Masanori stopped short of a few feet from them, looking at Ren with trepidation. "T-Takeshita-san."
"Huh? Who…" Ren blinked in confusion. Then, he yelped.
"M-M-Masanori-kun?!"
Masanori was still wearing the disguise, so he hadn't recognized him completely at first. It was suddenly then that Ren realized that he had been calling Masanori by his first name again for a while now. When did that start? Right, it was after that, when he had…
Ren's face broke into an all out flush, speechless. He hadn't heard his voice in a few days, and suddenly the sound gave him chills. Chills? He hadn't quite unpacked what had happened then and now that he was right in front of him Ren could barely think straight.
Yukihiro smiled. He didn't know what he was thinking before, but he got it back under control to what he wanted. The disguise however, still wasn't all that great - even he saw through it immediately.
"It looks like things worked out. Well you've got your 15 minutes, I'll be over there."
Masanori gently approached Ren. "I know I'm probably the last person you'd want to see, but I needed to come apologize to you, Takeshita. I'm sorry."
Ren tensed up. 'Oh no, he's apologizing to me… but it's my fault, isn't it?'
"No no!" He quickly interrupted Masanori's next words. "In fact, you might be the best person I want to see. Yeah, you are the person I wanted to see! I was hoping-"
Ren paused, and looked to the floor. He wanted to ask, but he'd have to ask if he was willing to help him. He knew, yet he also knew that it all happened because of what he did, but he wasn't sure what he did was entirely his own will.
"No, nevermind… this was all my doing and I'll fix it. I'll ask Naoto…"
"What about Akagi?" Masanori's face dropped. "What has he been telling you? That this is your doing? It's not, it's mine-!"
"Like hell it is!" Ren yelled, making Masanori flinch slightly.
"It's clear now, it was me! Me and my… me and my bad instincts! My scent or pheromones or whatever! I should have known how to handle them better, or else this wouldn't have happened in the first place!"
Masanori and Yukihiro stood there in silence while Ren gestured around breathlessly.
"So I'm sorry! This is my fault, no one else's-!!"
"What the hell is going on down here?"
Naoto approached from the trees, scowling. "Couldn't resist, could you? This is right by the omega dorm! If you're caught around here after what happened, you-!" Naoto stopped as his eyes met Ren's. He glanced away towards Masanori.
"What are you doing here?" Masanori asked, a little too harshly.
Yukihiro snickered from his spot against the trees. "Well I said I needed a few heads."
Masanori shot Yukihiro a side glare. "Yuki, please." He sighed. "But if he's supposed to be helping me, why is he mad?"
"I never said he knew why he was helping you. Must have figured it out on his own." Yuki answered with a shrug.
"I hate how I'm not even surprised…"
Naoto glared at Yukihiro. "You lying fink, this is how you abuse your power as a member of the student council…!"
Ren glanced between the three rapid fire, trying to understand the situation.
'They all…. know each other?' Ren was confused, slowly trying to grapple with what it all meant.
'Was this all… a setup?!' Ren tensed. 'But why? Akagi and Masanori… working together? A-And, Yuki… it…it was suspicious how he was so willing to give so much information….'
Ren had started to back up, right into the water. The three Alphas didn't look his way until they heard a splash as his shoe hit the water.
"Takeshita-san?" asked Masanori. Ren responded with a vicious expression, throwing everyone aback.
"Stay back! I figured it out now! This is all…this is all some elaborate set up! You've all been playing with me, haven't you?!"
They all tensed up in shock. Yukihiro tried to speak up. "Calm down Takeshita-kun, what's-"
This just makes Ren angrier. Not calling him Ren anymore, now that the game was up.
"Enough! Stop calling me that!" Ren spun on his heels and started to run.
Ren knew he couldn't outrun them, especially when he had to ascend up the hill to back to the school, so instead of a left, Ren took a right. There, Ren spotted a few docks beyond the sparse treeline. He hopped into the wooden boards with a clop and ran right towards the end of the water.
Masanori, Yukihiro, and Naoto stop just before the dock started. There was only enough room for two before they risked someone getting knocked into the water.
Yukihiro looked at the concerned and tormented faces of the other two, and happily took a step back from the dock, letting them run forward.
