For the ages

by BL-lover23

The mouth of the tiger on his neck slowly dripped blood as the knife carved along. Something gently touched his cheek and his eyes immediately snapped up. He inhaled sharply, eyes widening. Gold met Rusty Red. (“You’ll come find me, right?”) Bajitora Omegaverse

2. Chapter 2: The wreckage of you

The city of ruins is still beautiful

I waited endlessly for your return,

With a forget-me-not in my hand.

Do you still remember?

Do you recall the promise you made to me?

Hiroyuki Sawano & Mika Kobayashi - βios (english translation)

Kazutora's mouth kept opening and closing as the seconds ticked along. A few drops of blood trickled down where the knife had first drawn blood.

"what the hell were you doing?" a deep, rumble brought him out of his daze. He was drawn to the sound, his body leaning further in.

there was no doubt, he'd lost his mind.

a sudden pounding made itself known beneath his temples, his ears ringing with the man's abrupt appearance. Kazutora noticed alphas from miles away.

usually.

He should have at least picked up on the sound that came with someone this size. The alpha had not made any effort to be quiet, either. Even now his breathing was the only thing Kazutora's mind could focus on. His broad chest rose and fell steadily. His grip did not falter as he held on to Kazutora's wrist.

He felt spellbound, body and mind acting on their own accord, zeroing in on every detail he could catch a glimpse of. the loose dark strands of hair falling out of his high ponytail. He wasn't that much taller than him, yet their proportions couldn't be more different. The man looked like a brick wall, that would crush him at the wrong move. Those arms alone were thicker than the span of his head. Not that he was staring or anything. They were just very difficult not to notice-

he came to the humiliating conclusion, that he was still clinging to the man. That alone snapped him out of his stupor and he shoved the man away from himself.

Kazutora of all people should not be reacting like this. He'd questioned his subgender enough times to know it did not follow an omegan constitution. He was not wired correctly. His omega fell under the dormant to nonexistent category. If it wasn't for the fact that his male body had very apparent omegan features, he might as well have passed as a beta all his life. His scent, too his pheromones failed to produce. Any instincts to nest and nurture were foreign concepts to him. He had never by the life of him had the need to submit to an alpha in this way, to please him-

Had his sire managed to land a hit on his head when he was under? Was that the reason he was so unlike himself today?

The alpha didn't even stumble, just dropped his arms as he looked back at him expectantly. What did he want to hear, wasn't it obvious what Kazutora had been trying to do when he'd walked in on him?

"See, I was testing the sharpness of this blade." he smiled with a tight expression. the man narrowed his eyes skeptically, unamused by his answer but still made no move to attack him.

"the bodies all over this place weren't enough?" came the dry reply and-. Kazutora had noticed before, but the alpha certainly had a voice. He actively fought the weakening of his knees. This unreasonable behavior was becoming more and more embarrassing.

"Well, those were alphas if you couldn't tell! And we all know that naturally, they are much more sensitive when it comes to bleeding and such."

For a moment he wondered why the man made no move to interrupt his tirade even as he waved around with his hands for emphasis. Sparing another glance at him, Kazutora came to find out the man seemed to have found some sense of humor. A smirk stretched his lips and-

were those even teeth? Kazutora stopped breathing for a moment at the sheer size of them. They looked like they could rip him apart in seconds. He fought every urge to bare his neck to him.

Over his dead body.

"Naturally." That little prick.

"I'm glad you see my point. I have been researching this for a while-" Kazutora slowly inched away from the man, trying to distract him with the pros and cons of stabbing one sub-gender over the other long enough to escape, since the alpha's unfairly stocked frame strategically blocked the exit to the room.

The guy's eyes followed his movements as if he were picking him apart piece by piece. He felt oddly exposed now, it was immensely irritating. He would not be outdone by a brutish alpha of all things.

"I would love to hear more about this subject, but I originally came here expecting a brawl of some kind" his expression weirdly disappointed "But ever since we strolled our way into your capital, it felt like we walked ourselves into a ghost city. Not one soul opposed us. Just a few bold starin' at us from the small cracks of their barricaded windows" He paused for a moment, considering something. "And since I made it to the estate, my magic reserves have gone silent"

Kazutora strategically averted his eyes, looking out the window instead, and pursed his lips, not at all like someone who was responsible for all of this.

The weather was really nice today. Not too windy. Not too stuffy-

"Mind telling me, what's up with that?"

Fuck it, Kazutora thinks and his mouth shoots off without missing a beat. "What can I say? The people here are very shy. still, they do love seeing new faces, hospitable to a fault, too. Visitors are hard to come by these days. But everybody knows tourism keeps the economy going, y'know, especially with wartimes now over that you guys' made it. You should check out the restaurant down the street. The greatest steak I have ever tasted"

The man's ponytail shook as he snorted "Sure, let's go right now. My treat" The scent of pine grew in intensity. The smugness was palpable. Kazutora refused to be ruffled and remained stone-faced.

"I'm vegetarian."

The alpha cackled loudly, which bothered Kazutora to no end. His whole body was shaking in laughter for.. too long! Kazutora narrowed his eyes in irritation and tried to use the slight shifting in the alpha's still. laughing. body to his advantage and advanced towards the door.

But he had barely even made two steps forward, before the man straightened with a final joyful sigh, gathering himself again.

"You have a quick wit I'll give you that." He looked at their shortened distance "and even quicker feet." The smugness was back in his voice. He shouldn't let him get under his skin like this, he told himself again.

"You can come closer, I don't bite" The way he licked his teeth told a whole other story. Kazutora fought the blush creeping onto his face, as his knees wobbled for a moment. His audacity!

Livid, Kazutora raised an eyebrow with suspicion, suppressing any givings of his emotional turmoil as he crossed his arms. "That sounds like a lie" The man's smile sharpened. Kazutora swallowed drily. He was standing in front of a predator, alright.

Enough with the stalling, the only one getting agitated was him. He had to move.

And of course, the man picked up on his change in demeanor as well and got into a calm and defensive position, his smirk still in place. reassured. This man definitely wasn't a rookie then. Just his luck.

The alpha's hand was nowhere near his sword hilt. His loss, Kazutora concluded.

He was glad he still had his second knife hidden in his corset. The first thing he was gonna do was wipe that smug grin off his face, no matter how attractive it was.

"Well since we're about to fight and all." The man sized him up and down for a moment. his eyes shamelessly trailed down the ink on his neck dipping down into his chest before meeting Kazutora's own again, uncaring of the fact that he'd been caught staring, voice dipping an octave lower "Mind telling me your name, little cub?"

His heart dropped to his stomach, he almost lost his balance. Kazutora would not delve deeper into his own reaction, he decided while he narrowed his eyes in disgust out of principle.

"I do mind" he said in a clipped tone, seething at the corny nickname.

"A shame" the alpha shrugged without a care in the world, still smirking "My name's Baji Keisuke. Honored to make your acquaintance and all that"

Kazutora ground his teeth, screeching inside when the name registered. Of course, that was just his luck, fighting the commander of the attack division – most famously known for their savagery and slaughter on the battlefield- of all people.

The Bloody Hallow in the flesh.

He was reminded of all the stories he'd heard of the carnation that passed the battlefields in his wake. not even the dust of their bones was left of his victims who had the misfortune of crossing swords with him.

For a split second, Kazutora considered whether it was too late to follow his mother's example fling himself out the window.

A wolfish grin replaced the man's smirk, and suddenly Kazutora became very aware of the situation he was in. Baji Keisuke would swallow him whole if he was given the chance. Window or not.

as always, he remained fate's laughing stock. There was no other way out then.

He breathed through his nose. It could be worse. At least he wouldn't meet his end at the hand of a pathetic clown like Madarame. His pride would not be too crushed at being incinerated. He wouldn't even have to worry about his remains anymore. It was a win-win.

still. he did not feel like making it easy for the commander in front of him. he did not like the thought of being just another faceless victim of his hellflames. slowly, he moved his hands towards the strings of his corset. He started humming more to calm his own nerves than to throw the alpha off kilter (but it was still nice to notice him fumble), tilting his head just so as to give a better view of his neck as the longer two-toned strands at the back of his head fell partially over his shoulder, the remainder of his updo slowly falling apart.

It was bound to happen Usually, he'd kept it even shorter, but since he had fallen back under his sire's thumb, it was unbecoming of an omega to shorten his hair. This was the longest he was comfortable with, he was not willing to give anybody the advantage of grabbing it again. He had learned his lesson.

