Chapter Text
It’s not like Yuuji is a bad omega.
Yet, despite the best wishes surrounding him, Yuuji Itadori had never managed to fit in with other omegas. As a child, when the other omegas in his playgroup snuggled together in the grass, Yuuji was running around and trying to climb anything remotely vertical. The kids were nice; the group consisted of him, another boy, and three girls, and he enjoyed their company. Yuuji just didn’t have the attention span to sit and play make-believe mommies over and over. He wanted to move, much to the detriment of his nervous caretakers. Through elementary school, his grade cards often commented on his never-ending energy.
Incredibly sweet. Trouble sitting still. —Miss Minko kindergarten.
Difficulty focusing and often argumentative. We will work on getting him to settle into his omega dynamic. —Mrs. Okumura 3rd grade
Itadori could do so much more if he just focused. — Literally, every teacher Yuuji’s ever had.
It wasn’t like Yuuji didn’t try or that he was lazy. He often felt that just too many things were happening at once, and his brain couldn’t settle down and catch up. He’d tried describing it to his grandfather once, but it was like he was walking through a blizzard and trying to focus on grabbing the one snowflake he wanted. Yuuji remembers Wasuke’s brown eyes looking really sad, so he never brought it up again and tried his best to be a better listener.
He just had to want to catch his snowflake.
- - -
Middle school wasn't much different than elementary school. Yuuji was still often remarked on his unique ways of being an omega. He still didn’t care. As long as his legs could run and his arms could pull him up wherever he wanted to climb, he didn’t give a...certain word his Grandpa said he wasn't allowed to say.
However, as time went on, everyone seemed to care a whole lot about how Yuuji wasn’t fitting in. The omegas from his childhood playgroup stopped returning his texts.
Sorry, my mom says we can’t hang out anymore; I hope you understand.
Dad says you attract the wrong kind of attention to omegas.
New phone, who is this?
And it hurt.
Of course, it hurt.
But, whatever, it’s fine. Yuuji always thought they were kind of boring anyway. Soon after, the betas on the track and field team stopped being as friendly too.
Itadori-kun, please quiet down. You're giving me a headache.
Dude, don’t be so rough. Omegas are soft, remember?
Isn’t that manga a little violent for omegas?
Fine fuck it. If they wanted to be sexist, then Yuuji wanted nothing to do with him. The final straw was assuming that maybe since he struggled to fit in with everyone else, surely alphas wouldn’t be dicks.
Unfortunately, he learned never to underestimate the untapped potential for how terrible people could be.
Yuuji spent a lot more time than his peers in the nurse's office.
What happened this time, Itadori-kun? She would ask, already filling out the disciplinary slip before tending to his busted lip.
Don’t worry about it.
Yuuji learned the first few times explaining why he was fighting back mattered less than the fact he was fighting at all. All the “scuffles” only made the adults around him wonder why he wasn’t flattered at the attention of alphas.
He’d been labeled the unruly omega, in part due to constant arguments and physical fights with betas, even alphas! He makes so much trouble for himself. It’s his own fault he can’t even purr to calm the alphas back down after he riles them up.
As he reached the last year of junior high, the high school teachers were praying he wouldn’t be in their classes the coming April.
And lucky them, they got their wish.
- - -
“Dude, fuck high school.”
Yuuji jumps a little but nods in agreement at his senpai’s outburst because, honestly? Valid. He doesn’t extend much energy past the small action, though. He’s a little more focused on trying not to freeze his ass off as they smoke on the school rooftop. Their usual spot behind the gymnasium had been getting busted lately since other idiots started leaving their butts behind. So now Yuuji and Co.. had to start taking their bad habit to new heights.
Luckily, Maki bribed (threatened) one of the garden club members for her key to access the stairwell leading to the roof. Must be one of the many perks of being an alpha. Put enough command into a ‘suggestion,’ and you can pretty much get away with anything.
Out of the corner of his eyes, Yuuji can see Maki fidgeting (a habit she firmly denies having) and instantly feels his neck tense. Maki, with too much energy, always turns into a problem for everyone else later. His senpai twirls the end of her dark ponytail before doing her best to look casual.
Sadly, she’s about as great of an actress as Yuuji is a liar.
“You ain’t even gonna ask me why I’m pissed off, Itadori?” Maki poses, obviously trying to lure her junior into a bitch/vent session. Yuuji playfully rolls his eyes before putting the cigarette back to his lips.
