Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

  The small cottage creaked in the harsh winds, but it always refused to fall. The small field behind it was hardly guarded, but the flimsy wooden fence as a short woman with green hair who tended to small crops. It was just enough for her and her son to live off of, but not enough for winter storage. Her forest eyes glanced up to the sound of rustling and then a loud screech of a caught animal. Just as her son predicted, the traps near the field would catch the animals that came near for food. Quietly, she grabbed the dagger her late husband had given her and grabbed the fresh meat for dinner. She knew the trap would be reset when her son returned from his foraging trip.

  The forest was quiet. He had gathered a few nonpoisonous mushrooms and even some wild apples. Drawing the bow taut, a deep breath as the arrow pointed at its target. The string wasn’t released, however. Instead, the arrow was placed back in the quiver. Reaching into his satchel, he pulled out a throwing net. Tossing it, the net sprung open, capturing the chicken, which was now clucking in panic. A bright smile was the green-haired man ran out to collect his hunt. A chicken, which meant they would now have eggs regularly. He ran back home, collecting the chicken carefully, not to hurt or distress it more, hoping to surprise his mother.

“Izuku! Your trap caught a rabbit today! I'm making a stew!” Inko Midoriya cheered as her son entered the cottage.

“Really! This must be a lucky day, I got a wild chicken in the forest,” Izuku grinned, holding up the now very docile chicken. It was cooing in his arms despite still being in the net, “We have eggs now!”

“Oh, how wonderful. And such beautiful white feathers. We'll need to build her a pen to keep her safe from predators.” Inko smiled even wider, “She can stay in the house for now. I think I have some bread crumbs for her.”

“I'll start building one tomorrow,” Izuku replied. “Do I need to reset the trap?”

“Yes, please, I'm just not good at that. I did try, but your traps are much more complicated than what I'm used to,” Inko returned to cooking as she set down a pile of seeds and bread crumbs from the stale loaf in the corner for the chicken, along with a small dish of water. “There you are. Eat up so we have eggs to make bread.”

  Releasing the chicken, it flew out of Izuku's arms and to the pile the food. Happily eating away.

“Izuku, are you sure you want to head into town for supplies tomorrow?” Inko asked, noticing the dulled scent of her son had gotten just a bit stronger. However, she also remembered that today marked the 28th day of Izuku's cycle.

“It should be fine-oh wait, maybe I'll wait a few days,” Izuku knew from his mother, he had forgotten his own cycle. Again.

“I'll take care of the chicken in the house. Do you need to nest yet?” Inko began fretting over her son, as she always did.

“Not yet, but I probably will tonight,” Izuku answered, taking off his leather gloves and removing the bandages around his wrists. He did the same with the bandages around his neck, revealing the dried clay which sealed off his scent glands, dampening his sweet scent to what most people were convinced was a beta scent.

“Bring in a pail of water, then rest. Your heat will need it,” Inko reminded him.

“I know, Mom. I won't go out again until after my heat,” Quickly resetting the trap near their field, Izuku left for the small creek near the cottage with a bucket and cloth. Soaking the cloth, he wiped away all the dried brown clay, flinching when the freezing water touched the sensitive areas of his skin. He then filled the bucket but made a quick stop to gather some of the dead grass nearby for the chicken to make her own nest.

“Here, um… Kumo-chan,” Izuku smiled, setting down the grass and letting the chicken arrange it as she pleased.

“Kumo-chan? It certainly suits her,” Inko smiled, “White and fluffy like a cloud.”

“I'm going to leave the water here for now,” the green-haired omega said, setting the bucket down to the side before covering it with a cloth.

“You should go get things ready, you only have a day until your heat,” Inko instructed her son, now smelling him much stronger than before, “I'll bring you dinner.”

“Still, Mom, let me know if you need help,” Izuku knew his mother could handle herself for three days. He was still worried. It was one of the few reasons he hadn't followed his dreams just yet.

— — — 

“Alright, Izuku, hold the dagger just like this,” his face was blurry in Izuku's memories, but he remembered his father had freckles just like him.

“Am I doing it?” the small boy asked, replicating his father's instruction.

“Yeah, you're doing great! No practice striking this tree truck like I showed you,” his deep voice echoed in his memory, not fully clear. 

Izuku had been so little when his father trained him how to use a dagger to hunt and fight.

“Remember, Izuku,” His father's large, alphan hands tousled his curly green hair, “no matter what designation you present as, you should always protect the ones you care about. Don't ever use a weapon to hurt the innocent. Protect yourself, your friends, and your family.”

“Just like the hero All Might! He protects everyone from bad guys. I'm gonna be an adventurer like him! I'll make lots of friends and protect them!” Izuku cheered.

“Then we'd better get back to training so you can become strong like All Might!” They continued their training.

  Another day, while gathering what little they could in the forest, Izuku found a stick he liked. It was a good stick for playing. His mother just smiled as Izuku decided to take the stick home.

“Dad, look! I've got a sword!” Izuku cheered, welding the stick.

“A sword, huh?” His father smiled, taking the stick and examining it, “More like a bow. Want to learn how to make one?”

“Really! You're gonna teach me to make a bow!” Izuku smiled.

“I can show you how to braid the string,” Inko smiled.

“Yes, please!”

  That winter, with a new homemade bow, Izuku practiced shooting the targets around the yard of the cottage. He could hit the targets now. The arrows didn't stick, and he had only gotten one bullseye, but he was still proud.

  Then, his father was sent to war and died in battle. His father was a great fire mage and blacksmith in their small village, but not better than what was taught at the academy or trained soldiers. Inko cried and cried, and Izuku decided then that he would take care of his mother just like his father had. When his magic affinity came in, he'd protect his family just like he promised his father. 

  However, his magic never came. Izuku cried when the magic ball the priests had didn't glow. Not even a little. Not a single ounce of Mana in his body. Izuku didn't give up, he tried to summon fire on his own, even tried to control the fire in the chimney, but nothing happened. He tried to float small objects like his mother could, but nothing happened. He cried. Izuku Midoriya, the boy without magic.

  Even without magic, Izuku was determined. He practiced the training his father taught him every day. Getting better with his dagger and his bow. Then came his 12th summer.

It was a warm day, so he hadn't really noticed he was warmer. His mother had noticed and froze. Her eyes teared as she realized her son's plain forest scent had changed. Sweeter, stronger, and she cried again. Her son, born from a beta mother and alpha father, was an omega. Izuku cried that day, too. 

  Omegas were never taken seriously as adventurers. They usually only became adventurers along with their mate, or if they were unmated, they were basically sexual entertainment, willingly or not. Omegas couldn't be registered as party members in order to discourage them from learning to fight. Omegas were one of the least common designations because of their already lower survival rate when unmated. In other words, no strong Alpha to protect them meant they were supposed to be treated like they were fragile and powerless. It wasn't exactly untrue. Omegas in general tended to have less body mass overall. They're more susceptible to the cold, so winters cause a lot of death for Omegas in poor areas. Not to mention muscles usually stayed on the leaner side. So brute strength isn't a strong suit. One of the more frequent causes of death to Omegas, alpha abuse. Just because alphas had the instincts to protect didn't mean they listened. Enough alcohol, pheromones, rage, and mental imbalances cause anyone to be too rough or lose themselves. Omegas are more often the victims than the suspects. Adventurer parties were the ones most often behind these cases. The only omegas treated well were Aphrodite Omegas, rare and treated like royalty for their beauty and incredible fertility. They usually only appeared after being married to an important political figure, or a particularly powerful type of alpha, a Kratos or prime Alpha. Aphrodite Omegas were only known because two of them had married kings in the past, and one was rumored to have started a war between 2 countries because she hadn't selected an alpha. But Izuku wasn't that, as far as he could tell, he was a regular male omega with a plain-looking face.

“I'm so sorry, Izuku,” Inko cried as she held her teary-eyed son, “I'm so so sorry…”

“I won't give up,” Izuku said quietly through his tears, “I'll still go on adventures… I'll help people… Just like the hero All Might.”

  Since then, Izuku was even more determined to become an adventurer. He used bandages to cover up his scent. His mother may not fully believe in him, but she still supported him. Izuku began buying books with the little money he made selling wooden carvings and timber while his mother sold the clothing she sewed. Teaching himself everything he could, Izuku learned to identify herbs, fruits, and other plants grown in the forest for food and medicine. He wasn't able to take on an apprenticeship but watched craftsmen closely. Analyzing their techniques before implementing them himself. He studied for years, learning as many skills as he could so he would be prepared for anything.

— — —

“Izuku, the stew is ready,” Inko walked into her Son’s room. The cloth they used as a curtain had become one with his nest on the ground. The pile of hay had cushions with hardly any fluff to them, but Inko had saved to buy them after Izuku presented, so he had a nesting space. They didn't own enough pillows for a complete nest, but Inko made some from fabric scraps for him.  It was the best she could provide him with. Izuku was curled up with the blanket in his nest, the sun beaming down directly on him, sunbathing like a cat in a garden. “It turned out just wonderful with those herbs you dried for me.”

“It would be delicious if you made it, Mom,” Izuku sat up, taking the bowl, and happily eating.

“Izuku, you still want to be an adventurer?” His mother asked this question almost every time he finished his heat.

“Yes, I do. I want to have wonderful adventures like All Might,” Green eyes lit with determination.

“Then, can you wait until winter passes? I'll let you go for your 18th summer. But, you have to stay close enough that you can return home for your heats. After a few months, we'll see if you feel ready to let you spend your heat at an omegas-only inn. I just… I don't want anything to happen to you.”

“I can wait!” Izuku smiled, “I'll hunt and harvest as much as I can so you have plenty of food stocked while I'm gone. I'll stay within the kingdom so I can run home for my heats. I'll send home a portion of my pay, too, so you can buy nice things for yourself.”

“My wild boy,” she kissed his forehead, “Just be safe. And don't you dare let some Alpha take advantage of you.”

“I'll be safe and protect myself.”

— 

  Just as promised, Izuku made certain his mother had plenty of food storage, and he left her a drawn diagram of how to reset the traps around the field after showing her a few more times. Izuku smiled as he packed. Potions for healing and poison neutralizer. A small jar of clay and plenty of bandages. A bound notebook he made himself from paper he pressed in his backyard using the shavings from his carving. His bow, arrows, and dagger were secured. Dried foods, a change of clothes, and a blanket.

  Just like every morning before he left for the kingdom town, Izuku used a rag in the river to scrub off his scent as best he could. He applied clay over his glands and wrapped the tan cloths over them to secure the clay. He changed into a green tunic, brown trousers, and his usual red boots. Slipping on his gloves, he stood, grabbed his satchel, and gave his mother a teary-eyed goodbye. Today, he was signing up with the adventurer’s guild.

  The guild was massive, with outdoor areas along the giant 2 story tavern-looking building. The entire lower half was made of stone, and the inside had similar pillars to support the wooden structure on top. It was 3 stories tall, had a large array of stables for horses along the outside of the left wall. There was a main lobby upon entering, with signs pointing to filtering areas. The quest hall on the left was one of the largest spaces with bulletin boards covered in papers for quests. Each board had a letter above it, stating the minimum level required for the quests from level F all the way to S. On the opposite side was a restaurant space and a small repair requests table for adventurers to get weapons and armor repairs for cheaper than with an independent Smith. It led to the blacksmith's hut outside. Behind the reception’s desk, there was a set of stairs on the right and on the left a trades stall.

“Hi, is this your first time here?” A woman in the guild's uniform and blond hair approached Izuku as he was dazed, taking in all of the different adventurers of various species, levels, and personalities in the guild, “I'm Sasaki, a Guild receptionist. I can help you register.”

“Y-yes!” He straightened to, becoming stiff with nerves, “I-I would like to register as an adventurer, please!”

“Right this way,” she laughed a little. New adventurers were more often arrogant than anxious. A refreshing change for her as she guided the young man to her desk, “We'll start by having you fill out an application and then testing your mana and determining if you'll start as an F rank or E rank. From there, you can take on jobs and slowly rise through the ranks to D, C, and so on. What class are you going to be working as? This can always be changed if your first choice doesn't work out for you.”

“R-Right. I-I'm an archer, since I prefer to fight long distance, but I can handle close combat…” Izuku began trailing off into a mumble about class types that don't require strong magic. The receptionist smiled wryly.

“You said you prefer long-distance fighting with a bow, but are capable of close combat. Can you hunt?” Sasaki interrupted after about two minutes of listening to the green haired and freckled young man mutter.

“O-oh, yes! I can hunt, I caught all the food for me and my mother,” Izuku flushed, realizing he had lost himself in thought longer than intended.

“If you aren't proficient in magic, I suggest the ranger class for now,” She offered.

“A ranger? I think that's best,” Izuku agreed, deciding to go with her recommendation. Ranger had been at the top of his list of classes already, and this only reinforced his decision.

  The paperwork was long but simple. Izuku already knew he'd start as an F-ranked adventurer from his lack of Mana. He expected the look of pity from the receptionist as well, but it still stung as Sasaki handed over his guild tag marking him as an F-ranked Ranger within the Nezu Adventurer's guild. It used a small magic stone to display his information when pressed. It was a simple tag on an enchanted chain that hung around Izuku's neck. Only his rank and the symbol of the guild were engraved on the metal. The chain was enchanted so the tag couldn't be stolen off him, and only he or a guild employee would remove it. This feature made it easiest to identify bodies on the battlefield as the tags remained on the corpses left behind.

  Izuku, in the moment, was crying tears of joy as he pulled the tag on. He was a real adventurer. He may have lied and said he was a Beta, but he had no other choice when Omegas weren't allowed to register. Still, it was the proudest he'd ever felt, finally starting his dream. Now, it was time to pick his first adventure. He couldn't join a party with zero experience; he'd just become a burden. He had to improve himself first, then he could try forming a new party with other novice adventurers.

  The F-ranked board was much less crowded than the D and C ranks. Most adventurers started as E ranks and leveled up within the month. F-ranks were uncommon, but it wasn't frowned upon as much as he expected. Looking over all the quests, Izulu debated and debated with himself which would be the best choice for him. Herbs were easy but not exciting enough. Hunting would show his skills, but it still felt too easy. Nothing in the F-ranked board involved dungeons or monsters. Most were chore requests.

“Having trouble deciding?” a voice suddenly spoke up beside the muttering man, startling him.

“O-oh, y-yeah. It's my first adventure, so I wanted it to be a good one…” Izuku spoke up, fiddling with his hands a bit. He looked over to find a girl with short brown hair and round eyes. She wore a pink mage's cloak with a staff and a matching pointed hat. The sweet scent coming from her startled him. She was an omega in the adventurer’s guild.

“Yeah, the first adventure is important. I suggest this one,” She handed him the quest to hunt a boar that had been ravaging the fields for the markets.

“Thank you for your help. My name is Izuku Midoriya,” Izuku bowed while taking the quest.

“Nice to meet you, Midoriya. I'm Ochako Uraraka,” She held out her hand, and Izuku took it to shake before giving her a nervous smile.

“Is everything alright, Ochako?” a man wearing silver armor approached. His helmet in his hand, a long sword at his side. His dark eyes glancing between Midoriya and Uraraka. His oppressive alpha scent made Midoriya take a hesitant step back from Uraraka.

“Yes, Tenya. This is Midoriya-kun; he just needed help choosing his first quest. Midoriya-kun, this is Tenya Iida, my mate. We have other party members too, but they haven't arrived yet,” Uraraka happily introduced them.

“I-I'm Izuku Midoirya. It's nice to meet you, Iida-san,” Izuku bowed again.

“It is nice to make your acquaintance as well, Midoriya,” Iida spoke, easing some of his earlier aggression, sensing no hostile pheromones from the beta before him, “I hope your first quest goes well.”

“Thank you,” Izuku replied as they left, spotting the rest of their party entering the guild. 

  Taking the quest form, Izuku decided to head out to the field. He'd be there by nightfall if he walked. His first adventure was finally starting!

—

It was silent in the dead of night. The trap was laid, and green hair blended in well with the fields. A deep breath as steps were heard coming closer and closer. Snout sniffing the bait while green eyes watched anxiously. Just another step. One more step was the new adventurer needed from the boar as it closed in. SNAP! The rope tightened aggressively against the hind legs of the squealing hairy pig. An arrow through the head silenced the desperate cries of the trapped animal in a second. The boar was dead, the quest was complete. Izuku carefully climbed down from the tree he had perched himself on and ran to the boar. Using an empty leather bag, he followed the directions of the quest. He took both tusks and all four hooves along with the tail to prove he had indeed killed the boar. The rest was up to him. He could try and drag the heavy animal back to the guild or sell it here. With how Izuku took it down, the hide was in perfect condition and would sell for a higher price. The meat as well. With a smile, Izuku started slowly dragging the animal to the guild. He used a rope for leverage and some large leaves he wove into a sled to help him haul it back with minimal blood spillage. Sure, he napped a little in the forest waiting for the boar to show up, but Izuku was completely exhausted after lugging a 150-pound animal across the kingdom town.

“Wow, you completed that quickly,” The receptionist, Sasaki, greeted Izuku as the sun was starting to rise. He had just entered the guild with the boar.

“It was harder to drag it than to trap it,” Izuku huffed, collapsing onto the cold stone floor as Sasaki waved over 2 large men from the trading stall. They took the boar easily, and Izuku handed over the bag with the hooves, tail, and tusks as proof of completion.

“You are rather small for a beta. Now, here is your payment for the quest,” Sasaki placed 1 silver, 2 bronze, and 5 copper coins on the desk.

“This much! Really!” Izuku carefully took the coins and secured them.

“Yes, and I'm assuming you're selling the boar to the guild? They'll give you payment for the boar at the trades stall,” Sasaki pointed to the left where the stall was.

“Thank you,” Izuku quickly moved along to the stall.

“Heya, Squirt,” one of the large men from before greeted him, “You selling us the boar whole or do you just want to pay the butchering fee?”

“I-I want to sell it all except the hide. How much is the fee?” Izuku asked.

“Just hide? I'll do it for 2 bronze and subtract it from what we'll pay you for the rest of the boar. We can have it ready for you this afternoon,” He responded, watching Izuku yawn, “You got a place you can rest, kid?”