He didn't bother glancing at the alpha, knowing fully well he had followed his every move. When he started to carefully undo the first ribbons. The scent of smoke had almost doubled in a matter of seconds, almost distracting him as well, but Kazutora's lips stretched into a grin all the same, alphas were too easy to read.

With a quick glance, Kazutora tried to hold back a snort. The man was frozen in place, a dumbfounded look on his face, and the redness coloring his cheeks was the cherry on top. Heh. It was nice to see him out of his element for a change.

When he was halfway through opening his corset, he could feel leather– Gotcha!

"Cat got your tongue, Commander?" He couldn't help the smirk on his face as he slowly inched forward. Weirdly enough the man took a deep breath, his pupils dilated to an almost blackness. "Let me help you find it" he continued more softly now that the alpha was just a breath away.

In this close proximity, a spicy note filled his nose, making Kazutora lose his own footing for a short moment, as something incomprehensible bloomed in the pit of his stomach. The unidentifiable scent intensified to new heights. Had his sire taken to scented candles?

He had no time however to investigate it further, as the man snapped out of his trance, his eyes sharpening in alarm at their closeness, but Kazutora made sure to not give the man even a chance to recover, before slipping out the knife from its sheath and charging precisely at the man's chest.

Before he was able to even scratch him the captain grabbed his wrist yet again. But Kazutora had been expecting it and ducked down before the man could get a good hold of him. He used the momentum and kicked the man in his lower stomach, sending him crashing into the table, simultaneously making him lose the hold on Kazutora's wrist as well.

the dark-haired man clearly had been caught off guard. But instead of shock and anger at being attacked, the man was grinning from ear to ear in satisfaction now. Instead, it was Kazutora's turn to be shocked.

a maniac. his mind screamed.

"Now this is what I've been talking about!" the commander shouted in glee, removing anything that could hinder his fun. His dark blue cloak clipped to his back, the armor constricting his arms, and of all things his sword? again, was he of sound mind?

Then he beckoned Kazutora over with his hand, delight in his voice "Come at me with everything you've got, little tiger."

Kazutora wouldn't be told twice. Normally he wouldn't have given in to the goading, but something in him was itching for a good fight. Up until now any alpha he fought, usually would be so full of rage at the humiliation of being bested by him.

Every attack he served to the alpha, was skillfully blocked and returned with the same vigor. He forgot all about his former fatigue and injuries. The refound adrenaline cursing through his veins became the perfect antidote. A few minutes of them just exchanging and blocking blows ensued.

Neither was willing to give the other the upper hand.

For the first time since he picked up a weapon, Kazutora had actual fun for a fleeting moment, his own smile stretching on his chapped lips, mirroring the alpha.

But he could feel it. this couldn't continue for much longer. Unlike Baji, Kazutora had started the fight on his last legs. It was only a matter of time before he would slip and give the alpha an opening.

And before that thought had fully finished in his mind, his extended leg, meant to kick the commander in the face, was easily captured with one hand. He lost his balance at the unexpectedness of the strong grip. It was one thing to deflect it. but a whole 'nother to hold it and not let it go. What the fuck was wrong with this guy?!

Instead of letting his leg go at all, the buffoon just held it tighter, making Kazutora now the person to crash onto the expensive oak table. The man didn't even give him room to breathe before he was on top of him. One of his arms was next to Kazutora's face while the other-previously holding his leg- was now placed much higher.

He appeared to have put himself between Kazutora's legs in an effort to immobilize him. Mortifyingly enough, due to the cut of his dress, it had hitched higher, exposing parts of his right thigh the captain was currently in possession of. So that's where the alpha's other hand had gone, great. The only consolation was that it hadn't been his already injured thigh, which was still neatly tucked under the skirt.

Kazutora tried to buck up to get the man off himself, which only seemed to exert himself rather than the commander. By the time he gave up on that strategy, he was barely able to catch his breath, let alone get out of the man's grip. His chest rose and fell sounding like he had run a marathon, but he wasn't alone. the other also seemed to struggle for air. For a while the only thing he could notice where their rapid rise and fall of their chests and the audible breathing to go with it.

If anyone were to come in now, the very uncompromising position would lead to all the wrong conclusions. And they weren't even actually doing anything.

He turned his face towards the man, to give him a piece of his mind only to startle at their closeness. They were so close to each other, their faces millimeters apart. Any closer and their noses would touch.

There were little specks of a rich brown in the red of his irises, Kazutora realized. He hadn't seen it before, but now that they weren't as dilated, the different shades of red and brown were undeniable. His eyes wandered further down over the man's high cheekbone, covered with the tiniest freckles. He counted sixteen. When Kazutora's gaze arrived at his lips, his brain stuttered for a moment. He just couldn't pull his eyes away the thinner upper lip barely covered those sharp fangs as he took in another breath. Every time he did those fangs caught on his much fuller bottom lip. He felt hypnotized by the motion.

Unconsciously the hand he wasn't holding his knife with moved towards the man's face, cupping parts of his cheek in a daze. He felt a need to touch those teeth, to experience their sharpness for himself just once.

"Do I know you?" The trance was broken in a mere second. the word yes was about to slip out of his lips when reality crashed in. It was as if the alpha's words not only broke the silence but shattered glass into thousands of pieces. Kazutora removed his hand as if burned.

"I think I would remember such an ugly mug" The alpha was anything but. Kazutora would rather die than admit that though. He had to regain a semblance of control. what had he been about to do-

A sharp pain erupted behind his eyelids, making him stiffle a groan of pain.

It was important, he had to keep it safe

He had promised him-… 'Why can't you remember?', a mocking distortion resounded in his mind.

Fury swelled in him.

Shut up! shut up, shut up, shut up!

he kowns, he knows- he-

HE KNOWS!

he definitely-

he-

knows…

Somebody important had-

his eyes blinked open again. there was but a hair's breadth left between their lips, noses touching. He did not linger in on his own turmoil, instead inching closer-

as if he were to actually connect their lips-

he slowly removed his other hand from the man's slackened grip-

and immediately aimed for the man's side where the metal plates of the front and back armor left a small slit.

A sharp inhale of pain registered in his ears

A heartbeat. Then another.

his chest squeezed together horrifically. he could feel hot liquid flow over his hand. He was perplexed, he did not think he would succeed. He had expected him to dodge like he had done before, but the alpha's must have been equally as disturbed as him by the previous interaction for him to lag in his own movements like this. Why didn't you dodge, idiot?

He removed his hand, his slackened grip on the knife making it fall with a harsh cling! to the ground, his stomach churning at what he'd done, nausea rising up in his throat, his fingers still shaking as he stared down at the still warm blood covering them. What had he done-

Something in him snapped and his survival instinct kicked in as he shoved the man off from himself and made a run for the exit. He needed to leave, he couldn't remain-

Just a few meters away from his goal his steps turned heavy. For some reason, he just couldn't bring himself to leave the alpha. his mind screamed at him to run, yet something else forced him to stay. He was rooted to the spot as one won out over the other. Don't just leave him.

Hurting and alone. Kazutora screamed in frustration.

Why hadn't he dodged, goddamnit! Kazutora's heart hammered in his chest. Everything hurt. He tried to shake these thoughts off his mind and made to move again when all hairs on his skin raised. His head turned in slow motion.

Baji Keisuke was holding his side, red liquid slowly trickling out between his fingers. His armor seemed to have caught most of the impact, he thought in relief. He would not die. He did not know why that thought made him so euphoric. The alpha seemed to realize the shallowness of his wound as well as he held up his own bloody hand to inspect the severity.

Then his gaze snapped back to him. The red in his irises glowed as the overwhelming scent of fire enveloped the whole room, smothering him whole. Kazutora stilled, no longer able to move at all. Sweat dripped down his neck. This was it.

Fuck. Fuck, Shit!

He did not know why that thought terrified him. That is what he had wanted, wasn't it?

Kazutora was-

A low hissing sound, reminiscent of a growl came out of the very angry alpha. His face no longer held any mirth, solely contorted in fury. His teeth had grown in size. Kazutora gulped, his throat dry.

-definitely fucked.

Kazutora could not discern what followed after he blinked next. He just remembered going from standing in front of the exit to suddenly being slammed against one of the study's many bookcases, rattling the whole wall as more than a few books fell with a dull thud by his feet.

