Author's Note: Hello my wonderful readers. Just a friendly reminder that you are reading a mature story and this chapter has some difficult themes to deal with. Consider yourself warned. I hope you're enjoying the read so far, the rollercoaster as a few more dips and tricks, then we'll be all done. Thank you so much for making it this far and I promise, at some point, the fic will stop making you all want to cry. There has to be a little rain if you wanna make a rainbow. I love you all! -RxS

Bakugo's P.O.V.

"Hey man, I uh brought you some clothes, and your hearing aids off of Deku's desk…"

"Thanks Eijiro." I said taking them but not moving from the bench in the hallway of the waiting room.

"How's he doing?"

"Still in surgery."

"Do they know what's wrong, have they told you anything?"

"No update yet."

Kirishima grabbed my hands, getting on the floor in front of me. "He's gonna be okay Bakugo. It's Deku. He's gonna be just fine."

My heart felt like I had been shot, this pain in my chest, it was unbearable. "It was my fault."

"No it wasn't."

"If I was wearing my hearing aids, I would have heard the signal."

"And you would have been in the same place as Deku. They set off bombs Bakugo, took the whole building down, even if you had heard the signal, there's nothing you could have done."

"Don't lie to me, E." I growled, finally putting my hearing aids in and turning them on. The robotic noise made me want to throw up even more than I already did. "Deku's mom will be here soon, you should get out of here."

"What? Are you sure? Let me be here for you Katsuki."

"Deku's mom can barely stand that we're dating, she sees you here and suspects a pack? It will just make everything so much worse."

He pulled me in a hug I was anything but ready to receive. "Just know I'm here for you. Just a phone call away, I'll be on the next train." I nodded, unable to thank him properly for fear of just completely losing my shit. This is all my fault. I should have heard the signal. I shouldn't have let get hurt. I watched him walk out of the hospital, I took a deep breath and went to the bathroom to change. I was still covered in Deku's blood. I washed it off as best I could, but watching the red wash down the sink, knowing I could have prevented it… I broke down. I'm a sad excuse for a man. A sad excuse for a hero. Had I just put my hearing aids in, had I actually cared enough to wear them at all.

I cried. I fuckin cried like a baby. A shitfaced mess on the hospital bathroom floor. Deku got hurt because of me. Deku's in surgery right now because of me. The whole fuckin mission… I couldn't take the guilt. I don't know how long I cried in that bathroom, a long ass time before I could finally pull it together enough to actually change. E brought me a white T-shirt, dark blue joggers and my crocs. He wanted me to be comfortable I guess. I cleaned the snot off my face and my eyes caught myself in the mirror. God I look horrible. Eyes bloodshot, pale, all kinds of dirt and grime in my hair. Damn it. I did my best to make myself presentable, but what was the fuckin point. I stuffed my hero uniform in the case and walked back out to the waiting room. Deku's mom was there, crying, being held and comforted by my mom. Just great.

"What are you doing here hag?"

"Inko needed a ride, don't act like you're not glad I'm here Katsuki." She said pulling me down into a bone crushing hug. I accepted it, I just didn't have the strength to fight back and honestly, I just really needed a fucking hug from my mother right now. Once I pulled away I pulled Deku's mom into a hug too. She couldn't stop crying. Deku going from being quirkless to a hero has been really tough on her. I can't imagine the pain she's feeling.

"What happened?" She finally asked.

I scratched the back of my head. "They knew we were coming. Blew up the place once Deku's team was inside." She didn't need to know they needed me and I wasn't there. She hugged me again and cried into my chest, my mom patting my back.

"Midoriya?" A doctor and a nurse came out of the surgical suite.

"Yes, yes." Inko said running to them, my mom and I following.

"You're Izuku's mother?" She nodded, wiping away tears, "And you're the omega's mate?"

"Yeah." I said reluctantly, "Something like that."

"How's my baby?"

"Mrs. Midoriya, Izuku has put his body through a lot these past few years. To be fighting in his condition… he should have never been out there today."

"His muscle weakness? What happened? Do you know what caused it?"

"We do, now."

"Just tell us what's going on doc." I growled.

"The blast broke several on Izuku's ribs, rupturing his spleen. We got to it in time, but the surgery will take a few more hours. Izuku should make a full recovery, but unfortunately… we weren't able to save the baby." The baby. What? No. What baby? What is he talking about?