Yukihiro immediately wondered if that was a good idea. Isn't he running because of them? Oh well. This wasn't how he wanted things to go, but it was better to let them fact their problem head on. He didn't have the time or energy to deal with this sudden problem. But he did have enough energy, he mused, to watch.
"Takeshita-san, can you please calm down?" Masanori pleaded.
"Like heck I will! You two… you three are just the worst! Messing with me, don't you have any shame?! This school is using you just like everyone else, and you should be using your power to help everyone, not keep us all trapped here!"
Naoto could only show bafflement at Ren's words. "What??"
Masanori stepped in front of Naoto. He was unfortunately a little more used to Ren's nonsense.
"If you would just please let me explain-"
"Explain what!? That you're a traitor to your fellow student? That you'd manipulate me just so you could tear me apart? Run me in circles? Keep me here? I will get out of this school, Imada Masanori, and I'll kick you and everyone one of your Lackey butts to do it!" He pointed at Naoto.
Naoto stepped in front of Masanori. "Hey Listen! We had nothing to do with those rumors, ok? And your behavior wasn't exactly helping them either!"
Ren's grimace twisted further. "Do you think you can bully me into submission!? Ha! I'd tear down bullies like you like in my old school any day! Mate bond or no mate bond!"
"What? But, that…" Naoto said, bewildered.
Masanori tried to step forward again. "Takeshita-san, you have to-"
"And stop calling me that!" Ren snarled. Ren took a step back. Too far back.
"My name is Koyamada! Koyamada Ren-!"
Ren had started to fall back, his fall too quick for him to register it was even happening.
In an instant, two hands rushed forward and grabbed onto the falling Ren, just as he was about to reach the water. The people the hands were connected to, Naoto and Masanori, both sigh and scowl to different degrees.
Ren blinked. "Eh?" One had grabbed his arm, and the other his shirt. Naoto's arm. Randomly, this pissed off Ren.
"Let go of me! He yelled to them both, and pulled on Naoto's arm with his free one.
This caused a chain reaction, as Naoto tried to compensate for the sudden force, then Masanori, then even Ren in such a quick succession, not even Yukihiro would have had the time to register what happened. As far as he saw, Ren yelled and they all practically jumped into the water. Yukihiro held his gut from bursting out laughing from the shoreline.
Naoto and pulled themselves out from the shore drenched and cold. They gave each other a brief glance before their attention is turned to the splashing water behind them.
Ren emerged soon after, stiff and shaking. Masanori immediately tried to approach but Ren pushed him away.
"Stop it, leave me alone! Leave me alone, I-I-!"
Then, a sudden cool breeze swept through. Ren stopped mid-sentence and clutched himself from the cold, his teeth chattering. He shivered then, he suddenly fell over.
Naoto and Masanori looked down in shock.
"T-Takeshita-san?!" Masanori stuttered.
…
With a combined effort, they pulled Ren up and carried him off to the nurse's office. Or specifically, they went to Ryusei's private office.
After much consideration, they agreed that explaining why they were possibly late for curfew was a lot easier than explaining why they were soaking wet. Even if they did explain it away, the only probable explanation was that they were at the lake. Which, was right near the omega dorm that made its own kind of question that was a lot harder to wave away.
Plus, Takeshita kept shivering, badly. Even though Alphas tend to have better dispositions for things related to the body, such as heat and cold resistance in comparison to their Beta and Omegas, even Masanori felt it was a bit extreme.
He was fine at first, until the chill of the spring wind breezed through, and after that he was practically unresponsive, they had to do something. Yukihiro left to do leftover work for the plan, while also buying them time to get inside and him dry. Luckily, they had saved the wig from the lake. Nothing could be said about the glasses, however.
They sat in front of the plug in heater, Ren at its edge, a blanket around him.
Ryusei had just finished checking up on him. "He'll be fine. It's not onset hypothermia fer sure, just a might chilly."
"Then why did he pass out?" Masanori asked.
"Don't know. Maybe he's just tired. I'm not exactly a doctor." He replied.
Masanori stood off to the side of the table, running a hand through his hair. Now, they were dry and sitting around waiting for Ren to wake up from his sudden and unexpected nap after eventually drying off and the shivering ceased. Perhaps it was a worry, but they both collectively felt it was a relief, because the entire time they were trying to help he was not cooperating. They had to throw him the towel and new shirt, else he'd still be damp and cold.