“I was gonna find an inn,” Izuku mumbled. He wanted to sleep, and the soreness from hauling a boar all night was setting in.

“Why don't you head upstairs? The whole 2nd floor is made up of rooms for guild members to rest or plan. The host up there will give you a key for a room,” the bulky man informed him.

“I will, thank you,” Izuku left the stall, heading up the stairs to another desk. He received a room key and hardly even registered the empty room before he shut and locked the door. Removing his satchel, belt, weapons, and boots, Izuku deflated into the soft mattress on the bed closest to him. Not even bothering to shut the blinds and falling asleep to the early morning sun.

—

Izuku sat up, rubbing his eyes and blinking blearily at the room. It took him a moment to remember he was in the guild inns. He stretched, winching as his arms were still sore. He tied his boots back on, fastened his belt, and weapons. Slipping on the satchel, he fixed the bed and returned the key.

“Hey, Squirt! Right on time. Here's the hide and you pay,” The same large man waved Izuku over as he set down he hide, which was rolled up, skin side exposed, and a small pouch, “Already docked the fee for butchering. Some great quality pork you brought us. I hope you come back, you seem like a lucky little clover.”

“I wouldn't say lucky,” Izuku let out an anxious laugh as he collected the hide and strapped it to his back with some rope. Opening the pouch, he took the small pile of bronze coins along with the single silver coin and secured them in his coin pouch before leaving.

  He already had a story to tell his mother and a new pelt for her to use this winter to keep warm. From the smell, it had been thoroughly cleaned and treated. Magic users were amazing to Izuku; they got work done so efficiently. It would have taken Izuku days to properly process a fresh animal skin, but it only took them mere hours. The small village came into view all too soon, along with the looks of disgust, disapproval, and a certain glint in the eyes of the alphas Izuku chose to ignore. He ran, dodging a pebble thrown his way. If Izuku walked, he risked them stealing the hide and getting teased or hit. He didn't want to ruin the trophy of his first adventure.

“Izuku?” his mother's eyes grew glossy with tears as she heard his laughter in the distance. She ran to meet him and hugged him tightly, “Izuku! Thank goodness you're safe. What is that?”

“I'll show you,” Izuku had one of the brightest smiles his mother had ever seen on his face, “I'll tell you all about it!”

“This is beautiful,” Inko ran her hand along the fur of the hide, “And so warm~ It smells like this was basking in the sun in a meadow.”

“The guild has everything for adventurers, even rooms to sleep in. And look,” Izuku opened the coin pouch and set down the 1 silver, 2 bronze, and 5 copper coins from the quest. Along with the 4 bronze and 1 silver coins from selling the meat and bones, “They paid me a whole lot for just one boar! I'm going back to the guild for another quest. I'm only an F-ranked adventurer, so the jobs are easy; I can't even fight any monsters yet. But with enough time, I can move up to fighting slimes, and maybe a goblin! I don't get to enter dungeons until I’m C Rank and have a party to travel with. Only A-ranked adventurers can enter dungeons alone. So I’ll focus on making friends who’ll form a party with me.”

“I'm still worried about you getting a head of yourself Izuku, but if it's only small monsters and animals I suppose it'll be alright,” The anxiousness which had been constant to Inko while her son was gone was less intense knowing he wasn't going into dungeons immediately, “I'm glad you found this to be so fun. I hope you make the best party for your adventures.”

—

  It became routine after that. Izuku would leave for about two or three days at a time. He finished quests for F ranks quickly from how similar they were to his daily life. He'd return home and tell his mother about them, about the types of adventurers he saw within the guild. Uraraka and Iida said hello when they passed one another and eventually introduced Izuku to the rest of their party. Tsuyu Asui, the frog beast girl who used water magic. Momo Yaoyorozu, a human who could use creation magic and was somewhat versed in the weapons she created. She was mostly trained in a one-handed sword and shield. Tsu, as Asui preferred to be called, was a beta and good friends with Uraraka when they trained their magics at the academy. They had the same teacher training them. Yaoyorozu and Iida knew each other from their families interacting. Yaoyorozu is the daughter of a Duke, and Iida’s family was a family of paladins who took on various jobs. Bodyguarding the Duke was one of many.

  It wasn't a month before Izuku leveled up to Rank E. He was finally going to fight his first monster! The quest he'd taken this time was to collect 5 slime cores for a craftsman. It wasn't much of a fight; slimes were slow and easy to kill if you knew where to strike. Izuku was quick with his bow, striking each smile in its core, causing its body to collapse and puddle. Slimes were worth about the same, common herbs, a bronze for the five of them. But Izuku wasn't concerned with making the most money. He was determined to prove himself without magic, and fighting monsters was the best way to move ranks. He killed one extra slime; he wanted to bring the core back to his mother as a trophy. From the hide she made into a winter blanket as a show for his first official adventure to the core of his first monster hunt.

Then there was his first fight with a goblin. Slimes were easy, honestly Izuku wondered why they weren't for F-ranked adventurers. Goblins, however, were more intelligent and fought back. Izuku stayed hidden, stalking the goblin from a distance, arrow drawn and ready. It needed to be a clean shot so he could move on to the next one before sundown. Snap! Just as Izuku fired, a twig snapped, and the goblin dodged.

“Crap,” Izuku whispered and fired another arrow, piercing its chest.

  The goblin screamed and snarled before charging. Izuku dropped the bow and drew his dagger, dodging a clawed swipe and stabbing the goblin in the throat.

“I wanted to make this less painful for you,” Izuku sighed, slicing off the left ear of the goblin and placing it in the bag he'd determined was for monster and animal parts. Moving along, he only needed 2 more ears, and the quest would be complete. The next goblin was less of a battle, going down with an arrow between the eyes. The last goblin, however, caught the scent of something. Drooling, its eyes met with Izuku’s while he was aiming his arrow. Retreating Izuku changed plans as the goblin charged with its sharp sound laugh. It managed to scratch Izuku’s shoulder before its throat was cut, and it bled to death.

“Damn it,” Izuku removed the bloody gloves and undid the bandages around his neck. The clay was soft, but not from the water. It was soaked with his scent and sweet. Quickly, Izuku added another layer of clay to seal off the scent, repeating the process with his wrists before rebandaging the areas with clean bandages. He let the old one soak up the blood from the goblin to avoid his scent being any stronger than it was. Taking the ear of the last goblin, he returned to the guild and then returned home, not wanting to risk the inn tonight.

  His mother was upset when Izuku returned home with a scratch. Inko always got upset when her son was hurt, even if it was a simple bruise. Still, Izuku returned to the guild after a day. These monsters were different from fighting animals, and Izuku wanted to learn more. He wrote about each monster he encountered, how they fought, their weaknesses, and any behavior patterns he noticed while watching them at a distance. He sketched them into his journal with the notes he'd jotted down. He wanted to learn everything he could about them, along with the adventurers, their fighting styles, their magics, and more. One journal for monsters, one for adventurers.

