Battle lines drawn if you wonder which side speaks the truth

Then look closely to which speaks from pride

I love you, I swear it, I would never lie

But I fear for our lives and I fear your closed eyes

You ask for the truth but you know

now what will your legacy be?

Wakey!Wakey! - War Sweater

Kazutora had hoped he would not be disturbed again so soon. After yesterday the family's matriarch had avoided coming to his room again. Her daughter had tried in the morning and he'd assumed he'd gotten rid of her successfully.

But he'd been wrong. He'd been lying on the bed, his face turned to the ceiling as he stared at nothing when the coral-haired omega had barged into the room again abuzz with energy and smiling widely. the mole under her chin almost disappearing under her grin. It set his nerves off. He hated happy people. They always needed to make everybody around them feel just as they did.

"I have a surprise for you, Hanemiya-san" He didn't look away from the ceiling. If it were anything like yesterday he'd pass.

His instincts picked up something. the room filled with pine and an underlying scent of smokiness that had Kazutora snapping into a sitting position his eyes flying to the door in shock. "wha-"

"what's with the pouty face, cub?" He could not believe his eyes. Baji Keisuke stood at the door with a grin on his face, like they'd met by chance on the street, instead of him going against the orders of the crown. He strolled in wearing an embroidered white shirt, as well as a dark blue waist and matching tailcoat. It was jarring and left his stomach in knots. Kazutora realized this was the first time he'd seen the man out of his military armor.

Reality caught up with him and irritation like no other shot through his body. "I have a name"

"A name you refused to tell me, if I remember correctly"

Kazutora's lips pursed but he would not admit defeat and relent. "What are you doing here?"

"I think it's pretty obvious. I'm visiting you" the alpha said as he sat down on the sole chair in the room. Both of them knew that the alpha was not supposed to be there. Lord Tachibana had said as much when he'd taken Kazutora with him.

"I'll leave you two to it then!" Kazutora had completely forgotten the other omega had been still in the room. Her face even more delighted than before had Kazutora frowning. What was her deal…

"Thanks again, Hinata" He watched as Baji turned to her with a smile and Kazutora's mood soured. Granted, his mood had not been that great to begin with, but looking at the two of them all happy ticked him off. His eyes zeroed in on her and he watched with satisfaction as she flinched. Maybe he just didn't like her specifically-

"Are you jealous~"

"Of what, your inability to inflect an adjective?" he was too busy scowling at the alpha to notice her fleeing the premises. Baji pinched his cheek in retaliation and Kazutora slapped his hand away, the shackles clinking against the bed frame. The mood turned somber as they both stared at the restraints. Kazutora curled his knees to his chest, his head leaning on them in contemplation, wondering why the alpha had come. he was not the type to just come here to revel in his suffering. He was sure of that at least.

"You holding up okay?"

"'m fine"

"the room's at least okay enough, I guess" He could hear him mutter something about better quarters. His head tilted questionably.

"They treating you well?" Kazutora was about to respond with an annoyed yes when the events of yesterday played in front of his mind's eye. His breath hitched.

Baji flared his nose, but before he could say anything Kazutora had already gained back his composure and cleared his throat "Mhm.. they are a bit too overbearing for me"

the alpha snorted and ruffled his hair. Kazutora tried to get away from it, but Baji's hand was as big as his whole skull it felt like. the omega had to kick and curse at the alpha for him to finally relent.

Kazutora glared at the man as he tried to righten his hair. "Why are you here? solely to piss me off?"

"C'mon I also brought you something to pass the time with" Kazutora wrinkled his nose before he noticed the bag the man had brought with him. The omega leaned over in curiosity as Baji began to pull out a book and a stack of cards. The dark purple leather of the book cover looked weathered. It must have been a rather well-used book. The alpha turned it over to him and Kazutora was finally able to make out the title cover 'Polaris and the Southern Cross'

His eyes widened. "this book…" it was one of the most anciently documented collections of Celestial Magic in the country. Kazutora softly caressed the cover, he'd never imagined he would get to hold a copy of it. "where did you get this?"

"stole it" Kazutora choked on his spit. "..what?"

"not now, a couple of years back I stole it from the citadel"

"wait, wait.. give me a moment. you stole this book. from the citadel. the citadel, that has the highest security protocols in the country?"

"why do you think they have those protocols" Baji smirked and Kazutora's stomach swooped. the alpha just admitted to a crime and Kazutora's eyes couldn't tear themselves away from his grin. His canines peeked through and the omega's throat dried into the desert.

"Are you any good at poker by chance" Kazutora's eyes snapped up to meet Baji's fortunately oblivious red eyes. This could have potentially been really bruising for Kazutora's ego.

"no, never played it"

.

.

.

Hinata was supposed to get inside and tell the commander to wrap it up soon. She could hear Hanemiya-san laugh at the alpha's expense as he beat him in another card game. Chifuyu had been right on the mark. Something in her stomach unraveled in relief, that the omega did have someone in his corner. She could hear another giggle and smiled to herself. 'Just a little longer would not hurt'

Draken had to pick up Mikey from the garden. He'd been with Sanzu, which had made him pause. but he was not about to ask. He invited Sanzu to eat lunch with them, but of course the omega had just brushed him off and left.

Draken asked himself, why he'd even bothered as both him and Mikey walked to the dining room in a lazy stroll.

Mikey was really tired, but Draken wouldn't stop updating him on their schedule for the next few days. "-n't forget, the ceremony is in two days. You still have to get fitted. Thankfully Mitsuya arrived this morning in the capital. He'll come by later for your fitting, so you better not ditch us-"

"Ahhh Ken-chin, I'm hungry. Do you think the chef made some Redbean cakes today?"

"I swear to the Kings, Mikey-"

They turned to a corner where Takemitchy and Chifuyu were seemingly talking. seeing the latter reminded him-

"Chifuyu"

The beta's head whipped to him. The two of them must not have noticed them before.

"tell Baji to bring his ass here"

"I knew I'd find you here"

Baji turns his head to him, fond irritation on his face. "You called me here, asshole" Mikey saunters over, sitting down next to him.

