it with his paws and sticking it into his mouth. Oddly enough, he did it over his back, twisting his body to an uncomfortable arch and pulling his tail into his mouth over his head. The position revealed his belly and on a whim, Aizawa reached down to push back some of the fine fur there. Tomura did have two rows of tiny teats in his lower abdomen. Aizawa counted six pink nubs in total.

God, how would he be able to house six little phookas in his cramped apartment? The phooka cubs probably liked trying their teeth and claws on everything. And they shouldn’t be domesticated when they were supposed to be given to zoos around the world.

He would have to take Tomura back to the center before the cubs were born, wouldn’t he?

He didn’t want to think about that part yet. There weren’t any cubs right now and maybe there would never be. The previous holders hadn’t been able to breed Tomura, meaning he could be infertile even if Nemuri suggested that he had all the right equipment.

“You and Dabi would probably have some very interesting looking cubs. You think they could inherit his eye colour?”

The twitch of an ear told Aizawa that Tomura recognized the alpha’s name.

“They would most likely have a dark coat and hair since albinism is a recessive trait,” Aizawa continued, stroking Tomura’s belly and then reaching to pet his blue-white locks. The phooka let go of his tail and leaned against the touch, purring approvingly when Aizawa scratched behind his ears. He pushed his head against Aizawa’s side before abruptly sitting up.

He poked at the remote. “Swaazr.”

With a soft exhale, Aizawa picked up the remote and turned the TV on. ”Alright, let’s watch the next episode then. It’s a boring topic, anyway.”

Chapter Text

When Aizawa came to the kitchen one morning, he found that something had changed.

”What the fuck is this smell?” he wondered out loud, turning his head from side to side, trying to locate the origin of the smell. It was sickly sweet, like fermenting fruit. Was there something rotting in the biowaste? He opened the lid of the bin, waiting for a swarm of fruit flies to burst out, but there was only an apple core and some old rice inside that didn’t smell much. He checked the dishwasher but it wasn’t the source either.

He was in the middle of going through the kitchen cabinets when his quadruped flatmate appeared next to him, making him realize that the weird odour was coming from the phooka.

“Tomura, what the hell? You stink.” They had visited the inside yard last night. Had Tomura managed to roll around in something nasty when Aizawa’s attention had been elsewhere? He had never shown any tendency towards such behaviour and his hair and coat looked clean. “Bath time.”

Tomura followed him to the bathroom, but Aizawa could tell something was off. The phooka seemed to alternate between paying attention to Aizawa and spacing out. He climbed into the tub and Aizawa rewarded him with a piece of dried chicken. He took it but not as eagerly as usual, sniffing it long and thoroughly before carefully closing his lips around it and munching absent-mindedly. He shivered a lot when Aizawa showered him.

“You’re not getting sick, are you?”

After breakfast, which he ate more slowly than normally, Tomura hopped on the couch and curled up beside Aizawa, resting his head on Aizawa’s thigh, demanding pets. Aizawa scratched his head gently. Tomura nuzzled into him, rubbing his head and neck against his leg, side and hand as if marking him. The new smell was still present, like apples brewing in a sugar and yeast solution.

“Have you caught the flu or something? I have to call Nemuri if you’re sick.”

”Nyaar,” Tomura said and shook his head. No vet.

Aizawa pressed his hand against the parts of the phooka’s body where the hair was thin. Tomura’s skin felt slightly warmer than normal but not up to the point of fever. He would just have to monitor the phooka closely.

The next morning Tomura ate only half of his breakfast. His smell had taken a turn from sweet to pungent and musky. He rubbed himself against Aizawa, the table legs, the kitchen cabinets, the couch, the walls. He went to his bed, threw the pillows out, brought in his favourite quilt, wrestled with it, then threw it out too, snarling at the thing. Eventually he carried everything back and spent 30 minutes arranging them—before attacking one of the pillows and ripping the stuffing out, growling, hissing, purring and whining in turn. Aizawa observed the show over the rim of his morning coffee, brow arched, phone out and recording. RIP his throw pillow. Not that he was very fond of them to begin with.

Tomura didn’t feel like training or playing that day. He was scatterbrained and couldn’t be motivated since he didn’t have an appetite whatsoever. He still obeyed when Aizawa told him to stop clawing at a couch cushion. He didn’t want to communicate with the Talking Buttons. He didn’t even want to watch TV. Instead, he spent a lot of time arranging his bed and brushing himself against anything and everything, letting out subdued frustrated sounds all the while.

When Aizawa was cooking lunch, he sat close by, observing with his head tilted back, nostrils flaring slightly, not because he was hungry but because Aizawa was cooking something he had not smelled before, grilled mackerel. Aizawa gave him a small piece which he took and seemed to like, but he didn’t ask for more. When he lifted his butt, there was a stain of clear substance on the tile. Aizawa grabbed the phooka when he was about to stroll off. He bent over to take a look at his backside, moving the tail aside.

”Oh,” Aizawa said, feeling a little stupid. “I think it’s time to call Rumi.”

“I’m coming over. I wanna see phookas mating,” Hizashi declared.

”I knew you were a pervert.”

”Come on, man, I didn’t even get to see their first meeting! Give me at least this! It’s not every day you get to witness mythical folklore troll-goblins getting it on.”

”It’s not guaranteed that anything is going to happen. They are rather friendly with each other, but it doesn’t automatically mean Tomura will accept Dabi as his mate.”

”Then I wanna witness Tomura kick Dabi’s ass!”

There was no telling Hizashi he wasn’t welcome when he got like that. He arrived 45 minutes later with a duffel bag.

”What’s that for?” Aizawa inquired.

”It might take a while, hmm? I’m staying here until something happens. You have a spare bed.”

”Yeah, I think Tomura pissed in it.”

“Well, change the sheets, will you? The fuck is wrong with you?”

“You do it if you insist on spending the night. But the piss has probably absorbed in the mattress too.”

Hizashi turned his nose upwards. “Talking about that, god, it stinks in here. Maybe open a window?”

”They are all cracked open. I can’t fully open them because Tomura could jump out.”

Hizashi continued sniffing. “It reeks like a skunks’ orgy. Not that I’ve ever been to one but I would assume this is what it smells like.”

Aizawa suspected that his sense of smell had taken permanent damage from all the nasty stimuli it had been exposed to during the past 24 hours.

The thing was, besides the spare bed, Tomura had peed on the bathroom rug, on the genkan mat and in the corner of the guest room. He had squatted next to Aizawa’s chair when he was trying to have lunch. That was when Aizawa had snapped, grabbed the beast by the scruff of his neck and dragged him to the litter box. Heat or not, he was not ruining Aizawa’s apartment. Hizashi was right, the place reeked like a fucking skunk bordel. Tomura had bared his teeth and snarled at him but stopped the unnecessary urination. He kept marking things by rubbing against them but that Aizawa could live with.

“So where’s our stinky problem child?”

“Moping in his bed.” Aizawa pointed towards the living room corner. “He’s been insufferable. It’s like his IQ suddenly plummeted dozens of… levels? Points? Units?”

Hizashi laughed unsympathetically. ”That’s what hormones do to you, man. But you’re alright, buddy, aren’t you? Just a little confused,” he asked Tomura who was eyeing him over the fluffy edge of his bed, the lower part of his face buried in the cotton. He was still sulking because of Aizawa’s rough treatment, but his tail rose into view and his ears turned quickly back and forth, acknowledging Hizashi’s presence.

Hizashi squealed at the sight. “Damn, he’s so adorable! You know, in a weird, ancient demon, folkloric cryptid kinda way. Look at those ears and that tail tip waving at me! If you do get them to mate and he gives birth to cute demonic bat-eared cubs, I absolutely must have one.”

”I think the facility will have something to say about that.”

Hizashi wasn’t discouraged. “There’s a price for everything. But say, is the male phooka as cute as Tomura?”

”Alpha,” Aizawa corrected. “I can’t really say since it seems you and I don’t share cuteness views. He’s a bit bigger and rougher and he’s got some nasty scars.”

“Well, I guess I’m gonna meet him soon.”

While they waited for Rumi and Dabi, Aizawa popped into a corner shop and bought some snacks and drinks. Hizashi was right, it could take a while. Or maybe it didn’t? Maybe Tomura would present immediately and the whole ordeal would be over and done with before dinner. Although, to ensure fertilization it was preferable for the pair to copulate several times.

Returning to the apartment, he found Hizashi sitting on the living room floor and petting Tomura who was lying on his side, his back pressed against Hizashi’s crossed legs, purring loudly. Based on the last tunes, Hizashi had been singing ‘Smelly Cat’ to the phooka. When Aizawa approached, Tomura tilted his head back to glance at him, let out a sniff that could only be described as disparaging and completely ignored him after that.

Hizashi was beaming. ”See? He likes me more than you now. I think I’m gonna take him home after this. Huh, what do you say, buddy? Wanna come home with me? Leave that old grouch moping to himself.”

Tomura wagged his tail, eager.

“You can have him if he keeps peeing on everything and destroying my stuff and smelling like an apple rotting in a raccoon’s ass,” Aizawa offered, peering down at his phone. “But you need to move away from him for now. Rumi and Dabi are here. Dabi might get aggressive towards a strange human.”

Rumi and Dabi barged into the genkan like a whirlwind. She was huffing, her biceps bulging as she tried to contain the eager alpha. “He smelled Tomura all the way to downstairs.”

“He and the rest of the world,” Aizawa muttered.

Rumi inhaled and her eyes widened. She pretended to gag. Or maybe it wasn’t pretending. “Jesus!”

“You’ll get used to it,” Aizawa lied.

Hizashi came into view, waving. “Hey there! Oh.” His eyes landed on the dark phooka that was straining against the harness. Dabi greeted him by pulling his lips back and growling. Hizashi decided to keep his distance. “So, he’s like that.”

“He’s like that,” Rumi confirmed. “Dabi, fucking sit down for a second so I can take off my shoes!”

Dabi grumbled but lowered his backside, almost sitting but the muscles in his thighs were bulging and he was ready to surge forward. Rumi wiggled out of her jacket and sneakers, keeping Dabi’s leash taut as they stepped further into the apartment. Aizawa and Hizashi gave them room.

“I don’t know if I should just let him loose or keep him on the leash for now. Who knows how violent their mating habits are?”

Aizawa didn’t know either. They had so little information about the species. The only thing they knew was that the omega didn’t kill the alpha during or after the mating so that was probably a plus.

Luckily Tomura decided for them. Upon seeing and smelling Dabi he sprang to his feet and climbed on the backrest of the couch, securing himself on the narrow surface with his claws. He bared his fangs and hissed at Dabi.

“Oh,” Rumi said. “I guess he’s not ready.”

”Might be a part of their rituals,” Aizawa said.

“I don’t wanna see Dabi shredded into pieces. I mean, Nezu might not like that.”

Aizawa rubbed the back of his head, evaluating the scene. During their previous meetings, Dabi had respected Tomura’s boundaries and backed off when Tomura had told him to. “I’m sure he’ll be fine and adjust his behaviour accordingly. Let him off the leash so he can communicate properly.”

Rumi removed the snap hook and Dabi leaped forward. He went through several spots around the living room, sniffing and licking, before—they should have seen that coming—peeing over one that he found particularly interesting.

“Well, that was expected,” Rumi muttered.

“Why are we doing this in my apartment again?” Aizawa wondered out loud.

Rumi threw him a meaningful look. “I would suggest taking them to the center but I already know what your answer would be.”

“I certainly hope they won’t start screaming like foxes. My neighbours might not approve.”

Dabi marked several other spots but luckily only by rubbing his neck against them, while Tomura observed from his temporary stronghold. Dabi didn’t try to reach Tomura though, instead opting to lie down on his haunches on the rug, his ears turned forward and eyes glued to the omega. His tail was flailing from side to side and he started making soft guttural rumbles. Tomura didn’t budge. If anything, he looked quite unimpressed.

Yes, it was probably going to take a while.

“Let’s go to the kitchen and leave them be. I need to set up the new camera they sent me from the center and I haven’t figured it out yet.” Aizawa turned to Rumi. “Are you staying for the night too?”

“Of course. Wouldn’t want to miss this. Besides, I can’t leave Dabi here without supervision.”

“Great. The sleeping options, now that the couch is unavailable, are a lumpy air mattress and a spare bed that has phooka piss in it. But I think Hizashi called the bed already.”

Hizashi lifted his hands. “Rumi can take it.”

“I don’t care either way. I can sleep on the floor. Or I can sleep next to you, Shouta. Your bed is wide enough, isn’t it? Or Hizashi can sleep in the bed with you. Yay, bromance!”

Aizawa sighed. “You guys can take my bed. I’ll take the air mattress.” He had no idea where the pump was and the mattress probably had holes in it, but he suspected he wouldn’t be able to get that much sleep anyway.

* *

mate

matematematemate, Tenko’s hindbrain chants.

alpha alpha alpha, his instincts enforce.

He’s still able to ignore them. But it’s getting hard.

The alpha stays put on the floor, not trying to approach Tenko, but he is giving off a dominant, alluring scent. He is rumbling deep in his throat. He is talking to Tenko with his scent, his voice, his body language. No need to be afraid, omega. I’m going to take care of you.

It’s an alpha he knows, an alpha he even admits liking a little, but it doesn’t matter. He doesn’t want a mate, doesn’t want cubs.

‘Back off,’ he tells the alpha, lifting his paw and displaying his claws.

‘I haven’t moved,’ Dabi retorts.

‘You’re prowling me.’

‘I’m just looking at you. You’re quite nice to look at.’ Dabi lifts his own paw and licks at it slowly, his sea-blue gaze not leaving Tenko. ‘Smell nice too.’

Tenko scoffs at that. He considers going to His Human or to the Loud Yellow Man who has been quite nice to him and feels safe, but he has a hunch that today they won’t help him. They brought the alpha here. They brought Dabi here. It’s evident that they want Dabi to breed Tenko.

The betrayal tastes sore on his tongue.

At least they haven’t tried to tie him down. Yet.

The previous humans kept him and Kurogiri together, even when Tenko went into heat which luckily didn’t happen very often. The humans wanted them to mate, that much had been clear. But Kurogiri was a beta and he was able to ignore Tenko’s scent, and even his begging when he was overwhelmed by his instincts.

They tried putting Tenko with another beta but that encounter didn’t end prettily.

But this time is different. This time the humans have an alpha.

It’s been ages since Tenko last experienced heat. The past two days have been intense but he’s mostly in control of himself. So what if they have an alpha? Tenko can take him on if it comes to that.

‘Are you going to just stay like that?’ he asks.

Dabi tilts his head as if thinking. ‘Maybe. Are you going to stay up there?’

‘If I have to.’

‘Then I’m going to stay right here.’

‘Fine. Have it your way.’ Tenko turns around on the backrest, carefully balancing so that his paws are underneath him and his face towards the wall, and curls his tail protectively around himself. It’s going to be hard to sleep in that position but he reckons he just has to do it. His body feels hot and restless, tiny electric tremors cruising around under his skin. There’s a soft pulsing at the junction of his thighs. He’s leaking slick on the backrest. His Human is not going to like it. He doesn’t like it when Tenko leaves wet marks on things.

He hears Dabi exhale slowly but doesn’t turn to look. He closes his eyes and tries to relax.

* *

”Have they been like that the whole night?” Rumi asked, rubbing her tired eyes and blinking at the scene in the living room. It was half past seven and the night had been restless for everyone.

Dabi was still on the floor lying on his haunches, resting his head on his paws but eyes open and staring at the omega. Tomura was still balancing on the backrest. His face was scrunched up in a pained manner and he opened his mouth to a distressed cry once he saw them.

“I don’t like this,” Hizashi announced.

Rumi placed her hands on her hips, huffing. ”This is not going as we planned. Perhaps it’s too early. Who knows how long phookas’ heats last and when the best days are?”

”I’m going to take Tomura out for a bit,” Aizawa decided. The omega’s tortured expression was tearing at his chest. Tomura probably hadn’t been able to descend from his safe spot even for a quick drink. “Rumi, put Dabi on the leash.”

“Actually, I think I’m going to take him home for now. Clearly Tomura is not ready and I feel like an evil, dirty pimp. I can bring Dabi back tomorrow and we’ll try again then.”

Aizawa ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, alright. Sounds good.”

Rumi fetched the leash, approaching the alpha. Dabi got to his feet and bared his teeth at her, letting out a warning snarl. Rumi clicked her tongue, giving the phooka a pointed look. Dabi lowered his head and pinned his ears back, grumbling in dissatisfaction. She attached the leash and led him to the genkan. While she was putting her coat and shoes on, Dabi tried to pull towards the living room again but upon her sharp warning gave up, sighing and hanging his head.

“We’ll come back here when Tomura is ready,” Rumi told him. “Alright, Shouta, let me know if the situation changes sooner.”

Then they were out the door.

”Wow, she’s really got him under control,” Hizashi muttered, his expression stunned.

“You have no idea.” Aizawa took Tomura’s harness and leash off the genkan hook. “Tomura, come here, boy. Let’s go outside for a bit.”

If the phooka was still cross with him, it didn’t show. He climbed down from the backrest and jogged over to Aizawa, allowing him to put the harness on. He even leaned in when Aizawa petted his head, indicating that Aizawa was back in his good books.

“I’m gonna make some coffee and breakfast meanwhile,” Hizashi promised.

In the yard, Tomura crouched to empty his bladder and stretched his limbs before wandering around in the small space, sniffing the grass.

“You’re not very fond of your groom, are you?” Aizawa guessed.

“Mref,” Tomura said, pushing against a tree trunk and then Aizawa’s leg.

“Too bad, he’s the only one we’ve got for you. You do understand that your kin really can’t be found roaming around nearby forests or located in a neighbouring zoo?”

Tomura snuffled and continued his explorations on the grass, pulling the leash taut.

”I’m just letting you know what’s in store for you, you know, to be fair. Because I’m a nice guy and I like you when you don’t destroy my stuff and smell like a bucketful of tanuki’s fermented piss. If you don’t accept Dabi the natural way, Nemuri is going to gather his sperm and stick it inside you with a needle. Not a nice way to do it. Maybe consider giving Dabi a chance, hmm?”

A woman with a kindergarten-aged child was walking by. Judging by her horrified look, they had heard Aizawa’s words. And they were ogling at Tomura, eyes wide and wheels turning in their heads. The question ‘What the hell is that?’ was almost visible on their foreheads.

“Mom, is that a dog?”

The mother grabbed the kid’s hand firmly, pulling him along. ”Shush, let’s go. Don’t stare, it’s rude.”

“Okay, that’s our cue to go inside,” Aizawa decided, slapping his thighs and standing up. “C’mon, boy. Back inside.”

He ended up having to pull Tomura inside because apparently he had lost his sense of hearing or something. After the front door slammed shut behind them, Tomura was still struggling against the pull and started gnawing at the leash so Aizawa just scooped him to his lap and carried him up the stairs.

“Mraaww!” Tomura protested and tried to squirm free. He was smearing that clear slime all over Aizawa’s arms and his claws were catching in his clothes, tearing and ruining.

To Aizawa’s relief, Hizashi opened the door when he was standing behind it and wondering how to fish out his keys without having to lower Tomura to the ground.

“You’re being quite loud,” Hizashi commented.

“Shut up.” Aizawa pushed inside and let go of the phooka who tried to bolt but was yanked back by the leash, ending up on his back on the slippery floor. “Tomura, for fuck’s sake, can you behave normally for two minutes?”

Tomura scrambled up, fazed, looked at the leash like he was seeing it the first time, and started rampaging like a wild horse, trying to get out of the harness. Hizashi came to Aizawa’s aid and they managed to free the phooka who immediately ran to the living room and back to his bed project.

Aizawa resisted tearing his hair out. “At least I’m not short on things to report to the center and the Irish vet.”

Hizashi left after breakfast and things calmed down for a couple of merciful hours. Tomura ate a small meal and retreated to his bed to take a nap for a change, curling up in a tight ball. Aizawa tossed his shirt which was torn beyond repair and went to take a shower. Then he lay down on the couch that stank like phooka pheromones and piss and everything phooka-related and stared at the ceiling, letting out one deep exhale after another. After mustering some peace of mind, he got up and began scrubbing the most obvious stains off the furniture and floors.

Tomura woke up in the afternoon and seemed more like himself, making Aizawa wonder if his heat was already passing. Maybe it only lasted a day or so. He entertained himself with a puzzle, ate his dinner and followed Aizawa obediently to the bathroom, staying mostly still when Aizawa bathed him. The smell still lingered on him, but it was turning towards the fruity kind again.

“Wanna watch an episode of Saul Goodman?” Aizawa dared to ask when the phooka was out of the tub and he was towelling him dry. He got a quick tail wag as a reply.

The relief was short-lived.

Tomura managed to focus for ten minutes and stay relatively calm for another ten but inevitably grew restless. He rolled onto his back and stretched his legs to every which way, almost poking Aizawa in the face with his claws. He grunted and whined and rubbed his head and neck against the cushions before beginning to lick himself.

Aizawa groaned. “While I appreciate you trying to keep yourself clean, I really don’t wanna witness you licking your privates while I’m trying to watch Chuck McGill secure his house from electromagnetic radiation.”

The phooka ignored him and kept on licking. The sound was lewd.

“Tomura, go be gross somewhere else.”

Tomura sniffed but rolled onto his feet and hopped off the couch.

“Should I pause the show?” Aizawa asked, suppressing a sigh, and grabbed the remote. “Maybe you wanna watch the episode after your heat is over.”

Tomura went to his bed and observed the chaos in it, head tilting to the side, tail swishing impatiently behind him. He grabbed the whole thing and shoved it upside down, pouring out every throw pillow and quilt and Aizawa’s fucking shirt and scarf (he had not seen the phooka pinch them). Once the bed was the right way again, he began arranging everything back, huffing and grunting and snarling at the thing while he worked. He didn’t seem to notice Aizawa or care about Chuck McGill’s electromagnetic allergy anymore.

Aizawa clicked away from Netflix, back to the TV side. He wouldn’t be able to concentrate anyway. He left on some mindless quiz show as a background noise, to drown the phooka’s manic bustling.

Tomura was still arranging his makeshift bedding when Aizawa got up and retreated to his bedroom.

Chapter Text

In the morning Aizawa was met with a feverish red gaze.

Tomura had shredded another throw pillow, spread the stuffing all over the living room and peed on the rug—several times. There were also stains that looked like… Aizawa didn’t even want to think about what they looked like.

He forgot everything he knew about animal training and positive reinforcement.

”Why do you do this?!” he shouted.

“Mreeh!” Tomura retorted, fangs on full display and tail lashing angrily.

“Why do you keep destroying and stinking up the place if you’re not going to accept the alpha we offer you?”

“Ngrewh! Grawwh!”

“I’m taking you back to the facility! See how you like it when they throw you back in the glass box!”

Tomura went to the Talking Buttons and pressed ‘Fuck you’.

”Yeah, fuck you too!” Aizawa stomped to the kitchen to make a potful of strong coffee.

While he waited for the coffee to brew, he called Hizashi. “You need to come over right now. I’m about to kill a certain phooka.” Noises were coming from the living room. Noises that sounded like mischief. The whole apartment stank like it had been sprayed with various raccoon substances. Aizawa had no idea if it was even possible to get the stench off the walls and structures. It was a miracle that none of the neighbours had complained yet.

“Why? What could the little sunshine goblin possibly have done?”

“You can fucking have him. Just get your ass here now.”

After hanging up he texted Rumi, ‘How soon can you get Dabi here?’ Maybe it was a low blow, but Tomura needed something to think about besides destroying Aizawa’s property.

Aizawa opened the fridge, looking at a piece of tuna that he had reserved for Tomura’s breakfast. The chances of the phooka ignoring his meal and the expensive fillet going to waste were quite high. Maybe Aizawa should cook it for himself.

