Ren's grip of his chair arms tightened. Akagi Naoto sat right across from him, glaring at him in silence while Ren collapsed inward, shrinking down like quicksand.
'M-My guard was lowered! I'm trapped!'
His arms shook as he tried to calm down. Last time he talked to this guy…!
No, it was fine. Ren had to remind himself it was fine. If he was in trouble after being at the beta dorm, he would have been dragged off ages ago. Ryusei must have fixed the situation, right?
Still Ren's eyes flickered over to the door. Why take chances with a guy who had mind control!
"Sure, go on and run."
Akagi spoke up. He slowly leaned over in his chair, his eyes piercing.
"I'd like to see how far you'll go."
Ren's chest tightened. 'T-That's a threat isn't it!? He's playing with me!'
His throat clenched and his hands went clammy. Suddenly it felt like the air in the room was thinner than before, and breathing became harder, shallower, till it had gone ragged and he could feel the air cutting off from his brain.
"You told Sensei just now that you're a beta. Takeuchi, is that right?" Akagi sneered. "You must lie like you breathe air."
'N-No way… is he causing this!?' Ren trembled, curling in more on himself. He didn't even notice he had used mind control! He didn't know it involved hypnotism too! If it was this subtle, was there nothing he could do?
Akagi raised an eyebrow at him, but then shook his head and scoffed at him. "Ha. You can give up that little terrified act, acting innocent and playing victim does nothing to me. I bet you're actually thrilled to be in here with me, aren't you?"
"… huh?" Ren stopped breathing entirely, but out of shock rather than fear. He then slapped his hands against the arm of the chair with a wide-faced gawk. "H-Huh!?"
Akagi glared, his eyes sizing him up like something decrepit he stepped in on the way in. "I bet you're dying to release your pheromones, hm? But then your little ruse would be up trying to trick Masa. But, seems you like to go after the harder prey anyway. I'm not good enough for you, that right?" He sneered.
Ren sat in silence, too baffled to respond.
'H-Huh? I'm not getting it. Is he saying I'm like an animal?' Ren's eyes just curved with confusion.
Akagi suddenly stood up, and slowly walked up to his chair. "I just wanted to check," He tapped the back of the chair and Ren flinched. "How shameless you might be. After all, you seem to have decided on a spare. It's relieving honestly, how predictable you are. Keep going for the more vulnerable of us, see where that gets you."
One of Ren's eye twitched. "V-Vulnerable? Spare…? H-Hold on…" Ren stuttered, but Akagi just turned away from him and walked out, leaving Ren to himself in the office.
'What…? What was that about?'
Ren left the office in a confused state. Nothing he just told him made any sense. The way he kept putting it, it was almost like he saw HIM as the here threat!
'But maybe that makes sense. If I really do have something I can use against the Alphas… Maybe he's worried I'll come across this ability! He was trying to get me to use those pheromones again, something you can smell… hm.'
Regardless of what exactly this was, it was clear now that it definitely existed! If he could access whatever Akagi Naoto thought he already possessed, he would have a defense against the Alphas within the school!
'Still, I don't know what he meant by preying on the vulnerable… maybe, he's trying to psych me out by trying to make me look like the bad guy for wanting to abuse a weakness of theirs! Ha, as if! I'm gonna find this weakness and finally put up a good fight! Whatever's an omegas got I'll use up every bit of it!' Ren clenched his fist with a surge of determination.
———
Masanori knocked on the door of Yukihiro's dorm room a bit too roughly. When his assistant opened it Masanori rushed past without a second for him to speak and approached Yuki's server room. Inside Yuki sat amongst a tangle of wires and black boxes, the thrumming of computers and whirring fans.
When he pulled open the door Yuki turned from his computer and glared with a squint into the light flooding in. "Nemura! What did I say about-?" Yuki pulled down his glasses and his eye widened. "Oh, Nori!" He pushed his chair and it slid towards the door with an eager ear-splitting grin. "You come by for a chat, or a peek at your little project?"
"Don't call him a project." Masanori sighed in a way that felt strained, and he shook his head. "No, I'm not here to see him. I already caught him earlier today anyway."
At this point the student named Nemura appeared behind Masanori. "Yukihiro-sama! I'm sorry - he just rushed past me!"
Yuki rudely grabbed the door and waved a hand to shoo him away. "Forget it! Get back to work!" He slammed the door shut before leaning back in his chair.
"Would it kill you to be a little less rude?" Masanori said. He then crossed his arms. "Look… I need a favor."
