Ren woke up in the Infirmary. He was being stared down by a familiar face.
Ren sighed and sat up. Back here again.
He felt something warm on his leg, and looked down. A plate of food had appeared, the boy looking at him.
"Here. The doctor said you shouldn't move too much."
Ren looked down to the warm, aromatic smell of the rice curry, mouth watering.
"N-no way! Like hell I'll put this stuff back in my system! You can just-"
Ren was silenced by the jab of the spoon forcefully plunging the food into his mouth.
The boy had picked up the spoon and had done it himself. He gave Ren a fierce look. "It's either this or they'll give it to you through a tube you know. So just hurry up and eat it!"
Ren reluctantly swallowed it, then took the spoon from him, glaring.
"Call me an asshole, I don't care." The boy crossed his arms, glaring back. "When's the last time you ate?"
Ren raised his spoon at him. "The hell does it matter to you?"
Even if he decided to stay, he wasn't going to act friendly with the spy!
The boy lowered his arms. "The doctor said you had collapsed from low blood sugar because you haven't been eating, that's why. To think you went a full sprint with your body like this..." He looked away.
Ren looked surprised, his glare falling away. "What, you didn't know that?"
'For someone that's been watching him for days, he didn't know I haven't been touching the food?' Ren wondered.
The boy crossed his arms. "How could I know? I'm not your watchdog you know, I'm just... making sure you're alright."
'Is this a trick?' Ren questioned. 'Are they trying to lure me in with a false sense of security?'
"But you have been watching me though." He muttered under his breath. The boy's ears turned pink. "It wasn't... I... swear it's just because you're hard to find. It was only during school hours!"
'Or his working hours.' Ren wanted to scoff away, however his fury had lessened judging from the boy's face. He seemed genuinely guilty. But, it could be an act.
'But....' Ren looked at the boy, lost in his own thoughts. 'Maybe...'
"Hey boy, are you really with the school?" Ren spoke up.
They frowned. "What, Boy? Do you... not know my name?" The boy paused then sighed. "Right. I haven't even... introduced myself yet. My name, it's Imada Masanori. Sorry about that." The boy rubbed the back of his neck briefly before putting his hands in his lap.
"You haven't answered my question." Ren shot back.
Imada Masanori seemed surprised by the question, then suddenly chuckled. "Right. With the school? Yeah, I guess I am?"
'He admitted it so easily.' Ren thought. 'Was he-?'
"Then, are you gonna help me?" Ren asked firmly.
The boy paused. "Well I... guess if you want me to, sure. I can–"
Ren was overwhelmed with relief. He embraced the boy into a hug, tears burst from his eyes.
"Thank you...thank you!" He weeped on his shoulder, sobs escaping his chest.
'I should have seen it earlier! The boy was helping me all along, saved me when things got bad, tried to warn me about the Alpha and Omega things, it was so obvious! He's the same as me! He knew about the school's plot and was trying to help me! It's why he was still in school even during the break, and why knew so much about the system! Why he was trying to stop me at the wall....well, maybe he knows something I don't! It all made sense!'
Ren sniffled. "I thought I was-"
The door to the infirmary opened. "Imada, are you still here?" The nurse came in, pushing a small cart. "If you'd finished what you were going to say, then hurry back to class."
"Y-Yeah." The boy stuttered, pushing Ren away abruptly. He quickly moved to leave but stopped.
"Just... Hold on sir." The boy turned back to him. "Listen about the other day, I'm sorry I didn't explain. The–"
"Oh, and Imada-kun, the principal wants to see you in his office." The nurse added.
The boy stopped then sighed. He turned to the door. "Yeah, of course." He turned one last time to Ren. "It's fine anyway, isn't it? Just eat your food now, ok?"
The boy got up and left. Ren didn't worry about what the boy was going to say. He felt light, like a great weight was lifted from his chest.
'My paranoia clearly got the best of me! He was just trying to help all along.'
"Hurry up and eat Takeshita-kun." The doctor told him.
