Looking at the shadowy alpha, Midoriya nodded suspiciously, "Yeah, he did, is there a problem?"
"No, not at all. This couldn't be better, actually. Come here, we should keep this conversation between us," Kurogiri said as he led Midoriya away from the bound Todoroki, who was not at all happy about being ignored. Once they had stepped a good distance away, Kurogiri continued.
"Look, I have a feeling you haven't been kept informed on your father's activities. But after all you've gone through, it's only right for you to know. The group that aids in the studding of omegas to hybrids was started by your father, Hisashi. He's the one we answer to and call on when we're in a bind and need help."
Midoriya just stared at Kurogiri, speechless. He hadn't heard from his father in so long, that was true. "But, but he's been working to improve rights for omegas. Why would he involve himself in an illegal act when he's doing his best to get laws changed to help omegas?"
"Hisashi does want to change the way the world views and treats omegas on a political level, yes," Kurogiri said as he circled around the captivated Midoriya. "But he's also lived in our society long enough to know that such simple tactics won't be what brings the change this world needs. He'd always held an interest in secondary gender abnormalities, which led him to learning and eventually experimenting on his theories for omega development."
"Your father was the one to discover the first alpha hybrid that developed from an omega. He saw the potential and put his time and whole career into making it a reality. He wanted to show the world exactly why those in power want to keep omegas subdued and weak. If they knew their full potential, the entire power dynamic would shift, and those on top aren't ready for that."
Kurogiri had said what he wanted to relay and backed away slightly to give Midoriya room to process what he'd heard.
"So my father has been away all this time to help keep this program running? If omegas meant so much to him, then why couldn't he stay and help the one he created? I needed him just as much as the world did! When they forced me into the mating program, where was he?! If he was so focused on saving omegas, why the hell couldn't he start with his own son?" Midoriya's tears ran over, the events of the day compounded by this recent discovery had him exhausted.
"I won't try to make excuses for your father, Midoriya. We can only focus on the present and what can be done now instead of let ourselves be held down by our past. Our world lacks balance, and it seems the scales tip even further when we try to fix it. But we will get there one day as long as we keep moving forward. Todoroki will have to answer for what he has done to you now, so we're taking a step in the right direction. We won't let them hide their sins anymore."
Midoriya crossed his arms and looked away, still upset over the revelation of his father's whereabouts. Cinnamon-apple wafted in the air and it led him back to Shigaraki's side. Sitting up and clutching his neck, he looked to Midoriya. "You're hurt," he said with pain in his voice as he saw the claw marks across Midoriya's left cheek, ghosting his fingers over the wounds.
"It's nothing, Tomura, I promise," Midoriya said as he caught Shigaraki's hand and cradled it to the side of his face. His mind wasn't ready to succumb to his body's fatigue, which set him into a string of mutterings. "I was so worried about you! Did you really, umm, become an alpha? Because your scent is different, but kind of the same? I can't place what it reminds me of, but it's just so inviting and… and intoxicating but I probably shouldn't be saying that right now. But we should probably get you to a hospital. I think they'll-"
Shigaraki caught Midoriya's chin between his fingers and led him into a kiss that stopped the rambling chatter. The omega whined at their contact, tears summoned once again as he leaned into the kiss and lost any possible train of thought in favor of savoring the moment.
When Shigaraki finally pulled away, Midoriya looked at him with wet and longing eyes. "I'm sorry for keeping my plans a secret from you, Izuku. I felt that if I let you know, you'd try to stop me from going through with it. I just wanted to be a mate that could protect you and cherish you the way you deserve. But…" He once again focused on the slashes drawn down Midoriya's face, the blood dried up with the exception of where his tears had traveled. "But it looks like even like this I couldn't keep you from harm."
"That's not true! You saved me just when I needed it most, so don't start feeling guilty over what's happened. We both have our scars to wear," Midoriya said as he gave Shigaraki a smile that took his breath away. "But we can learn from them and move past their origins so we can be free of their hold on us. We can do that together, you and me."