"Oh really? You've been asking for a lot of those lately," Yuki mused. "So, whaddya need? Omega dorm feeds? Thought you'd never ask-"
Masanori raised his hand. "Absolutely not. No, I need you to… watch Takeshita Akira for me."
Yuki raised an eyebrow and straightened in his seat. "What's this now? You know, I've already been watching him for the past few days, you know?"
"I mean in person. He avoids cameras and I just told him the dorms have cameras so it'll only get harder from there. So… I need eyes on the ground."
"You're asking me to spy for you?" Yuki's smile turned a little strange and he slightly chuckled. "And you talk so seriously. Like this is the biggest issue right now. I mean, sure he's done a few pretty crazy things but you don't get lumped into this school by being a perfect angel. Whatever's he's dealing with, is it really worth so much effort?"
"You know why I can't just let this go though," Masanori sighed. "I don't care what my father says: if he ends up in serious trouble because we couldn't properly protect him, it'll look bad for everyone. This isn't just about him."
"Sure it's not…" Yuki said with an unconvinced roll of his eyes. He sighed, looking askance with measured disappointment. "For once it could just be. But, that can't be the whole reason, so what is it?" He pressed.
Masanori winced and looked towards the ceiling.
"... My rut's starting soon."
Yuki's foot slipped off the leg of his chair and he slipped back. "It's… really!?" He shouted, sounding way too excited.
"What's with that reaction?" Masanori deadpanned.
"What's not?" Yuki cried out. "You kidding!? It's half a year early! You usually only have it once a year in the winter!"
Masanori gave a wide frown. "I kinda suspected this might happen. I guess, spending so much time with an omega that's irresponsible with his heat might cause some weird effects," He mumbled. "And it's early, but not so unusual…"
"Unusual for Mr. 24/7 Inhibitor Spray," Yuki scoffed. "You haven't had a change in your rut's cycle for the past two years, not since our junior high grad. To think one little omega could break your dry spell..."
'It's normal for some Alphas to have them less frequently,' Masanori thought with a frown. 'But I know he's well meaning. My rut's once a year despite my strong pheromones.'
That's why he was worried. He didn't know how long it would last, so he had to prepare.
"Are you going to help me or not?" Masanori continued. "It's just for a few days, I have to focus on other things before it kicks in."
"To sort out your patrol interrogations, right?" Yuki asked, leaning back. "Messy situation. Wish I could find the bastard that hacked the system, but haven't found their backdoor yet. But stalking an omega for a few days, that's no issue. Though, wouldn't you prefer a beta? I can use Nemura-kun as your eyes instead. Hey Nemura!"
The door slid back open a bit too quickly. "Yes Yukihiro-sama!" He bowed towards Masanori. "I'm Nemura Piko, I look forward to working with you!"
"No," Masanori shook his head. "Yuki, it has to be you. I don't want to drag anyone else into this. I dunno how he would react to a beta following him, but he's already paranoid of Alphas, so…"
"So if he spots me he'd think I'm just another spy in his crazy delusions?" Yuki asked.
"No… yes?" Masanori sighed. His eyes searched the room for nothing until he closed them. "I'd rather not take chances and have him believing Beta students are out to get him too. It's just some preparation ahead of time, just in case. And besides… if he does anything, you're more capable of handling him, you know?"
A beat passed as Yuki stared at him in silence.
"Now that's interesting. I mean wow, what an ego!" He then smiled cheekily. "Imada Masanori's pheromones are so strong he can kill an omega with one whiff, huh? Need a weaker Alpha to do the menial tasks of wrangling rowdy omegas up."
"Real funny. I'm being serious," Masanori crossed his arms with a grave expression. "The patrol's a mess right now so I just need your eyes for a few days. You'd be too lazy to use excessive force unless absolutely necessary anyway, so will handle it?"
"...Well," Yuki smiled. "I think, Nemura could just handle it." Yuki then just shrugged. "... But whatever you say," He motioned at the door and Masanori opened it, with Nemura still there.
"Nemura, you're dismissed. Oh wait actually: go and heat up that curry for me instead. I'm getting hungry."
"Yes sir!" Nemura shouted and promptly shut the door.
"I'm starting to worry you're abusing your power as a student council member." Masanori said, watching as Yuki rose wheeled his chair back to his desk.
Yuki shrugged at him. "Seems more like I'm making use of my resources though? I'm too busy working to do chores," He then nodded then waved goodbye. "And now I have to finish things up early. How long do you have?"