Pain immediately erupted in the back of his head, his whole vision swimming as a groan escaped his lips. His ears were ringing and by the throbbing ache in his spine, these weren't the only parts of his body that the alpha had laid waste to. The gash on his thigh from his previous endeavor pulsating in tandem with his ragged breathing.

He bit his lips in pain, trying in vain to catch his breath. He had already been in no shape to fight the man when he had first entered, and now the day's exertions had caught up to his body.

For a moment the only sound he could register was his own withered breathing, and the jingle of the bell on his ear that came after every shiver of ache jolted his body. Funny when he was fighting for air when he lay on the table, he didn't even notice any sound from his earring. Did it even make any up until now or had his mind only noticed now that any sound at all sent his skull into excruciating agony, he distantly wondered.

He tried to ground himself by listening to the soft jingling, that seemed to melt his brain when a hand forcefully shoved his face to the right, exposing the untattooed side of his neck, making him flinch at the roughness, an aborted scream at the back of his throat.

It should not have hurt as much as it did, but any movement at all left him in pain like no other. when his exposed scent gland finally registered, he began to desperately claw at the man. He had to get away from him. For a moment it was just like back then when those alphas-

for the second time, Baji Keisuke had him pinned, one hand holding both of his own in place. He swallowed down his panic, trying his hardest to fight his fit of terror. There would be no third. Dread spread in his stomach.

The man's whole body was covering his much weaker one, making any attempt at escaping unfeasible. Not that his body would cooperate anyway. Any attempt to take a deep breath to center himself failed. He could feel his lungs spasming, unable to form a proper thought.

He was powerless like this. The alpha could do anything and Kazutora would be at his mercy. The man slowly leaned further in stop- stoP PLEASE STOP stop- the hand he had used to move Kazutora's face to the side touching his earring now.

"What a-are you doin'-?!" he slurred out in terror, unable to move the hand off his face as the man continued to hold his earring. Stupid. Stupid! He should have just run, why had let himself get into this position? Had he learned nothing?! His vision started tunneling.

"Hold still" came the clipped answer. no. It will be over soon. It won't. it won't it won't-

"Where did you get this?" the voice continued much sharper.

"Huh?" Kazutora was still in the mids of his own panic when he finally registered the man's question. His breathing was still too hard. He could barely stop his own body from trembling. He refused to let tears come out. He was not going to shed any tears because of this man.

The silence to his question agitated the alpha more as he repeated his question this time much more punctuated. He was clearly at the end of his patience with Kazutora. Playtime was over. it had been for a time now. his mind told him to answer the man, to not make him any angrier. If he was pleased with Kazutora it might not hurt as badly

His skull felt like it was exploding, the blood inside pulsating. He was going to black out, his mind detachedly concluded.

Yet distress enveloped his core, he felt like he hadn't been able to take a proper breath in hours. His headache was worsening. then-

A blank slate appeared before him. oddly,

he felt

tranquill?

…

…

…

What?

…

…

..

.

The now almost familiar scent of pine, smoke, and…-

it was encompassing him, was the first thing he noticed when his mind resurfaced.

Something heavy draped over his shoulders. He could hear a low rumble, making him slump over as he held on to something steady. Why had he been so distraught? he wondered, as calmness fell over him. How silly. He felt tired, too, he noted as warmth started spreading through his fingers. He wanted to sleep yet-

He blinked his eyes open only to find his face squished into a neck, more specifically a scent gland. He took a deep breath. He wanted to stay like that forever. For a moment he felt like this space was made just for him, before immediately backtracking.

This kind of comfort was reserved for mates and family members, and Kazutora was pretty sure that he had neither, granted the latter as of today. Not that he was ever given this type of comfort from his parents. What lunatic would be insane enough to give a stranger free access to one of the most vulnerable parts of their body?

Before he could jerk away, he discovered that a rather big, calloused hand was cradling the back of his head. He had never experienced something like this. Maybe he could stay a little longer like this… It was so gentle. He couldn't remember the last time he was held like this.

Then the rumbling slowly came to halt, which displeased him very much. He almost intuitively wanted to make it known by protesting, then his brain caught up to his outlandish thoughts and shocked him back to reality, his head snapping back from the embrace. the hand holding him fell away.

"You alright, princess?"

He nodded in a daze before the nickname registered, promptly elbowing the man "Don't call me that" The alpha immediately crouched into himself in agony, hissing before drily replying "I guess I deserved that" Kazutora was taken aback by the unexpected words, but the alpha continued on regardless "Sorry for… you know" he gestured at Kazutora. It took a moment for him to realise what the man was trying to do. It was Kazuotra's own fault for getting worked up over nothing. the alpha had been the one stabbed, not him. Kazutora was not the wronged party here.

He cleared his throat in embarrassment. "It's of no matter, I don't care" He cringed at his own tone, his voice hopefully didn't crack too much as he stepped away from the commander. "I did not think you to be the type to have an ear fetish" He continued, he didn't want to linger any more on what had occured and hoped the alpha would take the bait.

"I'm not- I mean it is not like that-" The man scratched his head in frustration "Agh, Enough! I'm not starting this back and forth again-" Baji stopped talking, the first between the two of them taking note of noise closing in on them.

Kazutora himself froze up, he'd forgotten there would be more than just the commander coming here. He didn't really think he'd make it through another fight. Surprisingly, the sharp-fanged man seemed to take note of his change in demeanor as he stepped closer to him, partly shielding him from what was coming.

"Stay behind me" It had been barely a whisper and for a moment Kazutora thought he might have imagined it. He did a doubletake. If it weren't for the alpha pulling his head away from his ear, he would have thought, his mind was conjuring up nonsense. Irritation filled him, who did the alpha think he was? Kazutora didn't need any protection. least of all from him.

But before he could step around the man, rapid footsteps were closing in. Kazutora steeled himself, unconsciously holding on to the alpha's arm with his curled fingers. He'd kick himself for that later.

"Baji-san are you here? Why did you just run off without me…" A young man, with a dark undercut and light blonde hair stomped into the room with a pout. By the sounds of it the two of them must be close. the dark-haired alpha only rolled his eyes, clearly not seeing him as a threat and something in the omega unwinded at that as the young lad kept on complaining about 'Baji-san abandoning him and taking all the fun for himself, not even leaving one fight for him and how is that fair?'

compared to the commander and Kazutora himself, the blonde was much shorter, which made him wonder if he even was old enough to be eligible for the army. The pout on his face wasn't helping Kazutora's suspicion either. he was endearing. kind of. He was reminded of a cat. the blonde was so caught up in his tirade, that he was oblivious to the fact that the commander wasn't alone. Kazutora let out a small breathy chuckle as he watched the short man.

Baji's face snapped to him, shock written on his face and Kazutora's cheeks warmed the longer the alpha's gaze bored into him. He was about to snap at him, but much to his wonder, he discovered how flushed the man's face was. The alpha must have exerted himself in the fight more than Kazutora previously assumed. the blood leaking out of him was probably not helping the matter and the pit in his stomach grew.

Even the young man stopped in his tracks as he looked at the commander in shock like he was privy to something previously unknown. Had he never seen him break a sweat in a fight?

The man blinked a couple more times before pinching himself. Finally, his eyes seemed to follow the dark-haired alpha's line of sight. His eyes widened comically when he landed on Kazutora, his mouth opening and closing much like his own was in the beginning.

"Wha-" He walked closer and then almost tripped on the corpse lying on the ground. Oh Kazutora'd forgotten the Lord of the house was still lying there. He should have moved that. the corpse was clearly a walking hazard, he distantly thought.

The unnamed man seemed to think so as well as he almost screeched at the top of his lungs. "Please tell me this is not-" He was clutching his head in his hands. "No! No. It cannot be right?" he continued, not waiting for an answer. "How could you?! Mikey-kun will be livid, Baji-san, you knew he had wanted to be the one to-!" He murmured to himself, how they could salvage this ("Mikey-kun, I swear he ran right into Baji-san's sword. It could not be helped") Kazutora raised one brow in amusement.

"I did not kill him" "I killed him"

Both of them spoke at the same time. The short man seemed to be in disbelief, clearly assuming they were pulling his leg. "You're joking" Both shake their head.

He then murmured something else to himself, nodding before addressing him. Kazutora was impressed at the blonde's lack of reaction. Like Kazutora hadn't just confessed to a murder. "Well, it could not be helped then. you were not aware Mikey-kun wanted to kill him. So it'll be fine… I think…" the blonde gave them a smile, that looked more concerned than reassuring.

