Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

„Sakura-san, who is this boy?“ Niijima Sae looked into a corner of the famous Coffee Shop „Leblanc“. She often came here to relax a bit and the coffee was just this good.

The man behind the counter followed her stare and sighed.

„That’s Kurusu Akira. He’s living with me since yesterday.“ He explained and filled an empty cup with the black drink. „He’s a bit traumatized and can’t be with his parents for that reason.“

Sae stared a bit longer at the boy which made himself smaller.

„How old is he? Can’t be more than fifteen.“ She took a sip and relaxed a bit. Maybe she should talk to the kid later.

„He’s fourteen. Just had his birthday. But Niijima-san do you know the earliest age which one can get into heat?“

This question surprised the woman. It was just so off-topic that she focused her gaze on Sakura Soujiro again. Normally the guy wouldn’t change the topic so suddenly. She had a bad feeling.

„Age you ask. I think fifteen is the most early discovered. Why do you ask?“ She furrowed her brows and stared intently at the man. He looked at the boy again.

„… he had his first just before his birthday last month.“

Sae swallowed up her coffee and coughed vehemently.

„You’re joking right?“ She could not believe this. With thirteen one would not even know the differences in secondary sexes. Let alone carrying surpressants. And when it happened outside…

„No. And as you suspect he got it not at home. He’s now very afraid of Alphas. And unfortunately both his parents are Alphas. So please refrain from doing anything unnessesary like trying to talk to him.“ His expression didn’t show any pity though. This would‘t be good for the kid. He had to find his confidence on his own again.

With new interest she looked to the scared boy. He averted his eyes as soon as his meet hers.

„He’s envious. That’s good at least.“ She murmured. „You think it would be good if I take my sister with me the next time I come?“  She asked and took another sip.

„How old is she again?“ He asked but thought it might be a good idea.

„She is fifteen, one year older but this might help him. She does not know her second sex yet either but I think she is likely to be a Beta or Alpha like me. And when he befriends her and she really turns out to be Alpha it would be good I think.“ So he could see that not all Alphas were bad. Even though his parents were Alphas he was afraid of them. But that was because he knew what they were. Although parents never reacted to the heat of their children. She could not understand the pain Akira-kun felt because he was suddenly afraid of his own parents. But she could imagine. And Sakura-san was right that he had to overcome this by himself. With a little outside help.

„Yeah I think this could help him actually.“ Sakura-san nodded. „As he is in a new environment too and does not have friends yet. It would be good to find one.“ As Sae looked a bit confused he explained further.

„He had meltdowns in his old town because he rembered everything as soon as he set a foot outside so they looked for someone out of their city. I just happened to have an attic which he can use and I already have a traumatized kid to take care of. So I know how to handle him.“ He looked emberassed.  „I couldn’t leave him be when I heard his circumstances.“

Sae smiled and took her last sip. Then she nodded and stood up.

„Oh before you go Niijima-san. Akira-kun does not want to tell this anyone. Including that he is an Omega. He will be regarded as a Beta for the time being. I only told you because your connections.“

Sae understood this and Akira-kuns decision too. So she just confirmed it and looked at her watch.

„Thank you for the coffee. I have to go now but I will come as soon as possible with Makoto. The poor kid should make a friend. Please send my regards to Akira-kun and Futaba-chan.” She waved, paid and left the shop.

Soujiro sighed and looked at the kid which watched the woman with big frightened eyes. At least he didn’t hide himself in the attic.

*********************

Akira observed the two adults. The woman was definitively an Alpha. As she looked again at him he averted his eyes and hoped she would go away. Soujiro would not let anything happen to him, of that he was sure but he could do nothing to ease his fear. And it seemed that they talked about him. He didn’t like it.

He made himself smaller and waited until the woman stood up. Then he watched her go. As soon as she was gone and no one else was in the room he stood up and walked slowly to the counter.

“Akira-kun, are you hungry?” The Beta asked in his soothing voice. The boy nodded and took a seat in one of the stools.

“Curry sounds good?” As he nodded again the man smiled and prepared the food.

“Niijima-san said hello. That was the woman earlier.” Akira froze up a bit but nodded regardless. He hated himself for his fear. He didn’t want to life like this forever.

“I told her your circumstances because she works with the police as she’s a prosecutor. When something happens, you can rely on her. Also, she asked if it is okay to bring her little sister the next time. She’s just a year older than you and does not even know what she is yet. That ok for you?”

Akira froze again and his glasses almost slipped off his nose. But he took a deep breath and answered shakenly.

“Ok.” He would NOT give in to this fear.

“Oh, the boy speaks!” The man’s smile broadened. “Here you go.”

The curry smelled fantastic and Akira could not wait to taste it as the door opened. With the full spoon halfway to his mouth he froze again.

He could hear whispered curses from his new guardian but could not make out the words. Only the friendly “Welcome” was loud enough to hear clearly.

„Sorry!“ A young boy’s voice could be heard. „It’s rainin‘and I just need’ shelter.“ Akira ate the spoon full of curry and looked at the new guest. It was a boy around his age with blond hair. The boy shook his head to get rid of the water and smiled a brilliant smile.

Soujiro sighed and readied a glass full with water.

“Come on take a seat. Since I don’t have any customer regardless you can stay for a while if you behave.”

The man didn’t like customers who could not pay but since it was just a child he let it slide.

“Thanks, old man!” The boy then made his way to Akira and took the stool next to him. Then he looked hungrily at the curry.

“That looks tasty!” He exclaimed with big hopeful eyes. Against his better judgement Akira asked.

“…. want some?”

Soujiro almost dropped the glass full with water at the unexpected question. He watched the raven curiously but didn’t say anything.

“Really? I can have some? Awesome!” The newcomer exclaimed with a big grin on his face while he received the spoon from the nodding Akira.

Akira didn’t know why he offered the boy some of his curry but somehow, he felt almost secure with him. And he trusted his instincts at the very least.

Satisfied the boy took a big spoonful and made a happy exclamation.

“Soooo goooood!” Akira smiled shyly and received another spoon from Sojiro.

“Thanks for the meal. By the way, I’m Sakamoto Ryuji!” With shining eyes, he took another bite.

“… Kurusu Akira. Nice to meet you, Sakamoto-kun.”

“Oh, come on, Ryuji’s fine. ‘S ok when I call ya Akira too?” The raven almost swallowed up the curry. After he calmed himself he looked at the questioning face and smiled.

“Yes.”

Soujiro coud not believe this. The shy, traumatic kid had made a friend all by himself. He was relieved but he would be careful to not let the kids alone just yet.

Akira and Ryuji finished the curry and then switched to a corner in the shop so they wouldn’t disturb the customers that came in.

“Do you live nearby?” Akira asked hopefully. The boys had just clicked immediately. Ryuji shook his head and explained.

“Not reall’. It’s one station ahead so it’s not really far either. It took m’ half’n hour joggin’ to get here. Ya see, I’m in the Track Club in my school!” He proudly exclaimed.

Akira did not really know how to interpret this but as Ryuji was so proud of it he grinned.

“Cool. I’m not doin’ anything to work out…”

“We can train together!” Ryuji jumped up and down in his seat so excited was he. “We can meet somewhere and go joggin’ together!”

With this exclamation Akira froze.

“No… I…” He would be alright to go outside with Soujiro by his side. But the thought to go out alone with another kid made his throat to dry up.

Ryuji immediately noticed that Akira clamped up. A bit confused he questioned him and asked what was wrong.

“I-I’m not good going outside…” Akira lowered his eyes and stared downwards. His cheeks and ears went red and he wanted to be swallowed up because he was embarrassed.

Ryuji furrowed his eyebrows but somehow sensed it would be not good to ask why. So, he made a quick decision.

“Then I just come here and we can play? If ya have weights we ‘an use these too.” He grinned and a startled Akira looked up.

Slowly a big smile spread across his face and Ryuji was left speechless. In this instant he decided to protect this shy boy. Whatever would come his way he would not let this wonderful smile be diminished.

They spoke a while after that until Soujiro came to them and shooed Ryuji away.

“It’s late. Your parents must be worried and this guy here has to go upstairs to study.” Which was true. Since Akira was not yet capable to go to school he had to be home tutored. His parents were strict in this regard and Soujiro too.

“Oh! ‘s so late already? Thanks for the water and curry! I’ll be back tomorrow!” With a smile he said goodbye and ran outside.

Soujiro looked at the raven for a moment and then smiled too.

“You made a good friend. Now up you go. Don’t forget to close your door. You will be alone in an hour.” Soujiro took the used dishes and left the boy alone.

The now expressionless Akira nodded and made his way upstairs. He did not want to be alone. He wanted to be with people. On the other hand, he did not. He was terrified. Today he had reached his limit and somehow Soujiro had realized this.

He sighed, closed the door and began to study. But his thoughts decided to focus more often on Ryuji than on his actual studies.

And then his second heat took over with full force.

Chapter Text

Soujiro woke up with a bad feeling. He couldn’t sense anything wrong in his house or with Futaba but he could not shake this feeling either. The only reason he could think of was Akira but he had made sure the shop was closed tightly.

He hurriedly made breakfast for Futaba and himself and made sure she had everything she needed before he almost ran towards Leblanc. He opened the door but left the sign to “closed”.

“Akira-kun?” He asked into the empty room with no answer. With a knot in his stomach Soujiro made his way upstairs and waited outside the smell proof door. He had it installed extra for the boy. These doors were expensive since not many Omegas existed, but necessary. And he could not risk any Pheromones in his shop.

“Akira-kun?” Again, he called out to the boy. He didn’t get an actual answer, only moaning noises.

“Shit. Why today?” He swore and opened the door carefully to not startle the raven. Only yesterday he had made progress and a friend on top of that. And now the cause of his trauma hit again. Whimpering reached his ears and he stopped and talked in a low, slow voice with the poor boy.

“Akira-kun, its me, Soujiro Sakura. I will not do anything. I only want to make sure everything is alright, ok?” He had to force himself to stay still. This boy had so strong Pheromones even he, a Beta, was affected. No wonder the Alpha hadn’t managed to control himself.

Only when he Akira opened his eyes and looked pleadingly he slowly made his way to the black hair.

“Did you take the medicine?” As he asked this he looked to the desk and found the tablets. Two were gone already so he had. But then he shouldn’t be produce such a strong smell. Was this boy one of the unfortunate? One of these people the suppressants had no affect on? Such a poor, unlucky little boy. The one good thing was, that Omegas were not much different from Betas except for their heats. So, no one would suspect him to be one if he could hide in these times.

Another whimpering sound made him snap out of his thoughts and he made sure Akira drank a bit and had everything else he needed.

“I will come by in an hour to check on you, but if possible, I will send a doctor to you before that. She’s an Omega too so you don’t have to fear she will do anything, ok? We need to check why the medicine does not affect you.” He explained everything he did so the boy could be at ease.

Soujiro made sure the door was closed and then made his way back down. He took his phone out and called Takemi Tae, a doctor who lived just next door. He explained the circumstances and opened the shop while he waited.

He heated up water and made coffee. The routine made him relax a bit. Normally he would not be so upset but he could feel for the boy. He had done nothing wrong but his life was a mess now and would probably be never be good per se.

A short time after that the doctor entered the shop.

“Good morning Sakura-san.” She greeted him and made way to the counter. “How is the boy?”

Soujiro looked up from the curry he currently made and shook his head.

“You already know. I did not visit him a second time since his Pheromones are so strong and I don’t want to scare him. And it would be bad if his scent would rub onto me too. Anyway, it was just half an hour until you got here so I don’t really think anything happened.” Tae only nodded and asked where he was. Soujiro showed her the stairs and left Akira in her care.

Not that he could do anything more, really.

*********************

Tae stood outside the door of this boy Akira. She got the details from Sakura downstairs and she hoped she could help him. As an Omega herself she could tell how terrible the boy must feel. And he was so young too.

She knocked and entered without waiting for an answer. He would probably not be capable of anyway. When she closed the door behind her it hit her. She could feel the Pheromones of this boy. She wanted to impregnate him. This should not be possible since Omegas only reacted to Alphas. She took a deep breath and calmed herself before she spoke.

“Akira-kun.” She made her voice as faint as possible so not to startle him. “I’m the doc Sakura-san mentioned, Takemi Tae. I’ll come closer to examine you. I’ll not do anything else, okay?” She slowly made her way to him. He laid on the bed and clasped the blanked so much his knuckles were white. But he opened his eyes slowly and nodded while he watched her every step.

She took the only chair in the room and sat before him. She had to hold herself back with all she had but she would not allow anything to happen to him.

“First I’d like to ask a few questions. If possible answer me. If you cannot don’t mind it. And I’d like a bit of your blood. Okay?” She looked him in the eyes the whole time as he trembled and then after a minute, nodded. Tae nodded too and took out her notebook.

“This is your second heat, correct?” She didn’t really wait for his answer and noted his name and details onto the paper. She just wanted to show him he could be at ease with her. When he nodded she continued with her careful inquiring.

“Can you remember anything that would have triggered your first?” He shook his head again, tears in his eyes. But she needed to know this. Since it was not common to get one’s heat this early. And she had a feeling he could endure it.

“Your second?” To his account he seemed to think again. It seemed he wanted to say something but then closed his mouth and just shook his head again.

“Really? Everything would be helpful. Maybe I can help to drown the effects of your heat when I know what triggers it you know.” She stared into his eyes again and he shivered. As she didn’t want to force an answer she almost went to the next question when he opened his mouth again.

“…Ryuji. He… came to my mind… in the… night yesterday.” He closed his eyes again and shuddered again. This was interesting. A guy he only needed to think of to get such a reaction? She noted the name and decided to ask Sakura for more details later.

She smiled and laid a hand on the boy’s forehead. This reassuring touch was all she could manage without doing more.

