"On your marks—"

Yuichiro took a deep breath. He could do this.

"Get set—"

There was literally no way he could botch this up.

"Go!"

Yuichiro ran. They were a small group, a mix of the six squads. The only other person from Lacus's squad who was with him was Makoto, and somehow, Yuichiro didn't mind that. They'd hardly stopped teasing and taunting each other since that night on the mountain during field training, but their jabs had lost their maliciousness, somehow. Makoto refused to admit that he owed anything to Yuichiro, and that was perfectly fine with him since the last thing he needed in his life was another awkward relationship.

Yuichiro's foot bumped into a loose peg on the ground and he staggered forward, almost losing his balance. He stayed upright, thankfully, and continued to run with a throbbing toe.

"Stop daydreaming," Makoto snapped from his right, never diverting his gaze from the finish line. "You're going to fall for real next time."

Yuichiro licked his lips absently. They were cracked and salty from sweat. It stung.

"Speaking from experience?"

Makoto huffed and quickened his pace, running a little faster with his back to Yuichiro. "Shut up."

Yuichiro would have snickered, but he was just a bit too out of breath for unnecessary gloating. He'd already made plenty of jokes about Makoto's self-proclaimed 'twisted ankle'. A quick look from the medic and that was ruled out. He'd bruised it enough to earn him bed rest in the tent for three days, but Makoto had been in tip-top shape by the time they started their final exams, two weeks later.

In all honesty, it was a little unfair that he could still run faster than Yuichiro. Bed rest and a higher score? Justice was truly blind, and not in the poetic way.

The running track passed through the middle of the trainee's mini-base. All around them were other small groups being tested on other skills they'd learned during basic training. Yuichiro's group had to run the track ten times in under twenty minutes, and that gave him enough time to look about, despite Makoto's nagging.

There was Shinoa, practicing her first aid with a pretty alpha from Rene's squad. Yuichiro couldn't help but grin, stretching his poor lips and making them burn. He was glad his friend had a better partner. She truly had a talent for medicine, but if she'd been paired up with him again, she'd never have a chance at the perfect score she deserved.

On the left there was an even smaller group, fiddling with the radio. That was supposedly the easiest exam and Yuichiro still felt embarrassed over how long it took him to put back the battery. It wasn't his fault that it chose his turn to get stuck! Makoto, the bastard, had laughed for a full minute.

Yuichiro could see Mito sitting in a half circle, calmly cleaning her gun with her group. The different parts were set in front of her and she wiped them all nonchalantly with the little piece of fabric they'd been given. Yuichiro was a little nervous about it. The cleaning part was fine, but remembering which part to take out first and what goes where took more concentration than his interest could afford. He wasn't planning on getting a very good score on that.

Last but not least were Aiko and Shigure. Their group was sitting beneath a tree and if Yuichiro hadn't known any better, he would've hightailed it in the other direction. They were all in various stages of putting on a gas mask.

Biological warfare was a real possibility, or so Mikaela had assured the platoon during his lesson. Alphas were known for their aggression and betas for their ingenuity, after all. What was there to stop them from collaborating in a neighboring country and coming to a mutual decision to invade? Who was to say that they would be using only guns and explosives?

Yuichiro had been a little unsettled after that lesson. The retired betas he'd spoken to as a kid never mentioned anything more complex than a gun wound. To think that he could potentially survive a bombing, only to succumb to germs was…alarming, to say the least. He had to resist the urge to go over to Mikaela at the end of the lesson and ask if they were really expecting anything to happen.

He sought comfort for a different alpha instead. Unfortunately, Shinoa didn't have any answers herself.

The only thing that Yuichiro could soothe himself with was the knowledge that he'd get a mask if the world ended. He was the first one to master putting it on under thirty seconds in his squad, which was a first. It made him feel safe.

"Ryuu!"

Yuichiro snapped back into focus, but it was too late. The peg was still on the ground and he tripped over it again. Only this time, he fell flat on his face.

"Ugh", he mumbled under his breath. He tasted blood- his lips had finally given in. Just great.

"I told you to pay attention," Makoto huffed. Yuichiro blinked and looked up. The beta was standing in front of him, chest visibly rising and falling. Makoto was offering him his hand.

For a minute there, Yuichiro didn't know what to make of it.

The beta shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He looked a little uncomfortable. "Well, c'mon, I don't have all day. Pull yourself together."

Yuichiro shrugged and took the hand, allowing himself to be tugged up and back onto his feet. He immediately wiped his hands on the back of his running shorts.

"Your hands are sweaty," he complained, lips painfully stretched in a smirk.

Makoto rolled his eyes. He turned around and resumed his running. Yuichiro followed.

"Don't tell me you're going soft!" Yuichiro yelled at Makoto's back.