“When aren’t you pissed off, Maki-senpai?”
Maki’s dark brown eyes peer down at him from behind her thick glasses. Yuuji braces himself for a slug to the arm but is only hit with Maki’s signature cackle. It’s like a witch on a broom.
“You’re such a little shit! But yeah, you’re right. Life’s a bag of dicks most of the time,” She grins, blowing smoke out her nostrils. Yuuji watches as it curls back up around her nose stud piercing.
“But at least I’ll be out this bitch in three months.”
Three months.
Two words that hit Yuuji right in that tender spot of jealousy he’s been trying to keep hidden since April. Maki, along with nearly all of his friends, will be leaving him behind when the school year ends in March. Technically, Panda doesn’t even have to come back after this semester since his GPA has been high enough to graduate since his second year.
He claims he’d miss everyone too much. Which is sweet, but Yuuji is pretty sure it has more to do with Panda wanting to stay on their campus with his boyfriends as long as he can since Yuuta and Toge wouldn't be able to stay in university dorms with him.
Come spring, after they graduate, it will just be him, Megumi, and Nobara suffering through their final year at Tokyo Metropolitan. God, he’s so close to being out of this place he can taste it. Yuuji’s thoughts are interrupted as Maki wraps a strong arm around him and pulls him into her side. He worries he’ll burn her ponytail since his cigarette is still in his mouth, but she flips it just in time.
“Aw, is my little junior gonna miss me?”
“Of course!”
“Well, don’t worry. Nobara already promised to look after you for me. She’s a feisty lass; you’ll have no problems.”
“I can handle myself,” Yuuji argues, trying and failing to keep the pout out of his voice. It makes him sound younger than sixteen, which is already too much since he’s the youngest of all his friends. Even worse, it makes him think of all the times his Grandpa would pinch his nose and tell him to quit whining.
“Never said you couldn’t, baby. But you’re already on the Headmaster’s shit list, and we need you to keep on the straight and narrow like a right proper omega. ”
Yuuji tries to break out of Maki’s crushing hold, but his senpai has always been freakishly strong. Instead, she grips him tighter. He knows he can’t physically overpower her, but he can at least be a pain in the ass.
“Maki-senpai is a bully!”
“I’m just quoting your disciplinary report.”
“Well stop!”
“Jesus, fine, here, take another smoke. You’re on edge today.”
She rolls her eyes but finally releases the wriggling omega. Maki knows she’s walking right on the line of ‘too far,’ but someone has to do it. She lets Yuuji settle back down on the metal pipes that pump heat through their school and doesn't even poke at him for snuggling down into his big-ass jacket and scarf.
They finish their smoke break in silence, apart from the blistering wind rattling the chain link fence and the muffled conversations of the rest of the campus enjoying their lunch break below. Yuuji’s almost certain he can hear Panda and Nobara’s booming laughs, but maybe he’s hearing things.
Then again, those two are really loud.
The bell signaling the end of lunch is apparently much louder on the roof, causing the pair to cover their ears to muffle out the cacophony. By the final chime, Yuuji knows he’s going to have a headache for the rest of the day.
Lovely.
He stands, though his poor butt is entirely tingly (but warm) from sitting on the unforgivingly hard pipes. Yuuji pulls his bag over his shoulder and turns back towards the door leading back inside the school. Maki tugs his sleeve and gives him a questioning tilt.
“No way I’m seeing Yuuji Itadori make an effort to get to class on time.”
Yuuji tugs his sleeve free, turning further away so Maki can’t see the way his cheeks burn. Does she really need to say it out loud?
“It’s cold out here.”
“True that. Well, I’m not ready, so you go ahead. Bye bye!”
He raises a hand to wave off Maki before pushing open the heavy steel and feeling some comfort from getting out of the wind. The stairwell isn’t exactly toasty, but it’s better than outside.
Tokyo Metropolitan Technical School, aka Last Resort For Troubled Youths, isn’t exactly the kind of exclusive academy families are lining their children up to take exams to enter. It makes sense that a small little school full of troublemakers isn’t super high on the city government’s list to keep well-maintained. Despite the reputation it carries, Yuuji still wears TMT’s label as a reform school loud and proud.