“Good boy. This will be all for now. Can I have an arm so I can draw a bit blood? If the tests are successful I will come tomorrow and make you feel better. The medicine doesn’t work, yes?” For an answer he took his arm from under the blanked his eyes still closed.

She carefully began to draw a vial while she explained a few things regarding the heat and how to lessen the burden. Then Tae took her materials and said goodbye to the raven.

“I’ll see you soon Akira-kun. I’m sorry that I cannot help more at the moment.” She received a small smile and a “Thank you” for an answer which startled her.

While she made her way downstairs she shook her head. What happened there? She could not comprehend it. Was this boy really an Omega?

But… This boy was strong. Stronger than she would be in his situation.

She reached the shop and was greeted by his guardian immediately.

“How is he?” Except for him the shop was empty so she took a seat at the counter and ordered coffee. With the tasty drink in her hands she asked her questions.

“I think it will be fine. He doesn’t seem to recall the bad memories. But Sakura-san. Is this really an Omega? I reacted to him. This should not be possible.” Sakura stared at her with his mouth wide open. Then he shook his head.

“I haven’t heard anything like this either. But I must confess his Pheromones gets to me too. Very strange.” Both stayed silent for a moment and he wanted to know what else she found out.

“Nothing much. But he mentioned a boy, Ryuji. Do you know who he is?” Sakura looked a bit startled but nodded regardless.

“Yes. He’s a boy which became friends with Akira-kun just yesterday. Sakamoto Ryuji. He’s around the same age as him. Why?” He looked really perplexed.

“Hmm.” Tae was lost in thought for a moment and then asked another unexpected question. “You know his secondary gender?” Sakura just shook his head.

“He’s in Middle School, right? Normally this will be confirmed in early High School so we will know in maybe two years? Is this related to Akira-kun?” The man furrowed his brows in thought as a thought popped into his mind.

“Do you think…?”

“It’s a possibility. The gender stays dormant until a set age in the body but it is there. Maybe Akira-kun sensed it unconsciously. Anyway, it would be good if I could get a blood sample from this boy too. And he should not stay away from Akira-kun. He needs to learn to deal with it regardless.”

Soujiro could not agree more.

“Ryuji-kun said he would drop by today too. Shall I call you when he does? Or I could send him over to you.” He offered and watched as Tae took a sip from her coffee.

“No, I’ll come by. Want to check up on your protégé again too. It’s all just strange. You said his parents are both Alphas? That’s rare but not unheard of.”

She talked about a few more details and then made her way back to her clinic. She needed to analyse the blood sample. Somehow, she couldn’t wait. It was a rare one too. Excitement shot through her veins. A feeling she hadn’t had in a long time.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

*********************

Ryuji could not contain himself. He was excited for the whole day. All he wanted to was to go to the Coffee shop and see Akira again. Since it was Saturday he could leave earlier than usual.

He himself didn’t know why. But he felt so good when he was near the other boy. So as soon as school finished he ran home and left his backpack in his room.

“Mom, I’m goin’ joggin’!” Was the only warning his mother got before he was out of the door again. She could barley tell him to not come home late. But she smiled at her energic kid.

The blonde ran almost the whole way towards the shop, only stopping for red traffic lights. His smile broadened as soon as he could see Leblanc. He slowed down and took a few seconds to draw his breath while fragments of sentences drifted towards him.

“…we have to keep this a secret…”

“…he would be on the run for the rest of his life…”

“…amazing but frightening…”

“…how?”

He could not make sense of any of this but since it did not concern him he forgot it as soon as he opened the door. There the old man stood behind the counter like yesterday. Right before him was a young woman but no one else was there. Both seemed startled but after seeing the smile on the boy’s face both relaxed a bit.

“I’m back like I told ya!” Ryuji grinned and looked around again.

“Is Akira here?” He took a few steps inside and looked up to the shopkeeper.

“Welcome Ryuji-kun.” Sakura said and beckoned him to sit by the counter. “I’m sorry but Akira is ill today so you cannot see him.”

The smile on the boy’s face died an instant death.

“But he didn’t look ill yesterday! Like at all!” He tried to argue but to no avail.

“Sorry boy. Can’t be helped.” The woman said and looked into his eyes. “I’m Takemi Tae, his doc and I cannot allow anyone near him at the moment. But you can help if you want.”

That picked his interest although he really badly wanted to see his friend. But this doc looked honest enough though and he could not really do anything else anyway. So, he asked what he could do.

“It would be great if you could give me a little bit of your blood.” The woman answered honestly. And since he did not have a reason to refuse he let Takemi draw a veil full of blood.

“Thank you, that will really help.” He nodded but didn’t ask how. He had a feeling he wouldn’t understand anyway.

“So boy, how about curry? It’s on the house.” The owner asked and received a hungry smile in return.

“Really?! Yay!” He dug in and waved as Takemi left.

“Ryuji-kun. Akira-kun will be ill the next few days but I think he will be alright if you come next Wednesday or Thursday. Feel free to come by then.” Sakura explained and ruffled the boy’s hair.

“And you don’t have to worry, its nothing bad. He will be as good as new then, okay?” The blonde nodded and decided to trust the old man for the time being.

“Ain’t there anythin’ else I can do?” He asked as he finished his meal. Soujiro just shook his head in denial.

“Sorry. But if you feel better, I cannot do anything either. Takemi-san just brought in Medicine and hopefully this will help. I will tell Akira-kun later that you visited. I think this will make him happy.” That actually helped Ryuji as not even an adult could do something.

The boy stood up and said his goodbye.

“Bye! I’ll come by next week! Thanks’ for the meal!” With this he exited the shop a little depressed. He really could not help at all.

Then he slapped his cheeks with his hands and scolded himself. He had to cheer up and be cheerful for Akira so that he could be better soon. So he made his way home with long strides.

“Akira, next week we will play for sure!” He promised no one in particular.

But it was not until a month later till he saw his friend again.

Chapter Text

Akiras heat went on and on. The boy fainted a few times from pain and lust. But he could do nothing to ease himself. He would not do something.

And no medicine helped. No matter how many times Tae brought a new one. Every time he took it with such hope but the results were devastating. He didn’t know if he could endure one more disappointment in this matter.

Soujiro had mentioned that a week had already passed which was unusual. Normally the heat didn’t go beyond three to four days. Five days were really long. But nothing seemed ordinary with the raven.

He moaned again and wished this would be over. He could feel his body changing. Inside of him. It hurt. But nobody seemed to notice this. Everybody else only focused on the fact that he did not release himself. Said it was bad for his body and he had to. But Akira didn’t find the need to be overwhelming like they believed it to.

The one good thing was that he no longer feared the two people who visited him. Tae and Soujiro were good and even if he had trusted Soujiro before… this was different. They hadn’t attempted to do anything to him. And hadn’t forced him to do anything he did not like either.

He closed his eyes and finally felt like the fever went down a little bit. His breathing calmed down and he slipped off to sleep. The ravens last thought was on Ryuji. And so the heat ended as it had begun.

After a few hours Akira awoke from his deep sleep and felt… great. He stretched and could not believe that only hours ago he had felt this awful. His body felt finally like his own again too.

He did not dare to open the window and turned on the air ventilation instead. He knew enough to fear the Pheromones from leaking. But he wanted to go out of this room soon. It felt like his personal prison as he hadn’t been able to leave for more than a week. He took the chair and wanted to work out a bit as his muscles were sore from the constant lying down. He froze when he could see his arm. Had he had always so much muscles? He furrowed his brow but could not remember. As the boy had told Ryuji, he never worked out before. At least not so hard that he would have gained such strength. To top it off he hadn’t moved much this week.

What the hell was going on?

Akira calmed himself with a few deep breaths and decided to keep this to himself. And hoped nobody would notice. He began to really work out while thinking. It was not hard at all. It was freaking frightening.

The boy did not want to be more abnormal than he already was. Omegas were rare. Especially male Omegas. His parents had explained all there was on secondary genders as soon as he could think clearly again after the incident. He was grateful for that. But at the moment all he really wanted was to be “normal”.

When he was satisfied with testing his own body he absolutely needed a bath. So he changed into a long-sleeved shirt and leggings and decided to take a risk. It was already noon and the shop would be closed soon if not already. The raven opened the door just a little bit and listened carefully. But the only sound he could make out were the TV.

“Soujiro-san?” He called out with only enough input to overturn the Television. If his new guardian was here alone he would come up or-

“Akira? Are you feeling better?” Almost immediately Soujiro answered and the raven sighed in relieve. He carefully made his way down. Right before the corner he slowed down and only looked around it. From the other side nothing besides his head was visible.

“Yes. Are we alone?” He asked shyly and looked into the almost empty room. A confirming grunt helped easing him up and he took the last step into the room. Then he took a turn left and went into the bathroom. There he cleaned himself up as best as possible.

“The curry’s hot, Akira. Don’t take too long.” Soujiro called out and the boy felt really save in this moment. It felt like home.

He hurried up and took a seat on the counter where a delicious meal already waited for him. He gulped it down so fast Soujiro only blinked and it was gone.

“Seconds please!” Akira held the plate and stared hungrily at the pot. Soujiro only shook his head laughing and filled it again before giving it back.

“Amazing, so good!” The raven grinned and was finally satisfied. After he put away the dishes the old man stared at Akira.

“So boy. How are you feeling? You gave us quite the shock since you didn’t seem to get better.” The boy blushed lightly embarrassed. He did not want to worry Soujiro. Then he gave him another small smile. He realized his glasses were upstairs. He didn’t care at this moment.

“I’m feeling really good actually. It felt like I slept a day and when I woke up all the pain and … more was gone like it were never there.” He tried to explain. Soujiro furrowed his brow.

“Wait a minute. This smell…” The old man came closer and sniffed at Akira. “I knew it…”

The boy froze up. Not because the man was too close but he had a bad feeling.

“What is it?”

“Are you sure your heat is over? It’s just… Your Pheromones are not gone yet. You cannot go out like this.”

Akira felt the ground give out beneath him. What? This shouldn’t be the case! The first time after his heat all he needed was a bath. He hadn’t had one yet but he did make sure to wash properly.

“… how?” Now he felt like crying. What the hell was wrong with him?

“Wait a minute, I’ll check in with Tae-san. Maybe she has an idea.” Akira waited patiently for the doctor. This was one of his strong points after all. Being patient.

But now he really wanted, needed a hug.

*********************

Tae received the call while she discussed another serious illness with Oyamada. She did not really like the Alpha but did not have much of a choice besides working with him. She told Soujiro she would come as fast as she could and hung up.

“Miwa-chan cannot wait much longer, Takemi-san. We need to hurry up.” The man before her calmly said. He loved to see the women squirm and she knew it.

“What Miwa-chan needs is not an unfinished product. It needs to be tested more, it is not complete yet!” She countered but it didn’t seem like the man even heard her. He made his way out and glanced only once back.

“Tomorrow I’m going to give her the medicine. I for one think it will be fine. Don’t get in my way.” And he was gone.

Tae sank into her chair and put her head between her knees. This fucking bastard! How could he risk the life of Miwa-chan? She had to warn her parents to not let him do this!

She tried to reach them but only got their Mail-Box. So she told the machine everything and to look out for Oyamada then put it down while almost crushing her handy. The woman would try to call them again later. Now she had to go to the special guinea pig next door.

Akira was a very special case. One she hadn’t seen or even heard of before. So she was excited. On the other side, it was really bad timing. She wanted to focus on the little girl. Only she could do nothing in this case and it was really frustrating. So he took her utensils and made her way to the coffee shop.

Tae opened the door and smelled the reason for his call immediately. She almost dropped her bag because the smell was this strong. But she calmed herself while scanning the room. The boy sat in one corner, his chin on his knees, waiting.

“Hello Akira-kun. You look a lot better…” She began and saw him flinching at the word “look”. He nodded but made no other movement.

“I’ll examine you and take a bit blood too. You are really quite an unusual case, aren’t you?” She began her work while talking. He let her do everything without complain but she could see his discomfort.

“I swear I will find a medicine that will help. Even if it is just something to conceal the smell.” She told him. Since he did not feel any discomfort besides the pheromones that would do.

“Thank you, Tae-san. I appreciate it.” He said sincerely. She liked that he was this friendly and honest even if he felt terrible. She wanted to help this boy.

“No problem. Now tell me everything you think could help with finding the right method to suppress this.”

They talked for quite a bit but nothing interesting or helpful came up. It gave her quite a headache.

“You two, take a break.” Soujiro interrupted and Tae realized they were at it for hours already. She took the cup full of coffee gratefully and thought about what to do next.

“Akira-kun, do you want to life with me for a while?” She asked unexpectedly. Soujiro opened his mouth to argue but she held up her hand.

“I know you took him under your wing and I don’t want this responsibility. I only mean until we find something to help him supress his heat or even only his pheromones. It could help if he is near me. So I can observe him and maybe find clues at what the trigger is. I’ve an open room he can use and it even has an appropriate door because I’m also an Omega.” She explained with a stern face. Soujirou could not really counter this and pondered a bit over it until Akira spoke up.

“I wanna go.” The raven looked from one adult to another. “I’ve only saw this shop and the attic. Maybe a change of place will be good.”

“Oh, yeah there’s that too.” Tae did not think of this but Akira was right. And with this Soujiro agreed sighing.

*********************

Finally, Akira could leave the room and Tae-san even had a real bathroom! So before he even unpacked in his new temporary home, he took a bath. Tae seemed to appreciate this fact too.

Neither Soujiro nor Tae said anything but Akira could see that both of them were affected by his Pheromones. This shouldn’t be the case. Again. He had a feeling they knew something more than they let on but did not bother to ask at this moment. He felt Alien enough.

He closed his eyes and tried to enjoy the hot water. Such simple joy.

Then he thought about what happened to him since the incident. A year before this, all he was thinking about was studying and how to make friends. Now this were his least problems. Even if his parents didn’t think so too since they told him to study even without going to school. His heat was an appropriate excuse but now that it was over he had to again.