"... water really isn't that cold." Naoto huffed after the silence stretched for too long.
"An Omega's immune systems not as sturdy as ours, and the weather ain't close to great fer swimming," Ryusei replied. "Besides, his scent's weak, so I imagine his immune system isn't better off. Pheromones aid in temperature regulation on top of other important bodily functions."
"I know that," Naoto scowled. "Someone better explain to me clearly what is going on. You said he had a screw loose, didn't you?" He looked towards Masanori. "That's starting to feel like an understatement. Explain, or I might just shake him awake and find out for myself."
"Think I'd like one too, if ya don't mind," Ryusei looked at Masanori. "Been long 'nough in the dark."
Masanori sighed. He was hesitant, but he could feel that they deserved it. Besides, Naoto might be serious. He might actually wake him up.
"Takeshita-san…he believes things like heats and Alpha and Omega are manufactured, in a lab with experiments. He thinks the school gave us our secondary gender and is experimenting on the students for some reason."
Naoto's face was incredulous. He laughed a little, a lopsided grin that worked well with his other features to express how much Naoto could not believe what he was hearing.
"He…what? That is…crazy."
Ryusei hummed and stared into his thermometer. "Total nutcase. Explains a lot to be honest."
"I know." Masanori felt a smile of his own. Naoto's amused expression was a bit contagious, and suddenly the whole thing was a bit funnier than before.
"It gets worse. He thinks he's someone else, body swapped into an omega and tasked with saving the school from its wicked experiments. He thinks his real name is-"
"Koyamada Ren." Naoto's eyes lit up slightly with a bit of understanding. At least something made sense from him now. His amused smile faded.
"This sounds fucking crazy. Are you sure he isn't trying to mess with you?"
Masanori chuckled. "At this point I don't think it matters. If it's just a prank, he's put himself in way too much real danger for it. I didn't think you heard, about the student that collapsed behind the school?"
Masanori went on, bringing up the past two months of strangeness he had encountered. He had quite a bit to bring up, and in turn they brought their own anecdotes of insanity.
Naoto sat there, stunned. "....shit, he's off the wall looney."
"Seems like it. Though I suspect there's more to it," said Ryusei. "I read some stuff in his file a while back. Won't disclose it but it's not much better. But he didn't seem to be much aware of his own history."
"I see. I tried to look into it myself," Masanori sighed. "I tried to explain, but my dad told me the student records were fine. If he had any diagnosed illness, it would have been there and accounted for."
"So… what?" Naoto said. "We're just gonna keep letting him roam around the school until he does something again? What happens when his heat comes back around?"
"That's why I asked him to speak to Fujiwara-san. Fujiwara-san, how's it been with helping him with his understanding of his heat?"
"A load of cement," Ryusei replied. "And them some. Not sure anythin' gets through to his head."
Masanori frowned. "That explains his last heat. If his cycle is consistent like Yuki said though, he's bound to do it again. I should double check with his roommates… He's in 1A, I'll try to talk to Kakeru Yaruno about it tomorrow."
Naoto stood up. "I'm leaving… you should do the same. Ryusei-kun, call his dorm leader."
"This won't get out to anyone?" asked Masanori. "He's already having a rough time according to Yuki. I'll catch up."
Naoto chuckled bitterly. "Who would believe me? I'd lose all credibility. And, you should just forget about him, Masa. What happens if your old man figures out where you are? If he knew you were even by that lake, your ass is toast."
"I'll be fine, Akagi-san."
"Tsk. Your freedom matters more than this omega. Don't be blind-sided by your feelings." He said, leaving on a harsh note.
Ryusei spoke soon after.
"Bit of a sour grape, or sour in general. Heard he's always hated omegas but, you'd think he'd hate the sun and moon if it smelled like one."
Masanori shook his head. "No, Akagi-san just had a bad experience with an omega at his last school. He hates dishonesty more than he hates Omegas." He shifted in his chair a little uncomfortably.
"Any chance he came to you asking about… anything beside heats? You know, as in…" He suddenly had to ask, with how Naoto talked about Takeshita the other day.