Now that he had found a solution to the 'dilemma' he appeared to remember that Kazutora was there. For a few seconds he kept looking him up and down, clearly taking note of the various bloodstains on his no longer white gown. "is that your blood?!" He sounded so distressed, it was kind of endearing.

"No" Well not all of it anyways, but they didn't need to know that.

The boy sagged in relief."Ah good grief. Great!" He gave a bright smile before it immediately fell off his face, pointing an accusing finger at him "Who are you?!"

Kazutora looked at Baji for a moment. Baji just shrugged. He turned back to the blonde in front of him. "Should you not be introducing yourself first?" He teasingly asked, which made the alpha next to him bristle for some reason.

"Ah, I apologize. My name is Matsuno Chifuyu, lieutenant of the first division" Kazutora stood agape in disbelief. But he was adorable- he'd assumed him to be a fresh recruit. how could he not only be in the 'Let us strip the enemy naked' division but also be the second-in-command of it?

Maybe that tale really had been just gossip. He was still taken aback to find out that this was Baji Keisuke's lieutnant.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lieutenant Matsuno!" he gave his brightest smile, just because he had a feeling it would tick Baji off. This man was clearly territorial about his friends. He did not want Kazutora to get too close to them. In his humble opinion, the captain should be more secure in his friendships.

"no need for formalities. Chifuyu is fine" the blonde replied abashadly "It is nice to meet you too- Uhh…" In his enthusiasm, he seemed to have forgotten that Kazutora hadn't given him the same courtesy. Kazutora hid his chuckle behind his hand at the lost look on his face. Baji on the other hand wasn't as amused. "Fuck's sake! Just say your name already!"

Kazutora ignored him, the man wasn't as intimidating as he thought himself to be. Matsuno looked at them like a lost child, that didn't have a clue what they could possibly be bickering about. He did notice however that Kazutora was shifting himself in a curious way. He seemed to favor one foot over the other. It was just a minuscule movement, if Chifuyu hadn't looked at him just at that moment, he wouldn't have noticed at all.

The omega was clearly in discomfort, which was no wonder. At least he'd assumed he was an omega. He made the assumption, only due to his attire. There was no scent emitting from him to confirm it though. But with the war, many omegas had begun to conceal their scents with suppressants. the presumed-until-proven-otherwise-omega was caked in blood from head to toe. The lighter strands of his hair were a mix between gold and a sticky red. He had never seen hair quite like this. Sure that one annoying bastard with the stupid hand tattoos had a patch of lighter hair too, but not this spread out.

Most of the blood seemed to have dried at his side bangs, covering most of his left eye. Even if the omega had tried to get the strands of his face, the blood had made it so stiff, that it probably wouldn't move at all. He'd been there. that feeling was not great. This was probably also the reason why there were specks of blood on his other eyelid, parts of his lashes were clumped together. Before it had dried, the blood had gone all the way down to his chin and neck.

Under the blood, there were parts of ink hidden.

he had a tattoo as well then.

For a moment he wondered what art he had been hiding there. Tattoos and tribal markings weren't unheard of in the realm. Though some districts thought them barbaric, which was ridiculous. He had heard that the Isle natives had a tradition of marking themselves up as a form of pride. Much like the second and sixth districts, that practiced similar customs.

Chifuyu was jealous. In the first district up north where he and Baji-san had grown up, it was not nearly as popular, which was a shame. Vice-General Draken and Commander Mitsuya looked so cool in theirs. Well, Commander Mitsuya kept his mostly covered behind his short-cropped silver hair these days.

He knew Ryusei was one of the few northern recruits, that was also marked up, but he wasn't a native to the north, so that didn't really count. And his thoughts really shouldn't stray from him. He was a pain in the ass as it is, he didn't need to let him infest his thoughts as well.

When he zoned back in he saw the omega unconsciously wiping his face with the back of his also caked up hand. Dried blood was the worst. but then he remembered something and began digging around his pockets. Aha!

"Here, take this!" his mother did raise him to always be prepared. He was glad it was finally paying off.

Kazutora was startled when a piece of cloth was suddenly in front of him before his eyes minusculely softened at the gesture. The lieutenant was handing him a handkerchief of all things. He suppressed a snort at the thought of a cold-blooded first-division soldier walking around with a snowflake-stitched piece of cloth around the battlefield. But not one to reject the man's chivalry, he outstretched his hand to take it-

"Don't take it!" Both of them jumped at the commander's outburst.

"Why?"

The stilted expression on the man's face would have been funny if it was not equally irritating. that weird scent also began suffocating the room once more. One might think, someone had started a campfire in the middle of the room "Because I said so" he said through clenched teeth.

Oho? Kazutora raised his eyebrow at the man's attitude. Who did he think he was? Worst of all the man's lieutenant was actually listening to him and retracted his hand slowly. But Kazutora was not gonna let the alpha get away with it. He hmphed and snatched it from the blonde before he could react. He winningly held the handkerchief to his face, not before he threw a gratifying smirk at the man. This just seemed to piss him off further, to his delight.

The blond lieutenant stood frozen in his spot, he again looked from Kazutora to the vexed alpha. His eyes seemed to be particularly stuck on the dark blue coat still around him, Kazutora realized how this could be interpreted and he didn't like it one bit. the way the boy's eyes began widening to the size of dinner plates just confirmed his suspicions.

"So it is like that?!" the brat whisper-shouted suddenly, before immediately going on a tangent about 'a similar romance novel he was reading' and 'lovers divided by war', simultaneously apologizing to his commander. He even clutched his chest as he started spouting about becoming a better lieutenant and Right-Hand-Man, making sure that Baji-san would have a handkerchief in his pocket to gift to his beloved.

"Chifuyu.." The commander seemed to have had enough of this as he told his underling to shut it. not without averting Kazutora's eyes though. Kazutora just stood there blinking at the spectacle, stupefied. What was going on in the first division… were the rest of Toman's troops just like them? Had he put his faith in the wrong front?

A sudden ruckus had his head snapping to the entrance of the room once more. More people had arrived and by the sound of it, they were making their way up the stairs. Kazutora felt his own hackles rise as he considered the situation. This was anything but ideal. But maybe he could spin it in a way to reach his goal. the commander had foiled his plans once already… If he was lucky enough he could piss off the right person and they would make a swift end of him and he could be done with it all.

The two in the room with him were a lost cause, he'd come to the grim realization. After all, he had done to Baji alone, the alpha still had not a wink of killing intent, even after being wounded. The most he did was throw him against a wall, before fixating on Kazutora's earring of all things. Furthermore, the man appeared to be intuitive to his every thought, as even now he stepped once more in front of him as if he had known Kazutora's alarm was due to the new arrivals all along.

Much to his bewilderment, the blonde lieutenant stared at them with starry eyes, which left him stupified. A pained hiss from Baji got the boy out of his fantasy world, as he must have finally seen the still bleeding wound on his precious commander's side. With a cry of horror, he was immediately by the alpha's side, fretting over him, proclaiming all variations of "Please don't die Baji-san!"

the blonde clutched the alpha closer to him. He did not like the ugly feeling that blossomed in his chest as he witnessed their closeness

"how did this happen!" the lieutenant was clearly in over his head with the situation, so his commander didn't injure himself too often then. It didn't make him feel any better about what he had done.

It had given Kazutora an epiphany though. Maybe the second in command wasn't a lost cause after all. If he found out who had attacked his commander, he might just do Kazutora the favor and finish the job his commander couldn't. Baji, once again was onto him, as he tried stopping him with his hand before Kazutora even opened his mouth. With the pain he must be in, he wasn't much of a hindrance though and for a second, a surge of regret flooded his system. He vehemently shrugged it off as he stepped away from the alpha.

With a mask of cockiness, he picked up the fallen, still bloodied knife close to the table and held it up high, successfully gaining the lieutenant's attention. As soon as his blue eyes were on him, he proclaimed it, full of euphoria he did not possess. "He walked right into it I swear"

Kazutora counted the exact moment, the beta realized that his own words were thrown back at him. "…what?" the blonde's face contorted into fury as his hand went for the sword hilt by his side. "What is wrong with you?!"Kazutora looked at him expectantly, waiting for the lieutenant to charge at him, but nothing of the sort happened.