  He could hardly wait for his heat to end to get back to his next adventure.

~~~

Chapter Text

  He was finally a D-ranked adventurer. Izuku beamed as his guild tag illuminated the small room in the guild's inn, announcing he had leveled up. Goblins were easy work for him now, so long as they were in groups of 4 or less. Horned rabbits, acidic frogs, and other small beginner-level monsters were regular hunts for him now. However, becoming a ranked D adventurer also meant Izuku was getting attention from other adventurers more often. A couple of them talked to Izuku about his adventures, and some even told him stories of their own. They didn't ignore him like before when he worked off the F rank board. Izuku was such an enthusiastic listener when others told stories; they often shared more. It was mostly the C-ranked parties that told him stories, an occasional B-ranked party every here and there. The A-rankers didn't engage much with him, and the few S-rankers basically ignored everyone.

“You need to upgrade your gear, kid,” Ryker, the friendly Alpha man who Izuku often traded with at the stall, said, “That little dagger isn't much for range, and your bow looks worn out. I know you're gonna want to head into a dungeon the second you're a C-rank. You need to prepare for that. Use this paycheck to get yourself some new gear.”

“You're right, I'll have to head to the markets tomorrow,” Izuku said as he took the pouch with his cut from gathering horned rabbits and selling them to the guild.

“Good. Don't forget to get yourself a party, too. You take your enemies down cleanly, a worthy skill since the more intact the goods are, the higher they sell. Don't forget your worth,” Ryker ruffled his green curls before moving on to the next adventurer.

Izuku had noticed most of the employees at the guild treated him more gently than he was used to. Even if he was blocking his scent, instincts were hard to trick. Ryker was especially gentle, ruffling his hair on occasion. Apparently, Izuku reminded him of his daughter back home. She was young and would be starting her first year at the Magic and Knights Academy next spring, dreaming of being a great mage one day. Izuku didn't mind. Ryker never pushed oppressive or hostile pheromones his way; instead, he felt safe around the alpha.

That was still something Izuku had to get used to. The guild was filled with Alphas. Sure, there was an occasional Beta like Tsu sprinkled in, but it was still mostly Alphas. Fighting his instincts not to whimper or lower his head when aggression was high proved to be more difficult than Izuku imagined. He was just thankful no alpha demands had been made while he was around. Izuku had to ignore his every instinct. He had to keep his head up, like a beta. He couldn't give in, or everyone would know, and he'd never be allowed in the guild again unless he belonged to an Alpha or Beta.

An unfamiliar sour-sweet smell came behind him as Izuku looked over the board. He heard the sound of a chain and the sour smell of an omega in distress. Izuku's eyes teared up as the group stopped the C-ranked quest board. He spared a glance as he saw the woman with her head down. A collar and chain, though the chain wasn't attached to anything and stopped at her chest. She was wearing a thin dress that was padded with leather, a pathetic attempt at armor, and had no weapons. A “party pet” is what omegas were referred to when they weren’t mated but still in a party. Izuku felt sick. He wanted to help, to release his calming pheromones to soothe her like he does for his mother. To save her from a party she didn't want to be a part of, and simply be free. But, in his current state, there wasn't anything he could do. Fighting was banned within the guild, and he couldn't fight against 6 alphas alone and without a plan.

“It's okay, Midoriya-kun,” Izuku flinched as Uraraka placed a hand on his shoulder and released her own calming pheromones. The other omega looked this way and gave the smallest of smiles before the group grabbed a quest and left the hall. “I know it's hard to watch.”

“I hate it,” Izuku’s voice was hushed and cracked as he wiped his eyes, “Alphas like that, they're the worst.”

“Ochako…” Iida approached the two quietly, “Do you two need to step outside for some fresh air?”

“Yes, please,” Uraraka pulled Izuku along, and they left the guild with Iida’s party and found an outdoor table at a restaurant to sit at.

“So, Midoriya-kun, you finally reached rank D -Kero,” Tsu asked as the food arrived, “Are you going to join another party or form your own?”

“I'm not too sure yet. Most adventurers I talk to are already in a full party. I'll have to ask around if any parties are looking for new members,” Izuku answered, happily eating after the refreshing wind and Uraraka helped him relax.

“Why not join our party?” Uraraka cheered, “We already like you, and we know you're stronger than you look.”

“Ochako, please discuss these ideas with me in advance,” Iida sighed, “But I must agree. Our group is lacking a ranger class. 1 paladin, 3 mages, 2 of them are subclassed fighters.”

“I agree,” Yaoyorozu nodded, “I may have studied hunting and monster behavior in the academy, but it is not my strong suit. Your class is a ranger, and you have impressive hunting skills.”

“You can also fight long distances with your bow -Kero. My water spells are mostly short-distance attacks. Uraraka's magic only works within range. You would be super helpful to have around -Kero,” Tsu added. All the positive attention made Izuku flustered.

“A-are you sure? I don't want to burden anyone because of my low rank,” Izuku fiddled with his food, unsure of whether he was truly being invited to a party with his new friends.

“Of course, we wouldn't have invited you otherwise,” Uraraka smiled along with the rest of the party.

“Then, I'll hurry up and get to Rank-C, so I can join your party!” Izuku smiled back, determined to raise his rank as soon as he could. He was going to, so he could be with his friends, his future party, and have adventures together like he'd always dreamed.

—

“The quest said this was the area the arachnid was last spotted,” Izuku muttered as he entered the forest.

He was wearing a new outfit, his mother had made it for him, and she even got it enchanted! The dark blue-green trousers, white tunic, and green vest were covered in a protection spell to keep him safe. His small satchel was replaced with a larger pack he wore on his back. His new belt had 2 pouches of its own for even more storage. He still wore his red boots, but they had new soles and were much more comfortable. He'd repaired his wooden bow that he and his father had crafted. Izuku finally had some real gear. Gear fit for an adventurer.

Looking around, Izuku kept his eyes trained on looking for the reflection of sunlight on spider silk. The arachnid was described as small; it only took chickens from a nearby pen and the occasional cat. It was a baby, too small to go after humans or horses, but it would grow. They had to kill it before it grew and got stronger.

It was quiet, barely anything, but it was still a rustle in the bushes. Drawing his bow, Izuku stood still, waiting to fire. A squirrel burst out of the brush and scurried away. Izuku sighed, getting tired from his searching. As he heard the squirrel shouting behind him, he turned. 8 red eyes stared into him. Drooled over fangs, which were tapping together excitedly. Just before Izuku could draw his dagger-

BOOM!

Izuku fell to the ground from the sheer force of the blast. An explosive fire spell knocked the arachnid onto the ground, legs tensing as its smoldering body lost life by the second.

“You're welcome for savin’ your scrawny ass,” an angry voice barely registered in Izuku's ringing ears.

“T-thank you,” Izuku got back up as his vision returned, and he used a small amount of a healing potion to stop the ringing.

“Why are you even out here? You should stay out of adventurers’ way. You'll get yourself killed,” the angry voice started gathering the dead arachnid.

“I was out here on a quest,” Izuku responded, less grateful and more irritated, “I'm an adventurer too.”

“Ha!? You're barely able to lift an ax; they made you an adventurer? An Extra like you will die at F-rank,” the alpha laughed, muscles toned and body powerful as he tossed the bound, smoking corpse over his shoulder.

“I don't need to lift an ax, I'm a ranger,” Izuku glared into the hostile red eyes of the blond who had saved him, “And for your information, I'm a D-ranked adventurer.”

“Yeah, right,” The blond scoffed.

“Here's proof,” Izuku pulled the guild tag from under his tunic and activated it to show his information.

The blond wearing a red cape glanced over and skimmed most of the displayed information before laughing, “What the hell? No mana at all? You're completely useless to any party you join. Your parents were right to name you Deku.”

Izuku's face went red in embarrassment and a bit of rage, “ It's Izuku! I don't need magic to be a great adventurer! I'll become a great adventurer with a party made of friends who'll travel the world with me. We'll help people, like the hero All Might!”

“You'll be a burden. A magicless leech in their party to protect, or maybe if they're smart, they'll use you as bait,” the Barbarian class guild Member laughed again.

Tears pricked Izuku's eyes, but quickly stopped as he noticed something behind the alpha in front of him. Quickly drawing his bow and firing, a second, much smaller arachnid was dead in a split second.

“True friends would never betray each other like that,” Izuku stepped past the blond, whose name he still didn't know, and grabbed the smaller arachnid. “I'll have to let the guild know there's more than one arachnid in the area. Honestly, it was odd that there was just 1 in the first. They tend to lay eggs in groups of 10 or more, and about 4 to 6 survive until adulthood…”

“Shut the hell up! The muttering is creepy,” the alpha snapped again, now more interested in the possibility of there being more arachnids to blast with his explosion spell.

“I'm going back to the guild,” Izuku huffed, leaving the unpleasant alpha alone in the forest.

Red eyes tracked the green-haired beta until he was out of sight before returning to hunt for more arachnids.

“Stupid extra. That beta is too small to be doing this shit,” He growled, stomping away to find some monster to blow off steam with some misplaced aggression. Still, the blonde alpha lingered where that beta had been. He hadn't expected someone to be near his hunt when he set off the blast. I could hardly smell that idiot until I got close. What the hell?

—

“Thank you for letting us know. We'll change the quest details right away. If you could hunt down the original nest and get an estimate of how many there might be, it would be incredibly helpful, Midoriya,” Sasaki handed over the pay for the arachnid Izuku brought back with him.

“Y-you want me to scout for a quest? Am I even qualified?” Izuku had never been asked for any personal favors from the guild before.

“Yes, but not alone. I actually have this for you, as well,” She handed over a piece of parchment and pen to Izuku before setting down some ink as well, “It's an official offer to join the Party Yuuie.”

“That's Uraraka-chan's party,” Izukus's eyes went wide in surprise, “I thought I needed to be Rank-C to join a party?”

“Oh, no. You can form a party even before you register. Lots of students from the academy decide on their parties before graduation and register together afterward. You need to be part of a party with the lowest-ranked member at rank C to enter a dungeon. Was that clear enough for you?” Sasaki asked, realizing she hadn't gone over that area with Izuku very well.

“Yes, thank you, Sasaki-san. I'll accept right away,” Izuku happily filled out the paperwork. It would be finalized tomorrow with the entire party to accept him as their newest member.

“I was worried about you at first, Midoriya,” Sasaki spoke up, filing away the parchment, “But Ryker was right, you're a lucky little clover.”

“I still wouldn't say I'm all too lucky,” Izuku fiddled with his hair before leaving, “I'll scout the area with Yuuie if they take the offer.”

“Sounds great,” Sasaki waved him off before moving on to the next adventurer.

“Move over, Extra,” Izuku was pushed aside as he approached the trading stalls.

“You could have just asked,” Izuku mumbled, his good mood had been ruined so quickly by that same spikey blonde alpha. He had a sack over his shoulder that smelled like burnt flesh and blood. Izuku hated the smell but moved on, wanting to sell the arachnid he'd killed.

He could hear the blonde bartering with Vlad over the prices.

“Heya, Clover,” Ryker ruffled Izuku's hair as he placed the arachnid onto the counter.

“Hi Ryker-san,” Izuku replied, “I don't have any use for the parts, so I'd like to sell the arachnid whole, please.”

“Sure thing. Perfect quality, like usual. You bring in some fine kills, kiddo,” Ryker took the arachnid back and returned with a silver coin for the young man.

“Thank you, Ryker-san,” Izuku grinned.

“Sure thing, and hey,” Ryker waved Izuku closer and lowered his voice so just Izuku heard him, “if you're going back to the woods, collect as much silk as you can. Your Mother is a seamstress, right? That silk makes some fine thread, I'm sure she'll love it. I can get it processed for you.”

“That's perfect for her, I'll bring back as much as I can,” Izuku left the guild in a cheerful mood once more.

—

“Welcome to Yuuie!” The party cheered as they met up with Midoriya at the guild, fully accepting him as part of their group.

“I'm happy you wanted me to join you all. I'm excited to take on our first quest together!” Izuku cheered with Uraraka and Tsu, while Yaoyorozu and Iida celebrated at a lower volume.

“Yes, Sasaki-san told us about the quest she offered you yesterday, to hunt for the arachnid nest,” Iida spoke up, “We would happily accompany you on this quest. Hunting is not my strong suit outside of the occasional rabbit, so you'd be the one to lead us. Is that alright with you?”

“Yes, that's just fine. I was in charge of hunting for food at home; I still do when I return. Just leave it to me,” Izuku smiled, more confident knowing he had a group he could rely on.

—

It wasn't as quiet as when Izuku hunted alone, but still quiet enough despite Iida’s full body armor. Izuku led them slowly around the forest, collecting the spider silk he found to follow the trail. Uraraka wasn't all that comfortable with the idea of finding a nest of giant spiders. Yaoyorozu was anxious but not nearly as grossed out as Uraraka was by all the webs. Finally, there was an area so infested with silk webs that the forest was more white than green. The nest.

A glance upwards and the nest could be seen hanging off a massive tree. The egg sack had a massive hole in the side, and eggs that hadn't hatched yet were visible. But it wasn't defenseless. Above it, seemingly asleep, was a massive arachnid; its head was at least as tall as Iida. Arachnids didn't grow that large outside of dungeons, which meant this one had escaped. Uraraka was pale as Izuku pulled out his journal and started sketching the scene around him, scribbling notes on the next page about the behaviors he observed and how many unhatched eggs remained. Four had hatched, which means there were 2 other arachnids they hadn't located. Six eggs remained unharmed. The mother was still resting as Izuku finished his sketch and switched over to focus on the notes. Analyzing the monster to get as much information to use later as possible. The mission was going perfectly—

Boom! A massive explosion set the webs on fire and alerted the mother, who cried out a horrible, pitched scream. Angry violet eyes glared down into the smoke surrounding its nest. It moved towards the eggs to shield them when another explosion burned through the last of the sack, and the eggs fell, shattering.

Unfortunately, the babies were far enough along that when the fall shattered the tough shells, it didn't harm much of their exoskeleton. Now they had 6 baby arachnids the size of chickens scurrying around.

“Midoriya-san!” Iida pulled the greenette away from one of the baby spiders, all of which had seen him first since he was the closest to the nest, “Stay back and cover us while we go on the defensive.”

“Right,” Izuku tucked the journal away and readied an arrow to fire.

“That hell are you doin’ here?” A growl erupted from the smoke as the spiky blonde alpha emerged from the smoke.

“Midoriya-san had a special quest from the guild to locate the nest and identify the number of eggs and the level of threat, which you have rudely ruined. The mission was going perfectly,” Iida growled back, “Do you even have an official quest assignment from the guild? Don't you know it's impolite to steal another party's quest!”

“Ha?! And why the hell should I care, Four eyes? These things need to die, they're destroying crops, killing off livestock,” The alpha snapped back.

“There are protocols from the adventurer’s guild for a reason!” Iida continued arguing with the intruder, neither having noticed the camouflaged mother who had not been as affected by the explosions as her webs.

“Get down!” Izuku noticed how its violet eyes flashed in the smoke for a brief second. He fired an arrow between the fighting alphas, striking one of the smaller eyes. Iida backed away immediately.

“Don't tell me what to do! Useless Deku!” The alpha shouted.

“My name's Izuku!” The ranger shouted, dodging as webs were shot his way.

  Screams were coming from the baby arachnids as Tsu and Yaoyorozu killed them off. The mother didn't like that. It swiped a razor-sharp front pedipalp at them, and both dodged, leaving two of the babies to scurry behind the mother.

“Damn it, there's not a scratch on it,” the explosive alpha snarled.

“Fully grown arachnids have harder shells than the babies,” Izuku shouted back, “They also tend to develop fire resistance in dungeons, which this one escaped from!”

“Shitty nerd!” The alpha growled, firing another massive explosive spell towards the arachnid, whose color changed from brown to red, "You don't think I figured that out already!"

  It turned to face the alpha, roaring and bearing its sharp chelicerae and lifting its blade-like pedipalps before charging and striking.

“Tsu-chan!” Izuku decided to take the chance as Iida and the other alpha kept the spider distracted with magic attacks, “I have an idea, but I need your magic to do it.”

“I'm all ears- Kero.”

“Momo-chan!” Uraraka shouted as the two adolescent spiders returned to the nest to fight, “We need to fight off these two while they handle the mother.”

“Right!” Yaoyorozu killed one of the runaway babies she found before rushing to aid Uraraka, “We can handle the smaller ones, Midoriya-san, Tsu-chan.”

The party split, Izuku and Tsu heading towards the forest, the plan being explained on the go. Uraraka had started floating several rocks and was getting them piled over the two donkey-sized arachnids. Yaoyorozu fought them off, keeping them within the fall zone. Once her sword had weakened them enough, Uraraka dropped her spell, and Yaoyorozu moved out of the way. The arachnids were crushed completely, blood pooling through the rocks.

“Hey! Fire mage!” Izuku called out as he appeared from the forest, Tsu following close behind, firing water blasts to defend against the mother.

“Will you get out of the way! You're useless in this fight!” The alpha snapped, sending a massive blast, creating a giant smoke screen.

“I have a plan,” Izuku grabbed the alpha's arm and held up a serrated arrow, “But I need your help.”

“Why the hell should I help you!?”

“Because this was my mission, and you ruined it! So take some responsibility!” Izuku snapped.

“I'm not saving your ass if you die!”

The smoke screen provided cover while Iida kept the arachnid busy so the few minutes it took before the explosive alpha emerged to attack again, this time with Tsu hopping close behind to fire blades of water against the hard red armor of the spider. Soon, the Arachnids went in for more biting attacks, chelicerae drooling with digestive venom. It's attention leaving the alphas' attacks in favor of searching the source of a smell in the smoke screen. It was subtle, not enough for humans to think anything unusual of a beta, but for the wall-pore sensilla along the legs of the arachnid to detect it. The drool increased as the smell lured the spider in. An arrow aimed for the eyes held taut, waiting for the perfect shot. A web was fired first, and the view of the eyes quickly changed to an overhead aerial view.

“Damn Deku!” The alpha shouted, firing at the arachnid as it planned to pull the ranger down to eat.

  A new bump in the plan, but it could still work. Pulling the same arrow taut as he fell, Izuku waited for the arachnid to swipe a downwards attack and- There! The exoskeleton lifted just enough for him to see the softer flesh below, and he fired the arrow. Small explosions tailed behind the arrow, propelling it forward until it sank deep into the soft meat between its abdomen and cephalothorax. It screamed, flailing its pedipalps wildly before the enchanted arrow activated, and an explosion of water liquefied its internal organs in an instant. Intense pressure caused every joint to disconnect, killing the giant arachnid and leaving its color to fade from the aggressive red to a lifeless grey.

  Izuku only now registered that he was still falling, “Oh crap!”

“Idiot!” Another explosive sounded, and the webbing still clinging to his waist burned away before warm hands grabbed Izuku from the air, “Hold on tight.”

Izuku didn't question it. He grabbed on tight as they fell. Just before the ground, their fall was softened with an explosion. They landed in the forest a little way from the mother arachnid's body. It was calm, despite the slight panting from the alpha; things were finally calm. Izuku took a deep breath to calm his racing heart as they settled, the alpha holding him a bit less tight. It was there as Izuku caught his breath. Behind the smell of sweat and smoke from battle, there was a smell of caramel and something other, lingering. Izuku quickly realized he had just taken a deep breath of the alpha’s scent without realizing.

“Thank you,” Izuku felt relieved that they were back on the ground, deciding to ignore how he was a bit more curious about the alpha’s smell, “um… I still don't know your name.”

“Ha?!” the alpha glared before simply dropping Izuku on the forest floor.

“Ow! Well, it's not like you ever introduced yourself!” Izuku snapped back.

“Bakugou, Katsuki, you better remember that,” the alpha, Bakugou, growled before walking off.

“Midoriya-kun!” Uraraka rushed over to check on him, “Are you okay. You were out of range for me to catch you.”

“Yes, I'm okay. Nothing a recovery potion won't fix,” he smiled, reassuring her.

“Thank goodness,” She sighed before offering to help Izuku up, and they returned to the battle scene.

  The smoke had cleared, and the aftermath was… well… revolting… The legs were gone from their Sockets, oozing blood and sludge. The eyes are missing and oozing in a similar state. Its abdomen cracked open like an egg and was almost completely decapitated from the cephalothorax.

Bakugou looked irritated, but didn't say much else as Iida started checking on the other party members to make sure everyone was okay. Aside from the whiplash Izuku had from suddenly being launched several hundred feet in the air, no one was hurt. The pain faded after drinking the red recovery potion. They started working on the cleanup protocol while Iida returned to the guild to submit a report and get an official cleanup crew to handle the large corpse.

Things moved along smoothly. Clean up started, as well as gathering reports from the other Yuuie party members and Bakugou. To say the guild was irritated about the way things played out was an understatement. Sasaki-san was pissed at the co-worker in charge of Bakugou's progress in the guild. Which eventually led to what had to feel like the most terrifying day of Izuku's life as he, the Rest of Yuuie's party, Bakugou, Sasaki, and a man named Gremil, were seated around a low table with two men and an empty seat for the guild master.

“It's too early in the day to deal with this,” The man with scraggly black hair groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose, “I thought I was free of your trouble makers when you all graduated.”

“Sorry, Aizawa-Sensei,” most of the Yuuie part mumbled, except Izuku, who never went to the Knights and Magic academy.

“You're a new face,” Shota Aizawa glanced over at Izuku, who went stiff with nerves as the other strangers' attention also focused on him.

“O-oh… Um, I-I just joined their party…” he stuttered, not really sure what to say, “M-my name is Izuku Midoriya. I- It's nice to meet you.”

It was not nice. Izuku was terrified he'd be kicked from the guild. If it weren't for the clay, he'd be releasing intense amounts of distress pheromones.

“Clover-kun here is a great adventurer!” Sasaki smiled warmly, “He's raising the ranks faster than most newbie adventurers. From F to D in two months! We get paid by commission, and he's bringing home plenty of gold for me~”

“So you're the owner of Ryker’s nickname,” The boney-looking blond man with sunken blue eyes laughed, “He's been calling someone the guild’s Lucky Clover with all the high-quality parts they bring in. It's nice to put a face to the name.”

“I-I'm really not all that lucky…” Izuku laughed nervously.

“Hello!” A chipper voice startled the adventurers; the guild workers, too used to the antics to react much anymore. From the grey scarf around Aizawa burst a small white animal, “It's me! Your dog, mouse, bear, beastman guild master, and Principal of the Knights and Magic Academy! Nezu!”

“Must you really do this every time?” Aizawa sighed.

“Yes, Aizawa-san, I must,” the hard-to-identify beastman hopped out of the scarf and landed in his seat, where a cup of tea was brought to him, then the rest of his guests. “Now then, I hear there was a little misunderstanding about the arachnid situation. Sasaki-san, you ordered a quest for a scout mission and identification, correct?”

“Yes, Nezu, Sir, that is correct. And by all technicalities, the Yuuie party completed the quest. Midoriya, if you could show him your journal.”

“R-right,” Izuku fumbled with the book, nearly dropping it before turning to the start of the section with his sketches and notes, “I got about three pages of notes on the situation and behaviors I noticed from the arachnids, including web patterns from the silk I collected. However, before I could observe the mother while she was awake, Bakugou-san attacked, and the battle started instead.”

“These notes are most impressive,” Nezu quickly read through the arachnid notes before flipping to the front of the book. “You have spent a lot of time observing monster behaviors. Outstanding!”

“T-Thank you, Nezu-sama,” Izuku flustered a bit. He'd never really shown his notes to anyone else before.

“Now then, Bakugou,” The small guild master turned his attention to the brooding alpha, “You found the nest and orchestrated a sneak attack which hadn't been as successful as you hoped. Grimel-san, you approved Bakugou's quest to hunt a single arachnid, but when you learned there was more, you opened the quest again without considering there could have been a larger threat. I'm disappointed in you for breaking protocol. According to the reports and Midoriya's notes, this quest should have been set for a Rank C-party, not a single Rank D adventurer. If the Yuuie Party hadn't gone with Midoriya, things could have turned out much worse.”

“I could have handled it,” Bakugou let out a low growl, yet his glare was focused on Izuku.

Don't submit. Izuku's hands were trembling; the Alpha's aggressive pheromones were only becoming more intense as he became more pissed off. Izuku was fighting everything to avoid baring his neck. He wouldn't submit, no matter what. No matter how much Bakugou threatened to suffocate him with the smell of smoke from his rage. He had to ignore the instinct. Ignore the way his body felt like it needed to behave to please the Alpha to avoid danger. He could defend himself; he didn't need to let this Alpha get the best of him.

Uraraka, however, felt like she was suffocating in the aggression and whined. Iida tried to calm her as best he could, but Bakugou's pheromones were more intense than his. Tsu was affected, but not nearly as intensely. Yaoyorozu was trying to calm her while occasionally glancing back at Izuku.

“Bakugou enough,” Aizawa glared, activating his mana canceling magic as he noticed the sparks popping on the young man's palms, “There's an omega suffering because you can't control your pheromones.”

Bakugou finally cut his glare from the greenette to see how he was affecting the other beta and omega. So focused on trying to get something from Deku, he'd forgotten they weren't alone.

“I think it's time we end this meeting,” Nezu shut the journal before handing it back to Izuku who gratefully took it, “Yuuie, you will receive the initial reward for scouting and a bonus for defeating the mother and her hatchlings,” that had the party’s eyes wide in surprise before they smiled, “Bakugou, you will receive a reward for defeating the arachnid alongside Yuuie, but not for the scouting. I expect you to follow protocol from now on, Gremil-san.”

“I will, Sir, it was a mistake on my part, I accept full responsibility,” the large man with brown hair bowed in apology.

“Of course you will, which is why you're commission for this quest will be cut in half. I do have one last question, Midoriya, are the number of eggs you drew in the nest the exact number you counted?” Nezu asked.

“Yes, Sir,” Izuku checked the page again, “ten eggs total, four had already hatched, which were the adolescents, then six babies hatched from the fall of the nest—” his muttering halted as he paled, “We missed one! We only got five of the hatchlings; one is still in the forest.”

Nezu just nodded, “Be sure to bring it back as soon as you can, Midoriya.”

“I will!”

The meeting was over after that. Izuku felt wrong holding so many gold coins. The was no way... He and his mother could live happily for the rest of their lives with nine gold coins. Not to mention the abundance of spider silk thread and fabric Ryker was able to give him after the cleanup crew harvested the valuables from the scene.

“We could have gotten more if the internal organs were still intact. This is almost as much as much allowance,” Yaoyorozu commented.

“You have an allowance worth more?” Uraraka choked a bit.

“This is enough to buy my mom the tailor shop she's always wanted, and it's your allowance?” Izuku felt just as much shock as Uraraka; they had both grown up counting their copper coins and foraging for dinner compared to the other three.

“Is this not what a normal allowance looks like?” Yaoyorozu questioned, mildly stunned that this wasn't the norm for all families.

“No, it's not!” both omegas shouted back.

—

“So, then, what do you think, Toshinori-san?” Nezu grinned, “That magicless boy certainly doesn't seem to know how inspiring he is becoming.”

“I think he'll be just fine. He's got a fine party to help him on his journey. Although I must say, I'm quite curious to see what else he will do, and want to get to know him more myself,” The long-haired blond grinned, “I'll take you up on your offer, Nezu, and become an advisor of the guild. I want to keep my eye on him.”

“And you, Aizawa-san?” Nezu took another sip of his tea, setting down an empty cup.

“He's another problem child in the making. Still, someone completely without mana is unheard of. My students still need more lessons anyway; I might as well come by to provide a remedial lesson on occasion.”

“Excellent! Now then, to put in a special quest, just for Midoriya,” Nezu grinned.

“What are you planning?” The black haired beta asked the guildmaster, recognizing the gleam in his eyes.

“Away to better everything in training here at the guild, and in the Academy,” was the only answer they had before the stout white-furred beta returned to his office.

~~~

Chapter Text

  It was evening, the sun was setting, and Izuku was back in the forest where the giant arachnid had been defeated. He had been searching for the remaining baby, just like Nezu requested. He'd been searching most of the day. The party couldn't join him. Yaoyorozu was having her rut, while Tsu had a family event. Uraraka and Iida had to run errands, so Izuku went on his own. He was taking a break, currently sketching a horned rabbit that was grazing in the distance. Too focused on his art to notice the presence near him.

It was quiet as tarsal claws tipped through the grass, approaching a familiar smell. The same sweet smell it noticed when darkness became light. There it was green and soft shaped. The same green that it had first seen while taking its first breath. Mama… Slowly, the small body got closer and closer; they were warm, so warm and soft to push into. Warm and safe.

Izuku froze as he felt something brushing against the underside of his thigh. He had been using his knees to prop up the sketchbook and had gotten too absorbed for a break. Carefully, he moved his journal and slightly spread his legs to see what it was. His heart stopped as 8 familiar violet eyes were now looking towards him. White fur, instead of red armor, but there it was. The last baby arachnid, and it was calm. Izuku didn't dare move as the eight-legged monster climbed into his lap, keeping eye contact.

“H-hi,” Izuku panicked internally, even as a baby, this monster could kill him with a solid strike to the throat, “You're just a pretty little spider, aren't you. You want a snack?”

His shaky hand reached for some dried rabbit his mom packed for him. Izuku held it near the arachnid’s chelicerae. It opened its mouth, raised its pedipalps, and grabbed the jerky from Izuku. However, instead of leaving after securing food like Izuku hoped, it settled, eating comfortably on the panicking ranger. This behavior was so unusual, monsters were never docile around any living thing that didn't belong to the same species. Yet, this arachnid was doing just the opposite.

