Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Run.

Run.

Run.

Don’t stop. Keep going. Don’t look back. It wasn’t safe. Guren had to keep going. Keep running and don’t look back. His heart was pounding. Racing harshly against his chest as he ran through the trees. The adrenaline was pumping in his veins. Harder and faster with each second. All he could hear was the sound of his own racing heartbeat in his ears. Lud-dub. Lud-dub. Lud-dub. His lungs were screaming at him. Begging and pleading for air that he couldn’t get into them. Nothing else could matter right now.

Get away.

Get far away from here.

His legs were screaming at him. Fresh cuts were forming on his feet. Guren had to ignore them. He couldn’t stop. Stopping meant certain death. Guren turned, taking off even faster in another direction. He had no idea where he was. Where he was going. Just that he couldn’t stop.

Lud-dub. Lud-dub. Lud-dub.

Run. Run. Run.

Faster. Go… faster.

Keep going.

Guren switched his path, pushing off of a tree as he started down a hill. Slipping slightly but still managing to stay on his feet. Don’t stop. He couldn’t afford to stop now. That would just lead to imminent death.

Escape.

Escape.

Escape.

Run.

Guren tripped, finding himself going headfirst and he rolled, throwing his arms up to protect his head as he rolled down the hill. His body screamed at him, the pain flaring through him as he hit his stomach. All he did was get back to his feet and took off once more. Everything was a blur. He could not stop. Stopping was not an option.

Guren broke through the tree line and his feet hit pavement. The pavement scratched at his bare feet but if the woods couldn’t stop him, this wasn’t going to either. Just keep going. Run. Escape. Get away.

Guren ran across the street, and just for a second, he dared to look over his shoulder. He saw absolutely nothing at first. Guren put his attention back ahead of him and sprinted faster. Going through a path that led to more trees. Nothing else mattered as he dashed into them, shoving branches out of his way as he did so and ducking underneath the ones that he couldn’t merely push out of his way.

As he broke through the next tree line, Guren’s eyes widened and what little air that he had caught in his throat as he right over the edge of a cliff. Within seconds, his life started to flash before his eyes as everything around him started to go into slow motion. He rolled, falling and hitting the ground with a hard impact. It knocked the wind right out of him as he wheezed. His vision blurred, moving out of focus as he coughed. Slowly, he managed to start to push himself up onto shaky hands. Unsteady on his feet and the pain going through his body, Guren got back to his feet.

Don’t stop.

Keeping running.

Escape .

Somehow, he managed to do it. Taking off into a run again. He couldn’t stop. He couldn’t dare to stop. Even a few seconds was precious time that he needed. And his time was limited. Guren couldn’t even tell where he was running anymore. Everything around him was swimming as it got harder to move. His vision came in and out of focus.

Don’t stop.

Don’t stop.

Don’t stop.

As he rounded the corner, Guren gasped as he collided with something hard and was knocked to the ground. At that moment, all Guren could see were the clouds in the sky through the haze. The smell of a thunderstorm’s aroma filling his senses. He couldn’t stop. He had to keep going. But everything was a blurry haze. As Guren’s gaze turned, all he could see was reddish-gold and a feeling of warmth.

Escape.

Nineteen Years Ago

Guren Ichinose was always aware of the differences between his family and the rest. It was nothing new to him. He was so young at the tender age of five, and yet, he already knew the harshness and cruelty that came from belonging to a lowly branch family. The contempt that came from them and how they were treated. Guren faced it often. None of it was new to him at all. He often faced beatings from adults and teenagers from the Hiragi family just because of who he was. It was nothing new to him at all.

His father, Sakae Ichinose, would help pick him up off of the ground, apologize to him with tears in his eyes for being so powerless to stop what was happening and then tend to his injuries. Guren never once blamed his father. He blamed them. The people who were the cause of all of this. He despised them. His father would always smile even if he was in the hands of the same people. Guren never understood how he could do it. Just… smile. Guren would always find himself fixating on it.

His father’s smile was always so soft and kind. Something that was so reassuring even if Guren didn’t understand how he managed to do it.

Even if Guren cried – and as ashamed as he felt about it – his father would just wipe his tears away with a soft smile and told him that everything would be alright. Guren tried his hardness not to cry in front of him. He was the Heir of the Ichinose clan. He should not be crying over anything. Yet, his father kept telling him that it was okay to cry. That he would get passed it.

Guren was laying in his bed for the night. He was curled up on his side as his father stepped into the room. He still had that kind smile on his face as his gentle eyes looked down at him. “You should be asleep, Guren.”

“I can’t sleep.” Guren murmured as he adjusted the blanket and looked to his father.

Sakae stepped more into the room, coming to his bedside and sat down. He reached out and started to run his fingers through his hair. His father’s scent reached his nose. It was a strong one. Comforting. Guren found himself leaning a bit closer as his father smiled at him. “I’m sorry, Guren.”

“Dad,” Guren murmured and lifted his gaze again and shook his head, “It’s my fault.”

“No, it’s not.” Sakae whispered, “You’re just a kid, and I should teach you better.” His father went quiet as he looked away. He could see that look on his father’s face again. The one that he always got. Sakae was disapproving of his friendship with the Heiress of the Hiragi family, Mahiru Hiragi. They had met one day in the field near his house and had been playing together ever since. On a lot of the days, Mahiru would be away from him before the beatings would start. They blamed him for being her friend. Guren knew it wasn’t a good idea, but she was so nice. He actually had fun in the field with her. His father, while being reassuring, did tell him that they shouldn’t be friends but never stopped him either. Sakae looked to him with those soft eyes again, “Guren, I don’t want to tell you who you can and can’t be friends with but… I can’t see this happening to you anymore.”

“I’m okay, Dad.” Guren muttered back.

“I know you are.” Sakae replied as the bits of that smile returned. He reached out, soothing at Guren’s hair, “But we are Ichinose. If anything happens, they will blame you.”

“They already do.” The young Omega boy whispered as his grip tightened on the blanket. He was surprised whenever he met Mahiru. She wasn’t anything like the other members of the Hiragi family he had been in contact with. He was still surprised that she even wanted to be his friend. Actually, he had no idea why she would want to be friends with someone like him.

Guren could see that sad glimmer in his father’s eyes again. His father leaned over, pressing a soft kiss into his temple as he continued to sooth his hair back. “I love you, son.”

“I love you too, Dad.” Guren replied.

Sakae pulled back, standing up as he looked down at him with a smile. “Go to sleep. You need your rest.” His father turned to walk out of the room and Guren watched him go. Sakae stopped at his door, turning back to look at him with a smile. “Good night, Guren.”

“Good night.” Guren whispered back as his father completely stepped out of the room.

The young Omega boy sighed as he turned over onto his back and looked up to the ceiling. Sometimes, it felt like he could have everything. That there was nothing in this world that he couldn’t have. Guren was very much aware of who he was, but that feeling was still strong inside of him.

It would all be alright.

Just like his father said.

Guren turned to his other side, pulling the blanket a bit higher as he closed his eyes to get some sleep. It would all be alright. Before he knew it, Guren was fast asleep.

Guren knew that it probably wasn’t a good idea to come back to the field. It was something that he did every single day. Mahiru didn’t always come every day, but it was still a place that Guren found peaceful. The young Omega could sit in the field for hours. Rather it was watching the sky, the smell of the air, or even the feel of the grass underneath his hands.

Guren was sitting in the field at first, just looking out towards the horizon. He had last seen his father while his father left to go to work. His father had said goodbye to him, gave him a smile, and told him that he loved him before leaving for the day. Guren would eventually make his way back. The wind felt nice going through his hair. The sun felt nice on his face.

Guren’s attention was grabbed as he heard approaching footsteps. The chill went down his spine as he pushed himself up and turned. Those footsteps were too heavy to be a small child like him. Guren spun on his feet, stopping as he noticed it was a tall man with ashen hair and amber eyes looking at him. Guren swallowed harshly as it only took him a second to realize who he was looking at.

The man approached him with a smile, but that smile kept Guren on edge. He had never spoken to the man himself, but he knew who he was. Tenri Hiragi. The Head of the Hiragi family and the Order of the Imperial Demons. The leader of their main branch family.

“Good morning, Guren.” Tenri said as he approached.

“Good morning, Lord Hiragi.” Guren said back, bowing his head and giving a bow. Just do everything his father taught him. He was instructed to show the upmost respect to the members of the Hiragi family. Even if he despised them. Disrespecting this man could lead to worse things.

“You were expecting someone else.” Tenri went on to say as Guren straightened his back and started to walk towards him again. Guren had to keep himself from taking a step back. Don’t do a thing.

“No, Lord Hiragi.” Guren said quickly, forcing a smile as he shook his head, “Just enjoying the day.”

“You’re not that good of a liar yet.” Tenri drawled as Guren gritted his teeth. What was Tenri going to do to him? Guren was pretty sure he was behind why the others constantly came after him. Though, it could just be them. It was hard to tell sometimes. Guren just lowered his gaze as he kept his back straight. “Right now, that is beside the point. I knew I would find you here because of my foolish daughter.” Guren looked back up as he felt himself tense up. Tenri came here specifically looking for… him? “I need you to come with me, Guren.”

“With all due respect, Lord Hiragi,” Guren started as the nervousness started to hit, “Can I ask why?”

Tenri sighed softly and Guren paused as he saw the look on his face. It looked almost… empathetic. Guren was taken by surprise as Tenri kneeled in front of him to get eye level with him. Guren got a good look at his eyes and Guren could have sworn he saw concern in Tenri’s eyes. Why was he looking at him like that? Why wasn’t he just telling him to stay away from Mahiru and beating the life out of him? Why was he looking at him like that?

“Guren,” Tenri started, “I need you to come with me.” The man stopped speaking for a second as his gaze moved over Guren’s face. That look was still there. Even the tone of his voice was off. It was like he was trying to be reassuring but there was more to it. It was sending every alarm bell off in his head. “Your father has been hurt.”

It felt like the entire world stopped.

Guren shook his head, whispering, “My father’s been hurt?” Something happened to Sakae? Was he okay? What happened? Guren felt the fear and worry hit him next as he looked at the man. “Is he okay?”

Tenri let out another soft breath, giving him a softer look, “I came here to take you to him.”

What happened?

Guren felt like he couldn’t breathe as Tenri stood up and held out his hand. The young Omega boy looked to it, staring at the outstretched hand. His father has been hurt. “Where is he?”

“Come on,” Tenri beckoned him, “I will take you to him.”

Something felt wrong about this. Why was the Head of the Hiragi family here to get him and not someone else? If something happened to his father, why wasn’t his father’s most trusted friends and retainers here to get him? He vaguely recalled his father mentioning that he needed to go to the Hiragi compound today, but Guren hadn’t been listening much.

Guren couldn’t stop staring at Tenri’s hand as he felt completely paralyzed in place. If the Head of the Hiragi family was here to get him, it meant it could be bad. Why else would he be here?

“It’s okay,” Tenri said as he smiled and Guren found his gaze lifting up, “We must go quickly.”

Guren slowly nodded, reaching up and slipping his hand into Tenri’s. The man’s hand curled around his hand around Guren’s as the boy stepped forward to walk with him. “Is my father okay?” Guren questioned as he started to walk by Tenri’s side.

“I will explain everything on the way, but we really need to go get going, Guren.” Tenri stated.

Guren didn’t understand. The Hiragi were inherently cruel. Why was Tenri being so nice to him? Was it because his father had apparently been hurt? Right now, Guren couldn’t find himself thinking about it. His concern for his father was already greatly outweighing it and he just needed to see him. He needed to know if he was okay.

Guren walked by Tenri’s side and out of the field to head off in the direction where they would inevitably hit a road. Guren turned his gaze up towards Tenri for another moment. The man still had that look on his face. Was it bad? Guren was trying to keep his composure, but he was sure it was written all over his face. He just needed his father to be okay. If Tenri was here about this, that freaked him out even more.

They had gotten through the field and down to a connecting street and Guren was able to see a really expensive car sitting there. Tenri looked down at him, giving him another slight smile, “Come on.” Guren had almost hesitated to walk forward, but his need to see his father overtook that feeling. “This is my car.” Tenri pulled out a set of car keys and the two of them approached the vehicle. Tenri walked to the back passenger door and opened it up. He stepped back and nodded his head towards Guren. “Go on. We’ll go to your father immediately.”

Guren could feel his heart starting to pound in his chest as he looked at the backseat. Slowly, he started to get inside of the vehicle and Tenri remained there until Guren had buckled himself in. Tenri closed the door and Guren let out a sharp breath as he watched the man round the car to get into the driver’s side. He would have thought that Tenri had his own personal driver with how wealthy and powerful the man was. Maybe this all was so serious enough that he just came straight here.

Guren leaned back into the seat as Tenri got in and closed the door. The man turned over the car as Guren turned his gaze out the window. Why did something feel so… wrong? The car pulled out of the spot and started down the street as Guren turned his gaze back to Tenri.

“What happened?” Guren questioned.

Tenri looked to him in the rearview mirror as he hummed, “Your father was in an accident, Guren.”

The young Omega boy took in a deep, shaky breath. So, he was in an accident. Was it a car accident? Guren curled his fingers into his pants as he took another breath to try and calm down. “Was it bad?”

Tenri remained quiet at first as he turned off of the street and started down another. Guren felt the tension in his shoulders as he looked around again. Something was making him even more nervous about this. It could be just because of Tenri. He didn’t know. Either way, he had to be on his best behavior. Any behavior on his part could reflect onto his father and his family, so he had to be careful. Especially with who he was with.

Guren just kept his back straight despite the desperate need to continue to ask more questions. To find out more about what happened to his father. Tenri had finally spoke up again to say, “It was.”

“Is he…” Guren started as it felt like he was about to be punched in the gut, “Is he alive?”

“As far as I’m aware.” Tenri replied, “And that’s why it’s urgent we go immediately.”

Guren felt even more of that fear hit him. Please tell him that his father was actually still alive. That he was okay, and it wasn’t as serious as Tenri was making it sound. It made him scared. Would he ever see his father again? Would he see his smile? This morning couldn’t be the last time he ever saw him.

Guren tried to keep himself calm, but he was having trouble doing so. He looked back out the window as the city started to go by. He had to fight the tears. Don’t cry. Especially in front of Tenri. Keep the tears locked away until he saw his father, but he was afraid. He couldn’t lose him.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of, Guren.” Tenri stated and it pulled Guren right out of his thoughts as the boy turned his attention back to him. Guren wasn’t expecting the man to be so reassuring. “Even though it’s bad, I’m sure that he will be okay. I just want to make sure that you are there as the Heir to your clan.”

Guren slowly nodded as he decided to curl his hands in his lap and held on. Guren had to think positively. Tenri wasn’t saying that his father was dead. People survived accidents all the time. Maybe this really all was just a precaution, or even just some kindness. It felt strange coming from a Hiragi. They should just laugh at him. Watch him suffer at the thought. He didn’t understand, but he couldn’t question it either. If he said even the wrong thing to this man, that was it.

The boy kept finding himself looking over towards Tenri and trying to make sense of all of this. Right now, he was just trying to keep himself calm. The drive was completely silent and uncomfortable. It was for him at least. Guren found himself looking around the car. It looked so expensive. Even new. They had expensive cars too, but this screamed luxury. It felt more about the appearance of it rather than the car itself. Guren kept looking at all the pristine to perfection. Not a single thing out of place. Not a scratch on the interior. It looked like someone was rarely in this car. The car even had that new car smell.

Guren looked to everything in the car. It had to be a newer model. There were things in the car that he had only ever seen in those types. He did spot the clock which told him the time. They had already been driving for an hour. Was his father in Shibuya where the Hiragi family lived? Is that why Tenri was here? Guren kept staring at the clock. Something felt wrong. Guren tore his gaze away from the clock in favor of looking back to the rest of the car.