Before the blonde could even take a proper step towards him, the commander had stopped him. The alpha had the lieutenant's sword arm in a tight grip. Both Matsuno and Kazutora looked towards the dark-haired man still kneeling on the ground, with shocked expressions. "Drop it, Chifuyu."

"B-but Baji-san-" the lieutnant protested instantly

"That is an order." the lieutenant did as he was told, letting out a huff of frustration, his heated glare still on the omega, but didn't advance again. Instead, the blonde put all of his efforts towards stopping the blood flowing from the wound, softly speaking to his commander. Kazutora was unable to make out what exactly was being said, only hearing bits of pieces and the name Mitsuya.

His gaze narrowed towards the dark-haired alpha. The omega bit the inside of his own cheek, trying to rationalize why the man was shielding him from his own lieutenant. By all means, the lieutenant had every right to get vengeance for what Kazutora had done to his commander. Wasn't there a code in the army about defending each other's lives? honor?

He held his temple in frustration. He waited a moment. Then two. almost pleadingly he looked at the blonde "Why are you not attacking me? I hurt your precious Baji-san!"

the blonde's hands turned white-knuckled for a split second, but otherwise both his gaze and attention remained on his commander. Just like that Kazutora's question went ignored.

Kazutora swallowed. His frustration turned to sudden fury at his current situation. nothing was going the way it was supposed to and now he was stuck with two useless imbeciles, that couldn't even finish him off properly.

He looked down, noticing the knife still in his hand. His gaze quickly towards the two other, still preoccupied soldiers. There was no attention on him. nothing could stop him right now, he could just-

"Drop the fucking knife." the weapon clattered to the ground almost immediately. Kazutora flinched at the alpha's words, blinking several times. His mind went a mile a minute, why had his hand instinctually done as it was told…

His face turned to the alpha on the ground. his anger just coiled further as their eyes met. Kazutora would have been long gone if it wasn't for this piece of shit. "What's it to you anyway?!" he screamed at the man, breathing heavily. "Whether I live or die is of no fucking concern to you so-" Mind your fucking business was on the tip of his tongue. but before he could voice the rest of his thought more people barged in.

great! he thought, there is just no end to it!

He turned his heated glare towards the intruders, baring his teeth. Four people in total. the silver-haired with the lavender eyes and the smaller, stockier blonde with an apparent scar on his lip were leading the small group. Just like Baji, they were sporting a golden sigil, confirming their commander rank. both of them looked rather relaxed. not at all like soldiers in enemy territory - definitely alphas. weirdly enough the other two - betas, his mind supplied - behind them were much taller and lankier. the blue-haired one much like the blonde alpha at the front was sporting a scar on his lip. Kazutora wondered what type of training they did for their lips to be the most injured part of their body.

He waited for one of them to strike. but much like Matsuno, their reaction was rather lackluster. the silver-haired alpha languidly looked around the room. his eyes glanced at the dark-haired alpha crouching on the floor clearly bleeding, before sighing. The man then began massaging his head, before sighing again.

He turned to the blue-haired beta beside him, who immediately brought a medical kit out of a storage pouch. the silver-haired then crouched down to the level of the injured man and began to patch him up, telling the first division's lieutnant to relax "the wound does not look life-threatening"

his gaze then turned to his patient again "sorry, I'm unable to use any mana in this place, looks like it's gonna be the old-fashioned way" The dark-haired man just grumbled in reply, but otherwise did not give any reaction to any discomfort.

the smaller alpha then, too blinked at the first division captain before lazily proclaiming "Kind of embarrassing for you, Baji"

"Shut up, Pah." so his name was Pah, Kazutora rifled through his mind for a commander fitting that name but came up blank. must be a nickname then. His dark eyes turned unblinkingly to Kazutora next… and Kazutora? looked right back at him with a blank expression. "did anybody tell ya, ya look like the statue down the road?"

there was only one statue in the city plaza "..the statue of the headless angel?"

It was a grand statue of the ancient times, in the form of a kneeling angel, being shielded by its own wings.

"yeah, that one" he blinked again. the most noteworthy part of the statue was one specific thing. there was no head on the statue.

Kazutora tilted his head at the man "I have a head though?"

"You're right…" Pah easily agreed and Kazutora realized, there was not a thought behind the alpha's eyes. "I'm Pah, by the way. commander of the third, you can call the guy behind me Pehyan" Hayashida Haruki - known by his monicker the One-Hitter, his brain clicked the puzzle pieces together. Heir to the Stone Tunnels Duchy and consecutive Wardenship of the third district. the one behind him was his lieutenant Hayashi Ryouhei then.

Baji Keisuke's growl brought him out of his thoughts. Said alpha was giving the commander of the third a dirty look, who just looked confused at the man's behavior. Kazutora too, did not understand, what the reaction was for, but didn't bother trying to find out.

the silver-haired commander hit the alpha on the head not a second later, stopping him mid-growl "stop it" His exasperated expression turned to omega. "hey Not-Headless-Angel-san, do you have any injuries, I should be aware of?"

"No." As far as Kazutora knew, none of his injuries were of any concern to these people. "he's lying through his teeth, Mitsuya!-Ouch!" Kazutora stared daggers at the injured man that would have made a weaker man cower in fear.

"Stop moving" Commander Mitsuya reprimanded him. He was befitting of the Blessed Healer of the second division - though Kazutora was curious how his other monicker the Joker fit into that serene image the alpha was currently portraying. "what injuries are you speaking of?"

"There must be a couple. I smacked him into a wall." the second division stopped his ministration mid-motion and all of their eyes turned to the injured man. the judgment in their eyes was almost palpable. "I apologized, okay?" the man grumbled.

"It is not noteworthy, he barely scratched me" Kazutora cleared his throat. Considering that he had stabbed the man right before, the retaliation he'd received had been mild in comparison.

"I'll be the judge of that" Mitsuya replied.

Kazutora was about to argue when another set of people arrived at the door. It was a free-for-all in here. one would think the corpse-filled war room would be the place to be, but no.

The first one Kazutora took note of was the one towering over everybody else. But that was not the most notable thing about him. No, it was the intricate Dragon tattoo covering the left side of his head. He'd heard descriptions of it, but none of them did the marking justice. And it belonged to Draken, the Second-In-Command of the of the fearsome Toman troops. He outranked most of the people in this room.

He would have been the most intimidating person so far…

only if it weren't for the much shorter man next to him. As soon as the blonde had entered the atmosphere had shifted. His presence alone demanded reverence. Kazutora did not need to be able to sense pheromones to know that he was the biggest threat of them all. His hand instinctually went for the dagger he no longer had.

"-eek?! all of these bodies.. Baji-san really is ruthless- AGH!" the last person, a nervous-looking beta with the biggest blue eyes he'd ever seen stumbled in after the other two. In between the rest of these people, he was as out of place as a bunny in between a pack of bloodthirsty wolves. The beta was unable to even finish his sentence when he realized the person he was speaking of was in the room and promptly took a few steps in regret and hid between the tallest and what definitely was the crown prince of the empire Sano Manjiro.

the heavy atmosphere dissipated like a popped balloon and everybody's limps unconsciously loosened again. the beta seemed unremarkable so far, but he had to give it to him. though it didn't change the fact, that he was now surrounded in a room full of alphas and betas, that he had no chance against. At least not in this condition.

He watched as the crown prince mustered the room, lifting one eyebrow in question when they landed on the injured first division commander, who vehemently refused to open his mouth before they trailed off and landed on the still very visible corpse on the ground. The man's eyes narrowed as he recognized who it was, that was lying there in a pool of blood. Yet he still did not speak up.

His bottomless gaze snapped to Kazutora and mustered his appearance for a moment. Oddly, the prince's eyes zeroed in on Kazutora's earring, a thoughtful expression on his face. Kazutora wondered if wearing only one earring was a scandalous thing in the capital. But the omega had seen Matsuno, the 2nd division commander, and hell, even the prince's own vice-general wearing it the same way. and the latter one was from Central, too.

As if he hadn't been watching holes into him, the crown prince finally speaks "you come with me" Kazutora's back immediately straightened at the command "Ken-chin, Takemitchy you both too"

"Wait, I'll come too" the sharp-toothed alpha began to argue, but was held back by the silver-haired man "You are going nowhere"

"but-"

"don't get stabbed next time"

The alpha still didn't relent, baring his teeth at the second division commander, his eyes growing dangerously dark. Mitsuya was immediately back on his feet, taken aback by the hostility. Kazutora stood oblivious to the fact that the rest of the group was equally baffled by Baji's aggressive animosity towards his own people.