"Is that any way to speak to your future king?"

Baji rolled his eyes "ain't you the guy that leaves the city as soon as your grandfather even mentions retiring from his position?" Mikey puffed his cheeks at that. "Maybe I just like seeing other places"

Baji's skeptical expression wasn't lost on him. But the dark-haired alpha just sighed, before looking out to the horizon. Mikey, too turned his head towards the setting sun. "Remember when the three of us would come up here every day skipping academy lessons"

"Yeah back when Haruchiyo didn't act like being in the same room with me was a punishment worse than torture"

"Cut him some slack. He got into a lot of trouble with his brother for hanging out with us"

Baji noticed how he implied it was because of both of them. Both of them knew that bastard of a brother hadn't wanted Haru to hang out with Baji, because one alpha could be seen as courting, but two were whoring, somehow. He'd walked in on more than one slutshaming lecture, never mind the fact that they had been fucking children. the long-haired alpha relented "I forgot how much of a dick that guy was. Whatever happened to him anyway?"

"You mean after Haru relieved him of his position?" Sanzu had toppled him from his position as Warden of the meadows less than two years ago. Unlike most people expected, he did not take the position for himself, but instead asked for permission to install Muto as an interim Warden for the foreseeable future, making no indication of wanting anything to do with the fifth district ever since.

In fact he changed his last name and avoided any relations with his birthplace, letting his commander rule without his aid while he stayed in central "Last I heard he was in some private property having his fill of every ale and brothel the country has to offer"

Baji wrinkled his nose in disgust. "what a disappointment of a Packleader and this shit ruled over the meadows for ten years. I can't believe I am saying this, but Sanzu let him off too easy"

"Oh? what does a good pack leader look like to you?"

"You're fishing for compliments or something?" Mikey takes a moment to register the meaning and promptly bursts into laughter at his friends answer. Something in his chest swelled at the implications of the words. "I didn't know you held me in such high regard, Edward~"

"Ugh. you're so full of shit, Michael" Mikey lets out another chuckle. He looked down at the people living their everyday lives. He watched as a group of children ran out of the academy. He was so fixated, he almost didn't hear Baji, when he began talking again. "Man those guys in the academy hated our guts" Baji snorted, his gaze also on the gaggle of kids enjoying the end of their lessons

"Can you blame them? You burned down several classrooms"

"How could I forget, my mother threatened to beat my ass when I stepped foot back into the Northlands" Baji grumbles. "Those stuck-up assholes had it coming anyway.. and you're the one to talk. We were barely ten people in the class by the end of the year, because you kept beating everybody up that looked at you wrong. That wasn't very princely of you either"

"They pissed me off" He remembers beating a lot of people up, but not because they looked at him wrong. It was the dirty glances they had held for those like Emma and Haru "but yeah, the contempt for us was not unwarranted I guess…."

"Godspeed to the sorry souls that ever had the misfortune of meeting us" Baji and Mikey burst into laughter.

It takes them a while to quieten again. Mikey is the first one to break the silence "When did you figure it out, Baji?"

Mikey doesn't have to elaborate for Keisuke to understand what he meant. "... his earring, by the time I realized, you were already in the other room"

Mikey's eyebrows raised in surprise. He'd assumed it would have taken him longer to put it together. "It doesn't look like he remembers"

"Mhm.. he doesn't"

"Doesn't it bother you at all, that he didn't even see you as worth remembering?"

Baji took a moment before he finally spoke in a somber tone "I don't. I will never hold that against him. I'd rather he not remember at all if the memory is a cause of pain to him. And who knows, remembering might bring more bad than it will good."

"How considerate of you" Mikey responded drily and wrinkled his nose, remembering Baji's aggravating tirades about his childhood infatuation. "I had forgotten how disgusting you were about this"

"Sorry I know you're the last one who'd wanna hear that"

"Where was this self-awareness when you were six, huh?" Mikey deadpanned before sighing. "…I have this incessant thought burning at the back of my mind"

"What is it?" the other hummed.

"that if he'd attempted to take your life and gut you like a fish, you'd let him" Mikey said

The most unbearable part was the silence that followed. Baji didn't meet his eyes at all. Mikey sighed again, closing his eyes in frustration. "you can't even pretend that you wouldn't. You barely knew him for a month when you were six and you'd let him kill you"

"I know what it must look like to you all… Hell, I can barely make sense of it myself" the dark-haired alpha's voice sounded resigned.

"For the first time in years this burning itch in my bones has quietened and- shit. I didn't want it to go like this!" It was safe to say that nobody involved wanted to be stuck in this situation. Mikey would have loved nothing more for his brother's killer to be anybody else.

Better yet, if he wouldn't have had to die at all. Still, it was sobering to witness Baji be so in over his head once more. It was like a nine-year-old reflection of him was staring at him with pained eyes.

"..sorry, I shouldn't have- Mikey, I-"

Baji never finished his sentence. instead, he sighed opting out for what he'd been dying to ask since Draken had revealed it to him "What have you decided on?"

"You've been awfully quiet on the matter, considering what is at stake for you"

Baji could not lie. He had thought of going on to his hands and knees to beg Mikey to spare him. A part of him still wanted to… but it wouldn't be fair to force that burden on him. "Shinichiro was your whole world and he was unfairly taken from you. I couldn't look at myself if I forced your hand on this." Baji lay on his back looking up at the darkened sky, the words he had said sounded practiced instead of deliberate. "I'll accept whatever decision you have made"

Mikey thought that Baji had chosen his words ironically.

He'd accept it, but he'd never be able to get passed it and Mikey could see it clear as day. Sanzu had known. Baji'd grow resentful of him, consciously or unconsciously, either way, the relationship they've had would die with Hanemiya Kazutora.

And that was only if his death wouldn't turn him completely feral first.

July 31st X999

"you okay, Baji?"

Mikey dropped another sugar candy in his mouth as he mustered the dark-haired boy fumble with his school jacket, nervously ticking on with his fingers on the table. His face looked bothered like- "do you need to shit?"

"No I fucking don't!" His red eyes glared at him but Mikey just brushed it off.