Right, Ren could trust the food that the boy gave him, what was his name again?
'Imada Masanori, huh....'
Ren ate happily. Pleased to have found a common ally.
On the other side of the Infirmary where Ren wasn't facing, someone peeked their head in from the other entrance, looked right him. They started writing something down, a report. Soon, they slipped away.
———
Masanori realized he was in trouble once he had entered the office and found, it was empty. It wasn't as if he had just stepped out: the lights were off, his desk was clear, and the curtains were still drawn.
Masanori sat there in the dark alone for a while, nothing to do but tap his knees with stiff knuckles, only his thoughts to occupy him. He thought about the student he left in the infirmary.
'Wonder what's going on with that guy, he must be going through something...'
Masanori knew very little about the student he had been pursuing for the past few days.
He knew he was an omega student, and he knew he had had his heat only that week and he had saved from an attack in the library he was in past curfew with no sign of an inhibitor. He knew he had upset him, for good reason, and wanted to apologize properly for it.
But why he was in the library while still on his heat past curfew? Why was he trying to climb the northern wall, why did he decide to not eat? Why did he gave him a false name? He called himself Koyamada Ren, but his name is Takeshita Akira, the doctor said so themself.
He folded his arms disconcertingly, troubled with questions. He thought about every weird thing his junior had ever said. Surely, he had a reasonable explanation for all of this, right?
"It just... doesn't make any sense. How can an Omega not know about heat?' he recalled. 'Was he joking?...'
SLAM!
Before he realized it, his father had entered the room. He looking cross, sitting down at his desk roughly, hands slamming hard against the desk enough to make his "School Principal" nameplate shift a few inches.
"Why am I hearing reports of you messing around with an omega student, Masanori?"
"It's not..." Masanori took a hard swallow and straightened. "I'm in charge of enforcing school rules father, and this student was attempting to break school rules by accessing the backwoods by climbing the fence."
"I'm aware." The school principal replied. "I'm referring to other reports..."
Masanori broke a sweat and lowered his head to keep his voice even. "Other reports, sir...?"
"Yes. About you going to their dorm room."
"O-Oh, that!" Masanori flinched. "I...I wanted to talk to a roommate for... a witness testimony."
"And going to them into the infirmary during class sessions is somehow also for that testimony?" He asked bitingly. "I've told you before these are not part of your duties. You need to remember your role in the system, Masanori, and remain there. Remember what this school strives for, and you must not disrupt that harmony. You go too above and beyond for these other students, when you must remain impartial. You get too close. You can not have these betas and omegas influencing you. Only do what is necessary."
"...Of course, sir." Masanori replied.
"It's important to observe and understand them, but I want you nowhere near that boy or the omega dorm, you understand?"
"Of course sir."
"Now. Have you dealt with the files on the expelled students?"
"They've been sent off to student wellness already." Masanori replied.
"And... what of the omega that was involved in the incident?"
"That... report should also be on its way, sir." he replied slowly.
"Hm." Was all he said to him.
Masanori sighed in relief, and started to get up to leave.
The principal slammed a hand down on the table, jolting Masanori back into his seat.
"... And you know I can't have you looking through the records of another student." His father said firmly.
Masanori gulped. "I, I know but I just wanted to confirm-"
"The personal files of this student is none of your business." He growled. He sat back in his chair, looking down at his desk. "Your work is done here. Focus back on your duties and schoolwork."
Masanori defended himself. "Don't you think it's my business when a student acts this recklessly? I'm worried that there may be something-"
"This is not your concern, Masanori." He interrupted sharply. "This is not your matter to attend to."
Masanori felt a rage boiling. He tightened his grip on his chair, trying to remain calm. This did not go unnoticed, however. His father tutted at him disappointingly.
"You're slipping. An Alpha's temper must be controlled more diligently. At this rate you'll never find a suitable alpha partner with that attitude."
"I am–!" Masanori accidentally raised his voice. He took a deep breath.
"I am controlling my temper."
"As well as a cloud holding water I see." The principal replied coldly.