He stifled his anger, breathing slowly in and out. Then he called with the gentlest, most coaxing voice he could muster, “Tomura, breakfast!” It sounded fake, even to his own ears.

No reaction. No sound of claws clicking against the hardwood, no sight of the white bat-eared creature trotting to his bowl.

“Tomura, breakfast! Come on, boy!”

The sounds carrying from the living room pointed strongly towards the last of his throw pillows being destroyed. At this point Aizawa suspected the phooka was being an asshole on purpose. No animal’s estrus or reproduction required such behaviour. Not even horse mares were this insufferable.

“Fine. Suit yourself. I’m going to eat your tuna as my lunch, make it delicious as fuck, divine even. Season it with lemon juice and garlic and fresh herbs and fry it in a pan with lots of butter! Even Chef Morimoto couldn’t make it better!”

Tomura didn’t give two fucks about Chef Morimoto or the divine tuna fillet. The only response Aizawa heard was a faint snarl and rustling as the phooka assumably rearranged his bed again. Aizawa yanked the coffee pot off the maker despite the liquid still dripping. The burner sizzled.

Thank god for loyal friends, always ready to push their own life aside to help their best bro. Hizashi arrived in half an hour, the same duffel bag hanging from his shoulder.

”Didn’t even unpack it,” he said, dropping it on the genkan floor. “Fuck, I forgot how bad it stinks in here.”

“You’re free to help me clean after this whole ordeal is over.”

”Yeah, no thanks. But I can babysit Tomura while you scrub your flat. I can take him to my place when he stops smelling like Satan’s ball sweat.”

Said smelly creature peeked around the corner. The sound of the doorbell and the door opening had driven Tomura to stop renovating Aizawa’s living room for the brief moment it took to check the guest. Seeing it was only Hizashi, he exhaled a small snuff through his nostrils and retreated to his chore.

”So what’s our next step?” Hizashi inquired, following Aizawa to the kitchen. Out of the corner of his eye Aizawa saw him mouthing ‘Whatta fuck’ when his eyes landed on the ravage that had taken place in the living room.

“Rumi is going to bring Dabi back and hopefully we’ll finally get to witness some mating.” Aizawa didn’t know how much more of Tomura’s stinking and unhinged behaviour he would be able to endure. At this rate he would be forced to take the phooka back to the center. God, he hoped phookas’ heats only lasted for a couple of days.

“Your problem child is currently trying to mate with his pillows, or what is left of them,” Hizashi observed, his head still turned towards the living room. “You sure he’s supposed to be the one taking it in? What if they are both ‘tops’?”

“The state of his private parts suggests otherwise. Coffee?” Aizawa took a mug from a cabinet and filled it to the brim before Hizashi had time to reply.

They had just parked at the table and were sipping the coffee in relative silence when something crashed against the front door, making both of them jump and Hizashi spill coffee on the table. The doorbell sounded right after, hard and long.

Aizawa scrambled to his feet. “I certainly hope it’s not a neighbour wanting to complain about all the ruckus and horrible smell coming from my place.”

Hizashi followed him to the genkan. “Are your neighbours yakuza?”

“Not that I know of. But Fukuda-obaasan from downstairs is pretty fierce.”

Turned out it was just Rumi and Dabi behind the door. Dabi surged in immediately when Aizawa opened the door wide enough, yanking Rumi forward.

“Just for your information, I’m not taking him back anymore,” Rumi huffed as she dug her heels into the genkan floor and stopped the alpha from rushing to the living room. Aizawa took the leash from her so she could remove her shoes and rest her arms. He quickly learned that Dabi was stronger than Tomura. He thrashed against the restraint, claws leaving nasty scratches in the floorboards, and turned to bite the leash, blue gaze burning with determination. Their eyes met and Dabi lifted his upper lip, giving Aizawa a clear view of his sharp dentition. He was panting, tongue hanging out of his mouth, sides expanding and contracting rapidly.

Dabi was done playing the docile house poodle. He was running out of patience. Aizawa could tell he was ready to attack them if they didn’t release him.

The living room had gone dead silent. Tomura had heard and smelled Dabi returning.

Rumi stepped forward. Dabi turned to look at her and growled.

“I’m just gonna unfasten your harness, you stupid horny beast! You’re getting to your omega, just don’t bite my fucking hand off when I untie you.”

Dabi turned his head forward and licked his lips before resuming panting. A low rumble rose from his throat, but it didn’t sound threatening anymore. Aizawa doubted it was even addressed to them. The alpha stood relatively still and let Rumi unbuckle the harness, tail swishing with barely contained frustration.

Hizashi looked both intrigued and terrified. “Okay, nobody can convince me they don’t understand human speech.”

“They do, to some extent,” Rumi confirmed.

“Just what the fuck is this species?” Hizashi muttered to himself.

Once the last buckle was opened, Dabi wiggled out of the thing and leaped forward, his paws skidding on the bare floor as he dashed to the living room.

“I hope he’s not going to just jump Tomura.”

“At this rate, if it makes Tomura stop his vandalism, I’m all for it,” Aizawa said.

Once Dabi’s steps halted, the apartment fell silent as a grave.

The three humans stood in the genkan, holding their breaths.

Finally, Hizashi spoke, “I’m afraid to look.”

They did look though. Dabi was parked in the middle of the room again and Tomura was dug in his bed, eyeing the alpha with suspicion.

“It doesn’t look much different from yesterday.”

Dabi peered at them over his shoulder and his expression turned cautionary, his blue eyes adamant and his lips threatening to pull back again. He would tear into shreds anyone who tried to take him away from his potential mate. He eyed Rumi up and down, telling her with his stare that this time he wouldn’t be dragged away. That this time he would fight it. This time Rumi would have to choke him unconscious in front of everyone if she wanted him to move from his spot.

“Let’s just give them time.”

“Shouta, do you happen to have something I could write on?” Rumi asked when they retreated to the kitchen. “I brought my laptop but I’d like something to write on quickly.”

Rolling his eyes, Aizawa handed her a spiral notebook and a pen.

“So, now we just have to pass the time,” she said as they had been observing the unchanging scene in the living room for a while. As interesting as it was to observe the phookas’ behaviour, staring at unmoving animals got boring at some point. Besides, Dabi kept glancing at them and something in his eyes told them that he didn’t like their incessant ogling.

Aizawa shrugged, looking around the kitchen. “Well, I have a card deck.”

“Great! A round of Daifugo then?”

* *

The alpha is back. Tenko is not sure how he feels about it.

He takes shelter in his nest, glaring at Dabi over the edge. His body is burning, responding to the sight and scent of the alpha. He digs his claws into the soft material, anchoring himself. The nest is his and Dabi is not welcome in it.

At least the alpha respects his boundaries and doesn’t try to forcibly mount him. Dabi idles on the floor on his elbows but his hip tilted to one side. The position reveals the pink tip of his cock peeking out of its sheath. Tenko is not looking at it. Definitely not.

They stay like that forever, sizing up each other. Tenko feels the presence of a potential mate gnawing at his determination, his defences. His body ignores what his mind wants, torturing him with wave after wave of growing want, need, desire, urge, instinct.

He was doing just fine without a mate. He was managing his heat. Sure, The Human doesn’t approve of what Tenko has done in the room but that can’t be helped. His nesting instincts are compelling and there’s so much soft material to use. The Human was angry with Tenko. Well, Tenko is angry with him, too. Why did he have to bring Dabi back?

Eventually he stands up, stretching his limbs before stepping over the bed edge. Dabi becomes alert, lifting his head just a little. His nose twitches as he smells the slick Tenko’s traitorous, heat-infused body keeps secreting and licks his lips not so subtly.

‘I’m just going to have a drink,’ Tenko announces. ‘Don’t you dare try to jump me.’

‘Tch, I’m not like that, omega. I can wait till you’re ready.’ Dabi smirks. ‘Not gonna take very long now.’

Gah, he wishes. Stupid alpha! Tenko scoffs as he trots past Dabi to the kitchen to his water bowl. He feels the human’s eyes on him but he refuses to look at them. His human says something, Tenko recognizes the sound for food, but he’s not hungry.

He spends an unnecessarily long time by the water bowl, taking a sip now and then. He wishes he could go as far from the alpha as possible, but his nest is pulling him in. He grows uneasy thinking that Dabi might invade his nest when he’s not guarding it.

He returns to the room, keeping away from the alpha. Dabi’s gaze follows him and he rumbles barely audibly. His scent is growing more potent. It’s creeping up Tenko’s nostrils, surrounding him like a cloud of unavoidable mist. He’s not immune to it. His body starts responding, his own scent intensifying, trying to match Dabi’s. He wants to stop it but he can’t. His body is screaming for the alpha.

see me, smell me, breed me

‘Go away,’ he says weakly.

‘You don’t really want me to go away.’

But he does. He feels like a prey cornered by a predator. The predator is lazy but persistent, waiting for its prey to give in before attacking. There’s nowhere Tenko can hide. Dabi is everywhere, he’s taking up all the space. He’s inside Tenko’s head.

Tenko stops just before he reaches his nest. He sits and looks at Dabi, weighing his options.

mate, alpha, breed

His body is restless, his muscles are quivering, his skin is burning. Something is trying to take over his mind. Tenko wrestles it, trying to push it away. But it is strong, it’s unrelenting.

It feels unfair. He’s unprepared for all of this. He hasn’t experienced a heat with an alpha around. It’s so different than with a beta.

He lowers himself to the ground, resting on his elbows. The stress makes him pant a little. His tail begins whipping back and forth, his ears flattening to the sides. He can’t help a small whine that escapes his throat.

Dabi responds immediately with a soothing rumble. He gathers his hind legs underneath him, ready to move. Tenko wants to tell him to get lost. To go and hump a dog or something. But his body is not obeying him.

Another eternity passes. Tenko isn’t moving, Dabi isn’t moving. It’s probably past noon already. The humans have lost interest in them. They are playing with something, talking with each other and only occasionally glancing at Tenko and Dabi.

Dabi senses Tenko’s indecisiveness, the turmoil his mind is in right now. He breaks the silence.

‘Would you let me groom you?’

Tenko considers it. Grooming sounds nice. He’s craving skin contact. He remembers how nice Dabi’s rough tongue felt on his ears, how warm and satisfying. How strong and safe his weight was on Tenko’s shoulders when he draped himself around him.

kin, his hindbrain says, alpha partner mate

’I suppose,’ he huffs, looking away.

Tail swaying eagerly, Dabi approaches. He’s still careful not to make any sudden moves. He lies carefully down next to Tenko and nudges his nose in the back of his neck, then starts to groom one of his ears, the motor inside him bringing out the deep alpha croon. A warm feeling spreads into Tenko’s limbs and he allows himself to relax a little.

* *

”Is this progress? Are we making progress?” Hizashi asked, his voice uncharacteristically quiet. He didn’t want to disturb the phookas, nor did Aizawa or Rumi.

Rumi hummed in amusement. She didn’t notice the cards in her hand were turning towards Aizawa. ”I think we are.”

Tomura had finally allowed Dabi to come in contact with him. Dabi was grooming his ears, rumbling softly at him. He was being surprisingly patient with the omega, taking his time to lick every centimeter of Tomura’s ears and neck. Tomura was visibly relaxing, his eyes half-lidded and a faint purr rising from him.

“Apparently Dabi knows how to be a gentleman when he wants to,” Hizashi said.

“He’s faking it, but who cares as long as it’s working.” Rumi dropped her cards on the table and scribbled in the notebook. “Is the camera rolling?”

”Yes, it should have at least 15 hours of storage left.”

“I hope we don’t have to wait that long for anything to happen.” She pulled out her phone and aimed it towards the creatures in the living room. “Come on, Dabi, do the deed already. Claim your omega.”

Chapter Text

Dabi’s tongue sends pleasant tremors through Tenko’s body. His eyelids droop and he lowers his head on his paws, Dabi’s tongue following. The alpha smells nice, musky and strong, inviting, enticing. He feels himself becoming wetter, the aroma of his slick pungent in the confined space. Dabi’s inhale is loud against his skin.

alpha partner mate

mate alpha breed

His insides are quivering with emptiness. He is throbbing between his hind legs, an itch he can’t scratch no matter how hard he tries. He doesn’t protest when Dabi leaves his ears and neck, moving down his body, nudging and licking and scenting.

mate alpha mount breed breed breed

He knows he should stop it. He’s giving the alpha signals he doesn’t want to give.

He wants to tell Dabi to stop.

He can’t.

Tenko startles when a foreign tongue drags over his most sensitive part.

He whimpers and his hips push back on their own accord. Dabi is happy to oblige, lapping up all the slick Tenko produces. The roughness of his tongue stroking over the sensitive folds sends unexpectedly strong waves of pleasure through Tenko’s body.

He feels helpless against the new sensations. He had no idea it would be like this.

There’s just something missing. The strokes need to reach just a little deeper. Tenko lets out a shamefully needy sound and wiggles his backside against the rough pressure. When the alpha props his tongue inside, he keens and his legs buckle a little. He quickly braces himself, his thighs spreading and muscles straining to support his weight better. And possibly the weight of another.

Dabi stops and rests his chin on Tenko’s croup. He’s radiating smugness and alpha superiority. ‘Look at you, so hungry for my knot.’

‘Shut up,’ Tenko manages, but his body is betraying him and he is already stretching his torso, lowering his front, arching his back.

Dabi chuckles, voice dark and husky. ‘I’m going to make you feel good, omega. Going to breed you so good, knot you hard and pump you full of my seed.’

The alpha’s tone is tantalizing and Tenko hates how it’s working. Dabi’s warmth and strength radiate onto his back as the alpha hovers over him. But Tenko is not there yet, not yet. Not yet.

Hot breath ghosts over his neck and shoulders and the teeth latch into his scruff. Dabi is not fumbling in the slightest; his grasp is firm, adamant, and his body is draping over Tenko, his front legs pressing against his sides, encasing him from all directions. Tenko’s instincts override his rational mind and he’s trilling and bracing himself, he’s presenting, hips tilting upwards, tail moving aside to give the alpha an easy access.

Dabi is quick to act. He’s got a good aim for such a young alpha. Not that Tenko has much experience to compare with, but he has heard that sometimes it might take a while for alphas to position themselves right. But the hot head of Dabi’s cock is rubbing against the tender lips of his pussy before he is fully aware of what is happening and Dabi pushes inwards, to show that he means business, that Tenko can’t wriggle his way out of this anymore.

Pain shoots up his nerves, burning and stinging and tearing.

pain pain hurt burn

pain must get away

Tenko cries and instinctively tries to crawl away, but Dabi is prepared and his grip holds.

‘Shh, omega, it’s alright. You’re safe. It’s not going to hurt for long.’ The alpha croons, rumbles, releases soothing pheromones, but he’s pushing deeper, spreading Tenko open and Tenko digs his claws into the rug. They pierce through it, threads coming loose. The Human is not going to like that.

He grits his teeth, flattens his ears and groans, whines. The alpha feels alien inside him, invading and heavy and too big, but at the same time his body is submitting and adapting. He’s producing more slick, his inner muscles are relaxing, accepting the intrusion. When Dabi pulls away and pushes back in again, Tenko’s whimpers change their tone. Sounding needy, breathless.

Dabi exhales through his nose, hot puffs of air on Tenko’s neck. ‘That’s better, omega, just like that. You’re doing good. You feel so amazing, so hot and wet and tight. Such a good omega, you’re going to take my knot so perfectly.’

He thrusts in again and sets up a pace that is too fast, too hard for Tenko’s virgin walls, it burns yet it somehow feels good. He’s emitting soothing alpha pheromones, coaxing Tenko to succumb.

Tenko groans when Dabi plunges himself as deep as he can and holds his hips in place before gyrating them. The base of his cock is swelling; its grind against the walls of Tenko’s entrance is both maddening and satisfying. It caresses something ancient within him, tells him that this is the most important thing he has ever done in his life.

He wants Dabi to knot him. He needs it so badly. He’s probably voicing it out loud but he blocks it from his conscious mind.

Dabi murmurs against his neck, ‘The stupid humans are going to watch you take my knot. Huh, you like that, don’t you? Such a horny bitch, you want the humans to watch me claim you.’

Tenko hisses. No, he doesn’t like that. He doesn’t really mind, doesn’t care that the humans are there, but maybe he’d prefer that they looked away. In fact, why are they staring like that?

* *

”Oh, I’m not sure if Nemuri has told you,” Rumi began, “but alphas have a knot.”

“What’s that?” Hizashi asked.

Aizawa frowned. ”You mean like canines, the bulbus glandis?”

“Yup, quite similar to that. So we can assume that they will be tied to each other for a while. I think we should clock it when Dabi stops his, erm, thrusting.”

”I’ve never felt so much like a peeping creep in my fucking life,” Hizashi muttered.

Aizawa threw him a pointed look. “Yet you insisted on being present.”

“I did! And don’t get me wrong, it’s interesting—I merely observed that I feel like we’re peeping.”

”More like directly ogling at them,” Rumi said. “Shouta, the timer?”

“The camera is still rolling but sure, I can clock it.” Aizawa tapped away on his phone until he had the timer out. And then they just sat in silence and watched the phookas going at it. Which took a surprisingly long time considering many animals did their deed in a matter of seconds.

”Now I feel like a fucking creep too,” Rumi announced. “It’s the face and the front paws. Too damn human-like. See how Dabi is looking at us? It’s like he’s saying, ‘I’m getting some and you’re just sitting there like a bunch of losers you are.’ He’s expressing his superiority to us.”

“I think you’re reading too much into it,” Hizashi said, carefully. “Sure, he does glance at us every now and then, but I think he’s just making sure we’re not interrupting.”

“Nuh-uh, that bastard is hella smart and cunning, you have no idea. Ah, shit, I think I’m in for another leadership battle after this.”

Tomura, on the other hand, didn’t want to look at them. He appeared turned in on himself. He had his nails dug into the rug, he was groaning and whimpering through clenched teeth, alternating between looking uncomfortable and like he was getting something out of their copulation.

Aizawa fought the urge to intervene.

“I’m getting kinda hungry. Should we order some takeout?” Hizashi suggested then. “I can go and wait outside for the delivery guy. I suppose we don’t want any outsider walking in on our strange folklore beasts banging.”

“I don’t think it’s gonna take that long,” Rumi said. “But takeout sounds good. Maybe ramen or donburi?”

While Hizashi went to the guest room to make the call for their order, Rumi opened a file on her laptop.

“Nemuri sent me some notes she got from Dr. Reilly. She’s beyond excited, by the way, even though she hasn’t met either of our phookas. According to her current knowledge, the phookas’ gestation period is estimated to be around four months, so that means the cubs would be born in late June or early July.”

“How many cubs?”

”Anything from two to six. It is her assumption that the male omegas have smaller litters than female omegas.”

Aizawa tapped his fingers against the table. “How are their sexes determined? Is it just coincidental and we might get anything from female alphas to male betas?”

”Something like that, although Dr. Reilly theorizes that an alpha has a higher tendency to produce alpha offspring, and by pairing two betas, you’d have a higher probability for the cubs being betas. However, the theory is still in its infancy. Everyone involved is extremely curious to see how the cubs will turn out.”

”If there will be any cubs,” Aizawa reminded her.

Rumi cast him a sideways glance. “You do know that if it doesn’t take now, Tomura will go into heat again in a couple of weeks and I’ll have to bring Dabi over again?” She fell silent before adding, “Or you can take him to the center if you don’t wish them to do it here.”

”Well, my apartment is already in ruins so…” Aizawa shrugged.

“Yeah, no shit. I’m glad I’m not as mad as you. Maybe don’t let your landlord in before you have cleaned up?”

Cleaned up and renovated. Aizawa suspected he would have to at least replace the living room floorboards.

Hizashi returned to the kitchen, waving the phone in his hand. “I ordered us some donburi. It should be here in 30 minutes.”

Rumi clapped her hands. “Awesome! Oh, but I’m a vegetarian. Sorry, I forgot to mention.”

“Good thing I ordered one portion with tofu then.”

They were interrupted by a rather loud cry from Tomura. He looked like he wanted to squirm away, but Dabi had him in a tight hold. He kept their hips firmly locked, his tail moving rhythmically.

Aizawa started the timer.

During their tie, Tomura tried to crawl away several times, frustration evident in his face. The irritated snorts and snuffles he was making indicated that he would have preferred the whole thing to be over already.

“You think it’s his first time?” Rumi suddenly asked, observing the creatures.

“Could be. He was kept together with a beta male, but Nemuri said he hasn’t been bred. Whether or not they mated, we have no information about.”

”Damn, I feel kinda sorry for him,” Hizashi said. “Try putting yourself in his position. The poor thing went into heat and the only partner we’ve got for him is Dabi. He hasn’t got any choice.”

Rumi started laughing but it turned into a scowl when Hizashi’s words sank in. “Come on, Dabi is not that bad! Apart from the scars, he’s an exemplary individual. He would win prizes if phookas had beauty shows. Think about it the other way: Dabi could get any omega he wanted and we give him Tomura.”

“What’s wrong with Tomura?” Hizashi asked.

“Well, he does look like a rather shabby taxidermy specimen.”

Hizashi scoffed, appalled. “He does not! He’s the cutest furry gremlin I have seen in my life!”

Aizawa felt like he should have been the one to defend Tomura but Hizashi was doing a good job with it. Instead, he pointed out, “I don’t see Dabi complaining,”

“He’s just doing what is expected of him,” Rumi said, wiggling her brows suggestively.

Aizawa ignored the bait. “You think he’s sired any offspring before?”

“I have no more information than you. Thinking back at the conditions he was found in, it’s highly possible. I mean, he was definitely not kept as a pet.”

“How did he get his scars?” Hizashi asked.

“He set his enclosure on fire.”

Both Aizawa and Hizashi yanked their heads back. ”What?”

Rumi nodded. “Oh, I thought you knew, Shouta! We don’t know the details but apparently he did it to get out of the place. It worked, but unfortunately, as you can see, he didn’t make it out unharmed.”

”But the scars are old.”

”Yeah, it was over two years ago or something like that. He lived in the wild for quite a while before he was finally caught.”

The door buzzer sound cut Rumi off. Hizashi went to the hallway to meet the delivery guy.

They were unpacking the delivery bag, when Dabi finally let go of Tomura’s scruff, smacking at the loose hair in his mouth. Aizawa stopped the timer. The screen displayed 24 minutes.

Immediately after feeling the pressure ease up, Tomura snarled and lashed out at the alpha who was quick to jump aside and back away.

“So apparently no cuddling after sex?” Rumi mused and scribbled in her notebook.

Tomura flopped onto his side and rubbed his neck and head against the rug (Aizawa had already resigned on throwing it away along with the guest room rug, the spare mattress, and possibly the couch), then rolled around, grunting and whimpering. He thrashed around for a moment before sitting up to shake off and lick himself. Dabi cleaned himself too but then sat a couple of meters away, keeping an eye on the omega and damn, if he didn’t look complacent as hell. Phookas couldn’t smirk but the expression on Dabi’s face was pretty damn close.

After finishing his task, Tomura lifted his head, turning it from side to side, confused, as if wondering what had just happened. He looked at Dabi, then at the humans.

For minutes, nothing happened apart from Dabi yawning and crooning faintly while he sat within a safe distance from the omega.

“Should we do something?” Aizawa asked. “I mean, could we approach them? Can I take Tomura outside for a pee?”

Rumi got to her feet and picked up the water bowl, walking over to the living room side.

“Dabi, hey, wanna drink some water?”

Dabi growled, low and warning, making Rumi stop in her tracks.

”Alright, they might not be done yet.”

“Maybe we should wait until they approach us.”

“Dabi would approach me only if he thought I was dying—to finish me off.”