It was not like he really hated it. He actually liked it a bit. But somehow, he felt empty to do it now. It felt unsatisfying. Did he really need to, not knowing if he could go to college or work?

On the other side he did not want to trouble his parents any more than this so he decided to drop this line of thought and do his best at what he could do at the moment.

He finished up his bath and put on his most comfy pyjamas. Relaxed he strolled into the living room where Tae waited.

She didn’t look up and he turned on the TV while he waited for her questions. Akira watched her and suddenly realized how distressed she was.

“…Tae-san. Is everything alright?” He asked carefully and she looked up, startled. The women looked up startled but only shook her head.

“…It’s nothing.” He stared a while longer at her.

“Really?” He had a feeling she could collapse every second. But now somehow Tae seemed angry.

“Yes.” She stood up and went into the kitchen. He didn’t want to inquire further and when she did not come back he went to his new room and began to unpack.

He found his handy and somehow had to think about Ryuji again. He only saw this boy once but could not forget him. Now he could not even contact him. Why hadn’t they thought about changing numbers? He sighed and gave up on unpacking. He jumped on the bed and snuggled into the pillow.

Why did all this happen? Why could he not have a single friend?

Later Tae came to apologize. She asked a few questions and then went to sleep.

Akira went to bed too. And just before he fell asleep he realized something. He jumped up and took his phone excitedly. Why hadn’t he thought of this sooner? The raven scolded himself and texted Soujiro. The boy let himself fall back onto the bed. Smiling for the first time since this new problem made way in his life.

Hopefully Ryuji would visit Leblanc tomorrow. Like this he fell asleep.

The open Handy showed his massage.

Soujiro-san, can you give Ryuji my number? I cannot meet him but writing or calling is fine, right?

The solution for his problem was not this easy though. So he endured it for almost three weeks before Tae’s work showed results and he could finally go outside again.

Chapter Text

"Sis, where are we going?" Makoto asked while looking outside the car window. Sae rarely took her somewhere since her position as prosecutor took almost her entire time. Therefore, the girl happily agreed when Sae asked if she wanted to accompany her. She didn't even ask where to.

"A Coffee Shop in Jongen-Jaya. You'll like the coffee." Sae didn't bother to tell her more. She did not want to force Akira and Makoto to be friends, that would be contra productive so she stayed silent in that regard.

"Why? You never took me out only to have a cup of coffee before." Makoto asked confused. The brunet liked her sister, no questions asked. But sometimes she wondered where the girl she had been, when their father was alive, had gone. Before she had talked about everything and anything and loved to hug her little sister. Now she talked mostly about work and rising her status. And almost never came near Makoto. She only went on and on about how the brunet should focus on studying and nothing more. To be honest, it was quite exhausting.

“No reason.” Was the only answer Makoto got and she gave up. She could be talking to a wall if her sis did not want to tell her after all. So she watched as the city went by.

Shortly after they arrived at the shop and the girl looked a bit confused at the unobtrusive shop. She didn’t know what she expected… Only not such an ordinary place. They entered and a gruffly “Welcome” greeted them. Sae went straight for the counter and Makoto followed her reluctantly as she looked around the small but comforting shop. She could see why her sis liked it here.

“Oh man! Why do we have to learn this shit anyway?” Makoto almost tripped as she heard the loud and vulgar complain.  She looked around and discovered two boys around her age in the corner of the shop.

“Ryuji, you wanted me to teach you. Don’t you dare to dig out of it now.” The black haired scolded now. “And it’s not so bad. You just have to use this formula here and there you have it.”

The blonde furrowed his eyes and concentrated on the notebook before him. Then he smiled a beaming smile.

“You know what, Akira? You’re a great teach! I ain’t understood when Sensei explained it to me but now. Whew, didn’t know I had it in me!” Now the black-haired boy blushed a little but did not show much more of his face as he looked down.

“Ah Niijima-san you came. Wait a minute, I’ll make your coffee right away.” Another voice tore Makoto from her staring and she looked behind the counter to an older man. He seemed grumpy but not necessarily unfriendly.

“I promised, didn’t I? And now meet my little sister, Makoto.” Sae looked to the girl which came closer and smiled.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Niijima Makoto.” She said with a small smile.

“Ah, nice meeting you too. I’m Sakura Soujiro. Just call me Boss. Heard a lot from your sister here. And she did not mention how cute you were.” The old man teased while making the coffee.

Makoto blushed slightly and replied honestly.

“My sis mentioned how good your coffee is too.”

“Is that so. So how about I’ll make you a cup and you just enjoy your stay here.” The man got to work again and Makoto secretly watched the two boys again. They seemed to have fun.

But now they looked like both of them did not know the answer to a question in the book. The blonde looked terribly troubled while the black had to be his bastion of calm. She giggled a bit at this thought. The raven did not have much of an expression but somehow, he did not need it. It looked natural for him. Then the calm boy looked up and startled her so much she almost fell backward off the stool. At the last second, she steadied herself and, now red as a tomato, stared at the TV. Too embarrassed to acknowledge the boy who was coming right to her. But she needn’t had worried.

“Soujiro-san, can you explain something to us? This is really hard...” Despite herself she watched the boy. Again. The addressed man looked a bit troubled.

“You know, Akira, I’m working. And I don’t think I will be of much help since it’s so long since I had to study this stuff.”

“How about I take a look?” Makotos hand shot to her mouth and held it shut. Why did she say that? Her foul mouth ran against her will! But the boy named Akira only looked at her with glowing eyes. His glasses almost slipped down his nose but he caught them and hurriedly put them back.

“Really?” He asked and the girls body did it again. She nodded without her own consent. Somehow irritating her further.

Makoto felt the gaze of her sister on her and couldn’t believe it when she said “That’s a good idea. Have fun.” And thus, she went to the table with the raven and sat down. She looked at the problem and found the problem to be quite a difficult one. She only knew it because she had to learn it at school last month. But the blonde was really annoying in his tries to not learn. She argued a lot with him and found it to be exhausting.

But did she really not like it?

Just then she caught herself thinking that she wanted to teach them. No not teaching. She wanted friends. All she had done until now was studying like her sister had told her to. And as these boys looked like they had so much fun, she could not resist now the chance had come to her. And when she looked deeper, she found that she was actually having fun. Even with the arguing.

The first time since who knows how long, she enjoyed herself wholeheartedly.

*********************

“It’s a bit late but I’m Niijima Makoto.” The brunet before Akira introduced herself. She offered her help and somehow the three of them got along so well that she stuck around. Just as she said that the boy realized he hadn’t knew her name.

“Oh yeah, I’m Sakamato Ryuji. It’s fine to just go with Ryuji. You’re a year older, yes? What should we call ya? Niijima-san? Niijima-senpai?” The blonde was more meek than usual. Akira thought he was exhausted from all the arguing and struggling against studying.

“…Kurusu Akira. You can call me Akira.” He added hastily before Makoto answered.

“Makoto’s fine. We are not so far apart after all.” She smiled shyly. Akira had a feeling she would make a good mom. Or a big sister. And somehow, he knew she would be an Alpha. Since his first heat he could tell with just a glance what secondary gender one held. Ryuji was an Alpha too. Somehow, he was not afraid of either of them. Instincts telling him they wouldn’t hurt him.

“’s that really okay?” Ryuji seemed worried but Akira did not mind. Makoto told them they could, so he would just go along with it.

“Thank you, Makoto. For helping us study.” He said and began to tidy up the table. They had enough for one day.

“Oh well. If you’re fine with it how could I complain?” Ryuji happily – and easily -  conceded and helped his friend.

“No problem. Anytime. Do you often study here?” Makoto looked around the shop but only one older pair where at the other side of the room. Akira nodded and Ryuji groaned.

“Just because this guy here doesn’t wanna to go out. I reaaally wanna go playin’.” The blonde complained and elbowed Akira. “Don’t you wanna try now? It must’ve been ages since ya went!”

Makoto only looked confused alternating between Akira and Ryuji. But settled on the black-haired boy eventually.

“You don’t go outside? Why?”

Akira was quite troubled since he did not want to reveal such a personal thing just yet.

“Some things happened…” He tried to avoid the question. “But I’d like to… try again. Only if you both are there though.” He offered then. And he meant it.

A month ago, he had had his heat and since then was trapped in Tae-sans house. He had changed a bit in this short time, didn’t show as much emotion as before. But that was all the more reason to go outside. And for a few days now, he could finally meet up with Ryuji which made him really happy. But he totally missed going outside. He felt like he could do it when his two new friends were with him.

Ryuji looked really worried and Makoto looked like she wanted to say something more. She opened her mouth but Akira stopped her with a quiet voice.

“Please. Don’t wanna talk about it… right now.” After a while Makoto nodded and Ryuji smiled, an idea forming in his mind. He knew Akira would tell them when he was ready.

“How about it then? Wanna go out to eat Ramen the day after tomorrow? Today’s too late for it, yeah?” The blonde suggested. Makoto nodded. There would be good food and they could go home whenever they wanted. Akira liked the idea.

“Sunday is good for me. Akira?” When the raven nodded it was decided.

They traded their contact info and played around for a while longer. Akira soon forgot about his depressing thoughts and just enjoyed the company of the both of them.

Soon after that Sae and Makoto went home and Soujiro shooed away Ryuji. But on this day Akira didn’t mind it. He looked forward to Sunday. Could not wait for his new friends to come and take him away. This night the raven slept soundly and without worries.

The three of them had a date.

Akira wandered nervously around the shop. So much so that Soujiro almost banned him into the attic.

“You will be fine, boy. Just enjoy.” He told the raven and made his rumoured curry for breakfast.

The boy sat down and waited for his meal. Just as he had calmed down a bit, Ryuji barked in and brought the sun with him.

“Good mo’ning!” His usual loud voice echoed in the shop and Soujiro told him to tone down a bit. But the blonde seemed as excited as Akira felt. He sat down beside his friend and asked if he could have a portion too. Soujiro complied, but not without grumbling. They chatted happily until the food was served and then dug in after a thankful “Itadakimasu”.

“Are ya ready for our trip?” Ryuji asked after he finished his meal. It hadn’t taken him a full minute to wipe his plate. And now he focused on Akira, which nodded with his spoon sticking out of his mouth. Right then the door opened again and Makoto stepped in.

“Good morning. Oh, you are also here Ryuji.” She greeted them and sat down on the other side of Akira. She also received a plate and began to eat with relish.

“Hey! What are you sayin’! Of course I am, jeez.” The blonde stared angrily at Makoto. Akira leaned back after finishing his meal and countered.

“You know, she’s right. You don’t seem like a morning person.”

“Not you too, Akira!” Ryuji cried out, his head dropping. The three of them looked at each other and started laughing.  Soujiro smiled at them and as soon as Makoto finished shooed at them to go away.

Akira hovered a bit around the door. Unsure if he really could do this. Now that it was time his fear came back, full throttle.

Ryuji gave him a slap on the back and smiled his brilliant smile.

“Come on, Akira. You’ll be fine. We ain’t here for nothing after all.”

“Ryuji’s right. We will not let anything happen. You can count on us.” The both of them had taken positions so Akira was in the middle. Protected and safe.

Akira avoided to look at them and suppressed his welling up tears. He realized that his friends, even if they knew each other for only a while, were true friends. He took a deep breath. The raven decided right then that he would live his life as it came. He had nothing to fear. Not anymore. Since he had friends who protected him. And he would protect them too. Akira swore this to himself.

“Thank you, guys.” He smiled at the both of them and took his first step towards freedom.

Chapter Text

Ryuji skipped alongside Akira. He was just so happy his friend was finally ready to leave the shop. He watched him with hawk eyes since he did not want the raven to feel uncomfortable. But that did not seem to be the case yet. 

"It's a bit early for Ramen. Where do ya wanna go?" The blonde asked his friends.

"We could show you around, Akira. You didn't see much of Shibuya yet, did you?" Makoto suggested. It was not a bad idea and Ryuji jumped at it. 

"Yeah! There's much to see, like the arcade and the gym!"

"Is that all you have in your brain? The park and the bookstore are much more interesting."

"No way! Ya have enough books in the damn school! Why should one looking for more?!" 

"Like this your brain will rot." 

A snort interrupted the two.

"You sound like an old, married couple." Akira smirked. Ryuji could only deny that statement.

""We do not!"" And now they spoke simultaneously too! He could not believe this! But Akira laughed wholeheartedly and the blonde felt relieved. Makoto and Ryuji looked at each other. At first confused but then laughing alongside their friend. 

"How about we visit all the places you two have in mind?" Suggested the raven now. "It is true that I haven't seen anything at all yet. We have the whole day too." Makoto agreed and Ryuji grinned too. 

"Then I think we should go to the park first." The girl excitedly recommended. "After all it is near and the other places are around each other in Central Street." Since it was the logical decision Ryuji did not complain. The park was huge and good for running too.

They chatted while walking until they reached their destination and suddenly Ryuji ran a little ahead towards the lake and playground. Immediately Akira began to follow him with Makoto right behind them while complaining the whole way. At the end Ryuji and Akira watched the coughing girl, amused. 

"Ya should go training a little." Ryuji teased while climbing atop the climbing frame on the playground. "Ya've got no stamina." 

"Shut… up!" The blonde grinned at her exclamation and looked around the almost empty park. It was only 9 am and Sunday on top of it. Then he watched the raven as he looked around interested. Ryuji noticed however, that the other boy did not wander much. He was always around either him or Makoto. 

Ryuji wondered again what had happened to Akira. But they only knew each other for a couple of days if you did not count the texts and calls. Therefore, he reined himself and focused on helping his friend to have fun. For now.

"Akira, why don't ya come up here and take a look?" With this statement he helped the frizzy hair and grinned at the unwilling Makoto. They continued to argue but both enjoyed it somewhat. Akira only calmly watched them but Ryuji could see that he was happy too. Then they decided to continue on their way and the raven began to climb down. 