"Wouldn't dream of it!"

Yuichiro was the last to finish, but that hardly mattered. He ran the ten laps under twenty minutes and was proud of himself. The fact that Makoto had botched his chance at a perfect score just to help him back up to his feet…

He could be wrong, but Yuichiro decided that he'd made another friend.

.x.

The last exam was over and Yuichiro felt he could collapse, which he promptly did once he found a shady area. He took a long sip from his canteen and closed his eyes, lying back on the ground. His arms and legs were all over, but he couldn't care less. There was no one to see him.

Most of the other trainees were walking over to the rec hall for lunch. As it was the last day before their swearing-in ceremony, discipline was lax. The rest of the day was more or less free and for once, Yuichiro couldn't even stomach the idea of food. He could definitely do with a nap, though.

"Amane?"

Yuichiro's eyes flashed open. Lacus was standing in front of him, brows raised. Yuichiro quickly scrambled to his feet, face red. So much for no one around to see him.

"Why aren't you going to eat?"

Yuichiro shrugged. "I'm not hungry, sir."

He thought he'd be berated and forced to go. The military was surprisingly strict about food. A beta from another squad once refused to eat during lunch and his squad leader had sat down next to him for two hours with a full plate until he agreed to polish it off.

To his surprise, Lacus only shook his head and looked around. Yuichiro didn't dare say anything and kept his head down, wiping off the dirt from his shirt.

Lacus cleared his throat and Yuichiro looked up. The alpha's face was blank.

"I need you to stop by my office during your free hour tonight. You'll get extra time to make up for it."

Yuichiro's pulse quickened.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked. There was a nervous lilt in his voice and he hated it. "Did I do something?"

Was this it? Did they find out he was an imposter? If so, wouldn't he be summoned to Mikaela's office? Maybe… maybe it had nothing to do with his type. Maybe his test scores were so awful that he'd have to repeat basic training. Was that even possible?

"No, there's nothing wrong, Amane. I just need to talk to you about something. You aren't in trouble, for once."

Yuichiro's eyes widened. Lacus was smiling. He didn't think he had the capability to do so!

"I, um, okay. I mean- yes, sir."

Lacus nodded and raised his hand, patting Yuichiro on the shoulder as he turned to go.

Yuichiro watched the alpha as he made his way to the squad leaders' housing.

What on earth was that all about?

.x.

Yuichiro watched as Makoto took off his shoes and slipped on his flip-flops.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" the beta asked, standing up from his bed and grabbing his towel. "If you don't hurry, you're going to be the last in line. If you think I'm gonna wait for your scrawny ass-"

"You can go ahead," Yuichiro cut him off, stretching his arms over his head. "I'll shower later."

Makoto studied him for a moment before shrugging. "Whatever."

Yuichiro closed his eyes and heard the tent's flap rustle as the beta left. At the moment, there was nothing that he wanted more than to join Makoto and wash off all the sweat and grime, but he had to go soon. At least, that's what he figured. Lacus hadn't set a specific time…

"Ryuu? Are you okay?"

Shinoa was standing in front of him when Yuichiro opened his eyes. Her hair was wet and her t-shirt stuck to her stomach. She packed her little blue basket with toiletries into her bag and slung her towel over her shoulders as she sat down on her bed opposite him.

He offered her a tired smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"I dunno," she said slowly, frowning as she looked him over. "You look a little out of it. Why aren't you showering? Free time's almost over, y'know."

Yuichiro sighed. "Yeah, I know. I guess I'm just a little worried, is all."

"Wanna talk about it?"

Yuichiro shrugged. "It isn't a big deal. Lacus wants me to go to his office now and… I'm not sure what he wants."

Shinoa's worried face broke into a large grin.

"You should've told me sooner! I could have saved you a bunch of internal turmoil. It's just like you to be worried over something like that, heh."

Yuichiro raised his brows. "What are you talking about?"

"Lacus has been taking us all aside over the past few days to talk to us. Sort of a personal evaluation or whatever. You really haven't noticed?"

Frowning, Yuichiro thought over the last week. Now that he thought about it, there were certain group activities and lectures that his teammates were absent from. Was that where they'd gone?

"Are… are you sure?"

"Yeah!" Shinoa waved her hand dismissively. She wrapped her towel around her head, squeezing her hair dry as she spoke. "He just asks you questions about your experience and stuff like that. Ten minutes and you're done."

Yuichiro felt his whole body relax, as if he'd been holding his breath the whole day and was finally allowed to release it. He mirrored Shinoa's grin.

"Oh. Okay. Good. I should probably go to him, then…"

Shinoa nodded. "Tell me how it went!"

"Will do!" Yuichiro called out over his shoulder as he stood up and walked out of the tent. His back felt so light without the usual presence of the gun- they'd given them back to the armory the day before. He didn't miss it at all.