For just a second, Guren was actually afraid of touching anything in the car with the possibility of damaging something and facing this man’s wrath. For a family that could beat a child just for befriending one of them, he wouldn’t put it passed them.

Guren looked back out the window to see that the city was no longer in sight. His heart was starting to pound into his chest again. At that moment, all he wanted to see was his father. Guren focused on calming himself. Taking a few breaths. Just focus on that. Everything was going to be okay.

It just had to be.

The longer that Guren had started to look out the window, the more that feeling of dread started to hit. Even as he sat there, Guren couldn’t get this feeling to stop. Something felt entirely wrong about all of this. It just had to be his worry about his father. Guren looked back at the clock and a lot more time had passed. Were they heading to Shibuya? Is that where his father was?

“Lord Hiragi,” Guren finally decided to question, “Where are we going?”

Another smile had returned to Tenri’s face, “I’m taking you to your father. Just have some patience.”

Patience was one thing that he was exceptionally good at. Guren dropped his gaze again but found it fixated on the clock again. They had been in the car for a few hours at this point. The boy felt the embarrassment hit for a second whenever his stomach growled because it was well passed lunch time now, and he would have already eaten by now.

“Are you hungry, Guren?” Tenri questioned, and Guren felt the heat of embarrassment come to his face. The boy quickly turned his gaze away. It was definitely already getting later in the day. “Why don’t we get something to eat after we check on your father?”

Guren shot a glance back over towards Tenri. That definitely felt off. Guren felt like he should be appreciative of the offer. It could be just a form of reassurance due to something bad happening. Tenri could even be using it as a way to distract him from what was going on. Guren just wasn’t sure anymore. It could entirely be that Tenri’s act of kindness was innocent, but this would be the same man that would be continuing the cruelty that happened towards the Ichinose clan.

The longer that the drive lasted, the more that Guren was starting to get the feeling that something wasn’t right. This was never how he thought that Tenri Hiragi would be if they ever met. He was completely expecting uncertainty in viciousness. Guren wanted to say that maybe it really was just Tenri being nice to him due to circumstances, but he couldn’t shake this feeling. His father and his teachers had always told him to trust his gut, and right now, his gut was screaming at him.

Guren looked back out the window, noticing that he was seeing more woods rather than road and it made his heart sink. Where were they? It was making him start to panic as he turned to look behind them in the rear-view window as he tried to find anything that he recognized.

“Lord Hiragi?” Guren murmured.

“What is it, Guren?” Tenri questioned.

“Where are we?” The boy said back as he turned to face back towards the front. Something didn’t feel right about any of this. “Where’s my Dad?”

“I’m taking you to him.” Tenri replied, “Just sit tight.”

Every alarm bell in Guren’s head was starting to go off as he looked out the windshield. All he could see were trees. From the time, they had probably made it to Shibuya, but he had to admit that he wasn’t necessarily paying attention either. His mind had been so lost to what was going on with his father. Guren just wanted to see his father. Did his father get into an accident out here? Where even were they? He couldn’t see anything that would tell him exactly where he was.

Tenri had fallen back into silence as they kept going. Guren was starting to get even more freaked out. The boy looked around at all the trees as his started to race in his chest. Something was wrong about this. Instinctively, he had reached for the handle of the car door but stopped as he started to notice a house coming into view. Guren stopped everything he was doing as he saw it. This was not what he thought he would be seeing. What was this place?

“What…” Guren started as his gaze stayed locked to the house. “What kind of accident was my Dad in?”

Tenri pulled in front of the home, putting the car into park, and getting out. Guren inhaled sharply, trying the door himself but realized quickly that even though it was unlocked it wouldn’t open. The Omega boy looked back up once more as Tenri started to come around the car. As he looked around, all he saw was trees. For as far as he could see. It was all that it was.

Tenri came to the door he was at and opened it up before taking a step back. Tenri gave him a smile and said, “Come on, Guren. Your father is right inside.” Guren didn’t see another vehicle. Why would his father be here? Things just worked differently with their families, so there was a chance that he was telling the truth. Still, Guren felt his stomach tightening up. “Guren, do you want to see your father?”

The boy gave a subtle nod as he slowly started to unbuckle his seat belt to get out of the car. He kept looking around, trying to find anything that would tell him that his father was here. “My father is here?” Guren decided to question, “Where’s his car?”

“He took the train,” Tenri stated, “Met my guys at the station and came here.” Tenri gave him another gentle smile before nudging his head in the direction of the house. “He was asking for you.”

Guren didn’t know what to do here. Nothing felt right about this, but he did start to get out of the car. As he stepped out and a took a few steps away from the car, the feeling suddenly hit him. Run. Guren was pretty sure that his father had gone in his car this morning. Though, as soon as his father walked out of the house, Guren had took off himself. There could be a chance that he missed it.

Guren took another quick glance up at Tenri as the man held his hand out. Guren just stared at it, contemplating what he should do. He had no idea where he was now. Tenri could be telling the truth whenever he said that his father was inside. Their families all had secret facilities. This could just be one of them. It looked like one thing on the outside but was entirely something else on the inside.

Against the gut feeling that he had, Guren lifted up his hand and placed it back into Tenri’s. The man had started to guide him towards the house as Guren could feel his heart starting to pound a bit harder. Run. Get away. No. He couldn’t. This was Tenri Hiragi. That would be a terrible idea. Exceptionally worse since Guren had no idea where he was.

“Let’s get you to your father.” Tenri murmured, “I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you. We can go check on him inside.”

Guren just remained silent as they walked towards the house. Tenri’s grip was getting tighter despite the look on his face. It was starting to put him a bit more on edge as the Omega boy looked around at the home. “Lord Hiragi, what is this place?”

“Just a secret facility that the Order of the Imperial Demons use.” Tenri stated, “Your father had a bit of an accident, and a rather bad one, but he’s in a good place.”

They got to the door and Tenri had reached out to open the door. Guren peeked inside and noticed that it looked like a home rather than a facility. The confusion hit as they stepped inside. It was so eerily quiet in the place as Guren stepped completely in and he looked around. It was too quiet as if no one was inside.

Once they were inside, Tenri closed the door behind them, saying, “This way.” Guren didn’t really have a choice in following. If his father was here, he needed to see him. Guren needed to know if he was okay. Tenri continued through the home and down a hall. It was dark in the hall, and Guren had noticed that still dead silent sound.

Tenri had taken him up to another door and opened it up and revealed a room to him. There was nothing in the room and Guren frowned slightly as he tilted his head back so he could look up towards Tenri. “I thought—” Guren stopped the second he noticed that Tenri’s face had entirely changed. The dread hit him immediately as Guren felt the intense need to run hit once more. As he took a step back, Tenri’s hand tightened on his. “Lord Hiragi? Where is my father?”

“Don’t worry, Guren,” Tenri went on to say as he stepped into the room and pulled Guren with him. It had almost knocked the Omega boy off of his feet as he stumbled on his feet. Then, Guren found himself being pulled completely into the room to where Tenri’s back was to the door, but Guren was the furthest in the room. “It will all be okay. Just stay right here.”

“Lord Hiragi!” Guren gasped as Tenri let him go and the man had started walking backwards. Tenri just smiled at him, shaking his head as he stepped out of the room and the door slammed shut. Guren had barely made it to the door before he heard a lock flip. Guren smacked his hands against the door as he exclaimed, “Lord Hiragi!” Guren could feel the panic going through him as he started to shout on the top of his lungs. Desperately trying to get Tenri’s attention as he hit at the door. “Let me out!”

Guren was so confused.

What was going on?

Where was his father?

Guren stopped what he was doing and took a step back as he stared at the door with wide eyes. His father was never in an accident, was he? What was happening? Guren turned and looked around the room for a second before looking back towards the door.

Oh, he was in some serious trouble now, wasn’t he?

Chapter Text

Sakae Ichinose stepped out of his car and closed the door behind him. For the entirety of the day, he just had this feeling in his gut. He wasn’t sure what it was, but everything was telling him that something just wasn’t right about anything right now. Sakae kept trying to tell himself that it was nothing. Sometimes, people just get bad feelings.

Though, the second he looked up at his home, he stopped. Something felt even more wrong. Sakae wasn’t sure why he couldn’t breathe. It felt like a weight was crushing in his on his chest as he started up the pathway to go to the front door. He slid open the door and stepped out of his shoes as he listened. What he found odd was how quiet it was. It was too dead silent. He should at least hear something.

“Guren?” Sakae called out. He paused as he listened. Normally, Guren came to him if he called for him. He sighed as he put two and two together. Guren had to be out in the field again with that girl. “Guren!” Sakae tried again anyway as he started further into the home and down the hall. There were people who were supposed to be watching him if Sakae wasn’t home. Though, he knew his son. Guren could slip people easily. At least, he was typically always in the same spot to find him. Even though he had the thought of Guren being out in the field, Sakae still had the thought of checking his room just in case. Guren was supposed to finish all of his work before he could go off and play. It was the one thing that Sakae asked of him.

Sakae walked down the hall and the closer that he got to his son’s room, the more that dread came. His heart was pounding against his chest as he continued towards his son’s room. He didn’t hear a thing. Guren should be home. He always came to see him at the door. Looking up at him with his sparkling, vibrant eyes that always put a smile onto Sakae’s face.

Sakae heard nothing in the home. The Alpha Ichinose couldn’t explain why he was having this feeling in the pit of his stomach. That something was just… wrong. Sakae got to his son’s bedroom door and slid it open to look down at the tatami mat just in case if Guren had gone to sleep early. All that Sakae was greeted with was an eerily quiet room. Guren’s room was completely untouched. Looking the same as it did whenever Sakae had left for work that morning.

Nothing was out of place. Perfectly the way that it had been left. Sakae felt the confusion hit him as he looked it over. Guren’s blanket was still perfectly tucked against the tatami mat and unused. All the books on his shelves were still in the exact places that Sakae had last seen them. Then, the concern came. That wasn’t normal.

Where was his son?

Guren should have been home by now. He didn’t get any calls that Guren had gone back out to the field and ended up coming face to face with one of the many members of the Hiragi family. No one. Nothing. Sakae felt his chest tighten as he sucked in a breath.

“Guren!” Sakae shouted as he turned and started running through the house. One by one, he had started opening up doors. The Alpha Ichinose kept shouting his son’s name. Opening up every single door and looking inside to see if Guren might be in there or if he had fallen asleep somewhere else in the home.

He couldn’t find him.

It felt like it had completely taken his breath away as he realized that Guren had never made it home. Quickly, Sakae had went back to the front door and grabbed his car keys to head back out. There might be a place that Guren had gone to. It was so late. Guren should have been home already. Maybe, he just lost track of time, but Guren always came home before night fall. Guren would know to be back home before then.

Sakae raced back to his car, not even thinking as he hopped back into his car and turned over the ignition. He quickly put it into gear and pulled out of his driveway. Sakae’s heart was pounding the entire time he took the road. He had only decided to use his car because of the time and if he needed to go anywhere else. It was better than running the streets and screaming.

Everything felt so distant as he curled his fingers tightly around the stirring wheel. Where was Guren? What happened to him? Why wasn’t he home? Question after question came to mind as Sakae drove the road.

As he did, suddenly, all Sakae could see were headlights and he inhaled sharply just as he heard the sound of metal crashing into metal and the world went completely dark.

Guren didn’t understand what was going on. Tenri had stayed with him at first before eventually leaving the room and locking the door behind him. Guren’s heart was still pounding as he looked around the room that Tenri had locked him in. It was bare of anything. It was just a room with no furniture. Nothing. There were no windows in the room. Nothing but plain walls of a dull color. The young Omega boy felt the panic hitting him more as he desperately tried to get the lock to give away so he could get out. His hands hurt from how hard he was hitting the door. The door didn’t budge. It didn’t seem to matter how much that Guren hit the door or jerked on it, it wasn’t moving at all. It wasn’t even shaking.

Guren didn’t know what to do. What was Tenri wanting? Was his father actually okay? Was he really in some sort of an accident? Guren kept trying to figure out what was going on. Where did Tenri go? Why did he bring him here? Guren had a lot of questions going through his mind and didn’t know what to do about any of them.

Guren walked around the room as he ran his fingers over the wall. There didn’t appear to be another way out of the room. Guren was trying to make sense of everything. The boy kept moving around the room as he let out a shaky breath. He had no idea how long that he had been in this room. He couldn’t even tell what time that it was because he couldn’t see the sun or the moon. It could have been hours by now.

The boy stepped away from the wall and took a few steps back. Guren had been pacing the entire room since Tenri had left. Guren let out a shaky breath as he slowly started to sink down to sit on the floor. He had decided to put his back against the wall and stared at the door. He folded his arms up and placed them down onto his knees as his mind kept racing. He had no idea what was going on here. Where was his father? What did Tenri want with him? Guren kept staring at the door and asking himself why this was happening.

Guren inhaled sharply the second when he started to hear the lock starting to flip and then the door opened. Guren was immediately back to his feet and had his back pressed against the wall. Tenri slipped into the room with a white paper bag in hand and closed the door behind him. Guren let out a shaky breath as the man turned and faced him. Tenri gave him a smile and Guren felt his body tense up.

“Where’s my Dad?” Guren questioned as he took a step back to try and put more space between them. The boy was completely on edge. He felt like he could barely breathe properly as he kept his eyes on the man. He didn’t like that smile that was on Tenri’s face. Guren dropped his gaze, looking through the open door for a second before his attention was promptly brought back up.

Tenri continued to walk further into the room as he held up the bag in his hand. “I’m sure you’re hungry.” Guren lowered his gaze once more as the intense need to run hit him. Tenri was a lot bigger than him. He didn’t think he would be able to make a clean get away from him. Also, if he did anything wrong, that would just come back on his face.

“No.” The boy whispered quickly, shaking his head, “I’m not hungry.”

Guren’s stomach gave him away instantly as he could hear it rumble again. He was really hungry at this point, but at this moment in time, he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. Right now, he really just wanted to keep his distance. Food was the last thing on his mind. At the same time, he didn’t know if he trusted any food that came from Tenri right now.

Tenri just chuckled, clicking his tongue, “I would believe that if it wasn’t for the fact that I knew you were.” Guren hadn’t seen it at first, but he also noticed the drink that was in Tenri’s other hand. Guren remained silent, but he moved to take another step back. “It’s just food and something to drink.” Tenri continued to give him that smile. “It’s harmless. Unless if you count it being fast food.”

The boy eyed the bag again. “Thank you, Lord Hiragi,” Guren murmured, bowing his head slightly, “But… I would like to see my Dad now.” Just do whatever he could to try and get Tenri to let him go. What chance did he really have here?

Tenri started to laugh slightly again as he walked further into the room, and Guren was able to see the look on his face once more. There was something Guren really hated about the look in the man’s eyes. Tenri was keeping that smile on his face the entire time as he walked over.

“Sorry, Guren,” Tenri stated with a shake of his head, “But that isn’t going to happen.” Tenri had finished crossing the room, kneeling down in front of him with that same smile. “You belong to me now.”

He belonged to… Tenri now?

Did he hear that correctly?

Guren felt like he had stopped breathing. The boy shook his head, his eyes widening slightly as he whispered, “Lord—”

Guren was taken completely by shock as his head snapped to the side and the pain blistered to his face as he hit the wall before sliding down. The boy’s eyes widened as he reached up, touching at his stinging cheek. “Guren, you need to tread very cautiously with how you speak to me.” Guren turned his gaze back towards Tenri and all he saw was the man smiling at him. “From this moment on, you do as I say whenever I say it. You do whatever I tell you do.” What… What was going on? “I fear that the man you call a father has unfortunately been doing a terrible job with raising you. So, it would appear I need to do it myself.”

Guren shook his head, “No—” This time, he saw it coming. The back of Tenri’s hand struck his other cheek. Guren’s ear was ringing. The young boy touched at his cheek as he felt the pain surging through it. His father did nothing wrong. What was actually happening right now? Guren’s heart was pounding against his chest as he pressed his back into the wall.