"I usually get early warning…. A week I think."
Yuki coyly smiled and dramatically waved his hand. "Well don't have too much fun - au revoir!"
"Yeah. Thanks again." Masanori nodded and turned to leave, walking past Nemura busy with a rice cooker and out the door.
Now that he had that handled Masanori felt a little better, but his chest still sunk into his stomach, a climbing anxiety. If he took his meds correctly he should still be fairly lucid, but the waters were a little more murky this time around.
'I wish asking him was enough, but… there's no harm in being a little thorough.'
———
"...So he started talking about vulnerabilities and spares. It was just to rattle me I think, but I'm not sure." Ren frowned. "What do you think, Shino-kun?"
He asked, laying his head down at the table in the club room staring at Shino in anticipation. Shino fidgeted with his fingers across the wooden surface and hummed.
"Who did you say you were having trouble with again?" He asked.
"I-I didn't. The important part is he's trying to make me back down because he's totally scared of me." Ren sighed. He told Shino about Akagi's weird threat, but had no clue where to start, so he ended up here. He was having trouble getting him to focus though...
Ren lifted his head with a modest glare. "Hey…" Ren bent his neck and lowered his voice to a whisper. "Why's he here?"
Ruota now sat at the other end of the table with a drink, quietly with a lurking shimmer in his eyes directly square across from him like a puma stalking prey from its perch. He completely ignored Kokichi who still loudly played games now on his phone plopped against a soft beanie chair, cursing something about Rng and drop rates. That and the usual crowd, and it was rather crowded today.
"It's nothing important." Shino answered in a soft mutter. "In-person Club observation is technically something the Club monitor can enforce. Even, if its somewhat childish and petty to do so."
Ren frowned at his odd word choice but continued. "Well I dunno, I think he's trying to hide something about omegas that he's weak to. So, do you know anything like that?"
"Not really," Shino replied. "But maybe rather than peeking into his secrets, it might be best to ignore him. If you're having trouble with a stubborn Alpha, honesty and expressing your feelings is the best approach."
Ren shot a glance across the table at the slight chuckle from Ruota.
"I think if I were honest he would kill me or something." Ren said, sticking his tongue out with a paling complexion. Ren thought the only reason he wasn't already done was because they had yet to confirm his deviation. Though he had gotten caught a few times he had never outright said to Akagi that he didn't believe in any of this secondary gender malarkey.
"Don't be so dramatic," Shino calmly said, then seemed to consider something. "Since you're certain about a weakness related to omegas, have you tried asking other omegas for advice?"
Ren slapped the table and grinned. "Ha! That's genius! You're the best Shino! Later!" Ren grabbed his stuff and rushed out the room.
"A genius?" Ruota repeated with an amused chuckle. "Quite intelligent for sure. Isn't that right?" He purred with a taunting grin, with Shino's only response being a slight shift of his shoulder and his nose back down in a book.
Kokichi peeked up from his phone to look between them. 'Something's weird up with them. At least that asshole isn't bothering me now. Tch!' He smacked his phone screen. 'Damn this update fucking with the boss's drop rates, shitty rng grind fest…!'
Ren arrived back at his dorm and anxiously scurried around into the common room.
'Of course, why didn't I think of this myself? Who better to learn the secret of omegas than asking the omega students directly? If anyone's discovered some hidden power by accident, I'll find it!'
Ren froze when Kanaseki, his roommate, walked by him. He was on his phone. When he looked up he seemed surprised to see him.
"Takeshita. What's up?"
Ren slid his feet across the floor and inside. "It's nothing! Please forgive me, I never thanked you for helping me during my heat before. I understand how important it is now that I talked to School's health monitor!"
Kanaseki's eyes pinched, but he shrugged. "O…kay? Yeah, its fine…" His eyes returned to his phone. "Just take better care of yourself from now on, alright?"
Ren nodded "Yep!" He watched him walk away with a hopeful smile. 'See that school? I'm staying in line and Ryusei is helpful! Even if I know the heat pills are only essential because you use them to keep us in line.'
But he had to be careful with how he worded things if he was lurking around. He didn't want anyone to get dragged into this and be attacked by Akagi Naoto as well. Once he got some clues here he'd ask Ryusei or Masanori for some help, since they might know how to activate their abilities.
'Hm, but Masanori once told me that he didn't know how his eyes glowed that time… it might be better to ask Ryusei. Hopefully he'll be at the office this time...'
He'd ask, after accomplishing another mission. When he returned to the office earlier he wasn't there so he'd try tomorrow...