Midoriya took Shigaraki's hand and turned it to reveal his wrist before carefully scenting him with his own. Shigaraki's eyes glazed over as the omega's calming scent eased his mind. The chaos of the scene around them, with the police investigators, CCSG officials, and EMTs running by faded into the background for them as they huddled close together and let their exhaustion finally take control.
"I have a feeling these two are going to cause me a lot of trouble in the future," Kurogiri said as he left them to rest. Feeling the phone vibrate in his pocket, he pulled it out and quickly answered. "Toga, we found him in the park, things went south for a bit, but everything turned out alright in the end."
"I'm so glad! I hate it when Shiggy leaves me in the dark like this, if I had known about Izu's situation this could have all been avoided."
"I don't know him as well as you do, but he seems the type to want to handle problems on his own. Alphas take the welfare of their mates very seriously. Which reminds me, you didn't happen to lend Midoriya one of your knives, did you?"
A brief moment of silence answered before Toga replied, "I-I may have let him borrow one of my favorites. He seemed so nervous about going out to the market that I thought giving him some protection would set his mind at ease. Why are you asking? He didn't lose it did he?"
Kurogiri had to hold back laughter at her concern over one of the prized pieces of her knife collection. He recognized its owner as soon as he saw it sticking out of Todoroki's back. "No, he didn't lose it. Although it may take some time before you'll see it again. I need to get going, there's a lot I need to report to the boss. If they aren't still here at the park when you get here, try the hospital."
"Wait, wait, the hospital? Just what the hell happened for them to be needing a hospital! Why doesn't anyone give me any straight answers?! Kurogiri!"
Hanging up the phone, knowing that Toga would only keep him on the line with constant questions, he sighed and started walking back to his bar, wondering how he was supposed to tell Hisashi about his son's involvement with one of their hybrids. "I think I'm gonna need a drink for this one."
Waking up in a hospital room with neutral earthy tones and a strong smell of antiseptics and bleach, Shigaraki tried to move his arm to cover his nose but found Midoriya sleeping against his side and pining his hand down. The door slid open, and even though a neutral scent floated in, Shigaraki still went on the defensive and shielded his omega from whoever approached.
"Whoa, whoa, take it easy there. I'm just here to check your vitals, man!" The red-haired nurse raised his hands defensively, backing away to show he wasn't a threat. Identifying him as a beta that didn't intend harm, Shigaraki calmed down and allowed the nurse to approach.
"How long have I been asleep?"
The nurse, whose name tag read 'Kirishima', looked at the chart he pulled from the end of the bed and read over the information. "Says here you've been out close to 18 hours. When you were brought in your omega refused to leave your side, so we had to treat you two as a matching set. They took care of his wounds too, you were both pretty beat up. You're both here for observation due to the head wounds."
"Can I see my file?" Shigaraki asked as he reached out his free hand. Kirishima saw no reason to refuse and passed it over to him. Skimming over the basic information, Shigaraki found what he was looking for. Under the secondary gender question, alpha was the circled answer. He handed the clipboard back with a brief smile.
Kirishima took his vital readings, making small conversation that mostly just kept himself occupied. "I'm uh, gonna need to take his readings as well. Little guy's been pretty tired this whole time but when we tried to move him to his own bed he put up a fight. You two must have a strong bond."
Shigaraki looked to the sleeping omega, curled up against him with his cheek nestled against the side of his chest. "Yes. Quite strong, indeed."
"Look, I'm gonna be straight with you. I know Midoriya from when we used to go to school together. Middle school up through high school, actually. We weren't close friends, but I saw him enough to know he was a really nice guy who just wanted to make friends. When we presented, it was hard for him to do that. His father's position on pushing fair rights for omegas made it difficult for anyone to be friends with him. Kids back then heard what their parents had to say about his father and most of it was negative, which led to them bullying him."