Tenri watched him as Guren slowly started to put distance between the two of them. There was something different in Tenri’s eyes. He had been beaten before by members of the Hiragi family. Teenagers and adults alike. That slap felt like nothing but harder than anything he had ever felt all at the same time. Just the aura around Tenri had Guren wanting to get away from him. It was something so… dark. It actually started to scare him a little bit.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Tenri suddenly said with a slight smile. Guren inhaled sharply, feeling the confusion hit him now as Tenri reached out. On instinct, the boy flinched away from the touch, but Tenri still grabbed his face and made him turn his head towards him. “I don’t want to hurt you, Guren.” Guren didn’t believe that in the slightest, but what really caught him off guard was the I’m sorry that came from Tenri. “That is the last thing I want to do.”

“I want to go home.” Guren whispered.

Tenri shook his head, giving him a softer look, “This is home now.” The man replied and Guren’s eyes widened. The Alpha man placed down the bag of food by the drink. This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be… home. Guren shook his head as those words started to settle in. Tenri wasn’t going to let him go home. Did this mean that something really didn’t happen to his father?

“Why are you doing this?” The boy went on to question.

Tenri gave him another look as he shook his head, “I have plans for you, Guren.” The Alpha man stated, “You need to learn, and the only way you can do that properly is if I teach you.”

Guren swallowed harshly as he shook his head again. He was fighting the urge to just break down. This couldn’t be happening. “Is…” Guren started as he choked again, “Is my Dad okay?” The Omega boy almost didn’t want to know. He kept replaying the last time he saw his father in his mind. That couldn’t be the last time he had seen him. It just couldn’t be. Guren just needed his father to be okay. Tenri kept staring at him. It was making Guren’s stomach churn as the dread started to hit him. “He’s okay, right?” Tenri sighed, looking down and Guren felt like he had been punched right in the gut harder than anyone else had ever hit him. The denials started to fall from his lips as he felt the tears coming to his eyes. Tell him it was just another trick. That it was all a lie. “No…”

“There’s no easy way to tell you, Guren,” Tenri stated as he looked back up, “But your father is dead.”

His father was… dead.

Guren’s ears started to ring as the world around him started to spin and become blurry in a shield of tears. The boy shook his head again, whispering, “It’s not true.”

“It is, Guren.” Tenri replied, “I saw his body myself. It was him.”

“No!” Guren screamed as he jerked forward as the tears spilt over. He didn’t know why he did it, but he started hitting. Swinging his fists wildly and blindly as he lashed out. “You’re lying!” The boy couldn’t see anymore as his eyes continued to well up in tears. Please, tell him Tenri was actually lying to him and that wasn’t real. That his father was actually okay and he was lying. He had just seen him before all of this. His father had walked out of the house with a smile on his face. For a second, that was all that Guren could see as his small hands were caught.

“Guren, calm down.” Tenri ordered.

“No!” Guren screamed, “He’s not dead!”

“I’m sorry, Guren.” Tenri murmured, “But he is.” Guren found himself being pulled forward into Tenri’s chest as a hand landed on the back of his head, and he was unable to continue what he was. Guren couldn’t breathe. It couldn’t be true. It just couldn’t be. That couldn’t have been the last time he ever saw his father. “This is why I brought you here. I’ll take care of you now.”

Guren choked, squeezing his eyes shut, “It’s not true.” Please tell him that it wasn’t. It just couldn’t be. It was like everything in him in that moment snapped as he just cried. Breaking down completely as he kept trying to deny it. Each time that he did, Tenri kept repeating it. Over and over again.

It couldn’t be true.

His father couldn’t be… dead.

“It’ll all be okay,” Tenri murmured, “I’m going to take good care of you.”

That alone only made Guren cry harder.

This couldn’t be happening.

The boy had cried himself to sleep. Guren had kept himself rather composed until that moment. The second he heard of his dear father’s apparent premature demise, he had completely shattered. It was just the first step into succeeding with his plans. This was going to be a long game that he was playing, but it would be far worth it in the end.

Tenri stared down at the small child as he laid on the floor. His eyes were puffy, and the tearstains covered his face. Despite that, the young child looked oddly peaceful. Tenri had a lot of plans to set into motion. Not only was this a punishment to the Ichinose clan for their inability to keep the brat away from his daughter, but it gave him the perfect opportunity to work with other things that he wanted to do. The Ichinose clan should have known better than to go against the wishes of the Hiragi family. Now, they had lost their Heir. Even if Guren was still alive, he was no longer going to be Guren Ichinose. The Ichinose – namely, Sakae had done so poorly in raising the boy to be respectful and obedient to the Hiragi family. Tenri could fix that. He was sure the boy was young enough right now that he was trainable.

Tenri stared down at him for a second, humming as he reached out and used the back of his finger to wipe the tearstains away. There was such an innocence that came off of the boy. Soon enough, Guren wouldn’t remember a thing about his life, and Tenri wouldn’t have to do a single thing. Guren should be young enough that within time, he wouldn’t remember a thing. At least, not well. Though, nothing a bit of magic couldn’t deal with if he needed too. He could make a perfectly blank slate. Seal the boy’s memories and go from there. It was better for the experiment if he didn’t do that.

The Alpha Hiragi reached down, scooping the boy up into his arms. He ignored the untouched food. He would just get some more later. He couldn’t have his newest test subject dying on him now. Tenri adjusted the boy in his arms as he turned to walk from the room. Guren didn’t resist him much. That was surprising. He was expecting more push back even from a little boy. It gave him good thoughts for the future.

Tenri turned down the hall, starting towards another door as he kept Guren secured in his arms. It was easy enough to open it up and start down the stairs despite the child in his arms. The Alpha Hiragi walked down the stairs and rounded the corner. The room was dimly lit, so it gave him just enough to see as he crossed the room and placed Guren down onto the hospital bed that he had there. He reached up, flipping the switch on the wall to illuminate the rest of the room.

A smirk came to his face as he stared down at the boy. Guren barely stirred in his sleep. He was so exhausted that it didn’t appear like he would wake up soon. Though, Tenri couldn’t have him waking up yet. So, he reached over onto the tray that was on the nearby table and grabbed a vial and a syringe. The Alpha man uncapped the syringe and slipped the needle into the vial to pull out a bit of what medication was inside. He turned his gaze towards Guren, taking a quick estimation of how much that he weighed and what his height would be. Once he was satisfied with what he had, he double checked to make sure no air bubbles were in the syringe.

Once he was completed with that, he reached over and grabbed Guren’s arm. He turned his wrist over to reveal the inner part of his arm before injecting the medication into his vein. A bit of blood showed on the surface of the boy’s skin. Once the syringe was empty, he pulled it back and waited to make sure that it had kicked in. He couldn’t have the boy waking up any time soon. Keeping him under for now would be the best thing.

Tenri moved on, preparing the rest of what he needed to get started. This was just the first step. Once he was sure that Guren would remain unconscious for a while, he had started. First, he had taken a few vials of his blood. Making sure they were sealed and put into the tray for later. Tenri sat those off to the side and continued on with his work. The Alpha male turned back towards Guren, moving his head to the side as he brushed Guren’s hair out of the way of the back of his neck and behind his ear. Tenri reached over, grabbing what he needed and turned on the machine as he went back to work as he sat down onto a stool. Guren didn’t even stir underneath the effects of the drug. He didn’t even seem to notice it at all. Which was a good thing. Tenri still had a lot of work to do.

Tenri had focused on that task for a bit before he was satisfied with the results, placing down what he had in his hand and turned off the machine. He sighed, standing up from the stool, and started around the room. On the other side of the room was an outfit and five skintight bands. He returned back over to Guren and slipped each band into place. One on each ankle, one on each wrist, and then finally around his neck. At first, they remained loose which he would get to in a moment to complete them. He moved on to changing Guren out of the clothes that he was wearing. Pulling off the traditional clothes and discarding them onto the floor before slipping on the new clothing. With his test subject in the clothes, he focused on the bands. He started the spell, watching the spell craft that was written on them starting to glow as each band tightened onto Guren’s skin. Satisfied, he stepped back.

This was his test run. Now, the question would be if Guren could survive it. He was quite the perfect test subject for him. Someone from a lowly branch that no one would truly care if he disappeared or what happened to him. He had heard about the boy’s potential through the grapevine. He couldn’t chance someone of true strength coming from the Ichinose of all branches. That just could not happen. Though, if he had the slightest bit of potential, it wouldn’t hurt to see how this would go. Honestly, he didn’t really care if Guren lived or died. It was merely to see if his idea would work. The only problem was, he didn’t know when.

Tenri turned, grabbing for a capped syringe that was full of a vibrant purple liquid. The Alpha man stared at the serum that he had been creating before looking down to the boy. He uncapped it before slipping the needle into Guren’s vein and injecting the serum into him. As he was, he listened to the sound of Guren’s breathing. It had picked up. Turning fast and labored as he injected the serum into his body. If he could get this experiment to work, it was entirely a game changer. He placed down fingers down onto Guren’s pulse point and felt how quickly it was going. Feeling the signs of tachycardia kicking in. Once the syringe was empty, he pulled it back and placed it off to the side as he kept monitoring Guren’s heartrate and breathing. At first, it remained so quick.

For a moment, he thought that the serum might actually be killing the boy before slowly, Guren’s heart rate started to regulate, and his breathing started to even out. Tenri hummed in interest as he dropped Guren’s wrist once his heartbeat was entirely back to normal.

“How interesting.” Tenri mused, “You’re quite the little fighter.” Only time would tell from here on out. Tenri turned, grabbing the pen that was sitting on top of his notes and started to write down his observations. He would monitor Guren a bit longer and see if there was any other change. Now, it would just be seeing if he survived through the night after that injection. If he did, he would carry on with phase one.

Tenri looked up as he heard approaching footsteps and a man came down the stairs to say, “Lord Hiragi, I’ve completed my mission.” He stated as he bowed.

“Good.” Tenri stated as he looked back down to the notes. “And you did everything I told you to do?”

“Yes, sir.” The other confirmed. “It is all done.”

Tenri hummed again as he finished up the notes and dropped the pencil as he turned to look at his servant. “And you are certain of this?”

“Yes, sir.” The other repeated.

“Good.” Tenri drawled as he started to walk forward, “That will be all. You have done me well.”

“I’m glad, Lord Hiragi.” His servant stated, “Is there anything else that I can do?”

“No, your services will no longer be required.” Tenri said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out what he needed. With a smirk, he looked at the servant. “Now, I have no need for you.”

His servant’s eyes started to widen as he murmured, “Lord Hiragi?”

“I can’t have any loose ends.” Tenri drawled as he jerked forward, and he plunged the knife that was in his hand straight into the stomach of the servant. He heard the servant let out a sharp gasp. Tenri twisted the blade, smirking as he heard the servant choke on his own blood. The blood started to seep out of the man’s mouth before slipping down his chin. He coughed, causing more blood to come up. Tenri hummed for a second, shaking his head, “You didn’t see that coming?”

“Lord—” The servant croaked out as Tenri jerked the knife out and pushed the servant to the floor. He exhaled sharply, clicking his tongue.

Now, he had that mess to deal with. At least here, no one could hear a thing. No one to hear someone scream. No one to find the place. It was warded. Only those who knew it was here would be able to find it without feeling the need to turn in the opposite direction. It was just better that way.

Tenri hummed and walked over to the table across the room to put the knife down. The Alpha walked over to the sink, turning on the tap so he could cleanse his hands of the blood. Right now, he didn’t need any people knowing about his test subject or the experiment. The less people who knew, the better. Tenri needed the best results possible. Also, he couldn’t have anyone going around talking about it either. The last thing he needed was any outsiders breathing down his neck.

Tenri had planned it out rather perfectly. Every piece of the puzzle was moving perfectly into place and no one had to know about it until it was time. For now, Guren would remain right here. No matter how long it took, he was going to make sure that this worked. Though, it was just a bit of fun too. To see the limits that someone could go. They said that children were rather resilient and could put up with a lot. There was a lot of innocence that came off of Guren, and that innocence was needed for the first phase of this experiment. The more that he researched and looked into it, it was the way that it was going to work out.

Tenri got his hands washed, wiping them off onto a towel as he turned to look back towards Guren. He once again looked completely peaceful. Completely unaware of his new fate. For now, all the boy would think is that Tenri was going to make him learn his place. That he had to learn what it really meant to be a servant of the Hiragi family. Of course, that was on the list too, but that was only the disguise for his plans. No one needed to know exactly what he was doing, and if Guren didn’t either, that was even better.

Honestly, Tenri doubted that Guren would ever attempt to run away from him. The boy was going to be too scared too. Even if he believed his father to be dead. Guren knew exactly who Tenri was and what he represented. Even at such a tender age, he would know what it would mean to go against him. To go against the Hiragi family. He might be a small child, but even Tenri believed that he wouldn’t do so. It was rather perfect. It was the perfect time to start to mold and brainwash this boy into being the perfect test subject for him. It was only just the beginning, but he would go on from here.

Tenri had let Guren lay there for a bit longer before he had finally decided that he was finished for the day. He would carry on with the rest of what he was doing later. There was no need to have Guren here right now. So, he scooped him up once more and started back up the stairs.

Instead of taking Guren back to the room that he had previously been in, he had went up the next set of stairs to the second floor. Everything was already ready for him. Though, there were probably some things that he would need to get. Tenri wouldn’t be able to be here at all times. He had to at least make sure his test subject lived just long enough for him to get more of an accurate read on the effects of the serum.

Tenri got to the room that he wanted and stepped inside. It was a small bedroom with a small, conjoined bathroom. He walked over to the small bed that was there and quietly placed Guren down onto it. He grabbed for the blanket, throwing it over him as he stepped back.

Tenri smirked a bit more as he turned and walked out of the room. He closed the door behind him and pulled the key out of his pocket to lock the door before using magic to completely spell the room just in case if Guren got out. Guren wouldn’t be able to leave the home anyway. Not without Tenri’s explicit permission. If Guren tried, he was going to learn that the hard way. Guren would have what he needed in the room for a few days if Tenri wasn’t able to get back. He felt like he would be rather busy here in the next few days.

They did have a missing child on their hands.

And Tenri had already put everything into place so no one would suspect a thing.

Chapter Text

Guren had felt awful whenever he had started to wake up. The Omega boy’s entire body felt heavy as he started to sit up. It was so dark. He rubbed at his eyes, unable to see anything well but he did feel something soft underneath him. Guren dropped his hand down onto the surface in confusion as he felt a bed underneath him. What happened? The last thing he remembered was—Guren froze. It all came crashing back as he remembered Tenri’s words.

His father was dead.

Guren felt like breaking down into tears all over again. It really couldn’t be happening. Tenri had to be lying to him. But why would he lie? The Hiragi family loved tormenting the Ichinose clan. That alone felt like it was enough for Guren to actually believe it. He wanted to see his father. Even if he was… gone.

In that moment, Guren felt so guilty.

Maybe he should have actually listened to his father. His father had tried to be supportive of him, but he also tried to instruct him too. Tenri brought him here to teach him. If his father was truly gone, that meant Guren was the supposed to be the next in line. Guren was too young for that. There was no way that he could do it, but he was never supposed to lose his father either.

Please tell him that it wasn’t true.

It just couldn’t be.

Guren wanted to break down and cry again. He wanted to throw up. His head was pounding as his stomach churned with the need to get sick. The boy looked around for a second at the dark room. Where was he now? All of this was real, wasn’t it? The Omega boy curled up slightly on the softness of the bed as his gaze moved around. He had no idea where he was anymore. His arm was sore. Actually, his entire body felt sore. Guren ran his hands over his arms and stopped as he realized that he was no longer wearing sleeves. He looked down, using a bit of the light that he had to look at his wrists and noticed the bands that were there.