Izuku didn't know what to do next. The jerky was gone, yet the spider didn't move off him. It tucked in its legs and entered a type of resting stasis. Izuku didn't move, didn't breathe, waiting for the spider to make another move, to attack him, but it didn't. While it was hard to tell with the lack of eyelids, he did eventually realize that the small chicken-sized arachnid was asleep. Looking closer, there was a thin membrane over the spider's lenses instead of eyelids. It's breathing slow and stable. With a shaky breath, Izuku reached for his journal and charcoal pencil and started to sketch the sleeping arachnid in his lap. Soon, though, a sound started emitting from the arachnid, a consistent chirping sound as it breathed and nuzzled into his green vest. It was purring… spiders could purr… Izuku quickly added that to his notes on the arachnid.

“This is incredible,” Izuku mumbled as he looked over all of the notes he'd added to his journal, “I don't want to hurt you if I can keep researching you… Sir Nezu said I had to bring you in, but he didn't say I had to hurt you, though.”

Izuku smiled as he found a loophole in his instructions. Carefully, he put away his supplies and adjusted the sleeping arachnid from his lap to his arms. It made a small noise before settling again as Izuku carried it out of the forest. He only stopped once to use a large leaf to cover the arachnid from people in order not to scare them. Occasionally, he fed it more dried meat and a few berries to keep it calm and happy. As Izuku continued to get closer to the guild, he wondered if he would have been able to study the arachnid as closely as he had if the rest of Yuuie had done with him. Uraraka had hated the mission, stating her dislike of bugs several times; Yaoyorozu agreed. Tsu seemed pretty indifferent about bugs. Izuku wanted to ask if she didn't mind in general or if it was because she shared ancestry with frogs. Has she ever eaten a bug before? Did she like to eat them? If she did, did she have a favorite kind?

His curious mind had to quiet down as the guild came into view. However, it wasn't surrounded by the usual boisterous noise from parties gathering. It was more of a quiet conversation like at a restaurant. That made Izuku anxious as he held the covered arachnid. One of its pedipalps held his hand back, not in any threatening manner; it felt more like a comforting hand to hold. A deep breath, and Izuku quickly found why the guild was so much quieter than usual. There, waiting at a nearby table that had been pulled into the main reception hall, were Aizawa, the skinny blond man from before, and the guildmaster, Nezu.

“Midoriya,” Nezu had a knowing smile, Aizawa recognized, “Just the man we've been waiting for. Is that bundle in your arms the arachnid left behind in the forest?”

“Y-yes but…” Izuku clutched the bundle closer; he suddenly had more eyes on him than he was used to. Even the Rank A adventurers were watching him.

“Is something the matter? You can place it on the table. Ryker will be over in a moment to access it,” Nezu motioned to an empty seat across from him beside the blonde alpha.

“I didn't… It's not exactly dead…” Izuku whispered as he sat down, “But they're not hostile, they've just been resting.”

“Midoriya, you brought a live monster into town,” Aizawa sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, just as Ryker sat at the table, “Did you purchase a taming collar?”

“Oh, you brought back a tamed monster?” Ryker asked, more curious than before.

“N-no, it just came to me on its own,” he slowly unwrapped the bundled leaf, and the arachnid wiggled itself awake, stretching before hissing at Aizawa and climbing up to Izuku's shoulder, where it nuzzled into his neck.

“Well, this certainly is a development,” Nezu grinned further, “You tamed a monster without any magic whatsoever. No spells or magical tools.”

“Remarkable,” the blonde spoke up, offering the back of his hand to the arachnid, it hissed, batting him away, and pushing closer to Izuku.

“Our guild’s Lucky Clover never ceases to amaze me,” Ryker laughed, watching the arachnid curiously.

“It's okay,” Izuku whispered to the spider, gently petting it. Just like in the forest, it vibrated its pedipalps, imitating a purring sound, “They won't hurt you if you behave.”

“Now, tell me everything you've learned.” Nezu was brought a new cup of tea, and Izuku offered the arachnid more berries, which it happily ate.

Pulling out his journal with more notes and detailed sketches, he relayed everything. Ryker tried petting the arachnid, but it didn't hiss at him like it did with Aizawa and the blond alpha. It did gently push him away until Ryker ruffled Izuku’s green curls, getting a laugh from the young D-rank adventurer. The spider only then allowed Ryker to pet it, but it did not purr for him.

“I see,” Nezu carefully studied the pages, “Midoriya, how many journals have you filled out like this?”

“Most of the ones I have at home were notes from textbooks I bought. However, this is the second journal I've been able to fill with monster behaviors I've studied personally. My first journal is mostly on slimes, goblins, horned rabbits, and other E and D rank monsters I could observe on quests. I think goblins have their own language. They communicate with one another to create plans when hunting. It sounds like gibberish to us, but there are patterns in the sounds they make and—”

“Amazing,” Nezu cut him off before Izuku could continue rambling his theories.

“I… Um… I just like to be prepared…” Izuku flustered at the compliment, “And the textbooks only had bare bones. It never felt like complete information.”

“Exactly the problem,” Nezu nodded in agreement, “So, Midoriya, I'd like to purchase a copy of your completed journals.”

“Eh?” Izuku blinked, trying to process what he'd just heard, “I'm sorry?”

“We want to use your journals to replace the textbooks at the academy,” Aizawa spoke up, “Your notes on behavior patterns and theories of monster cultures would significantly improve our understanding of how they think and behave. We can improve fighting techniques against them.”

“You really think my notes could do that?” Izuku looked at his journal, now in the hand of the blonde who was carefully handling the pages. The arachnid chirped at him, nuzzling against his neck, almost like it was scenting. (Or trying to be scented by what it believed was its mother.)

“We do, indeed,” Nezu held out a paw towards the arachnid. A berry in his palm. The arachnid slowly climbed down Izuku's arm to the table and took the berry. “Now then, do you plan to keep her?”

“Oh, I'm not sure…” Izuku had not thought that far ahead. He looked to Ryker, who simply shrugged.

“I won't be able to buy her off you while she's alive,” He answered, “But if you want, I can handle it, and you won't have to see it. Or if you keep her, she’d be an adventure partner, you'd always have spider silk for your mother.”

“You may find it impossible to set her free; it would be best to make her your familiar so you can ensure her behavior,” Nezu suggested, watching the spider knowingly. “From what I can tell, you were the first thing she saw and smelled when she hatched. While normal spiders don't have the cognitive depth to imprint, monsters have much more complex minds. She's imprinted on you. As far as she's concerned, you are her caretaker.”

“I…” Izuku recalled the battle from yesterday. The eggs had fallen almost directly in front of him. “I don't think she's big enough to go on adventures with me. But… maybe she can help out at home so I can work longer than a week.”

“Very well! Toshinori, could you take Izuku to the witch, Midnight, to form a familiar contract?” Nezu asked, already knowing what the answer would be.

“Of course, let's go Midoriya-Shounen,” the blonde stood and bowed a farewell to the guildmaster.

Toshinori… Izuku thought that name was familiar. His mind raced through all the names he knew as he gently picked up the arachnid and thanked Nezu before saying goodbye to the rest of the guild staff. It wasn't until they were outside and he saw children playing with swords that it clicked. Toshinori Yagi was the author of the All Might book of Legends and Adventures, his mother read to him when he was small, and he worshiped like a priest did their tomes.

“Wait— the same Toshinori who wrote about all of All Might's hero adventures!” Izuku beamed with excitement as the arachnid watched to see what had its selected human excited.

“Hahaha, the very one,” The blonde alpha laughed, “I must have forgotten to introduce myself. It slips my mind in my old age.”

“I just can't believe I'm meeting you in person. Are all the stories really based on true adventures from All Might as he traveled the world?” Izuku asked, eagerly.

“Yes, they are. Although some of the violence is toned down for younger readers. They don't need the graphic details of what happened,” The older man answered, it had been a long time since he was recognized as the author of the Hero, All Might, stories.

“Were you close to All Might?” Izuku had to keep himself from rambling on more than one question, but it was so difficult.

“You could say we were never apart,” the alpha laughed at his own response.

“Really!?” With that, the little control Izuku had over his questioning shattered.

It was a long walk to the Witch's hut on the edge of town. Mostly because Toshinori was a slower walker than the young man who was bursting with energy. He had tried to keep up with Izuku’s questions, answering what he could. He listened curiously as Izuku repeated the analysis of the fights depicted in the stories and monsters All Might had gone up against. Surprised and mildly alarmed at how in-depth each analysis was and how close Izuku was to identifying details he'd left out of the book. It was a relief when they finally reached a hut with a tilted roof and tower. Pink smoke rising from the chimney.

“Toshinori-san! Welcome! Oo~ and who's this little cutie you brought with you?” An alpha woman smelling of roses and rich wine, Midnight, greeted them. Black hair long with red glasses over her blue eyes, and one of the skimpiest witch outfits Izuku had ever seen.

Short, definitely too short of a skirt on the dress with a very low neckline (a bellyline, honestly) showing all cleavage and chest laced together with thread. Izuku decided he was not going to look, trying his best to keep eye contact when he had to. Thankfully, he didn't need to fake his interest in all the herbs and monster organs she had around the hut. The simmering pot over the fireplace was the source of the pink smoke. She had spell books, textbooks, and more, most of which Izuku had already studied to the point of practically memorizing them word for word.

“This is Midoriya-Shounen,” Toshinori introduced him, “A young adventurer who's managed to tame an arachnid without magic. Nezu sent us in hopes that you could help bind the arachnid to Izuku as his familiar.”

“Without any magic at all? How fascinating,” Midnight pulled Izuku’s attention from a jar with a glowing green heart inside, “Midoriya, come with me.”

“R-right,” he followed her, thankful the back of the dress was covered by her hair more than anything.

“So, you want her to become your familiar, but why?” Midnight asked, leading him to an area of the hut that was less clustered, an area she used specially for spells that take up more floor space.

“I think she's too small to go on adventures with me at the moment, but she could protect my home while I'm gone, help my mother in my stead. I do all the hunting for meat while my mom tends to the gardens. She’s a beta, so heats weren't really a concern, but my mother still needs help from time to time. I thought maybe she,” Izuku scratched the while arachnid on its cephalothorax, just behind its eyes. It purred in response, “could protect our home and provide my mother with lots of spider silk for her job as seamstress.”

“Alright, I know just the magic circle to use for the binding contract. All I need from you two,” Midnight offered the back of her hand to the arachnid, who tapped it curiously before allowing her to pet it, “Is a drop of your blood, and for you to give her a name. Think of a good one while I draw up the circle.”

Izuku nodded, decided to watch his soon-to-be familiar to come up with a name. She was cautious, didn't let just anyone pet her without showing they could be trusted first. She was a cuddler, always nuzzling into Izuku’s shoulder and purring. She was also a little fiesty if her batting away Toshinori, again, was anything to say by it. It reminded him of the alley cats in a way. Soon enough, he knew just what to call her.

“Alright,” Midnight finished the circle, setting down the chalk and holding up a small dagger, “Now we start the ritual. Midoriya, please place her down in the center of the circle, then give me your hand.”

“Stay here, okay?” Izuku gently set her down in the center of the circle and backed away. The spider tried to get closer, but Izuku nudged her back to the center, “Just for a little bit. Then I can pick you up again.”

The arachnid went from its usual white to a pale blue before settling, clearly upset. Izuku tried a reassuring smile just before flinching when his finger was pricked and his blood was spilled onto the circle. It glowed red, then shifted to cyan-green. Izuku felt an odd feeling on his left arm as a similar circle appeared around his wrist like a bracelet of light. He didn't dare interrupt Midnight's chanting until she looked to him, saying the line, “Let the bind be sealed as the name is given.”

“Yumi,” Izuku announced with a proud smile as the circle around his wrist closed in, the glowing circle around the arachnid, Yumi, lifted off the ground and sealed itself where a spider's theoretical neck would be. The light faded, showing nothing on his wrist. On Yumi, however, the mark of a familiar appeared on the back of her abdomen. The mark was like a sun with curled points. In the center of it was a mark unique to the tamer. Izuku looked like a fluffy rabbit with a bright smile. The mark faded from the bright glowing cyan-green to a pale version that was centered by the Grey stripes of her natural pattern. No one would mistake her for a wild arachnid anymore.

“Yumi, for beauty or savior?” Midnight asked, curious about the name.

“Yumi, for beauty, but also “Yu” for protection. Right, Yu-chan?” Izuku held his arms out, and the sad blue spider quickly perked back up to her usual bright white and galloped towards him before jumping into his arms with a happy chirp.

“She really loves you already. So adorable,” Midnight smiled, petting Yumi as she had before.

“Thank you, Nemuri-san,” The blond alpha had been quietly watching from afar." Nezu was quite excited that he was able to tame a monster without any magic.”

As the two alphas talked, Izuku found himself happily bonding with Yumi. When Yumi got big enough, they would go on lots of adventures together. But also, Izuku was just relieved the ritual worked at all. He had tried spell casting magic, but without mana, he couldn't cast a single spell. He wasn't sure if it would work on Yumi, even if Midnight was the one casting the spell.

“Now then, Midoriya. Do you know how to summon your familiar when you're apart?” Midnight asked.

“No, but… I don't think I can summon her. I can't use magic at all,” He answered solemnly.

“I see, then you'll just have to remember to bring her with you when you can. While the binding was made with my mana, if you have none, you don't have access to some of the abilities of having a familiar. Arachnids can use magic, so even if you can't summon her, she should be able to sense when you're in danger once she's bigger. She'll come to you when you need it,” Midnight smiled, “So, about a year or two.”

“Thank you, Midnight-san,” Izuku bowed, “How much do I owe you for the ritual?”

“A silver coin,” She answered.

“Okay,” Izuku knew it would be expensive. But his adventure had gotten him plenty of money, so that wasn't even a concern. He handed over the silver coin with a smile before looking around once more and spotting a potions book He hadn't studied yet, “Are these for sale?”

“Yes, I have quite the selection, so pick anything you like,” Midnight smiled before returning to talking with Toshinori, who looked mildly flustered.

Izuku plucked the book from the shelf and examined it. It was of a higher quality than any other book he'd read before. The author was one he recognized: Chiyo Shuzenji. Chiyo, also known as Recovery Girl during her days as a healer in All Might's party. A book on potions written by the most talented healer in all of Musutafu, in all the world! He had to get this book and study it, practice the potion techniques. He absolutely must!

“Midnight-sama!” Sama, not san. He had much more respect for her, knowing she had studied Recovery Girl’s methods for potions, “How much for this one?”

“That old thing? How about three bronze?” She replied.

Old thing?! Izuku startled by how she seemed not to care much about such a valuable book, but that didn't matter if he was bringing it home. He handed over the coins, gave both Alphas a thank you and goodbye, before running home excitedly. He had a new potions book to study!

—

Inko Midoriya was having a relaxing evening with a mug of tea. She made several pastries today. The cottage no longer rattled, and it was now filled with warm and comfortable blankets, pillows, seating cushions, and rugs she had made herself. Izuku had brought home so many silver coins that hunting wasn't a concern for her anymore. She made more trips into the kingdom town to purchase meat and ingredients and sell her crafts. With this wonderful income from her son, and now her ability to sell fresh eggs from Kumo the chicken, she had been letting herself indulge in treats more often. Her once thin and frail figure became more stout. It filled her with a bit of happiness knowing she had more than enough food to feed her adventurous son.

It had been a week since Izuku left for his hero work; he would be home today. Just as the beta took a warm sip of tea and set down her new favorite mug, there was a cheerful voice calling to her.

“Mom, I'm home! I have the greatest story to tell you,” Her son had always said that when he was home last. Each adventure was more exciting than the last.

“Welcome ho-”

Eight non-blinking violet eyes and legs stared back at her in the usual nest of green curls she was expecting to hug. A monster… a monster had followed her son home… … …

“Mom!”

—

Introducing his mother and Yumi took some trial and error. Inko only fainted once more during the story of battling the giant arachnid when Izuku described being launched into the air. She did, however, nearly faint again at the sight of the gold coins Izuku was paid, and when he offered to buy the tailor shop she had always wanted. Inko refused for now, saying she wanted Izuku to focus on what he needed for his adventures.

Inko was pretty wary of Yumi, not used to being around monsters. Eventually, though it took about a week of Izuku staying home to help them adjust, and finally scenting Yumi like she’d been wanting him to, that he found his mother sewing and Yumi using her webbing to help. Training Yumi was nice. When Izuku practiced with his bow, she followed and, after the first day, understood that it was okay to practice attacks on the painted wooden circles. She was soon able to fire web nets at the targets.

When it was time for Izuku to hunt before leaving for another quest, Yumi joined him. Learning how to camouflage into the environment like Izuku did by using the natural green of his hair and clothes to blend into bushes and trees. Yumi learned to change her color to blend into the foliage, although she would slip up occasionally by turning an excited yellow when a wild rabbit approached. She flushed a loving pink when her first successful hunt was a chicken, this one various shades of brown, opposite to Kumo. Izuku praised Yumi, happy to know she could hunt smaller prey on her own while he was gone. After catching one more rabbit, Izuku returned home.

“Oh, she caught a chicken!” Inko beamed as Yumi excitedly held up her hunt, which was still alive but unable to flail from the webbing around it, “Good job, Yumi.”

The yellow spider beamed before carrying the chicken on its back outside to the pen where Kumo was pecking at the fenced-in grass. Easily climbing the fence, she entered the pen, set down the new chicken, and freed it from the webbing before leaving the pen and turning a mix of pink and yellow, love and excitement. Meanwhile, the new chicken had finally calmed down as it got to know the fluffy white chicken a few feet away.

“I guess she doesn't want to eat the chicken,” Izuku laughed, “You caught it all by yourself, didn't ya, girl.”

Purring, Yumi nuzzled his neck before settling in his arms.

“She will be very helpful with defending the garden. The harvest is almost ready, so more rabbits and pests keep coming by. Now we have a little hunter to catch them,” Inko gently pet the arachnid, who chirped and purred before crawling from Izuku’s arms to her.

