"It's not safe for you to be outside, Izuku. No one has reported anything about Todoroki's attack, but that still means that you're in danger. I know I've been having to leave you alone a lot, but you have to believe that I'm doing this for us. Once I'm done with this job, we'll both be free to go wherever we want to go, I promise. Just bear with it for one more week."

Midoriya had watched Shigaraki leave each day, only to come back exhausted. When asked, all he would say is that he was 'doing what's necessary.' There was a scent that he could pick up on Shigaraki's clothes, vague but definitely present. Smoke and the stench of sour liquor wasn't hard to identify. He wanted to ask if he was still going to the club where they had met, but felt himself lose the nerve before the words could gather in his throat.

"I'll have to go out of town for the next part of this job, so I'm going to have one of my good friends, Toga, look in on you while I'm gone. She'll bring you any food or supplies you'll need, alright? Hey, Izuku," Shigaraki said, noticing the other omega's upset demeanor. "Look, I'll be back as soon as possible. Things will be better for us after this."

Midoriya finally looked at him, his green eyes threatening to spill their tears. Shigaraki's chest ached, wanting nothing more than to comfort him. He'd been learning to adapt to and control his alpha urges with his daily visits to Kurogiri, but it was still difficult to ignore his growing alpha when the omega he wanted to protect so much was hurting. If he'd been free to tell Midoriya about the assistance Kurogiri and his group were giving, this would have been much simpler. But Kurogiri had insisted on secrecy and that extended to his mate.

"The sooner you leave, the sooner you'll come back," Midoriya said as his tears fell. He rested his cheek against Shigaraki's chest, vacating more tears as he closed his eyes to listen to the steady heart beat against his ear. That steady rhythm eased his anxiety as he calmed his breathing to match its cadence.

"That's right. I'm going to leave my phone with you. If anything happens, I want you to call Toga. Call her if you need anything, okay? She may come off as childish and a bit crazy, but I can trust her." Gripping one hand against the back of Midoriya's head and the other at the small of his back, he hugged him close and took in that sweet scent that he'd come to crave.

Letting go was harder this time than it had been over the last week. But he'd resolved to finish this process, to become an alpha that could be the mate that Midoriya needed. Taking up his travel bag, Shigaraki cupped his hand against Midoriya's wet cheek and kissed him gently before turning away and walking out.

"How's my little green bean doing today?" Toga had let herself in again for the fifth day in a row, though it wasn't like she had caught Midoriya doing anything wrong.

"Good afternoon, Toga. I'm just, well, here I suppose," Midoriya said with a sigh as he tucked his legs against his chest and flipped through the channels mindlessly. It had been nearly two weeks since the incident with Todoroki and there still hadn't been any kind of news regarding him. Midoriya started to wonder if it really was too risky to go out in public again. He missed going outside and enjoying the sun.

Toga was a beta, but even without the ability to sense pheromones it was easy for her to notice Midoriya stressing out as each day dragged on. She often found him staring out of the apartment windows. Whether he was watching for Shigaraki or just wanting to see life outside of his box, she wasn't sure. But after watching the omega slowly wither a little more each day, Toga decided to take it upon herself to take care of it.

"Izu, let's go out to the markets today! Getting out of this stale apartment and into the sun will be a totally cool way to refresh, right?"

"Well, I don't know…"

Toga gave him a hearty slap on the back, "C'mon, I'll be right there with you so there's nothing to worry about! We don't even have to stay that long if you're antsy to get back here. You probably want to stay close to his scent, but it's not good for you to stay tucked away in here all the time."

Midoriya realized that Shigaraki must not have told Toga about why he was staying with him in the first place. But her offer sounded really tempting, to get the chance to spend some time outside would help lift his spirits. How likely would anything happen after so much time had passed since Todoroki's incident anyway? "O-Okay, but we can't stay out too long."

"Yay! Alright Izu, let's go check out the market!"

Wearing the All Might hoodie that still held Shigaraki's scent, Midoriya and Toga wandered around the open air market, looking at all the fresh fruits and vegetables on display. Toga bought their lunch at one of the stalls, casually walking around eating takoyaki. Spotting a merchant that made knives and other cutting tools, Toga practically danced over to the booth to admire the glimmering metal.

"Izu, have you ever seen such well made blades? I bet they're sharp enough to split hairs, and oh, that one's handle is such a beautiful shade of pink! Did you know I'd be coming today and have that ready just for me, mister?"

Midoriya had to laugh at how excited Toga became at the sight of such things. Her appearance didn't give any hint to her affinity for weaponry or knives, but she was fawning over them like a teenage girl would over a new purse or makeup set.