The boy frowned slightly as he touched at it. They were soft to the touch, but the hair on the back of his neck was standing up. Something about it freaked him out. There was this voice in the back of his head telling him to stop touching it so that was exactly what he did.

Guren went back to looking around the room. It didn’t seem to be the same room as before. The Omega boy moved a bit, hating the way that his stomach just flipped. It made him want to throw up right then and there, but he had managed to somehow compose himself.

Carefully and slowly, Guren slipped off of the bed and started to look around. He walked a few steps, and his hands hit the wall. The Omega boy used the wall to navigate through the darkness as he felt across it until he found a switch. He flinched slightly from the light assaulting his eyes as he looked around. It took a moment for his eyes to completely readjust as he took everything in. It looked like a bedroom. Guren spotted the door and went towards it. The second that he touched the door; he felt a zap that caused him to recoil. It was enough that it didn’t completely stun him, but it sent a tingle up his arm. Guren took a few steps back as he stared at the door. What was that? If he barely touched the door and it did that to him, what would happen if he fully touched the door or attempted to get out?

Guren didn’t know what to do. Did he just wait? Try and find another way out? Where was he even supposed to go if he did? Guren had no idea where he was, and his father—Guren choked as he let his gaze move around the room. There was another door connected to the room which he did walk over too. The Omega boy was nervous to touch the door at first. So, he did ignore it. The Omega boy let his gaze move around the room as he tried to find anything to help himself.

Guren’s gaze went to the cabinets as he walked over to them. He opened it up and revealed food to him. It all looked like items that wouldn’t perish quickly aside from a loaf of bread. There was water in the cabinet too. Everything looked to still be completely sealed, but it didn’t make him feel any better. The Omega boy simply closed them up and took another step back.

What was going to happen to him now?

Was it really all true?

Everything that Tenri said?

Guren tried to stop the wave of emotions that hit him. None of this could be true. The Omega boy couldn’t believe it. He had just seen his father. Guren wanted desperately for none of it to be true.

The Omega boy froze as he heard the lock flipping and he immediately moved. He didn’t know why he did it, but he slipped right underneath the bed. He held his breath as he heard the door open and shut before the heavy foot falls that followed. Guren stared at the feet that came to the edge of the bed before he heard, “Where are you?”

Guren didn’t say a word. Instead, he slipped a bit more back towards the wall to try and put as much distance as possible. That was definitely Tenri’s voice. Tenri remained standing there at first before Guren watched him starting across the room. His gaze briefly turned towards the door with the thought of coming out of his hiding spot and bolting towards the door.

“Where are you, little mouse?” Tenri mused. Tenri had checked the two doors in the room, and Guren was able to see exactly what they were. One was a small bathroom, and the other looked like what he would guess was a closet. Tenri kept those doors opened but turned back towards the bed. “I know you’re under there. Come on out.”

Guren didn’t want too, but he listened anyway. Slowly, he started to come out of the hiding spot as Tenri looked down at him. As he crawled out, he sat back as he looked up towards the Alpha man. “I want to go home.” Guren murmured. “I want to see my Dad.”

“This is home now.” Tenri stated as he kneeled down in front of him. “You are far too young to lead your clan, and since you are a small child… There will be people with malicious intent. So, this is the only way we can keep you safe.”

Guren shook his head, “There… There has to be another way.”

“I’m sorry, Guren.” Tenri replied with a shake of his head, “There is not.”

The Omega boy was trying desperately to cling to what little composure he had left as he shook his head again, “I want to see my Dad.”

“He’s dead, Guren.” Tenri said back to him. “There is no seeing him.”

“I want to see his body.” Guren said quickly, “Please.” The Omega boy choked for a second as he looked down. He balled his fists as he squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to try and stop the tears. “I need to say goodbye.”

“Guren,” Tenri’s voice had changed, and the Omega boy froze as he felt a hand on his shoulder. It made him look up to see that Tenri was giving him a softer look. “There is nothing left. He was in a severe accident. You don’t want to see him that way.”

“What?” Guren whispered.

“They had to identify him by his dental records.” Tenri replied, “You don’t want to see him like that.”

It felt like it was crushing him. It was that bad? Guren wanted to break down into tears again as he shook his head. None of this could be true. The denials were going back through his mind. Guren curled up, pulling his legs to him as he shook his head, “He can’t be gone.”

“I know I brought you were under false pretenses,” Tenri went on to say, “But I needed you to come with me. I had to do whatever it took to keep you safe.”

Guren froze as he heard those words, and he looked up towards the Alpha man. Tenri was giving him that same soft look and a gentle smile. Guren had never thought that Tenri could have that look on his face. He didn’t understand it. How could a Hiragi be so kind to him? Especially Tenri Hiragi. Tenri’s hand felt secure on his shoulder. It didn’t feel like he was trying to hurt him. Rather, it felt like it was meant to comfort or be reassuring. It left him feeling confused. Tenri stood up and walked over to the cabinet. He opened it up and pulled out what looked like to be a small snack and a water bottle.

The Alpha man turned and took a seat down next to him and placed the water down. Guren’s attention was left on the bottle as he could hear the package being opened up. Tenri placed it down next to the water. Guren’s stomach grumbled from seeing the snack. Guren wanted to ignore it. He kept looking at it as his stomach twisted up from hunger.

“You need to eat something.” Tenri stated.

Guren didn’t want too. At the same time, he was afraid of what Tenri was going to do if he didn’t. He reached out and took one of them. The Omega boy took a bite of the snack. Guren eyed Tenri as he ate the small bite. Right now, he couldn’t do anything to anger Tenri. The Omega boy just simply went with quietly eating the snack. Each time that he appeared as if he wasn’t going to reach for it, Tenri would push it a bit closer to him.

Was he just at Tenri’s mercy now?

What was going to happen to his clan and the Order of the Imperial Moon?

There were so many questions going through his mind, and it felt like it was crushing down onto him, and he had no idea what to do with all of it. Guren couldn’t just break down. He knew that he needed to get out of here, but he didn’t know where he was or how he would get out. What was he supposed to do? Tenri Hiragi was an adult man and Guren stood no chance physically against him. He doubted he’d be able to outrun him either. Tenri probably knew everything about the location here. There was no way what he was saying about keeping him safe was true.

“You know, Guren,” Tenri went on to say as Guren continued the snack. “You have a good chance here to bring some change.”

“Change?” Guren questioned softly as he looked back to the Alpha man.

“Right now, you are far too young to be a leader for your clan.” Tenri replied, and Guren was already getting a bad feeling about all of this. “For now, you will remain here, but you have a good opportunity at your hands. You can change everything that happens to the Ichinose.”

“I can?” Guren murmured, “But—”

“I’m not a man without reason, Guren.” Tenri stated. The Alpha man held his hand out and smiled to him, “All you have to do is take my hand, and I will give you everything you could ever want. All your hopes and dreams, I will make them into a reality.”

Guren didn’t know if he could believe him. The Omega boy stared at the man’s hand for what felt like forever. What would his father do? Guren needed to do what was best for everyone. That’s what he needed to do.

So, Guren lifted up his hand and slipped it into Tenri’s.

What other choice did he really have?

Sakae felt so groggy whenever he started to come too. The first thing he noticed were the sounds of the beeping machines. The Alpha Ichinose squinted his eyes as he started to look around the darkened room. His mouth felt so parched, and his throat was scratchy and dry. He blinked a few times as his vision started to correct, and he noticed that he was in one of their hospitals.

What happened?

How did he get here?

Sakae turned his gaze, looking at the monitors that he was connected to. It would appear that he was connected to a heartbeat monitor, an oxygen monitor, and a few others. The IV was in the back of his hand. He could feel it. He could feel the nasal oxygen line across his face.

As he started to move around, he heard noise outside of the door and it took a second for his vision to completely correct as he saw Samidare Yukimi and Masanori Hanayori coming into the room. Both of his friends and retainers stopped in their tracks the second they noticed him. Instantly, everything that had been in their hands had been set down as they hurried over.

“Oh, Sakae-sama,” Masanori said as he shook his head, “I’m so glad to see you awake.”

“What happened?” Sakae croaked out. He could hear the scratchiness of his voice as Samidare walked over to where there was some water and grabbed one to bring it over. He had helped Sakae take a drink and the water felt so refreshing. He looked between the two of them as he noticed just how much his head hurt.

“We found you unconscious in the road, Sakae-sama. You were in a car accident.” Samidare stated as he placed the water down. “Do you remember anything about what happened to you?”

Sakae leaned back against the pillows as it all started to race back. Right, he came home, and he went looking for Guren and couldn’t find him in the home. Then, he had headed outside…  Getting into his car. Then… car lights. It was all flashing back in his mind now. His heart skipped a beat as he inhaled sharply. He looked up to his friends as he shook his head.

“Where’s Guren?” Sakae questioned, “Where is my son?” Sakae saw the way that Samidare and Masanori exchanged glances. He didn’t like the looks that had came to their faces as he started to shake his head again despite the pain that it caused. “Where—” He attempted to start to push himself up, but that had promptly caused both of his friends to move in to try and get him to lay back down. “I need to see my son.”

“Sakae-sama,” Masanori said quickly as he shook his head.

Sakae paused as he saw their faces again. The sympathy. The anger. The mixed array of emotions in their eyes. Even Samidare’s. And he was known for how stoic he could be. It made Sakae freeze as he whispered, “How long have I been here?”

“The damage to your brain was quite severe. You had a skull fracture and internal bleeding in your brain. That isn’t including the other injuries that you had. They said it was a miracle that you lived.” Samidare explained, “So, they had to put you into a medically induced coma so your brain could heal properly, and they infused magic to help—”

“How long have I been here?” Sakae questioned, “I need to find my son.”

“Sakae-sama,” Masanori said quickly as he placed a hand on his shoulder, “You are in no condition to be moving around.” Sakae just shot him a glance as Masanori looked back at him. “You’ve been in a coma for two months.”

Sakae inhaled sharply, the air hitching in his throat as that information settled in. “Two months?” He whispered.

He’s been in a coma for… two months?

If that was the case, who has been taking care of Guren for all this time?

“Yeah.” Samidare replied. “That’s right.”

“And,” Sakae started with a shake of his head and looked between them, “What about my son? Where is he?” Then, he saw that look in their eyes again. They didn’t want to say what they knew. It was as if they were trying to formulate the words to say to him. He didn’t like the look on their faces. All the implications that it held. “What happened to my son?!”

“Sakae-sama… No one has been able to find Guren-sama since that night.” Masanori stated, “Everyone looked for days… Even now, they are still looking. We called the police just in case if Guren-sama just didn’t come home that night or had gone looking for you… But…” Sakae felt like he couldn’t breathe. His stomach twisted up as he felt as if he was about to get sick. His son was… missing? “There has been no sign of him. The police are still working on his case. They want to classify him as a runaway due to family history, but because of his age they are investigating it as an abduction.”

“This…” Sakae murmured as he felt his heartrate starting to pick up as his breathing started to do the same. “This can’t be happening.” He needed to get out of here. He needed to go find his son. Sakae had already started to move to start pulling the wires away, but he was stopped by both Samidare and Masanori. “I need to find him!” Sakae grimaced, feeling the pain going through his body, “Guren is five years old! My son wouldn’t just run away.”

“And we won’t stop until we are sure of what happened. We know he didn’t just run away. Guren-sama wouldn’t do that.” Samidare said quickly, “But you are no good to Guren-sama like this. They had to do surgery on you, Sakae-sama. You have to heal so you can be at your best to find your son.”

Sakae let out a sharp breath as he fell back against his pillows. He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes. This couldn’t be happening. His son couldn’t just be missing. His son didn’t run away. He needed to know. Sakae had to find him. He could feel it. Guren was out there somewhere. He was out there, and he was waiting for him.

“We will notify the police that you are awake,” Masanori continued, “Right now, you are the only person who might know might what have happened to Guren-sama.”

All Sakae could do in that moment was attempt to blink away the tears that had came to his eyes, “I need to find him.” 

What happened to his son?

Where was he?

Guren didn’t know how long that he had been here. Sometimes, it felt like Tenri was gone for an extended amount of time. The only way that he even really knew was from the food that he had. Guren was keeping what he ate down to a minimum. Between the fact that his stomach was really upset recently and he just didn’t have the desire to eat. It also felt like he needed to conserve what food he had. There would be times that Tenri was here. Just sitting there and talking to him. In a way, it felt really nice. It made him start to question if everyone in the Hiragi family really was as heinous as his mind made them out to be.

Being locked in the room had left Guren to his thoughts. All he could think about was his father. The last time that they had spoken. The smile that had been on his face as he promised to see him for dinner and that he loved him. All of that was gone now. Within the blink of an eye, his father was just gone. Guren cried every single time that he thought about him. It couldn’t be true. His mind told him one thing, but there was something inside of him that was telling him that it wasn’t true.

Denial.

That is what was going on.

Was this really all for his safety? Did he pledge loyalty to Tenri in that moment? Guren had so many questions going through his mind and not a single answer for any of them.

Guren had ventured the entirety of the bedroom including the bathroom and closet. It had everything he needed. Clothes, food, water, shelter. Just basic necessities for living. There was even soap, shampoo, conditioner for the shower and tub. A toothbrush, toothpaste, and a hairbrush. It was like he really did have everything that he needed.

Guren felt… lonely.

While there were times he definitely preferred to be by himself, it didn’t feel right to have no human contact at all. Well, asides from Tenri. Strangely, Guren would find himself watching the door and waiting for him. How many days have passed? Weeks? Guren had lost track of the time. Even with the little bit of light that he had from the window that didn’t help him keep track of anything. He was starting to go stir crazy just staying inside of this room.

Guren was still weary of Tenri. It was hard to tell if the man was truly being nice because he was or if it was just all faked. It was hard to tell. It was frustrating. But he was the only person that Guren had to talk to right now. Even talking to him didn’t feel right. Yet, he found himself doing so anyway. Guren didn’t really know what he could do at this point.

He wanted to scream.

He wanted to cry.

There were so many things that he was feeling, and Guren didn’t have the slightest clue how to make it all stop.

Guren had been sitting on the bed whenever he heard the footsteps coming. The Omega boy remained completely silent as he listened to the door being unlocked. Each time he had touched that door, it had shocked him. As if the door itself as electrified somehow. But it felt almost magical. Like it was meant to keep him in or ward him off. It was just the feeling that he got whenever he was close enough to it.

The door opened up and Tenri stepped in with a few bags that he simply sat on the floor. He closed the door behind him before he turned to look at Guren. “You look better today.”

Guren shrugged slightly. “I feel okay.”

Tenri hummed as he walked over. This was one thing that he noticed. Tenri kept checking on him. Guren didn’t know exactly what he was doing. Always pressing two fingers into his wrist or feeling his forehead. He was making sure that he actually did eat or drank something. Even going as far to check the food and water. That was exactly what Tenri did. He walked right over to the shelves and opened them up and started moving through everything.

“You’re not eating much.” Tenri stated.

“I just don’t eat much.” Guren replied. It felt best to just say that. The Omega boy dropped his gaze, shuffling a bit on the bed to press his back into the wall. Guren kept his eye on him though. Even though Tenri was the only person he had to talk too, Guren still couldn’t bring himself to be comfortable around him.

He didn’t trust Tenri. He had no reason too. Even if this man was showing him kindness, he was still a Hiragi. The Hiragi have abused and degraded his family for generations. Tenri was no exception to that. It still didn’t make sense to him.

“Are you sure that is what it is?” Tenri drawled as he questioned him. Guren eyed Tenri for a second before looking down. Guren nodded. Just keep going with that. It was a reasonable answer. He could feel the Alpha man’s gaze on him. “Alright then.” Tenri walked over to him, and it made Guren look up as the Alpha man kept staring down at him. “Come on.” Guren felt his heart skip a beat as his eyes widened. Tenri had already turned to walk away as Guren watched him go. “Let’s go.” Tenri simply added in as he got to the door.