“She’ll do a great job, I’m sure. Now, Yu-chan, I'm going to head back to the guild tomorrow to rejoin my party for another quest. I'll be back in a few days. Your job is to protect Mom and the house until I get back. Keep animals out of the garden, and away from the chickens,” Izuku smiled as Yumi went from a loved pink to a flash of red and raised her pedipalps in a show of determination to protect, “Good girl.”

The next morning, Izuku was gone, and for a while, Yumi was a sad blue. Inko did her best to try and comfort the arachnid her son had brought home.

“I know, I miss him every time he leaves,” Tears pricked at Inko's eyes, “I worry about him, but I can't let that stop me from working to make this a better home for him to return to. Come on, he'll go into heat when he returns. So I've been working on a secret project and I could use your sewing skills to help, Yu-chan.”

Yumi quickly shifted from her sad blue to excited yellow, tarsal claws tapping against the hardwood as she galloped behind the woman she now recognized as the authority ‘Mom,’ who cared for her caretaker, Mama. And, over the week Izuku was gone, Yumi had proven to be great at home defense from rabbits and even a coyote who had tried to eat at Kumo and Riku, as Inko named the other chicken. Yumi had truly proved her worth when she scared off a small group of teenagers from their village who were attempting to kill the chickens and ruin Izuku's medicinal herb garden.

While Inko slept safe and sound, a rumor of a house guarded by a white demon spider spread. No one dared to mess with the Midoriya household again as the rumors spread.

—

“A quest to investigate a house on the edge of the kingdom near the woods?” Izuku looked down at the paper Iida handed him and read the quest details. As soon as he saw the location, he groaned a little, “Guys… that's my house…”

“So, there's no need for an investigation then,” Uraraka laughed.

“I'll go explain to the guild,” Izuku laughed nervously.

The rumor was confirmed, but the investigation was rescinded as quickly as it had appeared. Soon, Izuku returned for his heat. Yumi seemed to become extra protective of Izuku during it. She stayed with him throughout the day, then at night guarded the house more intensely than before, not even letting sparrows rest nearby.

Yumi had a new home, a family. She would protect them no matter what.

~~~

Btw, I drew Yumi-Chan! Not sure how much art I'll include, but I decided to add some for this chapter.

Chapter Text

  Izuku was crying tears of joy. Party Yuuie had just returned from a quest to escort a carriage from just outside the kingdom to the town center. It had taken days of travel to get there and back. It was the first time Izuku spent 2 weeks away instead of one, but it was worth it in the end. While whoever was in the carriage kept their face covered and didn't interact other than an occasional nod. The party wasn't concerned and mostly chatted among themselves during the trip. They had fought off a few surface monsters, like small goblins, slimes, and such. The real challenge was how twice they were attacked by thieves trying to get into the carriage. It made sense since the carriage wasn't exactly discreet. A flamboyant red, and decorated in gold trimmings that resembled fire. Not to mention the royal crest of King Todoroki in the neighboring Kingdom, painted on the door for everyone to see. No wonder they were attacked by thieves twice when the carriage was practically yelling that it held valuables. Of course, Yuuie didn't let the thieves get away with anything; that was what they were being paid in gold coins for.

  Izuku couldn't stop the tears as his guild tag chimed, the distinct sound he heard when he moved up from rank-F to E, then to D. His vision still fuzzy, as the active tag displayed he had been leveled up to a rank-C adventurer and could finally start going through dungeons with the rest of the party.

“Congratulations, Midoriya-kun,” Uraraka patted his shoulder, “You're finally at Rank-C.”

“I’m not dreaming.” his smile was wobbly, but it was wide and beaming.

“No, you are not. We should celebrate and plan out the next dungeon route,” Yaoyorozu smiled gently at her beta teammate.

“I agree, kero,” Tsu smiled, “We'll need to go shopping for gear and supplies.”

“I will draw up a schedule!” Iida said excitedly while pulling a piece of parchment from his bag along with a charcoal pencil, “And a budget, of course. Let's see, we'll need rations for at least two to three weeks out, just in case.”

  Soon, the only thing the party could talk about was which dungeon they were going to explore, and for how long they'd go. They decided on the closest dungeon, aiming to reach level 10 in a week before resurfacing. A two-week trip at the quickest, three weeks at the most. They went shopping the next day, meeting in the town square in casual clothes rather than their gear.

“We're gonna go look over there real quick, okay?” Uraraka left Izuku and Iida at the fountain where they had been resting after the girls took off on their own.

“Okay,” Izuku waved her off before turning to Iida, who was getting up, “Iida?”

“I'm going to talk to the blacksmith about sharpening my sword,” Iida responded, his sword still on his hip as always, “I'll be back soon, Midoriya-san.”

“Yeah, sure. I'll be here,” Izuku didn't mind. Being with everyone was wonderful; it felt amazing to have friends. But there were times he did prefer to just be, without interacting with someone else. His alone time was somewhat short-lived as red eyes spotted him and approached.

“Don't I see enough of your scrawny ass at the guild, Deku?” the same alpha from the fight with the mother arachnid, Bakugou, Izuku realized.

“Bakugou-san,” Izuku glanced his way. Why the hell is he approaching me if he doesn't want to be around me? Izuku thought, before sighing,  “What do you want? An apology for living in Musutafu?”

“No, but it looks like your party abandoned you,” he laughed, “You stuck at rank-D without any magic?”

“Actually, three days ago I reached Rank-C,” Izuku held up his tag, the display appearing with ‘Rank-C’ in bold next to his name.

“Still ranking up, huh, Deku?” Bakugou had a feralish grin, “I'm not gonna fall behind some magicless nobody. It's a race to Rank-S. I'm gonna get there first.”

“You're on,” Izuku glared back, “I'll prove anyone can be an adventurer and help others, even without magic.”

  There was more of a smirk on Bakugou's face now, “You best keep your word, Beta. I'm not letting you out of this challenge, even if you're running with your tail between your legs.”

“I wouldn't dream of it, Alpha,” Izuku growled back.

  As odd as it was, the alpha did back off. It looked, for a moment, like he was going to start a fight in the middle of the Plaza, but the girls were returning with a variety of sweets in hand. Izuku used a few seconds to calm himself and reset.

“That's Bakugou from the giant spider. What did he want with you, Midoriya-san?” Yaoyorozu asked, handing Izuku one of the extra pastries, “And where's Iida-san?”

“He just wanted to pick a fight. Iida went to the blacksmiths to sharpen his sword. He said he'd be back soon,” Izuku answered, more cheerfully than he would have a moment ago.

“Ah, yes, not all Alphas welcome betas in adventuring. Did he challenge you?” Yaoyorozu asked.

“Yeah,” Izuku nodded.

  Yaoyorozu and the girls let out a sigh. They moved on once Iida returned. Shopping for the last things on their list. For Izuku, that meant a new bag to hold as many potions, supplies for making potions, as well as first aid, and his clothes. Tsu led him to a place called 'Support Shop' run by Ken Ishiyama, also known as Power Loader. He had several apprentices working along with him. One girl, with pink hair twirled into dreadlocks, was eager at the sight of customers and pulled Izuku away to her corner of the shop in the hopes of selling him one of her ‘babies’.

“So what kinda magic do you use, and what support are you looking for? You seem like the plant magic type. You look like a forest nymph, but if they were plain and boring looking,” she grabbed his hands, examining the scars. Mana focused around her eyes as she enhanced her vision to inspect every aspect of Izuku that she could, “Oo, the scars of an archer and calluses from a small melee weapon. A dagger, right?”

“U-um, yeah. But I don't have mana-”

“None at all! Wow! That just makes you even more interesting,” she grinned, pulling Izuku a bit closer to examine his face. It was only now, behind the smell of metal, oil, and sweat, that Izuku noticed. She smelled like strawberries and chocolate. Mei was an omega, just like him. “You'll need a lot of armor. I have plenty of babies to offer you protection.”

“Thank you for the offer, but I wanted a bag, if you don't mind. Um…”

“A bag, I just made a new one last week, you'll love it-”

“Mei!” the store owner, Power Loader, called out to her, “You forgot to introduce yourself to the customer.”

“Right, sorry. My name is Mei Hatsume, and I'm the newest apprentice here at Support Shop. I hope you'll find my inventions are more than satisfactory,” She pulled a yellow bag from the piles of tools, weapons, and armor she had near her work bench, “This baby is just what you need.”

  Izuku smiled, partly because everything she explained about the yellow back was exactly what he was looking for, but also simply because she was one of few omegas who pursued a career. She worked hard and built a life for herself, rather than becoming a housewife or facing a worse fate. Even if he was technically presenting as a beta to the outside, he could still feel a little Omega pride for not being the only one.

  “The best part of this baby is she uses a new invention of mine called a zipper! None of your contents will spill out, no matter how aggressively you're thrown around,” She threw a few clean tools into the bag, closed it, and aggressively shook it around before emptying the bag again, “Even underwater, nothing will escape the bag, of course, it'll still get wet. I'm still working on the enchantments for that. But what do you say? Will you take her?” Mei had an eager look as Izuku checked the size of the bag.

  It was bigger than what he planned to buy but that just meant he could bring more with him. Enchantments for fire resistance, protection, and strength were woven into the fabric. What got Izuku's attention was the weightless enchantment. He could carry several vials of potions without being weighed down! He didn't need to debate more than a second as he handed over the gold coins.

“I'll take it, Mei-chan!”

“Be sure you bring her back for repairs when needed!” Mei happily called back as Izuku and Tsu left after the rest of the group did some shopping.

  Tonight, Party Yuuie would return to their homes for a good week's rest and pack their essentials before traversing the dungeon. For Izuku, it was enough time to pass another heat to avoid going into heat in the dungeon. When he returned home to show off his new gear, he found his mother had replaced the sad nest of hay and blankets he had used with a patchwork cushion made from all the softest fabric scraps she had. Yumi and Inko had made it together with a few feathers from Kumo, Riku, and the two new chickens Yumi added to the pen. Both had golden feathers and were named Kin and Asahi.

  For Izuku, with this new abundance of pillows and soft fabrics, it was one of the most comfortable heats he had ever had.

—

  Bakugou Katsuki wasn't sure what it was about Deku, but the magicless Beta's existence alone seemed to irritate him. He hadn't smelled him in the forest when they'd first met, the fucker blended in with the foliage like a walking bush. Despite the Alpha— no, he was more than that— Kratos Alpha telling him to back off in the forest, that beta still had the gall to challenge him.

  Then again, with the mother arachnid. He hadn't even seen Deku down below the nest until after he set it ablaze. The greenette blended into the forest like a nymph. Not only that, but his plan had actually killed the mother, unlike Katsuki's, and that pissed him off horribly. Why the hell was this beta challenging him and proving he was better?! Yet, still, Katsuki saved him from falling to his death. Saved the beta who irritated him so much, who apparently didn't even know his name. That was it, he would just ignore that unless Deku from now on.

  He did not ignore him. Katsuki found himself approaching familiar green curls he spotted in the shopping district’s plaza. However, this time, Katsuki was initiating the challenge. He'd prove himself better than this damm magicless beta. Deku couldn't beat him in a race to Rank-S, not with the huge abundance of mana he held and his skill with fire magic. And then Deku growled ‘Alpha’ at him and that… that stirred something in the Prime Alpha. Not rage, no. Of course, Katsuki had been called Alpha plenty of times, usually by Omegas who had an interest in him and wanted his attention, or by Betas and Alphas he'd forced into submission by simply growling or fighting. But nothing felt like when Deku had growled it out. It felt right, but not in the sense of a successful domination. This wasn't a feeling he'd ever felt before, and no reference to guess its origin.

  He'd overheard their planning back at the guild; they were going into the closest dungeon. Well, Katsuki had a party of his own, and they had been training their mana plenty. So, his party, Crimson Explosion, was going to beat Party Yuuie to reach the first boss. He'd prove to Deku he was better, the absolute best Alpha around.

“We're finally going into the dungeon!” The blond Beta, Kaminari Denki, or Dunce Face, as Katsuki called him, was bouncing with excitement.

“This because of the green haired Beta who's been ranking up at the guild?” Shitty hair, or Kirishima Ejiro, grinned, “You two in some race I don't know about?”

“Just challenged him to one. First to S-Rank wins,” Katsuki grinned, giving the rest of his party a bit of an anxious feeling.

“Bakugou, just let the Beta live in peace. So you ran into him twice, and he had to help fight the giant spider. He's doing his job just like we are,” Elbows, Sero Hanata, remarked.

“Hah?! You think you know anything about that?” Katsuki growled at the black haired beta, “He challenged me first, I'm just returning the favor.”

“Alright, break it up,” Shitty Hair carefully pulled Katsuki back from Sero. He was the only other alpha Katsuki allowed to touch him so casually. It was partly because Kirishima forced him into friendship, but the fact that the redhead was also a Prime Alpha helped him be accepted into Katsuki's pack.

“If we're going to a dungeon, we need supplies,” Ashido Mina, or Raccoon eyes as Katsuki called her, cheered, “Let's split up to buy our gear and then meet back here.”

  With that, the party split up to shop around for dungeon supplies.

—

  It was time. Oh, Gods, Izuku was anxious. His first dungeon, and he was not only brimming with excitement but also terribly anxious. His mother was more so than he was. Yu-chan even tried to cocoon him on her web to keep him home. But he was determined. Dungeons were an ecosystem all on their own, books often depicting that some floors had their own unique environments separate from the rest of the dungeon. Oh, how he wanted to study it and observe the monsters and how they differed from the ones on the surface. Izuku had brought his mostly empty journal with him, along with a travel-sized mortar and pestle, his dried herbs, and other supplies for his dungeon travels. 

  Surprisingly the outside of the dungeon wasn't empty and silent as described in the All Might stories. No, it was quite the opposite. Leading up to the dungeon there were stalls. Stalls offering to buy from Adventurers exiting the dungeon after hunting. Stalls that were selling goods to entering Adventurers who decided to purchase things last minute. Izuku analyzed the products as they continued past the stalls towards the gate, sealing off the dungeon from unqualified adventurers and innocent civilians. Most of the items for sale that were claimed to be top of the line were false. Armor that wouldn't last against a goblin being waved as top-tier armor that could stunt a dragon.

“Shameful, all of them,” Iida growled, also noticing the disgrace of armor, “Taking advantage of novice adventurers by selling them gear that would kill them rather than protect them.”

“It is pitiful,” Yaoyorozu commented.

“Ah, what a wonderful party you have there, Alphas,” an old man approached Yueei with a clasp of his hands, “However bringing an Omega with you won't do much good. Not without this,” he held up a vile with a pink liquid inside, “You won't lure monsters to you with her scent alone. Better to initiate her heat first-”

“How dare you!” Iida snarled, “She is my mate, we travel together because she is strong and can handle herself in a fight. I would never dream of abusing her. You disgust me!”

“O-oh! Apologies, Alpha,” the man hardly had a scent, with nothing covering his glands it was obvious he was a Beta, “How about this instead. A grade-S healing potion. It will bring you back from the brink of death,” he held out a glowing blue-cyan potion, “Only the best from my stash.”

“Midoriya,” Iida spoke up with a serious tone, taking the potion and handing it to Izuku, “How does this look to you?”

  The old man's smile faltered for a second, the smile reverting but much more strained. Izuku silently examined the potion and even opened it to take a small sniff before grimacing.

“It's a fake,” Izuku handed the potion back, speaking loud enough that others at nearby stalls could hear, “It has only enough actual healing potion to heal a papercut. The rest is water and oils from a luminous mushroom to give it a more powerful glow. It barely qualifies for a grade-D healing potion. We're better off with the ones I made.”

“I want a refund, old man!” Another party who were in the next stall became rightfully enraged by the information.

“And what of the pink potion he offered?” An Alpha suddenly grabbed Izuku's shoulder, startling him. He held the same pink potion as before. Izuku noticed the Omega in his party behind him. A slave collar and chain, a party pet… they were going to use her as bait.

“It's also a fake,” Izuku growled. He didn't care what was in the pink vile; he knew for a fact that there were no medicines to force an Omega into heat, “No such potion exists.”

  What happened to the old scum who enraged a massive shopping market full of Alphas who were trained in combat, no one knew. What they did know was the Omega, who had been terrified, glanced over and silently worded a thank you to Izuku as she would no longer be used as bait. It didn't save her from the party, but at least she didn't need to fear dealing with a horde of monsters while in heat around a bunch of Alphas.

“Let's get going,” Iida patted Izuku’s back, leading him into the dungeon with the rest of the party.

  As soon as they crossed the stone threshold, the light from the sun began to fade as they walked further and further into the stone bricked tunnel lit by torches.

— 

  The first three floors were mostly empty. The 1st floor had slimes, but they weren't the usual blue color. These ones were green and fairly aggressive. However, a single slice from a sword and they were down. Perfect for a C - rank's first dungeon. The only other monster they saw was a single goblin. Unlike the goblins on the surface, who were green, these ones were a shade of navy blue that let them hide in the shadows for surprise attacks.

  The 2nd floor was in a similar state. A few more goblins and slimes. There was also a giant ant scavenging nearby. It wasn't immediately hostile, Izuku noted as it cared more about eating than the party passing through. Iida still killed it before they moved onto the 3rd floor.

  There, Izuku saw his first dungeon monster, a walking skeleton. It held a sword, but hardly put up a fight. Izuku quickly learned the only way to kill it is to shatter the skull. There was more of the same.

  The 4th floor had fewer empty hallways and traps. One crate turned out to be a mimic, startling Izuku as they walked by. They also found their first treasure. A purple two-tailed scorpion monster dropped a small pouch of silver coins.

  This was what the dungeon was for. While you couldn't bring out many bodies from dungeons without them rotting, some parties could process the items to bring back and sell, not everyone had those skills or space to carry it. The real reason anyone entered dungeons was the treasures they held. Quests are paychecks for adventurers; earn enough money, get the best gear, risk the dungeon for a great treasure. That was the usual pattern. While mages and blacksmiths could create their own extraordinary enchanted equipment. Nothing could compare to some of the unique treasures dungeons held.

  Izuku, however, didn't care much about the treasure. No, he was much more interested in collecting knowledge. Every break they had, Izuku scribbled away. Muttering his observations, theories for certain behaviors he noticed.

“I think I should have brought a second journal,” Izuku laughed, realizing how much he'd written in just a day.

“We're only planning to go to level ten,” Uraraka laughed, “How much can you write about monsters?”

“You’d be surprised. This is Journal 3, technically. The rest of journal 2 was dedicated to close observations of Yumi. She's gotten into a habit of collecting chickens for our pen at home,” Izuku rambled a bit, recalling how proud Yumi was to catch Riku.

“I still can't believe you kept an arachnid,” Yaoyorozu and Uraraka shuddered.

“I’m a little curious, Midoriya-kun. Kero,” Tsu handed him the lunch rations for their break, “Could I look at your observations?”

“O-oh… um… just let me finish this thought,” Izuku quickly wrote out the rest of his theory on the differences of goblin dungeon battle tactics when compared to those on the surface. He hesitantly handed over the journal.

“I am also curious,” Yaoyorozu moved closer to Tsu, “May I also read it?”

“Y-yeah,” Izuku felt a bit flustered. This wasn't the first time he showed his notes to someone. Nezu, Aziawa, and Toshinori had all looked inside Journal 2. Nezu had even made a copy of Journal 1 to convert into a textbook for the academy. Still, Izuku always became wracked with anxiety when others wanted to read his work, “Sorry, they usually end up pretty full and messy.”

“It's clustered, but the information is surprisingly thorough,” Yaoyorozu complimented, “I think we could make some counters to the attack patterns you've written out.”

“I was thinking about that actually,” Izuku took the journal back and flipped to another page before rambling about his battle plans, the rest of the party listening in and adding their own thoughts. He definitely will bring a second and maybe a third journal for their next dungeon adventure.

  The rest of their first day was spent on floor 4. Iida and the others had been as low as floor 5 before Izuku had joined. These floors were familiar, but after that, it was new territory, and their pace would slow significantly. It was also Izuku's first dungeon trip, so the rest of the party wanted to ensure Izuku got his notes on the easier monsters earlier on so they could focus on the mystery of floors 6-10.

  They went to bed near the stairs leading down to floor 5. Adventure swaying them in the morning.