"Then what are you looking so constipated for?"

"..I don't know.. I just have a bad feeling about something"

Mikey looked at him in contemplation "Because you failed your Mana theory test?"

"Shut up! that's not it.." he grumbled.. "My instincts are all weird. I feel itchy and nothing feels right-" the boy grunted in frustration hitting his head against the desk. His short bangs hung limply around him "Do you want to ditch?" he offered.

He knew Baji was not too fond of this subject and even less of their instructor. It was mutual. Mikey'd swear their teacher had been campaigning for Baji to be expelled from the school.

Baji's head turned to him, his face looked flushed and his eyes were really bloodshot. "No, I can't fail this class… again"

"Suit yourself" Mikey patted his back as he sat down next to him. He'd thought, his sharp-toothed friend just needed to blow off some steam or maybe take a nap for his mood to lighten. But Baji could decide for himself.

"What are you planning for your birthday, Mikey?" Baji's sudden subject change did not go unnoticed.

"I don't know" He was secretly hoping, that Shinichiro would be back from his negotiation thing in the south, He'd promised to be back by then. But he was cutting it close. Mikey was beginning to worry. He'd been gone for months now.

"He'll be back before you know it" Baji said, not a doubt in his voice. "You know he's probably crying about how he can't land courtship to some poor Boatman right now"

Mikey snorted, but before he could answer, their instructor walked in and promptly ended their chattering. The man's stern eyes turned to them. he could feel the irritation from the man as he glared at Baji. He would not dare do the same to him. He knew the old fart avoided looking in his direction altogether.

The man began his lecture not without picking on Baji. Baji did not even have the energy to let it get to him. But Mikey could smell his fluctuating scent. He silently asked him again if he needed to leave, but the northerner was stubborn to a fault and would not yield, withstanding the fact that whatever was bothering him was making him not pay even a bit of attention to the lecture.

"What mana incantation had given King Maro, the First the ability to unite the six Kingdoms?" the Professor asked, zeroing in on Baji. "Baji-kun, as a descendant of one of the first Kings, you surely must know the answer?" he sneered. Usually, by this point, Baji would fumble trying to respond to the questions whose answers he did not know. But this time the boy did not react at all.

Mikey wasn't even sure if the other had heard anything at all. Instead, the nervous tick became more apparent. He could barely sit still, his head whipped to Mikey, eyes pleading. "I think you were right Mikey, something's wrong" Baji stood up to leave, stumbling out of his seat " I need some air" Mikey also rose in alarm at Baji's concerning behavior.

"What is wrong Keisuke?"

Baji began mumbling "I don't know, I don't know-", his smokey scent growing in potency, stinking up the lecture hall. Some of the other students cowered into their seats at the threat, they were confronted with.

"This is a lecture, both of you sit back down and Baji-kun, control your scent! It is disturbing the rest of the class."

Mikey ignored their teacher's venomous voice "Let's get you out of here" Baji let out a guttural sound of pain and fell to his knees, breathing heavily. Mikey was panicking, this had never happened before. What was he supposed to do- "Keisuke-"

"He's in pain- I can't- can't " Mikey did not understand, what the dark-haired alpha was rambling about in his frenzied state.

"Baji c'mon what is going on?"

"He needs- I have to help him-" he was heaving, unseeing of his surroundings, his scent now held a grip over the whole room. Mikey's own alphan instincts were growing tenser by the second, trying to verify the possible threat.

"Who? Keisuke, who are you talking about?"

"-so much pain. he's screamin'- they won't stop hurting him-"

"Who? Baji c'mon." Mikey asked again helplessly. but Baji was not responding to him anymore, his glazed eyes darting left to right.

"You northern brat have disturbed my lesson for long enough!-"

It had been barely five seconds in total. Maybe even less.

Baji's head snapped to the instructor and the air in the room shifted. One moment Baji was kneeling on the ground and the next he was tackling the older man to the floor. His elongated nails dug into the man's skin as the elder screamed. The stark stench of feral alpha suffocated the room. Blood spurt everywhere as bone crunched under split knuckles.

Mikey blinked and the instructor's terrified screams turned into choked gasps and he realized he was gurgling on his own blood, yet Baji was still not letting up. If this continued, the dark-haired alpha would kill him.

Mikey ripped the younger boy off the man in horror. Baji trashed and clawed almost getting Mikey as well, if his own alpha had not been the domineering one. With all of his strength, he immobilized the other's limbs in his back hug. He did not know for how long he could keep this up, Baji had to yet to stop trying to claw his way out of Mikey's hold. Several staff members had entered the room, alarmed by the sounds and the other student's cries. In horror, they looked at the scene in front of him.

Mikey continued his hold on Baji for dear life as his wild eyes zeroed in on the intruders, his teeth snapping, trying to go for their throats. The boy howled over and over for Mikey to let him go. "I have to kill'em!" Baji roared, thrashing as he repeated it over and over. Baji had to kill them for hurting him.

the new arrivals flinched back at the alpha, but nobody dared to get near them. The boy shook as he shouted and only when wetness hit his own arms did he realize, the younger boy was crying.

He was just a kid, they should be helping them, instead of looking at Baji like he was some sort of animal, that needed to be put down

"Do something!" he demanded, they still cowered, but albeit hesitantly tried to subdue Baji with some spells.

Though none of it worked. Mikey's own arm still holding Baji's neck was growing tired. They could not continue like this. He'd heard the group mumbling about reinforcements and Captain Tachibana. A heavy stone dropped in his stomach when he realized it was up to him to do something before the city police arrived and categorized Baji as no longer controllable.

It would be a death sentence. "Baji-" the growling voice roared ignoring him completely. "Baji- you have to listen to me-"

But he didn't. Mikey could hear the footsteps of several people approaching the hall. Mikey's own mind was fogging with panic. But he forced it down. He had to remain clearheaded. Baji was his family and he needed him.

"Listen to me." His voice had turned deadly calm and the body beneath his stilled, seizing up the possible threat, limbs still trembling. Mikey had never commanded anyone before. He did not like the feeling of forcing anybody to conform to his will.