Guren didn’t even hesitate this time as he slipped off of the bed and followed after him. In the back of his mind, he knew he should just run the second he was out of the room. If the door was enchanted or somehow electrified, who was to say that the rest of the house wasn’t too? Guren didn’t know if he could chance it. The second he thought about it, all he could think about was his father. What was the point in running if he didn’t have anyone to go home too?

“This way.” Tenri said as Guren was ripped out of his thoughts. He turned his attention back up to Tenri as the Alpha man reached out and placed a hand on his back. It made him still for a second, but Guren slowly talked himself into following him.

Tenri had led him down a set of stairs and back down towards the area that Guren had seen before. The second that the Omega boy looked at the door, Tenri had quickly ushered him away. Guren kept his eyes on the door anyway as he was led to another door. He only looked away whenever Tenri opened up the door and revealed another set of stairs to him.

Guren got this impending sense of dread the second he looked down on them. Tenri pushed at his back slightly and Guren swallowed down the forming lump in his throat as he started down them. The Omega boy didn’t like the feeling that he was continuing to get as the light was turned on whenever they got to the bottom and he was able to see what looked like a hospital room. That was the only way that he could describe it.

The second that he looked at Tenri, the Alpha man gave him a nod. “It’s nothing to be worried about. Come on.” Tenri stated, “If you do well, I’ll get you a treat. A toy, book, or whatever you want.”

“A… treat?” Guren murmured. Guren really didn’t like the sound of any of this. “What… What are we doing?”

“We just need to check on your health.” Tenri stated as he scooped up Guren. The Omega boy let out a gasp as his feet were lifted off of the ground and he was placed onto the hospital bed. Guren found himself eyeing everything in the room. It made him so nervous. He had been to Doctors before, but he was pretty sure that Tenri wasn’t a Doctor. Though, he had heard the man was incredibly smart. For all he knew, there was more to this man than he knew.

“I feel fine.” Guren murmured as Tenri walked around the bed and he decided to keep his attention locked ahead of him instead of looking around the room and worrying about what was really going on.

Tenri just hummed in response as he walked over to him. The Alpha man had pulled out simple things that it did look he was just going to check him over. It didn’t make him any less nervous. The Alpha had pulled out a stethoscope, and Guren just remained paralyzed as the end of it was pressed into his chest. Guren didn’t dare move. Tenri had already hit him before. He would do it again. Right now, the man didn’t seem to be mad at him or even to the point that he was going to lash out. Honestly, Guren preferred that. So, he just locked his gaze to the floor and waited as Tenri did whatever he wanted to do.

Tenri had been writing something down as he went. Guren remained quiet as Tenri sat down on a stool and looked at him with a smile. “This is all just a precaution, Guren.”

“Like a checkup.” Guren decided to say.

“Just like a checkup.” Tenri replied. Guren didn’t believe him. Something felt off about all of this. He just wasn’t sure what it was. The Omega boy turned his gaze slightly, catching the notebook that Tenri had been writing in. He couldn’t really make out what it said but it was a bunch of numbers form what he could tell. “I’m going to give you a shot of vitamins just to help you out.”

“Vitamins?” Guren questioned as he looked back to the man.

Tenri didn’t reply as he reached out and grabbed a vial of vibrant purple liquid. It didn’t look like anything he had ever seen before. Tenri had also grabbed a syringe and uncapped it. Guren subtly started to scoot away as he watched Tenri fill the syringe with it. He was pretty sure that wasn’t what Tenri said it was. The second the Alpha man looked at him, Guren had completely froze in place. Tenri then smiled at him as he reached over and grabbed Guren’s arm. The Omega boy winced as the needle was injected into his arm.

As the liquid was pushed into his vein, Guren suddenly felt his heart starting to speed up as his breathing picked up. Tenri had been quick with it, putting down the syringe and placing a hand on Guren’s back as the Omega boy struggled to just breathe for a second. What was that? It wasn’t what he said it was. It couldn’t have been.

Tenri had rubbed at his back until Guren felt like he could breathe properly again. What was Tenri really wanting from him? Tenri still had that smile on his face as Guren straightened his back a bit as his breathing evened out. He also suddenly felt so lightheaded as if everything was spinning. Tenri’s words started to become distant as he was coaxed to lay down on his back. Guren’s eyes felt so heavy as he laid there. Tenri was staring down at him, moving to write notes at the same time.

Did Guren say something? No. That would be a bad idea. What did Tenri just inject him with? Guren turned his head slightly and his vision continued to come in and out. He felt awful almost instantly. Tenri was saying something to him that he couldn’t make out. What was going on?

Guren didn’t really have much of a choice here. There was no way that he could get out of this. Guren turned his attention back to Tenri and the Alpha man was looking down at him now. “Don’t worry.” Tenri murmured, “Before long, you won’t even remember what life used to be like. You were learn everything that you are supposed to be soon enough.”

Was this about what Tenri had said before? That Tenri had to teach him himself? Guren didn’t feel like that was completely the truth. It scared him.

What was he supposed to do?

In that moment, all he wanted was his father.

Chapter Text

Guren had no idea how long he had been locked up in this house for. Within this room. Tenri had given him a few things. Sometimes, he would show up with books for him to read for fun and the others all appeared to be like textbooks. Guren had read them all. Multiple times. He had also been given notebooks. A set for the textbooks, and a set just for himself. Guren wrote in them a lot. Each time he filled one, Tenri did give him another. Guren had been placing the notebooks into the closet whenever they were done. He also put the books there too. Sometimes, he came with other things. Guren didn’t know why he was doing this. Was he just supposed to accept this fate? Being locked away in a room because he was a child and apparently supposed to be the one to now be the leader of his family.

Guren thought about all of them constantly. He thought about his father a lot. It was hard. Every time he thought of him, all Guren wanted to do was break down and cry again. It felt like he had ran out of tears a long time ago. He thought about the others too. Samidare Yukimi, Masanori Hanayori and their daughters. Shigure Yukimi and Sayuri Hanayori. They were all close to the same age. Guren was the youngest out of them. They were supposed to be his retainers or bodyguards. They were nice enough. They were always around him most of the time. Though, all of their fathers were friends and apparently their mothers had been too. It made him wonder if they were okay. What happened to all of them because of what happened to his father.

Guren still didn’t want to believe it. He had no way of actually knowing. All he had was Tenri’s word. He didn’t know if he could trust his words or not. Tenri did still show up often. Tenri was the only person that Guren saw. The Omega boy had figured out that the amount of food was meant for him to be able to have food and water for a few days. Tenri didn’t seem to show up every single day. There have been many times that Guren had woken up, gone about the day, and gone to sleep and Tenri had never once showed up. It was Guren’s best guess to why he was primarily locked in the room. He wasn’t completely sure if it was meant to just keep him confined to one space or if it was meant to make sure he didn’t escape.

Even if Guren seemed to see a chance to attempt to leave, Guren never took it. Tenri always had a grasp on him in some way or was standing right there. The Omega boy knew that he wouldn’t be able to get away from him. Guren spent a lot of his free time just going through training exercises that he could remember. It gave him another thing to do, and he didn’t want to forget how too. Then, it just brought back the memories. Practicing kendo in the backyard with his father or training underneath the watchful eyes of Samidare and Masanori. They always said he had talent. Guren could remember the feeling that it gave him. Especially whenever it came from his father. The smile that his father had. He could remember his father’s words, but in a way, it felt so distant. The one thing that continually came to mind was his father’s smile. Whenever he thought of his father, that always seemed to be the first thing that came to mind. And it felt so far away.

Guren wanted to go home. Yet, every time he thought that, it held that crushing reminder that his father was gone. His father was dead, and Guren never got to say goodbye. It felt like it was crushing him again and again. That he continually heard those words come from Tenri’s mouth. He would do anything to even have a picture of his father right now. Sometimes, he closed his eyes, and he didn’t see his father’s face. Only his smile. Like the rest of him was shroud in darkness and Guren couldn’t make out his features anymore. It was like the image of his father was slowly slipping away.

Tenri did keep his word about teaching him. They went over it every single time that Tenri was here. Guren was expected to speak to Tenri with the upmost respect. It was the only time that Tenri lashed out at him right now. If Guren messed up. So, he couldn’t. Messing up was not an option. His father had taught him that he was supposed to show the upmost respect to the Hiragi family. Taught him exactly what to say. It was hard. Especially because Guren knew he didn’t believe a word that came out of his own mouth.

One thing that he did notice with Tenri is that Tenri didn’t say his name anymore. It was always some nickname. It was almost as if Tenri was trying to eliminate his name away. Little mouse, right now, seemed to be Tenri’s favorite. It felt like a taunt. That Guren had been a mouse that the cat had caught. That Tenri was that cat.

Tenri was almost… affectionate towards him. Guren didn’t have any other way to explain it. He showed kindness as long as if Guren did what he wanted. If he did anything that Tenri didn’t like, it always ended the same. Either getting a closed fist to the stomach or a slap across the face. No matter what, Guren always ended up in the floor. Almost immediately, Tenri would apologize to him and tell him that he didn’t mean it and almost… comforted him. If Guren could call it that. It was leaving him so confused. Guren didn’t know what it was. When Tenri was angry, that’s whenever he used harsher nicknames on him. But never his name anymore. Guren almost didn’t know what his own name sounded like anymore.

In a way, Guren almost didn’t remember what life used to be like. He couldn’t remember what the sun felt like on his face or the wind against his skin. The sounds of human life. It all felt like a distant memory that he was trying to hold onto. It kept making him wonder how long that Tenri was going to keep him locked up in here. Tenri couldn’t keep him locked away forever. Was he just expected to stay inside at all times? Was this that strange way of Tenri’s protection? Why did Guren need to be protected, and by Tenri Hiragi of all people? Guren had his guess. He was the only Heir to the Ichinose clan. If his father was truly dead, that just left Guren. Guren would do anything just to even go outside right now. Sometimes, he heard the rain against the house. It made him long to just step outside and feel it against his skin. No matter what the weather was like. He wished he could do it.

But he had to live by Tenri’s rules. That was one thing that was very clear to him. He had no other choice. It was obey and listen. There was no asking for anything. There was no hopes and dreams with him. It was just… this.

And Guren was completely powerless to stop him.

Tenri still took him to the basement every now and then. Every time, he was injected with that purple serum. Guren knew it wasn’t what Tenri said it was, but it wasn’t making him sick anymore. Tenri seemed pleased with that. Just like Tenri said, he brought Guren a treat every single time now. Rather it was a snack or something else. It was like Tenri was rewarding him. It felt nice in a way. It was hard for Guren to explain even to himself.

Tenri was Guren’s lifeline now.

Tenri could kill him at any moment if he wanted too. Guren was very aware of that. It was another reason why Guren had decided that he needed to just comply. Complying was the best thing that he could do. Guren felt like it was the right choice to make. He didn’t have many. If any at all. That was the only thing that he knew that he could actually do.

Tenri wasn’t here yet. Guren was running low and food and water, so he was guessing that Tenri would eventually show up. He always did. Guren had to admit that despite his reservations and fears, it was nice whenever Tenri was around.

He wasn’t… alone.

He felt so alone. There was no one here. No one to talk too. No other human presence around him. Guren had found himself missing everyone. His father. His instructors. Sayuri and Shigure. He missed them all. He couldn’t even remember the sounds of many of their voices. It was hard to even remember exactly what they looked like. It was all feeling like it was getting locked away somehow.

Guren walked to the closet and placed down the book that he had been reading and finished onto the pile. The pile was getting bigger now. Guren sighed as he looked everything over. There were still clothes in the closet. Anything that he wore was taken out of the room usually after he filled up the basket that was in the bathroom and then they were returned to him. None of the clothes actually fit him properly. They all seemed to be a size too big. They were comfortable at least. Guren still had bands around his wrists, ankles, and neck. He wasn’t allowed to take them off and he couldn’t take them off. The last time he tried, pain shot through his body. Guren never did try again.

The Omega boy turned, laying down onto the floor as he stared at the blank wall that was inside of the closet. There was a little corner in the closet that was tucked away from everything else. Sometimes, he found himself just lying in here. He never knew why he did it. It was as if he was coming in here and locking all the thoughts away. It was like a blank slate on the wall. Completely unmarred of anything on the surface.

Guren hummed to himself as he looked at the wall. He reached out, running his fingers over it before an idea struck him. He sat back up, reaching over towards the notebooks as he grabbed for one of the pens. He had a few of them, so this should be fine. Guren focused on the wall as he started to scratch the head of the pen into the wall. Surprisingly, it actually worked to start chipping away the wood. There was one thing he could never allow himself to forget.

As he scratched into the wall, he pushed away the small chips that came out as he kept going. It felt more instinctive to do it. Something was telling him that he needed to do this. It drove him to make sure that it stayed. Practically driving the head of the pen into the wall even as it made his hand hurt. Once he was done, he pushed all of the chips away and stared at the now marked up wall. A slight smile came to his face as he dropped down the pen. It just made him feel better.

Guren didn’t have much time to get lost his thoughts as he heard the familiar footsteps. The Omega boy pushed himself up, hurrying out of the closet and silently closing the door before quietly rushing back over to the bed. He slipped back up onto it and grabbed for the closest thing to him as he placed a new book in his lap and opened up to a random page as he heard the lock turning. The door opened up a second later and he looked towards where Tenri had stepped into the room.

Like always, the Alpha man had two brown bags with him that would hold water and food or anything else that he might be out of. Tenri closed the door behind him as he walked over to the shelves and placed down the surface that was underneath the cabinets. Guren watched him as he did so, and he closed the book. Acting as if he had been reading it the whole time. Tenri would get angry if he found out about what was in the closet. So, he needed to act as if he didn’t do anything.

Tenri didn’t seem suspicious of him, so Guren just let himself relax as Tenri closed up the cabinets. The Omega boy placed down the book as Tenri turned to him. “You’re lying, aren’t you?”

Guren shook his head, “No.” He whispered. The panic had started to temporarily hit him. Tenri was stalking closer to him as the Omega boy felt his heart skip a beat. Just act completely natural. The Alpha man kept looking down at him with this look in his eyes. A sparkling glint in his eyes. Guren had found that it was best to be cautious whenever he saw that look. He quickly thought of any excuse that he could use. So, he said, “I’ll try and eat more.”

Tenri just stayed silent. The Omega boy sat there and wondered if he might have made a mistake at first as Tenri reached out and grabbed at the back of his head. Guren fought to keep the pained look off of his face as he could feel his hair being pulled into a harsh grasp. The Omega boy found himself staring right back at Tenri. Doing his best to try and keep his emotions in check. That nothing was showing.

They remained just like that for a few minutes. Tenri then smiled and the grip loosened on his hair. Guren felt the shock hit him as Tenri just simply let him go and turned to walk away.

“Come on, Guren.” Tenri stated, “It’s checkup time.”

The Omega boy just let out a sharp breath as he pushed himself up and slipped off of the bed to follow after the man. Guren didn’t want to do this. It wasn’t what Tenri said it was. Guren just didn’t know what it actually was.

If he didn’t do what Tenri wanted, what would he do to the people that Guren was supposed to protect in the future?

It had been months since the accident. It had been months with no new news about what happened to his son. Where he was or what happened to him. The police had multiple theories on what happened to his son that night. That either, he ran away on his own free will after statements from members of Ichinose clan and branch families spoke of the bad blood between the Ichinose and the Hiragi family. Or he had stayed out too late and had gotten lost on his way home. Or… he had been kidnapped. The police thought that it was a recovery. He had been questioned by Detectives on what happened that night, the possible whereabouts of his son, and anything else he could remember. The police told him that due to his son being so young it was far more likely that he was already deceased. That he was dead before Sakae ever made it home that day.

Sakae didn’t believe a single word.

Guren was alive.