“Yes, I was referring to Tomura mostly,” Aizawa clarified. He wasn’t holding his breath, though. Tomura was probably too consumed by his heat to think about anything other than the alpha.

For that, what happened next made Aizawa question every reasonable decision he was expected to make in the near future. Tomura stood up and started towards them. Dabi lunged forward, trying to stop him, but Tomura swatted him right in the chest claws first with an angry hiss-snarl. One didn’t need to be fluent in Phooka to understand what he was saying. ‘Back off! You don’t tell me what to do.’

Dabi showed his fangs but stepped back, tail swishing with frustration.

Tomura jogged over to Aizawa and nudged his leg before tilting his face upwards to look Aizawa in the eye. He let out a pleading sound.

Hizashi cooed. “Aww, he still remembers his human.”

Aizawa didn’t need the Talking Buttons. He was getting quite good in Phooka, even if he said it himself. “He wants to pop outside. Rumi, can you hold Dabi back?”

”I can but it might get ugly.”

“I think Tomura will keep him at bay.”

Tomura grumbled lowly, fixing Dabi a pointed look. The alpha didn’t seem pleased and answered with a series of guttural clicks to which Tomura reacted with a huff and a snort.

Hizashi looked intrigued and a bit shocked as he followed the phookas’ communication.

“Is it only me or does it seem like they are talking?”

”Many animals talk,” Rumi said.

”Yeah, but I mean, with words.”

Whatever Tomura said to Dabi did the trick and the alpha lay on the ground with a resigned sigh, ears drooping to the sides.

“Hell yeah, Tomura told him off!”

Tomura was already trotting to the genkan. He sat underneath the harness hanging in the rack and turned his head towards Aizawa, his eyes demanding.

Aizawa put the harness on him. His scruff was still damp with Dabi’s spit and his odour had taken a turn into something nasty, probably his and Dabi’s pheromones mixing. Aizawa couldn’t wait to bathe him.

“Don’t touch my meal,” he told Hizashi and Rumi. Then he put his shoes on and they left the apartment.

Nowadays Tomura was comfortable with the elevator. He sat obediently next to Aizawa as the booth descended, staring right ahead. As he stood up, he left a spot of cloudy, whitish fluid on the floor. Aizawa hoped no neighbour would set foot in the elevator before he had time to wipe the stain off, because it looked exactly like what it was.

It was warm and sunny outside. Tomura was squinting, unaccustomed to the bright light. His nose kept twitching as he smelled the warm spring air, the sunbathed grass and the concrete. Aizawa led him to the small yard and sat down on the stone wall, raking his hand through his hair.

Fuck. He needed a smoke.

He had a half-empty pack in the spare bedroom drawer. He rarely smoked, only on occasions when he felt like he needed distraction. He couldn’t even remember when he had last taken a cigarette from that pack. Now he regretted not taking it down with him.

He heard footsteps on the asphalt and turned to see a young man walking to his car in the parking lot. The man didn’t look like any of Aizawa’s neighbours so he was probably from the other building they shared the parking area with or he was visiting someone. Against his better judgment, Aizawa stood up and lifted his hand to get the guy’s attention.

“Hey man, you happen to have a cigarette?”

“Yeah, sure.” The man came over and offered Aizawa a stick and light.

Tomura hid behind Aizawa’s legs as he spoke to the man, but of course the guy saw the phooka. He wasn’t exactly small.

“That’s a wicked-looking pet you got there, man. What is it?”

Aizawa glanced behind his back, playing for time. Tomura looked back at him, silently asking if the new human was someone he should interact with. He had come a long way since the days he had spent hiding under the bed. ”Oh, him. Uh, he’s… an aardwolf, an albino one, very rare.”

”Mrow,” Tomura said, sounding very feline-like.

Shut up, Tomura, Aizawa willed.

“A what?”

”An aardwolf,” Aizawa repeated, deliberately mumbling. He hoped the man would forget the word before he had time to google it. “He’s not exactly a pet. I train animals for living.”

“Oh, cool,” the man said. “Well, good luck with him.”

”Thanks.”

The man went to his car and drove off. Aizawa slumped back on the stone wall and took a long drag of the cigarette. Tomura disapproved of his action, scrunching up his nose at the smell of smoke and fake sneezing loudly.

“You’re right. It’s a bad habit.”

”Nrewf.”

Tomura began browsing his surroundings, nose in the ground, tail swishing from left to right. When he found a good spot, he slumped down and rolled in the grass, thoroughly rubbing his neck and sides against it. Aizawa let him roam around as long as he wanted, smoking his cigarette leisurely, the hand loop of the leash hanging from his wrist. His eyes wandered up. In the distance, a lone cherry tree was blossoming.

Tomura took his time, rolling, skipping and sniffing around the little yard, subdued grunts and yips rising from him, but eventually he came to Aizawa, nosing his hand and looking up into his face, ears perked, eyes expecting.

Aizawa smothered his cigarette and wiped his hands into his pants before standing up. “You ready to go back to your boyfriend?”

Apparently the phooka was as he pulled towards the front door. Aizawa followed.

Back inside, Tomura waited patiently for Aizawa to unharness him before strolling to the living room. Dabi was still moping in the same spot. His head shot up as he saw the omega return and he whined.

Tomura went straight to him and the alpha began rubbing his neck against the omega, scenting him. A faint croon left Dabi’s throat. Tomura seemed much calmer and more accepting of his mate now, lying down and closing his eyes as Dabi nuzzled and groomed him.

‘You got what you wanted, alpha, now take care of me,’ he seemed to say.

Chapter Text

‘Why can’t you just leave?’

Dabi’s tongue stops in the middle of its task, the rough surface resting on Tenko’s ear. Tenko is lying on his side on the rug. Dabi has been grooming him since he got back inside and it’s nice, he wishes their setting could stay like this, but he’s already feeling the subtle gnawing in his bones, the buzzing under his skin.

‘Why should I leave? I don’t think we’re done yet, omega. Quite the opposite, we’ve barely even started.’

Tenko snarls and swats the alpha. Dabi takes the hit without a blink. He props his leg across Tenko’s chest to keep him in place and goes back to his task. His alpha rumble vibrates against Tenko’s skin. His heavy, musky scent is all Tenko can smell.

‘You’re quite new to this, aren’t you, omega? One time is not going to cut it. You’ll be begging for my knot again before you even know it.’

’You wish,’ Tenko growls between his teeth, but his instincts are starting to poke him, urging him to get on his paws and present for the alpha again. While he still refuses to act on the need, it’s seeping into his scent, telling Dabi exactly what he wants to know.

‘You’re a strange omega,’ Dabi continues. ‘Why are you fighting it?’

Tenko snorts and cranes his neck back, away from Dabi’s invading scent. Dabi starts licking his neck instead. The buzzing is turning into pulsing that gathers between his thighs. He rubs them together, groans and whines, frustrated with himself and the situation he can’t escape.

‘You have done this before,’ he mutters. It’s not a question.

Dabi hums. ’I have.’

Tenko raises his head to look at the alpha. ‘So you have cubs?’

‘It’s possible. Never met them though.’

And you see nothing wrong with that scenario? Tenko wants to ask. Such a typical alpha. All he cares about is getting to mount an omega. After the heat he just leaves the impregnated omega to survive on their own.

‘Do you know what happened to the previous male who tried to breed me?’ he asks instead. ‘I killed him.’

Something flashes in the blue of Dabi’s eyes. Not the fear Tenko was hoping for but maybe… respect and admiration. But it’s brief and the self-sufficiency returns before Tenko manages to grasp it.

‘It wasn’t an alpha?’ Dabi guesses.

Tenko lifts his upper lip again, giving Dabi an eyeful of his sharp fangs. ’You think I couldn’t take you?’

‘I didn’t say that. I just don’t think you want to. Do you know what your scent is telling me?’

Tenko plops his head back on the rug, huffing with annoyance. Yes, he knows. He can smell it himself, the sickly sweet, overpowering stench of a ripe omega.

mount me, knot me, breed me

Dabi moves down from his neck, nuzzling his chest and stomach, his crooning adopting a deeper tone. As he descends, Tenko’s thighs spread on their own accord, the faint squelch revealing just how wet he is. His throat makes a needy groan without his permission and he tries to sit up to lick himself clean again but Dabi beats him to it.

Tenko trembles when the foreign tongue drags across his sensitive folds and continues all the way up to his dick. He slumps down on his back again, allowing Dabi to do the work. He can’t help the small whimpers that escape his throat when Dabi returns to his entrance, coaxing his tongue inside and delving into the soft, hot wetness.

‘You’re ready for the second round. Turn around and present, omega.’ Dabi pokes Tenko with his snout. His cock is almost fully out of its sheath, twitching at the sight in front of him.

Tenko’s tail hits him between his arrogant eyes. ‘I’m not ready.’

‘You’re slicking up the whole place. Your body wants it.’

To emphasize his words, Dabi nips Tenko’s butt. Tenko shows his teeth and snarls, but Dabi scrambles on top of him despite him still lying on his back and tries to reach Tenko’s scruff so he could force Tenko around. Anger flares inside Tenko. He lunges at the alpha, content when his jaws close around Dabi’s snout and he bites down hard. Dabi yelps in pain and jumps off him, backing away several steps. He shakes his head and licks his wounded snout.

Tenko pulls himself upright and snarls at Dabi one more time to make his point clear. Dabi’s ears are rotating back and forth, he pants a little with his tongue out before licking around his snout again. Then he sighs and lies down, lowering his head on his paws. His blue eyes are moving under the black fringe. The smugness is gone.

What an idiot of an alpha, thinking he could force Tenko into mating. He better think again.

Tenko knows it’s going to happen again. The alpha is going to mount him again. He’s barely in control of himself. But he gets to decide when it happens.

He glances at the humans who have stopped whatever they were doing and are now staring at him and Dabi. His Human looks like he is halfway standing up from his seat, ready to come between them. He should do it. He should take Dabi away.

But The Human sits down again when he sees that Dabi stays put. Tenko snorts and begins cleaning himself. Slick just won’t stop dribbling. Every time he thinks he has finished his job, more trickles out. There’s some of Dabi’s semen too. Good, he wants it out. His pussy feels extra tender, hot and swollen. Licking helps some but what he really wants is to rub it against something hard. Something to get good friction. He barely notices the subdued frustrated snuffles he keeps making while he works. Why can’t this stupid heat be over already?

Dabi doesn’t try to approach him for a good while. But he’s there, he’s observing and he’s waiting. When Tenko lifts his head, Dabi extends his neck and croons softly, questioningly. When Tenko doesn’t answer, he crawls closer, his posture appeasing. His tongue finds Tenko’s neck. It laps over his scent gland, making him shiver.

Tenko lets the alpha groom him for an unnecessarily long time, enjoying the sense of control it gives him. Eventually he yawns and stretches down, kneads the rug and trills while his back arches. Dabi doesn’t need more clues, but he does make sure Tenko is not going to attack him again by laying his chin and neck on Tenko’s croup. When Tenko doesn’t protest, he inches forward until he can reach Tenko’s scruff and grab his waist with his front paws.

Tenko hisses when the alpha’s cock penetrates him again. He is sore from the first time, yet there’s that strange feeling of satisfaction. The hot, rough drag against his walls, the fullness that overtakes his every sense. He dares to push his hips back a little which seems to excite Dabi quite a lot. He snaps his hips forward, driving his cock in deep, making Tenko moan.

‘See, omega? I told you you were ready. You want to take my knot again.’

‘Shut your stupid mouth,’ Tenko gnarls, ‘or I’ll bite you again.’

Dabi doesn’t answer that but he thrusts in hard again, his teeth tightening around the loose skin on Tenko’s neck, his paws gripping Tenko’s midsection with force. He’s making a point. Tenko hates him right now. But he can’t make himself shake Dabi off. Something else is in control; something that yearns to be knotted and bred.

* *

In the living room the phookas were becoming noisier again. Tomura was trilling and whining and kneading the rug with his front paws. Dabi was trying to mount him again, his rumbling now very audible. He was successful this time; the previous scene where Tomura had attacked him didn’t repeat itself.

“How many times do you think they are gonna do it?” Hizashi wondered.

“I have no idea but the more they do it, the better for the outcome, I suppose.”

Aizawa looked at his two guests. “Are you still going to spend the night? It might be restless.”

“Well, I kinda have to, don’t I?” Rumi said. “Can’t leave you handling them, namely Dabi, alone.”

“We won’t abandon you, man!” Hizashi insisted.

It was settled then. They played a couple of rounds on the cards, an odd game that was a mix between Rummy and Oh Hell, trying to ignore the noises coming from the living room. Aizawa and Hizashi put up a good fight, but apparently Rumi was a secret poker shark and she kept wiping the table with them. Frankly, it got boring quickly.

“So, I’ve decided,” Hizashi suddenly said, standing up and slamming his cards on the table. “You guys should go out and have a beer or something. I’m gonna stay here and babysit the two horny trolls.”

“What? Why?”

Hizashi pointed at Aizawa. ”Because you look like shit. You need a break.”

“I’m fine,” Aizawa protested.

“I’ve seen mummies in the British Museum that look more alive than you. You’re not fine. You need to go out and have a beer with human company.”

“You’ve never been to the British Museum.”

”How do you know that? I might have! And that’s beside the point. The point is that you guys need to take a break and go out to have a drink. You’ve basically been shut in your apartment for the past three or four months, only communicating with a moody folklore goblin. As sweet as Tomura is, you’re deficient in human contact.”

“I get out plenty.”

Hizashi waved his arms, frustrated. “Sure you do, like to the nearest konbini! C’mon, man, humour me and go have a beer with Rumi. Babysitting these two is not a problem for me. I get along with Tomura and Dabi is too occupied with him to even think about assaulting me.”

Rumi shook her head. “I can’t leave Dabi to you. He’s unpredictable. He appears that he doesn’t care but there’s no guarantee what he would do if left alone with a stranger. You two can go, I’ll keep an eye on them.”

”But don’t you need a break from your phooka as well?”

“Nah, dude, I appreciate your concern, but I don’t live with Dabi.”

Hizashi’s brows shot up. ”You don’t?”

Rumi smiled, shaking her head again. “No, he lives in the center. I merely work with him and train him. Shouta is the crazy one here, bringing a wild beast into his apartment.” She nodded at them. “You guys go have a beer or something. I’ll keep watch.”

“Are you sure?” Aizawa asked.

“Yes, I’m sure. You’re going out for a couple of hours, right, not on a two-week holiday. But hey, Shouta, you really need to take a shower first and change clothes. You look like a homeless person living in a dumpster and smell even worse.”

“How can you tell it’s me and not the phookas?”

“Well, to be perfectly honest and accurate, the smell is human sweat mixed with phooka pheromones and piss.”

Aizawa opened his mouth but closed it again. Finally, he let out a designated sigh. “Fine, I got the message.”

*

So, apparently it was Saturday (which Aizawa had previously failed to notice) and the bars and restaurants were buzzing with people. As they sat down at a table and a waitress took their order, Aizawa realized that perhaps Hizashi was right; that this was something he had subconsciously been missing. He was mostly happy living a hermit life but enough was enough. His speech pattern had begun to change after such a long time talking mostly to Tomura. There had been that unfortunate time that he would never tell anyone about when at a small ramen takeout shop he had blurted ‘Good boy’ at the clerk when the guy had placed his order on the counter. He would never visit that place again.

Nezu was probably expecting him to start focusing on some other residents besides Tomura. Aizawa had already taken his time and some more with the phooka. Yet there was still the question of Tomura’s residency if he did conceive. Nezu, Yagi and Nemuri probably expected Aizawa to return Tomura to the center. Checking in on the phooka every other week or even every week when he was pregnant probably wouldn’t satisfy Nemuri.

The waitress interrupted his train of thought by bringing their beers. Hizashi wanted to toast.

“To getting out to somewhere that doesn’t smell like a skunk’s nest!” he declared and raised his glass.

Aizawa clinked his glass against Hizashi’s and they drank. For some reason the beer tasted way better when sitting at a bar with company than when drinking at home from a can.

“Am I a bad person to wish that it wouldn’t take?” Aizawa asked, peering at Hizashi from the shadow of his bangs. “Not because I don’t want more phookas, I know it’s important for reviving the species, but–”

“But because you don’t want to give him up,” Hizashi finished. “I totally get you, man. I wouldn’t want to give him up either. He’s like your weird semiferal pet.”

“He’s not a pet. He’s a wild animal.”

”Dabi is a wild animal. Tomura is your pet. Your weird demon-looking furry child.”

“Now that makes me feel like a creep. Pimping out my son.”

“Well, it happens with every domesticated animal, be it a pet or livestock. Humans control their reproduction.” He took a long gulp out of his glass and waited for the burning to dissipate before adding, ”Maybe they can take the cubs and let you keep Tomura.”

Aizawa shook his head. ”I know he would be happier in a more natural environment. A city apartment is no place for such an energetic and agile creature. I think on some level he also understands this is not a permanent arrangement. That’s why he’s been so calm and hasn’t tried to escape.”

Hizashi sighed and leaned his head in his hand. “I’m still nursing the hope that they would let me purchase one of the cubs.”

“Are you not listening to me? I just said that city apartments are not suitable for phookas.”

“But are you sure it applies to Tomura? To me it looks like he’s thriving. Maybe he prefers idling in a dry, warm apartment and watching Netflix to living in the wild. Maybe he’s happy leading a couch potato life.”

“Doesn’t mean it’s good for him. He has merely adapted to the conditions he was placed in.”

“Okay, maybe he needs to get out more—not unlike you—but let’s not forget this tiny detail that the scruffy critter is attached to you. It would be traumatic for him to suddenly get returned to the facility and locked in an enclosure alone. Or with Dabi, god forbid,” Hizashi added as an afterthought.

”Which one of us is an animal trainer, you or me?”

”You—but don’t you get it? You’re looking at this from too close. You’re in too deep. I’m offering you the much-needed outsider’s perspective.”

Aizawa was quiet for a moment. What Hizashi was saying was dangerous. Hizashi’s words were sparking a faint hope in him and it was dangerous. Because Aizawa was a professional and he couldn’t let his feelings get in the way of his work.

He took a sip of his glass. “Even so, it’s not up to me to decide.”

“You could at least have a chat with your boss. Or maybe they are a step ahead of you? They’ve let you keep Tomura this long.”

Aizawa seriously doubted it. Even if the center had another phooka now, they wouldn’t just let Aizawa keep one as a pet. It wasn’t even guaranteed that Tomura would stay in the facility permanently.

Mercifully, Hizashi could read his contradictory expression. He picked up his glass, raising it for another toast.

“Hey, it’s a story for another day. Let’s drink and talk about something else.”

*

They stumbled back to the apartment around half past one. It was fairly quiet and dim, the only light coming from the kitchen. Rumi was still sitting at the kitchen table, typing away on her laptop, an opened can of Asahi sitting next to it.

“How is it going? Everything alright?” Aizawa asked. Several liters of beer were sloshing around his stomach and his head felt heavy, buzzing.

“Yup. They’ve been going at it like goddamn bonobos,” she said, leaning to the side to glance towards the living room. “Things only calmed down half an hour ago or something. I’m telling you, I’ve seen enough phooka action to last me a lifetime. If it doesn’t take, it certainly won’t be because of the lack of trying.”

In the living room, Tomura was curled up in his nest, out like a light, head tucked under his paws and the quilt, his side rising and falling along deep breaths. Dabi was slotted right beside him, resting his chin on the edge of the bed. He was awake and observed the humans from under his messy fringe, but looked tired and calm.

Aizawa fetched the water bowl and approached the phookas carefully, mostly because he could see Dabi getting his guard up but also because he was unexpectedly tipsy. He managed to crouch and lower the bowl without splashing water. As he pushed it towards the phookas, Dabi’s ears pricked and he looked ready to stand up, the kitchen light making his eyes flash, but Aizawa quickly retreated, leaving the bowl at their disposal.

Dabi waited until he was back on the kitchen side before standing up and stepping to the water bowl. He drank with the bottom of his face dipped in the water, long, eager gulps, but his eyes were still on them, keeping watch. After sating his thirst he hopped back in the bed and lay down, adjusting his legs to fit in the snug space. With a soft exhale he turned to the omega by his side and began grooming his ear and neck.

“Dabi seems quite possessive of Tomura,” Hizashi said with a small smile. He was slurring and swaying a little.

”Of course he does, Tomura’s still in heat.”

“But what if it’s not just for now? What if they mate for life?”

“Our current information doesn’t point towards such behaviour,” Rumi said. “Then again, it’s not like we know very much about them.”

Aizawa certainly hoped that wasn’t the case. He couldn’t house both phookas and the idea of returning Tomura to the facility so abruptly made his stomach churn more than any amount of alcohol could.

He scratched his head, looking around the dim space. “Maybe we should try to get some sleep when they do.”

“Yes, we should.” Rumi typed some more before closing the lid of the laptop and standing up. “I’m calling the cleanest bed.”

She took the main bedroom again so that left Aizawa with the ruined guest room bed. Hizashi insisted he was good resting on an empty air mattress and practically passed out immediately after getting into a horizontal position.

Aizawa managed to fall asleep but after an hour or two he stirred to something that sounded like Tomura snarling and loud rustling. He lifted his head a little to listen more carefully. There was a deep groan—Dabi—then nails clacking against the floor. It sounded like one of the phookas was scurrying around the place with haste. The steps advanced to the guest room’s closed door, stopping in front of it. In the narrow gap under the door, Aizawa could see the paws moving as the phooka circled behind the door. He knew it was Tomura even before he heard the confused whine.

Should he get up and see what the matter was? Would it interfere with the phookas’ mating process? Maybe Dabi was there right behind Tomura and would get aggressive towards Aizawa.

Another whine and a paw lifted to scratch the door.

“I’m here, boy. It’s okay,” Aizawa called as reassuringly as he could. “Just go to sleep in your bed. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Mreew!”

”Just go with Dabi. Everything is okay.”

“Mrew.”

”I’ll see you in the morning, boy. Just go with your mate.”

The paw descended to the floor, Aizawa heard some confused snuffling and more clacking as Tomura padded away. Or maybe Dabi came to fetch him; there was another sound of clawed paws hitting the wooden boards and the low rumbling of the alpha. Either way, the phookas retreated to the living room. Aizawa remained quiet, holding his breath to catch everything. The beasts were moving around, making an occasional grunt, snarl or snort. It didn’t sound like they were fighting so Aizawa allowed himself to relax. Not long after Tomura began his restless trill that could only mean one thing. Aizawa turned to his side and dropped an arm over his top ear.

In the morning Tomura came to his food bowl and wolfed down the plain boiled chicken and corn mix Aizawa had thrown together. He wasn’t very keen on making gourmet meals when he would likely have to throw them away. But Tomura ate like he hadn’t had food in weeks and licked the bowl clean with such eagerness that it slid across the floor. He smelled less and seemed more clear-headed. His heat was obviously passing.

Dabi wasn’t quite done with him, though. He ate a little but soon began nudging Tomura, stuck his head under his groin and lifted it, making Tomura stumble a little, and then placed his chin and paw on his lower back, all the while rumbling and crooning. When he didn’t get a desired response, he nipped Tomura in the butt, making the omega swirl around and snap the air near his face.

“Yes, you let him know if you don’t wanna bang anymore,” Rumi told Tomura. “Consent is sexy.”

“Dabi apparently didn’t receive that note,” Hizashi said.

Tomura gave in, when Dabi closed his teeth around his scruff, already on his back, pushing him down. He lowered his front and presented, Dabi immediately seizing the opportunity.

“Seriously, guys? Right in front of my breakfast?” Rumi grumbled.

