Author claims no rights to Hero Academia or any affiliated licenses. Just so we are clear.

Mind purge. Had to write this.

Warnings! Alpha/Beta/Omega dynamics. True Mate arc. GenderBent!Izukux Bakugo. Starting Fem!IzukuxTokoyami Because the fanart makes my heart melt inside.

OoOoOo

"Had a mate," she corrected him, automatically.

Tokoyami fell silent.

Her eyes speared him, watching him without any sort of judgment. Which, somehow, made it more terrible. A thousand questions flittered across his thoughts, and he quickly cast all of them aside. It was not his place to open her wound. Presumably, it would not be something that she wished to discuss.

However, she seemed to sense his internal conflict. Izuku gestured to her mate bite, something he was both grateful for and mortified by.

"No one meets their one true mate at five," she said casually as if it were merely a fact, "and loses them at six."

Tokoyami said nothing, his beak downturned, and they both knew that if he were capable of it, he'd be frowning.

"Well," Izuku amended nearly lightly, "Only me."

It was one of the times, that the user of 'Dark shadow' wished he hadn't opened his mouth. That he had not allowed his curiosity to overtake him in a moment of carefree whimsy, or perhaps to congratulate the Omega. After all, he'd never even known she was mated. Never known she was in fact an Omega, until tonight. The Beta male shifted uncomfortably, but did his best to hide the sudden awkwardness he felt about it.

"It's okay," Midoriya said in that same tone that managed to invoke feelings of clam acceptance whenever she spoke. As it always had, since she praised his quirk so highly.

"I don't think he's a tool!" She said sincerely, watching as Dark Shadow lifted Uraraka upward toward the top of the steep, rocky, chasm. "He can always help you! How cool!"

Perhaps it had been that moment. That exact moment when her eyes had appeared to twinkle in awe of something that Tokoyami had taken for granted? Was that the moment he had secretly fallen for such a kind girl. A girl that had now turned into a woman. If he were capable of blushing, he would have been. His dark eyes latched onto the world-worn sight of Izuku Midoriya, the new 'Symbol of Hope' as she rubbed at the back of her neck.

She'd never complained about it. She'd never said a word before, and something in Tokoyami twitched at the thought. Her extreme burden. He wasn't certain what had happened, but his wisdom and experience told him it was not good. Of that, there could be no doubt.

He chuffed slightly in the back of his throat, a very bird-like mannerism that had accompanied him since his quirk first manifested.

"My sincerest apologies," he said in a calm and collected tone.

"It's fine." She reassured him, once more. "I've grown quite used to it."

The statement broke his heart.

Though it did not show on his face, Tokoyami drew closer toward the Omega, offering his shoulder in support. Surprise lit her features, and her impossibly green eyes stared at him a moment. A soft laugh escaped her, and he could scent the slight relief from her. It... pleased him... to help her in any way possible.

"Forgive me for prying," he said softly, the burning need to know would not subside. It was perhaps even a tad cruel of him to ask, but he simply had to.

Izuku blinked, gently touching her forehead to his shoulder. A sign of trust from an Omega that nearly had Tokoyami preening, and incredibly flustered at the same time. She lifted her head once more, her gaze unflinching as she met his. Tokoyami felt out of place. The words were on the tip of his tongue, but they would not leave his mouth. He mentally willed himself to push forward. The need to know would not abate until she answered him.

"How did your mate...," he paused searching for the least offensive words. "Pass?"

Izuku stilled, her head lowered slightly to the side, as did her eyes. The instant heady smell of remorse, sadness, and distress hit his senses.

"I am sorr-"

"He didn't die," she said quietly. So quietly that Tokoyami nearly failed to hear her.

His avian-human eyes swiveled toward her. He scarcely drew breath. She could not be implying that...?

A large smile stretched across her lips, and Tokoyami swallowed in reflex. It was that smile. The one she greeted the villains with. The one that banished away the darkness. The one that held firmly in place no matter how badly she was hurt.

The Beta male had to check the urge to rub his head along her neck. To comfort her with his musk, and take the mask away. She did not have to be strong in front of him. He would hold them both up. He could do it. Would do it. Gladly.

The silence loomed between them, and Tokoyami could hardly bare it. Her green gaze met his once more, and she continued to smile. That smile.