Masanori remained silent.
"Now take care to handle this report accordingly... are we clear?"
"Yes sir."
Masanori relented. He had gotten nowhere. His request to see the record was denied, and he wasn't allowed to see him either. His father now knew of his interest in him, and wasn't making it easy to find answers.
It wasn't enough of his worry anyway, he reasoned with himself. That guy was being cared for, he should avoid him until this blows over.
But. He recalled that day when the student had fallen down the hill. He was told he hadn't sustained any real injuries but, he wondered if there was something they missed. This wasn't that person's fault was it? Or... was it his own fault? Masanori's troubled thoughts didn't make it to the surface of his expression.
"Thinking about that omega again aren't you?"
Suddenly, Yukihiro came up behind and put a hand on his shoulder. Masanori was lost in thought and hadn't noticed him approach.
"What are you talking about, Yuki?" Masanori sighed.
"Talking about the omega you've been all misty-eyed about all week. You'd think I wouldn't notice?" Yukihiro answered with a lazy shrug. "I knew you were an obsessive type but It wasn't a big deal was it? New kids slip down the hill all the time after it rains."
"Obsessed is a strong word..." Masanori said dryly. "And what do you mean by type?"
"Your Alpha type. We've all got one, you think? There's the obsessive type, the clingy type, the possessive, the dependent, the devoted type..." He listed on his fingers.
"...Aren't those all the same thing?"
Yukihiro patted his shoulder with a sigh. "No. Not at all."
Masanori pushed his hand off his shoulder. "I'm not obsessed, ok? I'm just worried. After what happened at the north wall, it's normal to want to keep your eyes peeled, right? I wouldn't want him to collapse or end up in another situation like the library again..."
Yukihiro suddenly placed both of his hands on Masanori's shoulders and spun him around to face him.
"Y-Yuki, what the heck-"
Yukihiro peered at him with wide stunned eyes. "I was talking about the omega that fell down the hill, what's that other stuff about? Are they the same? How much have you been holding out on me?"
"How much have you been hiding like a hermit?" Masanori shot back. Yukihiro had a habit of "hibernating" as they say, not leaving his dorm room for days on end and choosing to work remotely most of the time.
"Snug as bug, but that's unrelated." he snorted. "Now you better give me the scoop."
"Later. I've got a lot on my mind right now." Masnori huffed and started walking away. "What drew you out of your cave anyway: the weather?"
"Actually. It was Aruki Sensei who called." Yukihiro answered. "About your duties. It's not like you to let reports pile up, and since he can't directly interfere *apparently* I'm the only one he thinks to ask you. He sounded a little stressed. After all, if you start going off the rails the whole system's in jeopardy. Isn't that right, Student Council's, Rule Enforcement Monitor?"
Masanori froze in his tracks and turned back to Yuki with a frown.
"I see. I'll go talk to him soon about it." He replied and promptly turned to walk away.
Yuki sighed. "That wasn't really an answer..."
———
Ren was let back into class that evening after a light scolding about prioritizing his health and some suspicious vitamins he had no intention of using. Once he got out he immediately wanted to search for Masanori, but nearing curfew he received an escort back to the dorm, so the day passed with no more incidents.
But once he did then hopefully he could explain things to him, everything. Then he could begin his plans in full. He was already building ideas for what to do first...
Ren began going to class again the next day, searching for signs of Masanori in a way not dissimilar to how Masanori has done before.
'Hopefully he'll talk to me, he seemed on my side before he left.' Ren thought, thinking back again on their conversation in the clinic. He remembers the heartfelt hug he had given the upperclassmen, feeling a wave of embarrassment.
"Hope I didn't scare him off by getting too physical..." Ren muttered.
That is, Ren wondered, if Imada Masanori was even still here at all. A visit to the principal... Ren's stomach swirled with guilt. If something happened to his only ally...
Out from the classroom walked Ren, looking a lot less pale and staring off into space, lost in his own thoughts again when his attention was grabbed by a familiar name.
"Imada, heading back yet?"