Shigaraki only stared at Kirishima intently as he wrapped the blood pressure cuff around Midoriya's thin arm and pushed the button to start to inflate it. "So were you one of those idiots that shunned him?"
"What? Oh no, I never believed in all that talk about omegas serving their alphas and all that nonsense. My wife is an omega and she's definitely wearing the pants in our house," Kirishima said with a jovial laugh. As he got the reading from the machine, he pulled off the cuff from around Midoriya's arm, though the motion woke him up.
"Kirishima?" Midoriya said sleepily, yawning briefly before blinking his eyes rapidly to get a better focus on the room. "I haven't seen you since we graduated. How is Mina doing? Are you guys still… uhh…"
"Yeah! We got married two years after we graduated. She's doing great, started a dance studio and everything. Our pup is almost two now, with another on the way. I'm glad to see that you've been doing well for yourself too, Midoriya. Looks like you've found a mate that really cares about you," Kirishima said with a toothy grin as he held the contact-less thermometer up to Midoriya's forehead. Getting the temperature and noting it on the clipboard that held his charts, Kirishima set it back on the end of their bed before returning his attention to the pair.
"Yeah, I was really lucky to find him when I needed him most," Midoriya responded as he looked into the deep crimson pools of Shigaraki's eyes.
"Speaking of which," Shigaraki interrupted, his focus lingering on Midoriya for a moment longer before switching to the nurse. "Did that alpha end up at this hospital as well? Todoroki?" Kirishima squirmed a little as he was asked such a question, his body language obviously showing his reluctance to answer.
"Well, I'm not supposed to share information on other patients due to confidentiality. But I heard about what happened, so I do feel like you should have a right to know. Todoroki's father, Enji, showed up shortly after everyone was brought here. Doctors informed him of his son's injuries, and he made the decision to have him moved to the family's private physician at home. He was within his rights to do so, and with that, he was transported away. I didn't get any fatherly vibes from that man though, he didn't seem at all concerned about his son's health or well-being. If I hadn't seen what he'd done to the two of you, I honestly would have felt sorry for the guy."
Midoriya fell silent at the news, not for any kind of fatigue, but to process what he'd heard. Shigaraki could tell he was contemplating something. "What is it, Izuku?"
"It, it's probably nothing. But, at one point, Todoroki had said that his father would have killed me outright and beaten him if he had seen my actions first-hand. It doesn't make up for anything that Todoroki did to us, but I can't help but feel that in some way, Todoroki had intended to try to do things better than how he had been raised. He wanted to change, though he lacked the proper direction. It didn't sound like his father was very forgiving, so it just seems… sad, what he has to go back to now."
"You're too kind-hearted, Izuku," Shigaraki said, though he knew what his omega meant.
"Well I got your vitals, so I'm just gonna get out of here and give you two a chance to rest. It was really nice seeing you again, Midoriya. Despite what you've been through, I'm glad that you've found someone that you can be happy with!" The cheerful beta smiled and with an enthusiastic wave, left them alone in the quiet hospital room.
Midoriya took the opportunity to stretch out, yawning in an attempt to appease his fatigue as his limbs fell against Shigaraki once his energy ran out. He was comfortable against the alpha hybrid, though there was something that still dwelled on Shigaraki's mind.
"Izuku, I don't want you to feel bound to me or obliged to anything after all that's happened to us. As an omega, freedom of choice is important, and I don't want you to lose that. So if being with me isn't want you wanted-"
"Shh," Midoriya said, resting his finger against Shigaraki's lips. "I appreciate your consideration, but I made my choice already and it was you. I knew you were out in the world waiting for me somewhere. Omega, alpha, it didn't matter what form you took, you're my soulmate, my fated pair, and we found each other. That's all that matters to me." Midoriya settled into the crook of Shigaraki's arm, nestling himself close to his chest as his arm lazily swept across the scent gland on his wrist to help ease his apprehension.
"Yeah, that's all that matters," Shigaraki said as he settled in for another restful nap with his omega.