He could feel it.

Unless if Sakae had seen Guren’s body himself, he would never believe that his son was actually dead. That there was still a small chance that his son was still out there, and he was alive. As long as if there was that chance, Sakae refused to give up hope.

Sakae had completely healed from the accident. They had used magic-induced healing and medicine to help with it once his brain was in a stable enough condition that it would be safe to use. Sakae had been putting all of his available resources into trying to find out what happened to his son.

Sakae would not stop until he had some answers.

Sakae just needed something.

He knew that Guren wouldn’t just run away and Guren never ventured too far from home that he would get lost. He was certain that someone had taken his son. There were just so many possibilities of what happened that night that no one could agree. Many did believe it was unlike for such a tender age child to simply run away and not return home by night fall. None of them believed it. At least, not among the Order of the Imperial Moon and the Ichinose clan. Guren wouldn’t do that. He might be biased, but he knew that Guren was smart. If he had gotten lost, he would have found a way to contact Sakae or someone else. Guren would not just do this on his own free will. Sakae was positive that someone had abducted his son, but he just didn’t have proof of it.

If Guren had gotten lost or ran away, they should have found him by now. Sakae had been pouring over everything. He had copies of the case files. Everything that he needed. All he knew was, he just had this gut feeling that his son was still alive. He felt like he would know if Guren was truly gone, btu that feeling was not there. Maybe it was truly senseless, and he was trying to cling to dreamless hope. He just knew there had to be more. Something that was clearly in sight, but he just couldn’t see it.

Sakae had tried to think of everything. Someone involved had to know about magic. Otherwise, why target a magical organization? Why target the Heir to one? There were plenty of people just like them out there. All over the world. Sakae was trying to think of any time that someone might have been looking in their direction. That there was something that he had completely missed. He knew that it could be entirely possible that Guren could have been kidnapped by someone who had just seen an opportunity. That it had nothing to do with being from a magical organization or having connections such as it.

The problem was that his brain was completely fuzzy. He couldn’t think straight. He had been over it time and time again. Every single piece of information. The only thing that he knew for certain was that Guren never made it home. Sakae had been prepared to go out to the field and see if Guren might still be there. If he wasn’t home, that was usually where he was. It felt like there was a piece missing to all of this. Just one vital piece of information. If Sakae could just find that missing piece, he knew that he could find his son.

How did a five-year-old just disappear without a trace?

It was… impossible for a small child to pull off alone without being found or someone seeing them.

There was just no moving on. All Sakae could do was move forward. Keep moving on in life to continue to try and find the answer. Sakae could not allow himself to freeze in time. If he did that, he would be no good to Guren. It was just exceptionally hard. It was difficult not to. It was so hard to breathe. It was hard to wake up in the morning. Sakae couldn’t even stay in the same house. It was completely locked up and guarded now. Sakae had tried to stay in the home, but it had just been too hard.

What Guren needed right now was for Sakae to be his father. Sakae had felt so powerless to do anything to help him. With so few answers, Sakae had to step up. Do everything that he could to find his son and bring him home. Freezing was not an option. That wasn’t what he should be doing. Sakae knew better. He had to do it for Guren.

Sometimes, he wondered how people did it.

Because of the vow that he made himself, Sakae found himself in Shibuya. Everyone knew that his son was missing and presumed dead. They didn’t hesitate to throw it in his face. Sakae just held his head up. They believed Guren was dead. Sakae did not. Maybe it was because he was Guren’s father and he just knew. No one had to believe him. Sakae didn’t need them too. He could hang onto that little bit of hope.

Sakae was currently with the rest of the Heads of the family. He had to admit that he had tuned out most of what they were saying. Guren’s sixth birthday would be coming up. There was a part of him that wanted to hope that wherever Guren was, that he had food… That he had water… That he had shelter. That he was smiling. Realistically, and considering the situation, he knew that probably wasn’t possible. Sakae was just trying to imagine his son with a smile on his face. Seeing the sparkle of his eyes and the light that radiated around him. Thinking of all the darkness was not a good idea. The more he thought about that, the more likely it would consume his thoughts, and he would completely fall apart.

“Sakae?” Sakae turned his head, humming softly as he noticed that it was Tenri Hiragi who had addressed him. “Is there a reason that you are ignoring everyone?” Tenri had a tone to his voice. It was practically telling Sakae that he wasn’t happy with Sakae.

“A thousand apologies, Lord Hiragi.” Sakae replied, “It would seem my focus is not quite with me today.”

“You need to get your head out of the gutter and pay attention.” Tenri snapped. “I will not tolerate the disrespect, Sakae.”

“Of course, Lord Hiragi,” Sakae said back to him with a slight nod, “Again, many apologies.”

Sakae tried to put his focus back into everything as Tenri spoke. Ever since his son disappeared, all Tenri had done was taunt him. Sakae was trying not to let the words get to him. He wasn’t even surprised with it. It still felt like a stab to the gut to hear someone say he never deserved to have a child, that he shouldn’t have been a father if he was just going to let his son slip between his fingers. Sakae wanted to prove all of them wrong. He had nothing to truly prove, but he couldn’t bring himself not have the feeling. There had been so many times that he wished he could turn around and say at least he loved his son. Sakae knew it would just cause problems, so he remained quiet. Sakae couldn’t do anything to try and find his son if he was killed by Tenri Hiragi for “disrespecting” him.

Sakae had paid attention to the rest of the meeting until the moment that Tenri had called that it was finally over. The Alpha Ichinose started to gather up what they were supposed to be looking at. He closed up the files and put them into a stack so he could put them into his case to leave. The others were already leaving the room whenever Sakae heard footsteps coming closer to him. Sakae slipped those files into his bag as he looked up to see Tenri standing there.

“You need to pay attention whenever you are here.” Tenri drawled, “Do I need to do something to stop that from happening?”

Sakae forced a smile to his face and shook his head, “No, Lord Hiragi.” He replied, “It won’t happen again.”

Tenri stared at him for a moment before he stepped forward and he was carrying on, “Did you get what I told you too?”

Sakae let out a sharp breath and nodded as he reached back into his bag and pulled out the file and held it out. “Here you go, Lord Hiragi.” Sakae stated and reached back in to grab the black case and also held that out to him. Tenri took that as well and didn’t open it but set them to the side. “It has everything that you need.”

“Good.” Tenri stated.

“Is there anything else that I can do for you, Lord Hiragi?” Sakae questioned.

“No, that will be all.” Tenri replied as he scooped back up what Sakae had given him. The Alpha Ichinose stared down at it for a moment as Tenri hooked underneath his arm and looked back to him. “You won’t be needed for a while. If I need anything else from you, I will let you know.” Sakae kept forcing the smile until the Alpha Hiragi finished up what he was doing. “I meant it. You need to start paying attention whenever we are speaking. There is no excuse for that behavior.”

“Yes, sir.” Sakae said back.

To his surprise, Tenri just simply stepped around him and started to go out of the room. Sakae let out a sharp breath as he turned and watched him leave. He had been expecting Tenri to do something. Instead, it looked like the man was trying to get out of there as quickly as he could. Sakae sighed as he grabbed for his briefcase and slipped the strap over his shoulder before he was turning to leave the room.

He started out of the room and down the hall so he could leave the building. Sakae looked around at the others. He could see the looks that he was getting. All of them were thinking the same thing. While they talked in hushed tones, he knew what they were saying. It had been the biggest topic of discussion among the branch families ever since it happened. They took all the chances that they could to taunt him about his failures as a father and a leader. Realistically, he did fail his son. He failed as a father. But he refused to fail again. That was something that he was promising himself now.

As he stepped outside, he looked up to the sky. His son was out there somewhere. It made Sakae wonder if Guren could see the clouds in the sky. The sun that shined down on all of them. If he could see the stars whenever nighttime came or the moon that led the way through the darkness. Gave them just a little bit of light that they needed.

He felt so… guilty for the thought that he wanted Guren to just hang on for a little bit longer. Just give him enough time to find him. Sakae would spend the rest of his life making it up to him.

If Sakae could give his life to bring Guren home, he would do that in the blink of an eye. Sakae would do anything to find him.

Everyone could believe whatever they wanted too, Sakae knew otherwise. He knew the truth. There was something more at play that he just didn’t know about.

Sakae turned away and started towards where he needed to go. There was still so much work to do. He would find him. Wherever Guren may be in this world, Sakae would not stop until he found him.

Tenri drove down the long path as he hummed to himself. It was late at night now. He pulled up to the home and stopped the car as he stared up at it. No one would ever find this place. All the people who knew about it were either him or dead. Tenri turned off the car, reaching to the passenger seat to grab what he needed before he was getting out. He closed the car door before walking up towards the front door. He didn’t need to bother with disenchanting anything. Tenri was the only one who could get in or out of the home without severe consequences due to the magical barrier he placed on the house. Though, he did put a combination lock on the outside of the door just in case. He put in the combination and clicked the lock open. He just hung it up on the hinge for it as he opened up the door and stepped inside. It was completely silent. It wasn’t like anyone would be able to hear anything anyway. This place was built with the complete intention of making it soundproof.

Tenri kicked the door shut behind him, locking it before reaching up to the top lock on the door and locked it. He could never be too careful. The Alpha man hummed to himself as he turned and started towards the stairs. The Alpha man kept his movements quiet as he started up the steps. He walked down the hall to get to the room that he needed. As he stood there, he could feel the ward that was on it. The magic that was interlaced with the framework and the tags that he had on either side of the door and the door itself.

Tenri pulled out the keys from his pocket and got to the one that he needed. The Alpha man unlocked the door before quietly pushing it open. He could barely see the form that was on the bed as he stepped into the room. His gaze lingered down on the form of his test subject. Guren was fast asleep in the bed whenever he walked up to it.

He stared down at him. The boy was curled up, practically in a ball but it was clear that he was lost to sleep. It looked like the Omega boy was laying in the fetal position. It wasn’t out of fear. Tenri had been working to perfect that. To make sure that Guren’s entire loyalty and dependence had fallen solely on him. For this to work in the way that he wanted it too, that is what he needed to do. He needed complete isolation from the human world for this. Only the people that Tenri deemed could be involved would be involved. Tenri could say that the boy even looked peaceful. Eyelids fluttering as if he was dreaming and even breaths to show that he was asleep rather than conscious.

Guren looked so… innocent.

Which was perfect.

All in all, Guren was the perfect test subject in more ways than one. His tender age was even better. It meant that he could grow up underneath Tenri’s complete control and Tenri had it now. Though, Guren did have the resistance in him. That was to be expected. Before long, Guren wouldn’t even have that anymore.

Tenri placed down what he had in his hands on the bedside table and cracked open the black case. He picked up what was inside and examined the liquid that was in the vial. Tenri’s gaze returned back to Guren as a smirk came to his face.

This was only just the beginning.

And no one would know a single thing.

Chapter Text

Year Two

Almost complete solitude and being completely alone was something that Guren was starting to get used too. The Omega boy had no choice in getting used to it. Guren had come to terms with the fact that he would not be able to see other people. Tenri had complete control of everything that he did. It did make him feel like he was going crazy. He focused on little sounds that he probably shouldn’t. Every little creak in the home or each floorboard that made a sound if he walked across them. He could hear the wind that would hit the home or the pitter patter of rain on the roof.

Guren would find himself staring longingly at the sealed window. Just wishing to feel the rain or the sun or see the moon and stars. The window wasn’t easy to see out of, and he couldn’t see anything. All it would do was occasionally allow some of the light from outside to come in. Guren would often go to the window in just the small hopes of seeing a glimpse of it. He wondered how long he had been here. That was something Tenri never told him. Guren had no way of knowing. He never knew the day or the time. There were very few times he could tell if it was actually daytime and nighttime despite having the window.

Guren didn’t have much to do. He spent a lot of time reading and using the notebooks to write down information that he knew. Tenri was big on him studying. There was always a new textbook for him to go through. Once it was done, then he was onto the next one. Tenri would get angry if he didn’t keep up with it. It did at least give him something to do. There were some things that Tenri refused to let Guren do. Sometimes, even he didn’t understand it, but what could he truly do about it.

Guren had a small desk where he did all that work. The Omega boy was noticing a pattern whenever it came to it, but there wasn’t much he could say or do. Guren just did as he was told. He didn’t want to give Tenri a reason to be upset with him. Whenever Tenri was upset, bad things happened, and he didn’t want that to happen at all. Things just felt easier whenever Tenri seemed happier with him. Could he say that he was actually… scared of the thought? Tenri had hit him before. The hits hurt. Guren had been beaten before, but it still wasn’t something that he liked to deal with.

Whenever it started to feel like it was too much, Guren would find himself in the closet. It could be a strange thought, but the enclosed space felt comforting in there. He would find himself laying on the floor and staring at the wall where he had scratched into the wall. He stared at it a lot. It was comforting. As far as he was aware, Tenri had no idea about this. Guren didn’t know what Tenri would do if he did find out about it. It felt like a reminder. A good reminder to him. It was something that he had, and he refused to let anyone take away. Guren would find himself repeating it in his head.

That’s where Guren was currently. He never thought he would miss just talking to people. Seeing people who walked by in the halls or on the street. The sound of voices. It was so quiet here. He didn’t hear the sound of cars or people out and about in their days. It was just something that he didn’t have anymore. He kept trying to recall voices. Voices of people that he knew. Whenever he tried, he was having trouble remembering the sound.

Sometimes, he did dream of them. Whenever he dreamed of them, he could no longer make out their voices. He could see their mouths moving in those dreams, but he couldn’t hear a word that they were saying. It was as if he was standing in that field and they were so far away from him. Guren would run in the dream. Trying to get to them, only for them to never get closer. To fade away before he could reach them. It felt so distant away from him, and Guren would never get close enough. Then, he would wake up. Every single time. Everything was starting to become so much further away. Guren wanted to grasp onto it a bit longer, but it was so hard to do.

Guren longed for his life back. There were so many things that he wished he could do again. Even if it was something so small. The Omega boy reached forward, tracing his fingers over the carved wood as he just stared blankly at it. Would he ever have that back? The Omega boy stared at that wall for what felt like forever. Eventually, he pushed himself up whenever he could feel the soreness in his body from laying down on the hard floor and got back to his feet. This is just how it was. Him and four walls. Well, there were more than four walls, but it didn’t matter if it was the bedroom, the closet, or the bathroom. It was still four walls.

Something felt safer about remaining in this room. Whenever he left it, that is when the other things happened. It wasn’t much but Guren wasn’t dumb, and he wasn’t naïve. He knew. Tenri was doing something, and he just didn’t know exactly what it was. A lot of the times, they just stayed in this room. Guren hated whenever they left it. It never left him feeling good about anything. Something always happened whenever they walked out of it. It was something that he didn’t want to do. Something he didn’t want to have to admit too. Inside these four walls, it was a security blanket. Especially whenever he was alone. As lonely as he may be.

There was a part of him that longed for human contact again. Just a hello could suffice for him. Just to hear another human’s voice that wasn’t Tenri. The ability to go outside whenever he wanted too. The ability to go down the hall and find his—Guren stopped walking as his brain turned fuzzy. What was he trying to remember? It felt distant. In a way that he couldn’t necessarily explain. He should know it. It felt like it was right there, but it just wasn’t coming to mind.

His father.

Right.

That was never going to happen again.

It felt hard to think about his father now. It filled him with this intense sadness and guilt. Every single time that he thought about him. He would dream about him, and even those felt like they were slowly starting to feel like he couldn’t recall them as easily. There would be times when he would ask himself what did his father’s voice sound like again? Every time that he tried to remember it, it was like static noise played back to him. Like a track was skipping over parts of a song. It only made him feel worse. Why couldn’t he remember? He could see his face, but he couldn’t hear his voice. All those moments felt like they were slowly turning into white noise. A slowly fading picture that was degrading over time. Guren didn’t want to lose that. Even as he desperately tried to cling to it.

