Shouta frowned, shoving his hands deeper into his pockets and burying his nose into the depths of his plush scarf to fend off the biting chill in the air, dreading each step that took him closer and closer to his foster home.

Who knows what mood his foster father would be in today and what punishment the dark haired boy would have to endure.

Hunching in on himself even further, his eyes darted around as he made his way toward the alleyway that denoted the halfway point on his journey home. Almost against his will, slate gray eyes slide to peer into the dark alleyway and paused unsure of what he was seeing. He squinted his eyes to try and make it the image clearer and all too suddenly, his breath caught in his throat.

What. The. Fuck.

Shouta's eyes widened, body frozen in shock and horror as he watched visible blue energy whir to life in the palm of a blonde's large hand as he hovered over the body of a stocky, brown haired man. A man who had clearly been in the blonde's company for at least a few minutes judging by the ripped clothing and blood dripping down his face.

Tears burned in Shouta's eyes as he fought his body to do something. Anything. He had to or he was undoubtedly going to witness a fucking murder right in front of him.

The dark haired boys thoughts raced as he attempted to steady his quivering soul from the entrance of the alleyway. A shiver slides down his spine as the brown haired man starts crying and pleading to be spared, and it takes everything in Shouta not to do the same.

Shouta felt tears fall down his ashen cheeks as the ball of energy inched closer and closer to the man's victim and he knew it was now or never before he felt the familiar prickling heat burn behind his eyes as his quirk activated.

In the next instant the bright ball of energy stuttered out of existence and shocked cerulean eyes zeroed in on him like homing beacon before he even realized what had happened.

Sensing that his attacker was preoccupied by this unexpected savior, the brown haired man scrambles backward to escape. All too abruptly clawed fingers carelessly fist into his stringy dull hair and hold him painfully in place.

The small omega trembled as the blond beckoned him forward, head tilted and eyes now alight with dangerous curiosity instead of shock.

He was eerily still, eyes staring unwaveringly as Shouta panicked, wondering desperately who this boy was. What he was.

He was…

Unnatural.

A Predator.

Shouta's eyes fluttered and he was suddenly in front of the terrifying blond. His breath stuttered in his chest and he froze in fear, realizing his quirk was no longer active and the burning itch of his chronic dry eye all too evident now. How had he ended up here? It was like his body had moved on its own in order to obey the blondes silent command as the mysterious teen's blue gaze silently took in Shouta's shaking form.

The blonde's eyes narrowed as his attention was once again pulled away from the small teen to the begging man in his grasp. He visibly tightened his grip on the brown hair and forced the man's head back at an unnatural angle, drawing a pained yelp from his victim.

Shouta felt his body lock up and his heart seize in unbidden terror as the air stilled and an an almost palpable icy feeling settled over the alleyway. The temperature seemed to drop even further as the teen's lips parted and a raspy voice sliced through the eery silence in a preternatural way. It was almost more reminiscent of a wild beast than a man.

"Quiet or I'll destroy you right here and now."

Shouta's knees buckled as the oppressive atmosphere was suddenly lifted and he fell into a crouch to prevent himself from fully collapsing.

What the fuck was he supposed to do? How was he going to get out of this with his life and the other man's intact? This boy was clearly very dangerous, if the way he stopped them in their tracks with just a look and a few threatening words, was any indication. Never mind the literal ball of energy he had held in in bare hand.

That was just it, though, wasn't it?

It hadn't been a threat.

It was becoming more and more evident that this man really wasn't making it out of this alleyway alive. It was just a matter of when his life would be forfeit now.

Oh no.

What was he gonna do? He was almost guaranteed to die too, as a witness? Would anyone even look for them? Would he disappear like all the other nameless, faceless omega's that were sucked into the underground without a trace? He had to get out of here. He had to-

"Yea, run along, little omega, before you get hurt. This man ain't worth your time or your life," the teen spoke suddenly, cutting off Shouta's mounting panic. "His crimes are against omega and he crossed a very powerful line with so now I'm here and you really shouldn't be."

…What? Crimes against…

Shouta felt his stomach turn at the implication in the blonde's words and tried to still his racing thoughts. This blond could tell he was an omega despite the full strength suppressants he always stayed on, despite how hard it was to steal them.

The man in his grasp was committing crimes against people like him. Gruesome ones, too if they sent someone after him. Someone like this. But was it his place to just run away and let this man get killed without a trial? What kind of hero could he ever be after that?

But…

How many times had he wished someone had believed him about his foster parents? How many times had he wished someone cared enough about omegas, about him, to fight for and protect them? Crimes agains omega were especially brutal due to their rarity in society and they were often treated as high value goods in the underground.

For someone to go out of there way to employ this powerful man's…services…

Shouta was struck by the very apparent reality that justice wasn't always served the way it should be. He lifted a hand to press protectively against the dark bruises on his ribs, hidden under his clothing, he thought of the dull throbbing where a chunk of hair had been ripped from his scalp, injuries bestowed upon him by his own, seemingly untouchable foster father. He could only imagine, once again, what this man had done to be in the position he's in now.

He was startled out of his panic suddenly by the blonde's low voice.

"Go on. You don't need to be this man's hero," were the last words he heard before he was staring up at his front door. Disoriented and unable to keep his thoughts coherent, he stumbled into the house and to his small room, thankful his foster father didn't seem to be home and promptly vomited all over his floor before passing out halfway on his bed.