Ren lifted his head. Was it...?
Ren spotted Masanori down the hall, coming down the stairs well from upstairs. Ren beamed.
"Masanori-kun!!" Ren called out to him, waving wildly.
When Masanori turned and spotted Ren he went stark white. Wide eyed, he turned and fled the other direction.
"...huh?" Ren's elation deflated. What? What was that about?
Ren's resolve only grew. Something happened, but he was still here. He wasn't going to give up just yet. When he had spent the previous two days trying to dodge Masanori he had learned a few paths the upperclassman usually walked. So, later that afternoon he hid in an empty classroom and waited. Soon, he hears footsteps. It was about time.
'Almost.....almost....now!'
Ren pulled open the sliding door of the classroom suddenly and grabbed Masanori by his school jacket and pulled him inside. Masanori, taken off guard, stumbled from the sudden yanking and fell into the room. Ren shut the door with a muted clatter.
Masanori quickly reoriented and blubbered out a cry. "W-What-?-?!"
"Shhh!!! You're gonna get us caught!' Ren hissed. He locked the door and turned off the lights again, leaving the room in shadows only lit by the slits of light between the window blinds. Ren fussed over the small gaps in the blinds and adjusted them meticulously. He didn't know who could be watching.
"What... the hell are you doing?" Masanori asked incredulously.
Ren turned to him. "What about you? Why are you avoiding me now?!" He whispered loudly.
"Well, a-about that..." They stammered, rising to his feet.
"They're onto us, right?" Ren interrupted in a whisper. "That's why you've been avoiding me!"
"Who? Whose onto who?!" He hissed also in a whisper.
"The school, obviously!! The principal's office. They must be trying to keep you from talking to me!"
Masanori righted himself and brushed off his clothes looking right at him, his frown stretched taunt.
"....You're right, I was avoiding you." Masanori said slowly then clenched his teeth, hiding a grimace. "Damn old man. Anytime I even look at anyone that isn't an alpha, he throws a fit." Masanori looks down at his hand, clenched and unclenched his fingers.
"Wish... he'd just get off my ass, out of every little thing for once."
Ren crossed his arms with a sympathetic frown. So he's not the only one with constant surveillance. It made sense, they were in the same boat. This old man, his boss he assumed, had complete control over everyone.
But, he had a question.
"Why does he care who you look at?" he asked. It was a genuine question, it was an odd thing to specifically watch out for. Unfortunately on this day, he didn't get an answer.
"Its... forget it. Look, I don't wanna get you in trouble... you should go."
'I'm already in trouble if they know I'm onto them.' he silently rebuked. Ren huffed a determined breath. 'I need to strike some courage in his heart. I can't let them discourage him! We'll need to rely on each other if we're going to beat them, it can let them tear us apart!'
"Masanori-kun, listen to me." Ren began "Whatever they told you, don't let it tear you down! They think they can tell you what to do or where to go or how to even feel...!" Ren shook away the memory of his "heat" with a shiver. "But they can't control everything. You're not the same as me, everything in your body is still yours, isn't it? Don't let them try to take it from you!"
Masanori blinked, lost for words. "That's... are you... you think so?"
Ren nodded. "Of course!" He smiled. "Long as you stand by who you are and what you believe in, no one can stop you! It's your life, your identity!"
Masanori couldn't believe a real person was saying this. It was so... sappy and blunt. The words hardly registered and he laughed a little. When he said it like that it sounded so easy. What about his identity?
"You don't know what you're saying, Takeshita-san..."
Ren lifted his chin. "Enough of that name!" he suddenly raised his voice, making Masanori freeze.
"My name is Koyamada Ren. That's MY identity." Ren smiled, and finally, began to explain.
"You probably already know this....but I've been body swapped. My original self was Koyamada Ren, a college student. I don't know why or how I got here.... but I think it's clear to me now: whatever reason I'll save this school from its wicked experiments on the student body! And you, you know so much more about things than me, it's fate!" He turned towards Masanori, hope in his eyes. "With you and I working together, we can unfoil their schemes and save everyone!"