Ryuji looked around one last time but before he could begin to climb he noticed a familiar face. He wondered what she was doing here but did not want to call out to her. Only when he noticed that an unknown young boy lurked around her he paid more attention. While she could have known the blue haired stranger, it didn't seem so be the case. She glanced around uncomfortably and froze as she discovered the source of the bad vibes she got. 

Ryuji didn’t think and just jumped down and ran towards his classmate. He did not even stop when he heard Makoto and Akira shout.

“"Ryuji? What's wrong?"” They even overlapped. If the boy weren’t so worried he would have laughed. But now he concentrated on getting to the girl.

He slowed down as the girl came into sight. The blond girl was still alone and tried not to stare at the stranger. She had a relieved expression on her face when she recognized Ryuji though.

"Sup' Takamaki. Everything all righ'?" Ryuji stopped beside her and stared at the blue haired stranger. This guy did not seem to mind or even know that he was stared at. He only held his sketchbook with somewhat… hungry eyes looking at Ann.

Akira was right behind him while Makoto needed a bit longer and was now coughing with her hands on her knees. 

"Sakamoto! I'm so happy you're here!" Ann Takamaki exclaimed and looked at him and his friends. "And no, I'm not ok! I think I'm being watched and it creeps me out!" She whined and glanced again at the stranger. Ryuji could feel that Makoto and Akira realized what was going on.

"Yeah, thought so. I saw ya from the playground. Oh, and that're my friends, Kurusu Akira and Niijima Makoto." He pointed at them while introducing. "And that's my classmate, Takamaki Ann." 

"Nice to meet you. Can we help? Are you sure that this boy is watching you?" Makoto remained calm and tried to analyse the situation. Ryuji was not sure he could contain his anger if this boy did anything suspicious. He didn't know Ann very much but they talked now and then and were on good terms. And as she was a bit shunned because of her natural blond hair, she was kind of an outsider like him. He thought of her as an almost friend and thus could not ignore the situation. 

Ann hesitated but then nodded and sighed in relieve. Now she was not alone anymore. 

"It would be great if you could keep me company for a while. I don't know what I would have done if…" She didn't finish her sentence, but didn't need to. 

"No kiddin'" Ryuji replied. "What are ya even doin' here alone?" Normal people would not be alone at the park. Especially not this early in the morning on a Sunday.

Ann looked troubled and chewed on her bottom lip, considering if she should trust them. But gave up because they were already here to help. She could as well tell them.

"It's… a bit embarrassing. I wanted to have a picnic with my parents and they said they would come at ten. But now they called me and cancelled because of work." Ryuji scratched his head while thinking. And Makoto hugged the other girl impulsively. Ann hesitated but then hugged the other girl back.

While the blonde pondered what they could do he realized that Akira was unnatural still. He hadn't said a word and it looked like he had trouble breathing. He was trembling too.

Ryuji was sure that the boy did not want to draw the attention on him. Because of that he changed his position so he stood between the raven and the others. Now they could not see Akira anymore.

A small smile snuck on Ryujis face as Akiras hand closed on his T-Shirt.

********

Akira realized the instant the breakdown began. He froze up and concentrated on breathing like his doctor had taught him. A few moments later Ryuji managed to shield him from the others. His hand clung shakenly on the Shirt of the bigger boy. He expressed his thanks as his head followed and now rested on Ryujis back. That calmed him somehow and he closed his eyes.

"Why don't ya hang out with us then?" He heard Ryuji say. It sounded far away, but Akira was glad that he could at least hear him. Sometimes his breakdowns were so bad he could not feel, hear or see anything. This time only his feeling seemed to crack. 

"You don't mind?" Ann asked a bit hopeful. It seemed she did not want to spend the Sunday all alone. Akira could sympathize with that. He had had to spent the last three weeks almost entirely alone.

"Nah. We'll only stroll around a bit and show Akira 'round anyway." Ryuji explained, but immediately pulled the attention away from him again. "But I think it would be good to get rid of your stalker problem first." 

"I agree." Makoto tensely said.

“Thank you. But, how can we?” The group went silent for a moment as all began thinking.

Akira used this moment to collect himself. He took a deep breath and let go of Ryuji while opening his eyes. The raven thought he knew why he had had the breakdown. He was surrounded by Alphas after all. Ann looked like one too and even the stalker… he shuddered. Then he shook his head and stepped around the blonde. He had decided to do his best and all of them were good people so he wanted to help.

“How about just asking him?” With these words he stepped away from the group and made his way to the blue haired boy. Even he himself did not know how he could gather this much courage. Shortly after a breakdown too. But somehow the stalker did not feel dangerous at all.

“Wha- Akira, wait dammit!” Ryuji half shouted and ran after him. The two girls were shocked but followed after them. But before they could reach the raven he had already reached the stalker.

“Hey. Why are you stalking Takamaki-san?” Akira said bluntly and without hesitation. Ryuji tripped and almost collapsed onto the ground hearing that, but caught Akiras shirt and steadied himself. Ann and Makoto simply stopped and stared at the black-haired boys head.

“… Stalking? That’s outrageous!” He exclaimed and with that Ann found her voice again.

“You’ve been following me since I left the train! What is that, when not a stalker?” She was really angry. The boy on the other hand looked taken aback.

“That’s not right. I only wanted to ask you…” At this moment an old man decided to show up. He wore a Yukata and looked like a decent enough guy. But Akira got the creeps and took a step away from him.

“Ah, here you are Yusuke. I wondered why you were in such a hurry. So, this is where your passion led you. Well, everything is well that ends well. So be a good boy and come back soon. I’ll be on my way back to the car.” And as fast as he had showed up he vanished.

Somehow no one besides the blue haired boy could comprehend the situation.

“I only chased after you to ask…! Please, won’t you-“

“W-Wait, what are you ask-“ Ann countered flustered.

“-be the Model for my next piece of art?” The boy seemed overly serious.

“”””Huh?”””” All of them just stared.

“Model?” Ann was the first who found her voice again. At this the young man seemed to open up.

“Yes! I always felt like my works were lacking something! But as soon as I saw you I felt so much passion. I just know it has to be you!” He excitedly went on and on but Akira found it somehow funny. Ryuji not so much.

“That sound’s really suspicious ya know! Who’re ya anyway?” He stood right between Yusuke and the rest of the group.

“Oh, where are my manners. I am Kitagawa Yusuke. I study art under my sensei, Madarame Ichiryusai. I am allowed to live at his apartment too. I strive to become an artist.” His introduction was very detailed, Akira thought as Yusuke tried to get near Ann. But Ryuji stopped him while Akira stood between them too. Even if the raven had a feeling that this was not a bad guy, he would not risk the safety of a young girl.

“Wait, you’re a pupil of THAT Madarame?” Ann asked. She seemed to know this sensei of his. Ryuji was as confused as Akira.

“Ya know this guy?”

“Yes. Madarame-sensei was featured in a famous magazine I read before. He’s a famous Japanese-style artist who is world wide recognized. And you are really a pupil of his?” Ann explained and looked again at this boy. She checked him out more carefully than before.

“Yes.” The guy confirmed.

“That’s cool.” Makoto piped up. She was interested too. Somehow this simple sentence relaxed the whole atmosphere around the juveniles.

“Thank you. And you are…?” Yusuke asked and they introduced themselves. When they finished Yusuke spoke again to Ann.

“I inquire you. Please be my model! I have to go now but please contact me.” He gave Ann his number and then went after his sensei.

As soon as he was out of sight Ann collapsed onto the ground.

“Man, that was one weird dude.” Ryuji commented and received a blow to the head from Makoto.

“You shouldn’t say something like that.” She then kneeled besides Ann. “Are you alright, Takamaki-san?”

Akira too sat besides the girls. He sighed in relieve as all the tension leaved his body.

“Yes. Thank you all, really. And Ann’s fine. I feel like we will be good friends.” She smiled shakily and just like this their little group had one more person.

“Well then. Shall we be on our way? We should not let this… incident let us stop from having fun today.” Makoto smiled and stood up. Then she held out a hand to help Ann up. Ryuji already grabbed Akiras hand and had pulled him up.

“By the way Akira. You are really an idiot!” The raven flinched at Makotos outburst. “But it was really cool too. Only, please don’t do it again. I think my heart stopped there for a moment.”

The other two could only agree to this statement. Ann added a “Thank you” and the group went towards Central Street.

As it turned out they underestimated the time they had and didn’t got to all the places they wanted to. Ann wanted to show him the Underground Mall too and the heated discussions went on and on. Akira didn’t mind. It was so much livelier than his time with Tae or at home.

“Well, the Ramen was great at least.” Ryuji burped as they walked out of the Ramen shop. And received another smack from Makoto.

“What do you mean “at least”? It was a great day even if we did not accomplish everything we wanted.” Ann scolded him.

“And it’s not like this was the last day or something. I’ll be here for a while yet and you can show me the rest another day.” He agreed and looked around the busy street. Everyone concentrated only on themselves and many didn’t bother to look up from their phone.

“Ya’re right. And it was fun. Didn’t know ya were such a cool girl, Ann.”

“And you’re just as much a troublemaker as I thought.” She countered laughing.

“Aww that’s mean.” Now all of them laughed and decided to go back to Leblanc together.

“Do you live there, Akira?” Ann asked as they walked. Ryuji’s and Makoto’s attention perked up.

“Yes. Over the shop is an attic and there is my room. I can show you if you want.” All agreed excitedly.

“Honestly, I thought ya life with the old man?” The blonde had wanted to know but hadn’t expected this. So, he was a bit confused. Makoto too found this a bit strange. Normally one would not life in a shop.

“Soujiro-san has his circumstances and I don’t really mind. I can lock the door if I want to be alone and everyone at the shop is nice.” Akira only shrugged. He had no idea at this time why Soujiro didn’t want him at his house. But he trusted him and he was sure that Boss had his reasons.

“When ya think about it that way, it’s actually really cool.” Ryuji pondered. Ann agreed reluctantly while Makoto said he should life together with his guardian.

“But you know, Soujiro-san is not my father and I only know him for about a month now. So, I think this is better.” Akira explained. Makoto suddenly stopped and stared at Akira.

“I didn’t know that, sorry. Your parents…?” She asked carefully. She did not want to upset the boy. But he only shrugged again.

“Don’t worry. They’re fine. We’re only living apart for the moment because of reasons. Now come on.” He really did not want to talk about that right now.

Makoto sighed relieved and hurried to catch up to Akira.

“I’m sorry for prying.” She apologized and looked really troubled. Akira gave her a small smile.

“Don’t worry, its fine. I just… cannot talk about it just yet.” Makoto nodded now at ease. Ann watched interested but didn’t interrupt. She didn’t know them enough for such personal questions. Ryuji also stayed silent. But he remembered the last time went similar. Since it was only a few days ago he hadn’t really expected more.

“So, the week after are holidays. Right? Wanna go playin’ then?” Ryuji asked and changed the topic, away from depressing thoughts. Akira was happy to let the dark topic behind him and nodded in excitement. The girls agreed too. They began discussing all kind of places they could go to and soon arrived at Leblanc.

“Welcome back.” Soujiro greeted them and looked surprised to see another girl with them. She introduced herself and the group went upstairs. The old man stopped Akira before he could follow his friends and told him that his parents had called. It seemed urgent and he should call back as soon as possible.

Akira did that in the shop to have some privacy. His three friends were upstairs and Soujiro was now on the way home. His father picked up and when he received the news he almost dropped the phone.

Chapter Text

"...and therefore, you should come home. We miss you."

Akira was still frozen in place. He had not expected that his parents wanted him back that early. It was not like he didn't like them. Or did not want to. Just the opposite actually. And he missed them too. But at the moment he was not sure if he could be near them for a longer term.

He shuddered at the thought.

Then his new friends came to mind and he wondered again why they didn't bother him. Yes, he had had a minor breakdown but that was all. When he was home he couldn't do anything at all. His body remembered the incident as soon as he was in the same room as his parents and grew stiff.

"...Akira? Are you still there?" His father asked when he received no answer whatsoever.

"...Yes, sorry. Dad, I'd really like to. But…" He hesitated. He played with his fringe while nervously trying to come up with the right thing to say.

"I know, peanut. But we both really want to see you. Why don't you come over next week? Even if it's just a few days…" His father understood but that didn't mean he didn't want to see his son. Trying to keep calm the raven took a deep breath.

"…Okay. I'll try. Next week I'm coming over." He promised. Then he made plans and they said their goodbye's.

After the call he sat down with his head between his knees. He wanted to see his parents. Especially after what his father had told him. He really did. On the other hand, it scared the shit out of him as he did not know how he would react. But that was exactly the reason why he did not want to see them. It would hurt his parents if he rejected them. Even if he did it unconsciously. Trembling the boy tried to regain his composure. But apparently, he took too long.

"Akira? 'S everything al'ight?" The raven flinched as he heard Ryuji's voice. The blonde must've been coming down while he was lost in thought. He looked up and met the worried gaze from his friend.

"Yes, it's… alright." He managed to say but couldn't keep his voice steady. Ryuji furrowed his brows and sat down beside Akira. He laid one arm around his shoulders and gave him a hug.

"Come on, what's wrong? I can see ya're troubled." The blonde inquired in a soft voice. And just like that Akira told Ryuji. He could not explain why, he hadn't intended to. Somehow his mouth blurted out what he wouldn't have been able to told anyone expect the blonde.

"My mother had an accident. And now they want me to… go back." The raven trembled which extended to his voice. He could feel Ryuji stiffen for a second. But then he patted Akira's back, soothing him.

"Is it bad? How's she?" His voice was filled with worry. Akira's heart clenched.

"Mom's in the hospital but she's fine. Dad said they only want to make sure everything's alright before she can go." The raven explained and slowly began to calm down. "And… she's pregnant. That's the cause, actually."