~~~~

Chapter Text

  Hobgoblins were pushing the Yuuie party back against the edge. Izuku had blinded the one welding the hammer, but hadn't been able to kill it with that shot. These goblins in particular worked as a team with other hobgoblins instead of leading a small group of goblins. It made it all the more difficult to defeat.

“Momo-san, I'm low on arrows. Do you have the mana to create more?” Izuku called as he dodged an axe attack before firing another arrow, piercing the hobgoblin in the heart, and it finally collapsed. He kept his bow drawn as he guarded her.

“I need to rest, but I can make a few more,” Yaoyorozu panted as she knelt to activate her creation magic.

“Here, it's a stamina potion,” Izuku pulled a green potion from his bag and handed it to her, “It should replenish about half your mana and give your body energy.”

“Thank you, Midoriya-san,” Yaoyorozu quickly drank the potion, revitalizing her as her mana replenished, and she made enough metal arrows to fill his quiver before making a mithril spear to finish off the fight.

“And fall!” Uraraka shouted as she let the rubble she's been collecting in the air collapse on two of the hobgoblins, immobilizing the one with the sword and the one with the spear. No one could have known the cracks in the ground around the fallen hobgoblins traveled further below the cliff.

“Great work, Ochako!” Iida called as wind magic gathered around his legs before he rushed forward and ended the hobgoblins trapped under the rocks.

“We still have two more over here,” Tsu called, dodging the blind hammer swing as the last hobgoblin, with the bludgeon, swung at Iida.

“Ochako, you okay?” Izuku fired another arrow at the goblins, effectively piercing the bludgeon-wielding one in the arm. With Yaoyorozu back in the fight, he didn't need to guard her anymore.

“Kinda nauseous actually. Running low on mana. I think I can manage one more attack,” she answered, cheeks flush and sweat on her brow, “But also-”

  A rawr cut them off as the hammer hobgoblin was stabbed by Yaoyorozu's spear, which had Tsu's water magic surrounding it. Izuku searched his bag, grabbing a stamina potion for Uraraka, when the heavy hammer crashed down in front of them, a final attack from the blinded enemy.

“Izuku!” Uraraka grabbed him as the edge they were on crumbled, “I got you!”

“Ochako! Midoriya!” Iida called, as he was busy with the last hobgoblin. Uraraka was having them float so they weren't falling along with the rocks, but she was low on mana, so they were still falling, just slowly.

“I can't hold it.” Uraraka’s glowing pink staff faded just as Izuku brought the potion to her lips.

“Grab my-” Tsu was just a fraction too slow.

  Uraraka’s magic faded just as Izuku was going to grab the extended tongue of their frog beastwoman friend, and they fell. Izuku pulled his party member close; his stamina potion was lost in the fall, so he focused on protecting her instead. The water stung from the cold, like needles piercing his skin, but he still held onto Uraraka. Rocks scraped them both as they were rushed downstream. Izuku did his best to take the brunt of the strikes, and Uraraka focused on keeping them from being separated and not throwing up. They were lucky to have gotten the few breaths of air that they had, and they suddenly dipped further under the water, the current pulling them down one side of the fork in the river…

—

  Izuku coughed and gagged as he awoke on the wet stone floor. He threw up the water he had swallowed and panted. He checked himself for injuries before getting up. He found Uraraka right beside him, throwing up in a similar way as she woke up. He checked her over for injuries before going through his bag. It was flooded, but Hatsume’s invention of the zipper really kept everything inside safe. He'd have to thank her for it; he couldn't afford to lose anything for his potions. It was the best way for him to be useful to his party without magic.

“Ochako-chan,” Izuku's voice was a bit hoarse as he pulled a red recovery potion from his flooded bag and handed it to her.

“Thanks,” Uraraka's voice was hoarse in a similar way, “Where do you think we are?”

“One of the lower floors, but I'm not sure which. We should find shelter for now,” Izuku drank a recovery potion, feeling his energy return as the aches temporarily faded. He didn't need a healing potion for his bruises until he was sure he had the time to make more.

“Izuku, you're bleeding!” Uraraka slowly stood up, finally seeing they were in a darker area of the dungeon.

“It's just a few scratches. I'll be fine once I make some more healing potions,” Izuku just smiled as he helped Uraraka away from the much calmer riverside.

  They didn't have to wander far; a cave was available nearby. Wordlessly, they both got into a fighting stance and entered the cave with caution. It was lit by luminous mushrooms and moss on the walls. Nothing poisonous that Izuku could identify. Aside from a small ant monster that Izuku quickly put down with an arrow, the cave was empty. They set up camp, and Izuku laid out his journal to dry. The charcoal was runny, but his notes and sketches could be transferred later. The parchment it was on, however, was swollen from water absorption. If he didn't air it out, it would mold before he could copy it.

  Gathering wood for a fire took time, but soon they had one just outside the cold cave to bring in heat thanks to the riverside bushes. They put their armor and clothing to dry, Uraraka’s hat nowhere to be seen. Uraraka placed a hand on Izuku's shoulder as he realized the clay below his bandages was washed away.

“I always wondered why you wore so many bandages when you weren't injured,” Uraraka gave him a small smile before undoing the soaking bandages. “How did you cover your pheromones so well?”

“I used clay to seal off my glands and bandages to hold it in place. I usually change it out each night so that the dried clay doesn't flake off, or absorb the pharamones.” Izuku answered, tears pricking the corners of his eyes. He had done so well, almost a year without anyone learning of his secondary gender, “A-are you going to tell the others?”

“No, it's not my secret to tell. But it does help explain why you always seem to insist on your own room and why you disappear to visit your mother so often,” Uraraka laughed a little, “And, it's kinda nice to not be the only omega. But, why?”

“I've always wanted to be an adventurer, to go around and save people, explore the world, and record what I learn in journals so I never forget them. Just like the hero All Might. When I learned I couldn't even store mana in my body, let alone use it for magic, I didn't want to give up. I trained with my dagger, and I trained with my bow by hunting,” Izuku tied a small string onto the back of one of his arrows and walked over to the river as he continued, dragging the ant corpse with him, “Then I presented as an Omega, my mom wanted me to give up at first, but I'm stubborn,” he used the back of his dagger to crack the exoskeleton before tossing it into the water to use as bait. He fired the arrow into the water. Once the string went taut, he pulled the rope in, a fish after the bait pierced on the arrow. He handed it to Uraraka, who began cleaning and gutting it with her own small knife, “So I experimented with everything I could think of to cancel the smell of my pheromones. Studied medicine and alchemy, learned how to make potions, and started creating my own. It wasn't until I was pushed into the mud on a rainy day that I found something that worked. Mud was fine for dulling my smell, but clay is thicker.” He fired the same arrow again, another fish. “I was finally able to go into town without being noticed. I wasn't a male omega to them anymore, just a scrawny beta. I realized I could finally become a real adventurer in a guild. So,” Izuku sat down, cleaning his own fish before skewering it like Uraraka’s, “I did. It's hard sometimes, but I'm helping people and learning so much about monsters and dungeons. I'm finally living my dream, Ochako-chan.”

“Your dream is beautiful, Izu-chan.”

“Izu-chan?”

“Is Izu-chan no good?”

“N-no, it's fine. It's just, I-I've never had a nice nickname before,” Izuku flushed from embarrassment.

“You're a nice person, you deserve one. Although I do think the name Deku is cute. That's what Bakugou calls you, right?”

“It doesn't mean anything nice,” Izuku sighed.

“Oh… I thought it was like Dekiru, which was nice since you're following dreams even without magic or brute force. You're able to be a hero no matter what.”

“Deku it is!”

“Really? You're okay with me calling you Deku?”

“Yeah, I like the new meaning you gave it,” Izuku smiled, pulling Uraraka's grilled fish away from the fire and handing it to her after sprinkling on a touch of salt and some of the dried herbs he uses for cooking.

“Hm~ Your herb mixes are the best, Deku-chan~” Uraraka smiled, mouth full.

“Glad you like them. I'll make you some for cooking at home.”

“Please! My family will love it.”

—

“Iida-san, we should camp for tonight,” Yaoyorozu placed a hand on the paladin's shoulder, “We won't be able to follow them at the speed of the river. Ochako-chan and Midoriya-san are smart and strong. They'll stay by the river until we find them, so long as they're in a safe area.”

“We need to replenish our energy since we can't rely on Izuku-san’s potions. Kero- I'm still low on mana, we won't be able to fight any longer like this if we run into another group like the hobgoblins,” Tsu spoke up, “Izuku-san is our long-range fighter, kero. We can't keep fighting close combat without stamina.”

“I suppose you're right. Forgive me,” Iida stopped his determined march and instead looked around the area they were in. There were signs someone else had used it for a camp, based on the ashes in the fireplace, not too long ago, perhaps a day. It had taken them 2 days as a full party to get through floor 5 and down to 8; it'd take longer to go lower with only 3 members.

“It's hard when your mate is in danger,” Yaoyorozu pulled some of the dried food reserves from her bag and handed them to Tsu and Iida. She kept Izuku and Uraraka's portions stored away for now. They would most likely be hungry when found again, “But Uraraka-chan is not alone. Midoriya-san is a strong beta, even without magic. He'll protect her, and with all his knowledge of monsters, medical herbs and practices, Uraraka-chan won't suffer any injuries with him around.”

“You're right. Midoriya-san is a reliable party member; if anyone will keep Ochako safe in my stead, he will. I trust him with her life, with all our lives,” Iida took a breath before drinking from a cup Tsu handed him as they ate and rested. Still, the blue-haired alpha couldn't dismiss the worry for his mate and his party member. As capable as Izuku was, no one was invincible.

—

“Tenya~” Uraraka groaned in her sleep.

  Izuku was keeping watch as he made a few more healing potions with the ingredients he had left in his satchel. Since everything had been soaked, he was forced to use his dried ingredients however he could. He saved all the empty glass vials. After a good wash, they were ready for the next batch. Izuku had used a small healing potion on Uraraka for her minor cuts and bruises, as well as some on himself, as the aches were returning.

“Deku-chan~” Uraraka looked blearily at the green-haired ranger who was grinding herbs in his small mortar and pestle.

“Something wrong?” Izuku stopped his work to check on the omega witch. Her forehead was warm, but the healing potion should have dealt with that already. Izuku hadn't noticed from the smell of all the herbs around his area, but now that he was this close, all he could smell was sugar and cherry blossoms… “Ochako-chan, when was your heat supposed to start?”

“I dunno … after the dungeon. Deku-chan~” She called him again, using Chan for the omega instead of kun for the beta, “I want something soft…”

“You want to nest, right?” Izuku waited as she nodded. He got up and fidgeted as he tried looking around. He pulled some of the moss from the walls and left it near Uraraka. She would either accept or reject what he brought for her nest.

“Ochako-chan going into heat isn't ideal. We can't change guarding shifts, and monsters are going to be attracted to her scent. I'll have to block her glands with clay to manage the smell, but even clay can't stop the scent of an omega in heat completely. I'll need to use everything I have to make as many stamina and recovery potions as possible since I don't have materials or time to set traps-” Izuku continued his rapid mumbling as he brought everything to Uraraka, including his dried tunic and spare clothes. He was just glad they were practically scentless. Even though Uraraka knew he was an omega, he kept applying the clay as usual, just not in secret anymore.

“Sorry, Ochako-chan, it's a little cold, but we can't have monsters tracking your scent,” Izuku was allowed to apply the clay to her neck and wrists before bandaging them.

“It feels refreshing~” She sighed into the cool contact, “Deku-chan~ sorry…”

“It's okay. It's still early in your heat. Iida will find us, and we'll guard the cave until your heat dies down with the rest of the party. I'll protect you until then, I promise,” Izuku pulled his blanket from his pack and offered it to her for her nest. “I'm going to make some more potions, then I'll catch some more fish to cook.”

“Mkay…”

  There was already another ant monster approaching the cave when Izuku finished using the last of his ingredients. Until he could scavenge the dungeon fana for more, he was in limited supply. Izuku shot it with his bow, extremely thankful that Yaoyorozu was able to replenish his quiver before they fell. Still, he was not going to waste any arrows he could use again, so he collected them from the corpse.

“Hm…” Izuku's eyes sparkled with inspiration as he touched the hard exoskeleton to drag the ant to the river, just as he had before.

  Drawing his dagger, he cut off the ant’s abdomen and drained the blood into the river. Of course, the fish were excited for the free meal. Washing the exoskeleton carefully after splitting it in half, he now had two fire-resistant pans. He used the rest of the ant corpse as bait and gathered as many fish as he could. He spent time gutting and cleaning each fish before using one pan for a fish soup that would be easy for Uraraka to sip, and the other to grill the fish so he could eat it by hand while guarding her. From there, a new routine developed. Izuku remained on guard, bow and arrow ready, as he cooked fish he'd collected into something easily stored, or to add to Uraraka's soup. Several times a day, he'd reapply the clay, give her water, and spoon fed her soup. As Uraraka’s heat got more intense, most monsters started taking notice of the sweet smell of easy prey.

  Goblins tried running into the cave more often than other monsters. Goblins were notorious for kidnapping omegas, especially during their heat cycles. Izuku would never allow that. He killed each one and left the bodies aside for the ant monsters to drag back. So long as he offered goblin corpses to the ants, they didn't even bother with the cave.

  It wasn't until a wolf-like monster with tougher skin appeared that Izuku had trouble. The wolf was fast, and arrows only left scratches. Close combat was inevitable as the wolf approached with a vicious snarl. Izuku shouted as he was bitten while switching to his dagger. The wolf’s bite dug deeper into his forearm. He stabbed its gullet with the dagger, but a goblin was using the fight to slip past him. The wolf wasn't dead yet; he had to keep fighting the bite with a small blade.

“Ochako!” Izuku shouted, trying to warn her.

  There was a clicking sound before an ant raced forward and killed the goblin. Izuku twisted the dagger and used the momentum of the wolf’s wince to back away to finish cutting clean through its throat and killing it. The ant’s large antenna checked the goblin's body to ensure it was dead before it started eating away.

“Thank you,” Izuku spoke up, looking at the ant. It simply clicked at him and dragged the goblin away. Two more ants appeared to drag away the wolf after that. Izuku would journal about the odd mutualistic relationship he had with the ants later. He focused on cleaning his injuries and using a small amount of a healing potion to stop the bleeding for now. He could wash the bandages as many times as he needed, but he had to save as many healing potions as he could. He took a recovery potion and a stamina potion as nightfall approached. Even with the clay, Uraraka’s heat was too intense to hide. Izuku was just grateful that, for whatever reason, the ants had started fighting the goblins alongside him more often and were completely harmless around him now.

  Two days… It had been two days now, and the peak of Uraraka’s heat was starting to affect Izuku. He couldn't go into heat, not here, not now. Mugwort. He found it near the cave, a blessing. An adaptable plant that grows in dry, cool, warm, and wet conditions. A plant that Izuku discovered, by mistake, could delay an omega’s heat, at the cost of it being more intense later on. He could handle that, so he began making the tea in the small pot he had used for brewing his potions. He drank the tea in place of water, and packed on his clay a little heavier. He refused to go into heat so long as they were stuck in the dungeon. Not when he had a friend to protect.

  Izuku was exhausted. Each time a stamina potion wore off, he wanted to collapse. He was drinking them often, since the monsters wouldn't stop coming. Uraraka’s scent, the sounds she made that Izuku had been blocking out for the last four days, were luring in more. More wolves came, and Izuku fought. He learned quickly that their eyes and throat were the best weak spot for arrows, so long as he could fire fast enough. He left the goblins to the Ants, even offering one fish when it came close to getting hurt. Arachnids came by now, along with walking skeletons, but Izuku could deal with them all. He didn't care that his clothes and leather armor were stained with his blood. It didn't matter that he looked practically undead from the lack of rest. He would do everything to protect his friend.

  His fingers were bloody with rope burn under his worn gloves. The string was wearing down. His quiver was becoming emptier from arrows breaking in battle. His hair looked more bloodied-brown than green, and soft curls were a matted mess. His left eye refused to open all the way anymore. He only had three healing potions left; he couldn't waste them. In case his party members needed them. He already used one when a purple-scaled arachnid got a lucky bite, and it was the only thing he had to counteract the poison.