"He didn't die," she repeated, in a normal tone now. "I was abandoned."

Tokoyami's world spun around on its axis and it was almost like watching a glass vase smash on the floor. The slowness of the way his hands moved, and reached for her. Clasping her arms as he felt the slight tremble in her frame.

What?

What foul, loathsome, and incredible stupid male could have possibly abandoned Izuku Midoryia?

Whom?

It didn't matter now, as his heart bled for her, and she showed no sign of tears. Nary a trace. If it were possible, he fell even more for her in this moment. The Beta male knew what happened to abandoned Omegas. How they were looked down upon society. Not for being an Omega, but for failing their mate in some way. For losing their pack, and place.

"Was he-?"

She did not pretend to misunderstand him in the slightest.

"Yes," she admitted to him and the wind, as she buried her face into his neck. She inhaled greedily, finding comfort in him, and Tokoyami felt his chest constrict in warm affection.

"He was my Alpha."

"Forget him," he murmured in her hair, stroking he back lightly. His beak picked slightly at the strands of her hair. He was grooming her, showing the depth of his willingness to take Izuku Midoryia as his own. Judging by the soft acceptance of her body language, and the slightly sweet scent of her... she was receptive to the idea.

"He was your Alpha, but I will be your Beta."

She drew back, watching him intently for a moment, but Tokoyami had never been a cruel or unkind man. Nor did he bare the reputation of a liar.

Her throat worked, swallowing and she seemed suddenly nervous, as if she couldn't comprehend what he was saying. Though, Tokoyami could understand. She'd been abandoned so young. Her mate mark would have made many veer away from her, subconsciously or not. Had they known. Also, the fact that when her quirk was active, she screamed 'Alpha' would have been a further detriment for finding a more dominant partner.

She licked her lips, blinking at him, and then looking away.

"B-beta." Izuku repeated, testing the term on her lips.

Nothing had made his heart sing more.

"If you will have me?" He questioned, shyly, trying not to allow his own insecurity with the sudden tenderness to show.

Midoriya, the female he'd been watching from the distance since high school, blushed prettily. Her head tilted, tentatively, as if she were feeling him out.

"Yes, Beta."

The words were soft and gentle. He felt his instincts rear to the forefront. And there, on a rooftop overlooking the city against a sunset backdrop, he rubbed his head upon hers. Their scents intermingled, in the first stage of courtship.

OoOoOo

He saw it.

Saw it.

The latest fight against a very strong villain, ended as they all did lately. With that damn, fucking, Deku smiling widely into a camera lens. Not that she was looking at the camera, that fucking Alpha Bitch just had to involuntarily steal his spot light. How was he supposed to beat her and be the number one hero when she pulled that stupid face of hers?

It was irritating and distracting. It made his blood heat up in an instant. And it never failed to set his temper off. Never.

However, as the final blow was delivered, the stupid fucker managed to grab at the collar of Deku's costume. The fabric ripped, and gave way. As it was designed to do. After all, heroes got into tricky situations all the time. The last thing they needed was to be strangled by their costumes.

The explosive Alpha growled lowly at the screen, causing Mineta to jump away from him. The ridiculous purple pervert was his tag along today. Well, it wasn't exactly true. They had been called for disaster relief, and Mineta just happened to have a quirk that had been imperative in rescuing 47 people. Not that Bakugou was going to praise the little shit-stick for it. Hell no.

"Whaa?!" Mineta cried out, turning to look in all directions. "What is it?"

"Pipe down, you fucking porno-addicted pipsqueak!" Bakugou roared, living up to his usual demeanor.

"I told you that in confidence!" The shorter of the two yowled to the sky, trying to avoid the suddenly concerned faces of the Betas and Omegas passing by them. "He's lying."

"I am fucking not, you little-"

The rant that had begun, came to an abrupt halt as his crimson gaze caught sight of it. The moment the close up happened of Deku's stupid damn face. There, at the bottom of the screen. The right side, The thin silvery lines of-

The Alpha froze, no longer paying any attention to Mineta's screams of denial about his pervert status. Bakugou simply tuned it all out, as he stared. A long fought against feeling welled to the surface, before he mercilessly pushed it down once more.

No.

No, it wasn't possible.