He would be an older brother. Akira was excited and he knew his parents were over the clouds with happiness. That was the reason he decided to visit them. He would try to be there for his unexpected little sibling.

"Wow! Congratulations!" Akira could feel that Ryuji really meant it. "When will ya go back? Do you not wanna?"

It seems Ryuji picked up his distress better than he had anticipated. Akira flinched and looked away, a bit embarrassed.

"That's not really…. There are circumstances and it's not so easy. But I wanna go back. I will go next week and I don't really know how long I will be gone. So we might have to postpone our plans. Sorry." The raven blushed slightly and kept his face hidden. He felt so safe in Ryuji's arms and somehow wished he could stay there forever.

"Aww com'on! That's great news and everyone'll understand! That' a good reason!" A smile greeted Akira as he looked up to Ryuji and he could only return it.

"Thanks, Ryuji. I feel a lot better now." He snuggled a bit into his friend and they stayed like this for a short while. Then the blonde stood up and took his friend upstairs.

"Now come on. Makoto and Ann'll worry if we ain't comin' back soon."

In his room they explained to the girls and made plans for the next few days. Before Akira had to go back, they would meet up every day to make up for the lost holiday.

************

Soujiro observed his protégé carefully. Akira had told him the day after the call from his father that he would go back for a short while. The old man did think it was a good thing. That meant the raven made progress.

On the other side he couldn't not worry. In this month he had taken Akira under his wing. That also meant he was under his protection even if he could not do much.

Right now, the boy helped out in the shop and served a few regulars. He looked relaxed and even smiled while talking to them. One could not compare Akira from a month ago to now. He was much happier and even went out with his friends. These few days he had made so much progress.

After his second heat his Pheromones hadn't calmed down but the medicine Tae developed had worked wonders. Now he could life like a Beta. But no one really knew when his next heat would arrive and that was what worried him. It seemed the boy had pushed this topic into the back of his mind. But the doc had explained that the medicine only supressed the smell. Not the heat itself. This was another topic altogether. And a month had already gone by.

Since the last one had lasted more than a week Soujiro hoped the next heat would take it's time. But no one could tell him and so only hope remained.

At the end of the day the old man went over the dates with Akira and then went back home and looked after Futaba. That poor girl didn't go out of her room just yet. He did everything he could to help her but the girl didn't let him.

Back on his sofa he sighed and collapsed exhausted. Futaba alone was already demanding but with now two broken juveniles all is energy seemed to be sucked out of him. He only wished he could do more to help them. And didn't need to feel so damn helpless.

*************

Ryuji was drawn to Akira like a bee to his flower. The rest of the week he spent every free second with his fluffy haired friend. He didn't want to miss even a moment. 

That was not because he missed him. (Of course, this was a reason too.) But he had such a strange feeling he would not see him for quite a while. As he didn't want to worry Akira he didn't voice his concerns. But with every new day the discomfort grew. It didn't help that the raven grew more nervous with the fast-approaching day either.  

"Everything'll be fine!" Ryuji comforted him despite his own dark thoughts. "In no time 't all ya'll be back and eat ice-cream with us!" 

He received a forced smile in return but Makoto backed him up and they somehow convinced themselves that all will be fine. 

"Ryuji's right! Just enjoy your stay with your parents and don't forget to keep in touch. Though I demand every detail on how your little sibling is doing!" Ann chimed in excitedly. 

"…. Mom's only in the fourth month…" Akira replied dryly. "And I don't plan to stay that long!" 

"Aw come on! I wanna see the baby!" She cried. Makoto only sighed at the stupid outburst. 

"Ann, that’s unreasonably. And Akira will get a picture as soon as the baby comes, right?" The brunet tried to comfort her then. 

"Of course. I wanna see it too." The raven sheepishly smiled. "But Makoto's right. I'll receive a picture as soon as possible. When the time comes maybe I'll be there too." 

Ryuji wasn't a big fan of little toddlers and let the others discuss to their hearts content without interfering. He was surprised though, that Akira actually seemed to like babys. He didn't seem like the type to do so. But since it was not his own and instead a sibling…. Ryuji could somehow understand. It would be fun to tease them. And he would tease them endlessly himself if he had one. 

The group talked and laughed a while after that and tried to make the most of their last day together before Akira would go home. But since they had so much fun, the day came to an end much too early. 

"Why can't we stay overnight!" Ryuji whined the hundreth time today and received a disapproving look from Soujiro. 

"Because Akira needs all the sleep he can get and doesn't need an idiot who keeps him up all night long." 

Ann snickered and even Makoto couldn't conceal her grin. Ryuji didn't get it and argued back again. 

"But i's the last day! We'll not see him for at least a week!" Somehow, he himself knew this wouldn't work against Boss. 

"And the problem is?... He will be back soon enough, so now scram!" And that was already the end of it. Ryuji and the two girls were thrown out. Now they stood before Leblanc a bit disoriented. The blonde looked back longingly. 

"So like… See ya tomorrow?" It came out with a question mark but he could not quite sort the situation out.

"Yeah. Let’s meet up. How about the Ramen Shop we went to before?" Makoto suggested with the consent of both. 

They went their separate ways, waving to another and then Ryuji was alone. 

His bad feeling hadn't gone away and now it just grew. He shook his head. Nothing bad would happen. Forcing himself to be optimistic, he ran the whole way back home.

*************

Akira saw his friends off and went to sleep only to be on edge the whole night. In the morning Soujiro woke him up and then helped him pack his few things together. 

"You know that you can come back whenever you want, yes?"  Soujiro watched him with his arms crossed before his chest.

The boy just nodded. He instinctively felt that Boss had "adopted" him already. 

"Thank you. I don't think I will be gone for long." And he meant that. Akira wanted to come back here. Now he had friends and the city was his second home. Plus, he didn't think he could be long with his parents. Even if he wanted to. Unconsciously he was afraid. He sighed and put his last Shirt in his suitcase. Soujiro helped him closing it and then they went to the car.

"Your parents will come get you at the train station?" Boss asked.

"Yes, my dad'll get me. Then we will go straight to the hospital to see mom." 

"Are you nervous?" Soujiro frowned while driving and hooting when an unexpected driver stole his right of way.

"…. Yes." Akira hugged himself and stared outside the window. "Pathetic, right?" 

Boss didn't answer him immediately and waited until the next red traffic light, then looked straight at the raven. 

"No. It is completely normal. And don't you dare think otherwise. I'm amazed at the progress you made this month to be honest. I only hope it will not be in vain." Akira didn't reply but a small smile snuck unnoticed on his face when he looked again at the traffic. The rest of the way both of them kept to their own thoughts.

Soujiro left Akira before the train station because he couldn’t get a parking space. He hesitated but, in the end, hugged the black-haired boy. Embarrassed he let go almost immediately.

“Are you sure you want to take the train? Your father offered to come and take you, yes?” At that the raven only shook his head.

“I have to do this. And there are precautions for omegas AND kids, right? And I train since my second heat. If something happens I can at least defend myself.” Akiras determined eyes met with Soujiros and the man knew he couldn’t convince the boy otherwise. He would not back down on this. In the boys eyes this was a huge step to get his own freedom back.

“Come back soon, yes?” Akira nodded, his eyes a little wet on the edges. Then he took his backpack and went on his way.

He would finally meet his parents again after more than a month.

With a last deep breath and wave to Soujiro he walked into the station.

Home.

Wait for me. I’ll be home soon, Mom, Dad. And my new sibling. Now that it was time his desire to return burned inside him.

Akiras way home was unexpectedly uneventful. Nothing really happened other than he had a feeling someone was watching him. But as soon as he looked around to find the source the feeling vanished. The raven made himself small and avoided every Alpha he could. Thankfully every ticket inspector was a Beta and he didn’t have to make directly contact to one Alpha.

The raven had to change trains two times but after three hours he was back home. He took the step outside the train and was greeted with a mass of humans. Everyone went their ways without looking around and somehow, he felt this was wrong. The boy could not say why though. He walked slowly and searched for his father. He had said to pick him up by the trails.

Soon the black-hair found the big man holding a big signboard with his name in capital letters and a crow painted on it. He grinned at that insider and made his way towards it. As he closed in he began to quiver a bit. He forced himself to hold his steady walk and not to let his father notice this. He would do anything he could to not disrupt this situation anymore than it already was.

“Dad!” He called out and looked almost immediately eyes with the big man. A shiver run down his spine at this and he had to take everything in him to not flee again and holding his smile as the past events rushed into his mind.

He would do this.

He could.

Had to.

“Peanut!” Strong arms surrounded Akira as his father gave him a bearhug. His glasses squished between them. But it didn’t bother the boy one bit. He was just happy that his journey alone in the train was finished without further incident.

“We really missed you. Your mother would have loved to come but she felt unsteady and had to stay home.” Akira held his father with shaking arms and nodded. He couldn’t move from this position, couldn’t control the shaking but tried his best to keep it at a minimum.

“…missed you too.”

Understanding his father continued to stroke the boys back until he calmed down.

For a while both of them didn’t move from their spot until someone bumped into the older man and they let go.

“…. Let’s get you home.” Akira nodded and took his backpack and followed his father to the car.

From this point onwards, until he got home, the city seemed to blur in the ravens eyes. Instinct seemed to take over to not overload the young boy and he was grateful and embraced the feeling.

*********************

“We should thank Sakura-san.” Akemi heard her husband say and could only approve. The man had helped their son immensely even if he wasn’t fully back.

“Yes. I’d like to pay him a visit sometime in the future. But maybe we should wait a bit longer. Until the little one got out at least.” She laid her hand protectively on her belly. Hirato smiled and laid his hand above hers.

“I hope he can come back when the baby is coming.” The mother nodded and leaned onto her husband. They stayed like this for a while and just enjoyed that their son laid beside them, sleeping. She stroked his hair lovingly.  

“Yes. And I’m really glad this bastard didn’t mark him. I would have murdered him if he had. It is bad enough that we cannot do anything to him at this point anymore. Akira even wears glasses now, so he does not have to look straight at people anymore. And his hair grew out so now his face cannot be seen clearly either. It’s just sad.” The man had had to ruin the mood and she sighed.

“I know darling. I feel the same way. But let’s just enjoy the moment for now, yes? Don’t let Akira hear you say that, it will only further increase his distress. I can feel he is putting up with the whole situation. You need your focus to help him out of his fear of Alphas – and us.” Akemi would be willing to sacrifice almost everything if her son could go back to be the innocent little sunshine he had been before the incident. But life wasn’t so easy.

“Yes, I know. You’re right, I need to calm down. Let us just enjoy this week before he has to go again. Just the four of us.”

With this they went out of Akiras room towards their own. Both of them gave their son a kiss on his forehead before heading out.

They didn’t notice the glittering tears streaming down Akiras face after they closed the door and went to sleep.

The days went by and as a mother she could not be prouder of her brave child. He gave it his all to not fearing his parents anymore and all of them enjoyed their time together after this month they were separated. It was their last day before Akira should go back to Sakura-san and they were on their way back from the zoo. But now something was wrong.

“Ugh.” Akemi hold her belly and cried out in pain. Hirato immediately alarmed by this, held in the next parking lot and tried to help his wife however he could.

“What’s wrong butterfly?” As he noticed her hold on her belly he paled another notch.

“I-I don’t know.” The woman cried out again and cringed. She was in so much pain but could not point out where it came from. Fear crept into her heart, she had to protect her baby.

“Dad, the hospital!” She heard her beloved son crying out. But her child’s cry hauled her husband out of his frozen state and he immediately began to start the car again.

“You’re right Akira! It’s not far so hold on tight Akemi!” Her normally level-headed man sounded desperate it really broke her heart. The woman felt when the car started again and shot through the traffic. Her son tried his best to help her. But didn’t know how. The problem was that she herself didn’t know what it was so she only thanked him for his effort.

She smiled that he was able to communicate so normally with them now. These few days had a great impact on the boy as he now was almost comfortable again with his parents. But the mother knew that he needed a while longer and distance so he could relax again.

Another stab distracted her from these thoughts. She could feel the worry from her two beloved men and tried to reassure them. At a red traffic light, she looked up to talk but-

The last thing she saw was a truck crash into their car.

Chapter Text

“Today we will speak about the Dynamics. Or, as more of you call it, the secondary sex or gender.” Kawakami wrote three words onto the chalkboard. 

Alpha

Beta

Omega

Ryuji just yawned and didn't bother to write down the words yet. He couldn’t care shit about this lesson. Yes. It was the first time the school addressed it but his mother had explained it to him already. Because she was an Omega and wanted to avoid an unwanted outcome.  So, he wasn’t really paying attention to this and slept with his eyes open.

In the end he copied only what was written on the chalkboard because he at least had to have a complete notebook.

Alpha  – They are the most dominant of the three. They possess superior strength and abilities and are able to intimidate and influence others through their Pheromones. Omegas are drawn towards them. Most of the top positions are held by Alphas. There are many infertile female Alphas. Can mate with Omegas, if bonded cannot have another partner than his/her mate. Mating is done by biting the scent gland on the neck. – 10 %

Betas  – The sex most humans have. The "normal" ones. They are not influenced by either Alphas nor Omegas. – 85 %

Omegas  – The rarest of the sexes. Submissive and weak. Often disregarded as useless and many company’s refuse to let them work. Are influenced greatly by Alpha Pheromones. Generate their own calming Pheromones. Have the best nose and can tell apart even other Omegas. They experience heat approximately every 2-3 months - with a period from 2 to 4 days - and therefore best for giving birth. Mostly female. Males are infertile. Can mate with Alphas, if bonded cannot have another partner than his/her mate. Mating is done by biting the scent gland on the neck.  – 5 % 

General  – Every Second sex can be either Female or Male. Only Females can give birth. The own dynamics don’t influence the child’s dynamic. The dynamic stays dormant until puberty and breaks out the moment one will be able to produce offspring. This is called presenting. When one presents depends on the person him-/herself, but generally happens when one is around 15 - 18 years old.  At that moment the scent gland is fully developed and the olfaction increases so one can pick up what secondary sex has. Omegas can only be distinguished from Betas while they're in heat.