"Nuthin like that," Ryusei answered, adding, "Yer tender hearted fer your class, y'know."
Masanori's cheek twitched. "Thanks but I didn't ask for a reality check…"
"No he hasn't asked. Haven't seen him much lately to be honest," Ryusei continued. "And, fer the record, I put my scent on him that one time to try to help him with Naoto. He kept thinking he was sleeping around so I gave him a cover that would put him off the table."
'I figured it was something like that. Good move, and everyone knows Ryusei is abstinent.' Masanori thought. Though it didn't help with his guilt.
Masanori took a deep breath. "Try to tell me when you do things like that next time."
"Sure thing," Ryusei said, turning away. "Your omega and all."
"He's not… nevermind."
Ryusei left into the other room, so Masanori was the only one left, staring longingly at the sleeping body of Ren.
He didn't stay asleep for long.
Ren shot up from the blanket, a glare in his eye. "You can bully me all you want, but don't you dare do anything to Yaruno-kun!"
Masanori tapped his knee nervously. "So you were listening? No, it's not what you think-"
"What else could it be! You're going to torture him for information, aren't you?" Ren started to stand, fumbling a little over the blanket. He kept his resolve.
"You, a-and all of you, just keep trying to trick me! I-I thought the school forced you to attack me with your groping but maybe I was wrong! I know I've caused a lot of trouble but that doesn't mean you can hurt the innocent!"
Masanori's face fell, his words faltering. "I, I…! W-Wait! N-No one is getting hurt! Please, calm down…!"
Ren stood up on the bed. "Then prove it! Tell me you're not trying to trick me again! If you are, I….!!"
Tears pooled into his eyes, and he flopped back down, curling into his knees.
Masanori rushed over. When his hand touched his head, Ren slapped it away.
"Leave me alone! You're a liar - you're all liars!!"
Masanori tried again, putting both hands on his shoulders and when it did nothing he moved them to grab his face. Feeling the bone of his cheeks he lifted his head, so he could look directly into his eyes.
"Calm… calm down."
Ren closed his eyes and pushed Masanori's hands away, but didn't bury his head away, instead looking towards the floor.
Masanori sighed and combed his fingers through his hair. "Takeshita-san, I…" He flinched back when he saw Ren glare at him.
'I didn't even say anything yet! Wait… I did.'
Suddenly he understood.
"I mean…" Masanori began, tightening his lips. He had to be gentle. He had to work with him.
"... Koyamada-san," Masanori said firmly. "This is all super confusing, but I promise that we're on your side. I'm on your side, and no one is going to hurt your roommate."
Ren blushed. He had a strange feeling erupt through him to the sound of his name. Ren thought he was over it since Yuki, but Masanori saying it gave a different feeling. It was a strange kind of whiplash. He turned his head away. "How do I know you aren't just trying to trick me again?"
"I've never tried to trick you. I've only been trying to help you. Look, you're very passionate about helping the school but I want to help you. Will you listen?"
Ren, slow at first but surely, nodded. "Fine…"
Masanori warmly smiled. "Okay. Then…" Masanori backed up and sat back down.
"Then let's talk about your heats. What happened… A-Actually you don't have to tell me," He coughed into his fist and cleared his throat. If something happened Yukihiro would have told him. He was going to mention preparation, but he remembered what he thought heats were and changed his mind.
"They… disrupt the other students, that's why we need to keep them in check, remember that." Was all he ended up saying.
Ren stared ahead, ruminating. Not on the reminder, but the other interesting bit.
'Heats cause a problem? Disrupt other students? As if it does something to others. Almost like…'
Ren thought of Yukihiro's weird question about the heats before. Finally, it hit him. Something he should have connected a long while ago.
'So heats and the mind control, they're connected. The heats, they're like a power surge!'
Well not quite, but close enough. Ren thought about what Yukihiro said, about heats giving you less control. He had a sudden understanding.
'Out of control powers… so they were just trying to stop me, because I could hurt someone? It's more than just trying to protect me from the school…'
Ren felt a little awkward. He turned away nervously.
"So… I've been endangering others?"
Masanori nodded. Finally he's starting to understand. Maybe endangering others was a bit much, but him taking it that way wouldn't hurt, would it?
"But… Masanori-kun, why do you stay here?" Ren unexpectedly asked.