Ren approached a student with a pep in his step.
"Excuse me… A question. What do you think is the omega's greatest strength?"
"Hm? An Omega's greatest strength?" The second year student on the couch looked a little annoyed as he asked. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well…" Ren squeezed his hands together nervously. "Y-You know… against um, others? D-Defensively, I mean…"
"Defense…?" The student raised an eyebrow and stared hard enough to jab at his insides like needles.
Panic started to set in. 'Crap! Look at that look! W-What if HE'S also a spy?!'
This was why he didn't ask: questions like this were too suspicious!
It was at this point that another student came by.
"Hm? Hikei-kun, whose he?"
"He came by asking what kind of power Omegas have against Alphas." He answered. "He usually does this, I think."
A third student came by, sliding on the couch next to Hikei. "Eh? You're Takeshita Akira, right? You're roommates with Kakeru and Kanaseki. You're one of those guys that hates taking your meds, he said."
Ren went ghost white. 'W-What?! He told them about that!? I-I've been found out!? Crap, is the entire room full of spies?!'
"There are always a few like that," The first student nodded at them then looked back at Ren. "But you know it's fine when you're home, but we gotta tolerate it when we all live in this dorm together."
"Hey? You alright?" The third student asked worriedly in a soft whisper, something hard to hear when Ren's ears were pounding in his skull.
"You're looking a little pale…" His hand landed on Ren's shoulder and he was pushed down onto the couch. That's when Ren started hyperventilating. Was this... another interrogation?!
Other students begin to look their way. The second student looked at him funny. "He's a bit sensitive don't you think? Hey, why don't you ease up a little? Think this is what Kanaseki meant by him being weird?" He started to whisper.
Ren saw other students whispering, beginning to despair. He thought he was blending into the background, but they thought he was weird!? Nothing was going right at all!
"Everyone, back up a little." The third student knelt down and handed him a pillow. He then placed a hand on his knee. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. Try breathing a little more through your glands, come on. I don't see any inhibitors on you…"
'What does he mean, glands? I don't…understand…' Ren's vision started to go dark, partially due to him burying his head into the pillow.
'....?'
Ren lifted his head and slowly opened his eyes, a faint scent wafted into his nose, of flowers. Inexplicably his body relaxed a little. It wasn't a strong scent, but light and pleasant and made the prickling feeling that enveloped his skin fade away. Ren blinked at the third student, his grey hair covering one of amber colored eyes.
They smiled at him. "You seem fine now. I'm Tokubana Hajime. You're alright, aren't you?"
"Haji-chan," The second student leaned over at the grey-haired and whispered. "S-Should I go get the Dorm leader?"
Hajime shook his head then sighed. "No worries. I knew saying things like that sounded was a little much, but to think you'd freak out like this. Don't worry, no one here thinks you're that weird, Hikei and Koisuke's mouth here just has no self-control. I'm sure you had your reason, right?"
"Who has no self-control?" Hikei huffed. "I'm Mirukawa Hikei. You're calm now, ain'tcha?"
Ren exhaled with relief. That didn't sound like something a spy would say. He definitely overreacted: He nearly passed out!
He hugged the pillow a little tighter. 'Since when do I get so frazzled? Maybe, I oughta call it a day…'
"Well… What were you talking about before?" The second student asked. "I'm Ken Koisuke. Looking for advice on how to handle an Alpha?"
Ren looked up with wide eyes. "Y-Yes! Do you know?!"
"Alpha advice, hm…" Hajime sat down on the couch next to him.
"If it's getting involved with one though, you should quit now." Hikei said, shaking his head. "It's against school policy."
'Really?' Ren thought, but it made sense. 'Figures it's a school rule, so that's why they never interact and Masanori's always trying to keep me out of sight. Keep the omegas separate from the Alphas so they can't figure out they have powers!'
"Come on, don't be so crass," Koisuke shushed him. "What's so wrong about giving it a try, as long as you don't get caught?" He coyly grinned. "If you want some advice… First you gotta tell us who it is you like."
"Who I… Like?" Ren squinted in confusion. "You mean what kind of Alphas I prefer?"
"Of course, the kind that makes your heart race. Don't you have someone in mind you're trying to charm?" He asked.
"C-Charm?! Heart race?! Hold on, I'm not…" Ren spluttered.
'W-What does that have to do with how to attack at their weakness though? Is it some secret code word omegas have before they reveal their secrets? But I don't know any code words! I'm not asking about a crush, I don't have any kind that makes my heart-!'