With the last few words Ryuji shuddered. He didn’t care what his secondary sex was. His only hope was to not be a male Omega. This was the last thing everyone wanted. As the Omegas were there to give birth they should be female. And even them were looked down upon. Nobody knew why male Omegas even existed as they could not produce offspring, but seduced Alphas to bond with them regardless. So, they were despised even if they themselves were not at fault and couldn't do anything against it.

“And now, don’t forget that the tests what your secondary sex is are next Monday. Also” Excited murmurs could be heard in the class and the teacher had to almost shout to get the next info through “it is bad manners to ask which secondary gender one has. So, if one doesn’t want to talk about it, respect that.”  At that moment the last bell sounded and everyone jumped up to discuss which gender they wanted to be. Of course, most hoped to be Alphas. 

Ryuji was much more excited for the transfer student which would be in the parallel class next week. He had heard it from Ann. There were already rumours going around that the guy would be a delinquent. He wondered how they started when the person himself weren't around yet and if they were true or not. But in the end, it didn't matter since this person would be not in his class.

He sighed and packed his notepad and pencils away and made his way home. The blonde’s days had become dull since the day he couldn't run anymore. 

And since Akira had disappeared almost two years ago. 

Boss did do anything to find him but somehow couldn't. His own search didn’t result in something. And even Makoto couldn’t come up with any hint whatsoever. He shouldn't have let him go. Should've done more regarding his instincts.

As he thought about Boss he remembered something. He hadn't paid him a visit for a while. Maybe he should go and find out if the man had any new infos.

Just as he wanted to cross the road towards the train for Jongen-Jaya, his Handy vibrated. He clicked his tongue, took it from his pants pocket and looked at the text.

         Mom: Come home asap. D. is coming

Fuck. 

Now he could forget his plans. He wrote okay back and wondered why he had to put up with this shit. His father only came by to harass the both of them. But if the blonde wasn't there his mother would receive the full blow of the Alphas wrath. Because of an unfortunate accident his ma was bonded to the alcoholic as mate. Now they lived separately through protective measurements from the police, but the asshole had to have visitation rights now and then because of the bond.

Mated pairs couldn't be separated for too long. And it slowly killed his ma. 

To release a bit tension, he punched a nearby wall and made his way back home while muttering insults toward this fucking man. Ignoring the staring and receding people.

His weekend ruined.

*********************

The new week just had to begin as bad as the weekend had ended. First her parents broke a promise – again – then this situation came around. Ann sighed and looked out of the window, almost squirming in her seat because she didn’t want to be here. Beside her sat the perverted teacher Komoshida. He thought he was the boss of the school just because he was the only teacher who was an Alpha. On the front he was the perfect man for the job.

But Ann knew better. Because Shiho suffered. 

The girl wanted to be as far away as possible but had to put up with it. If she didn’t, Shiho would receive the punishment for it. 

Some rumours even made the round. Everyone kept their distance from her because they thought she had something with a teacher. And that the "affection" sprung from her.

The only thing that kept her going were her great friends. Since the day they showed Akira around they somehow stuck together. Except for the black-haired boy. She was worried for him but didn’t know what she could do. For now, she would do what she was able to regarding Shiho.

When they finally arrived, the blonde said her thanks and excused herself. Kamoshida tried to keep her a bit longer but she refused to do more than that. She shuddered in disgust at the thought he could touch her. 

Ann made her way to the classroom. Today there would be a transfer student. Kawakami hadn’t looked very happy about that though. The teacher looked like she would have preferred everyone but this student. Which the girl found a bit strange. Normally an instructor shouldn’t show such obvious dislike. And nothing had happened yet either. 

“What do you think your secondary gender is?”

“I hope I’ll be an Alpha!” 

“I hope we don’t have an Omega in our class.”

“Yeah that would suck.”

There it was. The second big event for today. Everyone in the second grade had to undertake the test for their Dynamics. Ann somehow was excited for this too. She knew what she wanted.

Hoped for. 

Even Shiho knew what she wanted. Makoto and Ryuji both didn’t seem to really care either way. Except hoping not to be Omega. Which Ann could certainly understand. But as long everything turned out she would be happy. Hopefully.

The classroom for 2-D was just in sight as she somehow had a strange feeling. She couldn’t point her finger on it but something would happen today. She just didn’t know what. The girl shook her head to clear her tangled thoughts. What more could possibly happen besides these two events? The whole floor was already crazy with anticipation. 

Ann entered the class and took her seat beside the window. Behind her was the last empty seat and the new student would be seated there. She hoped he wasn’t an asshole and wouldn’t bother her. That was all she wanted. 

The bell sounded and everyone scrambled to their seats. 

Were excited for this rumoured new student.

The girl could hear a voice outside of the room – Kawakamis. But the other party didn’t seem to answer, which the teacher didn’t take too well. But opened the door regardless. 

The blonde didn’t notice right away because his hair was much longer now, but when the boy faced the class she almost shouted his name out loud from surprise. Finally, this day were bound to get better. 

Where did he come from? 

How was he here? 

Why now?

She had so many questions but couldn’t voice them just yet. The others whispered among themselves. And the girl couldn’t believe what she could pick up.

“That’s him? He was arrested for assault, right?” 

“He seems quite normal though...”

“He might slug us when we look him in the eye.”

“Settle down… Well I’d like to introduce a transfer student: Sakura Akira.” Kawakami introduced the raven which looked straight to the wall on the backside of the room with his hands in his trouser pockets in a relaxed stance. As if he didn’t care that the others were intentionally whispering so he could hear every word.

It really is him! But why “Sakura”? Ann couldn’t believe this. They had searched so long for him! And now he stood before her like it was nothing, except that his surname had changed. Like he had never vanished at all!

He didn’t seem to notice anything around him though. As if he couldn’t recognize her. Maybe he was just nervous and wanted to avoid looking around. 

“Alright, please say something to the class.” Ann watched as the boy clicked his tongue so soft nobody else seemed to notice. 

“…” Even after being asked to say a few words by Kawakami he had the guts to stay silent. One could literally see veins popping up on the teachers face. The whispers increased and now the teacher had to almost shout to calm down her class.

“Fine. Take the seat by the windows behind Takamaki-san. The rest of you, settle down! The lesson will begin now.” And before Akira had himself comfortable the woman began her lecture.

Their eyes met on his way to his chair but Ann couldn’t find any recognition in his eyes whatsoever. As if he really didn’t know her. It frightened her.

She frowned. Somehow this was not like Akira at all. Had she made a mistake? No. It definitively was the raven.

While Kawakami wrote something onto the chalkboard she turned around to talk to her friend.

“Hey Akira, I’m glad you’re here again.” She whispered her words, smiling. Not wanting to ask prying questions just yet. Hoping her feeling was somehow wrong and he just was nervous. But as soon as she saw his expressionless face she froze. Something was really, really wrong.

“…Who are you?” 

These words were like a punch in the stomach. She stared at him for a while but he seemed genuinely not to know. He stared back, tilting his head a little to the side. Wondering.

Only when Kawakami cautioned her to pay attention, she turned again. And, while trembling, wrote Ryuji and Makoto a text in their group chat.

         Ann:  Akira’s back. But something is wrong. He doesn’t remember me. Like at all.

*********************

The raven looked the girl direct into her eyes. He tried hard to remember but his brain didn't want to. As she turned around looking absolutely disappointed, a pang of guilt cursed through him. But even then, he could not recall her.

"Do you now this lady?" A voice under his desk whispered. Without looking down he gave the cat a clap. He had promised not to speak in school after all. 

"Don't know." Replied Akira in a low voice. The cat grumbled but didn't say anything further. He watched how the girl wrote a text and then forced his focus back to the lesson. He could ask her later… but she would probably address him before that. For now, he had to catch up to the subject.

Soon the black-hair realized that he knew all the contents already. And for him it was a really unpleasant topic.

Secondary Genders.

It looked like they were just beginning with the topic and because of his situation he had to learn this really early on.

He crossed his arms, laid his head onto them and relaxed on the table while closing his eyes. Lazily playing with his ponytail which went as far as his elbows. Hoping the teacher would just ignore him. But she wasn't this easy because she was still angry.

"Sakura-kun. The first lesson and already sleeping? Then you can surely answer the third question on the chalkboard." Laughter could be heard from almost every other pupil. But he ignored it and lazily looked at the board only to read the appointed question. What he could see were a few questions regarding the Dynamics.

1. What are the differences between Alphas, Betas and     Omegas? 
2. Why are Alphas mostly in high positions? 
3. Why are so many Omegas unemployed?
4. What are the characteristics for Betas?
5. Which Dynamics are able to bond/mate?
6. How does Bonding work?

Such an easy one. Were they really only this far?

While playing with his fringe, though not avoiding eye contact, he explained.

"Because Omegas get into heat every two or three months. Some even have it every month. Most companies don't want to excuse them for this time and thus refuse or even forbid Omegas to work for them. Small Family inherited companies are looking for capable people who can work without holding them back, so even there it is hard to find work. Plus, they can get pregnant pretty easily so the possibility is high they will take off time for that. That doesn't count for male Omegas, but since they somehow have stronger Pheromones than females they are excluded as not to interrupt the working atmosphere."

Then went back into his sleeping position.

Now the room was so silent one could have heard a pencil falling. After a short shock, Kawakami pulled herself together.

"Correct - no perfect. But you should pay attention even if you already learned this." Although she let it go with that. Seeing that he was not as dumb as she thought. If she remembered correctly he had presented already and thus didn't need to be here for the afternoon. But she could not recall what his dynamic was. She thought it was Beta. Didn't matter anyhow and she continued with the startled Takamaki.

She stuttered the answer but got it right in the end. Sighing relieved, she continued to text on her handy rather frequently as soon as Kawakamis attention was on the chalkboard or the other end of the room.

Like this the period continued and eventually ended. The next few lessons went on similar. 

Then it finally was time for the break.

Akira put his utensils in his bag, the cat flitted into it too and then went on his way. Today was over for him as the test for the dynamics would take the whole afternoon. He was excused for that as he already had his gender confirmed. 

"Wait, Akira!" The girl in the seat before him called out. He turned around as he was already on his way out and looked into her eyes. She really seemed to know him as she kept calling out his name without honorifics. 

With her outburst the whole class seemed to pay attention. Everyone wanted to know if Takamaki knew this delinquent. Or what their relationship was.

"Yes?" 

"Where are you going?"

"Home. I already did this test." She jerked at that. Looked like she had wanted to corner him during or after the test. 

"Will you be at Leblanc after school?" The blonde asked then and it only confirmed his suspicions. He nodded. And put his glasses back when they slipped down.

"Can we - Ryuji, Makoto and myself - come by today?" He didn't know her and the other names didn't ring a bell either. As she mentioned Ryuji a shudder went through him but he ignored it for the moment. He would think about that later. Somehow, he didn't want to shatter the hope in her eyes either, but-

"Sorry, no. After returning there I have somewhere else to go today. Maybe tomorrow in school? See ya." With that he continued on his way out. 

Didn't wait for her reply. 

Didn't see the desperate expression on her face. 

Only his heart throbbed with hurt and he thought that he maybe shouldn't be so cold tomorrow. 

But for now, he had something more important to do. 

As soon as he left the school gate he walked into an alley nearby and called out to the cat.

"Morgana. Are you sure there is one?" The animal jumped out of his bag and shook himself. 

"Yes. It is a teacher here. Because of him I searched for help and found you two years ago. He didn't change jobs, I think." Now he began to clean himself. 

"Which?" Akira looked back to the school and wondered what the school would be. He took his phone out and opened the app.

"Name's Kamoshida Suguru. He trains the Volleyball team here and thinks he is the king of Shujin Academy." 

"Ah, this one. Met him yesterday and he really looked like an asshole Alpha." With this Morgana looked back too and waited for the change. Then a voice could be heard while the scene underwent a drastic change.

         ???: Target confirmed. Beginning navigation.

Chapter Text

"What do you mean, he didn't remember ya?" Ryuji almost shouted into Makoto’s ear. She was as upset as him but tried to calm him down regardless.

"Ryuji, let Ann explain, will you?" And he received one of the girl’s smacks. It was a bit harder than usual. 

"Ouch." He glared hat her and rubbed his head. "Tha' wasn't necessary." 

Makoto only glanced at him and then focused on Ann. 

"Explain. What exactly happened?" The brunette looked around. She had to supervise the second-grade students for their tests as she was the student council president. Because of that the three of them could have this conservation, but time was not their friend.

Although, every now and then she had to check if she was needed. Sometimes there were uproars because the line went forward so slowly. And then one should even wait until home to open the envelope. Because there were bound to be people unhappy with their dynamic. Makoto already found out the year before and had presented a few weeks prior. It was really intimidating with the new instincts of an Alpha… and the better sense of smell. Now she had gotten used to it, but in the beginning, it had been a real hassle. With seventeen she was a bit of a late bloomer but she didn’t mind. Her sister hadn’t even acknowledged it much. And Makoto wouldn’t have minded to be a Beta either. She wondered what her two friends would be but had a gut feeling there would be shortly more Alphas around.

Then the blond girl jolted Makoto out of her thoughts.

"He has much longer hair now, so I didn't realize it at first. But it is him, I'm sure of it..." Ann depicted in a few more words what had happened. Ryuji was nervously jumping around the whole time while Makoto remained calm. At least outside. She wanted to know what was going on too. 

When Ann finished she ignored the outburst from Ryuji and thought intently. But alone and with nothing to go with she couldn't figure out any more than her friend. She had to collect more information for this. 