All except for one. Mikey stood there watching, reminded of a younger version of his friend, that held so much fury in his body, ferally wrecking everything and everyone in his path without mercy. It was so long ago, the blonde had almost forgotten, what destruction and bloodshed his feralty could bring.

Before he could decide what to do with the current predicament, the omega began to move. He watched with curiosity as the golden-eyed bride rolled his eyes and sighed, unimpressed by the threat Baji was posing. He leisurely fiddled with something on his left ear as he approached the growling alpha, and fearlessly crouched down to be eye level with him. He took the man's fist into his own hand. As soon as he touched the alpha, his growling ceased the wild look in his eyes replaced by a look of dazed confusion. The omega flipped his wrist over and carefully uncurled the clenched fingers with no resistance from the alpha in front of him. He placed something on his palm, that let out a small jingle. "a temporary souvenir, since you almost broke my skull to have this" the omega teased, winking at the man but not explaining any further. to their shock and horror they watched as the dark-haired alpha's cheeks turned red as he averted his gaze from the omega in front of him.

They finally came out of their stupor when the omega straightened back up. "there is a meeting room right down the hall, let us go there"

Weirdly enough the group parted like the sea in front of him, giving him no trouble as he made his way outside into the hallway. He stood inattentive to the rest of them staring back at him before turning to look at one another. "..what the fuck just happened?" Draken asked.

his question stayed unanswered, Baji still refused to look at any of them, his gaze solely on the souvenir he'd just been (temporarily) gifted.

After the other three made it out of the room, Kazutora lead the way. They had to maneuver over a lot of bodies to get to the war room, where his sire had only this morning tried to kill everyone on this island. the big marble table was smeared in blood, with scattered figurines all in disarray. Chairs laid all over not even close to the table in the middle of the room. At least there were not as many corpses littered in this room. He wondered if he had played a round of tag with his victims when he was under.

"Uh. we should probably i-introduce ourselves, right? My n-name is Hanagaki Takemichi and these are-"

"Sano Manjiro and Ryuguji Ken. the heir to the throne and his right-hand man. I am aware"

Kazutora gave the beta an unimpressed stare, He would be a fool not to know who these two were. They were infamous all over the country. The face of the nation. The invincible Mikey and his Moral Compass. The definition of a bond, that was built on their blood and sweat.

Mikey sat down on one of the chairs still left upright, swinging his feet on the table and gestures to Kazutora with a nod. "explain"

Kazutora waited a moment for the man to continue, before realizing the man was not going to delve deeper into detail. "What exactly?"

"all those dead guys littering the halls for one"

"I killed them"

"You killed all of them?" the beta looked shocked. "Without any mana?"

"Yes, all of them" without any feeling or remorse. If he had used any magic the remaining residue would have given it away. And seals couldn't be really sensed unless one had honed their skills.

"Why did you do it?"

"It was time to do so"

Mikey raised his eyebrow at the cryptic answer. two could play the game.

"This is clearly going nowhere" Draken intervened irritated, "Start with your name."

"I don't see how this is of any importance"

"We're going to find out either way, just do us all the favor and talk"

Kazutora didn't like the idea of that one bit. He knew the moment, he revealed his identity, their mostly neutral attitude would shift and not in his favor. He was planning to die today, but he wanted to go as just him, not attached to his sire's name. Dying nameless held more honor than dying as the usurper's son. he sighed. It wouldn't matter regardless. Death wouldn't differentiate between them, would it? He'd be dead either way. what was the saying? The wanderer would journey his spirit's unrest.

no light is reflected in his muted eyes as he turned his gaze to them "Hanemiya Kazutora" he answered tonelessly. "My name is Hanemiya Kazutora"

By the widening of their eyes, they were caught off guard, only the crown prince remained neutral, his dark eyes staring him down. the vice-general cleared his throat."The last remaining kin of the main Hanemiya household was declared dead over thirteen years ago."

"And yet here I am"

None of them refuted his words. Draken asked, "You'd go so far as to kill your own father, knowing you'd be branded a kinslayer?"

"Mhm.." what was one more word to name-call him. He'd been called worse. and it would be the truth. he'd slain his kin. People would not be wrong to label him as such.

Draken gave him a considering look "The rumours about a marriage alliance with the Black Dragons held some truth to it?"

Kazutora made a face "what gave it away?"

Draken didn't respond to that. "Let me rephrase. Are we about to be ambushed by their forces?" Madarame Shion wished he'd be capable of pulling that off. Kazutora suppressed a snort

"Didn't you guys beat them in your first campaign as new recruits? It should be easy for you to win against Madarame now that you're seasoned warriors"

"You know an awful lot about us"

"what can I say? a lot of my time freed up when I died thirteen years ago and omegas do love gossip"

"You still haven't explained that part, either" and he wasn't going to. Partially because he physically couldn't- he stumbled as a sharp throb burst behind his eyes making him shut his eyelids to try and elevate it, to no use. this never got easier, no matter how often it happened.

"a-are you okay?" the blue-eyed beta tried to right him with a concerned expression. Kazutora slapped his hand away before he could actually touch him, his eyes sharply narrowed as he stared him down.

the blonde immediately took a respectful step back and Kazutora dropped his shoulders when the boy was far enough away from him. The pain still lingered, but it always did. He wished for this day to finally be over. "you won't be ambushed by the Black Dragons. the current head is expecting his future bride to arrive-" he trails of looking out the window to see that the sun had long since set, it was closer to midnight now. knowing his father the ship they were expected to take would have had a traveling charm attached to it, to shorten the journey. "well, a few hours ago. He's probably crying into his bedding right now."

"this marriage arrangement was not of your own choosing" Draken concluded and gave him an empathetic glance. Kazutora's lips thinned. "it shouldn't be shocking. unlike fairy tales and romance books, the reality of marriages are not made with affection in mind. a marriage in its foundation is a transaction, is it not? A political move, if you're fancy. One goes from the hands of one handler to the other "

"That's a morbid way to look at it"

"You do not ask your mare who to sell it to"

"There is a difference between a horse and an omega" Kazutora blew a raspberry, more condescendingly than intended "how noble of you, Vice-General. I am sure the princess Emma appreciates the sentiment" The tattooed man bristles at the name. "I guess the fairy tale love story of the country could not relate. The Princess and the Commoner is quite the popular play I hear" Kazutora leaned against the table with a deadpan expression "You were quite fortunate that the King was in favor of your engagement. Who knows what might have happened if his majesty had thought a match with a powerful country like Rokuhara would have been more favorable for his political interests"

"King Mansaku would never do that-"

"could the same have been said about his son the late crown prince Makoto though? He was quite the character and not particularly shy about his opinions regarding the weaker subgender or the common folk. Not to mention he did nurtue a close relations with the likes of Rokuhara. The current King was about to abdicate before his son tragically lost his life"

"where are you going with this?"

the man grew more annoyed, but Kazutora felt quite talkative "an omega's guardianship rests in the hands of their sires before it is transferred to their spouses after marriage. Do you think the late prince would have honestly entertained the idea of your courtship? Of course, you could have run off together and eloped like the true fairy tale story that you embody… But something tells me you are not the type."

Kazutora leaned forward "Duty demands you, vice-general. and when it calls for you, you follow suit, even if it would have meant to abandon her. You are welcome to correct me, if I am wrong in my assessment" Kazutora waited for the alpha to possibly argue, but the man remained silent, though the agitation on his face told him, he was not making a friend. Had he ever though?

"An omega is not a mare as long as an alpha chooses not to deem them as such. #the rest of unfortunate souls that are deemed as cattle are in no need of your pity or your moral standpoint." He couldn't hide the spitefulness in his tone. "But enough about that now. The war is now over and the ursurper was dealt with" I'm the last obstacle to permanent peace goes unsaid.

"You sure did a number on my first division commander." Kazutora's head turned to Sano Manjiro, the man had stayed quiet so far. He'd honestly expected him to speak up the moment Kazutora began badmouthing his father. To bypass it entirely in favor of talking about the dark-haired alpha was odd.

the awe-inspiring general of Toman's forces. The invincible who'd never lost a fight and led his men to victory. Yet Kazutora a hard time finding something close to reverence for the man, like the rest of his men did. Maybe he had too high of an expectation for the dominant alpha.