Masanori lurched back bewildered. "What?"
"This school. If you know and understand that this school is doing something like this, then why have you stayed? Is it because of the heats and the medicine, or are you scared of the real world? But that's just malarky to keep us all trapped here, isn't it? Because we rely on the medicine and their protection?"
Masanori was at a loss. Well, he had to try to set things straight, didn't he? He got back up and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Koyamada-san, this-" His words stopped cold. He couldn't say it. Not in this moment, when he finally felt the relief of clearing the air. It set in that he wasn't mad at him, or scared of him for what he did. He thought, it was the school. The school that had caused everything.
"Um… Koyamada-san. What… Do you think happened that day? In the omega dorm locker room?"
Ren blinked. "You… Want me to say it?" He leaned close, right up to his ear, and softly whispered.
"The… school mind controlled you, didn't they? Because I broke the rules?"
Masanori panicked. He stumbled back, eyes shrinking into dots. This was the worst kind of misunderstanding. As the pit of his stomach opened into a black hole, consuming every fiber of his being, only one thing remained.
He couldn't tell the truth. Not now. But, shouldn't he?
"Masanori-kun?" asked Ren when Masanori didn't continue, but Masanori remained dead still.
Ren swallowed, trying to fill the silence. "A-Actually I have something to ask. It's about, m-my, uh- phero-"
There was a knock at the open door.
"Yo." Ryusei had appeared in the doorway. "Murokawa's here."
Ren's eyes widened, a single glance at the door knotting his tongue. He swiped Masanori's hand off of his shoulder and avoided his eye, focusing his attention on the floor. "S-Seems I gotta go now. See you later, Masanori-kun." He said, his voice shaky. "I'll head back now and stay under the radar."
Masanori paused, reluctantly. But he looked outside. He definitely had to go too, else curfew would make things more difficult later on.
He shook his head and the darkness subsided. It was fine, Masanori reasoned with himself. He didn't need to know right now. That as long as Ren was willing to speak, he could explain things better and more slowly, to prevent any more events. He couldn't do that if he shut him out and refused to talk to him anymore. He'd hear what he wanted to ask later, for sure.
"You have a goodnight, Take- Koyamada-san," Masanori said. "We can talk some other time. Let's go over things properly. And remember: no matter what it is you need help with, I'll always try to help you. Just ask Murokawa and I'll find a way to help you."
'And to stop your delusions from making even more.' Masanori added in a thought.
Ren nodded and smiled slightly. "Okay. Then, good night!"
He then rushed out of the room. As soon as he was out, Ryusei spoke again.
"Laying it on a little thick there?"
Masanori turned his eyes from the door to him with a glare.
"Stay out of this. I know what I'm doing with him. He's fragile, I have to handle him carefully."
Ryusei hummed. "Don't seem that fragile to me, but that's just my perspective."
"Well I didn't ask," Masanori rudely replied. He scoffed and stood up. "Thanks for trying to deal with Akagi-san, but don't overstep. What you think doesn't matter here. Your job is to help the students with their health troubles. I deal with the troublemakers." He said, eyes cold as ice.
These words came out much more vicious and jealous than Masanori even realized. He had taken Ryusei's scent on him rightly to be a misunderstanding sure, but what happened in the locker room when Takeshita talked about Ryusei drifted to the front of his mind. He thought what he saw might have been a rut-induced halkucination. But his face just now wasn't that.
Takeshita Akira definitely liked Ryusei.
"I agree. I'm staying out of yer way then," Ryusei turned to leave. "But ya don't gotta get so defensive about it. And," He added. "It might matter for him, y'know." He then left the room for the night.
Masanori rubbed his face. 'I thought I could trust him… damn it.' He sat there for a while longer, brooding in his thoughts.
Meanwhile Ren, laying in his bed, had thoughts running rampant through his mind, of everything.
"I don't think they're lying…" He muttered. 'But even if they're with me…'
Something ate at him. If they were all friends, then why did they act the way they do? He could never tell whose side anyone was on. Naoto was constantly mean and Yuki acted like he didn't even know Masanori all that well.
Ren frowned. They were hiding something from him. They still didn't trust him with the truth. He still needed to prove himself.
He needed to find physical evidence, pronto.