Was it even him? No, she trusted Ann’s judgement and didn’t think she had lied. But then Akira had reacted really strange. What could have happened in these two years? They hadn’t known each other for long but their friendship was real. That the three of them were together after all this time was proof of that. The blank spot in their midst belonged to the raven.

"How about we visit Boss first?" She thought out loud and Ryuji became silent at that. And then pointed his finger at the brunet.

"That' it!" He shouted and received another smack, this time from Ann. 

"Not so loud!" She whispered and looked around nervously. Everyone looked at them with big eyes, but after a short time they began to discuss their desired outcomes again. 

"Good idea, Makoto. We weren't there for a long time either. I miss his coffee." Ann raved the coffee from LeBlanc. And the brunet could fully support this. Of course, this time the raven was much more important. 

"Yes, and even if Akira isn't there it will help. Because Boss is there and can explain what is going on." Of this the girl was sure and the other two agreed. They agreed to go directly after school and made plans to meet up. 

"Now that that's out of the way…" Makoto grinned. "Why don't you two discuss what dynamic you want to be and I'll go back to my assignment? And Ryuji. Don't forget to pay attention to whatever the doctor says. You will not use Akira as an excuse to not learn anything." At the last words the girls grin turned a pitch dark. The boy shuddered at that and nodded willingly. Makoto could be terrifying regarding school and grades. He didn't want to discuss this. Especially not today. Ann kept silent too, exactly knowing Makoto’s mood.

With this the girl went back to her job, all the while thinking what could have happened and what to do after meeting up with Boss.

*********************

Coffee brewing was one of the most relaxing things for the man. He just finished with a new carafe as his door opened. He looked up and grunted a hello with a smile sneaking onto his face.

“How was your first day?” At that the black-haired boy only shrugged. 

“Already learned all the stuff they’re working on.” Soujiro just shook his head. He already knew that Akira was far ahead of the others. Because he hadn't done much more beside studying. Couldn't do much more since he hadn’t been able to leave the house. Didn't have his medicine to keep his Pheromones in check and nothing regular worked on him.

"The medicine from Tae-san is working?" The boy confirmed that with a twinkle in his eyes. He didn't want to be locked in anymore. And finally, the effect of the pills had kicked in. Took them the whole weekend. "Good. You should be able to go out whenever you want now." Boss gave him a new pack full of pills which Tae had brought over in the morning. Then he made preparations for his curry since his regulars would come soon.

“Try to make friends at school, yes? I know this is awkward and new for you but there are people who will want to get to know you. Don't refuse them.” Of course, Soujiro meant a specific set of kids by that but kept his mouth shut in this regard. They had to cope with this themselves. He was just glad the boy didn’t refuse to go out at all.

Akira nodded and made his way up. Boss sighed and hoped he would not be in his room the whole day. Since the boy had returned he never left it except for food or the bathroom. Yes, he couldn't have helped it… but he needn’t have worried as a few minutes later he returned with the cat on his shoulder and in casual clothes. As expected a turtleneck.

“Going out?” Curious the brown-hair watched as the cat comfortable licked his paw. It almost merged with the boy’s black hair so it couldn’t be seen anymore. It was almost as if this was the whole purpose of the long hairs.

“…yes. I’ll be back after sunset.” 

“Don’t cause any trouble, yes? Have fun.” Soujiro didn’t like him going out so suddenly and normally would have objected. But the determined look on the boy’s face and the sparkling anticipation took him by surprise. This was the first real emotion Akira showed ever since he came back. That’s why he couldn’t stop the raven. At that moment it didn’t even crossed his mind.

 And then, with a last confirming nod, he was gone. Boss just hoped the boy would open up more soon.

The bell from the door of his shop rang and the man looked up to greet his new customers. Then faltered a moment before he could collect himself. He hadn't realized that it was this late already.

Soujiro had known that the three of them would show up eventually and here they were. As expected just after the first day, even though he hadn’t anticipated that Akira wouldn’t be present. 

“Hello kids. Come in and sit down.” He poured a cup of coffee for the girls and soda for the boy automatically. 

“Oy Boss, howzit goin’?” Ryuji seemed unusual meek. Probably because of Makoto, who had warned him to behave. 

"Hello Soujiro-san. Sorry to intrude." 

"Hey Boss, thank you for having us."

They went straight for the stools and sat down in front of the shop keeper which served their drinks.

“All’s good." He wouldn't take their questions out of their mouth just yet and as such waited. He didn't have to wait long though. 

"Boss we came here because of Akira. He is back, yes?" Ann began since she was the only one who had actually seen him. "He's in my class but couldn't recognize me."

"Yes, he is back.” He looked successive all three into the eyes. “You want to know why Akira behaved like that, right?” All of them nodded vehemently because they couldn't keep their excitement back. Now they had the confirmation, it really was Akira!

“Yeah! Why didn’t ya tell us he was back and all?” Ryuji wanted to know and took a sip to calm down his excited nerves. The man could feel that this boy was the happiest of them all. Although all of them wanted to meet up with the raven soon. But at first, he just had to tease them a bit.

“You can blame yourself. I couldn’t contact you. And you didn’t bother to come by the last month.” Boss grumbled and began to clean a glass like the bartender he was.

“Ugh. Can’t deny that. Sorry old man.” The trio actually looked really guilty. At that Soujiro let out a laugh.

“No worries. Can’t blame you for not paying this old man a visit. Kid’s these days have better things to do after all.” In good humour he winked at Makoto which smiled a bit embarrassed, a blush creeping onto her cheeks. After this expression became serious again. 

“Now then. Akira’s here since Thursday and I too, only found out then that he lost his memory.” Boss began to explain the circumstances of Akira. As far as he himself knew. Because some things were shrouded in mystery, it seemed even for the boy himself. Of course, he left out specifics about the boys dynamic and everything related to that but shared everything else. It was hard to keep his neutral mien.

Boss watched as the expressions of the juveniles darkened. He couldn't blame them. It was a bit hard to swallow. Mostly because the police had done so little to actually help. When he finished there was a long silence in which he welcomed and served an old couple.

When he got back all of them looked really furious. To his surprise, especially Makoto. But when he thought about it, she probably couldn't believe what the authorities had done. Or hadn't actually.

"Are you serious? That's really unbelievable. What were they thinking? Just putting him into an Orphanage without checking who he is? My sister even checked herself but didn’t get any notice." The brunettes face went dark red with rage.

"I know right? That' fucking bullshit." Ryuji’s fist met hard with the counter. Soujiro admonished him at that but said nothing further. He himself had to keep himself in check at being confronted with such unjust. Just because he had presented as an Omega he received such terrible treatment. Of course, the kids didn't know this little detail but did it really matter? The system was just so wrong in this regard.

*********************

Ryuji couldn’t believe his ears. They had finally found Akira again. But now this? His head had dropped onto the counter for a while now, his head empty. It had overloaded.

Makoto and Ann were as shocked as himself and had already left to digest the news. But Ryuji couldn’t do that. He wanted to meet Akira so badly. Just thinking of leaving before his friend was back gave him a stomach ache. 

“Come now boy. Pull yourself together. He will remember eventually.” Boss tried to cheer him up and the boy sat up again.

“Yeah, I know. He has to. And I actually haven’ seen ‘im yet anyway.” He smiled a small smile, tried to cheer up and forced himself to be optimistic. 

“Where is he anyway?” Ryuji looked at the clock which showed him that it was already almost eight o’clock. 

“I don’t really now. I doubt he would have told me anyway. He doesn’t trust me like he is now.” The older man sighed and went around the counter to close the door. It was past his opening hours now. Had kept open in hope to see his protégé but had to go in favour of Futaba. Even when his heart was heavy with worry he couldn't leave her alone. But Ryuji didn't get ready to head home. Instead he bowed his head.

"Please let 'e stay until Akira come' back." He absolutely wanted to meet his friend and confirm everything he had heard today himself. The blonde stayed with his head down until he heard Boss sigh a full minute later.

"Right. I thought this would happen." Ryuji looked up and watched as Boss took out a spare key and beamed when he received it. "I want it back tomorrow. Preferably you give it right back to Akira. Oh, and here’s my number. Call me if anything happens." Boss took a note and laid it beside the public telephone.

Ryuji nodded enthusiastically and firmly entwined the key with his hand. He would make sure to give it back to Akira. He didn’t want to make Boss angry after this favour.

"Thanks, old man!" 

Soujiro just sighed again and waved him goodbye as he finished up and left the boy alone.

With that the blonde sank into the next bench. He thought back to the few weeks he had spent with the raven and questioned himself why he insisted to meet up with him as soon as possible. It wasn't like they were childhood friends or alike. They only met a handful of times. But somehow, he instinctively knew that Akira would be a lifelong friend… or more. 

At that train of thought he jerked up. What had led him to this … idea? Did he want to be more for the raven? And what exactly was more anyway? This was the first time he didn't understand himself. It was as if his body knew something his mind had yet to figure out.

He considered the possibilities.

Could it have something to do with the dynamics? But Ryuji ruled that out. Because at the time they had met, the genders laid dormant. Even now, Ryuji had not presented. And, with just fourteen at the time, it was impossible for Akira too, was it? And even if he had, it was not like the blonde should have reacted then. The smell couldn't affect unpresented people after all. At that he realized he hadn’t even checked the results from this afternoon. He searched his bag and opened the envelope in haste. He looked it over without reading the whole explanation.

Alpha. 

He took a deep, relieved sigh. Happy to not have inherited his mother’s dynamic. He would gladly inherit everything else but this would’ve been real bad. 

That out of the way he crammed the crinkled paper into his bag again and went back to thinking.

Could it be? Had he a crush on the boy and hadn't realized it? It was true that they had clicked the moment they met. Also, he could relax whenever the black-hair was near. He remembered how disappointed he had been, when he couldn't meet up with him after only meeting the boy once. And scolded himself for not noticing this until now. 

He stood up and began to pace around the shop. He had to move his body to think. The blonde got a headache thinking about all of this and decided to just let it be. It would all come together eventually and he didn’t care either way.

Because he wanted to be with Akira.

This was all that mattered.

An hour later Ryuji had already made his homework since he hadn't anything else to keep him busy. Not like it was the first thing he wanted to do but he couldn't find anything else to keep him occupied.  He had tried to move around a bit, but Leblanc wasn't cut out for much movement and he gave up. The books Boss provided in his shop were super boring too. He didn't want to intrude into Akira’s room uninvited and with that there was not much else to do. Since his Manga's were laying at home, forgotten. 

Thus, he had too much time to think for his liking. He didn't want to speculate more about their relationship than necessary but somehow, he could not distract himself from these thoughts. 

The blonde had been concentrating so much, he didn't immediately notice the sounds of the key. As such he jumped when the door opened. He readied himself to defend the shop before his brain could keep up and he realized it was the sought person.

Akira froze when he realized he was not alone. Ryuji could see his panic welling up and his searching gaze. The blonde forced himself relax. He didn't want to scare his friend after all. He stepped out into the light with a crooked smile, the whole time holding the raven’s eyes. 

"Hey Akira, long time no see." Ryuji could see the boy’s thoughts whirling around. Confused he furrowed his brows and didn't say anything. The blonde didn't move and waited patiently for Akira to make the first step. He then realized a cat on the boy’s shoulders. But it jumped onto a nearby stool with a “Meow” and watched both of them with intelligent eyes. His attention sprang back to the raven.

They stared at each other for more than a minute and the blonde almost said something, despite himself. But then recognition crept slowly into the black-haired eyes. His mouth opened and closed a few times, tense and not yet completely sure if he got it right. Alarmed at the shaking figure of the raven, Ryuji crept closer. He didn't even notice the cat calling out more demanding now.

Then, at least a small voice asking shakenly.

"Ryu...ji?"

Thereupon collapsing into the blondes already outstretched hands.

Chapter Text

Soujiro could not believe that he had finally found Akira. Right before the boy should come back, he just vanished. Like thin air. And nobody seemed to be able to find him. 

The police really were incompetent.

Just the week before a friend of one of his regulars contacted him regarding the boy. Finally, a hint to search for and bingo. 

There he was. 

Alone in an orphanage for Omegas. There they would be cared for until someone adopted them or they turned 18. It looked like his parents died in a car crash. Both were instantly dead and the boy was heavily injured. The car exploded and the boy hadn't had any papers on him so no one knew who he was. From the shock he couldn't speak for a while and didn't react to anything. Only when he opened up again they could get a few info’s but nothing much.

Most of the Orphans didn't get a chance with a new family. Only because of their dynamic. Soujiro was so angry but could only do so much. He submitted his request to adopt Akira immediately. The public authority verified that he already knew the kid plus could provide for him and then approved. 

The Omega was then pushed off as soon as possible. This Thursday Boss could finally collect the boy. But he didn’t expect this particular reaction, couldn't believe it. He went to greet him but stopped halfway when the raven spoke.

"Nice to meet you." Soujiro froze at that completely.

"What? Akira, what are you saying?" The boy didn't even wince. Only this stiff expression.

"Do you know me?" He tilted his head. And Soujiro cursed. 

"Yes. Don't you remember? Two years ago, you spent almost two months with me." Memory loss. That was the only explanation. But how?

"I'm sorry but I cannot remember. I've a gap in my memories with a span of about three months."

Akira could not remember the man. Could not recollect anything of the time he spent in Jongen-Yaya. Could not remember how he went back to his parents. 

For him it was the first meeting with Soujiro. The boy’s emotionless eyes were heart breaking. But at least he didn't avoid eye contact.

"… I'm sorry to hear that." Soujiro wanted to cry for this unfortunate boy. He swore to protect him from now on. Like he did with Futaba.

"But I'm sure your memories will return someday. Until then I hope you can come to live with me. I already cleaned your attic and made all the arrangements. Just call me Soujiro or Boss or something." The man could swear he saw gratitude in these eyes, but only for a second.

"Thank you, Soujiro-san. I'm hoping too." 