  The Ants continued to drag away corpses. But now, they would come by during the short periods where no hostile monsters appeared. One slowly approached Izuku, who was resting, trying to close his eyes for longer than 5 minutes. He let the ants close, but not past him, towards the cave. This one dropped off an arrow in perfect condition and nudged it towards him.

“For me? Thank you,” Izuku inspected the bow before adding it to his low quiver. He offered the ant a scrap of fish in return. It clicked its mandibles before gently taking the fish from the blistered hand and leaving.

  It happened again, and again after that. Between waves of monster attacks, this one ant, with a scar on its leg, would bring Izuku arrows. Most perfect, a few with frayed feathers or a fracture in the shaft. Either way, Izuku was grateful to have more amo.

  A giant centipede appeared. Izuku lost three arrows to take it down, but it was down. A hobgoblin showed up with a small army. Izuku cried his frustration as he fought, starting to prefer his dagger over his bow for all the close combat. He was covered in a fresh coat of blood by the end of that fight. Goblin corpses lay around with necks slashed and stab wounds in various body parts. The hobgoblin took an arrow to the head, then a dagger to its heart. Izuku cried. Cried because he couldn't fish for more food. He'd used everything to keep Uraraka fed with soup and was starving himself. Cried because he didn't have time to replace the bow string, and it could snap at any moment. Cried because Uraraka was crying for Iida to ease her through her heat. He cried because he was down to five stamina potions and three recovery potions.

Finally, Izuku cried as the ants scurried off before dragging the bodies away, the sound of footsteps and voices approaching. Someone was here, and they would either be saved or Izuku would fight whoever tried to get to Uraraka.

“What the hell?”

“It smells like an omega in heat.”

“Why would anyone bring an omega to a dungeon?”

“Some parties use them as bait. It's disgusting.”

“Will you all shut the hell up! Whatever killed this many monsters didn't do it to eat, and it could still be nearby, dumbasses!”

  The voices quieted, and Izuku drew his bow, blood trickling down the thin string from his fingertips, which were now exposed from the holes in his glove. He waited, ignoring the pain in his arm to keep two arrows drawn, ready to fire at the first sign of aggression. He stood in complete silence.

The party stopped as they finally came into view of the cave and small bay near the river Izuku spent five days guarding. Izuku stood at the end of a road of bodies, filthy, covered in blood, and glaring.

“Deku?” Recognition finally awoke in his exhausted state. It was Bakugou and his party, “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Stay back!” Izuku hissed. He could smell them. Most of them were alphas, “I won't let you near her.”

“Midoriya-kun, right?” The girl with pink curls spoke up, “We just want to know what happened. It smells like an omega in heat, so we were worried they were being used for bait.”

“By the looks of it, that is exactly what happened,” Bakugou growled, “Didn't expect that from a useless beta.”

“Baku-bro,” Kirishima grabbed Bakugou’s shoulder with a serious look, “I don't think that's the case.”

“Tenya~” Uraraka called from the cave again, “Water… please…”

  Izuku hesitated, looking back at the aggressive blond alpha before putting down his bow and bringing water to Uraraka, along with another bowl of soup. Sero approached the cave as one of the only two betas in the group to observe. Izuku gently provided water to Uraraka, then spoon-fed her some more soup while whispering promises that Iida would find them soon, and apologies that he couldn't do more for her than this.

“So?” Bakugou glared at the cave as Sero returned.

“From the sound of it, they were separated from their party, and the omega suddenly went into heat. The beta has been protecting her until the rest of their party finds them. He did all this to keep her safe,” Sero answered, “He looks really banged up.”

  Izuku appeared shortly after Uraraka had fallen asleep. Her scent was finally calming down; her heat would be over in another day. Still, even with another party nearby, Izuku refused to stop the routine. Sero and Kaminari were the only ones he let close; they were betas and wouldn't go into a rut from the smell.

“Let me help with that,” Kaminari offered as Izuku started cutting the branches of the bushes near the riverbed he had been using for firewood.

“It's fine,” Izuku responded coldly.

“You're tired and covered in blood. Let us help. We need firewood too, so might as well,” Kaminari argued. Izuku nodded before backing away.

He glanced at the soup pot, almost empty. Just a little more… Izuku thought as he pulled his dagger and cut off one of the many legs of the giant centipede before tossing it into the river.

“What are you doing?” Ashido asked from afar.

“Catching dinner,” Izuku responded, grabbing the same roped arrow he'd been using for fish, and catching two in one shot. Apparently, the fish liked centipede flesh better than ant. He dropped the fish into the empty pan he used to grill his fish earlier that week. His arm ached, but he couldn't rest, not yet. Ochako was still in heat, and he needed to eat. Izuku couldn't remember when he'd had more than a bite of fish between fights.

  It was an awkward silence, aside from the crackling of fire and the occasional wet thrum from his bow firing, and the splash of fish being pulled out of the water. Izuku had to pull another centipede leg to pull enough fish for everyone. He had to thank Kaminari and Sero for helping gather wood. Alpha scents being nearby had finally stopped all the monster attacks. So, grilled fish felt like a good offering. Besides, Izuku couldn't help but smile a bit as he noticed eyes glancing his way, specifically at the amount of fish he was cooking. Everyone except Bakugou's.

“What the hell do you want?” Bakugou growled as Izuku approached with the pan of grilled fish. It was plenty for their whole party.

“Don't listen to the hot-head over there. That fish is for us, right?” Ashido smiled, practically drooling for food that wasn't dried or stale.

“Just having Alpha scents nearby stopped the constant monster attacks, so, as a thanks,” Izuku handed her the pan, and she suddenly yelped before dropping it. Izuku caught the pan painfully as his body was screaming for rest. Izuku was confused, “Was it too hot?”

“Why did you put it in an ant?!” The pink alpha looked absolutely disgusted.

“It was what I had… I washed it out. The food still tastes good…” Izuku was crying again as he set the pan down.

“Don't worry, Mina just hates bugs, and if she wants to pass up her share for stale bread and jerky, she can,” Krishima gladly took a fish from the pan and took a bite, “Holy crap, that's good for dungeon food.”

“Don't eat it all, give me some!” Kaminari reached over and grabbed his own fish.

“Share, damn it,” Sero joined in, and Izuku felt a little more satisfied knowing that at least most of the party would eat.

  Izuku had his own portion set aside in a bowl. He had been ignoring the aches returning as his last recovery potion wore off. He had two stamina potions left, and then nothing. Carefully, he slid down the side of the cave opening and pulled in his own bowl to eat, fingers trembling as he ate. He didn't care that he tasted blood from his fingers as he ate. He would bandage himself later. Izuku finished eating sooner than the party, who were currently teasing Ashido into trying a bit of the fish. He checked in on Uraraka again, using the privacy of the cave to reapply the last of his clay before he decided it was time to bandage himself. He considered staying in the cave until Uraraka started shifting in a very specific way. He quickly decided he'd rather risk being teased about his lack of muscle than listen to Uraraka. Heats were supposed to be private and with someone trusted. Yet Uraraka was exposed here, and there was nothing he could do aside from guarding her.

  Izuku carried his bag to sit between the river and the cave entrance. Close enough that he could get to her if he needed to, but far enough to have at least some privacy. He felt disgusting, caked with grime, blood that was half his and half monsters he'd killed. The corpses were starting to smell since the ants stopped dragging them away, scared of the new party. Izuku didn't even have a tunic on, just the green vest that was practically red at this point. He stripped it off; his torso was a sick-looking browned red from the blood. Still, he needs to be clean to apply the ointments, bandages, and maybe a few stitches. His body felt hot… The tea! He'd been so distracted he'd forgotten the tea to postpone his heat. He didn't have time to make it, so he did the only thing he could think of: using the river water, he quickly ground the mugwort into a paste and swallowed it, leaves and all. It was terrible. The texture was awful, the bitterness overpowered the sweetness in this batch, but he needed the mugwort to stay in his system. He could not go into heat around 3 alphas and a dungeon full of monsters. He washed it down with some more water, ignoring the taste as best he could. He'd regret that, he knew he would. His heat would probably be too intense for his mother to help him manage; he'd be better off spending it alone.

“You idiot, take all your clothes off before you do this,” Izuku flinched as he heard a rough voice behind him.

“B- Bakugou?! Why are you so close to the cave?” Izuku reached for his dagger, but it wasn't on him; it was further back with the bloody vest he'd stripped off.

“The morons finished off the fish you gave ‘em. Wasn't spicy enough for my liking. What made you think of this?” He held up the empty exoskeleton Izuku used as a pan.

“Giant Ants are resistant to fire magic. I needed a way to make soup for Ochako-chan. Yaoyorozu-san has most of the food rations, so…” Izuku wasn't sure if Bakugou was just trying to tease him or if he was genuinely curious. Monster parts were used for weapons all the time. Why was this different?

“Never considered that, it's easy to break though, so it won't hold up much longer,” Bakugou washed out the skeleton, and then carried it full of water towards Izuku, “It has one last use though,” he dumped all the water over Izuku, startling him with the cold.

“What the hell?!” Izuku shouted. He tried to get up, but his legs gave out; the last stamina potion he'd taken hours ago was wearing out, “Shit…”

“How long ago were you separated from your party?” Bakugou didn't bother asking; he grabbed a cloth from his satchel, soaked it in the river, and grabbed Izuku to start scrubbing off the dried and coagulating blood from his tan, freckled skin.

“Five days…” Izuku sighed, too tired to fight off the weird alpha who was currently rubbing his back clean, "I think..."

“I'm having the idiots move the corpses for you. You can't move that Omega, and being around rotting flesh will fuck you both up more than you are now,” Bakugou replied, before he suddenly pulled on the waist of Izuku’s trousers, “Off.”

Izuku froze; that order startled something in him. No, it's just the heat fighting the mugwort. He doesn't know.

“Tsk,” Bakugou, however, was not patient. He grabbed the trousers and pulled them off, leaving Izuku in his underwear.

“What the hell! You can't just strip someone!” Izuku shouted back, “You couldn't wait a minute-”

“The longer you're soaked in monster blood, the faster an infection will set in. Or are you too stupid to understand that?” the alpha growled, "Don't forget the bandages need to come off too."

“I know that! I'm the party’s medic! I'm just tired, I haven't slept for more than a few minutes, and that was 2 days ago,” Izuku snapped back, "And the bandages stay, I'll wash those areas myself."

“If you're tired, then shut the fuck up, and stay still!” Bakugou snapped, grabbing Izuku’s least injured leg and rubbing it just the same as he had with the rest of the beta.

“Lay back,” The alpha ordered, and Izuku didn't even put up a verbal fight. Gods, he wanted to just sleep. Sleep and do nothing but read for a day.

“What floor is this?” Izuku asked, “When we fell, we were on floor 8.”

“This is floor 13,” Bakugou answered.

“No wonder it's taking them so long…”

The rest of the sponge bath went on in awkward silence before Izuku spoke up again.

“Bakugou-”

“The hell do you want?” the alpha snapped as he started washing out bloody curls. Bakugou washing his hair felt heavenly compared to how awkward the sponge bath felt. Izuku would fall asleep if he wasn't careful.

“If you stay quiet, the giant ants will carry away the corpses to eat,” Izuku answered, “They've been helping me with that. They bring me stuff sometimes...”

“The fuck? You're full of shit,” Bakugou dumped water on him again to rinse him off, startling the smaller man.

“Don't believe me?” Izuku glanced up.

“Tsk, who'd believe monsters would ignore easy prey like you? Wash that area yourself,” He tossed the rag at Izuku, but still took the bloodied clothes and washed them off in the river.

  Izuku did so, quietly. Slowly removing his boxers to wash the one area he was thankful the alpha had no interest in. Still, it baffled Izuku as to why the alpha, who seemed to hate him, suddenly helped him out. Completely oblivious to how red eyes were sneaking a peek.

—

  Katsuki had no idea what he was trying to do. He's been blasting his way through the dungeon for about three days with his party. They were making amazing progress and wanted to beat the first boss on the 20th floor. Currently, they were on the 13th, and man, was he sick of dried meats, stale crackers, and bread. He missed cooking fresh hunts above ground, but he would never admit that. He was mostly irritated that the spicy dried meats he'd been curing weren't ready to take with him when it was time to leave. Then he saw what had to have been the most bad ass scene in his fucking life. A pile of dead monsters and giant ants were fleeing the fight for their lives. The smell of fresh blood was strong, but the sweet smell behind it pissed him off. What he assumed to be a disgusting party using an omega’s heat to lure in monsters for money turned out to be the last thing he expected. Deku…

  Deku, covered in blood, looked like he was half dead, but still drew his arrows to fight. Blood dripped off him, but he couldn't tell what was his and what came from the monsters. Deku was alone. He ignored the obvious, trying to ignore that he was wrong about the omega’s situation. He hated being wrong, so he stewed silently as Deku proved to be the only defense that Omega had to being ripped apart by hungry monsters. Deku didn't rest or show relief seeing Katsuki's party. Instead, he continued guarding round cheeks from him, raccoon eyes, and shitty hair. Obviously, they wouldn't go near the omega in heat; he'd never associate himself with those types of people. Monster bodies littered the area, but Izuku didn't bother cleaning them. Instead, he used them as bait to catch a fuck ton of fish with insane precision of his arrows. He cooked for all of them… Katsuki didn't know how to feel about that. Izuku claimed their presence stopped the attacks and that it was a thank you, but when they had scouted the floor, ants were the only monsters around. And they weren't hostile at all, simply scurrying away, leaving behind bones and half-eaten carcasses. That had been dragged from the fight. Following all the trails of blood led them to Deku, where the ants were getting so much food. He'd left no other monsters alive on this floor.

  Deku’s cooking was better than what Katsuki had expected. It was flavorful as fuck for dungeon food. He was honestly happy to eat something that wasn't a sad, shriveled excuse for meat that dunce face bought for his portion of the food rations they piled together. Next time, he'd buy all of the food. Still, the dumb Nerd hardly ate anything himself, focusing on the omega in heat and the party that basically invaded his camp. It was a nice camp, secluded enough that attacks could only come from the opening they'd entered through. Finally, Katsuki saw the shitty nerd leave the cave, dragging a bag with him toward the river. That Idiot is going to drown himself.

“Oi, move the bodies now that you've had your fill. Work to earn your damn food. That idiot is probably going to cook for everyone tomorrow,” Kastuki barked orders at his party.

“But we finally got a break,” Dunce face groaned before Shitty Hair started encouraging the party to clean up so the blood didn't attract a horde of ants.

“Why aren't you helping?” Kaminari Huffed as he dragged a dead goblin toward the hall.

“Deku is gonna fucking drown himself if he goes in the water like he is. If he's gonna die, it should be in battle,” Katsuki snapped before grabbing the empty ant exoskeleton and following the path Deku took.

  Shit, the idiot was fucking caked in blood. Washing him was less of a challenge than Katsuki thought it would be. Rubbing off the blood, he could see the damage from the fighting. Cuts, gashes, bite marks, bruises; his right hand was worse than his left. How far do the freckles go? Katsuki found himself checking more for freckles on tan skin than injuries at some point. Counting them was like stars in the sky, practically impossible. Soft… despite the lean muscle on Deku’s body, it was soft to the touch. He'd spent five days fighting with such a slender body… five days with barely any sleep.

  Holy crap, his legs were something to hold. The Kratos Alpha gulped as his finger grazed the firm yet plump flesh. Most adventurers had defined legs simply from walking and running. Deku's were an even balance of toned from training, while also being plush enough to substitute a pillow made from fucking angelic feathers. What the hell is wrong with me? Katsuki shook himself out of his thoughts and continued his routine of scrubbing the blood off while being mindful of injuries.

  His hair was disgusting. It was a matted mess with blood, dirt, and sweat. Soon enough, it was vibrant green and curly again. Deku looked like he was going to fall asleep to Katsuki's scrubbing his scalp. He started mumbling about training the fucking giant ants of all things. That quickly stopped when Katsuki dumped water over him to rinse him off. That startled Deku awake, and the prime Alpha left the beta to clean off the more intimate areas like his glands and under the cheap brown boxers.

  Still, red eyes seemed to keep peeking glances as Deku finished up. If his legs looked like that, then- The bush was in his way, which shouldn't have annoyed Katsuki at all, yet it did. He's a magicless beta. Why the hell am I giving him this much attention?! He poured all his frustration into scrubbing the blood out of the clothes, which happened to get a lot of the stains out.

  In the end, Deku's clothes were hung by the fire to dry, and Dunce Face gave him some clothes to borrow in the meantime. Seeing Deku in yellow was a nice change; somehow, it didn't feel like it was entirely his color. Katsuki ignored his thoughts on that for now. Deku was fed and bandaged; the gash in his thigh was stitched shut. His gear was in terrible condition now; he needed to get the omega out of the dungeon, but that couldn't happen until the rest of their party arrived.

—

  They had searched floor after floor after floor. Going down from 8 to 11, searching near the river until there was a fork in the road.

“Iida-san,” Yaoyorozu searched one side of the river while Tsu looked around the other, “I think this is the path they took.”

“Tsu!” Iida called out for their party member to return as Yaoyorozu held up Uraraka’s hat, which had been caught on a branch in the river, “We're taking the left side.”

“They've been washed further downstream than we thought, Kero,” Tsu croaked as she returned to their side, “But the good news is, Uraraka's scent is still on the dry part of her hat.”

“You can still smell her scent?” Iida had a hopeful glint in his eyes; if they could track his mate, they'd reach her in no time at all.

“Frogs have a great sense of smell, kero. I'll let you know when I've picked up her scent.”

With that, the remaining members of the Yuuie party moved along. They were almost through floor 11, just a bit further, and they'd find a place to camp before searching floor 12 tomorrow.

—

Brown eyes blearily opened, feeling the heat in her body fade away. Her body ached, sore from having a less-than-perfect nest made from moss, her bedroll, and scarce clothing with two blankets. Her own clothes were tossed aside, but neatly folded. A bit confused as to where she was before it all flooded back. The fight, the cliff, the fall, the cave….

“I went into heat in a dungeon…” Ochako paled as she scrambled to cover herself.