Every student in attendance has some sort of past that’s landed them here, not that Yuuji’s ever asked anyone about their private business. One would think that kind of commonality would make all the students be a little more empathetic toward their peers. But things rarely go Yuuji’s way, so how naïve for him to have thought otherwise.
Case in point: the way a few other omegas are currently giving him a wide berth as walks the halls back to his homeroom class. It had stung a bit his first year when he realized his reputation had somehow preceded him all the way from Sendai and that even in a place like this, Yuuji still couldn’t fit in the right way.
But at least it’s not the same aching loneliness! Yuuji’s got a few friends now, plus his older brother, who’s super cool.
Yuuji settles down at his homeroom desk, attention on the swirling wood grain. It must be a busy day on the asshole circuit since there are no lewd drawings on his table or random trash left behind by someone eating in his space. Even though the alphas from his more infamous campus smackdowns have graduated, thus lightening a fraction of the bullying he receives, Yuuji wouldn’t go so far as to claim things might be calming down.
Just one more year. Then I’m free.
- - -
“Itadori-kun, phones are not allowed in class. Please put yours away.”
Yuuji softly apologizes and then slides his phone back into his pocket. He’d already read the nonsense in their group chat that had his notifications going crazy on his leg. All he wanted to do was turn it off entirely so he could focus. But there’s no way to explain that without sounding like a dick, so he just takes Nanami-sensei’s soft look of disappointment and goes back to twirling his pencil while pretending to follow along verb tenses.
English was one of his trickier subjects (seriously, there are too many grammar rules), but since the term is nearly over, they’re mostly just reviewing for final exams. He’d already studied the best he could. Yuuji always figured if he knew it, then it would come out on the test. If not, then oh well. Why would he voluntarily add more stress to his life?
Bing. Bong. Bing.
“Yuuji Itadori of class 2C, please come to the front office. Yuuji Itadori of class 2C, please come to the front office.”
Yuuji wishes the class would “ooh” like in those corny movies because the dead silence is a million times worse. Nanami-sensei looks at him. He looks at Nanami-sensei.
“Itadori-kun, head to the office.”
“Yes, sir.”
Yuuji gathers his books back into his bag. They’re already so close to the end of the day that it’s more than likely whatever this meeting turns out to be will take up the rest of this period and the next.
A trip to the headmaster’s is never quick at Tokyo Tech.
He crosses over the courtyard from the literacy-building to the main one, where the front office, recovery room, and counselors all reside. Yuuji signs in with the secretary at the main desk and then waits in a chair with his back to the large glass windows facing the halls.
Just when Yuuji considers turning his phone back on, an overly familiar head of white hair pokes out from behind the headmaster’s office door. Crystal blue eyes peek over black circular frames, scanning the small office until they land squarely on him.
“Ah, Yuuji-kun, come on back.”
Gojo sounds too casual, much more subdued than his larger-than-life personality usually allows him to be. It’s weird. Yuuji’s shoulders instantly tense up. All chances of this being a simple meeting evaporate like water in the desert.
The teen skirts around the much taller man and enters Principal Yaga’s office with as little fanfare as he can manage. It looks just the same as the last time he’d been here. Bookshelves filled with old tomes and plaques, curtains so heavy the rod looks like it could snap at any moment, and Yuuji can’t forget the basket of fabric right at the edge of the grand oak desk the stern man sits behind. Looks like his latest project is making a small reindeer plush.
“Looks good.” Yuuji offers, nodding his head towards the doll.
Yaga’s thick brows raise in surprise, and Yuuji instantly regrets saying anything.
Once Gojo closes the door and takes a seat on the black leather couch against the wall, Yuuji sinks into the matching lounge chair. His eyes follow Principal Yaga as he pulls out a crate full of files and selects three to keep on his desk. Yuuji tightens his jaw as he recognizes what kind of meeting this actually is.
“So, Itadori, we’re here to talk about your progress at Tokyo Tech.”
Oh lord, here we go.
“While it’s understandable that students your age may sometimes feel that the future is still far away, that’s hardly the case in reality. Final exams will be here before we know it, and right after that comes our winter break.”
“Hallelujah, right Yaga?” Gojo interrupts with a foolish grin. “I feel like I appreciate breaks more as a teacher than I did as a student.”
Principal Yaga pinches his nose between thick, copper brown fingers and sighs with all the weariness of someone who has both taught and then subsequently ended up working with Satoru Gojo.
“As I was saying, after the break comes the final term of your second year. I assume you plan to finish your high school career here?”