Tomura was letting out stifled grunts, and he looked quite uncomfortable. He was probably sore from all the copulating that had taken place throughout the past 18 hours. Even Dabi didn’t seem that enthusiastic about it anymore, the weariness shining from his moves, but he still knotted, biting Tomura’s scruff hard and making him cry out.

After they untangled, Dabi groomed Tomura a little but appeared to be quickly losing interest in the omega. He shook off, went to finish his breakfast and then lay down on a sunny spot on the kitchen floor, yawning and panting a little. Tomura observed him for a while before slinking to the living room. He went to his toy box and dug out a dog puzzle. It was one of those he had already solved many times and his playing resembled more like pretending than actually passing the time. He kept glancing towards Dabi out of the corner of his eye as he moved the pieces around. Twenty minutes snailed past. Tomura glared at Dabi with distaste, as if saying ‘I can’t believe you’re still here.’ Dabi yawned again, stretched his legs and craned his neck to look at Rumi.

“Dare I say that they might be done?” Aizawa guessed.

“What do you say, Dabi?” Rumi asked the alpha, meeting the aquamarine gaze. “Are you done? Wanna go home?”

Dabi wasn’t verbal with humans like Tomura but offered Rumi a quick wag of the tail and scrambled to his feet.

“I take that as a yes.”

“So no mating for life,” Hizashi concluded. “That’s a relief. We still have some good movies to watch with Tomura!”

“You still staying?” Aizawa asked him, masking how relieved he himself was. “We could watch a movie or an episode of Better Call Saul today.”

“Sure, I don’t have anywhere to be.”

Rumi packed her stuff and got Dabi’s harness. The alpha actually sat quietly when she put it on him. Once or twice he made a sound directed at Tomura but they didn’t seem to carry a deeper meaning. Tomura came to see them off in the genkan and the phookas exchanged some small snorts and clicks. As if saying goodbye.

Hizashi leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. “I wonder what they are saying. ‘Thanks for the shag, see you again sometime maybe’?”

Rumi laughed. “Jesus, I hope it takes. I don’t wanna go through this again in a couple of weeks. But, Shouta, maybe you should wait a little before replacing all your furniture? You know, just in case.”

After the door closed behind her and Dabi, Tomura went to the Talking Buttons, pressed ‘Tired’, hopped in his bed, circled in it a few times before slumping down and laying his head on the edge. He closed his eyes and was immediately asleep. He slept for ten hours straight.

Chapter Text

After Tomura’s heat had passed, Aizawa expected things to return to normal or at least close to it. When Tomura didn’t want to watch Better Call Saul after waking up from his long sleep or even the next day, he brushed it off as the phooka’s hormones still whizzing on a rollercoaster. But when three days had passed and Tomura stopped eating, he grew worried. It wasn’t only refusing food but refusing everything; he didn’t play, didn’t move around the apartment, didn’t communicate with Aizawa. He was only lying in his bed, either sleeping or staring into the void. When Aizawa took him out, he did his business but didn’t seem to care about his surroundings. His food bowl sat untouched beside his bed.

Then he started scratching himself again. It couldn’t be the allergies since he barely ate anything. On top of that, he began licking his paws profusely. Aizawa had spent enough time around animals to recognize a stress-originated behavioural pattern when he saw one.

“I need to ask Nemuri to come and check on you,” he told Tomura. The phooka just sighed and turned his head away.

Nemuri did a cursory examination on Tomura, checked his eyes, ears and gums (he hated it) and took his temperature (which he hated even more).

“He seems to be in good health, but I’ll take a blood sample and give him a vitamin shot just in case.”

Aizawa held Tomura while Nemuri drew blood from his forelimb. He hissed and wriggled a little but much less than Aizawa would have anticipated. He barely tensed when Nemuri jabbed the vitamin injection into his rump. When Aizawa let go, he fell on his bed like a pile of wet sheets.

Nemuri observed the scene with her hands on her hips. “What have you tried?”

”I’ve offered various kinds of foods, I’ve tried to play with him, I’ve taken him out. I asked Hizashi to come over, because they are good buddies, but to no avail. I even tried showing him the new Godzilla movie but he wouldn’t even look at the TV.”

”Um, I don’t know how to tell you this but–”

Aizawa cut her off. ”Tomura likes Netflix, okay? You can tell there’s something wrong with him when he doesn’t want to watch Better Call Saul. It’s his absolute favourite show. If it was up to him, we would have finished it ages ago, but because I’m still in charge of the remote, we’ve only gotten to the third season. He still likes Mike best, but Nacho is growing on him too.” Honestly, he was a little worried about Tomura’s reaction after they were done with the series. He didn’t know if the phooka would understand that there simply wasn’t more to watch.

Oh well, they still had Breaking Bad.

Nemuri raised her hands and actually took a step back. “Hey, whatever you say. It’s your phooka.”

”He’s not my phooka.”

For a fleeting second, she looked like she wanted to argue but decided it was futile. “Your assigned phooka.”

She didn’t suggest that Aizawa try bringing Tomura back to the center to see if that would cheer him up. She knew better.

“I suppose you can’t tell yet if he’s conceived,” Aizawa assumed, his eyes on the unmoving white shape that might as well have been a stuffed animal.

“No, it’s going to take at least a couple of weeks.” She gave Aizawa a pointed look. “You have to bring him to the center for ultrasounds. I can’t transport the machine here.”

Aizawa tch’d. ”I know.” The facility had a portable ultrasound machine as well as a handheld X-ray device but they were reserved only for situations where moving the animal would have been dangerous.

Nemuri collected her stuff and went to the door. “Alright, I’ll let you know if there’s something in the blood tests. Meanwhile, keep offering him different kinds of foods. If he doesn’t start eating on his own soon enough, we’re going to have to force feed him. At least he’s still drinking.”

She left and Aizawa went to sit on the couch. He turned the TV on and clicked on Netflix. Playing Better Call Saul’s intro did nothing to Tomura. He continued lying in his bed in the position he had fallen in after the vitamin shot, his face towards the wall.

Aizawa let out a meaningfully loud sigh and paused the show. “Can’t you just let me know what’s wrong?”

No reaction.

”You’re not missing Dabi, are you?” What if their theory had been wrong and phookas did mate for life after all?

He had hoped Tomura would react to Dabi’s name but he didn’t seem to even hear Aizawa talking. Aizawa got up and went to the phooka, sitting down on the floor next to him. Tomura’s ear turned briefly towards him but otherwise he kept ignoring Aizawa.

It was almost deliberate, the ignoring. It was systematic, it was stubborn. The phooka was absorbed in his own world but also refused to acknowledge Aizawa. He didn’t lean in or away when Aizawa petted his head and scratched behind his ear. He just… was.

“Are you angry with me?” Aizawa guessed. It sure as hell looked like it. He didn’t know if phookas could hold a grudge but judging by their intelligence, it was possible, even likely.

Tomura snuffled a little. It was more than Aizawa had gotten out of him in days.

“Why are you angry? Because of what happened during your heat? I’m sorry if I was harsh on you but you were destroying my apartment. You can see some things are beyond repair. I need to purchase a new couch and rugs and a new mattress in the guest room. I have to replace some floorboards. I really don’t make that much money, training you and other creatures.”

This time the only sound from the phooka was his belly rumbling.

“You can be angry with me and still eat, you know.”

Tomura curled up tighter and tucked his snout under his hind leg.

“Very well then. If you don’t react to humans, maybe you’ll react to your own kin,” Aizawa decided, standing up from the floor. “I’m going to call Rumi.”

In Aizawa’s humble opinion, Tomura would have acted differently if it was the question of his mate. He would have searched Dabi, not just lain unmoving in his bed.

In any case, it was worth trying.

* *

Aizawa explained the situation to Rumi. Turned out, it wasn’t necessary. Nemuri had already enlightened her. Damn, the news travelled fast amongst the UA staff.

“Nemuri took a blood sample, but I’m pretty sure there’s nothing physically wrong with him,” Aizawa said. “To me it seems like he’s sulking.”

“Could just be the shift in his hormones,” Rumi reasoned.

“I thought so too at first, but there hasn’t been any change in a week. He only lies in his bed, barely shifting positions.” He glanced over his shoulder at the phooka who was frozen in the exact same position. Only the rise of his chest told Aizawa that he was still alive.

“What have you tried feeding him?”

”All of his favourite foods. Chicken, salmon, liver, dried beef. I even purchased a fucking overpriced beef tenderloin and it’s currently rotting in his bowl, untouched.” Even thinking about that expensive cut going to waste made him weep internally. “We should try with Dabi.”

”You reckon he’s gonna cheer Tomura up?”

”It’s worth a shot, isn’t it?”

Rumi agreed. “Probably won’t do any harm, anyway.”

“How has he been? Dabi?” Aizawa asked.

”Normal, I suppose. He was a little worn out and slept more for a few days but now he’s back to his cunning, asshole self. Or dare I say he’s even a bigger asshole than before. Got himself some pussy and now he’s the alpha male—no pun intended—of our mismatched duo.” She huffed. “I called it, didn’t I?”

“It doesn’t appear like he misses Tomura?”

”No, not really. In my opinion, if they mated for life or even for the current mating period, he wouldn’t have let me take him away. You saw yourself he was quite happy to leave after Tomura’s heat.”

Yes, Aizawa had seen it. Tomura had also appeared relieved when the alpha left. But sometimes things weren’t as black and white as they first appeared. “At this point any reaction is better than nothing.”

“Alright, give us a few hours.”

Tenko is not stupid. He knows he’s most likely pregnant. It would be a miracle if he wasn’t. The heat was intense and the humans had an alpha. The alpha knotted Tenko several times.

Why did they have to bring Dabi here?

Tenko thought things had been fine. Just him and The Human and Swaarz-Man and sometimes the Loud Yellow Man. He thought The Human was content with just Tenko.

But he should have known. These humans are no different, after all. He saw what happened to Kaina—saw what humans wanted from them. Thinking of Kaina, he hasn’t seen her since they were removed from the bad place. Where is she now? Is she even alive?

He gnaws at his toes and gives in to the urge to scratch his neck. He hasn’t done it in ages, it hasn’t itched more than normal. Now he can feel the beginnings of that torturing burn and tingle creeping under his skin like flesh-eating maggots.

“Tomura,” he hears The Human say. He’s looking at Tenko, his face concerned. He says something that Tenko doesn’t understand but he probably wants him to stop scratching. Tenko speeds up his task. The Human starts towards him and Tenko ceases his task, quickly hiding his face under his thigh. The Human sighs and goes back to whatever he was doing. Tenko doesn’t care. He wills his mind to shut down, to his body to go to sleep so he can get a break from the burning emptiness of his belly.

He’s not sure if he has fallen asleep or simply floated in a half-slumber but his ears perk automatically when sudden noises carry from the entrance. It’s that loud ringing that indicates that someone is behind the door and The Human walks there to open it. They have visitors.

The breeze from the door opening ushers a familiar smell into his nostrils.

Tenko is appalled.

He lifts his head and takes a sniff to make sure he’s not mistaken. He’s not. There’s no mistaking that masculine burnt soil scent.

He can’t believe it. The humans brought Dabi back—again. What are they thinking to achieve this time? They can’t possibly think that Tenko would still want to mate with him.

He swallows the urge to attack the alpha and stays in his nest, ignoring Dabi as he pads over, bringing the deep, pungent alpha scent with him. He greets Tenko, and, when no answer comes, rumbles questioningly as he sticks his nose into Tenko’s neck, sniffing and poking around. He nudges, rubs, licks, even nips Tenko’s skin everywhere he can reach. The bustling is very uncharacteristic of him, it’s almost amusing. A frustrated grunt tells Tenko that the alpha is quite taken aback by the lack of response.

Finally, Dabi lies down next to Tenko’s bed and places his chin on the edge. His ears keep turning and his blue eyes glide over Tenko’s unmoving body as he tries to process the situation.

’What’s going on, omega? The bossy female tells me you haven’t been eating. You’re pregnant with my pups, you have to eat to make them grow strong and healthy.’

Tenko turns his head away. ‘I don’t want pups.’

Dabi has no immediate reply to that. Tenko senses his hesitation and confusion. It’s probably the first time the alpha has heard of an omega not wanting offspring.

‘What do you mean?’ Dabi asks, careful.

‘You heard me.’

‘I heard you. But I don’t think you can stop it from happening anymore. Starving yourself will only harm you. The pups will take what they need, one way or the other.’

‘How do you know that?’

‘Because that’s how nature works. A mother gives everything to their pups.’

‘They can’t grow to full-term if I don’t eat. If I don’t eat, I die. If I die, they die.’

Dabi lifts his head. ‘You want to die?’

No, Tenko doesn’t want to die. But he sees no other choice. He can’t do this. He saw what happened to Kaina’s cubs. He can’t put himself through that. He can’t put his cubs through that.

Dabi pokes him in the shoulder with his paw. ‘Come on now, omega. What really is the problem? It can’t be the pups. Because they will be amazing. Strong and healthy and handsome.’

’And then the humans will take them away.’

Dabi falls silent when Tenko’s words fully hit him. When he realizes Tenko is right.

‘Why would they do that?’ he asks anyway.

That’s right. Dabi probably hasn’t seen it, being an alpha.

‘They did it to an omega who lived in the same place as I before. They did it over and over again. She gave birth to the pups, they let her keep them for a couple of weeks and then took them away. She never saw them again.’

’These humans are different,’ Dabi argues.

Tenko sniffles. ‘You don’t know that.’

’But they are. That male human adores you. You’re his fucking pet even if you don’t admit it. See how he’s ogling at you, his stupid, half-naked human face twisted with worry. He won’t let anyone take our pups away from you.’

‘He’s still a human. And this place is too small for all of us.’

’Then you and the pups will come to the center to live with me.’

‘That’s not up to you to decide.’

‘Maybe the humans will come to the same conclusion. In fact, they are bound to. After all, that place is much more suitable for beings of our kind. If we can’t live free, that is.’

‘But I don’t want to live there.’

Dabi snorts. ‘You’re one lazy, fat omega, aren’t you? Honestly, you’ve got such body reserves that you wouldn’t die even though you didn’t eat one piece of food during your pregnancy. What is the human feeding you? Some crappy human food I assume?’

Tenko’s head shoots up and he catches Dabi’s cheek between his teeth before the alpha has time to dodge. ‘Shut up! You’re the most obnoxious alpha I’ve ever met!’

Dabi pulls back a little, rubbing his cheek against the edge of the bed. ’I’m merely observing what I see. It’s because you just idle on your haunches all day, every day. Don’t get me wrong, it’s better for the babies than if you were a stick bug. But you do realize that this bare human construction won’t give the pups the terrain and challenges they need in order to grow up strong and agile.’

Tenko says nothing to that. He didn’t ask for this. Any of this.

‘And I think the humans understand that too,’ Dabi adds.

‘Why do you care about these ones? You said you’ve had cubs before. Why are these different?’

‘I said it was possible. I’m not sure if the omegas got pregnant or not. I wasn’t allowed to care.’ Dabi’s tone is indifferent but Tenko spots the darkness looming behind it. He has had his fair share of human cruelty.

‘Yet you still insist that this time is different. That these humans would allow us to keep the babies.’

‘I’m saying it because this,’ Dabi vaguely nods towards their setting, ‘is already more than I got before.’

Tenko rests his head on the fluffy edge, letting out a long exhale. Out of the corner of his eye he can see the humans observing them, still, tense, not talking. Their expectations hang heavily in the air.

Dabi lowers his head too and pokes him with a paw. ‘Hey, come on now, omega. It’s okay. Whatever happens, I will protect you and the babies.’

‘And how are you going to do that, living in the center behind a glass wall?’

‘I don’t know but I’m going to figure it out. There’s no fucking way I’d let humans take our pups.’ He sticks his nose into Tenko’s abdomen and gives it a tiny lick. It tickles. ‘I’ve escaped humans once and I can do it again if it comes to that. I might have to kill the bossy female, though,’ he says as an afterthought, turning to glance at the humans. ‘Shame. I’m kinda starting to like her.’

In Tenko’s opinion, Dabi is a little too optimistic, not to mention overconfident, but maybe there’s a grain of reason to his words. Thinking back to his life with The Human so far, almost everything has been different compared to the previous place. This human doesn’t wish ill at Tenko even if he is a bit clueless sometimes. Maybe he will let Tenko keep the cubs until they are old enough to naturally leave their mother.

He doesn’t want cubs, but if he has to have them, it’s better to do it here than with the previous humans.

Dabi senses the faint change in his mood and seizes it. He drags the food bowl closer to Tenko’s head. A luscious, glistening, fatty piece of red meat rests in it. It’s a treat Tenko rarely gets. The Human has been offering him similar meals now, obviously hoping they would lure him into eating.

‘I’m going to fucking eat this if you don’t,’ Dabi mutters, inhaling loudly above the bowl and licking his lips. ‘I totally would if you weren’t carrying my pups. Come on, stubborn omega, eat some.’

’My name is Tenko.’

Dabi chuckles. ‘Eat, Tenko. Our babies need it.’

Tenko turns his nose towards the bowl, fixes his gaze on the meat. It smells amazing. He wants to take a bite. His stomach is so empty it aches.

Carefully, he closes his teeth around the meat and bites down. Tears, chews, swallows. It’s wonderful, delicious. It’s nourishing. He takes another bite.

‘That’s a good omega,’ Dabi encourages and nudges his neck before licking his ear. ‘Save me a piece, will you?’

* *

Rumi grinned widely, looking at the phookas. “Well, what do you know?”

For a moment, Aizawa was void of words. All he could do was blink. When he managed to move his tongue, his voice was weak. ”I didn’t expect such a drastic change.” Even if it had been his idea.

It had taken Dabi half an hour to succeed in a task Aizawa had failed for a week. Damn. He almost felt jealous.

He had expected Dabi to devour the expensive steak because that was what animals did when they happened upon delicious food. But he hadn’t touched it. He had communicated with Tomura for a good while and then gently pushed the bowl at Tomura’s reach. He had watched Tomura eat. Even if they didn’t bond for life or a season, there was some kind of understanding, some level of care and protection.

Aizawa hoped this didn’t mean that they actually did bond and just had weird ways of showing it.

He also hoped Tomura wouldn’t feel sick eating such a heavy meal after fasting for several days. Swallowing the last mouthful, the phooka pushed himself to a sitting position and looked at his surroundings, eyes round and bright, like he had woken from an awful nightmare and learned that the world was still intact.

Dabi seemed very complacent about his success but also genuinely happy about Tomura’s change. The phookas kept chatting by Tomura’s bed and even played a little, swatting and nipping each other. Tomura’s brisk snarls and yips were the most welcomed sound.

Rumi and Dabi stayed for a couple of hours. Dabi managed to persuade Tomura out of his bed and the phookas spent a good while roughhousing in the living room, the air filled with growls, barks and squeals. Tomura grew tired quicker than Dabi and plopped down in the middle of the rug, panting with his tongue hanging from the side of his mouth. Dabi observed him, head tilted in evaluation, before lying down next to him and proceeding to groom his ears.

Aizawa dreaded the moment Rumi would announce their departure—what if Dabi refused to leave? What if Tomura cried after the alpha?

The sky behind the windows had turned deep purple when Rumi stood up, stretched her arms above her head and said it was getting late.

”Dabi,” she called. “Come here, time to go home.”

Dabi turned his head towards her but made no move to obey. He was resting on his haunches next to Tomura who was lying on his side, completely relaxed and absentmindedly playing with a colourful pom-pom. When he heard Rumi and Aizawa walk to the genkan, he also lifted his head to look at them.

“Come on now, Dabi,” Rumi called again as she lifted the harness from the rack. “Tomura needs to rest. We’ll come back some other day. Or Tomura will come to see you in the center.”

With all the time in the world, Dabi pushed himself up, stretched and yawned widely before strolling over to Rumi, his tail swinging lazily behind him. Tomura also got up and followed the alpha, making Aizawa’s pulse quicken. But he was just seeing Dabi off. He sat next to Aizawa and had that funny expression that seemed to say: ‘It was fun playing with you but maybe stay away for a week or so’.

“I think whatever Dabi did to Tomura was enough, but let me know if he stops eating again and we’ll be back.” She made it sound like a threat, drilling her intense eyes into Tomura.

“We should take them to the dog park again,” Aizawa suggested.

”Fine by me.” Rumi put the harness on Dabi and straightened her back. “But I think the next time is going to be at the center because Nemuri wants to perform the ultrasound on Tomura.”

Dabi made a sound at Tomura who responded with a soft grunt. Then he stepped outside with Rumi. The apartment fell silent.

Aizawa lowered his gaze at Tomura, observed the phooka with his hands on his hips. The atmosphere was still somewhat tense. Should he say something? Tomura returned his stare, his head tilted back. A faint sound of the elevator moving carried through the door. In the kitchen the wall clock was ticking. Somewhere in the streets a motorcycle vroomed past.

Aizawa frowned. Tomura waved his tail tip a little.

Aizawa cocked an eyebrow. Tomura flicked his ears back and forth.

Aizawa crossed his arms over his chest. Tomura lashed his tail and took a step back with a frustrated squawk.

Goddamn drama queen.

Aizawa let his hands fall to his sides and started towards the kitchen. “Alright, I’m gonna fix us some dinner and then we’re gonna watch the next episode.”

Tomura trotted after him.

Chapter Text

The first sign Aizawa noticed was the change in the phooka’s mood. Or more accurately mood swings. One minute Tomura would be overly affectionate, demanding pets and rubbing against Aizawa’s legs, and the next he would pull a sour face and even hiss, retreating to his nest. However, he never stayed there for hours like before. After making his point clear to Aizawa, he quickly came around and engaged himself with his current source of interest, whether it was a toy, going outside or watching TV. To Aizawa’s horror, he finally figured out how to navigate to Netflix, having somehow put together the button’s text and the service’s logo. How did Aizawa become aware of that? Well, it didn’t take Einstein to figure it out when he turned the streaming service on and saw that the next episode wasn’t 8 but 10.

Tomura tried to look innocent and surprised, eyes round and ears pricked, turning his gaze from the screen to Aizawa and back. He wasn’t that convincing though.

Aizawa lowered the remote and gave the phooka a stern look. “Tomura, what have you done?”

”Nraw?”

“Have you been watching Saul without me?”

A quick head shake. Tomura was getting good at timing the gesture right. ”Nref.”

“You have. Don’t try to deny it.”

”Nreew! Zsaash!”

”What? Are you saying that Hizashi climbed in through the window and watched two episodes while you did your best to stop him?”

”Mrow.”

“Nice try, buddy. No dinner for you tonight.”

“Graaw!”

Hiding the remote every time Tomura was left alone became an unprecedented brain game for Aizawa.

There was also a big shift in Tomura’s appetite, going from not eating at all to eating anything and everything he got his paws on. He refused to wait for his actual mealtime, instead pressing the ‘Food’ button two hours prior. And he was persistent. Aizawa gave him a small snack which he devoured but wasn’t satisfied with. Aizawa started hearing the robotic ‘fooood’ echoing in his dreams.

”You really can’t be hungry again,” he told Tomura as he confiscated the Talking Buttons board. It was going to the basement floor storage, far away from the phooka’s reach.

“Nraaw!” Tomura demanded, trying to snatch the board back.

After losing the board Tomura started doing something he had never done while living with Aizawa: stealing food. Raiding the cupboards in the wee hours of the night led to him consuming foods that he shouldn’t have, such as sugar, dry soba noodles and rice. Aizawa scolded Tomura, purchased a selection of adhesive baby safety locks and called Nemuri to ask just how much food was safe for the phooka.

“If he’s indeed pregnant, you should increase his food intake by 25–50 %. The food should be nutritious—do avoid any unhealthy snacks.”

One thing was certain: Tomura stayed in a notably better mood when Aizawa fed him more.

”When will you bring him in?”