Suddenly a cat jumped onto Akira’s arms. It was almost completely black, only his socks, snout and tail tip were white. 

"...Is it ok to bring Morgana with me?" The boy asked sheepishly and looked at the animal in his arms. "He's with me since I woke up in the hospital two years ago."

How could he refuse that?

"Only if he behaves and doesn't cause problems with my customers." Akira only shook his head. He would do nothing of the sort.

"'won't cause any trouble, promise." At that the man nodded, took the boys backpack and made his way to the car. 

"Now come, we can discuss everything on the way home." Akira followed him with a little gap and only when both of them were safe in his car Soujiro spoke up again.

"Even if you don't remember me. I'm glad that you are ok. And happy to welcome you to my family." Boss could see the tiniest smile on the boy’s lips.

"...thanks."

With that, Sakura Akira was born.

Chapter Text

A few hours before

Akira just wanted to check the Palace before he went back to his new home. Morgana had explained a lot in these two years. And he had managed to get rid of a few small distortions even in his handicapped state.

This was because the Metaverse could be entered wherever. One just needed to walk to the underground in the other world. And since it wasn't like there were any other humans in there, he could walk around just fine. Of course, he had to make sure to go when no one would miss him. Therefore, he kept going at night, while the others were sleeping. No one would disturb him then.

Though, it wasn't like he got any visitors in the daytime either. Because everyone was affected by his Pheromones and he couldn't do anything. No one could, not even the scientists. Eventually everyone gave up and left him alone. And Akira was glad. It could have been worse.

What if they had forced him to take a mate? And they surely would have if he had been of age. The public belief was, that Omegas were to be pitied and were to be bound as soon as possible. That was because after being bonded, the Pheromones stopped so that was a legit option. Mated Omegas usually found even a decent job and took off for their, now more predictable and regular heats. Their Alphas were also legally excused during most of that time and thus no problems arose.

Unbound Omegas instead, had to suffer harsh criticism and prejudices.

They should not be allowed to do anything and kept away, so that they were not disturbing anyone. Because their heats were unpredictable and could force involuntary Alphas to make them their mate through their strong Pheromones.

But what about the Omegas themselves? No one wanted to mate someone they didn't like or even know. They lived in fear of and for themselves, hiding away while in heat and enduring the pain and lust in seclusion. Hoping no Alpha was near and they could life another while being not forced to submit.

And he didn't even begin to describe the male Omegas sufferings.

Suppressants helped of course. But not for all of them. Firstly, they were expensive. Secondly, on some Omegas they didn't have any effect. Thirdly, they didn't actually suppress the heats only the Pheromones. It was possible to suppress whole heat cycles. But it was dangerous because the body suffered several setbacks if it did not go through the natural order. Once or twice was okay but much more than that could be hurtful. So, to keep oneself healthy, the heats were required. Nature wanted to remind them, that not everything could be controlled it seemed.

Akira shuddered. The chief of the children's home would not subject underage children to this. He was at least decent enough to give one freedom until one grew eighteen. But he had done other things.

The raven had managed to find out some secrets the Orphanage tried to keep under radar and it was gruesome. The chief sold the Omegas over eighteen to the highest bidder. Of course, the authorities didn't know this and when one was adopted, he had to let them leave.

But most of the others were forced to bond with Alphaholes. Because who else would think of buying a human being? Who else were in desperate need for an heir?

And even the male Omegas were sold. Not for their non-existent fertility. But because they were much more resilient and, while in heat, quite willing. It was a nice variety to have for fun. Naturally only unbound Alphas or Betas could afford this but since the male Omegas were the rarest of them all, there wasn't a problem in needs. Even though, sometimes the chief would deliberately look for them for special orders.

Akira shook his head and forced himself to stop thinking. His head snapped up at Morgana's questioning expression and looked at the castle in awe. He knew that it sprang from a distorted heart, but it was beautifully built regardless. And it was his first time seeing a real palace too. Because until now they had only encountered people at the beginning of distortions.

"...it's really grand, isn't it?"

"Yeah. The shadows are looking like armours too. But you are ready for this! I'm here too." Morgana had switched to his mascot-like appearance. It amazed Akira every time. But since his smell didn't change, he didn't care. Since the accident the raven focused more on his sense of smell to differentiate people. Because then he could also tell of whom he should be careful of. He nodded.

"We should check in with Soujiro and then come back. I don't wanna worry… my new …" He couldn't say it but Mona didn't need to hear it.

"Yeah, let’s go. At least you know now what to expect. We can take our time after all." Mona grinned and jumped back onto Akira’s shoulder. It had become one of his favourite places the last two years. Especially in his normal cat form. Too bad that he had to hide while the black-hair was in school. And he would go back into the bag after they left here because he didn't want to cause Akira trouble.

He closed the app and the female voice called out again before they were transported back without delay.

     ???: Returning to the real world. Welcome back.

*********************

While hiding inside Akira’s bag, Morgana scanned their surroundings with his eyes. He knew that his companion was afraid of Alphas and the cat could see why.

After being with Akira for almost two years, he had finally given in to the pestering by Morgana and told him what had happened. From this point onward, the cat was much more protective. He had had a feeling that it was something like that but hearing it from the expressionless boy in a scared voice had shocked him. He had thought the raven was a boy who knew who he was, without giving in to others. He only did what he wanted to do and kept his thoughts to himself. He was friendly towards Morgana - his friend. But to others cold and empty.

At first it had been different. He had been open and tried to talk to the rare persons who dared to visit him. But they always had to wear masks and didn't talk much about anything other than how to keep himself in check. To put it another way, they blamed him for his strong and never-ending Pheromones.

Slowly Akira began to withdraw and eventually became like this. He only talked if necessary and it didn't matter to him, what others thought. Because no one cared about him either way.

Morgana thought that it was very lucky indeed, that they had met while he was still in the hospital. Like this he had one friend and had the chance to get more of them eventually. Would’ve he been alone, who knows what would have happened. Maybe he would refuse to talk altogether. The cat was used to this but others could be put off by his cold behaviour.

When they arrived at LeBlanc Morgana watched the exchange between Soujiro and Akira and smiled inwardly. Finally, the boy had some luck. Boss would treat him right and the black furred cat hoped he could lure him out of his self-made shell.

Because when it came down to it, Akira was a caring and thoughtful person. This he could tell from the first few weeks they knew each other and how he treated his friend.

As soon as Akira closed the door behind him Morgana jumped out of the schoolbag and shook himself.

"Can't you get a bigger one?" He grumbled. It was tight and uncomfortable. He wanted to stroll around normally too. But he knew he couldn't.

Akira, half naked already, looked at him from the cabinet which he used as his wardrobe and shook his head.

"Regulations. Don't need to stand out more than necessary." With that he took out his turtleneck and jeans and placed his glasses on the wardrobe so they wouldn't bother him when changing. Morgana stared at the black collar on the boy’s neck. He was lucky that the school uniform kept this thing hidden. A question popped into his mind and he voiced it promptly.

"Why do you wear the collar even though you want to hide your Dynamic?" The boy only took this thing off while showering. Not even in his sleep he let go of it.

Morgana watched as the boy's expression grew dark and saw him murmur something.

Even as a cat, Morgana couldn't hear what he had said.

"What?"

"...last present… from my parents. I have it since before it happened… and I don’t …." Morgana froze.

"I'm sorry." But Akira only shook his head and then continued to dress.

That explained at least this little detail. He had wondered for a while now but somehow always missed the opportunity to ask. But now he wished he hadn't.

Akira had been a wrack after the accident. Morgana had found him shortly after. But nobody had helped the boy to cope. If he had been an Alpha or even a Beta he wouldn't have received such treatment. After he had pulled himself back, Akira swore to change this unjust outlook from most of the population. Morgana was inspired by this and stuck with him.

Since the boy was the only one who could understand him, he would have stayed anyway. But he didn't need to tell the raven this.

When his companion was ready, he jumped onto his shoulder and they went on their way back to the school. Morgana could tell that Akira enjoyed the possibility to walk around leisurely in the town with no need to worry because of his Pheromones.

On their way his doctor came across them and checked in with the boy shortly. But she had to go to a girl called Miwa-chan and therefore said her goodbyes. After that, nothing happened until they got back to the palace. Today would only serve to explore and find out the layout of the palace. When they actually took on the enemies they had to stock up on their weapons. But Morgana wanted to set both their minds at ease first so they went in immediately.

The palace was an interesting place. A whole lot of loot and the shadows lurked everywhere. But it would not be easy to find Kamoshida. Even after hours of searching the place, they did not meet the guy. But they found a first map and a secure way into it, so it was a win regardless. The cat was satisfied.

Maybe this was better as they could get used to the situation.

"Good job Joker. Let's keep the pace up." Morgana said while stretching. As they needed to crouch down a lot in order to hide, both their muscles were sore.

They left the Metaverse and made their way back. It was already dark, that said, they maybe had exaggerated their first visit. The mascot scolded himself. He should have noticed that it was this late already. Akira should not be on his way alone at this time. Yes, his Pheromones were now in check. And he trained and was stronger than many Betas and even some Alphas. But he was an Omega nonetheless. He could go into heat and then even the medicine wouldn't work. Should it follow his rhythm, he shouldn't have one until the next month. But with unbounded Omega's no one could say for sure.

"Hurry up, Akira. I'm hungry." The cat wanted to distract the boy from the fact that they were almost alone on the road. But his stomach growled just then and he laughed embarrassed. Akira's lips twitched too.

"Yeah, me too." And he began to jog. They had to get the train and that was one of the worst things on his way. The tight space paired with this much humans and scents was almost too much for the contact deprived black-hair. And it was exhausting for Morgana too. He had to keep himself from wriggling while being squished by bodies. Luckily it was already late and the train wasn’t as packed as usual. They even got a seat and got to Jongen-Jaya without any trouble.

They quickly made their way out of the station and Morgana swiftly climbed onto Akira’s shoulder. Now that they were almost home, he thought it would be okay and Akira ruffled his head affectionately.

“Do you think your new guardian is still at Leblanc?” Mona asked while looking at the second-hand shop. They should check it out soon too. It could have unexpected and useful treasures among the junk.

The boy shook his head and turned onto the designated alley. The shop was now in sight and the cat could feel the exhaustion creeping into his tired muscles. All he wanted now was a good and long rest. After seeing the sign showing “Closed” the cat knew that his companion was right. Soujiro would not be here anymore.

The juvenile took out the keys and opened the door carefully then made one step and suddenly froze on the spot. At first Morgana was confused until he realized there was another person in the room. He observed him carefully but the blonde didn’t do anything alarming. It looked like he knew the black-hair.

“You know him?” Asked Mona while jumping onto the nearest stool. He didn’t receive an answer but it seemed that something had clicked in his friend in a positive way. So, he stayed and watched. Of course, he would protect the boy if necessary. But for now, he would wait and see.

*********************

Akira enjoyed their exploration of the palace. But after he realized how late it was, his mood worsened. Now he had to walk back in the darkness. But it was like this already, so he had to endure it. The boy would just try to get home as fast as possible. Next time he needed to pay more attention to the time. It seemed that Morgana too noticed his blunder and tried to keep him busy until they reached home. Soon they took their leave from the train station. Away from the many scents and bodies.

They quarrelled a bit about what they should eat while walking towards Leblanc but Akira only wanted to go to bed already. He was dead tired after the exhausting trial and error in the palace. They had wanted to find the ideal way inside, without getting caught and only after a few bad entrances they had found one. It connected to an unused room so it was perfect.

He sighed tired, took his key and opened the door. He took a step forward and then an unknown smell reached him. The boy immediately stopped in his tracks and stared at the blonde stranger. Fear welled up inside of him. But the other boy didn’t move an inch and Akira searched for a weapon or something on the other juvenile. His scent was fantastic too. And somehow nostalgic. Like ramen and sunshine. The raven couldn’t find anything dangerous, he was empty handed. After a short while, the blonde relaxed a bit and stepped into the light with a crooked smile. He never let his gaze waver away from Akira’s eyes.

"Hey Akira, long time no see." Now he could see the others face and something in the black-hair stirred. He had the feeling, that he knew this boy. He concentrated hard on that far away feeling and furrowed his brows in confusion. He never had experienced such a familiar feeling in the last two years. And the scent made him shudder so familiar it seemed to be.

He was so deep in thoughts, that he didn’t even realize that Morgana wasn’t on his shoulder anymore.

They stared into each other’s eyes and after a while something came up from the depths of his consciousness and showed him a dazzling smile while rice stuck onto his cheeks. Then another picture formed in his mind, this boy concentrating on questions from school while the black-hair helped him. Both of them playing at the climbing frame on the playground. Eating curry together. The scent was the same. Comforting. Protective.

More and more memories like this filled the ravens mind. More unknown people popping up in his thoughts. Among them this Ann person he had met earlier. With them was another girl, a brunette with short hair. They ate ramen together and laughed because of the bickering between the brunet and the blonde. Then another memory with them talking about a trip. Who was going? He couldn’t grasp it. Soujiro and Tae were in there too, as was a silver haired woman - the sister of the brunet.

And even a strange, blue haired boy. He had… stalked this girl called Ann. But why remember him? It confused him at this moment. It was only a fleeting thing between all the fun he had with these three people, but he remembered the earnest smell of this blue-hair.

Akira wasn’t sure that he got all this right. Didn’t want these memories to be false but could he trust them? Could he trust the fragments that popped up? He wasn’t sure.

His body began to shake from all the excitement and stress the new memories caused. He didn’t realize that Morgana called out to him in a desperate, worrying voice nor that he almost jumped at the stranger.

He also didn’t notice that the blonde slowly crept closer. Or that his glasses almost slid down his nose. All he had before his eyes were memories. And then something more.

“Ryu…ji?” He asked. And then another flood of memories overwhelmed him.

His vision turned black. The last thing he heard was the concerned voice of his friend, calling out his name.

Then the darkness consumed him.