Shouta groaned as he came too, unwilling to open his eyes yet and worsen the migraine pounding like a symphony behind his sore eyes. What the fuck happened to him? His foster father must have gotten him good this time, huh? He raised a hand to rub at his eyes and said a silent prayer that his foster father either didn't come home or just didn't feel the need to bother him yet. He finally sat up, ready to try and start on his homework, before remembering he'd thrown up and he'd have to clean it before his foster father came home.

Ugh.

Why had he done that?

He opened his eyes to assess the damage and stared blankly at the spotless floor.

He must be more out of it then he thought to vividly remember throwing up when he actually hadn't.

He closed his eyes to take a few more seconds to prepare himself for his day when he shot up, memories of the blond and the man he had let die flooding back to him. How could be be such a coward? His dream of being a pro hero seemed less and less likely with the way he had clammed up and run away when someone's life had been at stake.

He was everything his classmates thought, everything his foster father thought, everything his parents had thought.

Why was he even still here? He deserved to die as much as that man he had failed to save regardless of his crimes. The dark haired teen clenched his hands into fists and rocked himself back and forth to try and sooth his panic.

"You're really freaking out."

Shouta jolted, before he scrambled backwards into the wall his ratty bed was pressed up to searching the dark for the familiar voice that had just spoken.

Glowing red eyes blinked into existence in the shadows of his room.

Shouta's heart stilled wondering if he was about to be killed. His lips parted to scream for help but his voice shriveled up just as quickly. No one would be willing to him. He closed his eyes and prepared himself for his fate.

"Don't beat yourself up about that dude. He's nothing but scum."

Shouta startled again at the sound of that raspy voice, gray eyes snapping up to the now cerulean ones. He furrowed his brow in confusion. Don't beat himself up? How could he not, he was supposed to work toward being a good hero and protect people who were in danger and couldn't protect themselves. He may be scum but…he was still a person.

It turns out he wasn't a hero, though, his foster father had been sure to beat that into him as thoroughly as he could and now he'd been proven right.

"You're actually pretty strong," the blonde continued, blandly, tilting his body back to lean agains the wall, "and you definitely surprised me with your quirk but you're not a match for me. He was gonna die anyway, that was the contract."

Ice crawled up his spine at the blatant admittance.

"…contract…?"

A smirk that could only belong to a well seasoned predator revealed intimidatingly sharp canines. They gleamed brightly in the moonlight and Shouta's heart rate sped up, the hair on the back stood on end as he fought his instinct to roll over in surrendered submission.

"You'd think you never met a mercenary before," was all the blonde said as unreadable eyes clinically catalogued every detail of Shouta's being.

A dark flush involuntarily crept up his neck and into his cheeks at being studied so intensely, but his voice refused to work in the presence of a real contract killer.

Seemingly satisfied with his task of analyzing the dark haired boy for all he was worth, the blonde's gaze softened into something more human that took Shouta by surprise.

"It's easier said than done but, you shouldn't blame yourself. I was hired by that man's ex because her omega stepson disappeared. Turns out, he was sold for quite the penny I'm told, but no one cared so she found me to find her stepson and dispose of her ex. I could only do one," the teen explained.

Shouta clenched his eyes closed at the horrifying story. That boy was…

Still, it wasn't their place to be judge, jury and executioner. Right…?

"K-Killing is wrong. It should be left to the j-justice system…," Shouta trailed off weakly, staring down at his lap submissively.

The blonde hummed thoughtfully, leaning fully into the wall behind him and casually placed his clawed?! hands into the pockets of his dark cargo pants in an obvious attempt to look less intimidating.

"How'd that work for you?"

Shouta snapped his attention to the other boy, meeting crimson red irises and full lips curled down in obvious distaste. He sighed after a few moments before averting his gaze once again.

"How-?"

"I know abuse when see it, Aizawa."

Goddammit, who was this guy? How did he know who he was?

Though, he shouldn't be surprised that his name was known by this boy. He's clearly skilled in the art of sleuthing, having been able to track that brown haired man down and now Shouta, despite their incredibly brief encounter.

It was time to face the fact that he was probably not in a very good position for keeping his life. There was a literal mercenary in his bedroom, one that he had just walked away from while he had clearly had a mark in hand. On top of the fact that he was good enough at his job that the blond chose to work in broad daylight with no disguise…it really wasn't looking good.

He was unmistakably at this boy's mercy. But…maybe it wasn't so bad.

If the blond disposed of him in order to tie up his loose ends, he wouldn't have to continue living in fear and longing for escape. In fear that everyone was right, that he could never be a hero because he was a weak, useless omega who's parent's hadn't even wanted him after his 'villainous' quirk had manifested.

It would be a death sentence, anyway, if anyone knew the reality.

He would be free.

Nerves slightly settled, Shouta looked down and stroked the skin of the wrist where the evidence of his only real attempt at escape lay.

"I won't fight you," he surrendered quietly, hunching in on himself even further to await his fate.

There was a long moment of silence, only the soft sniffles from Shouta were the only sounds in the dark room.

In the next moment, clawed fingers, gently took the dark haired boy's trembling hands. Another few moment passed ass the blond softly caressed delicate hands until they stilled in his grasp.

Then, he opened his mouth.

"I'm Naruto, dattebayo."

—