Ren searched for a way to escape. While they were distracted in their assault Ren couldn't see clearly, he tried to push against the trunk but it wouldn't budge.
'This feels familiar… if I were in my old body I could surely break out of this flimsy thing!'
Bloosh!
Ren's elbow touched one of the bags he had pushed to corners of the trunk, and something inside burst out. First thing he noticed was how thick and sticky the liquid was, the second was the blinding but unfamiliar smell.
Ren pushed back against the bulbous mass by his elbow. One good thing about his small size, he could easily move around even when wedged between bags of viscous meshes.
'What the hell is this stuff? It's not one solid mesh either. It's kinda familiar? I hope it doesn't leak out…'
Meanwhile, Teru watched the proceedings with a cold demeanor.
"When do you presume they'll begin their counter attack Commander?"
"Those sloppy Alphas could never anticipate our cunning wave of attacks. Around the time we finish up the second box is my estimate. But where is Idoru? It shouldn't be taking this long for him."
'Idoru is missing? Where did he go?' Ren thought.
Masanori and Yukihiro meanwhile watched what was happening from the window.
Masanori aggressively slammed two hands down on the windowsill then rushed over to door.
"Yuki, you absolutely must stop the other students from attacking the Omegas, at all cost! We can't let this escalate!"
"And where are you going?"
"I have to stop the teachers from seeing this, first thing! Then figure out what they want!"
Masanori rushed off, more anger in his steps than usual.
'This is bad! If the Alpha and Omega students end up in an all out war now…!'
'We're about out of first reserves!" Teru's followers reported.
"Prep the next load!" Teru commanded.
Ren, who was still no closer to escaping, gasped as he heard them approaching.
'Oh no! No good…!'
A few moments later, two of the students opened the box.
"T-Teru-kun! It's-!"
Splat!
Ren acted fast. He used the pick lock he still had to rip open the closest large bag.
Sure enough, he managed to grab onto a single piece of the mesh from within, and as it opened Ren could see what he had armed himself with. The moment he realized, he launched it at the closest face.
In the chaos he leaped out and ran for it.
"Wh-Who!?"
"It's Takeshita Akira!"
Ren managed to slip away.
As Ren went to hide, he finally got a look at the damage the assault was inflicting upon the dorm.
'What… where did these kids get access to so much paint?'
All along the east side of the Alpha's form were splatters of paint in vibrant colors. The very traditional and stern looking building of browns and grey had been sullied by splotches of unflattering spots.
The mesh he had grabbed inside the trunk and now splattered his clothes in orange, were water balloons full of paint.
'The attack on the Alpha dorm is… juvenile vandalism? But, why?!' Ren stopped just to gawk in anger filled confoundment.
'Really, why not just use their mind control powers and control the Alphas if they're gonna do something this lame!! What are they, preschoolers-!'
A hand clamped down on Ren's mouth and dragged him backwards. It was Idoru, with a look that threatened him if he so much as opened his mouth.
"You and I, need to talk."
Ren, despite everything, spoke anyway, aggressively so.
"Talk, to you?! What for! Where actually were you in the first place? Helping with this crazy plan?!"
"Like you have the standing to sass me!
Trust me, Teru's plan is more than you realize," He huffed. "That's why, I need your help. Teru is going to get everyone in real trouble, I'm talking expelled, for his crazy cause. You: you've befriended over half of the student council by now. You have to go in and find them and get them to stop; negotiate with them any terms to get Teru to stop."
"What… me!?" Ren blanched. "What does Teru even want?!"
"He has a lot of high demands, but there only one thing he really wants…" His response was slow, but eventually arrived.
"An apology."
…
Naoto watched the chaos unfold from within.
He scoffed, a smirk sneering. "So, this is their game? Paint by the numbers? At least they're being direct. Where's the teachers already, they'll make them regret attacking the dorm!"
"That's the thing… Sorry but, they can't make it."
He looked up eyes bulging. "What!?"
"You haven't checked? It happened right away… there was a mass text for a flood alert by our dorm. Everyone was informed to avoid the dorm and stay inside."
"What?! It hasn't rained! Who got the weather team to lie!?"
No one could answer. Naoto's hands gripped the side of the lounge chair.
'Masa has to be behind this! Keeping the Teachers out of this even after this?! Does he think he can talk the omega mob out of this when they've taken it this far already!? Damn it!!'
Naoto picked up and threw the chair across the room.
"Where is he!? Where's Imada Masanori!!"
…
With Idoru's help, Ren managed to sneak into the Alpha dorm through a hidden floorboard.
'This kinda thing is exciting. It's like I'm an ancient shinobi sneaking into the samurai clan's headquarters…'
"Oh yeah. Idoru-kun, couldn't you tell me who the Kuno-"
Ren turned back, and Idoru had vanished. He scratched his head. 'Didn't he follow me? Oh well, I'll go ahead on my own. Just need to stay out of sight…'
Yukihiro used one hand to scroll around his tablet while directing other students with the other back to their dorm rooms.
"There's nothing to worry about. Our rules dictate in times of emergency to return to your rooms. And stay away from your windows…. Hm?"
Yukihiro lowered the tablet and looked down the hall.
'What a pain. I'm starting to get tired of this…'
As soon as he turned the next corner, Ren ran into Yukihiro.
Ren gasped, ecstatic to see him. "You're here? This is great! Quick, I need help to find members of the student council! Have you seen imada or Naoto-kun? Idoru-kun told me to find them to stop the fighting!"
"Slow down… who told you what now?"
Ren stopped. "I-I mean…" He got flustered turned away. "Nothing…"
'He probably doesn't know who that even is. I shouldn't cause problems for him and get him involved even if Yuki is a friend…'
Yukihiro's lips pressed curiously. 'So, Idoru sent him? What is he up to… Maybe I should- no, now's not the time for experiments. I need to get him out of here.'