It took Aizawa a tad too long to put together what Nemuri was asking. ”Oh, uh, I can bring him whenever. Tomorrow?”

”What about the day after that? Dr. Reilly is flying to Japan tomorrow. She’s dying to meet our phookas but Nezu ordered her to sleep off her jetlag first.”

”You didn’t think to tell me this before?” With the distance between their countries, the Irish doctor had hardly decided to buy plane tickets on a whim.

“I’m telling you now,” Nemuri said cheerfully. “How does the day after tomorrow work for you?”

As if his life consisted of anything else than sitting on his ass and feeding Tomura. ”It’s fine.”

“Great, in the early afternoon, after lunch?”

”After lunch is fine. You think you’ll be able to confirm if he’s pregnant or not?”

”Yes, it should be doable at this point. However, if you have noticed an alteration in his behaviour and appetite, I think it’s safe to say that he has conceived. If it’s not pseudocyesis, that is. Dr. Reilly will be delighted to be present when we hopefully confirm that our male omega is pregnant! Oh, just a heads-up. Her accent is very strong. Our phone calls have been… interesting, to say the least.”

”Should I ask Hizashi to come with me?” Hizashi had studied English before deciding to go full pro on radio. Aizawa liked to think that his English understanding wasn’t the worst but he was mostly accustomed to listening to the American accent.

“No need. We can use translator apps if it comes to that. And we’ve got Toshinori.”

Oh, that’s right. Aizawa had forgotten that Yagi had spent some time in America during his younger years.

Hanging up, he realized he was extremely late in training Tomura to stay on his back for the ultrasound. He should have started it weeks ago.

Better do it now than never. With some luck Tomura would patch up Aizawa’s slacking.

He summoned the phooka and shook a bag of treats in front of him, signalling that they were in for a training session. Tomura was ready, his posture alert and tail wagging.

Aizawa asked him to lie down, which he did. Good thing he had taught Tomura that before. He held a treat close to Tomura’s face and waited for him to focus on it before circling it above his head and over to the other side.

As expected, Tomura followed the treat with his eyes but he simply turned his head to the other side instead of rolling over when Aizawa’s hand vanished from his sight.

Aizawa pushed his shoulder a little. “Like this. On your side.”

Tomura rolled onto his side when Aizawa guided him. Aizawa gave him the treat with some ‘good-boys’. He hadn’t used the clicker in ages because Tomura understood praising too.

He managed to teach Tomura to lie on his side for a moment and roll completely over onto his back but after that he started showing signs of getting bored and frustrated.

“You did well,” Aizawa said, giving Tomura the last treat. “Let’s continue this later.”

They did another training session before going to bed and this time Tomura stayed on his back for a few seconds. Aizawa rubbing his belly helped quite a bit, his hind leg kicking with reflex. Aizawa reckoned they might still face some challenges.

On the morning of their appointed visit day, Tomura refused to eat his breakfast. It was a complete 180 to the previous night when he had inhaled his dinner and then sat beside Aizawa, intently watching out for any crumble of his meal that might fall. It didn’t look like he was sulking this time. He sniffed his food long and hard, licked his lips, stepped away from the bowl and barely managed to steal a quick glance at Aizawa before arching his body and retching.

“Oh fuck,” Aizawa mumbled, discarding his coffee mug and hurrying to the kitchen towel roll. He waited to be sure that Tomura was done before stepping in to clean up the mess.

Tomura looked abashed, hanging his head and avoiding Aizawa’s eyes. Did he think Aizawa would be mad?

“Hey, it’s okay. There’s a difference between accidents and peeing on my furniture on purpose.”

Tomura grunted in response. He went to his water bowl and drank some, trying to get rid of the taste of bile.

Aizawa stood up and stuffed the pile of dirty towels into the trash before washing his hands. “Not gonna throw up anymore?” he asked the phooka who was sitting next to his bowls, looking at the food like he wanted to eat it but couldn’t trust his stomach to keep it down. “I’ll put your meal in the fridge. You can eat it when you feel better.”

“Mrow.”

He did feel better after a couple of hours. He walked to the fridge and poked at the door, casting Aizawa an expectant look.

Aizawa monitored him while he ate but the nausea seemed to have passed.

Once the phooka was finished with his meal, Aizawa asked him to come over. “Tomura, I need to talk to you about something.”

Tomura left the empty bowl and came to Aizawa, sitting in front of him with an expectant look.

”This is important, so listen carefully, okay? We’re going to the place where you used to live. Remember, the place where we met? Where Dabi lives now. We’re going there for a medical examination but it won’t hurt and it is very important for your health. It won’t take very long and then we’ll come back here right after. I have a tuna fillet in the fridge for dinner. You like tuna, don’t you?”

Tomura wagged his tail.

“Good boy.”

* *

Of course, it was a different matter to implement the visit than to tell Tomura about it.

Tenseness was radiating from the phooka as he tiptoed through the building in Aizawa’s trail, trying to appear as inconspicuous as possible. He peered at his surroundings through his bangs, not really daring to turn his head, his tail threatening to sink between his legs. He probably recognized the scent and some of the views. He hadn’t recognized the façade but Aizawa had sensed suspicion and wariness radiating from him since the moment he had pulled up to the parking lot.

At the door of the examination room he did a full stop. When Aizawa loosened the leash, he took two steps back, pulling the leash taut. The harness began inching up his torso, straps digging into his armpits which only made him pull with more force. The look on his face told Aizawa that he had approximately five seconds to get through to the phooka before the panic would take over his mind.

He squatted in front of the startled creature. “Hey, Tomura, shh, boy, it’s okay. Remember what I told you? Nothing bad is going to happen. Nemuri is just going to do some small tests that won’t hurt. No needles or thermometers, okay? There’s going to be a new person but she won’t hurt you either.”

He was already late. Tomura’s eyes were skipping to the door, not meeting Aizawa’s. He was not listening. Aizawa cursed under his breath and stood up. Well, this could become interesting.

He managed to half-coax, half-pull Tomura into the room. It was more crowded than he would have liked, given Tomura’s growing fear. Besides Nemuri, Nezu, Rumi and Yagi there was a tall, lanky, western-looking woman with a tight red-tinted ponytail. Tomura eyed everyone in turn before taking in all the medical equipment. He remembered the room, remembered what all the shiny gadgets in it indicated. As his eyes landed on Nemuri again, he pulled back and bit into the leash, trying to free himself. When it didn’t work, he pressed himself against the closed door, bared his fangs and hissed at her.

“Well, good day to you too,” Nemuri retorted.

It had been virtually months since Tomura had acted so aggressively towards anyone. Aizawa was already regretting bringing him in.

Nemuri swung her arm towards the new person in the room. “Shouta, meet Dr. Moira Reilly.”

Aizawa stretched out his hand and the Irish vet shook it eagerly. She said something that could have been poorly pronounced Japanese. Aizawa mumbled ‘Nice to meet you’ in his equally poor English. Dr. Reilly leaned to the side and took a look at Tomura who was completely glued to the door, as if trying to dissolve through it to the other side.

“And this is Tomura, yes?” she asked unnecessarily. It’s not like they had a hold of another albino phooka.

”Yes, that’s him.”

“He’s gorgeous! Such a pretty shade of white!” She squatted to appear less intimidating to Tomura who pointedly ignored everyone in the room, turning his face towards the door too. Dr. Reilly didn’t offer her hand to him; she merely observed the phooka from a distance, which was probably wise, because Aizawa couldn’t guarantee Tomura wouldn’t bite her in his frightened state.

She looked up at Aizawa and said something. Asked, judging by the intonation. Aizawa failed to catch the words.

“She asks how long Tomura has lived with you,” Yagi helped.

“Oh, I guess it’s been… almost six months now?”

“Shouta took him to his apartment only a couple of weeks after Tomura arrived at the center,” Nemuri said, grinning. “Then he made Tomura his pet.”

“He bought him a dog bed, toys and games. He takes him to a dog park,” Rumi supplied.

Aizawa felt like defending himself, but he was worried about the tenseness that was travelling from Tomura to him via the taut leash. When Dr. Reilly stood up, the leash tightened even more. “He’s scared. Maybe there should be fewer people present when Nemuri does her examination.”

”Absolutely,” Nezu agreed. “Yagi, Usagiyama and I are going to step out.”

Aizawa wondered how that was going to work with Tomura pressed against the door but when Nezu took a step towards it, he leaped forward and dove into the space under the computer desk and the leash got caught around the desk leg. Aizawa had to yield because the force was threatening to yank the desk forward.

Nezu, Yagi and Rumi leaving didn’t have much impact on Tomura. He cowered under the desk, peering at the two vets with suspicion.

“How has he been?” Nemuri asked.

”Fine mostly. He’s been eating a lot. But he threw up this morning.”

“Before or after breakfast?”

“Before.”

”Could be something he ate yesterday or,” she paused, “could be morning sickness.”

Yes, the thought had crossed Aizawa’s mind too.

Nemuri gave Dr. Reilly a quick translation of their conversation, making her face light up. She said something which Aizawa interpreted as ‘hopefully this means he’s pregnant’.

Getting Tomura up on the examination table proved to be just as difficult as Aizawa had anticipated. He had sunk deep into his fear, not yet in the flight or fight mode but definitely on the brink of it. The only upside was that Aizawa still managed to get through to him occasionally.

He pulled Tomura out from under the desk and lifted him up. Tomura almost bit him: Aizawa saw the mouth opening, saw the fangs coming and mentally prepared for another visit to the emergency clinic but at the last second Tomura seemed to remember who he was and held himself back. Instead, he tried to balance himself with his claws but fortunately Aizawa already had him above the table.

Nemuri and Dr. Reilly both had an alarmed look on their faces. They had caught Tomura’s almost-attack too.

“We’re fine,” Aizawa assured them as he let go of Tomura, allowing him to find his footing on the steel surface. “It was a gut reaction.”

Tomura licked his lips, lowering his nose and taking a sniff of the table. His ears were turned back with uncertainty and his toes spread wide to gain as much support as possible. He lifted his head to cast Aizawa an unsure look.

“I promised him there wouldn’t be any needles or thermometers in the butt today.”

“You promised–” Nemuri cut herself off to shake her head. “Sure, we’re only going to perform the ultrasound then. It’s the most reliable method anyway.” She pulled a pair of rubber gloves from a box on the counter. “I’ll just do a quick palpation first. Can you hold his head, Shouta?”

Aizawa took a gentle hold of the strap around Tomura’s neck and petted the back of his head. Tomura had tensed up even more upon seeing Nemuri bring out the gloves. When he felt hands on his abdomen, he turned completely rock solid.

Nemuri made observations to Dr. Reilly as she worked. Aizawa learned that Dr. Reilly liked to talk, chatting away with a smile on her face, not caring if she was completely understood or not. Aizawa understood about 40 % of her speech if he concentrated very hard. Nemuri seemed to understand her colleague better, at least when they began talking in medical language. Aizawa caught half of the terms and was able to get a hint of what they were discussing.

Nemuri frowned and backed away from Tomura. “He’s so tense it’s hard to feel anything. Do you want to try?”

”Gladly.” Dr. Reilly put on rubber gloves and took Nemuri’s spot, feeling Tomura’s abdomen in turn. The phooka’s tenseness turned into a slight tremble.

Dr. Reilly stepped away, shaking her head. “Can’t feel anything.”

”Let’s just do the ultrasound. Shouta, can you get him to stay on his back or should I give him sedation?”

”I’ll try.”

Tomura had clearly hoped the whole ordeal would already be over. He took a hopeful step towards the edge of the table but Aizawa stopped him. “You need to get on your back. Remember what he rehearsed?”

Tomura stared at him, bewilderment evident on his face. ‘Are you fucking kidding me?’ he seemed to ask.

“Come on, boy. On your back.” Aizawa made the hand gesture. Tomura whined and his tail swished. He couldn’t believe Aizawa was making him turn onto his back on this slippery surface and expose his most vulnerable part to Nemuri and a foreigner.

He obeyed in the end when Aizawa nudged him, but he did it very reluctantly, making sure Aizawa was aware that he very much disapproved of this.

“He obeys you just like that?” Dr. Reilly asked. To her, it had probably seemed smoother than to Aizawa. She was now articulating more carefully when she directly addressed him.

“Usually, yes. He’s scared now.”

While Tomura was lying on his back, Dr. Reilly wanted to take a closer look at his genital region, since she had never seen a male omega with her own eyes, and she asked Aizawa quite detailed and embarrassing questions such as if he had ever seen Tomura display an erection or ejaculate from his penis. They were still trying to figure out why male omegas even existed and what was the purpose of their double genitals.

”I mean, he’s not going to give birth through his penis like female hyenas,” she elaborated.

Aizawa looked from her to Nemuri. “What? Is there a chance of that?”

”No, it’s not a pseudo penis. He has a regular vagina: a common birth canal. This thing here doesn’t turn inside out like hyenas’,” Nemuri chuckled, tapping lightly at the organ in question. Tomura bared his fangs at her and then craned his head back at Aizawa. ‘Jesus, Human, do something! This is not what we agreed on!’

”Just do the ultrasound already,” Aizawa urged her.

“Alright, alright.” She pulled the ultrasound cart next to the table. “Let’s see if there’s anything to give birth to.”

Tomura looked like he was expecting Nemuri to cut his abdomen open. He was visibly trembling, his forelimbs shaking against Aizawa’s palms. His ears were glued to the back of his head, tail tucked between his legs and he was panting rapidly. Any second now, he might pee himself from simply being so terrified.

”He’s very upset,” Dr. Reilly pointed out.

”Yes, I can see that. I think a light sedation might be–”

Aizawa interrupted her. ”Can you give us a moment?”

Nemuri sighed and removed her gloves, tossing them in a bin. “Sure. Come on, Moira.”

Aizawa didn’t stop to process how Nemuri had already come to the first-name basis with the Irish vet. As soon as they closed the door, he helped frightened Tomura turn upright again and took his head between his hands, holding his cheeks gently and looking him straight in the eye. With many animals that would have been an aggressive gesture but Tomura had learned what humans looking each other in the eye meant.

”Hey boy, listen. Listen to me. Listen. It’s okay. Everything is fine. Nothing bad is going to happen. Nemuri will spread some gel on your belly and it will be a little cold but it won’t hurt.”

Tomura let out the smallest quivering whimper. Aizawa pressed their foreheads together, inhaled to calm his own nerves, exhaled slowly, encouraged Tomura to breathe in sync with him.

“It won’t hurt, I promise. No needles, no pinches, no sticks in the butt or anything like that. Just some cold gel and a funny machine feeling around your belly. We’re just going to see if there are some cubs inside you. Don’t you want to know too?”

”Nrew.”

”Yeah, yeah, you probably already know. But see, we humans, we are a bit daft. We need these complicated machines to figure simple things out. I know it must look unnecessary to you but it’s important to us. This will be over very soon if you can stay calm and let Nemuri do her examination. I need you to trust me on this one. Can you do that?”

Tomura straightened his posture, puffing his chest out.

“Good boy.” Aizawa stroked his hair and called Nemuri and Dr. Reilly back in. Then he told Tomura to turn on his back again. The phooka proceeded with stiff, clumsy limbs and Aizawa grabbed his front paws with what he hoped was reassurance.

“Let’s try again.”

Tomura couldn’t shake all his nervousness but he lay still, only lifting his head a little when Nemuri pressed the transducer against his lower abdomen.

Aizawa nodded at him. ”You’re doing great, boy. Just a little longer.”

Tomura sighed and let his head fall back on the table.

Dr. Reilly’s face was the epitome of astonishment. “I’ve never seen anything like this. The bond you’ve formed with him is extraordinary.”

Nemuri smirked. “Have I told you about their Netflix addiction?”

Aizawa scoffed. “It’s mostly Tomura’s addiction.”

“Sure it is,” Nemuri said happily as she moved the device around Tomura’s belly. “And… here we go.”

Everyone’s gaze darted to the monitor. Even Tomura turned his head towards it, perhaps wondering what everyone was so interested in.

“Two... three gestational sacs,” Nemuri declared with the widest smile Aizawa had seen on her. She kept probing around and captured various images, the machine letting out dull clicks. “Looks like we’re getting our little phookas.”

Dr. Reilly could barely contain her excitement. She was squeezing her hands together so hard that her knuckles turned white, apart from the moments when she held them out as if trying to grasp the transducer and then remembering it wasn’t her job.

Perhaps Aizawa should have shared their joy but he merely exchanged glances with Tomura, mouthing ‘Good boy, almost done’ at him. Luckily Nemuri knew to expect blank reactions from him.

“His nipples are already swelling too,” she said, pointing at the pink nubs closest to Tomura’s hind legs. They did appear somewhat enlarged compared to Aizawa’s previous mental image.

“So he’s pregnant?” he checked, to be sure-sure, even though there were no mistaking gestational sacs in the womb. And truthfully, hadn’t he already known? The changes in Tomura’s behaviour had pointed so strongly towards pregnancy. It was still a different matter to get it confirmed by the ultrasound.

“He sure is.” Nemuri wiped Tomura’s abdomen and let him scramble to his feet. Aizawa patted his back and urged him to hop down from the table. He did it happily, understanding that the nasty part was over.

After that, things advanced in a blurry haste. Nemuri and Dr. Reilly tidied up the examination room and they went to share the news with Nezu and the rest. Nezu summoned a bottle of sake and they toasted. The subject of their celebration seemed very confused but he had relaxed somewhat, trusting Aizawa’s word that there wouldn’t be more unpleasant groping. He kept his distance from the others, though, staying behind Aizawa and peering longingly at the door.

”You do realize how big this is?” Dr. Reilly asked. “This is the first time the species has been captive-bred by an ethical holder. This is the first time we know for a fact that a male omega has been impregnated by an alpha. Oh, I can’t wait to tell my colleagues!”

”Let’s hope the pregnancy will go smoothly and we will get a healthy litter.”

After they had emptied their cups, Nezu appeared in front of Aizawa. His face held an unreadable expression that made the sake in Aizawa’s stomach consider a quick reappearance. “Aizawa, I believe we should have a chat about Tomura’s future.”

”Oh, I…” Aizawa swallowed the liquid that was threatening to push its way up. “Yes, I suppose we should.”

“Do you have a moment now?”

”I do. I’ll just…” He glanced at the phooka by his side.

”Usagiyama can take him to spend time with Dabi while we talk. I’m sure our guest would like to observe their interaction too.”

Aizawa hesitated. But he really had no final say in it. Tomura wasn’t his and he had known this day would come. Reluctantly, he handed the leash over to Rumi. Tomura got tense immediately. He turned his head from Aizawa to Rumi, alarm visible in his eyes.

“It’s okay. They’ll take you to Dabi for a moment. You can play and catch up. I’ll come and get you when I’m done.”

”Mraaw.”

“Just for a little while.”

“Come on, Tomura,” Rumi encouraged the phooka. “Let’s go see Dabi. Shouta’s gonna come and get you then.”

Aizawa nodded. “Go on, boy. I’ll see you soon.”

Hanging his head, Tomura shuffled after Rumi, Nemuri and Dr. Reilly following at their heels.

Somehow, Aizawa was able to tear his gaze from the retreating lot and follow Nezu to his office.

Chapter Text

‘Have you been eating, omega?’

‘I have. And it’s Tenko.’

‘Good. Tenko.’ Dabi sniffs his abdomen. ‘What is this goo in your fur?’

’I don’t know. The Awful Human spread it on me.’ Tenko wants to clean it off but he already tried and the stuff tasted nasty. He hopes The Human gives him a bath later and scrubs it off.

He hopes The Human does come back to get him.

‘Damn, you stink like humans.’ Dabi smells and scents him everywhere before he is satisfied.

Tenko saunters around the space, the enclosure he used to stay in. The enclosure Dabi inhabits now. It’s bigger than he remembers and somewhat different, too.

‘It’s not bad, huh?’ Dabi asks, following in his trail but giving him some room to take everything in. The whole place smells like him, the bitter, burnt soil, the thick alpha musk.

The enclosure has several lush bushes and trees, logs for idling, sand and clay for digging, a nice climbing rock and a cave. That’s a new one. Tenko spends a good while inside it, exploring. The cave would make for a great nest to have the pups in.

If he lived in this place. Which he doesn’t.

Alphas have been known to sometimes kill small pups. Alphas can be vicious and act irrationally. But Dabi knows the pups are his so Tenko would be safe on that front. He might even take part in caring for the babies and bring Tenko food if he was too tired to leave the nest.

When Tenko comes out of the cave, Dabi suddenly drops a chunk of red meat in front of him. ‘Here, I saved you some meat when I heard you were coming today.’

Tenko gladly eats it. He’s so hungry nowadays, the need is almost non-stop. Well, apart from this morning when he suddenly felt nauseous, but hunger returned soon enough.

‘Good omega,’ Dabi praises when he finishes the meat and grooms his ear. ‘I see you’ve come to your senses.’

‘Yeah, yeah, stop being such a know-it-all alpha.’

After the tour, he returns to the front of the enclosure. Three humans are sitting in the space behind the glass. There’s Dabi’s human, The Awful Human and the new human that was present when The Awful Human did her groping thing earlier. They are ogling at Tenko and Dabi. Humans tend to do that a lot, ogling.

‘Who is that new human?’ he asks when Dabi sits next to him.

‘I have no idea. I’ve never seen her before today.’

’She was there when The Awful Human did something to my belly.’

That alarms Dabi. ’She did something to your belly?’

‘It was only on the surface. With the blue stuff and some human gadget.’

‘Are you feeling normal? You don’t think it hurt the pups?’

Tenko has never seen Dabi concerned. It’s almost funny. ‘She only felt around. I’m pretty sure the pups are alright.’ He wonders how he would feel if the tiny freeloaders suddenly went away. He can’t make his mind up about them. Essentially, he’d rather they didn’t exist. But now that they do, he doesn’t want anything bad happening to them. It’s the hormones, he supposes.

Dabi needs more reassurance. He proceeds to smell around Tenko’s abdomen with precision.

‘They did this to me,’ Tenko points out. ‘Why would they harm the pups they so clearly want?’

‘Maybe not on purpose but humans are extremely stupid and very prone to annihilating other living things.’

‘I’m sure the pups are okay,’ Tenko repeats. He reckons he’d sense it if something was wrong.

Dabi only stops bustling around Tenko with his nose after he’s done a thorough smell check. He lies down on a flat rock, stretches his limbs and yawns, his tail tuft flicking lazily in the air. ‘The bossy female said that if this litter turns out fine and healthy, they might give me another omega to breed next spring.’

‘Good for you,’ Tenko mutters, his eyes fixed on the entrance of the human side. He tries to estimate how long The Human has been gone for. It’s been at least double the time he usually takes when he goes out to get more food or human stuff. Surely he should have returned already? ‘Where would they find another omega?’

’Apparently they have one. Not here, I would have smelled them.’

That makes Tenko glance at the alpha. Could it be Kaina? Maybe she made it out of that horrible place like Tenko did. Maybe she’s also safe somewhere with humans like these.

He hopes it’s her. She shouldn’t have to go through the whole breeding ordeal again but if she does, he hopes that this time she’ll actually get to keep her babies.

He hopes he gets to keep his babies until they are big enough to start exploring the world on their own.

‘When is my human coming back?’ he wonders out loud.

Dabi yawns again. ‘He probably dumped you here for good.’

Tenko glares at him over his shoulder. ’He wouldn’t do that.’ Or would he?

‘Why not? You’ve probably become so high maintenance being such a lazy, moody, pregnant omega that he had no choice.’

’I’m not high maintenance!’ Tenko argues. Or is he? It’s true that he’s been somewhat moody. He admits he’s been snitching some food from The Human’s stashes and he also watched Swaarz-Man a little bit ahead when The Human was away. The Human figured it out and didn’t like it. Then there was the time of his heat when he…

Okay, he might have shredded some of The Human’s soft items. And he marked his territory—with his scent glands but also with pee which made The Human livid. And this morning he vomited on the floor.