Only, that was something that he would never have again. It wouldn’t matter if he left the inside of these walls. He would never hear his father’s voice again. He would never see his smile again. He would never see him again. There were no more ruffles of his hair or the strong embrace of his father. Nothing. It was gone. They did not believe in an afterlife, but Guren kept having a single thought. He hoped that his father would finally find peace. Guren would like to think that he did.

How much time had truly passed? That was one thing that Guren would like to know. Honestly, he didn’t think he was going to get the answer to that one. All he could do was whatever Tenri wanted from him. Though, it didn’t seem to be much. Tenri didn’t necessarily set a lot of rules for him. It was hard to have rules that he couldn’t follow if he was confined to one room for twenty-three hours a day.

Guren ran his fingertips over that carved wood again. Never forget. He couldn’t forget. Guren had to keep this at the forefront of his mind. No matter what seemed to slip away from his mind. How certain things were becoming more distant. It scared him. There was so much that Guren didn’t want to forget. It kept slipping away from him. Guren couldn’t let himself do that. Losing all sense of himself wasn’t something that he wanted to do.

The Omega boy was pulled out of his thoughts as he heard the familiar booming of footsteps. Guren quickly pushed himself up and left the closet. He closed up the door silently and quickly but silently moved to get back to the desk. He opened up on the book as he slipped into the seat. Guren picked up the pencil just as he heard the door opening up.

Guren kept his gaze down as Tenri walked into the room and closed up the door. The Omega boy could hear him walking around behind him, but Guren acted as if he was still doing the work in front of him. He had already finished it long before. Guren stopped moving as Tenri’s hands landed on his shoulders. The grip was strong as Tenri leaned down and looked over his shoulder. From what Guren could tell, Tenri was looking over the work that he had previously done. There was always this uncomfortable aura that lingered around him whenever Tenri was near him.

“Are you done with your work?” Tenri questioned.

“Yes.” Guren replied.

“Good,” Tenri went on to say, “Come on.”

Guren let out a sharp breath as he placed down the pencil and closed up the book. Silently, he followed after Tenri. The Omega boy didn’t like this. This happened a lot. Just about every single time that Tenri was here. Tenri’s hand landed on his shoulder as he was guided towards the door. Guren kept having that feeling to just run. He had to keep talking himself out of it. He never felt good after this. It left him feeling so awful afterwards. Guren had learned a slight lesson with the door of the room. He could only imagine what Tenri did to the rest of the house if he attempted to run away.

Guren didn’t like the basement. He didn’t like what happened down there. He always heard the stories of kids who were afraid of the dark or being in enclosed spaces. He wouldn’t say he was afraid. Just that he really hated it. It always filled him with this sense of dread and anxiety that he exceptionally hated. It always made his stomach flip with this need to just throw up whenever he so much as went near it.

And, of course, that was the place that Tenri took him straight to.

Guren was lead towards the hospital bed and he slipped up onto it with ease. Tenri just worked around him. The Omega boy put his attention onto the bands on his wrists. He still hadn’t quite figured out their purpose. It was one of the mysteries that Guren wasn’t sure if he wanted to chance. Everything was the unknown right now, and it was weighing his wants with logic.

Guren remained quiet the entire time that Tenri worked. The Omega boy watched him, and he listened to Tenri’s humming. The Alpha man did that a lot. Hummed. Guren didn’t know why he did it, but the man always did. It seemed to change with whatever mood that he was in. Depending on how it was anyway. Tenri seemed to be in a good mood from what he could tell.

“Do you think…” Guren started as Tenri injected the needle into his arm and he stared at the fluid that was being pushed into his vein. It was starting to get to a point that he didn’t really feel the symptoms. “I could maybe go outside?”

That made Tenri stop what he was doing as Guren immediately looked away. That might have been the wrong thing to say. The Alpha man grabbed at his arm in a tight grasp. Guren inhaled sharply, wincing in pain as Tenri’s grip got tighter. “What did you just say?”

“Nothing.” Guren whispered.

“It wasn’t nothing.” Tenri growled as he grabbed at Guren’s other arm, and it forced the Omega boy to look up. Tenri’s grip on him hurt. It made a sudden fear come to his chest as Tenri glared at him. His face reddening by the second. “What did you just say?” The Omega boy felt his stomach twist up as Tenri jerked him forward. Guren’s chest tightened as his eyes widened. Tenri’s eyes were flaring in anger. “Tell me!”

Guren sucked in a breath as he whispered, “Can I go outside? Even… Even for a few minutes?”

“You know my rules, Guren.” Tenri snapped, “Do you really think I would let you break them?” The Alpha man’s fingers curled more on his arms and Guren grimaced from the pain that went through them. “Everything I do for you, and you are asking me questions?”

“I’m—” Guren started but he was cut off as Tenri jerked back from him and his head snapped to the side. Pain blistered through his face as Guren let out a yelp of pain. Tenri let him go as Guren shuffled back on the bed. The Omega boy touched at his face as Tenri stared at him. At first, there was no emotion in the Alpha’s eyes. “I didn’t mean it.”

“Yes, you did.” Tenri stated as he shook his head. Slowly, that expressionless face started to change. The Alpha man sighed, shaking his head again as he stepped forward. Guren immediately started to move backwards. Tenri reached out and Guren moved away from the touch as the Alpha man leaned forward towards him. “I have to keep you inside to keep you safe.”

“Why?” Guren whispered as he looked back to the Alpha man. “Why can’t I just for a few minutes… with you?”

Tenri gave him another soft look before the Alpha man struck him again. Guren fell against the mattress as his ear rang. He could taste the metallic flavor on his lip. The Omega boy sniffled slightly from it as it made his eyes water, and he started to sit back up.

“I can’t let you go outside.” Tenri stated.

“I won’t run.” Guren murmured. “I just… I just want to see outside again.” Was that actually true? Guren didn’t know anymore. He kept telling himself that it wouldn’t be a good idea to run. It probably wasn’t.

“It doesn’t really matter what you want.” The Alpha man went on to say, “Besides, even if you did try and run, which would be stupid. No one cares.” Guren froze as those words hit him. His eyes widened slightly. “No one is looking for you. No one cares about you.” Guren shook his head as he listened to those words. That couldn’t be true. None of it. “I am the only one who cares about you.”

“That…” Guren started but he rethought his words and let himself go silent. That couldn’t be true. His face was still stinging as he tried to get those images back in his mind. Think of everyone. It wasn’t coming to mind. Even as he tried to think of their voices. It wasn’t coming to him in that moment.

“I am the only one who cares about you,” Tenri continued as he reached out and the air completely caught in Guren’s throat as he was pulled into the Alpha man. “I’m the one who protects you. I’m the one who gives you shelter, food, water… Whatever you may need.” Not like this. This was all just lies. It had to be. “They were happy that you were gone.” It felt like Guren had been stabbed right in the chest. His eyes widened as he heard those words. That had to be the farthest thing from the truth. It just couldn’t be. “I’ve been trying to shield you from the truth.”

“No,” Guren whispered. “That… can’t be.”

“I can’t trust what you will do if I let you go outside.” Tenri stated, “I have too much invested into this.” What did Tenri mean by that? All of Tenri’s words were still hitting him. It could be true for all he knew. It still hit him really hard. “I am the only one who cares about you now.” Tenri pulled back from him as Guren was left with those words in his mind. The Omega boy turned his gaze to watch Tenri for a second before he looked away. “Oh… And if you want to know what happens whenever you do attempt to run from me…”

As soon as Tenri said it, suddenly a wave of pain went surging through Guren’s body. It had stunned him instantly as it felt as if his very veins were ignited on fire. The Omega boy screamed. It felt like a burn. As if he had placed his entire body onto an oven that was on, but it was all over his body. The pain made his vision blur. Everything was coming in and out of focus as Guren’s screams turned silent as he was unable to make any more noise.

Guren’s gaze dropped as his body convulsed, and he was able to catch a glimpse of the bands on his wrists shining. So, that is what they were. It didn’t tell him exactly what it was, but it was telling enough. Just as he looked at it, the shine started to disappear and Guren’s back fell back against the mattress as the pain slowly started to cease.

It left him panting on the bed as it completely stopped. The Omega boy took in a shaky breath as he turned his gaze and Tenri was staring down at him. “You leave the perimeter I set out for you, this will go off immediately.”

“I…” Guren started as he could barely hear the sound of his own voice, “I won’t.”

“You live strictly by my rules now.” Tenri went on to say. “You do whatever I say whenever I say it. You don’t ask for anything. Anything that you receive is from the goodness of my own heart. Everything that you have now, I could take away before you could even take in another breath.” Guren’s heart felt like it was starting to pound in his chest again as he tried to push himself up on shaky arms. He had been beaten many times before and it never felt like that. Was it magic? That was the only thing that made sense. Guren caught Tenri’s eye again as that fear started to hit him. Tenri kept looking at him so fondly. That look was starting to freak him out. “Your loyalty belongs to me. Your life belongs to me. You belong to me.” Guren shuffled away as much as he could whenever Tenri started to get closer to him. “Do you understand me?”

It might not be a good idea to let Tenri do that to him again. There was only so much pain that someone could take. Guren had to be careful.

So, he nodded.

“Yeah.” The Omega boy whispered.

“Good.” Tenri stated as his voice started to get softer. Guren didn’t trust that voice, but it was forcing this calmness over him as the man walked over to him. Tenri grabbed at his arm as Guren was hauled off of the bed. He barely got his feet onto the floor before Tenri was starting up the stairs.

The Omega boy kept tripping over his own feet until he had been dragged up the stairs and around the staircase. Guren was lead straight back upstairs and towards the bedroom that he could say was his. Instead, of just letting him go, Tenri had pulled him towards the closet. The panic started to hit him as he jerked against Tenri’s hand, but the Alpha man’s grip on him just tightened. Tenri opened up the door and Guren gasped as he was shoved inside. Tenri looked up, unscrewing the lightbulb out of the socket and pulling it down.

As Guren settled down and pressed his back into the wall, Tenri clicked his tongue. “I’m sure this will teach you from asking me again.”

“Wait!” Guren screamed as Tenri took a step back and closed the closet. Then, he heard a lock flip. The Omega boy froze instantly as he braced his hands onto the door. It was pitch black in the closet. He couldn’t see a thing except for the slightest bit of light that came out from underneath the door. The Omega boy panicked as he slammed his palms against the door. “Let me out!”

No matter what he said or did, he could hear Tenri moving around outside of the closet before the light turned out and it plunged him into complete darkness. Guren inhaled sharply as he heard the bedroom door close and surely locked as well. The Omega boy slipped away from the door as his heart started to pound even harder in his chest. It felt so hot and stuffy already. It felt like the formerly comforting walls of the closet were slowly starting to enclose in on him as he pressed his back into the wall.

Try not to panic. That would be the best thing to do. Keep his breathing calm and level. Even as Guren tried to do just that, he couldn’t get himself to do so. How long was Tenri going to keep him in here for?  Just as the thoughts were trying to consume his mind, he felt his fingertips brush up against something. It took him a second to register exactly what it was as the wave of comfort hit him.

Guren closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the wall as he took in a deep breath. Deep breaths. In and out. He just needed to stay calm. It would all be okay. It just had to be.

Guren didn’t know how long he had been locked in the closet for. His stomach was screaming at him. Begging him for food. His throat was parched and the need for water was there. Guren felt fatigued. He could barely hold himself up at all, so he stayed laying on the floor instead. His head was pounding. It barely felt like he could keep his eyes open. Honestly, he wasn’t even sure if they were open or not. It was that dark right now.

The Omega boy kept wondering if this was because he even asked to just go outside. It could be. Tenri didn’t really say. He just put him in here. As he laid there, he kept grazing his fingers on the wall. Even though he couldn’t see it, he could feel it. Right now, it was strangely the only sense of comfort that he had. There was nothing else to show him otherwise.

It gave Guren the thought that maybe Tenri was ready to kill him. That he wasn’t useful to him anymore. Not that Guren had the slightest idea of what the man really wanted. Tenri kept everything a secret. He had no idea at all.

Guren didn’t move until he started to hear some noises. It made the Omega boy lift up his head as his mind continued to swim. It sounded like the door. His head felt like it was splitting out of his skull as he pushed himself up. Guren wasn’t sure if he heard that correctly. Then, he heard it again. That was when he could hear the footsteps. They sounded louder despite the door being closed.

The sound alone had sparked a wave of adrenaline into him. Guren pushed himself up and scooted back towards the wall. He was certain that his eyes were open this time as he stared with wide eyes at the door. Guren held his breath as he heard the lock flip and suddenly light was assaulting his eyes. He flinched away from it as light filled the small closet. It took a second for his eyes to adjust but Tenri was standing there looking down at him.

The first thing he smelled was food. It smelt like fast food. It instantly made his stomach grumble, but Guren just pulled his legs to himself as he looked up towards Tenri. The Alpha man kneeled down and looked at him as he clicked his tongue, “I’m sure you’re hungry and thirsty by now.” Guren didn’t say a word. It was better just to remain silent. The last time he said something on his mind, Tenri locked him in here. Guren didn’t want that again. Tenri sighed after a second as he shook his head, “I don’t want to have to punish you like this, but you can’t ask to break my rules.”

“I won’t.” Guren finally spoke up with a shake of his head. Just that bit of movement caused his head to pound even harder.

Tenri kept looking at him for the time being. It was making Guren more unsettled by the passing second. The Alpha man placed down the bag and Guren was able to smell more of the food. Tenri also placed down what appeared to be a cup from the same place. It was in fact a fast food place. Guren recognized the brand. They had one near his—No. That wasn’t home anymore. Even whenever home came to mind, it was fuzzy. It was harder for him to actually remember what the interior looked like. He could remember bits and pieces, but it was hard. Guren tried not to think about it as he looked away from the bag.

“You won’t do it again, will you?” Tenri questioned.

Guren shook his head. “No.”

“Eat something.” The Alpha man stated as he pushed the bag closer to him. Guren carefully reached out for it with a shaky hand. The movement didn’t help him any. Even with the seemingly rush of adrenaline that he had gotten. Tenri pushed the bag closer to him as he did so. Guren didn’t want to risk upsetting the man again. He didn’t even want to imagine what the man was capable of. Guren didn’t want to know.

Quietly, he opened up the bag to reveal the food that was inside. He took it out, leaning back against the wall as he took a bite of it. As he did so, Tenri was staring at him. It made him uncomfortable, but the food was already starting to help the more that he ate. The Omega boy was keeping his gaze down. He didn’t want to keep looking up at the man.

It didn’t take him long to finish the food, and he had taken a sip of the drink. It was a soda. He wasn’t sure which one, but it did taste good. Guren was starting to feel a bit better the more that the food hit the spot. With the food finished, Tenri allowed him to keep the drink but took the bag from him. Guren didn’t dare move out of the closet. Even though he wanted out of it.

Tenri remained there for a few minutes before he stood up and walked back into the room. Guren remained sitting, letting the food help sooth his hurting stomach and pounding head. Tenri had another bag with him that Guren guessed he had placed down before he opened up the door. The Alpha man picked up that bag, looking over to him as he nudged his head, “Come here.”

The Omega boy slowly started to get out of the closet. Thankfully, he had been sitting there long enough that he did feel a bit better. His head still hurt, and his stomach still had a twinge of pain in it. Guren still felt a bit lightheaded as he crawled out of the closet and stood up. Guren attempted to keep his distance. The Omega boy kept his head down as Tenri opened up the bag and he grabbed for something inside of it.

Suddenly, something that was a pastel blueish gray was put in front of him. It took him a second to realize exactly what he was looking at. A teddy bear. He never really had stuffed animals. If he did, it was whenever he was a baby. But why was Tenri giving him a teddy bear?

“This is for you,” Tenri stated, “You could use a friend.”