The Alpha's gaze narrowed at the screen, just before it flashed to the reporter spewing some garbage about... something. Likely the scene she was at. However, his brain could not stop flashing that damn bite mark. He blinked, and could still see it behind his closed eyes. Deku was an Alpha. Alpha's couldn't fucking be marked! He did not notice the sheer amount of deadly rage he was emitting, until another Hero clapped him on the shoulder.

"Easy there."

Kamui Woods, now a seasoned hero in his own rights, and the one responsible for this sector stared down at him from behind his wooden mask.

Katsuki barely even flinched, as his crimson gaze did not quite see the other Alpha. He... he...

That fucking Deku!

He wanted to howl. To rage. To attack and be brutal. To fight until he could no longer move. As was an Alpha's way of dealing with shock. Or at least, it was his Alpha way of dealing with shock.

It was a very good thing that he'd taken his suppressants earlier. No kidding. The only reason that person's car was not total ash was because he'd taken the suppressants.

Alpha's couldn't be marked, but that shitty Deku had always smelled like an Alpha.

The image trudged through his mind, worn, and nearly forgotten, like an old photograph. It caused his skin to itch. It also made him remember part of his fury with Izuku Midoriya. She'd lied to him. She'd pretended not to have a fucking quirk-

But, she'd... she'd... also been different before the quirk-

When they were kids, and she'd trailed after him like a damn duck. Everywhere he'd gone, she'd gone. Even when he had turned a bit... mean... toward her. When they'd been so young, that he could scarcely remember-

"I'll make you mine!" The young boy declared loudly, with all the boasting and confidence of a young Alpha. Well, when he presented he would be. His Father and Mother had both said so. Katsuki Bakugou was a very strong-willed child.

The girl, fucking Deku, blinked up at him in awe. Her small hands fisted in her dress, before relaxing.

"Okay!" She agreed happily, her eyes started to leak with tears. Bakugou sneered a bit.

"Quit cryin'!" He demanded, wiping away her tears with a grumpy look. "You're mine now."

She smiled then, blushing softly. "Yeah! I wanna be with Kaa-chan forever."

His chest swelled with pride, a pride he didn't understand. Something about this little weakling made him... feel... funny.

Crimson eyes blinked. His face took on a vaguely horrified expression. The memory hit him with the force of a sledgehammer. He couldn't collect all the pieces, but the message was pretty damn clear.

He'd bitten Izuku. He'd bitten that shitty ass Deku when they were children. Katsuki couldn't even remember how old they'd been! But, then...

"You're quirkless!" He growled with disgust. Bakugou didn't understand why being quirkless was bad. He only knew that it was because no one liked being quirkless. He couldn't be mated to someone without a quirk!

In his six-year-old mind, it was the worst thing imaginable.

Her eyes were filled with tears that poured over round cheeks, spilling onto the floor carelessly. Her green gaze pleaded with him.

"Bu-but Kaa-chan, we're true mates! You said-"

"Forget what I said!" He shouted, pushing her down. Panic flared inside of him, and his anger could not be controlled.

She cried out, sniffling pitifully.

"I don't want a mate like you!"

His head began to hurt. The Explosion King, fearless on the battlefield, and rumored to be rather vicious in all things, could do nothing more than move his gaze from the wood quirk hero and toward the screen on the city square once more.

...mate?

That simply could not be.

It couldn't.

It wasn't that he hated Deku. He honestly didn't. He'd gotten so used to picking on her, that he had never stopped to question 'why'. Beyond being quirkless. That had been enough. Well that and because…. Well, because…

Because Deku was a friggin' Alpha. He'd smelled her during battle enough. He knew she bore the scent of his kind, but something tickled at the back of his thoughts. It started to itch, as if his brain were trying to scratch a theory into awareness. It tingled slightly.

Why hadn't she fought him then, when they were kids? Or when they were teens? Why had she always bowed to him, with very few exceptions? Why had she smiled at him, that day, when they graduated? Why had she told him that he was 'impressive'? He'd thought she was looking down on him, but-

But... what if?

What if she'd worn his mark all these years? No, she had worn it all these years. Deku, Izuku Midoriya, had kept his scar. Proof of their mate-ship. Proof that she belonged to him.

Mineta's voice interrupted his train of thought.

"I'm tellin' ya, something is wrong with him! He's spacing out, and insinuating all these weird things." Mineta looked around at the crowd milling about, watching the heroes. "I am not a pervert."