Perhaps The Human has had enough of Tenko.

‘I don’t mind,’ Dabi muses. ‘You can stay here. You and our pups.’

Tenko starts pacing in front of the glass barrier. He knows he can’t get through it but he can’t help himself. Anxiety is threatening to take over his mind, making him unable to stay still.

Dabi observes him with mild curiosity but it quickly turns into boredom. ‘Stop that. I wasn’t being serious. Of course he’s going to come back for you.’

‘I know,’ Tenko snorts. But the damage is already done. His skin is prickling, the invisible bugs are gearing up for their torturing war march under the surface.

His legs are moving on their own accord. He barely manages to stop to scratch his neck. White hairs are scattering around. The itch is deep and tormenting and it’s moving, it escapes his claws and he can’t reach it, no matter how hard he tries.

run run scratch run scratch

‘Stop it, omega!’ Dabi snaps. ‘You’re driving me crazy.’

Tenko peers at the humans in the room. He groans and whines, places his paw against the glass, scratches it too. Can’t they see he wants out? Dabi’s human looks back at Tenko and says something. Tenko recognizes the sound ‘Shouta’, it means his human. He scratches the glass harder before breaking into another mindless pace in front of it.

Perhaps The Human has decided that Tenko can’t live in his place anymore now that he’s pregnant; that the pups would be too much for him to handle. That’s why he has brought Tenko here, for Tenko to deliver his babies in this enclosure.

He whines again, longer this time. He barks, hoping the humans will react to a louder sound. They can’t simply leave him here! He wants to go home to his nest. He wants to watch more Swaarz-Man with his human. He wants to know what happens to Swaarz-Man and the Grumpy Man and Nacho-Man.

If The Human is tired of Tenko, couldn’t he go live with The Loud Yellow Man for a while? He obviously likes Tenko. Maybe he wouldn’t mind the pups either.

Tenko starts pacing again. His paws are grooving the dirt, creating a hollow.

Dabi gathers his legs under him, becoming more alert. ‘Fucking stop it, omega! I’m going to pin you down if you don’t stop.’ He sounds like he means it. Tenko ignores him. It’s not like his legs are listening to him, either way.

The alpha jumps on him. He bites into the loose skin on Tenko’s neck, topples him over, holds him down with his weight. He growls, the deep alpha command. His human bolts up and rushes to the glass, shouting Dabi’s name. Tenko manages to bite into Dabi’s forelimb, the bone is satisfyingly hard between his grinding teeth. Dabi’s growl takes a turn towards more threatening, more commanding. Tenko snarls back at him. He wants to fight the alpha, bite him until he bleeds and scratch his stupid blue eyes blind and rip off his ears, but something stops him. Something that says ‘submit, omega, you’re going to hurt the pups.’

His body goes limp, his hind legs fall open, baring his belly. He lets go of Dabi’s forearm and turns his head away. He licks his lips, avoids the alpha’s gaze.

Dabi opens his jaws, letting go of Tenko’s scruff. He pokes around Tenko’s belly with his snout, licks him, the nasty human goo stuck in his fur, the nipples that have become oddly tender, the sensitive parts in the junction of his thighs. He nudges and nibbles his scent glands until he has made his point clear.

’Such a dumb omega,’ he mutters as he steps away from Tenko and allows him to scramble to his feet. He begins nursing his forearm. There are small dents from Tenko’s teeth but no blood.

Summoning all his willpower, Tenko manages to keep his legs from starting the pacing again. He presses his face against the glass to see the room entrance better. He just has to believe that The Human will come back to get him.

“Please, have a seat.” Nezu gestured to his reception chair.

With stiff limbs, Aizawa lowered his weight onto the chair. In all honesty, he shouldn’t have felt as uneasy as he did, after all, he had been expecting this conversation. He had known it was coming. But he had also known that he wouldn’t be able to prepare for it, no matter how hard he tried. He didn’t know how it would go but he had a hunch.

He had already decided that they should do what was best for Tomura. He just wasn’t sure what that was anymore.

No, that was the wrong way of putting it. He was no longer sure if what was best for Tomura was what he had previously thought.

Nezu set his elbows on the table, pressed his fingertips together and leaned forward. He looked at the varnished wooden surface for a moment before lifting his chin. “Well, I think we can safely admit that this has all gone a little differently than I first imagined.”

Aizawa mumbled something ignorable.

“We have in our possession this completely new species whose future I have negotiated about with several zoos and conservatories. Many domestic zoos, as well as several foreign ones, including San Diego and Zürich, have expressed their interest in taking our phooka. But for some reason, my best trainer decided to turn the individual into a big house cat for himself.”

Aizawa opened his mouth but closed it when he saw a hint of a smile on Nezu’s lips.

“I haven’t said yes to anyone yet.”

Aizawa prepared to accept Nezu’s decision, though not without voicing his opinion. He had, however, learned to remain silent until the time when expressing one’s opinion was appropriate and most effective.

“Strictly speaking, we don’t own Tomura. He has been entrusted to us because we are believed to look after his interests, well-being and future. The same applies to Dabi. If we feel it is in their best interest to remain in the facility, then so be it. The Ministry of Environment will accept it.”

Aizawa still said nothing.

“Dabi will probably stay with us for a while in any case. We have spoken to Shiketsu representatives about trying to breed their female omega next spring if Tomura’s litter turns out to be healthy and functional. It is also possible that Tomura will be bred again next year, either by Dabi or another alpha, if one happens to be available at that time. We’ll make the decision after seeing how this pregnancy goes.”

That urged Aizawa to open his mouth. “I can’t explain it, but I got the feeling that Tomura doesn’t really want cubs. Didn’t want these cubs.”

Nezu frowned. “What makes you think that?”

“Like I said, I can’t explain it. It was just kind of... how he behaved. The way he was with Dabi. Yes, they mated because Tomura was in heat, but there was this reluctance shining from him all the time.”

”It may have been species-typical behaviour,” Nezu pointed out. “We don’t really have any previous experience to compare it to, but as you know, many females exhibit reluctance during the mating season. It’s part of the game, so to speak.”

Aizawa still felt there was more to the story. “Tomura stopped eating as soon as his heat was over. He stopped doing anything. It was as if he regretted it.” He almost added that Tomura had appeared like someone suffering from serious hangover and remorse after unhinged drinking and spending all their life savings on overpriced hookers and gambling, but that probably wouldn’t have the desired impact on Nezu.

“Yes, it was a strange thing indeed. But it passed, too, didn’t it? Now he’s eating again and acts like a normal pregnant mammal.” Nezu fell silent and looked at Aizawa across his desk. Aizawa had sometimes wondered what the purpose of such a huge desk was. Nezu was a small man, but he had never shown any tendency to compensate for his size with oversized furniture or other commodities. Moreover, Nezu seemed to use only a fraction of the table’s surface. “The Ministry would settle for the phookas staying with us, I have no doubt about it. But in someone’s home. In a two-bedroom apartment.”

Aizawa hardened himself. His fingertips felt numb.

“The ethics of the whole settlement raises questions. Keeping a wild animal in a small city apartment. Isn’t that against our principles?” Nezu wondered, addressing himself as much as Aizawa. “Does your landlord know?”

“The contract states that small pets are allowed.”

Nezu laughed. “Well, small is a relative term. I hope he’s not prone to surprise visits. Usagiyama enlightened us of the state the phookas left your apartment in.”

“If I may...” Aizawa began. Nezu nodded. “I think Tomura’s rapid domestication suggests that the species has the potential to be domesticated to pet level if the opportunity presents itself. However, I believe there is strong individual variation. If phookas are in fact a parasocial species, attachment to a human cannot be explained by pack dynamics. I really have no solid explanation for this. My best guess is that Tomura sees the arrangement as an advantage to himself and wants to hold on to it."

“We can’t close our eyes to the fact that the beast is damn attached to you,” Nezu deadpanned, startling Aizawa because Nezu never used profanities, not even the softer ones.

“Yeah, well.” There was no denying it. “Maybe phookas do sometimes form small packs or live in pairs or small societies. Maybe it’s just a characteristic of the omegas; maybe they have their own type of matriarchal society.” That didn’t explain why Tomura was attached to a male human. Aizawa had another theory according to which Tomura had been longing for friendly contact for some time and Aizawa had just happened to be there at the right time. It wasn’t about him. If Nemuri had taken Tomura into her home and treated him kindly, Tomura would probably have been just as fond of her now.

“As you can see, we still know very little about the species. Any information about the communication between individuals and their hierarchy is extremely valuable to us. Tomura has grown accustomed to living with you, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t do just fine living in the center. Animals are hardwired to adapt. If their basic needs are met, they will adapt.”

Aizawa was aware of that. He held his tongue, waited for Nezu to continue. Nezu had a habit of sometimes being annoyingly vague. Today was one of those days.

”However, now that Tomura is confirmed to have conceived, we should avoid stressing him at all costs.” Nezu sighed, turning his head towards a window and seemingly admiring the view before continuing. “I don’t think we’re going to get out of this legally no matter how hard we try. There will be a lot of red tape. The Ministry may have its say in the matter. My authority has its limits.”

“I–”

Nezu interrupted him by getting to his feet. “Well, with a sprinkle of luck we’ll at least have the cubs then. Shall we go and see how our guest is getting on with our permanent resident?”

They walked back to the phookas’ enclosure area. Nezu strolled collectedly, holding his hands behind his back like an elderly gentleman. He kept talking in a placid, trivial tone but the words left very little room to argue.

“We have a wounded osprey coming in next week. It’s recovering from a broken wing and is in dire need of long and thorough rehabilitation. A pet food company has asked us to train a pair of cave geckos for their commercial. Your expertise is needed.”

“I understand. And I– my expertise is of course available.”

Nezu stole him a glance, a small smile tugging his lips. “I surmise that Tomura can manage on his own in your apartment during your working hours, hmm? Or if you think it wouldn’t be stressful for him, you could bring him with you occasionally. Let him spend more time with Dabi. It would provide some necessary recreation for both of them.”

“Yes... Yes. Or maybe Hizashi can keep him company if the days draw out. He works from home quite a lot.”

“Oh, yes, that friend of yours. Tomura likes him?”

“It appears so.”

“Extraordinary. He wouldn’t like a job as a caretaker by any chance?”

”He already has a full-time job but sure, I can ask him.” This probably wasn’t the right time to mention Hizashi’s growing obsession to purchase one of Tomura’s cubs.

“Although, later in June, when the due date draws near, Tomura needs to be monitored around the clock. But we’ll talk about the arrangements when we get there.”

Reaching the enclosure room, they were met with a tell-tale sight.

Tomura was glued to the glass, front paws and nose pressed against it. As soon as he spotted Aizawa, he let out a distressed cry and threw himself against the glass, trying to claw through the invisible barrier. Dabi was lying a couple of meters from him. He gave Aizawa a funny look as if shrugging and saying, ‘I tried to keep him entertained.’

Tomura’s reaction left Dr. Reilly flabbergasted and she began babbling to Nemuri with an impossible accent and speed. But she wasn’t the only one surprised; Nezu looked a little taken aback too. Aizawa felt more pleased with himself than he probably should have.

“Has he–?”

”Been like that the whole time? More or less. For the first minutes he interacted with Dabi and did a small tour around the enclosure. Then he started pacing behind the glass and scratching himself. Dabi got irritated with him and roughed him up a bit. Nothing serious, he stopped immediately when Tomura showed submission. After that he’s just been sitting there, wailing and staring at the door.”

Aizawa went to the enclosure door. Tomura trotted to him on the other side.

”How do I get him out without Dabi coming too?”

”Dabi stays where he is, ain’t that right?” Rumi said, fixing her gaze on the alpha. Dabi sneered at her but made no move to get up from his spot.

Tomura darted out as soon as Aizawa cracked the door open. He circled around Aizawa’s legs, whining and fussing like Aizawa had been gone for a week and not 40 minutes. Aizawa managed to make him stay still long enough to put the harness on, after which he rushed to the door.

“Somebody is eager to leave, I see,” Rumi commented, and if Aizawa’s eyes didn’t lie, she exchanged meaningful looks with Dabi who lowered his head on his crossed paws. He probably would have shaken it had he known the gesture.

Aizawa promised that he would keep them, especially Nemuri, updated and that he would bring Tomura back for another ultrasound when the pregnancy was about halfway through. Nemuri also somehow made him promise that Dr. Reilly could visit his place to see how Tomura behaved at home before she had to return to Ireland. After exchanging several formalities and goodbyes, Aizawa was finally able to leave with a very impatient Tomura.

When they got back to his apartment, all strength suddenly drained from Aizawa’s muscles and his knees almost buckled. He had been more on edge than he had realized.

But it was okay now.

Tomura was still here with him.

The phooka was scurrying around the flat, making sure everything was in place. He checked his bed and toy box, checked his bowls in the kitchen, checked the guest room and even Aizawa’s bedroom. Lastly, he made sure that the remote was in its usual spot on the coffee table.

Aizawa was happy the phooka was occupied because it gave him time to pull himself together. He sat at the kitchen table for several long minutes, just breathing. Unprecedented exhaustion had taken over his body and mind; he felt like he had been hiking on a mountain, gotten lost, fallen into a crevice and been rescued after a week of no food, proper source of water or hope of getting out alive. A glance at the wall clock told him that they had been gone for just over three hours.

Tomura jogged to him eventually, his posture and expression alert and self-important.

”Mrow!” he said as if giving a report of his inspection. ‘All clear!’

“Good boy,” Aizawa muttered, letting his arm drop to his side. Tomura moved to nudge it. He sensed the shift in Aizawa’s mood and sat down, waiting quietly by his side.

”You know it wasn’t supposed to go like this,” Aizawa told him. “I was supposed to train you just to be easier to handle. You were supposed to live in the center and eventually be moved to a zoo. Live your life as the untamed, free-spirited creature you are. And now look what you have become.”

”Nreew.”

”It’s not your fault. It’s mine. I made a mistake.” He turned his palm up and let Tomura nuzzle and lick it. His tongue was warm and rough and tickled. “But I can’t bring myself to regret it.”

Tomura listened to him vent out his thoughts. He made no sound but occasionally poked Aizawa’s hand gently. It almost felt like a spontaneous therapy session of sorts.

“Alright, that’s enough angst for today,” Aizawa decided, pushing himself up to his feet. He already felt a little better. “It’s almost dinner time, isn’t it?”

Tomura’s tail wagged in affirmation.

As he went to the fridge, Aizawa remembered the square piece of thermal paper Nemuri had slipped him before their departure. “To put on your fridge door like the proud phooka stepdad you are,” she had said with a knowing smirk.

He pulled the picture out of his cargo pants pocket and straightened the faint crease in it.

It was a rather mundane ultrasound image, the shape of an upside-down funnel. Three dark bubbles were floating in the white background noise, blissfully unaware of the fact that their lives had already been mapped out for them.

“So, it appears we’ll have some cubs crawling around in our feet in a few months.” Aizawa attached the picture on the fridge door with a magnet before taking the tuna fillet out. He left it on the kitchen counter to come to room temperature and turned to Tomura. “Are you excited?”

”Mraw!”

”About the cubs, not the tuna.”

Tomura tilted his head as if thinking.

“Yeah, I’ve got mixed feelings too,” Aizawa admitted. “But nothing we can do about it now, is there? The cubs will come whether we like it or not.” He bent down to stroke Tomura’s hair between his ears. The phooka closed his eyes and purred, leaning into the touch. “It’s okay. We’ll be fine. You’ll be fine. I’ll help you take care of them. And if it comes to that, I’ll just let Hizashi steal one or two.”

Chapter Text

”Aww, who is a hairy barrel? Who is a silly, shaggy barrel? Who is?” Hizashi cooed, scratched squirming Tomura behind his ears and patted his midsection which had grown undeniably round. “Damn, how many cubs are we expecting again?”

”The ultrasound still shows three.”

”My bet would be at least four but I’m hoping for five.”

”Why would you hope that for poor Tomura and your poor friend who’s going to have to take care of them?”

Hizashi flashed him a huge grin. ”Because the more cubs there’s gonna be, the bigger the possibility of them letting me have one!”

Aizawa rolled his eyes and walked into the kitchen. Hizashi followed him with Tomura chirping and wiggling around his legs.

“And when is the due date?”

”In two weeks or so. We don’t know for sure, but Nemuri says that if they’re not out by the second week of July, she’ll have to perform a C-section.” It was a cliché but he couldn’t believe how fast the time had flown. Three months gone in a snap of the fingers.

”Come on now, what is this nonsense about surgery when it’s not even close to the due date? Don’t scare the poor pregnant gremlin. I’m sure the babies will come out without a vet’s help. Don’t you agree, Tomura?”

Tomura’s tail wagged faster.

”She wanted me to take Tomura to the center for the delivery. I said no. Sure, all the medical equipment and supplies would be right at hand but it would be immensely stressful for Tomura.” Aizawa took a six-pack of Asahi from the fridge and offered a bottle to Hizashi. “Then she demanded to be present here. Again I said no. I don’t want to cause Tomura any extra stress and to him Nemuri equals stress. I can practically hear his pulse quickening every time he sees her.” Aizawa uncapped his bottle and took a sip. “So we’ve settled for live video monitoring and her being on call duty.”

While Nemuri was still on his blacklist, Tomura had grown somewhat accustomed to visiting the center and staying with Dabi while Aizawa worked. Aizawa didn’t always take the phooka with him, only on days when he knew the day would drag out. Tomura got along with Dabi fairly well and managed to keep himself occupied in the enclosure, and yet, every time Aizawa was done for the day and came to fetch him, he was sitting by the glass, eager to go home. Some mornings Tomura expressed his disapproval, wanting to stay behind. Aizawa allowed it on the condition that he was not to watch Netflix or eat more than what was in his food bowl. Tomura promised—only for Aizawa to come home early and find the phooka lounging on the couch binging Breaking Bad. Aizawa took the remote with him to work. As revenge—or simply out of boredom—Tomura broke into the freezer and ate a whole frozen Chinook salmon. He was knocked out in a food coma when Aizawa got back. Thankfully he had closed the freezer door after his little thievery. Aizawa would have scolded him but the effects of the meal the next day did the job for him.

On occasion, Hizashi came and looked after him and he had even taken Tomura to his place but lately he had been too busy with work. Babysitting Tomura was not something you could half-ass, even if Hizashi, too, had Netflix. Yet Hizashi was still adamant that he wanted a phooka of his own, insisting that if the creature lived with him permanently, it would adapt to the routines, whereas Tomura was visiting and therefore behaved like a guest.

“I see you’ve started preparing,” Hizashi stated after seeing a new construction in the living room beside Tomura’s bed. Aizawa had had to rearrange his furniture to fit the big whelping box in the space. He had forgotten the little white lie he had told the clerk when purchasing the donut bed and had momentarily blanked out when the same lady had asked, “A Great Dane, was it? So she’s about to have puppies?”

Aizawa had left carrying the big package and with a promise to come back and show her pictures of the young ones.

He observed the square wooden pen, rubbing the back of his head. “Mhm, I don’t know how long that thing will keep the cubs inside but hopefully it’s a better place for giving birth than the donut bed. I have a tent to set atop of it to make it more cave-like.”

”Has Tomura given his approval?”

”He has yet to display nesting behaviour but he has rested in the box so I think it’s passable.”

As if to enhance Aizawa’s words, Tomura hopped into the box and circled in it before looking expectantly at Hizashi.

“Yes, I can see you have a very nice new den. Very cosy,” Hizashi told him and Tomura beamed.

Hizashi then sat on the living room rug in front of the TV. “Alright, let’s set this thing up.”

”What did you bring?” Aizawa picked up the plastic case and snorted. “Mario Kart?”

”Hey, it’s an awesome game for duelling! And it will provide more entertainment for bystanders than, say, Terraria.”

”Sure, whatever you say. I don’t know anything about them. Not really into games.”

”Oh, I know. Your perception of having fun consists of drinking beer alone in your underwear without any stimuli. But I bet my skinny ass Tomura is a gamer!”

Tomura came to stand behind Aizawa, ears forward and nose twitching as he observed Hizashi’s every move and the black box with cords he had never seen before.

”We’re doing something different tonight,” Hizashi told him. “No movies but video games.”

”Swaarz.”

”No Saul tonight. A video game.”

“We actually finished Better Call Saul. We’re currently watching Breaking Bad. He just calls it by the same name,” Aizawa explained.

“Uh-oh, did he throw a tantrum when the show ended?”

”He sure did. He sulked for four days but somehow I got him to understand that this new show is set in the same world. I might have shown him the clip where Saul Goodman first appears. Now he’s hooked again and everything is perfect in his little world of blue methamphetamine and violent drug dealers.”

”And what happens when Breaking Bad is over?”

”Hopefully he’ll have some cubs to keep him distracted until I can find another series to hold his interest.”

Hizashi pondered it. ”Maybe Narcos? I see he has a specific taste in TV series.”

”Yeah, I was kind of hoping we’d watch something lighter after this. My view of everyday life is getting distorted by all the meth cooking and violence. Besides, I think Tomura is learning some bad words from the show, namely from Jesse Pinkman.”

“Science, bitch!” Hizashi laughed and surely enough, Tomura’s ears perked and he let out an excited yip.

“Swoors!” he demanded again.

“Walter White, Tomura. Walter,” Aizawa corrected.

”Woors.”

”Wal-ter.”

”Waarz.”

”Why are you teasing the poor thing? He doesn’t have human vocal cords. And it’s not like your English pronunciation is the best either.”

”I’m not teasing him. He likes to learn and get details right, he’s nerdy in that way.” Aizawa smiled and patted Tomura’s back.

”Waarz,” Tomura said to Hizashi.

”Yes, your pronunciation is much better than Shouta’s,” Hizashi praised him. “But sorry to let you down, buddy, tonight we’re gonna play video games. You’ll like them, I promise.” Hizashi stroked his hair before continuing to arrange the cords.

Surely enough, Tomura was immediately intrigued by the game screen: the bright colours, animated characters and various sounds. He sat close to the screen and stared and stared before turning to look at Aizawa and Hizashi and the controllers in their hands. The dots could be seen connecting in his head. The realization made him very excited. He stood up and began pacing behind the two humans, letting out barely contained whines.

“He’s a smart boy for not blocking our view.”

Even if he didn’t step in front of them, Tomura’s bustling was getting a little distracting, especially when he hovered behind Aizawa, watched over his shoulder and huffed and puffed and panted right beside his ear. His breath stank like the sardines he had had for an afternoon snack.

“Tomura, lie down,” Aizawa told him, not taking his eyes off the screen. Tomura whined and moved over to Hizashi, panting in his ear in turn.

“You wanna try?” Hizashi asked the phooka when they were done with the round.

”I don’t think that’s–” Aizawa started but Hizashi had already placed the controller in front of Tomura.

“Come on, Shouta, let the budding gamer give it a shot.”

”He doesn’t have opposable thumbs. It’s just going to disappoint him.”

Unfortunately, it was already too late to back out, because if there was one thing Aizawa knew about Tomura it was the detail that he would sulk and express his distrust from here to eternity if he felt like something had been promised to him and then withdrawn. They let Tomura have a go at the game. Aizawa’s prediction came true almost immediately. Tomura was quite dexterous with his front paws but using a game controller was beyond his physical abilities and he quickly started expressing his frustration.

“Tomura, no!” Aizawa yelped when Tomura grabbed the controller between his teeth. Hizashi tried to catch it but was too slow. With an angry snarl, Tomura hurled the item across the living room. It hit a wall but thankfully fell onto the padding of the whelping box.