The way to the commanders' offices was unfortunately familiar, and Yuichiro soon found himself standing in front of Lacus's door. He'd passed Mikaela's earlier on his way in. He'd lingered there, toying with the idea of going in, but quickly pushed it aside and continued down the hall.

He'd think about the alpha and what was going on between them after his talk with Lacus.

Yuichiro knocked and carefully opened the door, poking in his head.

"Hello?"

Lacus was standing next to a shelf, studying a photograph on the wall. He turned around and smiled.

"Amane. Come in and take a seat."

Yuichiro walked in and closed the door behind him, taking a seat on a couch. The office was really more like a common room for all of the squad leaders. There weren't any desks and the hardest surface was a low coffee table in the middle of the room. It was rather informal and Yuichiro relaxed against the pillows.

He realized with a jolt that it had been months since he'd last sat on something so comfortable.

Lacus walked across the room and sat down on the couch next to him, leaning against the armrest. He carried a clipboard and gave it a brief look before looking up and meeting Yuichiro's gaze.

"I'm glad you came, Ryuu. I thought you'd forgotten."

Yuichiro's eyes widened a little. Lacus had never called him by his name before.

"No! I didn't forget. I just, um, well—"

To his astonishment, Lacus chuckled.

"It's okay, you don't have to explain yourself to me. You're here now, and that's what's important."

Yuichiro looked down at his knees, flustered. He wasn't used to this kind of talk from his squad leader. Where was his sharp tongue? Where were his frustrated sighs?

"If you say so, sir."

"There's no need for you to be so formal. You're swearing in tomorrow. You can call me Lacus."

"…Okay."

Yuichiro didn't know what to do with his hands, and he eventually settled them at his sides. He wondered if Lacus had spoken this way with his teammates. Were they as uncomfortable with it as he was?

"Now, Ryuu. I have a few questions for you. Try to answer as honestly as possible, alright?"

Yuichiro nodded.

"Great. First question. Do you feel that you're familiar with the military's structure and behavior code?"

That wasn't too hard. "Yeah. We learned a lot about it during class. You'd have to be pretty thick not to get it."

Lacus flashed him a smirk before continuing.

"Do you feel that we missed something in our curriculum? If so, what do you think we should add or elaborate on?"

Yuichiro thought about it for a moment.

"I think we should have focused more on self-defense. It's a little ridiculous that I'm finishing basic training and I'm going to be a soldier in the military without knowing how to defend myself if someone attacks me."

Lacus nodded and wrote something down on his board.

"There's something to what you're saying, but you've got to remember that this is 02 training, Ryuu. You aren't going to be combat soldiers, you know."

Yuichiro frowned. "I know that, but that doesn't mean that I can't be attacked. What am I supposed to do if that happens? No one taught us what to do."

"What exactly do you think you're going to be assigned to do that you're going to be attacked?" Lacus pressed, sounding a little too amused in Yuichiro's opinion.

"…I don't know."

"Let me rephrase that, then," Lacus said slowly, setting down the clipboard and looking at Yuichiro with a serious expression. "What would you like to do?"

Yuichiro tilted his head. "I have a choice?"

"Well…" Lacus shifted in his seat. He reached out and rested his palm on Yuichiro's thigh. "That depends."

Yuichiro's breath hitched. He couldn't move, not even when the hand squeezed. Lacus rubbed his thumb over the seam of Yuichiro's uniform pants.

This can't be happening. That can't be my squad leader's hand on my thigh- oh my god.

Lacus stood up and took a step toward him, his hand never leaving Yuichiro's thigh. He leaned down and placed his other hand on Yuichiro's shoulder, tilting his head to whisper in Yuichiro's ear.

"Think about it," he said softly. His breath was hot. "Do you really want to be stuck as some custodian? A secretary? A word from me, and you can be so much more…"

Yuichiro's heart was beating wildly in his chest. What was going on? Did Lacus know that he was an omega? Why was he doing this? Was he just attracted to him? Did this happen with everyone else? Had he said something to make the alpha think he was interested? Why…?

"Well?" Lacus's hand on his thigh delved down, cupping his crotch and gently squeezing. His tongue was painting a line up his neck. Yuichiro could feel the alpha's fangs against his skin.

Reason finally kicked in and Yuichiro abruptly stood up, forcing the alpha a few steps back. His face burned, but he crossed his hands against his chest in determination.

"No," he said firmly, meeting Lacus's gaze. "Sorry, but I'm not interested."

Lacus looked a little shocked and Yuichiro used the opportunity to gather himself and walk toward the door. He never made it, though. Lacus recovered from his rejection sooner than he'd thought and he was currently looming over him, pressing Yuichiro up against the wall. His thigh was pressed between Yuichiro's legs, pushing them apart. The alpha's hands were placed threateningly on the wall on either side of Yuichiro's head.