"calm down"

"B-but-" Baji's hoarse voice whined, panic still prevalent. Tachibana and his men were almost at the door.

"Calm down and go to sleep, Keisuke."

the trembling body sacked into itself and Mikey sighed out in relief as the city police entered. Now subdued they could no longer harm him. The staff members made to speak as Captain Tachibana asked what had happened, but Mikey's stare stopped them in their tracks.

"Baji presented." Mikey was not lying, but he was not completely truthful, either.

"that is not possible. He's not old enough-"

"Instructor Yamada challenged him and triggered his early presentation" they all knew what it meant to try to challenge an alpha. so none of them argued. their teacher was out cold and could not fight him on his claim, either.

By the time they would be able to verify the claims he'd made, Auntie Ryoko would have already made it here from the north and then none of them could do anything about it anyway.

It was mostly thanks to Grandpa that nothing worse had happened. Baji had previously lived in the dorms of the academy. But thanks to his outburst as it was coined, he'd been expelled and therefore homeless (not really every great house had their own estate in the capital, but a child should not be without supervision, or so the adults had said) so he was now recovering from his feral frenzy in the castle. It took him a week before he woke up and another before his mother showed up to take him with her.

Mikey had tried to argue, Sanzu had already been taken from him two years before and now Baji was going to be gone, too. His protests had fallen on deaf ears. Aunty Ryoko had given him a sad smile "It won't be forever." But it had felt like it.

Baji too had changed from his previous carefree attitude to a more subdued one. the only real emotion he'd show was anger. Blowing up even worse than before. Not even the healers dared to approach him when he'd first woken up and an alpha staff member had looked at him wrong. or so he'd said. the dark-haired boy did not have much memory of what had happened with their instructor. The guilt on his face after he'd found out what he'd done to him had left Mikey paralyzed as well.

He'd been lucky the man had not died, Captain Tachibana had said. However, he would not be able to resume his work in the academy. He would not even be able to enjoy the expulsion of his most hated student.

Mikey had refused to attend the academy after Baji had left.

He'd come home from another one of his excursions in the slums where he'd met a cool new friend (with the coolest tattoo) when he'd arrived home.

A bloodied royal cloak with the lion emblem on it and two of his brother's friends- Wakasa and Benkei had greeted him.

The South had officially declared war on them and everything Mikey had known was no more. In one fell swoop his whole world had crumbled into itself.

in a millennia of peace, the only war he'd known until then had been those of the stories and legends.

But now it had become his own reality.

Mikey had only reunited with Baji again one year after he'd enlisted. Enlistment had only been possible when the proper presentation age was reached at thirteen.

Though Baji had already presented years earlier, his feralness was considered a liability, so by then both of them had reached fourteen years of age. Mikey'd introduced him to a couple of new friends he'd made and together with Draken, Mitsuya, and Pah the five of them shared their first alcoholic beverages after their first victorious campaign.

All of them had revealed why they had decided to enlist. Mitsuya disliked battling at its core but his district had been hit the hardest so he'd wanted for his sisters to grow up in peace. Draken's reason he'd already known and Pah had come to honor his family's oath of defending the crown. He'd assumed Baji had enlisted for a similar reason, but what Baji had declared, had stuck with Mikey for all of these years. he considered it admirable back then.

"I'll get him justice. I won't let his memory be forgotten"

It would take until the war had already ended for the puzzle pieces to finally click together. and knowing who he had meant now left a bitter taste of the memory.

In the end, the perpetrator who'd forged the crown's letter to the Tachibana's had not been found. The delivery boy had killed himself in an apparent suicide Kisaki had informed him before leaving for the isles.

It had been annoying to remain clueless about who was trying to pull one over him. And he knew as soon as he mentioned it to the alpha sitting with his back to him, the name shitty Kisaki would fall with the promise of bodily harm before Mikey'd even get to finish his sentence. so he didn't bother.

"I thought the decent thing would be to tell you first" He'd thought long and hard about this, going back and forth about the outcome his decision would bring. "I guess at least one of us should get to fulfill the wishes we'd made when we were six"

"what do you mean?"

Mikey slid the scroll in his hold over to him. Baji gave him a questioning look as he took it. "what is this?"

"your marriage license. With this, he's off my hands and officially yours" Baji almost dropped the scroll in shock.

"There are conditions. first, he will have no access to his mana. the temporary seals will be exchanged for permanent ones. second, it is best if he is not to leave the premises of your lands. I will know if he does. third, you are to send an update to Draken every quarter on any possible developments. There is no room for error. If he steps out of line even once, I will come up there myself to finish what I intended"

Baji's mouth stood agape, not a word coming out.

"that's it, I think.. You should probably go pick up your bride-to-be now. I do not wish to see or hear him ever again if it can be helped. Make sure to keep him in the furthest corner of the north"

The dead will stay dead, but losing another member of his family as a result of this has become a terrifying possibility. Mikey couldn't lose Baji because of him

A small voice in his head would not stop repeating You've already lost Baji to him fifteen years ago

" Mikey..thank you"

"Come again?"

the alpha should not even be in his room again. and here he was, spouting-

"I said we're leaving-"

"Not that part! What do you mean we're married?!"

"Yeah Mikey kinda sprung that one on me, too"

This did not make sense. Was this the universe's way of screwing him over? He killed the former heir to the throne, kickstarting a twelve-year-long war between the mainland and the southern isles and-

"the war would have happened either way" Kazutora hadn't realized he'd spoken out loud when the alpha rebutted. which reminded the omega-

"This is your doing, isn't it!" the alpha didn't deny it. which is all the answer he needs. this man was a fool. Kazutora wasn't even a functional omega. There was nothing to gain for the alpha with this, so the man should do the sensible thing and "Refuse!"

the dark-haired man raised an eyebrow at his demand before a smirk spread on his lips. "I don't think I will, your grace"

Kazutora gasped in shock. "T-take that back!" he grabbed the man by his collar, shackles and all. he surprised himself by the accidental force he put behind his moves, making himself lose balance. The collar grab became more of a half hug to try and not topple over.