Clearly, no one believed him, judging by the looks on their faces.

OoOoOo

He doesn't sleep that night. Or the next.

Why hadn't she told him? Why did Deku never come to him? Instinct should have demanded she come to him.

Katsuki downs suppressants like they are freaking tic-tacs, just to keep from barging after that shitty-Deku and demanding an explanation. She had to have a reason! If the stupid thoughts he was entertaining were true, she owed him an explanation of why she'd never said anything. Maybe he wasn't the most even-tempered Alpha, but he'd have taken care of her.

He wasn't very adept in this feeling based bullshit, it was difficult for him. However, he was excellent at the biological side of things.

In his heart of hearts, he knew it was actually true. Even at his worst, if she had come to him. Called him 'Alpha', and begged him to scent her things. He would have done it. He'd of brought her some things for her nesting. He'd have made certain to give his protection from other Alphas.

Stupid Deku! He would have seen her through her heats-

His heart shuddered in his chest.

If he, her Alpha, hadn't been seeing her through her heats... who had been?

What, fucking dead, some of a bitch (or daughter of a bastard), had touched what was his?

The explosion that shook his home, alerted him to two things. One, he needed a new bed. And, Two, he was aware of his possessiveness toward Midoriya. Deku. If someone had said something forty-eight hours ago; he'd have broken their legs while laughing merrily.

He was not laughing now.

It made a discomforting amount of sense now, why all of his 'relationships' hadn't made it past a few hasty couplings. Why Bakugou had always been left feeling strangely dissatisfied and slightly hollow. It was an Alpha's nature to claim, yet those claimings meant nothing to him then and they meant nothing now. It also gave new light as to why he couldn't stop picking on her in school. Why his attention had been riveted to her every day.

The thin silver scar, flashed before his thoughts. It was scarcely visible. Why wouldn't it be? He'd given it to her when they were young, and he'd never re-scarred it during mating as he was supposed to. It should be a prominent mark, one that other Alpha's and Beta's could see from a freaking block away. That thought soothed the savage side of him that was threatening to break loose. Izuku should have been wearing his mark for all to see.

She was his.

He hadn't seen it before because of the freaking school uniforms, and then her costume. It was not revealing like some of the other women. His... what? His Beta? His Omega?

A bolt of heat pulsed through his loins at the thought of her as an Omega. Needy, and ready for him. Her green eyes begging him to do anything he wanted to her. Bakugou reached for the suppressants again, his charred bed smoldered behind him. He'd worry about it later.

The other females had never mentioned...

Then again, the female Alpha's had often seemed to leave Izuku with a wide berth of room. He could feel his temper rise again, chasing away the lust from before. How had he not seen it? He'd been young and forgotten, sure, but how in all these years could she not tell him? Maybe she'd forgotten too. Yeah. Maybe.

Fuck!

He got the fire extinguisher out from his closet, and hosed his bed down. He'd buy a new one while he was out. But, he had to see her, and by hell or high-water she was going to see him.

He was her Alpha.

And, he knew it now.

OoOoOo

The moment, the exact fucking second, he sees her, it hits him like a punch to the gut.

The blonde hero doesn't pause in his steps as he inhales deeply. His crimson gaze was locked onto her with an intensity never seen outside of combat. His palms begin to sweat, when he notices that other Alphas are present. They smell like a threat, and it sets him on edge.

Izuku.

"Oi!" He calls out sharply. "Deku!"

She smiles, that amused smile that is slightly crooked, and her scent carries toward him. It wraps around the room and him like a vise that refuses to let go. The gentle scent of something so achingly familiar, so close but so far away, and yearning for a place. She smells of battle and passion, of sweet mint and cardamom.

His eyes flash as it curls around his senses, and what he's long since denied on a primal level can no longer be ignored.

She smells of 'mine'. Of 'Omega'.

Crimson eyes held the emerald gaze of the female Hero, refusing to look away for even a moment.

She tilts her head, delicately scenting the air, at his strange behavior. He knows that she perhaps slightly understands, when her eyes widen in disbelief.

It was then, that the bitter scent of Beta wafted through his nostrils. It would have been benign, except it was on his Deku.

His.

And by the end of the night, everyone was damn well going to know it. Izuku included.