"Don't be hasty," he said, rolling his thigh up and pressing it against Yuichiro's groin. Yuichiro sucked in his breath. The scent of alpha was overwhelming. If he didn't move soon, he wouldn't be surprised if his slick kicked in. It'd been so long…

"I'm not interested," Yuichiro tried again, mustering his will and looking Lacus in the eye. "Please let me go."

"I'm going to have to disagree with you," Lacus murmured huskily. "This part of you certainly does." He rolled his thigh again, pressing even harder this time. Yuichiro gasped.

"C'mon. Don't let your stuck-up beta sensibilities get in the way of your career. I can help you, Ryuu. Let me take care of you."

Yuichiro shut his eyes tight as Lacus lowered his head and grazed his neck with his teeth. Yuichiro's pulse was thundering in his ears.

He had to get out of this while he still could. Lacus still thought he was a beta. Yuichiro pressed his body forward, but the alpha didn't budge. If anything, he accidently rubbed against Lacus and he had to bite back a moan.

"Please," Yuichiro grit out. He raised his hands to Lacus's shoulders, trying to push him away. "If you let me go now, I promise I won't tell anyone."

Even Mikaela. Especially not Mikaela. The alpha hadn't minded that Yuichiro had spent his heat with another before they met, but he wasn't so sure if Mikaela would be so forgiving if he was fucked while they were still technically mated.

Lacus pulled away from his neck long enough for Yuichiro to see his eyes darken.

"No one would believe you. Who do they think they'll listen to?" He lowered one of his hands, delving between Yuichiro's back and the wall and cupped Yuichiro's ass with his palm.

"If they ask me, I'll be happy to tell them how you came on to me, begging for my help," Lacus hissed in Yuichiro's ear. "They'll want to know just how you threw yourself at me."

Feeling completely and utterly trapped, Yuichiro did the only thing he could. He leaned forward and stepped on Lacus's foot as hard as he could.

The alpha cried out and took a step back. That was enough for Yuichiro- he bolted out of the room. He didn't stop running until he reached the tent.

His throat was dry and he took a moment to compose himself. Yuichiro straightened out his clothes and took a deep breath before pushing through the flap. Everyone looked at him when he walked in.

"Ryuu?" Shinoa called out. Her head peeked from beneath her blanket. "You okay?"

Yuichiro nodded mutely. He walked over to his own bed and yanked off his shoes. He ignored the alpha's questions as he lay down on top of his sleeping bag. He closed his eyes.

Somehow, he didn't think Lacus would cover for him if he went and showered now. He'd have to wake up in the middle of the night again.

Yuichiro curled into a ball and bit his lips. They still hurt.

At least he didn't kiss me…

.x.

"Aiko Aihara!"

"Yes, sir!"

Yuichiro watched as Aiko ran over to Lacus. He stood next to Mikaela with the Treaty of Accord in his hands. Aiko saluted them both.

"Do you swear to dedicate your life to your country?" he offered her the document.

Aiko raised her left hand to her breast and placed her right hand on the document. In a loud, clear voice she said, "I do".

She shook both of the alphas' hands before returning to her place in the formation. There were tears in her eyes, and Yuichiro wished he could share her excitement. Lacus had forcefully taken it away from him.

"Ryuu Amane!"

Yuichiro took a deep breath.

"Yes, sir!"

It pained him to run over and salute. Nevertheless, he maintained a smile as he was sworn into the military over the document the betas and alphas had signed decades before to create the twisted reality he lived in.

He hesitated for a moment before taking Lacus's hand and shaking it. He refused to meet the squad leader's eyes and pulled away the moment he could. Mikaela's touch was warm.

"You have a lot to be proud of, Ryuu," Mikaela said softly as they shook hands. Their fingers remained interlocked for a long moment.

"Thank you," Yuichiro whispered, not quite meeting Mikaela's gaze as well. He pulled his hand away and made his way back to the formation.

He could practically feel Mikaela's eyes on his back, but Yuichiro resisted the temptation to look back when he took his place. He stared forward blindly, deaf to the rest of the ceremony.

I'm worthless, he thought dully as the next name was called. He'd always seen Lacus's helpful advice and encouragement as an extension of his squad leader's belief in him and his abilities. He should've known his interest was far from innocent.

In the end, they all wanted the same thing. All of them. Shiho, Mikaela, Lacus… The only thing he was good for was sex. It didn't matter if he was an omega or a beta. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how much he tried to prove himself… none of it mattered.

Yuichiro started to tear up, but his tears weren't the tears of joy his teammates were shedding.

Maybe the Board was right.