Kazutora lets something out that sounds close to a screech as he shoves himself away again. He hears the alpha in front of him chuckle at his actions. Kazutora is ready to swing at him. The man wasn't getting how serious this was and thinking this was all some big joke.

"listen, you imbecile. I don't know what you did to piss off the crown prince to this degree to punish you like this, but you're friends, are you not? whatever revenge scheme he's pranking you with, is not worth losing your reputation over. Ask him, he will surely listen and withdraw the license-"

Kazutora stayed oblivious to the way the alpha's complicated gaze followed him, but when Kazutora finally looked at him again, the expression was gone, replaced by an eye roll. "I think you misunderstood something. He was doing me a favor with this" the alpha waved the cursed parchment roll at Kazutora.

He was ready to pull his hair out in frustration. Was this man only thinking about how to satisfy his nether regions that he was ready to forsake his own reputation for a quick fuck?

The northlands held their Warden to the highest degree and despised whatever came south of the River of the Three Paths, much less the most southern part of the kingdom where Kazutora originated from and that was without considering the fact that the southern isles were considered as an enemy of the country for the last decade. "Be serious. You are acting warden of the north. Your people will not only think you a foolish man for taking a southern wife-"

Baji takes hold of his frantic wrist, stopping him mid-tirade with a serious expression on his face "my people are not swayed that easily. and I do not think it is of their concern, who I choose as my wife"

It clicked in Kazutora's head suddenly. northerners did not lay with anyone but their spouses as it was considered shameful. Not even to fool around in their youth. Pleasure houses were considered a rarity in the northlands, it didn't really go hand in hand with the loyalty stick they had up their asses. It made sense it would apply to their marriages as well.

'Verily, thou shalt not lie with what was not deemed thine. If thou act dishonorably, take responsibility for thy misdemeanor and wed to uphold thy honor and theirs.'

he remembered his governess telling him this in passing when she'd taught him the different kinds of courtship between the districts.

On the ship.. It had barely been a brush of lips between them. It didn't warrant all of this. Kazutora didn't have any honor to upkeep, so this was wholly unnecessary for the alpha to take responsibility like his belief demanded for possibly compromising Kazutora's virtue. Kazutora just had to set the record straight and they could move past this.

"Your sense of obligation is admirable, Commander. However, a mere graze of lips does not warrant for you to go to such extremes. I assure you, you haven't soiled anything, that has not been tainted already"

If he hadn't killed everybody in the mansion, they could have vouched for him. He averted his gaze, embarrassed all of a sudden. the intensity of the alpha's stare a bit too much to stomach now. He didn't know why he was struggling with this. He had long relieved himself of feeling shame for it. It always seemed to make the wrong people rake in the omega's misery.

The thought of the dark-haired alpha possibly thinking less of him for this made him sick to his stomach. He cleared his throat. "now that the misunderstanding is cleared up you can-…"

Kazutora watched in disbelief as the alpha took his hand and squeezed it with his much warmer calloused fingers, making him lose his train of thought. The alpha acted like his hand held actual worth. He held his breath as the dark-haired man brought the back of Kazutora's hand to his lips. Goosebumps erupted as the alpha's breath ghosted over his flesh.

Kazutora felt torn between pulling away and leaning in. He hated that this seemed to have been the case almost daily since he met Baji Keisuke. When his hand was released from its hold the omega realized that there was something circling his ring finger. Up close he realized it was a thinly plated leather cord. He looked confused between the abashed alpha and his finger, waiting for some sort of explanation.

"I had to make do with what I had with me. I'll give you the real deal when we're home" Kazutora blinked several times, he had heard the words. they all made sense separately, but when he put them together, it was as if the alpha was speaking a vastly different language. Again he intensely looked at the ring on his finger, looking for an answer when it clicked-

.

.

.

.

Ring?!

Kazutora was floored, the air was suddenly knocked out of him or maybe he had just forgotten how to breathe altogether.

"…What will it take for you to see sense?" Kazutora weakly asked, his vocal cords wrecked with unidentifiable emotion. He couldn't bring himself to rip it off his finger. He was so pathetic, clamoring for the smallest grain of goodwill from a man he didn't even know. Yet the same thought repeated in his mind. It was more than Kazutora deserved.

"Is it so difficult to believe I hold affection for you?"

Yes

this time he didn't fight him when Baji Keisuke pulled him out of his shackles, warmth spreading through his sore limbs.

"What will it take for you to believe me"

the warm feeling left as quickly as it came "I will never believe you" Kazutora said, all warmth had left his eyes as he stalked passed the man, not granting him a second glance.

Kazutora was not meant to be liked, not in this world.

They were to depart for the north the next morning. Kazutora looked out the window of the Baji Estate. the evening sky was cloudless turning from its pinkish orange shade into purple. He could not see the moon or stars. he thought of every instance that led him here when his index finger brushed against the leatherband.

Baji had left him with his lieutenant in the parlor. He had not said what he was leaving for, but Kazutora had not expected him to. The man barely ever explained anything, just expecting people to understand anyway.

The lieutenant was standing stiffly by the door as he tried and failed not to make it obvious that he was not blatantly staring at him. Kazutora rolled his eyes.

by the sound of it, the people outside were lively bustering around, the market still bustling with business as vendors shouted for potential customers to try their foods. He could see the first decorations being brought out. He'd heard the King would declare the war officially over tomorrow.

The sudden tenseness in the beta had him straighten as well. He looked to him for direction, trying to gouge what had him on alert, when an elderly man walked into the room with a stride as if he'd owned the space. He was oddly reminded of someone. He was half Kazutora's size with a grey mustache that matched his equally militaristic haircut. Otherwise, the man was wearing the clothes usually found in a typical merchant. He would not particularly stand out in a crowd. and yet..

and yet Kazutora couldn't shake the obvious threat this man had the potential to be.

The lieutenant is immediately on one knee, his head to the ground.

"Greetings to Your Majesty" Kazutora forgot how to breathe, his eyes turning into saucers as his heart hammered in his chest. "We had not expected your visit or we would have-"

"At ease, boy. It was a spontaneous decision of mine to come here. Nobody knows I'm here" It was a code for them to see to it that it was kept that way.