An image sprung to mind of Ryusei, like a bolt of lightning, and Ren went three different shades or red all at once.
Ren waved his hands out in a panic. "N-N-No, it's nothing- a-anything like-!"
"Eh? What's Teru doing there?" Hikei interrupted, his eyes narrowed at the door. Ren looked over and saw a familiar creeping around the corner staring intensely at them. The moment he was spotted he jumped then rushed away.
"I think he's from Teru's guard, stalking somebody again." Koisuke tutted.
"So his name is Teru… and he normally just stalks people?" Ren asked.
"He's usually a bit weird about it, yeah," Hikei shrugged. "Hinaguchi Teru, he runs the dorm's secret security, or whatever he calls it. Always trying to lay down the rules to keep us safe, but I think it's a bit excessive, you know?"
"You mean… that guy, runs a secret group? Like a hidden resistance!?" Ren asked, a twinkle in his eyes.
"Resistance? I dunno," Koisuke shrugged. "But anyway, don't be shy, Takeshita. We can keep secrets."
"My secr-?" Ren remembered and blushed again. "There's no one! I just wanted to know the best defense against a jerkish Alpha bully!" He yelled. "That's all it is!"
"Oh, it's a bully problem? That makes more sense. Well," Hajime sighed. "You might be a bit outta luck there. There's Teru and his guard, but he can only help if it's in the dorm. And outside, they'll only help if it's caught on camera, so you'd have to try to get that footage to use."
'Yeah but the bully here is a student council member, and they all have access to the security, don't they? Then…' Ren sighed. It looked like he had nothing. They also didn't know how to handle an Alpha bully, so this was a bust.
Ren handed the pillow back to Hajime and said goodbye. For now he was still on his own.
Ren entered his dorm room and flopped on the bed, just as he heard the door open behind him and Kakeru enter.
Ren peeked up from his pillow.
"Hey, Kakeru… um, Yaruno-kun? T-Thanks for… um, not saying anything to Hinaguchi."
"Just would have been a bother. Just don't do it again." He said. "Alright, Akira-kun?"
Ren twitched. "Y-Yeah…never again." He forgot for a moment his first name wasn't Ren in this body, but Akira. He figured he'd stick with Takeshita after all.
———
The days slowly passed. Ren decided to take it easy as he brainstormed ideas. He heard nothing from Masanori and avoided Ryusei for the time being, having little to do with those pesky comments from the omega students bouncing around his skull. He should try some distance in case he made trouble for him, right?
So instead instead attempted to contact Hinaguchi Teru, excited to learn more about this secret resistance, but he found the door to said office constantly locked and finding zero sign of Teru anywhere. With Akagi's threats and the uncertainty of the Hinaguchi's trail, Ren found himself at the lake. Specifically, he was punching a tree.
Ren hissed. "Owww!" He had tried enough. He began to slowly write in his new notebook. "Can't…punch…through…wood… either. Ow."
Ren put the notebook down and cradled his throbbing hand. "What other kind of power would a school try to put inside the students here?"
There was nothing to do but keep trying. And he was hitting walls, literally. Ren had thought dexterity was the answer, but just ended up breaking a few things in the dorm room, much to the annoyance of poor Yaruno, which is why he tried experimenting in a secluded corner where he hadn't seen very many students come by, but when punching walls only gave him sore knuckles he thought wood might be easier. It wasn't even close.
Ren looked at his aching hands. "Super smarts? No, I think I'm as smart as I was in college… But strength just isn't it. I know I'm not faster than Alphas, or stronger or more dexterous, and likely not smarter. Then what could it be...?"
He had already tried those "pheromone" things like Akagi mentioned, but he didn't know the first thing about it, or even if it was what he was looking for. He was supposed to release something, right? He thought they had something to do with smells, but how could you unleash a smell? Didn't it do that on its own?
So Ren tried to think of something else. 'Masanori and Akagi had that glowy eye thing… if I can do that as well…' Ren stood over the water and gazed deep into his own reflection, trying to make his eyes do… something.
'I know Masanori said it's an Alpha thing, but just anything…'
"I don't know what you're looking for in there, but you probably won't find it."
A voice called out to Ren's left. He jumped. At a distance, there was another student, a senior by the looks of their uniform, hanging out under the shade of a tree. A tall student was looking at him as he relaxed by a tree, holding a easy-going smile with greyish-brown eyes like bark on a tree in the winter.
Ren gulped. 'Who is that?'