“Yes, sir,” Yuuji answers. He didn’t mean to mutter it, but it was kind of a silly question. Transferring out for his final year? He’s not some anime protag.
“Well, at least we’ve thought that far ahead,” Yaga comments, pausing to take a sip out of his mug that smells a lot like hot cocoa. “Now—”
“I’m so sorry! I got stuck at the station, but I’m here now.” Wind rushes through the room as the door to Principal Yaga’s office flies open and close,d ushering in a frantic set of spiky pigtails Yuuji would recognize anywhere. The color drains from his face as Yuuji is hit with the second surprise punch.
A meeting involving his brother?
Goodbye to peace.
“It’s quite alright, Kamo-san,” Principal Yaga greets, standing to return Choso’s bow. Yuuji watches as his brother’s face shifts in worry when he catches the omega’s eye. Does he think Yuuji’s in trouble already? What the hell is so urgent? “Please have a seat by your younger brother.”
Yuuji scoots as far as he can in the oversized chair, which Choso misses since he’s too busy waving at Gojo-sensei. When did his brother and homeroom teacher get this close?
“Now that we’re all here,” Yaga begins again. “Kamo-san, I was just telling Itadoru that I’m sure he’s familiar with how important this time is for students. Entrance exams and work studies, most teenagers his age are navigating the adult world for the first time. This isn’t to intimidate you or imply that he isn’t capable of these things. In fact, it’s the opposite,” Yaga opens the folder, and Yuuji braces himself for the coming lecture.
His fights had slowed down tremendously, but Choso would still often be called in to talk about Yuuji’s “vulgar mouth.” Listen, he may not be as handsy, but Yuuji refused to let people get away with talking shit about him or any omega, even though they had all but abandoned him and never stuck up for him in return. Most of his altercations came at the expense of stepping in when alphas were harassing omegas, and even though he wasn’t ever given any real thanks, his moral compass couldn’t let it slide.
“There’s been a significant improvement in Itadori’s grades since the beginning of his second year, which I accredit to our mentor program and the time spent with Nanami-sensei before school. Sort of sets him right for the remainder of the day.”
“That’s good, right?” Choso asks, curious yet cautious. He’s been to enough of these meetings to know the start of a compliment sandwich. Yaga smiles apologetically. Yuuji’s filled with so much nervous energy he could explode.
“It’s very good, yes, of course.”
“Yuuji-kun is lucky to have so many people that care about him.”
“However…”
Shit.
“Itadori’s lengthy record from middle school to now has the potential to impede his future endeavors. Physical altercations with students and staff, breaking uniform code, vulgar language and behavior unbefitting of a student but especially an omega.”
Yuuji releases an annoyed chuff at that last comment.
Once again, it’s not like Yuuji is a bad omega.
If he were really ‘rotten,’ he would’ve been recommended for dynamic rehab by now. Which Choso and Gramps would’ve fought against anyway. Fuck the system. But having all his faults laid out after working really hard to try and fix the shit doesn’t feel good either.
“I understand, sir, I really do. I promise that Yuuji will continue to do his best in class.” Choso leans forward on the desk, voice insistent that his baby brother is good. “And I know our family struggles aren’t an excuse, but I looked online, and I think that maybe he’s been having omega insecurity. Our family lineage is mostly betas—”
“Dude!” Yuuji blurts loudly.
“Well, I just think it’s important for him to know.”
“Choso, you don’t have to tell him that shit, god come on.”
“Language, Itadori.”
Choso sighs, and Yuuji fumes from being scolded in front of everyone like that. It hurts like hell, but Yuuji can’t stop bouncing his leg. Yup, the one with the injury that took him out of running track in high school. It doesn’t even matter, considering he’d been restricted from participating in most clubs anyway. He wants to get out of this stupid fucking office and away from this stupid fucking meeting.
The room grows cozy with Principal Yaga’s warm scent. Yuuji can scent the base but not much else. Luckily, he feels the comfort as the tension is lifted and set right once more.
“I fear that I may not be explaining this well enough,” Yaga states, pulling the files closer to himself to read over more of Yuuji’s history. “Itadori-kun’s behavior can be excused medically due to his status as a late bloomer, but the next violent incident will end in his expulsion, so he needs to really think about his actions before jumping in too deep.”