"What?" Inko asked bursting into tears. I felt my throat dry out; I was unable to say anything.

"Izuku was almost four months pregnant, just starting to show." What? What! No. No he wasn't! four months? No way. I felt my knees hit the floor, then a harsh slap to the back of my head.

"Katsuki!" My mom snarled. Pregnant? No… no. No!

"Surely as his alpha you must have known?" I shook my head at the nurse. "Didn't you notice a change in his scent?" I mean… it was warmer… like milk… shit. "Or notice a change in yourself? More possessive? Always wanting to be with him? Touch him? Put your arms around him, or feel his womb?" The nurse said coming down to my level and putting a gentle hand to my shoulder.

"I didn't know… I just thought… I… i…" All I could do was studder, no other words would come out. I couldn't make sense of anything.

"I'm so sorry my dumb ass alpha son is such an idiot Inko." The hag said hugging the crying woman.

The nurse gripped my shoulder tighter, making strong eye contact with me. "I believe that you didn't know, but your body did. And now it's going to react to the loss harshly. You need to prepare yourself. You're going to want to isolate yourself, become a lone wolf and sulk. But you can't do that? Do you understand? Your mate needs you right now. His body won't be taking the loss well either. It will want to replace the baby it lost, heats will be erratic for the next few months, and he'll be sad, unbelievably so. You need to be there for him, be strong." I barely heard her words. I wasn't strong enough to listen. I just wanted to be alone. To hide away and cry. "Listen to me, because this is very important. After an omega has a miscarriage, they feel a very deep need to get pregnant again. If they don't, their long-term fertility will be in jeopardy."

"He might not have another chance to have a baby. That's why your hormones were making you so possessive. You were supposed to protect him. Prevent any harm from coming to that child and your mate." The alpha doctor chimed in.

"Shut up! What do you know?!" I roared, striking fear into anyone nearby.

"I know more than a dumb teenage alpha that didn't even know his unclaimed mate was pregnant. He'll be out of surgery in a few hours, you can see him then." The doctor said, leaving the room. The nurse stood, saying something to the mothers then left too. My mom held Inko as she cried. I was just left there on the floor, fisting my hair, trying to make sense of it all. I couldn't.

Midoriya's P.O.V.

"Izuku? Oh sweetheart, please wake up." Mom? My eyes were heavy, they felt like I was trying to lift five hundred pounds just to open them. I didn't want to. It was too much.

"Talk to him. You're his good for nothing alpha aren't you?" That voice was familiar, like I've heard in my childhood or something. But from where?

"Deku… Deku… you gotta wake up. It's time to wake up now." Kacchan. I tried again to open my eyes but it was so hard. I felt a warmth in my hand, then a warm heaviness on my chest. It smelled of caramel and cinnamon. Was… was Kacchan crying on my chest? Wake up Izuku. Wake up! With all the effort I could muster, I opened my eyes. Blinded by the light, I tried to blink it away. I looked around the room. There was Kacchan's ash blond hair on my chest, my mother's hand in my own, Kacchan's mother, arms crossed, watching me from a chair across the room.

"He's awake." My mother said.

"You're awake." Kacchan said looking up, his eyes bloodshot. He looked like he'd been crying, his eyes were puffy and red. I nodded, realizing I was hooked up to a machine that was breathing for me. I could barely move, my whole body just felt weak.

"The doctor gave you a powerful painkiller, he said it just shuts down all your nerve endings for a while, so you won't be able to move for about a day. Can you blink once if you understand me? Twice if you don't?" My mom said, trying not to let tears escape her eyes. I blinked.

"I'll go get the doctor." Kacchan's mom said leaving the room.

"Do you know where you are?" Yes. The hospital. I blinked.

"Do you remember how you got here?" There was a mission… an explosion? Kacchan was there… something went wrong. I didn't blink, I honestly didn't know what I remembered.

"You're gonna be okay, you broke most of the ribs on your left side, ruptured your spleen." Kacchan said, moving off my chest and showing me the bandages. Why hasn't Recovery Girl healed me? Where is she? Where's All Might?

"Recovery Girl thinks it's best if she lets your injuries heal on their own." Why? I'll miss school! How long will that take? "All Might was here earlier, but he had to go back to school, we'll let him know you're awake now and he'll stop by when he can." I blinked, just trying to understand everything. Was I really hurt that bad? I feel like I've been through way worse. I just ruptured my spleen and broke a few ribs right? At that moment the doctor came in. He checked me out, taking the tubes out of my mouth and making sure I could breathe on my own. He did a few more checks, explain to me what happened and before he left, he turned to Kacchan.