A passerby nudged Midoriya as he slid past to look at the displays, throwing him slightly off balance. Thinking it was nothing, Midoriya stepped away from Toga to give them more room to look around. As he looked around the market, he caught a familiar light blue color briefly near the end of the road. Thinking that Shigaraki had come back early from his job, Midoriya left Toga and jogged to catch up to where he'd seen the glimpse of him.

Turning the corner, he found Shigaraki leaning against a guy that was obviously good at keeping his look discreet, with no descriptive features visible with his hooded jacket and dark sunglasses on. The stranger had Shigaraki's arm over his shoulders, supporting his weight as they walked away from Midoriya. The scent in the air was strongly alpha, with only a bare hint of the tart-sweet scent that he'd enjoyed from Shigaraki. The alpha had a firm grip on Shigaraki's waist, steering him into one of the bars that littered this part of town.

He could feel himself start to choke up, his throat shrinking on itself as he witnessed Shigaraki with the alpha. They must have already been drinking, since Shigaraki's steps were awkward and staggered. So this was what he had been doing ever since he brought Midoriya back to his place? All those times he was told that Shigaraki had a job to do, he was only going out to drink and sleep around?

Walking back to the main street for the market, Midoriya's eyes stayed focused on the ground, where it felt the tears had more difficulty falling. Why was he fooling himself? As if an extroverted omega like Shigaraki would ever want to settle down with boring Midoriya. What Shigaraki was doing for him now was just out of pity. He could see that clearly now.

"Izu, I was wondering where you'd gone off to! I looked around and didn't see you and was starting to worr- What's wrong, baby?" Toga said with concern as she noticed Midoriya struggling to keep a calm face and failing miserably at the task. Before she could lay her hand on his shoulder, he twisted out of her reach and started running. His first thought was to go back to Shigaraki's place and nest under a mountain of blankets and pillows. His heart thudded down into his stomach as he realized how stupid that'd be, to seek comfort in the den of the person that had hurt him.

But where else could he go? They had likely already emptied out and rented his old apartment by now. If not, then someone either from the Todoroki family or the CCSG was keeping an eye on it to catch him after his escape. He couldn't burden his mother with this, as much as he wished to just curl up against her and calm himself to her soothing lavender and mint scent.

So he just kept running, letting the market stalls and people become slow blurs as he tried to outrun his heartache with no end goal in sight.

Safe within the hidden room inside of their group's bar, Kurogiri finally released Shigaraki and let him fall onto the cot in the sparsely furnished room. "I can't believe you tore the door off of your isolation room. Most hybrids spend their last week in pain as their bodies adapt to the Change, their legs drawn into their chests as they struggle to keep their sanity. Having to move you during this crucial time was far from ideal, Shigaraki."

"Omega. He was close, close. Honey and mint, so close," Shigaraki said repeatedly, his alpha in control and not leaving him with much rational thought or action. Kurogiri had to shoulder check him to prevent him from trying to leave. There was a sheen of sweat across Shigaraki's brow as the alpha growing within him grew angry with Kurogiri's interference.

"I know you're not exactly coherent now, but I'll say it anyway. Your omega is waiting safely back at your home, not out wandering around for you to catch their scent. This room was built to be more sturdy for hybrids like you that exceed our expectations. You'll stay in here until you regain your senses."

Shigaraki growled at Kurogiri, baring the alpha fangs that had only been a tiny little omega set before he started the process. Returning the challenge, Kurogiri showed his teeth, his chest rumbling like thunder. His pheromones were distinctly heavier and more effective at settling down Shigaraki, who had yet to fully learn to control his own. Resigning to the dominant alpha in the room, Shigaraki went back to sit on the cot, though he kept his eyes fixed on the door.

"You won't have much longer to wait, Shigaraki. If you can manage to consistently keep your alpha under control, you could be ready to leave isolation as early as tomorrow. We'll use this time to help you get used to the new changes to your mind and body so going back into the world won't be so difficult." Kurogiri, stepped back to the door as the more alert Shigaraki watched carefully.

"I want my mate. Will be good."

"That's right, Shigaraki. Take some time to rest now, we'll get back to your training shortly." Kurogiri waited for Shigaraki to swing his legs onto the creaky mattress and settle down before he closed and locked the heavy door behind him. He'd never seen an omega take so easily to studding before. The sheer strength that Shigaraki had developed was unlike any of the past hybrids. He could tell that Shigaraki would be a unique case for their program, a true success story that would give more support and power to their cause.

Laying on the cot, Shigaraki closed his eyes, seeing emerald green within the darkness. The pain that shot through his body was intense, his skin so damp with sweat that he had shed the clothes he'd been wearing just after Kurogiri had closed the door. As he focused on his mind's image of Midoriya, he started to speak. His alpha made it difficult to focus, but he knew what he wanted to say, and he repeated it like a mantra.

"I will be ready. Ready to go back to Izuku. Back to my mate."