"Baji-sa- the commander is not here, your majesty"

"I only wish to speak to the young omega for now" Kazutora stiffened at the words. "Would you mind leaving us for a moment"

"I-I have strict orders to remain-"

"It is fine Lieutenant" Kazutora addressed him for the first time. the beta looked at him intensely, looking for something. His gaze hardened and the beta seemed to have made a decision. Kazutora turned his head back to the King, waiting for the blonde to leave the room.

"I apologize, your Majesty. But I must insist I stay" Kazutora stood agape in shock at the blatant refusal to follow the orders he'd been given. But the beta did not budge, determination glinting in his sea green irises as he remained by the door.

He'd expected the king to demand his head right then and there, but instead, he was thrown for a loop again as the man chuckled. "I see why young Keisuke has chosen you to be his next in command"

then his attention finally turned to Kazutora again and he had to hold onto the windowsill to remain up under the intense gaze, his own omega demanding to submit.

Nobody spoke for a long time as the man continued to seize him up before he finally settled himself on the couch, gesturing for Kazutora to sit down as well. Kazutora slowly moves to the seat opposite to the monarch, trying not to let the nervousness he was feeling shine through the cracks of his facade as he's finally seated himself properly.

"It is nice to have a face for the person, who's caused such a ruckus in the realm"

Kazutora flinched back at the man's words. the question whether Mikey had told him now answered. He wondered if he'd come here to finish what his grandson had (for some odd reason) refused to do. Kazutora's fingers unconsciously tightened around the fabric of the too big coat he was wearing.

"I see young Baji already got to work" The man looked at Kazutora's hands and when Kazutora finally understood what he'd meant, he retracted his hand with the leatherband bound finger away from the king's view in a mix of fear and humilation. He had not meant for anyone to notice it, least of all the king. The coat too burned on his shoulder blades as he could not hide that glaring reminder from his body.

But he had a burning question of his own that he needed to know the answer to "Why are you agreeing to this- arrangement" he could not bring himself to say the word beginning with an m, fearing it would turn it into reality and not the fever dream it was.

"Make no mistake, my grandson did this all by himself. But I must say it was a great move on his part. Arranging a marriage between two of the six great houses of the ancient days is surely to silence those who still wish to continue the bloodshed. nobody would dare to defy his decision. the great house Hanemiya will keep its place among the noble families while simultaneously being removed from any real position of power" Kazutora's nose flared in irritation, and the man had reduced Baji to a chess piece on the board. Were the royals not supposed to be close to the northerner or were they only using him to further their own agendas to remain in their powerful positions.

"You would not be condoning this if I had been of a different designation"

"But you're not. You're an omega and you were dealt with as such" the man replied unapologetically. He was not alone in this view. Many like-minded people thought similar to this of the weakest designation. "There is a reason there are no omega prisons in the country. and we couldn't have tried you in court even if my grandson had wished to do so. Not without another rebellion on our doorsteps"

Kazutora silently seethed at the unsatisfying answer. It always came back to his designation.

"Shinichiro is remembered by the realm as the weak King, did you know that?" Kautora hadn't been aware of it "He never was crowned as we all know. He was not much of a fighter and people loved him for it, oddly enough. though there was a lot of discontentment back then"

the king cleared his throat "there were a lot of factors that split the country's opinion on my family, I am sure you are well aware of that. But my eldest grandson.. quite frankly, if it were to come out that an omegan child of not even ten years had managed to take his life, he would be remembered as a laughing stock by the people. and unlike with my son, I at least wish for Shinichiro to be remembered fondly" as soon as the king had mentioned his firstborn grandson, Kazutora's stomach had felt like lead.

"This is the last we will ever speak of it. You are not to mention what occurred that day in X999 to anybody. I will have no qualms with dirtying my hands, even if it means going against Manjiro's wishes and it will not be your life I'll be taking."

"I shall take my leave now. I wish you a safe ride to the north, your grace."

Kazutora shrunk back at the title but didn't dare speak again.

He'd heard the threat loud and clear.

"What the hell are you doing here, old man?"

Baji had just wanted to have everything set up before they were to leave tomorrow. He hadn't even been gone an hour. yet that was all it had taken for a (unwanted) visitor to have come to his home. He narrowed his eyes at the geezer in his hallway.

"as always no respect for your elderly, young Keisuke"

"You barged into my home unannounced."

"Much like you did in my home growing up. But I might as well converse with you, too."

Baji's brows furrowed, hackles rising as his mind went to golden eyes in alarm. "too? who have you been talking to"

"your lovely duchess of course. Not much of a talker I must say"

"What did you do?" his brows narrowed.

"Control your scent, boy" the elder waved the air in front of his nose. "I only spoke to him, as I said. You can ask your lieutenant. He wouldn't even leave the room after I told him to."

"If he listened to every moron, I wouldn't have given him the job"

His shoulders slumped in relief. He knew he could count on Chifuyu. Still the gall of the geezer to think he could just waltz in and do whatever.

"Watch it, child. I let you get away with a lot, but I am still your King"

"Unfortunately" Baji did not care. His loyalty lay with Mikey and Mikey only, that courtesy did not extend to his grandfather. If the old-timer hadn't been so willful and ignorant of the other districts, this war wouldn't have started to begin with. Kazutora wouldn't have been-

"If you have to remind people that you are the King, maybe you're no King at all"

"You're rather blasphemous today. Are you thinking of following the South's footsteps perhaps?"

"the districts have only remained loyal to Central because of Mikey. we'll continue to do so as long as he's here. Maybe it's not me that should consider his standing"

"I'm well aware of your youngster's dislike of my past rulings. But I'm afraid I did not come here to discuss that with you" Baji wished he hadn't come at all.

"Legitimacy is most important, boy"

Baji scoffed. He was not about to discuss this, but before he could even open his mouth, the elder continued. "a marriage license can be revoked as fast as it was given. especially in the case of fraudulent marriages. did you know that?"

"Where are you going with this, old man?"

the king came closer, his previously closed eyes opening a slit. "this marriage is the only thing protecting your omega. He is your omega, is he not?"