They sit in an uncomfortable silence as the weight of the statement sinks in for everyone, but Yuuji makes an effort to nod in understanding. From the couch, Gojo puffs up proudly, the small beginnings of a purr rumbling in the alpha’s chest.
“I’m sure Yuuji-kun will stay in line now that he knows so much is at risk. But what I want to know is what’s keeping him from declaring a path of intent with the guidance counselors?”
Yuuji swallows the spit building in his throat, reminding him of that awful choking feeling that comes right before throwing up. He twists the hem of his dark, baggy sweater between his fingers and tries to come up with something that doesn’t make him sound obstinate or lazy or, even worse, really fucking stupid.
“Well, um, actually…”
Fuck, why is this hard?
“There are some things I feel that I need to consider before, um, attaching myself to something.”
Yup, that makes total sense.
Yuuji looks over to Choso for support, but he ain’t sayin’ a damn word. Principal Yaga looks at him as if expecting him to follow up on whatever the fuck that statement was. Yuuji looks up to the alpha in pity, almost silently apologizing for disappointing another person.
Thankfully, Yaga just clears his throat and starts again.
“I see. Considerations. Understandable. Are these considerations of the... personal variety?” The older alpha’s cheeks pinken in response to Yuuji’s confused expression and Gojo’s mocking one.
“What I mean is, I know you’re close to some of our third year students. Including my son Panda. And I know he’s mentioned his partners considering adding a fourth to their—”
“NO!” Yuuji blurts, causing the other men to jump. Heat fills the omega’s face as he stutters through an apology. “I mean, no offense to Panda-senpai sir, it’s just, that’s not, I mean, it’s nothing like that.”
“Yuu-chan is waiting for that special someone to sweep him off his feet,” Gojo teases, and it’s a blessing that Yuuji is still too embarrassed at the prospect of his principal even thinking he’s about to join his friend’s poly love squad to sass his sensei right back.
“I don’t mean to embarrass you Itadori, I only ask since I run into that a lot with students who don’t declare a path. Basing their decisions on their partner’s whims. Pup love can make even betas fall under the spell of pheromones.”
Yuuji nods with a strained attempt at a smile on his face. This cannot be his life right now.
“I appreciate the concern, sir.”
“Of course. I’m fully invested in the futures of every single student who calls our school home. Society tends to focus too much on where we come from, trapping people in our pasts, silently keeping us from moving forward.” Principal Yaga rolls up the sleeves of his button-down shirt, revealing the tattoos covering nearly every sliver of skin on his forearms. Bright reminders of the man’s own obstacles.
“But, it’s always been in the nature of humans to push past boundaries set to keep us stagnant. I truly believe that. I also believe that pushing others to move before they’re ready rarely yields good results.”
Yaga turns his attention towards Gojo-sensei, who only crosses his long, gangly legs. Yuuji raises a brow at the body language. They must have been talking for a while before he got called down for Gojo to be that annoyed.
“Gojo-sensei has brought concerns to me as a faculty member in regards to your ‘lack of direction,’ as he called it. While I agree that I want nothing but for you to lead a life with no regrets, I feel that you have to be the one to choose that life and chase it.”
Yuuji stays just as composed, with no trace of his rising temper showing on his face. He bows slightly, looking up from beneath his eyelashes before quietly thanking the principal.
“I’m grateful to know I have support, no matter what I choose, I think I just need a little more time. Can I schedule a counseling appointment for after the new term starts? I’m sure they’re busy with the third years right now.”
“I think that can be arranged Itadori.” Principal Yaga replies warmly, while Choso glows with pride. Maybe it’s his alpha instincts or whatever leftover vigilance came from being a former yakuza, but Yaga decides this is a good time to end their meeting. All four of them stand to give their goodbyes, with Yuuji receiving permission to return home early since there isn’t much time left for final classes anyway.
Great, he hates study hall.
Yuuji hears his brother call after him, but he can’t focus on anything over the ringing in his ears.
Expulsion.
He’s this close to being able to graduate and be done with this shit, and he almost ruined everything Choso and Gramps had been working so hard for. He makes it just outside the main doors leading to the center of campus before he hears his name being shouted again. When he feels a sharp tug on his bag, Yuuji wheels around, ready to fuss, only to freeze when he sees Choso’s reddened eyes and smudged eyeliner.
Fuck.
“Choso can we please talk about this later?”