Masanori stared at him stunned, truly at a loss for words. He looked and looked and looked long into Ren's face. Ren faced him with a determined serious expression. He'd prove to him how serious he really is!
Then Masanori unexpectedly turned away and leaned against a desk instead.
"That's... really something." he said ambiguously.
Ren huffed. "Right? Just thinking about all of it really makes my head spin!"
"Yeah...it really is."
Ren brightened. That sounded like confirmation, didn't it? "you see? Ha! Acknowledgement is the first sign of change, Masanori Imada! But you know it's not as crazy as what they're doing to everyone else! Am I the only one like this, are they aware this happened or was it a mistake? I've been wrapping my mind around it for the whole week–"
"You're crazy."
"I... What?" Ren at first didn't think he heard him right. "W-what? Masanori-kun?" Ren said with a frown, leaning his head down to try to catch a glimpse at Masanori's face, but it was hidden in the shadows of the room.
"... I mean, what else could make sense?" Masanori said, this time his voice holding a more bitter echo.
The feeling in his stomach he had been fighting bursting out. "W-What do you mean? You... You believe this school is some kinda messed up experiment, right?"
"I thought maybe you were one of those health nuts trying to slim your waistline, I was told I'd get a few during the merger... but to think you're some kind of..." Masanori looked back up at Ren. "You're some kinda mental case, if that's your reason for all the stupid shit you've been doing for the past week."
Ren's heart fully sunk. Was he wrong the entire time? His chest flared. Then what is this guy's deal then?!
"If you don't believe me, then you must be the really mental one! All the weird stuff going on around here, how could you ignore them?!"
"There's nothing weird to ignore." Masanori grunted. "None of what you just said makes any sense; you're making a fuss over nothing. Are you trying to make me feel bad for you or do you get some kinda kick out of this? Seeking attention is one thing but really... For once, I think he was right to tell me to stay away from you."
Ren could feel the heat of rage reach his ears as his worst fear was confirmed: someone had gotten to him.
"Now you're the one sounding crazy!" He shouted. "I thought you'd be the kinda guy to see reason and do the right thing! But all I see now is a coward!"
Masanori roughly dragged his hands across his face and stopped to glare at Ren. "You..." He grimaced and turned away completely. "Pushing me around isn't going to work. Stop trying to convince me of something that isn't real."
"Stop lying to yourself that it isn't!" Ren growled. "And stop feeding me this lie!"
"And who's the one lying here?!" Masanori finally raised his voice.
Now Ren's entire face was red. "I'm going!!" He stomped past Masanori to the door.
"You can forget everything I said! I don't need weak cowards that flake at the first sign of trouble anyway! You can refuse to believe me, I don't care! Just stay out of my way–!"
BAM!
Ren was stunned, in shock: Masanori had punched his hand into the wall, nearly putting a hole through it. His face was clenched in rage and his eyes... his eyes had begun to glow a strange yellow.
Ren felt a subtle wave of something strong, emanating from Masanori, something pungent that made his stomach turn. Ren noticed it now, more than he had ever noticed it before. Something about Masanori that seemed supernatural.
Ren's tongue felt like it was knotted in his mouth, like if he let a single spoken word out he'd choke on it. His eyes watered, or did they glaze over? He couldn't think enough to decide. His eyes widened and all his anger shed away to a cocoon of fear he felt paralyzed within. It felt truly alien.
Masanori flinched. The fury fled from his eyes and he squeezed them shut in a grimace. When he opened them again, the glow was gone.
"Sorry that was..." Masanori muttered, never getting to finish, as Ren finally gained his senses.
Ren attempts to push Masanori away from him and slides open the door behind him. But for once, he didn't turn back, didn't take a second to do anything but run.
Masanori released his fist from the wall and ran out the door, watching him barrelling away down the hall.
"Damn it...." he sighed. Masanori didn't know what to do. He just stood there as Ren disappeared from view. He needed to apologize... again.