"I barely scratched him" he drily replied.

"I'm not very fond of somebody hurting what's mine" the alpha pouted. he actually pouted. was this man truly the future of the kingdom?

However, Kazutora was nothing if not opportunistic and gave a shit-eating grin "You should kill me in retaliation. It is only fair"

"Why did you wait until now to kill your father?"

Kazutora groaned. The least the prince could have done, was think about it. He could tell them about the fact that his sire was planning on blowing up all of the isles today after the news came in that his enemies would be here by nightfall. the monster would have rather murdered the whole city, innocent civilians as collateral as long as it meant that he would be able to take out Toman's fighters while he himself turned heel. nothing was too high a price. At the end of the day Kazutora simply couldn't have afforded more time on stalling. He didn't say that though, instead. "You took too long to arrive"

"Did we? I thought we were rather fast." the alpha's nonchalance was unmatched "with none of the natives even attempting to stop us. Rather curious, right Takemtchy?"

"R-right.."

Mikey hums for a bit as he lazily looks around the room "what do you expect me to do now?"

"Repossess the isles. Bring peace upon the realm and whatever the rest of that oath said?"

"-with you"

What a good question. "well.. since I stole your royal highness' thunder. It is only fair, that I'll give you the opportunity to at least kill the last remainder of the Hanemiya-clan" This was the perfect ending to this wretched story. The isles would be under the crown again. Simultaneusly ensuring his people's survival and the war would end with the demise of his house, while also warning the rest of the country what happened to the traitors of the crown. Like a true story of a hero slaying the villain. But the prince did not share his sentiment

"no"

Kazutora was gobsmacked. What was going on with these people. The reports that trickled in told him the man was one of the most ruthless warriors on the battlefield, handling thousand of men by himself, with not even an injury. And here he was with no actual care in the world, looking around the room in boredom. The route this was taking was not going Kazutora's way at all. The crown prince was supposed to kill him. He wanted to rip his hair out in frustration.

"Baji has been acting weird since we arrived. Stormed off the moment we walked through the city gate" the blonde pondered before putting his attention back on Kazutora. And again he circling back to the first division commander. "and we find him with you… are you lovers or something?"

"Mikey, you can't just ask people that!" Draken reprimanded. the beta next to him let out a gasp.

Kazutora choked out a strangled "No!" steam coming out of his ears. Red faced he lost his composure, insisting "this is the first time we met!"

Vice-General Draken then murmured something under his breath, that sounded a lot like "acts like he will punch anyone that even looks at the guy" but Kazutora might have heard wrong.

Once the omega had calmed down again, he was taken aback by his own knee-jerk reaction. But still, the audacity to even insinuate… that. and he wasn't done yet to Kazutora's utter dismay. "I've known Baji all my life. Usually, he doesn't spare omegas even a glance. This is the first time I've seen him like this, well if you don't consider that one time… " Kazutora didn't blink for several moments, too caught off guard by what was transpiring. He ignored the minuscule part in him, that wanted him to finish his sentence. He had known the commander for maybe an hour. This should not be the topic of conversation right now. His migraine resurfaced.

"Are you sure you met today?" the general just wouldn't let up.

Kazutora wanted to kick him in the face so badly. "Yes. I am sure." liar, liar, pants on fire

"Hmm maybe it was somebody else then…"

"Can we get back to what holds importance, your highness?" he weakly asked.

"Why are you so keen on me killing you?" because everybody else so far refused to do so. At this point Kazutora's head was killing him more than anything else in this room. His thigh was still throbbing. And those were just the injuries he was able to register. And this man was not helping. His nonchalance to the whole situation was ticking him off to no end. What did one have to do to be fucking killed?!

"You came here to kill someone, right? I'm the only one left. It is the logical thing to do. So. just. go. ahead." He punctuated, knowing fully well, how insane it sounded to an outsider. He bared his throat for good measure. What alpha wouldn't immediately use an opportunity like this.

"Killing you doesn't interest me though" Mikey sighed, looking at him with indifference now. He had lost all of his interest in Kazutora. "Let's go Ken-chin I'm starving."

Kazutora couldn't let that happen. Mikey was his last chance thanks to whatever spell the red-eyed alpha had put him under that made him unable to finish it himself.

the crown prince was the perfect opportunity to die. It would conclude the war and bring peace in a proper way. The evil spawn of the traitor dead before the sun rose for a new era. He was his free ticket out of this awful life. He couldn't- wouldn't let him leave just yet, consequences be damned. He didn't want to stoop to this. But Mikey forced him to.

"As if" he mocked. It felt like something had possesed him and taken a hold of his senses. two of the three looked over to him in alarm, yet his target continued to ignore him as he got out of his seat.

"Didn't you do all of this fighting-" Kazutora didn't feel like himself at all. His limbs began to shake "to avenge your brother?"

…

…

…

..

.

deafening silence blanketed the room. One could hear a pin drop.

His heart was beating out of his chest. He curled his fists together, nails cutting his skin. Anything to keep his trembling form from being noticed.

Mikey's face was blank as he stared at him. those bottomless pits held nothing. Nothing to even give an inkling of what he was thinking. nothing that would show him mercy. good.

Draken's attention darted between him and Mikey, waiting for something. The beta looked sick to his stomach, like he already knew. His head was shaking like he was trying to tell Kazutora to not continue further. It made him halt for a moment. this kid couldn't possibly know? Kazutora was just imagining things, he told himself. He'd lost his marbles a long time ago, his mind was tricking, is all. He put on his false act of bravado, bowing mockingly. He hid any tremors in his quick movements. His thigh was still throbbing.

"Today is your lucky day" He forced a grin on his face. bile rose up his throat. His chest was burning, he felt like he couln't breathe properly. He straightened up as the darkness made itself a home in eyes.

He stared the crown prince dead in the eyes. He had intended to say it with unapologetic confidence, but in the end, it came out too rattled, unnerved. Terror like no other started spreading into his limps, it was screaming at him to flee, to run, to hide, but he dared not to leave his spot. The smell of Cinnamon overpowered the whole room, making the other two recoil as well. Kazutora would not allow for the fear to translate on his face. He would not crack and give him the satisfaction.

"I was the one that killed your brother thirteen years ago."

.

.

.

His heartbeat stuttered, that was all it took.

He barely registered, that Mikey had him in a chokehold. It happened in the blink of an eye, the crown prince in front of him, his calloused hand gripping his neck, squeezing his throat. The fury in the alpha's eyes had been the most terrifying he'd gazed upon. For a moment he felt like he was a child again, alone and scared. and cold….

so cold. He could swear he saw shadows encircling the prince's form just waiting to devour him.

Now this was the ruthless general he had been waiting for. He shouldn't be surprised. That was his goal, wasn't it? This was the right ending for a demon like him. the prince that slayed the monster. the the hero that had kiled the villain.

he would finally get to die.

He fought against every urge to claw at Mikey and get some air. He had to shut down any instinct that stirred in him to fight back. He exhausted enough energy on his killing spree, so it was only a matter of time before his body would give up on its own. He was no match for an alpha like Mikey anyway.

Black spots erupted in his vision. Soon it will all be over. He closed his eyes. He felt his body slowly going numb, the pain no longer registering.

A burst of sudden tranquility overtook him. The ghost of a smile graced his colorless lips.

At last he didn't have to fight anymore.

what a peaceful thought.

"Are you okay, kid?"

a warm smile on an exhausted face greeted him. The man had just arrived, with chains on his hands and feet, before the guards had shoved him inside, saying really mean stuff before leaving again.

When Kazutora looked up, he was enraptured. The charcoal in the man's eyes was captivating, even if they were bloodshot and strained. Kazutora's were too, probably… so he wouldn't hold it against him. With his dark hair and pretty clothes, he looked like the characters in his books. A benevolent Knight that would slay the mean dragons and monsters and save the princess. And maybe Kazutora, too if he was lucky.

but then he remembered. He didn't deserve to be taken away from here, father had said so.

He could only nod in answer to the question, clutching the front of his dirtied dress in his small hands. Ashamed now of his appearance. He hadn't been allowed to clean himself. He smelt really bad; he was sure. He could never be a knight or princess, too useless and dumb to do anything right.

"You're not much of a talker, are you?" This made him blush in embarrassment. He shook his head. He sometimes had trouble speaking, like the words just wouldn't come out no matter how hard he tried. His father always reprimanded him for it, calling him all kinds of mean names, before hitting him and-.