“This is what I meant,” Aizawa said, getting up and fetching the controller. “Tomura, that was a bad thing to do. Go to your bed.”

”Nraaw.”

Aizawa gave him a stern look that offered no choice. “Bed. Now.”

Tomura scuffed to his bed, his face extremely sour and hurt. He lay down with a sound that made his opinion clear.

”He’s always been a sore loser,” Aizawa explained to Hizashi as he wiped the controller in the hem of his shirt. “But the pregnancy has made him more prone to mood swings. The other day he flipped his food bowl over when the food wasn’t what he wanted—even if he seemed to like it the previous day.”

“Well, you can’t argue with pregnancy, can you?” Hizashi said with a small smile and took the controller from Aizawa.

“I’ll get you a new one if it broke. The money for that is coming out of Tomura’s feeding budget.”

“I thought the center paid for his food.”

“I can always cook the meats for myself and buy Tomura the cheapest dog kibbles.” Aizawa directed his words at Tomura but the phooka pointedly ignored him.

They played a few rounds with Tomura moping in his bed. Eventually he grew curious again and they caught him side-eyeing the TV screen which he obviously tried to hide when they glanced at him.

“Shit, you’re abnormally good at this,” Hizashi huffed after losing third time in a row. “I thought you weren’t into games.”

”I’m not. It’s literally just looking at the track and keeping your vehicle from crashing. It’s like driving a car.”

”It’s not like driving a car. Or what kind of roads do you drive on? I don’t have other drivers trying to sideswipe me or throwing banana peels in front of my car. My usual route to work doesn’t include a rainbow in outer space.” Hizashi sighed in frustration and took a hearty gulp of his beer before turning to the phooka still lying in his bed. “Hey, Tomura, could you maybe be my strategist? You can help me beat Shouta.”

Tomura ignored Hizashi at first but he had always been pretty weak-willed when it came to stuff happening on the TV screen. When Hizashi called him again, sounding desperate enough, he stood up and sauntered over, sitting next to Hizashi.

Aizawa had no idea how Hizashi would include Tomura in his playing and he hoped his friend wouldn’t just upset the phooka more. But apparently Hizashi had a plan.

”Tomura, which character should I pick?” he asked when the options flashed on the screen. “I keep losing with Luigi.”

Tomura considered the colourful images and tapped Bowser.

”Alright, Bowser it is then. Let’s equip him.”

After choosing the vehicle and tuning it as ridiculously and flamboyantly as possible, they were ready to face Aizawa’s Princess Peach.

During the next couple of minutes, it became clear that Tomura would have been much better at the game than Hizashi had he possessed suitable body parts for it. He tried helping Hizashi by barking orders at him and poking him when he was supposed to do something: ‘Dodge!’ ‘Faster!’ ‘Take that side!’ ‘Look out!’ ‘Nooo, you useless idiot!’

“Mraaw!” Tomura cried and shoved Hizashi when he was too slow to react. “Mraaw! Graar!”

”He’s cursing your incompetence,” Aizawa smirked.

Hizashi was sweating and swaying in his spot as he tried to gain on Peach and the rest of the lead. “I can tell. Tomura, seriously, I’m trying! Help me! What should I–”

In a blur of white fur, Tomura jumped over Hizashi’s lap and tackled Aizawa to the floor, knocking a half-full beer bottle over in the hassle.

”Hey, what the fuck! This is cheating!”

”Mraaw!” Tomura shouted at Hizashi, lying on top of Aizawa and preventing him from seeing the TV. ‘Go! Get to the fucking finish line!’

“Tomura, get off me! No, don’t touch that!” Aizawa threw away the controller when Tomura craned towards the spilled beer and started lapping it up. Whilst they merged into an inexplicable mess of floundering limbs and inventive curses and flying hair, Hizashi managed to get his act together.

Peach crashed off the course. Bowser whizzed over the finish line. Hizashi dropped the controller and threw his arms in the air, letting out a loud shriek of victory.

Tomura let go of Aizawa and leaped on Hizashi in turn, a whirlwind of wet tongue and trampling paws and excited chirps.

“Yes, we won, we won! Thanks to you, Tomura! Oof, you’re heavy! Please don’t crush me!”

“It doesn’t count. You’re fucking cheaters,” Aizawa grumbled as he began wiping the remains of the beer off the floor.

Tomura hopped aside and allowed Hizashi to heave himself back up. He swiped his tousled hair away from his face, tying it back in a bun and straightened his glasses. “Yes, it counts. Getting tackled by a pregnant folklore beast is a prime example of a force majeure and therefore your complaint is labelled as invalid.”

“But you already had an advantage over me, it’s your game. You’ve had plenty of time to practise.”

“Yeah, but I rarely get to play it against others, especially against secret karting overlords like you.” Hizashi glanced at Tomura who was shaking from excitement and barely containing himself, already wanting to get back to playing. “Did you see how fast he absorbed the strategies? Fuck, I can’t get over how smart he is.”

Aizawa caught the last droplets of beer that had been spared on his tongue before nodding. “It still scares me sometimes.”

”Didn’t they first suspect there might be human DNA in phookas?”

”They did but it was ruled out or at least couldn’t be confirmed. The similarities to humans could be a result of convergent evolution, but genetic manipulation hasn’t been either confirmed or disproved. Unfortunately for them, it currently appears that phookas have no ecological niche in nature so for now they must be inhabited in captivity.”

“Well, at least Tomura is quite happy to live in a clean and dry apartment, aren’t you?”

Tomura yipped and nudged the controller in Hizashi’s hands, urging them to continue.

“Let’s change the tracks. I wanna see how quickly he picks up the features of another setting. Just don’t bite me if I’m slow to follow your orders, okay?”

Later, Aizawa would blame the intensity of gaming and all the consumed alcohol for not noticing sooner how Tomura grew more and more restless as the night progressed. How he would start randomly panting and grunting and sauntering in uncoordinated circles around the room before coming back to Hizashi’s aid. But he also blamed Tomura for getting so engaged in the gaming that he ignored his body’s messages—until he no longer could.

Hizashi headed home after ten. He left the console and controllers at Aizawa’s place as they had agreed to continue playing the next evening. It would be two weeks before they had a chance to touch Mario Kart again.

Drowsy from the beer, Aizawa wandered to the kitchen, took a cooked chicken breast out of the fridge and put it in Tomura’s bowl.

”Tomura, late supper!” he called. Huh, weird. Usually he didn’t have to call. Usually Tomura followed him to the kitchen when he knew he was about to get fed.

Tomura was in the whelping box, poking the blanket covering the padding around with his snout.

“Tomura, supper!” Aizawa called again. This time Tomura lifted his head and jogged to the kitchen.

“Are you planning to start nesting?” Aizawa asked as he put the food bowl in its usual place on the floor. “You can sleep in the box too if you want to. Get accustomed to it.”

Tomura didn’t eat. He drank some water and sniffed his food but stepped away from it, tilting his head back and fixing his eyes on Aizawa.

Aizawa groaned, leaning against the counter and running his hand through his hair. “Wrong food again? Too bad, there’s nothing else. Your breakfast is still frozen. You either eat that or go to bed hungry.” At least the phooka hadn’t flipped the bowl over this time.

Tomura said nothing. He kept staring at Aizawa until he abruptly swung his head towards his backside. He let out a yelp between surprise and pain, like a bug had bit or stung him, and nipped his flank.

Aizawa caught the excess saliva gathering in the phooka’s mouth as he smacked his lips. Then his back arched and he heaved, expelling half-digested sardines from his stomach.

”Great, just how much of that beer did you drink?”

Tomura grunted in response before tensing up again. Aizawa saw him shivering and lifting his tail and his midsection contracting. He was radiating discomfort and confusion. Whining quietly, he flattened his ears and turned his eyes back to Aizawa. They were wide and quickly filling with realization.

‘Human, I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight.’

“Oh shit,” Aizawa mouthed.

Chapter Text

He dialled Nemuri immediately. She didn’t pick up and the call went to voicemail. Cursing, Aizawa dialled again, keeping his eyes locked on Tomura who was pacing around the living room, alternating between the donut bed and the whelping box, digging the materials, panting and grunting and occasionally glancing at Aizawa as if seeking advice. Aizawa gathered the quilt and a couple of throw pillows (new ones, for Tomura’s use only) and dropped them in the whelping box.

”Try this one, buddy. It has more space and it has edges to prevent the little ones from escaping. I’m sorry I didn’t have time to set up the tent.”

Upon his advice, Tomura stayed in the box, circling in the snug space and arranging the bedding. Occasionally he would tense up and glance towards his backside as if wondering what was happening. Aizawa went to fetch his water bowl, holding the phone to his ear and redialling Nemuri over and over again.

A calmer phase followed and Tomura lay down in the middle of the pillows. He was still panting but the contractions seemed less harsh at least momentarily. Aizawa wasn’t sure if it indicated this was a false alarm. In any case, he would be sleeping on the couch tonight.

“Do you think the pups are coming?” he asked Tomura after fetching his pillow and setting it on his temporary sleeping quarters.

Tomura flicked his ears at his question before turning to gnaw his flank and lift his hind leg. He was leaking clear fluid.

Nemuri picked up.

”Oi, where the fuck are you?” Aizawa barked. A huge uproar was coming from the background, with bass booming, glasses clinking, people laughing.

”Out, it’s Friday night!” she shouted back. She was slurring. She was slurring, fuck! She was drunk. She was drunk, Aizawa was drunk and the cubs were coming.

“You should come too!” she urged with a drunken giggle.

”Hell no! I think Tomura is in labour!”

”What?”

”I think Tomura is in labour!”

”He is? Are you sure?”

”No, I’m not fucking sure! But it sure as hell looks like it! He’s got contractions and he vomited and there’s some fluid leaking from him.” Jesus, he hoped his yelling didn’t upset the phooka.

”Fuck, I can barely hear you. Hold on, I’m gonna step outside! I’m gonna call you back in a second!”

Aizawa waited for fifteen whole minutes. So much for the second. Fuck, if Nemuri had decided to continue partying, he would strangle her. He considered calling Rumi but what could she do that Aizawa couldn’t? No, he needed a vet. Meanwhile, Tomura grew restless again, alternating between lying down, standing up and scraping the quilt.

”Okay, so,” Nemuri said as she finally called back. “I gulped down some Pocari Sweat and coffee and I’m heading to the center.” She sounded somewhat soberer.

“Shouldn’t you come here?”

”Should I? Now you want me there? Didn’t we agree that it would just unnecessarily stress Tomura out?”

”But isn’t it too early?”

”It’s early but I don’t think it’s too early. I called Moira and she said all is probably fine. We don’t know their exact gestation period, we’ve only got some guidelines.”

“But it started very abruptly. He was fine this afternoon, no signs of approaching labour. He only began showing symptoms a couple of hours ago and I couldn’t interpret them at the time.” He left out the tiny, insignificant detail that he had been busy drinking beer and kicking Hizashi’s ass in Mario Kart.

”Could be due to his inexperience. Just monitor him extra carefully now. I’m sure you can spot it if something doesn’t look right. Oh, and you need to set up the camera and put it on live stream to the center so I can survey him via it.”

”I don’t–” Aizawa wasn’t sure he remembered how to do it. But he could always use the camera on his laptop.

”How is Tomura right now? What is he doing?”

”He’s lying in the whelping box and licking himself and looking very uncomfortable.”

“Was there a lot of fluid? What was the colour of it?”

”It’s clear and no, it’s just some trickling.”

”Alright, sounds quite normal to me. It’ll be fine, trust me. I’ll stay with you guys the whole time. I’ll just get a taxi and go to the center right now. I’ll call you back once I’m there, okay?”

She hung up and left Aizawa with the pained looking phooka. Fuck, he wasn’t ready! He hadn’t even purchased stuff for the little ones. What did they even need right after being born? Warm water, towels, maybe? Those he could arrange.

He remembered the video monitoring and went to set up the camera. It wasn’t that tricky but he had a hard time figuring out how to stream the image to Nemuri. Eventually he left the camera recording on its own and decided to use his laptop, a Zoom meeting or something.

He stumbled to the linen closet and pulled out a couple of towels. Then he went to the bathroom to fill a plastic basin with hot water. It would have time to cool down.

“It’s alright, boy. I’m here,” he said as he returned to the living room and set the supplies on the floor. “Unless you want some privacy? You can tell me to get lost, I don’t mind.”

”Mrew,” Tomura said, looking him in the eye. ‘Stay.’

Aizawa stayed.

* *

It wasn’t the first time he had been present when an animal was giving birth.

But it was the first time he was so emotionally involved.

He tried to remain as calm as possible, keeping his hands to himself but sitting close to the box in case Tomura needed him. He didn’t. Instincts took the reins and guided him through the ordeal.

On occasion he would look at Aizawa and his face was so accusatory, so judging. ‘This is your fucking fault, human!’

”You’re doing fine, boy. Just hang in there, it’ll be over soon.”

”Mraaw!” Tomura spat at him. ‘Fuck you! Fuck you and fuck that stupid vet and your facility and fuck Dabi too!’

Well, it was only fair. Humans did it too during the delivery. The wife would yell and curse at the husband, and possibly throw things at him if something loose happened to be at hand.

”He hates me right now,” he told Nemuri.

”It was to be expected. He’s in pain and overwhelmed. Just wait till the cubs are out, it’ll be a complete turnaround. But he might be protective of them so you have to be prepared for that and accept it if that’s the case.”

”I know.” Aizawa hoped Tomura would let him at least examine the cubs, otherwise Nemuri would have to come and sedate him and that would be a disaster of its own.

Mostly, the labour advanced without mentionable bumps. Nemuri stayed with him on the phone, assuring that nothing seemed amiss.

It was around two am when the first cub was finally out.

”The next one should follow in 60 minutes,” she said. Her voice which had been dragging from the comedown just a minute ago was now bright and brisk. “If he keeps straining but no cub comes out in a reasonable time, I might have to intervene.”

“You’re not going to cut Tomura open while drunk!”

”I’m not that drunk anymore. Besides, the surgery is not always necessary. Many times a cub is only in a slightly difficult position and can be repositioned manually.”

“I’m imagining how much Tomura would appreciate you stuffing your hand into his vagina.”

“He totally would because it would ease up his pain almost immediately.”

Thankfully, her intervention wasn’t necessary.

The phooka cubs were born with shut eyes and slick fur covering their small bodies, their faces, paws and bellies bare, their soon-to-be-enormous ears pressed seamlessly along their skulls.

Tomura was tired but in awe of his litter. He meticulously cleaned the cubs, sniffing and licking and nudging, all the while crooning deep in his throat.

”They look perfect,” Aizawa praised him. “You did good, boy.”

Tomura gazed at him and he was radiating pride, his ears forward, eyes bright and tail tip swaying, not a trace of the earlier rage in sight.

He also allowed Aizawa to touch his babies.

”Damn, I can’t believe that he trusts you so… completely,” Nemuri muttered, observing via the stream as Aizawa did a cursory check on the cubs.

Two were brown burgundy with darker hair on their heads and barely growing tail tufts, the colour only a shade lighter than Dabi’s. It would probably darken as they aged. Then there was the third cub whose coat looked like a blue merle dog with a strange combination of black and red-brown blotches and a lot of white. On the right side its face was covered with an uneven black patch while the left side had odd brown and grey hairs against a white base. The weird half-and-half pattern continued to its ears: the right ear’s skin was dark and the left one’s pink.

“Damn, where did this come from?” Aizawa wondered out loud as he lifted the cub and turned it around in his hands. It looked normal and healthy so it probably wasn’t a mutation they should be worried about. Of course they couldn’t say for sure before the little thing started growing but that applied to the other cubs as well. Any one of them could have some kind of birth defects, but for now, they appeared perfectly formed and healthy.

“Mrow,” Tomura said, his voice demanding. He extended his paw towards the cub in Aizawa’s hands. He didn’t sound angry or nervous but his tone left no room to argue. ‘Give my baby back.’ Aizawa placed the tiny critter next to its siblings. The babies were now making constant high-pitched squealing and chirping noises that reminded Aizawa of bats. Tomura nudged them with his snout, guiding them towards their first meal.

“You seem to know what to do. I’ll be on the couch if you need me.” Aizawa backed away and stood up slowly. He needed to check the cubs’ sexes but he would do that after Tomura had had the first bonding moment with his newborns. Besides, he wasn’t sure if he could correctly identify them, given that the only examples he had seen were the male omega and the male alpha.

He was also dying to see their eye colour but for that he had to wait for a week or two.

“I think we’re done here,” he told Nemuri. Tomura didn’t look like anything was stuck or still trying to wiggle its way out. He was fully focused on his small litter. The final headcount remained three.

Five days had passed since the birthing and Tomura and the little ones were doing fine, so Aizawa reckoned it was okay to put a stop to Hizashi’s constant pleas and let him visit. Nemuri had already done so without permission but Tomura had gotten the final say in the matter, stopping the vet in her tracks the moment she had laid her foot in the living room. Aizawa had never seen him as threatening as then. He stood up, raised his hackles and extended his neck, growling deep in his throat. His posture showed no signs of fear, his ears were turned forward, legs straight and stiff, tail rigid behind him.

”That’s Phooka for ‘You shall not enter’,” Aizawa told her. He talked in a low, even voice, taken aback by Tomura’s offensive stance.

”I can tell,” Nemuri muttered in an equally even voice. She decided to not take her chances with the teeth of a hyena and the claws of a wolverine. “Well, let’s just keep the camera rolling for now. You can probably tell if something doesn’t look right.”

Keeping that incident in mind, Aizawa asked Tomura if Hizashi would be more welcome than the vet. He thought he got the affirmation but warned Hizashi to enter with caution just in case.

He didn’t need to worry. Tomura chirped upon seeing Hizashi, pinned his ears in a friendly manner and swished his tail as a greeting. He was shaking from barely contained pride as he got to show his babies to Hizashi.

Hizashi, however, wasn’t very tactful in hiding his disappointment.

”I’m disappointed there’s only three.”

”I seriously doubt they would let you purchase one even if there were ten cubs. And for everyone’s sake, don’t say anything bad about the babies,” Aizawa muttered out of the corner of his mouth. “Remember what happened with Nemuri.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean it like that!” Hizashi quickly corrected himself. “Three is a good number. Amazing job, Tomura!”

“Nreew,” Tomura agreed. ‘You’re damn right about that.’

“Nezu offered you a job at the center, remember? That way you’d get to spend time with the cubs without all the hassle of owning one,” Aizawa said.

“I remember and I’m flattered but I think I prefer my current job. Your field is not exactly known for its hefty paychecks.”

Hizashi leaned forward to get a closer look inside the whelping box where the cubs were chuffing and sniffling and fumbling around blindly. He opened his mouth to what probably almost was a huge squeal but managed to hold it back, letting out only a suffocated whimper. “Oh no, I am so not prepared.” He pressed his hands against his face, staring at the little critters through his fingers. “Honestly, I’m gonna start clawing myself. I knew they would be cute but this is beyond my coping abilities.”

Tomura was observing his reaction with curiosity.

“They are… like hairy potatoes crawling around. I mean, very cute and strong-looking potatoes,” he hastily added. “They look so healthy, Tomura. The cutest little imps I’ve ever seen!”

His praises evidently pleased Tomura as he wagged his tail.

”So what have we got? Sex-wise,” Hizashi asked after getting himself at least partially under control.

”If it only were that easy.” Aizawa picked up the biggest cub, the one that resembled Dabi the most and turned its belly towards Hizashi. “I’m 95 % sure this one is male but I can’t say if it’s an alpha or a beta.”

”Hmm, yeah, I think it’s safe to say he’s a he.”

The cub began squirming and squeaking and Aizawa placed it back in the box before Tomura grew worried. Next, he picked up the other dark-coloured. “This one I’ve labelled as female because it doesn’t appear to have any kind of penis, not even a tiny one like Tomura.”

Hizashi dutifully observed the second cub too, nodding. “Uh-huh, looks like a female to me. But my experience is only from puppies and kittens and even they can be surprisingly hard to tell if your eye isn’t trained.”

“And then there’s this one.” Aizawa switched to the last cub, the odd merle-coloured one. “I’m a bit lost. Could be a male omega like Tomura or perhaps a female alpha. Nemuri will have to run some tests or we might have to send pictures to Dr. Reilly.” They would have to do so anyway; the Irish vet was as excited about the cubs as the rest of them. The center had sent Aizawa a fucking gift basket along with all kinds of possible cub supplies. It felt like too much when he had done practically nothing, but because of that, he now had some high-end sake and snacks to share with Hizashi.

”It’s a fucking adorable little thing, whatever it is. Do you think Tomura would let me hold it?”

Aizawa turned to the phooka. “Tomura, what do you say? Can Hizashi hold your baby?” He made a gesture of handing the cub over to Hizashi. Tomura stared, alert, with perked ears and jaws slowly moving as if processing the idea.

”I’ll be very careful,” Hizashi promised.

Tomura let out a nonchalant snort and lowered his head. With utmost care, Aizawa placed the cub in Hizashi’s waiting hands.

“God, it’s so warm and tiny,” Hizashi whispered, sticking his face close to the cub and inhaling. “Smells a little like a kitten. I’m gonna steal this one. Don’t tell your boss.”

”Mrow,” Tomura butted in.

”I was just kidding. I’m not gonna steal your baby. Not yet, at least. But maybe when it’s old enough? If it lived with me, you’d see it regularly. Wouldn’t that be a win-win situation?” Hizashi petted the tiny creature and couldn’t resist spreading its mismatched ears and fiddling with its sprouting tail tuft. A muffled, painful cry erupted from him and he pushed the cub back to Aizawa. “Fuck, I can’t handle this! It’s too cute. I’m gonna explode. Take it. Put it away. Don’t let me see it again.”

Chuckling, Aizawa placed the cub next to its siblings. Tomura licked it clean and rubbed his cheek against it to get rid of the human scent before nudging it towards the milk bar.

“Maybe we should step into the kitchen. Let Tomura relax. Even if he trusts us, I can see that humans touching his cubs makes him uneasy.”

Nemuri would eventually have to come and check the new mother and babies and given Tomura’s previous reaction, the only way to do it would be to sedate him. Aizawa was not looking forward to it. The ugly duty would probably fall on his shoulders since Tomura didn’t allow Nemuri to even enter the room. He could only hope the phooka wouldn’t feel too betrayed after waking up and smelling the vet on his litter.

“What about Dabi?” Hizashi asked, taking a seat at the table. “I mean does he get to meet his offspring?”

“We’ve talked about it. With the scarce knowledge we have of their social circles, we’re basically just guessing what his reaction could be. Would he understand the cubs are his, would he be friendly towards them or try to eat them? We need to estimate if the risk is worth taking. The encounter would provide us with some valuable information, but Rumi must be able to keep Dabi at a sufficient distance.”

“My bet would be that he recognizes them. He’s an asshole but not stupid.”

”Well, it’s not actually about stupidity…” Aizawa began. “But I don’t think he would harm them, either.”

He glanced towards the living room where Tomura was nursing his young. The cubs had his undivided attention. For five days he hadn’t expressed any desire to continue watching Breaking Bad.

Aizawa wondered how long the TV break would last.

Chapter Text

Life has been weird lately.

Weird but good. Tenko had no idea how attached to his pups he would get in such a short amount of time and how much joy and purpose they would bring him. He’s content just resting in his nest next to the little ones, nursing and cleaning them and listening to their chirping. He’s been talking to them a lot. They are too young to understand but he has told them about The Human who lives in the same space and The Loud Yellow Man who visited them. He has told them about Swaarz-Man. And he has told them that nobody can take them away, that he’s going to protect them with his life.

Everything has been quiet and calm. Except today.