"He is." the younger replied through clenched teeth, not liking where he was going with this.

"If something were to happen to you, that boy would be left defenseless and discarded if the mating were a farce. Is that the life you wish for him?"

"I'm not about to croak old man"

The old man snorted at his naive answer. "You are hardly the first man to think himself invincible, it never ends well. How old are you now, boy? twenty-one? Shinichiro did not even see his twentieth"

"…"

the king walked past him on his way out the door, he stopped for a moment as he turned back to Baji "Do not be a fool, boy. You are much too old to be playing games like this. Consumate the marriage properly. Marriages are a contract and a contract must be fulfilled to be legitimate. Do not let this be the hill you die on.

Men have died for far less in these lands"

Kazutora and Lieutenant Matsuno had heard most of the conversation, muffled as it was, it still had unfolded outside the closed doors. Kazutora for his part was too shocked at the disrespectful way Baji spoke to the monarch.

Not even his sire had dared to speak of the man that way. He'd thought the alpha only forgot decorum when it came to him. but it seemed he discarded it indiscriminately. He wondered, how he'd made it so far in life, with no assassination attempt yet, considering the way he badmouthed the king to his face. Anybody else would have already been hung.

But Kazutora was not allowed to stew on it for long when the subject turned to the legitimacy of their arrangement. Kazutora understood what was expected of him and swallowed.

The sounds outside had long since quietened. He'd half-expected the commander to storm in, but he hadn't. Instead, his steps had turned further and further away until neither of them could hear anything anymore.

and just like this, neither he nor the Lieutenant had spoken after they had been left to their lonesome again. Only when his eyes began to droop and he'd let out a yawn did the beta suddenly snap to attention. "Your quarters should be ready by now. Let me show you to them"

Kazutora's stomach had knotted itself together at the implications of his words. His mind would not leave the conversation he'd overheard. Today had been a whirlwind, to put it mildly. He'd gone to bed yesterday with the assumption to be either beheaded or sold into the pleasure district. Marriage had not even been on the hemisphere of possible outcomes.

How did he become the wife of Baji Keisuke with not so much as a warning?

and now he was brought to his marriage bed by his lieutenant. it was difficult not to zero in on what he was expected to do. his fingers ghosted over his scentglands. A shudder went down his back. When the sun rose again he would officially be bound to an alpha he barely knew.

The sudden stop of the beta, had him almost run into him. Kazutora looked at him in confusion but the Lieutenant looked to be bothered by something, his brows furrowed in concentration, his eyes turned far off into the distance

"Is what the king said true?" Kazutora's head snapped to the intense gaze directed at him. He blinked not understanding what Matsuno had meant.

"You killed Sano Shinichiro?"

Kazutora realized with trepidation, that Matsuno had not been aware of what he'd done. He took a step back as he anxiously considered his next words. His fingers knotted into his dress, his own head turned to the floor, softly replying "I did"

"does Baji-san know?"

"he does" Matsuno nodded in acceptance but did not say anything else on the matter.

"We've arrived. I wish you a good night, your grace" With a curt bow he left him in the room.

Kazutora hesitantly took a step forward, the unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach growing by every inch that drew him closer to the large bed. His hands were shaking when they came in contact with the frame.

Stiffly he sat down on the soft bedding, not knowing what would happen now. Any tiredness he'd previously felt had perished. Would the alpha just take what was owed to him? Kazutora would not fight him. At least it would not be another ugly geezer. the commander was easy on the eyes, he could admit that much. He was attractive and Kazutora did not mind having him in his space, but did he want this? Did it matter what he wanted?

Did Baji expect him to make the first move? He'd never had to think of initiating anything before. usually, it just happened.

A sudden touch to his shoulder made him recoil in panic, his hand ripping the wrist away. His head snapped to the person and-

"didn't mean to startle ya" Horrified, Kazutora dropped the limb like it was scalding him. Baji looked apologetic as he massaged the wrist Kazutora had just been crushing. the omega had already ruined it. No alpha wanted their omega to reject their advances.

"I-I-" he had to do damage control, but by the gods what could he say to salvage this?

"Chifuyu said, you were tired. Why are you only sitting on the bed instead of sleeping-"

"I was waiting for you-"

"Oh? missed me so much already?" the alpha smirked at him and Kazutora had an insult ready to leave his lips, mouth open when he remembered what the objective for tonight was and closed it again.

He positioned his body to lean more on the alpha, his eyes turning wider with his brows and lips furrowed in confusion whilst he tilted his head innocently, the bell of his earring chiming with the movement as his eyelashes batted up at the man.

"am I not supposed to?" he coyly whispered.

the whole room filled with the burning smoke of a wood fire. He could hear the alpha muffle some aborted curses, his whole body flooded with a dark shade of red, most notably his cheeks and nose bridge. the alpha's eyes were wide as saucers, caught off guard by the unexpected boldness of Kazutora's words. He suppressed a snort of amusement, as he looked at the adorable expression of the alpha. Maybe this would be okay after all.

"…Kazutora?" the alpha sounded breathless and Kazutora couldn't help the giddiness inside. It was entertaining to see this man so out of his element. He grabbed the overwhelmed commander and lead him to sit on the mattress as well. "Hm?"

The man had not protested yet so Kazutora took a deep breath and perched himself on the alpha's lap. With his hands he trailed down the man's shirt over his vest - he had not conjured up the dense muscle underneath, when they'd been on the crows nest - and began unbuttoning them.

On the third button, he is stopped by a gentle hand covering his. Confused, his eyes turn to red irises for an answer. Baji's whole face did not give any of his thoughts away. Kazutora swallowed the knot down his throat, going over everything he'd done for the alpha to not want to continue. Perhaps he wanted to skip to the main part immediately. the dark-haired man had not shown himself to be a patient man. That must be it.

His heart raced. This portion had been the one he'd been dreading the most. slowly, he tilted his head to the side, shrugging off the shoulder strap to submit, and offered himself up to the alpha. the man held complete control to his scarred scent gland now. He could hear the sharp intake of a breath and squeezed his eyes closed, waiting for the inevitable.

the claiming mark.

