You With Us

4- Dusk Approaching

The first sense that Izuku noticed when he finally returned to consciousness was feel. It felt like horses hooves were pounding against his temple, he groaned, trying to turn over from where he lay. The only problem was he couldn't move. The second sense was hearing. An echoing sob bounced around Izuku until a harsh "shut it, you brat, before I shut it for you!" Then a trembling whimper, shuffling noises, boots on stone, hushed, shuddering breaths of children trying to hold back tears.
As his eyelids fluttered open, sight became the next sense Izuku had returned to him, if somewhat blurry still. He and a load of the village's youngest members were all tied up in what seemed to be a cave. Light from the cave's mouth shown brightly not too far from where Izuku and the young ones were clustered in the shadows, hence the echoes he'd heard from sound bouncing off grey stone walls.
It must be mid-morning, at least the omega thought groggily.
Had it really been so many hours since the first blue sparks set the town into a frenzy? Why would anyone do such a monstrous thing?

Izuku might not find out the answer to that question as soon as he'd wished. But he was about to find out just who would commit the crime.
"Hmm, awake at last, are we?" Izuku looked up as a tall, dark-haired man walked up to him, nudging him with a booted foot before crouching down to eye level.
The lad's green eyes widened as he noticed a patchwork of scared, leathery skin covering parts of the man's face, silver tattoos spiderwebbed their way back and forth across scarred and unmarred skin alike with symbols Izuku did not recognize.

"Wh-who the hell a-a-are y-y-you?" The omega tried to snarl, though his stutter did nothing to help him sound nearly as tough as he'd wanted.
The scarred man's lips twisted into a semi amused smile, blue eyes sparkling. "Me? Oh, I've been called a lot of things throughout my life, kid. Though, I don't feel like sharing really. You can call me Dabi, or sir. I'm more interested in you, though." Dabi reached out to grip Izuku's chin, turning the boy's face from side to side, his sleeve rolling back to reveal more scars and markings running along his forearm. He leaned forward,  shoving his nose into a scent gland on the omega's bare neck. Izuku shuddered at the contact, trying but unable to pull away. "What's a fully presented omega like you, unmarked, unmated, doing with your life? You haven't got leprosy or any ailments from what I can see. Are you daft?" He asked, cocking his head as he let go of the omega's jaw, eyes roving over him. Izuku's lip curled as he gritted out "C-Course n-n-n-no-not!"
"Hmm, I can see you're not nervous. You're spirited, if foolish. So then that stammer's not from fear I take it?"
"G-go t-t-to hell!" Izuku snapped, spitting at the man's face as he  twisted his head around, finally pulling away from Dabi's face. The motion caused Izuku to blanch suddenly, feeling dizzy and nauseous as he tried not to throw up. His head throbbed with pain and the omega's vision kept shifting between normal and double vision.
Dabi simply wiped the spit off his cheek, seemingly unphased. He was used to that kind of response after so many years in the trade of bodies, living and dead.
"Hmm, might not wanna make such sudden movements. You've got quite the egg on that head of yours." He sighed simply, tapping said bump, making Izuku flinch back with a yip of pain. Dabi stood back up, knees cracking as he dusted himself off. "Doesn't matter if you've got a stammer. Male omega's sell nicely in the kingdom other side of these mountains, marked or otherwise. Do me a favor? Try not to cause us too much trouble now. You're the oldest one here and, omega or not, the pups will be looking at you as an example. If you try to make trouble, they'll suffer for it. Wouldn't want that, would you?"
Izuku simply glared in response. The slaver had taken Izuku's omegan nature into account. Mated or not, his instincts were to care for the young. Those very instincts had gotten him into this mess now. He just hoped he could rely on them to get his town's young out of this situation.

"Hey, Dabi, I think one of the horses threw a shoe. What do you want us to do?" Another man with a white and black mask covering his face came into view at the cave's mouth. "I'll be right there." Dabi called out, giving Izuku a final warning look before turning away.