He hears the door open. It’s immediately followed by a familiar voice and not long after he smells Dabi. He jumps into alertness, already feeling his pulse quickening and his lips pulling back to reveal his teeth.

Luckily the alpha is tied and his human keeps him in a firm hold. Tenko hisses on instinct and the Bossy Female pulls back on the rope, stopping Dabi in his tracks. It isn’t exactly necessary; Dabi has already stopped on his own initiative. He stretches his neck, inhaling the new scents in the room before taking one tentative step forward. His tail is flailing with uncertainty.

Tenko wraps his body around the babies, shielding them from Dabi’s eyes. He is prepared to stand up and attack Dabi if the alpha doesn’t respect the boundaries he sets.

Dabi lowers himself to his haunches but Tenko is not convinced.

‘Stay away from my pups!’ he warns.

’What pups? Oh, you mean those in the nest? The ones you didn’t want?’

’Shut up. Stay away, alpha!’

’They are mine too. You know I’m not going to hurt them.’

‘I did all the work for them.’

’Well, not all,’ Dabi drawls. ‘But the bigger part, I suppose.’

‘Exactly. It was horrible. I almost died.’

’You almost died?’ Dabi’s expression turns perplexed and he glances back at his human. ‘The bossy female told me everything went smoothly.’

’What does she know? She wasn’t there.’ Tenko had known birthing wasn’t as easy as the act that resulted in it, but it had been much worse than he had anticipated. He’s glad he hadn’t known, otherwise he would have spent the long pregnancy period more nervous than he already was. He never wants to do it again.

Dabi doesn’t look entirely convinced but says nothing. Tenko turns his attention back to his litter. One of the pups is crawling under his tail, lost. It’s the female omega. She whimpers as she keeps looking for a teat to suck. Tenko picks her up carefully and places her next to her siblings. Dabi takes a step forward but Tenko’s warning snarl stops him again.

Only after Tenko relaxes his lips and teeth vanish from sight, he tries again. ‘Can I at least see them?’

Tenko battles with the urge to deny the request but Dabi is right, the pups are his too. He sounds like a proud, curious father, he doesn’t appear threatening. Slowly, he uncurls his body from around the little ones, allowing Dabi to take a peek.

The alpha inches forward very slowly, watching Tenko’s every move. His human keeps hanging onto the rope, ready to yank Dabi back if he makes one wrong move. Apparently they are not always that stupid, those weird two-legged creatures.

Dabi’s tail is thumping against the ground. A strange sound is coming from him, something between a croon and a whine. He probably doesn’t realize he’s making it. His ears shoot forward and his eyes go wide when he gets the first glimpse of the cubs. His nostrils are flaring, taking in the scent of his offspring.

He spends a good while simply watching the babies nursing and fumbling about. Their eyes have not opened yet but it shouldn’t be very long now.

’Heh, they’ve got my colours,’ he muses eventually. ‘Except that one. What is it?’ He forgets his place momentarily and approaches the female alpha, sticking his nose close to her and taking a sniff. Tenko allows it but stays on guard.

‘That one is Nacho. The male alpha is Mike and the female omega is Hana.’

Dabi chuckles. ’Oh, you’ve named them already?’

Tenko avoids his gaze. ‘Maybe.’ Dabi doesn’t have to know two of the names come from the Swaarz-Man story. The humans will name the pups in their own language but Tenko wants to at least try to communicate his chosen names to them. He could use the TV to get through to his human, but the problem is they haven’t been watching Swaarz-Man anymore but another story that has some of the same humans. So far Nacho-Man hasn’t appeared in it.

Dabi continues smelling the pups and dares to lick them. The babies are squealing and trying to grasp the big snout poking them. They are so uncoordinated and helpless, crawling around blindly. Tenko’s instinct to protect them reaches another height and he signals Dabi to back away. The alpha does so without a protest but lingers to watch intently as the pups wriggle and squeal.

’I bet the female alpha has blue eyes,’ he says.

‘It’s possible,’ Tenko admits. Any one of them could have blue eyes, and he has caught himself wondering… almost hoping for one of them to have red eyes. He has never seen anyone with the same colours as himself. His mother and sister were fully, eyes included, dark brown and black. Hana resembles her namesake so much that her eyes are probably dark.

‘They look healthy and strong,’ Dabi says. He probably doesn’t give much credit to Tenko but it’s a compliment nonetheless. ‘Can’t wait to see how they turn out when they grow up a little.’ He lifts his chin to look at Tenko. ‘So far no one has tried to take them from you?’

’The Awful Human tried. I stopped her.’

Dabi frowns. ’What do you mean she tried? Do I need to kill her?’

‘Well, she came here. I didn’t let her near the pups.’

Dabi cocks his head, thinking. ’I don’t think she wanted to take them. I’ve seen her work with other residents of the center. She does stuff to them but I don’t think she means to purposely hurt them. It’s like… sometimes she helps them if they are sick. Maybe she wanted to make sure the pups were alright?’

‘Whatever she wanted, she’s not coming near them.’

‘And I fully support that. I just don’t think they want to take the pups away from you. They need your milk and everything.’

Tenko hopes Dabi is right but he can’t let his guard down, not completely.

They idle there, watching the pups do what pups that small do, which is not much. Tenko has forgotten the humans are there too and he startles a little when the Bossy Female suddenly speaks. She squats next to the nest and reaches out her hand, keeping an eye on Tenko, asking for permission. Tenko looks up to his human and when he tells Tenko it’s okay, he allows her to pet the pups. But only for a little while and when she’s about to pick one up, he gives her a warning snarl. She pulls her hand to herself and slowly backs away. She still doesn’t let Dabi off the rope. They don’t trust him completely when it comes to the pups. Tenko is fine with that.

As she stands up, she pulls Dabi with her. He is a little reluctant to leave but obeys all the same.

‘I’ll gladly help you get more pups next spring,’ he offers with a sly smirk.

Tenko snorts. He has already decided that this will be his first and last litter. ‘You wish. Besides, didn’t you have another omega to breed?’

‘It’s not like I can’t do both of you.’

‘You will never get near me like that again.’

Dabi is not fazed. He’s wearing that annoying alpha smugness like he invented it. ‘We’ll see about that when your next heat is due.’

‘Yeah, we’ll see about it, definitely.’

It was hard getting used to the new normal when the cubs were growing at an alarming speed. Just when Aizawa thought he had it all figured out, the little imps did something that indicated they had just acquired a new skill.

Day 12 saw their eyes opening. They were all cloudy blue like pups’ and kittens’, not yet indicating the true colour. They began crawling faster and pushing their small potato-bodies up to their unsteady legs. They began trying their tiny claws and sprouting milk teeth on various surfaces. Tomura didn’t appreciate them biting into his teats very much.

Nemuri succeeded in doing a thorough examination on them after Aizawa slipped a tranquilizer into Tomura’s breakfast. He slept soundly past the vet’s visit. After waking up, he immediately smelled Nemuri and hurried to check and scent the cubs. He didn’t leave them out of his sight that day, stubbornly refusing to go to his litter box until he was so uncomfortable that he whined to himself. Aizawa dragged the litter box next to the nest.

The incident earned Aizawa two days’ worth of judging, mistrusting looks and a cold shoulder. It was worth it, he supposed, since upon Nemuri’s examination and tests, it was confirmed that they had three different sexes. The mini-Dabi was a male alpha like his father, the other dark-coloured one was a female omega and the merle pup was a female alpha (Dr. Reilly had almost exploded from excitement via Zoom connection).

Things remained rather peaceful when the cubs stayed in the whelping box but inevitably the day came when one of them (the male alpha—he was usually the first one to try new things) would set their paws on the board blocking the way to the outside world and heave themselves up.

Aizawa spent a full day tidying the apartment and making everything cub-safe. His so-called paternity leave was over and he had already been to the center to work while Tomura stayed at home with the cubs.

Soon the little ones would receive their microchips and first vaccinations. At that point they would also officially be named. The latter part Aizawa wasn’t dreading as much as the former despite the fact that he wasn’t very good at coming up with names. He’d ask Hizashi for suggestions but he supposed Rumi and the others were brainstorming too.

A little unexpectedly, Tomura came to his aid.

After spending two weeks fully engaged with his newborns, Tomura had signalled to Aizawa that he wanted to continue Breaking Bad. He wasn’t very subtle about it—it wasn’t his style. When the babies were napping after a particularly big meal, Tomura hopped on the couch and grabbed the remote.

”Waarz!” he shouted at Aizawa who had been typing out a report about the cubs’ development so far.

And just like that, their Netflix routine resumed.

One evening when they were watching the show, Tomura suddenly rose to his feet and jumped down from the couch. Aizawa automatically paused the show, assuming Tomura wanted to use the litter box or the cubs needed him. They weren’t currently sleeping but playing in the nest, their little yips and snarls serving as background noise to the TV.

Tomura picked up the male alpha pup and brought him in front of the TV, hanging him from his scruff and casting a demanding look at Aizawa.

”What’s wrong?” Aizawa asked. “Does the little one need something?”

“Mrrw!” Tomura mumbled around the skin in his mouth. He cocked his head towards the screen. “Mrrp!”

For a moment, Aizawa was as lost as the little critter that was hanging limply in his mother’s grip, paws folded against his chest and tail tucked between his legs, letting out unsure chirps.

“Mpph!” Tomura insisted, poked at the screen and lifted the cub a little.

”Sorry, boy, I don’t understand. What do you need?”

Tomura huffed in annoyance and lowered the cub onto the floor. He nudged the cub with his paw and then pressed it against the screen. “Mpph!”

”Does the little one want to watch TV? He can join us–”

“Mraawh!” Tomura barked, his tails swishing with frustration. “Mkkh!” Again he turned towards the frozen image of Mike Ehrmantraut on the screen. And then it clicked.

”Something about Mike?” Aizawa guessed. Tomura’s tail changed its movement, now wagging with encouragement. His head made a gesture that almost resembled a nod. “Your kid likes Mike too?”

”Nreew!”

”Something about Mike and your pup… Do you perhaps… you want to name your pup ‘Mike’?” Aizawa straightened himself and pointed at the little burgundy creature that was already waddling towards the kitchen. “Mike?”

”Mrow!” Tomura confirmed, flicking his ears and taking a couple of excited steps.

Aizawa almost lost his shit. He knew phookas had their own language that, along with gestures, smells and sounds, included something akin to words. They had specific sounds for things and possibly for each other, just like crows, elephants and cetaceans. But picking a character’s name from a TV series required a level of abstract thinking that Aizawa hadn’t been prepared for.

He broke into full-body gooseflesh.

“Alright,” he drew in a deep breath, not wanting Tomura to see how shaken he was. “That one is Mike then. What about the others? Have you thought about their names?”

”Mroow!” Tomura caught the escapee wannabe—Mike—and carried him back to the box. Next, he lifted the female alpha and placed her in the same spot in front of the TV. He turned towards the screen but seemed somewhat lost.

Aizawa leaned forward and pointed at the screen with the remote. “Is her name from the show too? Skyler? Marie?”

”Mraaw,” Tomura said and shook his head. “Mrrp.” He concentrated very hard and voiced a sound Aizawa had never heard before. “Nrrsh.”

“Jane? There are not that many females in the show.” Maybe Tomura didn’t care about human gender restrictions, after all his species had much more variety. “Jesse? Walter? Hank? Gomey?” He realized it might take a while and stopped to really rank his brain for Tomura’s favourites. “Saul?”

Tomura jumped a little. “Swaarz!”

“You want to name her Saul?”

”Nreeew!”

”Okay, that’s a no, I think. But someone from Saul?”

Tomura flicked his ears again and his expression turned eager.

“Let’s see… Kim? Chuck? Gus? Tuco? Lalo? No, wait! You don’t like any of them. You like Nacho!”

”Mraaw!” Tomura bounced with excitement.

“You want to call her Nacho?”

”Mrow!”

”Nacho is a guy but I guess it doesn’t matter. She can be Nacho.” Aizawa wiped his face, which was threatening to become suspiciously sweaty. “What about the last one?”

”Mrow,” Tomura said in a dismissive voice.

“She doesn’t have a name? Does that mean that I get to name her?”

”Nref!”

Judging by the strong reaction, Tomura had named the female omega too. “Is it something you can’t tell me? It’s not from the shows? Not from Walter or Saul?”

“Nreew.”

”Oh, okay. But if you figure out a way to tell me, I’m all ears. We do have to come up with a name for her too so I apologize in advance if it’s not the one you have in mind.”

Tomura carried the merle pup, now called Nacho, back to the box before taking his usual spot on the couch again and fixing his eyes on the screen.

Aizawa was not yet ready to go back to the show. His concentration was all over the place, thoughts were speeding around inside his skull like lost bullet trains. “Tomura, do you perhaps… have a name that we don’t know about? A name in your own language?”

”Mrow.”

”You do? What is it?”

”Nreew,” Tomura said, ignoring Aizawa. ‘You wouldn’t be able to say it anyway.’

“I–” Aizawa began but realized there was no changing the situation. He huffed to get rid of the tension still lingering in his limbs. “Are you okay with ‘Tomura’?” A little late to ask that but he had to.

“Mrow.”

“Good. I’m relieved.” Aizawa lowered his hand on Tomura’s back and stroked the fur between his shoulder blades. The phooka was already losing the extra weight the pregnancy had put on him, thanks to the strict diet plan Nemuri had mapped out for him, and Aizawa could feel the spine under his fingers.

In the end, the female omega was named Yasuko because of her calm nature compared to her siblings. Nemuri and Rumi came up with the name but Aizawa checked with Tomura before giving his approval.

As the cub’s eyes changed colour, they found out that Nacho had heterochromia. Her right eye, which was surrounded by darker hair, turned brown but the left one remained blue, icy turquoise, not very unlike her father’s.

“Zoos gonna be fighting over that one,” Rumi observed.

She was a stand-out, for sure. Aizawa suspected the UA might want to keep her as she had two extraordinary qualities, her colour and her sex. Mike’s and Yasuko’s true colour turned out to be brown. Yasuko’s eyes became so dark that it was like staring into two tiny puddles of coffee whereas Mike’s took a turn to chestnut. While they didn’t catch one’s eye the same way Nacho did, they were quite exemplary individuals of their species. They were playful, active and smart—and disgustingly cute in the way only baby animals could be.

At least when they were very small.

Chapter Text

At the age of three months, the cubs were already growing independent. They started sleeping in different parts of the apartment instead of curling up in a fluffy pile beside Tomura like in their early days. They were on a constant excursion. The world, meaning Aizawa’s small apartment, was their oyster. Mike was the boldest and most adventurous of them, always the first one to be found in a new location. There was a time when Aizawa was starting to suspect the little bastard had somehow managed to sneak out of the apartment.

”Tomura, where’s Mike?” he asked, trying to keep his growing panic in check.

“Nrew,” Tomura said dismissively from the couch where he had been resting out of reach of his exploratory imps. ‘I don’t care.’

Tomura was as far from the ever gentle and patient Moominmamma as one could be. While he had cared meticulously for the pups when they had been small and helpless, the more active and independent they became, the shorter his fuse got. He was requiring more and more peace and quiet. Aizawa would often see him pull his lips back and growl at the pups when they fussed around him. There were times when he shut himself in the guest room just to get a break from them.

Since the cubs had started widening their territory, he had taught them that the couch was off limits. It was reserved solely for him and Aizawa and occasionally Hizashi. Nacho and Yasuko didn’t push their luck but Mike dared to sneak up on the cushions when Aizawa had taken Tomura to the yard. Tomura wasted no time correcting the disobedient pup. He pushed Mike off the couch before the cub had time to react. Aizawa yelped in horror when Mike landed on his side on the floor with a loud thump, but he wasn’t hurt. He scrambled up, shook off and hissed at his mother who snarled back, standing on the couch in a guarding position.

And now, once again, it was Mike who was responsible for Aizawa’s premature greying.

“Could you help me find him?” he asked Tomura.

The phooka rolled onto his side and closed his eyes.

“Tomura, please. I’m dreading that he has gotten out somehow.”

With a frustrated snuff, Tomura pushed himself up and hopped off the couch. He didn’t call for the lost pup, instead opting to search with his nose. In no time, he located Mike on the top shelf of the linen closet where the lost pup was napping behind the pile of sheets after peeing all over them.

Nacho and Yasuko who had followed them expressed their elation loudly when Aizawa lifted their brother off the shelf. As a thank-you, Mike bit and dug his claws into his forearm, making Tomura snarl warningly. When Aizawa lowered the cub to the floor, Tomura wasted no time in grabbing him and taking him to the box that nowadays served as a naughty corner. He dropped the pup on the cushions unceremoniously and growled at him when he tried to climb out.

All in all, phooka parenting was quite rough, including nipping, swatting and pushing the kids off their feet. But Tomura seemed to know instinctively how much the little ones could handle and they were never actually hurt. Yasuko didn’t usually receive any rough treatment, being the quietest and most obedient one, whereas Mike got his tiny ass kicked several times a day. Nacho fell somewhere in between, occasionally accompanying her brother in shenanigans but having the sense to stop before crossing any serious lines.

That was before the cubs turned four months. By then, they were the size of a medium poodle—and practically unstoppable.

The cubs didn’t care about watching Netflix; they cared about rampaging, harassing their mother and destroying Aizawa’s property. Tomura was getting more fed-up by the second as the trio wrestled in front of the TV, yipping, snarling and bumping against the stand and the coffee table. To tell the truth, Aizawa was also having a hard time focusing on the show but he was at least a little more patient than Tomura.

Tomura bared his fangs and barked at the cubs who ceased their roughhousing only to glance at their mother before resuming their playing. When Nacho jumped on the TV stand, blocking half of the view and making the apparatus sway, Tomura leaped off the couch and chased his offspring away from the living room with a fury Aizawa hadn’t seen before. The cubs were stumbling over each other, their paws slipping on the floor as they ran from their enraged mother. The guest room door slammed shut.

“They are just kids,” he told Tomura when the phooka returned. The cubs were probably going to mess up the guest room, being left behind a closed door. He could already hear them jumping against the door and scratching it.

”Mraw!” Tomura objected, slumping on the couch and lowering his head on his paws with an annoyed huff. ‘They are pests!’

His patience was growing thinner by the day. It was obvious that the apartment was getting too small for all of them. Perhaps it was time to wean the cubs off completely and take them elsewhere. The center had been preparing an enclosure for them. They would spend their first year in it before being transported to their new homes.

Aizawa wanted to make sure Tomura was on the same page as him before they took the cubs away. In nature, some solitary animals stayed with their mother for a year or two but that was out of the question. It would require Tomura to move to the center as well and Aizawa had an inkling that he was opposed to the idea.

”Tomura,” he called to get the phooka’s attention. “I think the apartment is getting too cramped for all of us. The cubs are getting more and more active and they… well, they are becoming a handful.” That was putting it mildly. Honestly speaking, they were an uncontrollable force of nature. They were more like Gremlins than Tomura could ever be. They ate more than the center managed to deliver, peed and pooped everywhere despite both Aizawa’s and Tomura’s best efforts to housetrain them. They scratched walls, gnawed furniture and clamoured during the wee hours. They were starting to figure out how to open doors and windows. Their teeth and nails were becoming too sharp for Aizawa’s poor skin to handle. Mike especially resembled Dabi more and more by the day and Aizawa dreaded the moment the young phooka would decide that the weird two-legged creature needed to die.

Tomura was looking at him. He was listening.

”So, I think it would be best if they went to live in the center. The place where Dabi lives. Not in the same enclosure, of course, they would have their own space. It doesn’t mean you won’t see them anymore. Nothing bad would happen to them and you could visit them often.” Aizawa trailed off, studying Tomura’s expression. “What do you think about this?”

”Mrow!” Tomura said with enthusiasm.

”What? Are you saying it’s okay that they move?”

”Mroow!” Tomura said even more vigorously. ‘Hell yeah!’

It was settled then. Aizawa made the call to Nezu and they began the necessary preparations.

Even though Tomura had agreed to move the cubs to the center, it didn’t mean he wouldn’t be sad about it. He entered the reserved enclosure with them, lay down and allowed them to crawl and jump on top of him and to bite into his tail tuft. He crooned and groomed and nudged them gently until they grew tired of playing with him and started exploring their surroundings.

“I was starting to get worried that you might want to keep them,” Rumi said to Aizawa.

“Nah, my apartment couldn’t handle them anymore.” Even Hizashi had gone back on his determination to purchase one of the cubs after experiencing their uncontrollable night frenzies (meaning getting his clothes ruined and forearms scratched and bitten). While Yasuko showed potential to become as domesticated as her mother, Hizashi decided to settle for babysitting Tomura every now and then.

While the cubs were busy sniffing and looking around, Tomura snuck out and took his place by Aizawa’s side. He flinched a little when Rumi closed the door but made no move to stop her.

His posture was drooping when it was time to leave. But he left of his own volition, stopping only once to turn his head and look over his shoulder. Mike was already climbing on a rock and Nacho had dove into an empty tree log, both engaged in the activities of their new environment, but Yasuko was staring back at her mother through the glass. She let out a questioning mewl to which Tomura answered. His determination wavered.

”You can visit them any time you want,” Aizawa reminded him, placing a calming hand on his head and running his fingers through the messy hair. “I come here almost every day, you can come with me. You could visit them as soon as tomorrow.”

Tomura snorted and turned his head forward. “Mrow,” he said with determination. ‘Let’s go.’

The apartment was quiet. It was also a complete mess. To Aizawa, it felt like he was seeing the shape of it for the first time. All the scratches, the hair, the tatters and shreds, the scattered toys and supplies. The raccoon-like stench hit him in the face like he was visiting the place the first time.

”Next week I’ll start the renovation,” he promised out loud.

He bent to collect some of the junk from the floor. Nothing much, just the items that happened upon his path. Tomura followed him, sniffing every one of them carefully. He picked a dog Kong and carried it to the toy box. As his eyes landed on the empty whelping box, he erupted into involuntary whimpering.

“They are not gone,” Aizawa reminded him gently as he walked over. “They are in the center and probably already having a blast in the big space with so much to do. You can visit them whenever you like.”

Tomura tore his eyes from the box and turned to look up at Aizawa. Mixed emotions were evident on his face—but Aizawa also saw that he knew he had done the right thing. Perhaps in nature, at this age, the cubs would have gradually been wandering further and further away from their mother, only one day to disappear completely. The natural weaning process had been quite impossible in the small, confined space.

“You can sleep in my room if you feel lonely. Or I can just lie down here on the couch.”

Tomura nuzzled his hand, letting out another barely audible whimper. The couch it was then.

Aizawa collected the most indicative objects, such as the cubs’ bowls. He wondered if he should have put the box away too but decided to wait until tomorrow. Tomura might want to sleep buried in the familiar smells. The phooka spent a moment probing around the bedding in the box but then seemed to make a decision and left it.

Aizawa slumped on the couch and listened to the relative silence and Tomura’s snuffling and nails clacking against the floor in various parts of the apartment. He didn’t know what the phooka was doing exactly but it seemed important. Perhaps he was giving himself closure.

It didn’t take Tomura long to return to him. He hopped on the couch and lay down, tilting just so that his side was resting against Aizawa’s thigh. It was warm and trembling slightly as he was ridding himself of extra tension. Animals were wise in that way.

Aizawa stroked his back slowly. “I guess it’s just the two of us again.”

Tomura didn’t answer but his ear was turned towards Aizawa, indicating that he was listening. Only Aizawa was at a loss for words so he just kept on petting the white fur under his palm.

He didn’t know what the future held for them, but one thing he knew. Tomura was here with him now. He would be here tomorrow morning and probably the morning after that.

He waited until he felt Tomura’s mood shift before grabbing the remote and turning the TV on. Tomura raised his head, ears swinging forward.

“Shall we watch some meth cooking?”

“Mrow!”

~ The End ~