She wasn't dead, which meant she was being protected. Foggy memories of Izuku covered from head to toe in blood while he fed her soup and gave her water, him cleaning her off with warm water and a cloth, covering her with a blanket after. The one time he shouted her name in fear before rushing back to check on her. The sounds of fighting, crying, and shouting outside the cave until it stopped.

“Deku-chan!” Ochako ran out of the cave, her dress thrown on as a cover, not even properly tied, and her feet bare. Her staff in hand, ready to fight off whatever monster had hurt him.

“Shh,” the sight she was met with made her pause. There were people here, not just anyone, but the party known as the Crimson Explosion. Bakugou's party. They were quietly sitting around a fire.

“If you don't keep your voice down, Pink Cheeks, you'll wake him,” Bakugou growled.

“Wake him?” She followed his eyes to the cave opening. Deku was there, wrapped up in a blanket and sleeping. He looked absolutely exhausted, bags heavy under his eyes, bruises on his face, a busted lip, and scratches all over. She didn't want to see what the rest of him looked like. “What happened after I went into heat?”

“Midori-bro is a fucking badass,” Kririshima laughed.

“Shut it, Shitty Hair,” Bakugou growled as a warning to the other's loud voice.

“Sorry,” Kirishima quieted down, and Ashido handed Ochako a bowl of the soup Deku left for her, “We came down here yesterday evening, so we don't know everything, just what Midoriya-kun has mentioned offhandedly.”

“There was blood everywhere,” Kaminari commented, before Sero nudged him in the side, “-from the monsters,” he hastily added.

“Idiots,” Bakugou grumbled, “Deku spent the last five days protecting you.”

“What Bakugou means,” Ashido glared at him a bit, “Is that Midoriya-kun conquered this entire dungeon floor. There was nothing but monster corpses when we showed up. Midoriya-kun was standing in front of your cave, ready to shoot us down if we got too close. He killed every last monster on this floor to protect you. He didn't sleep, and from the look of his bag, he was living off unlabeled potions to do it. He didn't stop even when he was hurt, all to keep you alive. It wasn't until Bakugou forced him to go to bed that he finally rested. Hot-Head even helped him clean off the blood and bandaged him.”

“Deku-kun…” Ochako started to cry as she turned to the sleeping man, “When we get out of here, I'm giving you the biggest thank you, I promise. I'll get you a new journal, a fancy one.”

“You should eat, your heat just ended, and you need to be fully recovered to help carry him back through the dungeon. I doubt he'll be able to move when he wakes up,” Kirishima spoke up.

“Right. He helped me, it's my turn to help him.” Ochako happily ate the soup, recognizing Izuku's herb blend in the fish broth. It was the same soup he'd been feeding her all week, and yet it never stopped being delicious, especially now that she could appreciate the taste.

It wasn't until Ochako opened Deku's bag that they really knew what he'd done to protect her. From 30 stamina potions, he now had 3. From the 20 recovery potions, there was only 1 left. There were 3 healing potions, but none of his usual horde of dried herbs and various ingredients were there. Meaning he'd made more and taken more than what she could count. His gloves had holes from firing his arrows, and his fingers were heavily bandaged. Ochako didn't need to ask to know that most of the blood she had seen on him in those foggy memories was his, not the monsters.

A journal would never amount to this… Ochako wanted to do so much more to thank her friend. So, while Deku slept, she would protect him. His jar of clay was empty, so he had no way to cover his scent. Ochako remembered feeling relief when he applied the clay to her glands, apologizing every time he touched the areas. It was such an intimate thing; only partners and family touched another person's glands, or medical professionals. Izuku had done it to keep the monsters from getting close. She had to do the same for him. So, while the Crimson Party stood guard, she searched the riverbank.

“What are you looking for?” Ashido approached, not wanting to leave the omega unguarded.

“Deku-kun had a jar of clay; he used it to help me. I wanted to find some more for him,” Ochako explained, wading through the water a bit.

“Let me help, I played in rivers all the time as a kid. I've found lots of natural clay. Made some great sculptures to destroy,” The pink-haired alpha laughed and removed her boots before rolling up her trousers to wade in the water with Ochako.

“Thank you, Ashido-chan.”

“Just Mina, is fine, Uraraka-chan.”

“I'll call you Mina-chan if you call me Ochako,” The brown haired witch smiled.

“Deal!”

It took time, but eventually Mina found clay, as promised. With the jar full, Ochako was quick to comment on changing Deku’s bandages for him. She was able to sneakily apply the clay on his glands before bandaging them, moving on to the real bandages after.

“What the hell are you doing, round face? Those are too loose. Did you apply any of the ointments to the wounds?” He shouted at her.

“I did! I just started to anchor the bandages- Hey!” He pushed her out of the way, taking the bandages.

“Just hold up his torso- why the hell are there bandages around his neck, he's not even injured there!” Bakugou snapped, “You're wasting supplies.”

“It's a personal thing. Deku-kun always wraps his neck; he says it makes him feel comfortable. And I didn't use his medical bandages for his neck; he has a few sets he washes to reuse for that,” Ochako quickly snapped back.

“Tsk- Whatever, just hold him steady since you're incapable of bandaging him,” Bakugou growled before checking each injury had the correct amount of ointment before covering them. His hand may have lingered around the chest more than it should.

“You'd better watch those hands before you lose them, Alpha,” Ochako growled, not missing the lingering.

“Is that a threat you really want to make, Omega?” Bakugou growled, tying off the bandage and covering Deku with a blanket. Deku, who was still sound asleep through all the yelling, “He should be awake by now.”

“Yeah, he should…” Ochako nudged him a bit, but no movement came from Deku.

“What else was in his bag? What else did he take?” Bakugou asked, placing a hand on Izuku's forehead.

“I don't know, but- His journal,” Ochako ran to Izuku's pack and pulled out the dried journal, skipping through the sketches and reading the notes. There was almost nothing for the days he protected Ochako. But there was a page that mentioned he found mugwort to make tea to subside some of the symptoms he was getting from being near Ochako's heat for so long.

“Mugwort! He took mugwort,” Ochako called back.

“Mugwort? Fuck, he needs a healing potion, now,” Bakugou grabbed the sleeping ranger's bag, pulling out the bright cyan potion and ripping off the cork and tipping it slowly into Deku's mouth. He wasn't swallowing, “Come on, drink it already, you shitty Deku.”

“What's happening?” The rest of the party filed into the cave after the commotion.

“Idiot drank too much mugwort. Probably ignoring the signs of an overdose because of the injuries.” Bakugou gently rubbed Izuku's neck, finally getting him to swallow the potion.

“Is he gonna be okay?” Ochako was tearing up. Deku had just saved her.

“Should be fine, that potion was glowing brighter than any other healing potion I've seen. We caught it early enough,” Bakugou sighed. All they could do now was wait.

“What happens when you overdose on mugwort?” Ochako quietly asked.

“Nausea usually. For pregnant Omegas, it causes miscarriages. But if he takes more despite the nausea, it can push him into a coma,” Bakugou explained.

“You really know everything, Bakugou,” Kaminari commented.

“I actually spend my time being useful, unlike you, Dunce Face. Knowing what medicinal herbs are in nature isn't shit you should be ignoring. Why don't you fucking study for a change!” Bakugou snapped.

Ochako ignored their fighting, focusing on Izuku, who was still sleeping. Eventually, the Crimson Party filed out of the cave and left the two of them alone. It was quiet, only the sound of their breathing and the turning of crisp parchment, and she read through the other pages of the journal.

“Mm…” It was the first sound to echo along the walls, and Ochako's attention fell from the book in an instant. Viridian eyes opened and glanced around before shutting with a stretch. “Tsk,” Izuku hissed as his body awoke, sore and in pain.

“Deku-kun,” Ochako let out a breath of relief that her friend was awake, “You're okay.”

“Hm… Ochako-chan…” his voice was a bit groggy from such a long sleep. His foggy brain slowly awoke with memories of the last five days, and Izuku sprang up to sitting, “Ochako-argh!” Pain was immediate from the sudden movement.

“Deku!” Ochako grabbed him as he felt back from the ache in his entire body, she laid him back down, “Don't move around too much, you spent a lot of energy. You took too much mugwort. We had to use a healing potion to wake you.”

“I must have miscalculated the dosage… Sorry to scare you… But your heat. Are you okay now?” Izuku asked, more concerned about his friend than himself.

“Yeah, I'm just fine. Now it's my turn to protect you, okay? Until we get out of here,” Ochako smiled, tears flowing.

“Sure…” Izuku smiled before whispering, “But I was taking the mugwort to postpone my heat… I think I'm too injured to risk entering it anymore.”

“Don't worry, Deku-kun,” Ochako gently hugged him, “We'll get out of here before it hits.”

“Ochako-chan, can you take me to the river?” Izuku asked, feeling his stomach start to turn.

“Yeah, why?” She started activating her mana before picking him up, making him weightless.

“I really need to throw up…”

“We're going!” she raced out of the cave with him in his arms. They didn't make it to the river, but she got him to a bush where Izuku threw up the mugwort his body was struggling to digest completely, along with the dinner from the night before, and blood he’d swallowed while in battle.

“That's a shitty way to wake up,” Kaminari cringed.

“I have some ginger root, I'll make him some tea,” Sero started searching his bag.

“Thank you,” Ochako called back, rubbing Izuku's back as he kept emptying his stomach.

—

“Damn it!” Iida growled as a dire wolf was blocking their path. His wind magic and Tsu’s water magic were doing the most damage. With a snarl, Iida infused the spell Windblade into his sword and decapitated the wolf with an angry slash. “Get out of the way!”

  He could finally pick up on Ochako’s scent himself; it was fading, but he knew it was her. It wasn't just her he could smell from the top of the stairs, but her in heat. With the wolf gone, the party rushed down to the 13th floor. They froze as the smell of old blood flooded their senses. There were paths of brown blood stained into the stone tiles, like bodies being dragged around.

“Ochako!” Iida could focus on the mystery later; he followed her scent instead. Racing towards the center point of all the blood paths, Yaoyorozu and Tsu followed as best they could behind the fastest runner in their party, “Ochako!”

“Tenya!” There she was, smiling and safe. Not a single scratch on her, not even a hair out of place. The only thing missing was her hat. Iida rushed to hug her. The feeling of his mate safe in his arms after six days of searching brought enough relief that he collapsed to his knees, pulling her down with him.

“Aww~” Mina cooed at the reunion as Yaoyorozu and Tsu rushed in after, both relieved to see Ochako safe and sound.

“Midoriya-kun,” Tsu found him first, resting against the cave entrance again, wrapped in a blanket and sleeping off the remaining side effects of all the withdrawals from intense potion usage and a mugwort overdose, as well as his injuries.

“Let him sleep, he needs it,” Bakugou’s gruff voice got her attention.

“Did your party help protect Ochaco-chan?” Yaoyorozu asked as she felt at ease knowing Izuku was safe for the most part. The healing potion hadn't helped much with the physical injuries, focusing more on reversing the coma and the fracture in Izuku’s arm, which he hadn’t been able to cast in the dungeon.

“No, we just got here last night. We smelt blood and an omega in heat and kinda assumed the worst had happened. Instead, we found Midory-bro standing victorious over the bodies of every single monster on this floor, aside from the giant ants. He looked ready to kill us if we even glanced at the cave,” Kirishima happily told them the story of finding Midoriya protecting Ochako.

Ochako added on what she recalled, as well as how many potions were left and the mugwort. Izuku didn't have the energy to move on his own yet, but they were on a time limit. As soon as he recovered enough, his heat was coming, and Ochako was the only one who knew. She and Iida were mates, so she couldn't bring him to her home without Iida finding out, and she had no idea where he lived. A hospital would report his secondary gender to the guild and strip Izuku of his dream.

“Ochako, what's wrong?” Iida gently held her hand.

“I'm just… I'm worried about Deku-kun. He needs to recover, so we can't stay in the dungeon. Especially without his supplies. He used up everything for me,” Ochako replied, looking back towards the sleeping locks of green curls.

“Ochako, Darling, we will help him recover and find a way to thank him. Midoriya-san is forever in my debt for protecting you the way he did,” Iida gently kissed her brow, running a hand through her short hair.

“It's hard to believe he did all this without magic. But, it is Midoriya-san,” Yaoyorozu glanced back at all the blood-soaked stone.

“He's stronger than he gives himself credit for, kero,” Tsu glanced back at the sleeping beta.

“We should help escort you. It'll be hard to fight back up the floors while protecting Midori-bro,” Kririshima smiled, glancing over at Katsuki, who glared back.

“Yeah, we need to resupply anyway. I had no idea we could gather food in a dungeon. We could completely change up our ration plans, and I need a fishing pole, I can't use a bow like Midoriya-kun can,” Ashido quickly agreed.

“Midoriya-kun kinda makes me want to train with a bow. Daggers are cool, but he made firing a bow look lethal. I can throw my daggers pretty far, but a bow would give me a lot more range,” Kaminari cheered, “I can ask him for tips while we escort you.”

“Wait till after to ask him to train you, Sparky,” Katsuki snapped, “He needs to recover before dealing with your fried brain.”

“Dude… Bakugou agreed with you,” Sero whispered.

“I never thought I'd see the day,” Kaminari whispered back.

“Cause for once you're not a complete idiot, ya moron. Learn how to whisper properly!” Katsuki snapped.

Deku and Round Face’s party was here, but they still had to leave. Katsuki hadn't gotten his boss fight. He was pissed about that, but this felt important. The hero All Might wouldn't leave them when they still needed help; he would escort them and come back stronger to fight the boss. He wasn't the only one who needed to train; his entire party needed more training. They weren't as ready as he'd expected them to be, and that needed to be remedied.

Deku, the magicless, slender scrawny, beta had conquered an entire fucking floor alone at Rank C… Katsuki was Rank C, damn it. Deku wasn't going to beat him; he'd get to Rank S first, hell, he'll make a rank above S and become better than All Might. Along with all the fiery determination of competing against Deku, he felt something else. Something in his heart throbbed that wasn't rage or competition.

“Deku-kun, you're awake!” Pink cheeks rushed over to him as Deku woke from his nap.

“Deku-chan!”

Why the hell is she calling him Deku? Katsuki’s mind roared. It shouldn't bother him; he called the nerd Deku an insult. If anything, he should be happy the nickname is spreading, so he's reminded of how useless he was. Yet, every time she called him that, it caused his blood to boil for a brief moment. That's my name for him- Katsuki halted that thought. What the hell? What was this?

“So uh,” Shitty Hair sat down beside him, far from the chatter of the parties getting to know one another and planning the route, “How was the sponge bath?”

Katsuki paused, “The fuck, Shitty Hair?”

“You know what I mean,” Ejiro nudged him, “You would not have done that yourself, you'd order one of us to do it.”

“Tsk, yeah right,” Katsuki turned away. It would have made more sense to send Sero to help him; they were both betas, and they were already getting along. “Deku’s stubborn as hell, he would have kept refusing help until he collapsed.”

“You would know,” Shity Hair shrugged with a smirk.

“You don't know what the hell you're talking about,” Katsuki growled.

“Oh shit, you haven't figured it out,” Kirishima laughed, “Dude, you're crushing on a Beta.”

“What the fuck, Ejiro!” Katsuki snapped, blasting his dragonkin friend, who was already hardening his skin to defend.

“Sorry, Bakubro, I'll bug you when you later,” He backed away, leaving Katsuki pissed off.

A crush? How stupid.

—

  As things quieted down and everyone rested for the night. Katsuki was restless, so with Yaoyorozu’s help, he put a new bow string on Izuku’s bow and used it to hunt down dinner, much like Izuku had, but with less accuracy. It was still better than jerky.

  There was a familiar click click! of mandibles. Almost everyone reached for a weapon, but no one had attacked yet. The ant was carrying something. A massive magic stone, something insanely valuable.

“Hi,” Izuku just smiled. He recognized this ant because of the scar on its leg. It had helped him with the first wolf attack. “Thanks for the help.”

  Its antenna twitched before it slowly walked over, everyone standing guard.

“Midoriya-san, I don't think you should be letting it approach you,” Iida spoke quietly to not spook it.

“It's okay, I don't think they'll hurt anyone,” Izuku watched carefully as the ant approached. Katsuki had stopped fishing to watch. Deku had been serious.

  The ant set the stone down right beside Izuku before it clicked again. Izuku didn't have any fish to give it, so he gently petted its head instead.

“Thank you,” Izuku repeated with a soft smile.

  The ant's antenna twitched over Izuku, studying him. The clay fooled humans, yes, but the ants knew. The ants knew; colony protects colony. The human needed help to protect, after he fed them all so much all the time. Humans who came into home always took shiny objects. So, shiny for the hurting, sweet-smelling, green human. The ant left after it had enough time to study Izuku and returned to its colony nest.

Izuku had a magic stone now. He couldn't use a magic stone. Still, he was a little proud he'd gained the ants' friendship. Then the Crimson Explosion party erupted, and the Yueei Party just laughed. No one could really explain the way Izuku could befriend monsters.

“How the hell did you do that?!”

“Dude, you tamed it without magic!?”

“How did you train it to bring you that?!”

“What the fuck, Deku!”

—

  Ochako wound up apologizing to Izuku for scenting the clothes he let her borrow despite Izuku’s reassurances. She promised to wash them well before returning them.

  Iida had on too much armor to carry Izuku without irritating his injuries. Ochako offered to float him, but he warned her about using up her mana outside of battle. In the end, Kirishima would carry him. Kirishima, who gave Bakugou a look before adjusting Izuku on his back.

“You comfortable, Midori-bro?” the earth magic user asked, “You're pretty light and soft to hold, I could carry you all day,” Red Eyes glanced over to the brooding blonde alpha with a sly grin.

“I'm okay, just sore from adjusting. You sure this is okay, Kirishima-kun?” Izuku let himself sink into the hold a little as Iida tied off the blanket they were using as a support sling to hold him up.

“It's fine, Midori-bro. It's only manly to carry someone injured to safety. Just let me know if something hurts or you're uncomfortable, alright?” He assured the ranger with a sharp-toothed grin, his earthy scent being pushed to comfort the beta.

“Okay,” Izuku sank into the hold completely as they left the riverbed stained with blood behind.

They were 9 days into the dungeon, now it was time to return to the surface, hopefully in less than 9 more days.

~~~