“Yuuji we need—”
“Please,” he begs, turning on his waterworks to fight off the big brother slash fatherly instincts Choso is about to reign down on him. He can’t do this. Not right now. “I promise we can talk about it but not right now.”
When Choso presses his lips tightly, he knows it’s a fight he can’t win. So, instead, he pulls Yuuji into a quick hug and sets him free. He can only pray his brother goes straight home, but…
“Just be safe. I work overnight at the mini-mart, but if you need me—”
“I’ll call. I promise.”
Yuuji gifts Choso with a cheek nuzzle and hurries away. He might be limp, but he’s still quick. Without turning back, Yuuji ducks into the nearest empty bathroom. He locks the stall and slams down on the toilet, cussing ‘cause his knee is on fire. When he texts his friends to let them know he’s going home early, he waits for one confirmation before putting it away once again.
Only then does Yuuji finally let himself cry out his frustrations until his head hurts.
- - -
The approaching holiday season meant more shifts for Choso but less money actually coming in. Higher heating bills, Christmas and New Year gift shopping, new clothes to fit around Yuuji’s changing body, past due medical and therapy bills, everything was adding up faster than the omega could count. They made sure to save on what they could, but even that was becoming more difficult.
Yuuji wanted to get a job to at least pay for his own shit like the limited-release Shonen Jump merch drops. And since he couldn’t be in the clubs he wanted after school anyway, might as well make money in his spare time. Unfortunately, most places were hesitant to hire unmated omegas, especially ones that looked like Yuuji. A scarred face isn’t exactly settling for most. And he really didn’t want to ask Choso for money right now because he knew he would either say no and feel horribly guilty or say yes, and Yuuji knew that money could be better spent elsewhere.
Like keeping the lights on.
So, on a cold winter night a week and some change before Christmas, Yuuji heads into Shibuya alone to see if anyone had anything he could do ‘under the table.’
He’d been around the city countless times after school since no clubs and busy friends meant he had a lot of free time. Something about being out later than usual made him a little more nervous though. For all the tough attitude he put on and for all the fights he’d been in, Yuuji knew that if an alpha really wanted to make an omega submit, they could.
The thought makes him pull his jacket hood over his head. Out of sight, out of mind.
No cash meant no arcade time or new manga volume shopping. And it looks like most of the hustlers have been pushed aside by jolly Saint Nick. So, with nowhere to go or really be that left little else to do but go where the roads take him. Yuuji had never been good at just sitting idle anyway. It’ll be good to burn some energy off before he goes home to sleep.
Night wandering comes with a totally new vibe than afternoon wandering. It wasn’t like he hadn’t snuck into clubs with Megumi and Nobara before or hung around garage shows with Toge, Yuta, and Panda. When the moon and stars come out to play among the city lights, it’s like the people come alive in a different way.
Compared to the afternoon rush of office workers and kids running home from school, the crowds look ready for a long night of entertainment.
This part of Shibuya felt different. Almost like it’d changed with a fresh coat of moonlight paint. The people were different; more adults getting off work versus high schoolers.
Still busy as fuck all.
Yuuji does like the buzz of all the city noise, though. Ever since he moved from the countryside and closer to the core of Shibuya with Choso, the constant noise made something in his brain feel almost right for once.
Yuuji walks past fried food stands, making his empty tummy rumble. He checks out a small music shop where he lingers for a good minute listening to the sample of a new album he definitely saves in his phone to check out later, and really just fucks around following whatever noises make him feel good. Which leads to him staring down a series of alleyways he doesn’t recall ever seeing. At least not in the daylight. Yuuji knows he’d remember a place like this.
He hates to sound immature, but the people on the scene just look so cool . Vibrant-colored hair and ripped clothing expose more tattooed skin than Yuuji has ever seen in his life. If they notice the omega nearly gawking, they politely don’t say anything.
Yuuji keeps going, taking in everything new. Neon glowing lights, fast-paced drum and bass, clinking glasses from the bars, and laughter, so much laughter just ringing through the night air. It’s so loud, so loud, and he loves it. The way all the noise layers in his head, it’s almost so much he’s paralyzed by it…but in a good way.
Most of the bars were glowing with Christmas lights, and drunk people swaying like wheat in a field to the live music blasting out. Yuuji was technically in that gray zone, where he’s definitely a minor in an area serving alcohol, but he could also turn a corner and leave at any time.