"I think it would be best if you told him the rest of the details." Kacchan nodded, looking at the ground angerly. "Now would be appropriate."

"Yeah, okay." The doctor left, taking the two mothers with him. My mom gave me a very sad look as she left, like her heart was breaking. What did Kacchan have to tell me? We he breaking up with me? Here? Now?

"What's going on Kacchan?" I finally said, my throat scratchy and raw. He took a deep breath, closing the hospital door then coming to sit next to me.

"I… I don't know how to tell you this Izuku." Izuku? Kacchan never calls me that.

"What did I do wrong?"

His eyes filled with panic. "No, it's nothing like that. You didn't do anything wrong."

"Then what is it? What's going on?" He took my hand, looking like he was forcing himself not to cry.

"The doctor found out why you were losing your strength. It's not that One for All isn't compatible with your body, it's just your body was changing, your hormones were producing more estrogen than testosterone…"

"Why? Why isn't he telling me this?"

"Because I'm the one that caused the change in your hormones Deku." I didn't understand.

"What are you talking about Kacchan?" He looked incredibly uncomfortable.

"Deku… I… we…" He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. What was he going to say? What was he getting so worked up about? I squeezed his hand to help reassure him. He let out his breath. "You were pregnant." I was… pregnant? How? When? But we were safe, weren't we. Oh, no, oh no.

"When we were in Osaka…" I finally gathered.

"Yeah… the doctor said you were a little more than three months along. Almost four…"

"You keep saying were… past tense." I suddenly realized. Kacchan bit his bottom lip.

"Yeah… I know…"

"Did I…"

"You lost the baby Deku. I'm so sorry." I couldn't stop the tears from coming. I was crying over a baby I didn't know existed. How could I not have known? I should have known. My body felt all wrong. I didn't take my pills consistently in Osaka, I should have known then. Oh my god. I was going to have a baby with Kacchan. Kacchan's baby! And now I'm not, it's just… gone. Because I was being irresponsible, going on dangerous missions when I was carrying a life inside me. A baby I didn't know I wanted, but now… without it… my heart feels like it's ripping in two. I couldn't stop crying, I didn't want to. Kacchan just held me close and let me cry. I think that's all he could really do to comfort me.

Shoto's P.O.V.

I haven't seen Midoriya or Bakugo in school for nearly three days now. I was informed their mission had gone south, but there weren't any serious reported injuries. So where are they? What is going on?

"Mr. Aizawa, can you please send Asui and Todoroki to the principal's office?" The intercom said.

"Certainly." Mr. Aizawa excused us and she and I started walking over.

"I wonder what this is about? I hope we're not in trouble." It was unlikely, we hadn't done anything wrong recently. At least I don't think.

"Possibly a new mission we've been recruited for." I replied as Mei Hatsume joined us in the hallway.

"You too?"

"Whatever they want us for, it must be pretty exciting huh?" The beta girl said enthusiastically.

"Must be." I mused as we turned the corner towards the Principal's office. I held the door open for each of them and then went inside myself. Standing there was the principal, a reporter and Present Mic.

"Hello my wonderful students, I'm so excited to have you here today. You must be wondering why I called you here. I'll let Mr. Taneo Tokuda explain."

The reporter with the camera quirk smiled warmly. "Well I'm happy to announce that my magazine is doing their annual twenty under twenty edition. The three of you were selected this year as the shining few we're going to want to watch." Really? Why me? I haven't done anything all that exciting, surely Midoriya would be a better fit. "We've been ranking you based on your performance in school, abilities, potential, and so much more. We think the three of you will really do our country proud one day. Hatsume, you were ranked number eighteen, Asui, number eleven. Izuku Midoriya made it to third on our list, so we'll have to get his picture and interview later, but Todoroki, congratulations, you were ranked number one in our twenty under twenty people to watch."

"It's sensational, isn't it?"

"Umm… sure." I didn't think I deserved the honor, nor that the criteria was particularly fair, but it was an honor none the less.

"So now we have pulled you out of class for a photoshoot and interview. Let's get started shall we?" The reporter led us out of the principal's office and into a classroom where they had hair and make-up on standby. My father and the publicist he hired for me were standing there waiting. I balled my fists and threatened a snarl.