And now he even sent him into the dungeon for being a no-good and this was the only way for him to learn. Father knew what he was doing, Kazutora told himself. And when Kazutora would finally be good, Father would reward him and let him out. Kazutora just had to become better at being good.

"Hey, it's okay. My brother isn't much of a talker either." This made him perk up for some reason. The man seemed to utter something that sounded suspiciously like cute under his breath. he must have noticed the scuttling mice.

"I tried teaching him the basic signs at least. So we could communicate in need, but the kid has no interest in anything other than food and fighting" The man sounded resigned.

Kazutora giggled, the man was really funny. And nice. He wondered why such a nice man was chained here, where all the bad people went. no-goods like Kazutora. but Kazutora never understood anything, he was stupid like that.

"How old are you kid?" It took him a moment before he scrambled to hold up eight of his fingers. He liked it when the man asked him questions, he didn't want to make him wait for an answer.

That made the man light up. Kazutora felt so happy for making the nice man smile.

" my brother's age!" that must be his brother's name. but the man's expression turned somber "His birthday is coming soon.."

The man stopped talking for a while. Kazutora disappointedly looked down. The nice man was probably annoyed by him and didn't want to talk anymore, so he reluctantly scurried back to the rag he used as a makeshift blanket.

"Hey Kid, what do you say? Want to learn sign language by chance?" As soon as the words registered, he stumbled on air.

He turned to the man eagerly as he nodded without stopping. Too excited to spend more time with him. Unlike the man's brother, he was gonna study really hard, he decided. But for some reason it terrified him that the man might do the same to him as his father if he wasn't good at it. the man was chained up in a prison cell, he comforted himself. He wouldn't be able to touch him from there. Kazutora could do it without getting in trouble!

The man started chuckling.

"I'll take that as yes. I'll show you some basics first. Can't do much with this chain here. But who knows, maybe you will be able to sign your name by the time we're finished!" The man's eyes widened for a moment.

"That reminds me. My name is "

Mikey stumbled back in shock as the omega fell to the ground. He'd just looked at his eyes and he-

Kazutora crashed to the ground like a sack of potatoes. His survival instinct immediately kicked into gear, making him cough and choke on air trying to let as much of it as he could enter his lungs. It hurt so much.

it was excruciating.

It felt like hours had passed before he could register what was happening around him, ears ringing. It took all his energy just to look up. He rapidly blinked his eyes to clear the fog in them. There was a lot of noise, but to him it only registered as static. like somebody had zapped him with their lightning affinity.

in his eye, most of the pain concentrated. He felt the need to take a spoon and scoop it out, just to relieve some of it.

Then confusion hit him. The killing intent of the alpha didn't just vanish into thin air. Mikey should have successfully killed him by now… so why?

He felt his headache worsening.

The Take-something guy stood with his back to him, franticly waving around and babbling a mile a minute, looking anywhere but at his own superior. Was he shielding him from Mikey? He blinked again in confusion.

Draken, the second-in-command, was physically holding his general, but Mikey himself was frozen in motion, one hand still up, eyes staring into the void. He looked terrifying still, making Kazutora flinch away. He had to flee, his instincts were screaming at him. Danger! Danger! Danger! but his body wouldn't have listened either way.

"-no going back if you do this! Harming a defenseless omega like this-" that seemed to have snapped Mikey out of his frozen state.

"Defenseless? Have you forgotten the bodies littering these halls? Or to what he just confessed?" He was seething, clenching, and unclenching his fists now.

The beta in front of him immediately paused. For a heartbeat nobody spoke.

Then the kid straightened up and unflinchingly met the gaze of his general. He appeared ancient all of a sudden, startling Kazutora.

His name was Hanagaki Takemichi, his scattered mind supplied. It was getting harder to keep his eyes open. The hammering in his skull amplified. Yet the only thing he could think about was quieting the sounds of pain trying to flee his throat.

"you cannot kill him."

"Was that in your visions?"

Mikey was mocking him by the tone of his voice. His anger was palpable. Kazutora struggled to pay attention. He wanted them to shut up already.

"He's right, Mikey." the taller man now butted in as well. What did it matter if he died or lived. Maybe his body would just die from exhaustion, he told himself. That would be fine too. Just die already.

"The people of these isles are prideful. And even though they lost a lot of resources and most of their own kin to the war and yet they did not object to us entering"

Draken waited a second before continuing. "Since we arrived here, nobody opposed us. We have been at war with them for years. Most of their family members died by our hands and yet-" The vice-general's piercing gaze turned to the omega.

He opened his mouth, before coming to the horrible realization that even if he wanted to deny Draken's correct assumptions, he couldn't. Breathing itself was agonizing. Every breath felt like liquid fire down his throat.

Draken seemed to conclude as well, not to expect any further words from him. His gaze turned to pity before directing his attention back to his own general.

"I believe that he is the one that provided Lady Shiba and the other scouts with the coordinates to different strongholds of the rebellion in the last few weeks alone. He is the reason why we had barely any casualties and the isles fell without resistance. And if I figured it out after such a short amount of time, then the folks living out there know as well.

The Hanemiyas have held the isles since the ancient times. They are part of the original seven families that helped built this country. These people are all of their descendants. If you kill him – their omegan kin – they will riot."

Killing an omega in their circles was seen as sinful, they were taught from an early age. Those that did, were doomed to live a cursed life that would follow even their descendants.

"Oh? then I should let it go because he provided us with intel? Who is to say he wasn't just trying to jump ship after realizing his side was losing the war"

"We all know very well that the intel came to us long before we were even close to having the upper hand. And Lord Hanemiya had a marriage alliance lined up, that would have given him a lot of manpower. You know very well what fighting the Black Dragons is like. That would have dragged this war out for a couple of more years" Takemitchy pointed out quietly.

"what do you expect me to do? let him go on his merry way?!"

"I know it is not fair to ask this of you. However, the isles have fallen into state custody now that there is no proper warden, as not only an omega without guardianship, but war prisoner as well, so does he. I cannot let you begin this new era as an omegaslayer. Do not put that stain on the crown"

Mikey still wouldn't budge from his position, but Draken knew he was listening to them. He took a deep breath. "C'mon Mikey. He looks our age. Your brother died thirteen years ago. He must have been about eight or nine when it happened. Shinichiro might have been shit at fighting, but even he would not have just been caught off guard by a mere child. There is something he's refusing to tell us"

Draken was basing this on assumptions alone. But something told him that the omega was hiding too much. And nobody that enjoyed killing, had such a haunted and defeated look in their eyes the way Omega had when he started his spiel. It was clear he was trying to provoke Mikey into killing him.

Draken glanced back at the omega on the ground only to realize that he was out cold. At least he hoped that was all that he was. After fighting Baji and being subjected to Mikey's (albeit deserved) ire, he shouldn't be surprised. Not to mention what he had done before they arrived. The guy had guts alright, he'd give him that. Draken could see why Baji of all people would be infatuated with him. They both seemed to have a fondness for a special type of recklessness. Crazy did attract crazy.

Mikey was quiet for a long time looking at his hand, then looking at the omega intensely. Draken held his breath. Mikey let out a frustrated growl of "I'll be back" before walking away.

the doors shut behind him with a bang and Takemitchy immediately fell to his knees. His face looked like he came straight out of his own funeral, white as a sheet of paper. "That went well considering…" he trailed off his gaze at the omega.

After letting out his own sigh of relief, Draken slowly crouched down to the unconscious omega.

"Takemitchy"

"Y-yes?"

"Get Mitsuya and some medical supplies" Takemitchy gave his response by stumbling straight out the door shouting for Mitsuya and medical supplies. This kid honestly, Draken suppressed a chuckle. He probably should have told him not to mention anything of what transpired in front of Baji. He did not want to deal with a territorial alpha on top of all of this.

After checking for any more injuries, other than the obvious ones, Draken came to the unfortunate discovery, that the omega should have not been able to even have been standing for as long as he did. How he was able to hide the very gruesome gash on his thigh for this long was concerning to say the least. That needed more than just stitches.

He gently picked him up to not rustle him too much and placed him slowly on the table. Then he picked up a fallen curtain, balling it together to create a makeshift pillow and putting it under the omega's head. Lying on a table was already uncomfortable enough. Draken didn't feel like making it any worse.

This is not how expected this day to go at all.