He grabbed Ren's sleeve. "My suggestion is to leave, but my other suggestion is to do what you intend to do quickly and not get involved with the messes caused by those outside. Or you'll be implicated," Yukihiro's eyes surveyed over his paint splattered clothes.
'Actually, wouldn't that be what I want? He might get expelled like this…'
Yukihiro paused.
'Huh? Isn't this…'
"Hey!"
It was a group of Alpha students, their eyes locked into Ren.
"It's him! You must be the one responsible for this mess!!"
The Alphas start to corner Ren. Trembling, he stumbled back "N-No! They recognize me right away now!?"
Yukihiro stepped in front of Ren and stopped them, glaring at them.
The Alphas froze up and began to back away. They backed up and with mumbled apologies, scurried away.
Ren beamed. "You did it! You have so much power despite being a beta, I knew you were a great teacher, Sensei!"
Yukihiro's brow drew annoyed sweat. 'Please stop calling me that. I haven't actually taught you anything of use, have I?'
Ren nodded. "I just need one member of the student council to apologize to Teru-kun and they'll stop!"
He crossed his arms. "Apologize? That's it?"
"Yep! So where's Imada Masanori?"
"....He's not here," Yukihiro patted Ren's back
"But I know where another member is who can help instead."
"Ok, but avoid the camera around here. I don't want to give Imada-kun any trouble." Ren said.
Yukihiro dismissed this. "No need to worry. The cameras are uh, disabled right now."
'And you'd make more trouble for me if you did. More for me... Let's just bring him to Naoto. Though I'm not sure what state he'll be in under these circumstances. Maybe for once now isn't the best time to thrust him into his arms… ah, there's the door.'
Ren gulped and glanced up at him nervously. "It's Naoto-kun, isn't it? Are you sure it's gotta be him? Can it be anyone else…?"
Suddenly, Yukihiro's throat became dry. His eyes averted away.
"Ah… w-well, I guess there's a few."
'What am I saying… This is the perfect chance to observe for any more progress with his pheromone issues. But what can I do when he looks so helpless?'
Ren's eyes brightened. "Really? Then who? Like do you know how to find the real Hirabayashi Yukihiro?!"
"Ah, n-nope," his eyes darted away again. "He's not here. But most of the others are still off doing their council duties."
Inside, Yukihiro groaned. 'Why am I stuttering… this isn't my style at all. There's gotta be a way to kill this feeling in my chest right now...'
Crash!
A loud commotion came from the Alpha's common room.
"Where is that bastard!! I know he's still in the building!!"
Yukihiro swiftly turned Ren back around and pushed him away.
"Let's go find someone else then."
He stopped when he smelled someone approaching, turning him right around and out of sight of Masanori. Conveniently Naoto had already gone the opposite way.
"Not that way either..." Yukihiro's hands trembled on his shoulders, itching to check the cameras from his tablet.
Ren noticed and looked up worryingly. "? Yuki-kun, are you ok?"
'In a manner of speaking. I really wanna just go lay down and laugh behind the camera instead of getting involved so much…' he quietly sighed.
Ren kept staring at him, noticing his rigid expression. Ren pushed Yukihiro's hand off his shoulder then began to step back.
Yukihiro tensed as the distance became clear. "...Where are you going?"
Ren just silently bowed, then he ran.
Yukihiro stood there frozen for a second.
"Are you serious right now?"
Ren kept running. 'Sorry Yuki-kun! I don't want you to overwork yourself for me! Even if you're a strong beta, the Alphas' power must be a lot for you. But don't worry! I've got a brand new ability that'll work!'
He barely made it far though, before Yukihiro had grabbed Ren's school jacket from behind.
"I asked, where are you going? It's not safe around here you know?"
Ren gawked. 'Huh!? He caught up just like that? He's faster than Naoto!?'
Ren pulled his jacket away from his hand and backed away. "Don't follow me! This time, I'll be able to use my powers!"
"Or get yourself mauled," Yukihiro loudly sighed, overwound. "Do you have no sense of self-preservation-"
Yukihiro went stiff, stopping his words. He leaned down till his face was level with Ren. Then he sniffed.
'He… he smells like an omega now? Did he actually figure something out? This is news to me…'
But then Ren stepped back, face twisting with irritation. "What? Are you insulting me indirectly about my lack of pheromones, is that it? But I don't need them with this method I learned! Just rest and let your senior handle this!"
Ren turned heel and ran off again.
Yukihiro grabbed him and pinned him to the ground.
"Sorry, not this time! You're a real hassle aren't you…"
"L-Let me go! Yuki-kun, aren't you supposed to be helping me!?"
"This is helping, trust me! Since you can't leave now I know a place you can hide out until this blows over."
Ren's expression turned sad. "Yuki-kun… do you not believe I can do this after all? I just…want to prove I can be useful…isn't that what you want too?"
Yukihiro went red, and his grip loosened.
Ren pushed away and quickly turned and dashed away.
Yukhiro tried to grab him again, but Rem managed to get away.
"Ugh. Damn it! Come back-!"
Yukihiro almost, but stopped himself.
'No, too much. If I stop him using a command, he'll know for sure. He's fast, isn't he? This isn't good…'
…
Two students approached Naoto standing impatiently in the dorm leader's office.
"I'm sorry Akagi: Imada's not anywhere in the building, he must have left already, and the whole dorm's been locked down."
"Coward!! This is insane! If we attack the omegas we'll get in trouble, but look at them out there, attacking us!! Fuck that!" He reached for his phone.
"W-Who will you call Akagi?"
"I'm calling reinforcements! Those delinquent wannabes can take the fall and get themselves expelled, since this is their fault to begin with!"