"What are you doing here?"

"Is that any way to talk to your father?"

"After what you did, you're lucky I'm talking to you at all." I said as I sat down in the chair and the artists started doing their work on me. Endeavor sat in front of me, his eyes hard as ever.

"Had I arranged your marriage, you would have fought me tooth and nail every day. Hado is beautiful, you two will have powerful children."

"I just turned eighteen, I'm still in high school, you had no right-"

"What's done is done. I suggest you get onboard with it. She will be attending the Sports Festival to support you, confirming your coupling to the world."

"And I'm just supposed to go along with this?"

"Yes. In just a few short weeks we will confirm her pregnancy, then you won't have a choice in the matter at all."

"I bet you're so proud of yourself, railroading me like this."

"I'm ensuring your place as the future number one hero. I was never able to establish an adoring fan base, with your looks and Hado at your side, the world will love The Mighty Shoto." I rolled my eyes. I couldn't take it anymore. He wants me to be his puppet, his show dog, his masterpiece and at this moment, there was nothing I could do about it. My life is no longer my own. That became even more apparent with the way my publicist was instructing me to pose. They tussled my hair, lightened my scar, unbuttoned the buttons on my uniform shirt and undid my tie. Not to mention they lowered my pants as low as possible, showing as much of my groin as a national magazine would allow. Midoriya's trying his hardest to be the next Symbol of Peace and here I am, a sex symbol.

My father and publicist basically did the interview for me. She constantly tells me I'm not personable enough, embellishing all of my answers. But it's what the magazine wanted. Mr. Tokuda seemed very happy with it all. I'm not sure I cared in the least. After that circus, I realized class for the day had ended. I made my way down the hall to go gather my things when I realized All Might was in his office. Before I knew what I was doing, I was knocking on his door.

"Come in." He looked up from his desk, "Oh hello Todoroki, what brings you in?"

I quickly closed the door, not wanting anyone else to hear our conversation. "I know you have a special connection with Midoriya."

"I care deeply for all my students." I raised my hand to shush him, I didn't need the run around from him today.

"He's missed three days of school. Katsuki Bakugo as well. Do you know why?"

All Might looked down, choosing his words carefully. "Izuku was injured during his recent mission."

"The news said there weren't any major injuries."

"I'm afraid his injuries will take more emotional healing than physical." He said motioning for me to sit down. Emotional injuries? It didn't take much for the dots to connect in my head.

"He lost the baby, didn't he?"

All Might look shocked. "You knew he was pregnant?"

"I noticed a change in his scent." Looking back on it, the change in Bakugo was readily apparent as well. All Might looked down sadly.

"It would seem as though the young alpha and omega themselves did not know. Both concede had they known, each would have acted much differently."

"He had a miscarriage." I asked again. All Might nodded unable to look at me. "May I go see Izuku? Give my condolences."

"I don't think it would be wise, he requested I not speak about it to anyone. And having another alpha around them at a time like this…"

"I understand." I paused for a moment, unsure of what to say next. "when are they expected to return to school?"

All Might thought about it for a minute. "Bakugo is excused for the rest of the week. Midoriya… it will likely take longer for his pain to heal. He's been given an extended leave until he is ready. Making up his classes will be the least of his worries right now." Omega have been known to undergo an enormous emotional deficit with the loss of a child they carried. It might take years for him to recover, he may never be the same. My heart hurt for him.

"Thank you All Might. I can't imagine the pain they are feeling right now. I truly hope they are okay." He nodded, padding me on the shoulder.

In the following weeks, Bakugo did return to school, but he wasn't the same. The fire in his eyes seem to have died along with his unborn child. He was quiet, sulking in his seat most of the time. He chose to compete in the Sports Festival, but his heart wasn't in it, didn't even place. Midoriya wasn't in attendance either. The world watched me win the Festival as it was introduced to Nejire and I as the new 'it' couple. That was a bad day. A very bad day.

The coming weeks were even worse. Midoriya came back to school, but even after he missed several days at a time. His pain was obvious. It broke my heart seeing him like that, but I felt helpless to do anything about it. I was probably the last person able to help him out. But even still, I wanted to help him so badly. I just didn't know how. I wanted to be his hero, but I don't think I was the hero he needed right now.