He did not even know if it would take, considering the state of his disfigured skin. Would the alpha annul the marriage right then and there? A finger under his chin had his eyes snap wide open as the movement lifted his head back up.

"Kazutora." his breath hitched at the seriousness of the alpha's tone. "I am not biting you"

the omega was taken aback, trying to search for a reason in the man's irises. the words left his lips before he could think better of it "…did I do something wrong?"

"no…No such thing"

"then why-?"

"I will not bite you just for the sake of it"

"b-but his majesty-"

"can go fuck himself, if he thinks he can police me around"

"..I see" He did not know what to feel. the relief that washed over him, that the alpha would not claim him tonight had his shoulders dropping, his tense muscles finally relaxing. But there was something else too, simmering in his stomach and rearing its ugly head. the alpha had rejected him.

"what of the contract then? It will not be considered legitimate until you lay claim to.." me

"Having mating glands be verified has been left out of traditions for years, so nobody will come and check if we've upheld our marital duties in the morning. and it's none of their business anyway" he grumbled the last bit.

He did not see Kazutora as worthy of mating. the omega could not blame him. he knew he was not a pleasure to be around, certainly not courteous or accommodating to be desired by an alpha. especially not one of the northerner's rank. Not to mention Kazutora did not even have a virtue to show for, which was the bare minimum for a noblebred omega.

certainly, the alpha was biding his time, before he could finally relieve himself of this issue and get rid of him. It was all the same to him, Kazutora told himself. He nodded at the man "That is fine by me then" before turning to lie down, unwilling to let the man see any more of his face.

A shaky breath escaped as he shut his eyes closed, hoping sleep would take him, so he'd forget what had transpired.

Baji waited until the omega's breath evened out and only then did he dare to take a deep breath to gather his thoughts again, mind still reeling at what he'd been at the brink of doing. His aching, elongated teeth dug into his bottom lip, the metallic taste of blood filling the inside of his mouth as he tried to calm his erratic heart. Baji did not dare look at the omega once more, fearful of what he might do.

the soft slender neck, that had been millimeters from his mouth- offered up to him - and his sinful scent that had enveloped him whole, the sole thing occupying his mind. How perfectly his sharp canines would have fit in the ink-stained skin and found their home in it, buried so deep, the omega would never be unable to get rid of him.

In truth, remaining respectful had been the hardest thing he'd done so far. And as his eyes accidentally fell on the still-exposed shoulder of the sleeping man, he was mesmerized by what he could count to at least three moles matching the beauty mark under his the long lashes of his right eye. He wondered how many more hid behind all of his clothing. He'd memorize them all, not letting one escape his view, if the omega would let him-

but that was the issue, wasn't it?

He cursed Mikey's grandfather and his poisonous words. Baji had vowed to himself to not take advantage of Kazutora and let the omega seek him out willingly, but Baji had not accounted for the fact that the southerner had been let to believe that neither his agency nor his comfort were to be considered. so of course he'd throw them out the window to fulfill some misconstrued obligation.

Baji could not get it out of his mind. He'd been trembling.. after he'd bared his scenting gland, he sat there like he'd been bracing himself for pain. He'd gone into it fully expecting Baji to hurt him. It was gutwrenching. It had taken him shamefully too long to realize that he was not doing this out of his own volition. gods, the small touch of bitter lemons tinging his scent.. he must have been so scared.

the alpha scrubbed his face harshly to suppress the bubbling frustration and anger at himself. He could not lose control of his own scent right now. It would only further the sleeping omega's still prevalent anxiousness.

For a few minutes he just stared at nothing, listening to the small distressing catches of air that followed Kazutora's breathing pattern. They would have been unnoticeable to anybody else, but Baji had paid special attention to it after he detected it that night on the ship. He sighed as he got up to leave the room. the alpha could not stand himself to be in the same room as Kazutora and be his source of discomfort.

He turned one last time to look a his sleeping form just as a small shiver went through his body. He hitched the blanket higher until the omega was covered up to his chin, not before heating it up between his fingers. He took special care not to accidently set it on fire. His breath caught when Kazutora nuzzled his face into the heated comforter.

His fingers reached out to touch the omega's cheek and froze with barely a millimeter separating their skin from touching. He dropped his hand, jerked back into reality, and was out the door, before his alpha could get the better of him.

September 1st, X1012

"It is my honor to hereby declare the rebellion of the usurper to be officially over! I thank-"

Mikey could hear the distant clapping of the thousands of millions of people that had gathered from all over to listen under the balcony as his grandfather officially ended the war. The cheers boomed through the whole of Central.

Most of the commanders were present as well, standing behind his grandfather in the dazzling garbs Mitsuya had finished in the grueling hours of the night.

Mikey himself had chosen to remain further back, away from the booming noise, and found himself next to Takemitchy.

Like always the sunflower-haired boy had an unseeing gaze as he looked out into the crown as if he could not see it. It used to make him uneasy when the heavy blue eyes went into this juxtaposition state of relief and trepidation. Like the beta had won the battle but lost the war. It gave Mikey goosebumps.

"What's got you thinking, 'mitchy?"

"Huh?" ("-to welcome our brothers and sisters from the southern isles back into our embrace-")

"your face, you look like you barely escaped death"

"I did?!" Mikey watched with amusement as the other blonde flailed ("with great pleasure, I also announce the marriage alliance - the first of its kind - between two ancient houses-")

the beta caught himself again. just as his grandfather announced the bride and groom, Takemitchy spoke once more "Draken-kun told me this morning, that the first division and Hanemiya-san departed for the Northlands"

Mikey hummed in answer as the crowd outside went wild at the announcement. Neither of them speak for a while as they watched the celebration unfold on the ground "ne, you must be satisfied with this ending, right Takemitchy?"

For a split second Mikey saw the beta's face fall with a bone-deep sadness that had his own breath caught up in his throat before it slipped off his face and a soft smile graced Takemitchy's face. he seemed to address himself rather than Mikey "the best so far.."

Mikey cocked his head in question as he stared at him, before deciding,

"You're weird, Takemitchy"

"Eh?"