The crowd is a heady mix of scents from dynamics along with being outdoors in the city, but still, Yuuji doesn’t feel overwhelmed. One blessing from his unripe omega status is his slightly dulled sense of smell.
“Hey, kid! Kid!”
A voice snaps Yuuji out of his thoughts. It belongs to a dark-ponytailed girl in a very tight and low-cut dress that’s slit to show off a large thigh tattoo piece. She’s got a long pink braid with the sides of her head shaved. She looks Yuuji up and down before asking, “You good?”
Yuuji checks that his scent-blocking patches are still on his neck and wrists and pulls his hood over his untamable locks. Another reason why he dressed somewhat layered tonight? Betas don’t need to wear patches; Alphas normally refuse to wear patches, so even if his baby-soft scent didn’t give him away, the bandages on his glands sure would.
“Uh, yeah yeah. I’m fine, just uh, walking.”
Real smooth.
He scents the air and doesn’t smell anything aggressive, just a light floral scent; she must be a beta then. The girl raises a pierced brow but shrugs and goes back to chatting with her friends. They’re all just as street-styled as her, and Yuuji suddenly feels the shame of his youth on his shoulders. These people are way above him and his uncombed hair.
His heart can’t stop pounding. He’s pathetic. This was the most positive human interaction he’s had in months, and he’s about to fucking cry. A stranger asking if he, an obviously lost idiot, was okay? He probably stumbled on gang turf or some shit, and she was trying to get him to kindly fuck off.
God dammit this is embarrassing.
Yuuji turns tail quickly as he can with a fucked up knee trying to lock up from the cold, and scuttles back towards the front of the alley. His attempt at relocation is short-lived since he roughly bumps into what feels like a brick wall. Large hands grip the meat of his upper arms before he can bounce back and fall on his ass like the absolute fucking loser he is.
“Sorry my bad I wasn’t—” Yuuji stammers before having to look up at the fucking giant still holding him up. Seriously, the person is, like, a whole head taller than him, and Yuuji ain’t exactly a shortie!
The man’s face was mostly covered by a low-hanging grey cap and a thick black scarf around his mouth and neck, but it’s hard to miss the stormy blue eyes glaring into what feels like the depths of Yuuji’s soul. The man releases his grip, but Yuuji feels the imprint of his hands like a burn. The omega scents the air quickly but doesn’t smell anything. Like anything, anything.
Scent blockers? He wonders. The larger man, however, is quick to point out Yuuji’s particular scent.
“The fuck is a baby omega doing out in Shibuya at night?” His voice is deep and graveled like a panther’s purr. Yuuji shivers and thinks to himself that maybe his worn-down hoodie isn’t going to be enough for the rest of the winter. He stands upright and offers the man a glare of his own, but he feels a bit like a kitten facing a tiger.
“Ain’t no baby omegas here, my bad for bumping into you.”
Yuuji waves the man off before trying to sidestep him, only to be blocked again.
What the hell, man?
The strange man pulls his scarf down, revealing thick, dark sideburns and what must be days' worth of stubble along an angled jaw. He’s got some kind of stick in his mouth that moves around when his lips turn down into a sneer.
“You even old enough to be around here at night? Where are your parents, kid?” The man makes a small show of looking over Yuuji and around the streets. Before Yuuji can explode out a retort, the dark-haired girl from before comes bounding over and grips the man’s arm.
“Ryoumen-samaaaaa! You’re late, it’s rude to keep a girl waiting you know,” she presses her breasts against Ryoumen’s arm, but he doesn’t seem to respond. What the fuck? Yuuji wants boobs on his arms! Fucking trade him places, you ass.
This Ryoumen-sama rudely does not trade places with Yuuji but instead covers the girl's pale hands with his own larger ones as she squeezes his arm tighter.
“You’re the one who’s been late the last 3 sessions. Forgive me for thinking I’d try to match your time.” Ryoumen rumbles before removing the stick—a green lollipop—from his mouth and turning off to walk with the girl on his arm. He takes a glance back at Yuuji.
“Better get home before your curfew, baby omega,” he calls before he and the girl walk into a glowing shop with steel bars over the windows. Dark red lights above the door spell out Malevolant Shrine. He’d never seen the store before, obviously, since he happened upon this whole area by accident, but Yuuji makes sure to sneak a picture of it so he’d be able to remember it next time he found his way to Shibuya at night.
Ryoumen-sama, count your days.