Guren reached out for it, feeling the soft fur of it as Tenri let it go. “A friend?” Guren murmured as he looked down at the stuffed animal. It was just a simple teddy bear. It had a bow around its neck, but it didn’t appear to be really anything special. A light, fuzzy feeling came to his chest for a second as he looked it over. Just something felt good, and Guren couldn’t really explain it. For a second, he almost questioned it, but the words caught in his throat as he looked back to the man and nodded, “Thank you.” He gave a slight bow, hoping that nothing else he did would set this man off. That was the last thing he wanted to do right now.

“You’re welcome.” Tenri stated, “Now, we have a few things to do.”

Guren wasn’t sure why he had done it, but he had pulled the bear to his chest and clutched onto it. It felt strange to do, but something about it was very calming to him. Even as Tenri grabbed at his arm, all Guren could do was hold onto the teddy bear and tell himself one thing.

Everything was going to be… alright.

As Tenri had finished for the night, and Guren was left feeling utterly horrible, the Omega boy was back in his bed again. It felt good to be sleeping on the mattress again. It was already helping with the ache of his body. He laid on his side, using what little bit of light that he had to stare at the bear looking at him. It was so simple. It was small and soft. Just big enough to hook underneath his arm. Guren felt like he shouldn’t have this. Was it truly okay to have one?

He couldn’t just throw it away. Tenri would get angry with him, and that was the last thing that Guren wanted to do was upset the man again. He didn’t want to be locked in the closet again.

It was oddly really comforting to have, and he didn’t have the slightest idea on why. It was just a teddy bear. A children’s toy that he probably shouldn’t have any interest in. Yet, he couldn’t let it go. Guren would pick at the bow or run his fingers over the fur.

Then, he looked at the color of the eyes. It reminded him of something. He just wasn’t sure what it was. Guren pulled the bear closer to himself as he murmured, “Watch over me.”

As stupid as it felt, it brought him a sense of comfort.

He knew he was going to be okay.

No matter what happened.

He couldn’t lose his faith in that.

Chapter Text

Year Three

Guren had gotten used to this. Not once in the time that he had been here, did Tenri let him step outside. All Guren knew were the walls of this room. At this point, the Omega boy had memorized everything. Every small crack in the wall. Every chipped piece of paint. Every little sound that the floorboards would make. Everything. Guren could completely navigate the room in pitch black darkness. He knew exactly where everything was at any given moment. He supposed it really helped out things whenever the power was cut and it would plunge him into complete darkness for hours on end.

Everything felt like a blur now. Even as he tried to remember, slowly, it felt like it was all slipping away from him. That every memory that he had was fading into the dark abyss and out of reach. He no longer dreamed of home or the faces of people that he knew. Whenever he tried to think about them, even their faces were a haze. Voices no longer existed for him. It was just left with the sound of static and white noise. Even as he tried to picture it, it came up with a blank.

Everything just felt… gone.

Whenever he thought of home, all he could see was this room. Whenever he tried to remember what the outside world was like, he couldn’t recollect what it was like. Sometimes, he could hear the rain pattering on the roof or if it was really windy then the sound of it hitting the home. It would lull him to sleep whenever it happened. The soft pitter patter of rain and the rolling thunder. It was something so soothing. He missed the feeling of it on his skin. What it even felt like to step out into the rain. He missed… outdoors.

Guren never did ask again.

Tenri had found his own ways of punishment if he thought Guren broke a rule, or he didn’t like what Guren did. The Alpha man would lash out at him. Hit him, lock him in the closet, and beat Guren until he couldn’t move. It felt like a never-ending cycle. Tenri flew into rages. Rages that Guren knew would leave him black and blue by the end of it. He would look at the bruises that would be left behind. Guren just held on. What else could he really do?

What was he supposed to do? Beg and plead to be let go? Promise that he wouldn’t tell a single soul that he had been here. Guren had ran out of tears. Crying did absolutely nothing for him. Even small sniffles at the time that he thought it was nighttime. Even if tears soaked the pillowcase, they had quickly dried up. The Omega boy was left with this numbness in him. One that he couldn’t fight anymore.

Was it that hope was… gone?

Just about every single time that Tenri was here, he took him down to the basement and injected him with that serum. Guren still didn’t know what it was, but Tenri was secretive about it. He would just give him a smile and say that it was just some medicine, and it was meant to make him feel better. Guren knew differently, but he couldn’t fight it either. It would be injected into his body rather he liked it or not. Sometimes, Tenri knocked him unconscious for it. Honestly, Guren preferred those times. He would wake back up in his bed feeling worse than before with his arm bandaged up. It was just something he had to do. If he didn’t do it, Tenri would get mad. Really mad. Guren was already quickly learning that going against whatever that man said was never a good idea.

Guren was slowly losing his grip on his previous reality. It was slowly but surely fading away. Becoming more and more distant with each passing day. It felt so hard to think about. So much felt like it was slipping right out of his fingers. Could he miss something that he could barely remember? He tried to remember. Sometimes, it was hard to even remember his name.

A longing was still inside of him. One to see the outside world. One to just spread his wings and fly. Anything to just be out of this room and place. One that wished to remember the things of the past. Every hit, every punch, every slap, every kick… It felt as if it was making it just dive further and further into the back of his mind. He tried to remember. Yet… It kept going away.

The teddy bear that had been given to him still resided on his bed. Guren kept it there at all times. Even now, it felt so stupid to have, but he just let it stay there. If he threw it out, he knew that Tenri would get angry about it, but it did weirdly bring him a sense of comfort whenever he was laying down. It was an inanimate object, and he was somehow latching onto it. Guren kept it out of the way whenever Tenri was around. He believed him whenever he said that whenever Tenri said he would take anything away from him. The Omega boy wanted to keep ahold of what little that he had.

Even if it was a stupid little teddy bear.

Guren was so tired.

He was tired of all of this.

As much as he tried to tell himself that he would be okay, that he would get through it, he could feel even that slipping away. Guren kept trying to grasp onto anything. There felt like there was no way out. No matter what he did. He could be the best that could possibly be, and it would still never be enough. Not truly.

It was the same cycle. It was never going to end. He didn’t see a way out of this except for doing exactly what Tenri wanted. He didn’t know what to do. All Guren could think of was that he needed to get stronger. Get stronger so he could do something. This couldn’t just be his life. He tried to remember. Guren tried to recall anything. Yet, it would never come. It was so far away. So distant.  

Guren did everything he was told. Any time he didn’t, Tenri got angry at him. He lashed out. It always resulted in an outcome that Guren didn’t want to have to deal with. So, it was just easier to do it this way. If Tenri wasn’t angry at him, if he was pleased with him, it just made life… better.

All the clothes in Guren’s closet had been changed out. He had outgrown all of the ones that were inside. It had taken a while to do so. Though, the clothes remained baggy. As if it was meant for him to grow into so more clothing wouldn’t have to be gotten for him. He was forbidden from taking off the bands on his wrists, ankles, and neck. Guren didn’t know if he could get them off even if he tried. He still didn’t dare touch them. Guren was not going to take the risk whenever he was starting to get a feel for how Tenri acted towards him.

It felt like time was passing so quickly, but also so slowly. Tenri was very careful about letting Guren know what day it was. He still didn’t know. He didn’t even know the time. Guren guessed that Tenri came at the same time with each visit. The Omega boy was pretty sure there were also days between those visits just from his food and water. Tenri probably only left him enough for a few days at most. Though, if he really needed water. There was the sink in the bathroom that he could use. That didn’t help whenever it came to food. That would be a major problem if he ran out. So, he had to do his best to make sure it lasted. Tenri never took anything away, but he always gave him the same amount. That wouldn’t help him any if Tenri decided not to come by for even more time.

Tenri’s words still got to him. He said them a lot. That no one cared. That there was no one looking for him. That Tenri was the only person that Guren had now. In a way, which was true. Tenri was the only person that Guren had. There was no one else. No other person to talk to. Guren was growing lonelier. He hated the quiet now. Guren found that he hyper focused too much on the other noises around him. It drove him crazy on most days. If it was a sound that he didn’t recognize, it instantly put him on edge. It meant that something was wrong. But Guren also used it to his advantage for sounds he did recognize. It made it really easy for him to catch any sounds of Tenri coming. Guren was glad for that at least. The last thing he wanted to do was for Tenri to catch him doing something that he didn’t like, and the man exploded on him.

Guren was running out of things to do aside from just reading the material that Tenri brought for him. It was all that he had. He had probably read every single book that he had from cover-to-cover multiple times. Guren was certain that he could recite the books perfectly word for word at this point. He had loads of notebooks just full of notes that he took from them. It was one thing that Tenri made sure that he did no matter how much that it was. He supposed he didn’t mind. It did give him something to do. Before all of this happened, he was supposed to be going into school itself in a few months… Right? He guessed that this was his school. At least, it felt like he was doing something useful. He was always told that knowledge was power all in its own. Whenever he felt so powerless currently, this gave him something that felt like he could use for it.

Guren couldn’t really explain it, but something felt different about himself. He just didn’t know what it was. Guren kept getting this odd feeling. Sometimes, he found himself just staring off into space trying to figure it out. The Omega boy was afraid of bringing it up with Tenri. Questioning Tenri didn’t feel like it was ever going to be a good idea.

Guren finished up what he had been doing and closed up the notebook as he slipped out of the chair he had been sitting in. The Omega boy walked over to the cabinet where his food and water was kept and opened it up. There was very little left. Guren’s stomach crumbled slightly, but he had decided to go for the water. He should get a snack too, but with what little food that he had, Guren had decided against it. He could wait until it was time for an actual meal. What that time was? He didn’t know. Guren had to mostly go off of his internal clock. Whenever he slept, that was his nighttime.

Guren took his newly retrieved water and went over to his bed and sat down. The Omega boy opened it up and took a drink of it before closing it back up and placing it down. He took a second to look around the room. Was Tenri ever going to let him out of this room? Guren pushed that thought out of his head and looked over to see the teddy bear that was still sitting on his bed. He grabbed it, touching at the fur before curling his arms around it and laying down. It felt so stupid to hold onto it as if he cared about it. It was a strange sense of comfort, and he just couldn’t explain it. But it was… something.

Everything was slipping away. It was getting a lot harder to remember any of it. Guren kept desperately trying to cling onto those thoughts. Trying to remember what it once was. Only, those thoughts never came. It was all becoming really fuzzy. It made him want to break down, but he couldn’t let himself do that. He needed to be strong. It felt so hard to be.

Guren jumped as the door had suddenly opened. The Omega boy sat up quickly as his eyes widened and Tenri was standing there. His heart skipped a beat as he had completely flinched. Did he actually fall asleep, and he didn’t hear Tenri coming? Guren placed the bear back into place as the Alpha man came further into the room. Tenri looked at him as he placed down a bag and he said, “Why do you look guilty?”

Guren shook his head, “You just scared me is all.” That was the truth. Tenri had scared him. He hadn’t been doing anything wrong, but Tenri could take anything wrong. It was against the rules to lie to Tenri. The rules were framed on the wall. Mocking and taunting him any time that he looked in that direction. The Omega boy sat up completely as Tenri walked over to him. Guren’s stomach twisted up in anxiety. It was hard to know exactly whenever Tenri would drop in on him. A lot of times, it made him jump every single time. To flinch away whenever Tenri so much as twitched. As Tenri got up to him, the Alpha man had started to do something that he always tended to do. He reached out to Guren’s wrist and held two fingers against the inner part of his wrist. The Omega boy had to work to keep himself from attempting to pull back. Guren stayed quiet at first, but he had noticed this look in Tenri’s eyes. It wasn’t something he had seen before. “Something wrong?” It looked like genuine… Guren didn’t even know. That was not something that he was used too. His gaze was soft and gentle and even concerned, but Guren knew that he was everything but that.

He must have caught Tenri by surprise because the Alpha man stopped what he was doing and looked over to Guren. “No.” Tenri must have masked it because as soon as he realized because the Alpha man went back to what he was doing previously, he no longer had that look on his face. After a few moments, Tenri dropped Guren’s wrist as he said, “How are you feeling?”

“Fine.” Guren murmured.

“Have you eaten yet?” Tenri questioned.

“No.” The Omega boy admitted.

The Alpha man hummed, standing back up as Guren watched him. The Omega boy was weary of him. Tenri could show kindness at times, but that kindness never lasted long. The only way he could explain it was hot and cold. The kindness usually came after his cruelty. Guren would much rather see the kinder side. At least then, he didn’t have the feeling in his gut.

He might die today.

“Well, that just won’t do.” Tenri stated as he turned and started towards the door. Guren felt the confusion hit for a moment as Tenri looked over his shoulder and said, “Well, come on.” Guren did not hesitate to move. Do not disobey a direct order. He didn’t have to say it was an order. Anything he said was one. If he told Guren to do something, he expected Guren to do it. The Omega boy fell in step behind Tenri as his heart started to pound. Tenri unlocked the door and Guren padded up behind him. The Alpha man opened up the door and stepped out of the room. His gaze moved towards Guren as he said, “Let’s go.”

Guren was barely let out of this room unless it was to go to the basement. It made his guard go up, but on the other hand, excitement to hit him. And just plain happiness about being allowed out of the room. Though, he didn’t doubt he would end up back in that makeshift hospital area anyway. Guren stayed completely quiet. Saying the wrong thing could make Tenri change his mind.

Tenri had led him down the stairs and surprisingly he didn’t turn off to go to the basement. Instead, he started going straight ahead and Guren felt his heart thumping just a bit harder in his chest. The Alpha man took another corner and whenever Guren came around it, he noticed a kitchen. Then, he smelt the food. It made his stomach growl instantly as he noticed the containers that were sitting on the table. Guren turned a quick glance towards Tenri as the Alpha man kept moving into the room. He took a seat down at the head of the table as he motioned to the other seat.

“Take a seat.” Tenri ordered. Guren let out a sharp breath as he slowly walked over. The Omega boy slipped up into the chair, but he didn’t dare touch the container yet. Tenri moved to open his eyes, and Guren could see the actual meal inside. It had been a while since he had an actual meal. Actually, Guren couldn’t remember. It didn’t look like take out despite the containers. Tenri gave him an expectant look and a nod, “You can eat.”

The Omega boy let out a soft breath as he opened up his, and sure enough, it was an actual meal. A warmth came to his chest for a second as a soft smile came to his face. It looked delicious. It was an actual home cooked meal. Guren grabbed the chopsticks sitting next to it and started slowly. If he started eating too quickly, he’d just make himself sick. At the same time, he didn’t want to look like he was greedy for it either.

They ate quietly. As they did so, Guren took a second to look around the room and noticed a window. His gaze immediately locked onto it as he inhaled sharply upon seeing… sunlight. Even though the window was covered by closed blinds, he could see bits of it moving through the cracks. Guren stared at it longingly. Wanting to remember what it felt like to have the sun on his face. To be blinded by how bright outside once was to him. For a second, he wished the blinds were open just so some more could come through.

“What are you doing?” Guren flinched as he heard the booming voice, and he quickly looked over to Tenri. The Alpha man was giving him a calculated look as Guren forced a smile.

“Just thinking.” Guren said quickly, “Thank you for the meal.”

Guren’s heart pounded. Waiting for Tenri to finally lash out at him. He only started to relax whenever Tenri seemed to accept the answer and said, “Finish your food.”

The Omega boy went quietly back to eating as he looked back towards the window. The longing was quickly starting to hit him. Sunlight. Outdoors. He wanted to see it. He wanted to feel it again. It had been so long that he didn’t remember what it felt like. Quickly, Guren had forced the thought away as he looked down to the food instead. Wishing for things that he knew he couldn’t have anymore would just give him a false sense of hope.

Hope was… lost.

But this was different. It was out of the routine of what Tenri would usually do. It kept Guren on the edge of questioning what was going on. So, he just kept silently doing as he was told. The meal was delicious and seemed to be hitting his stomach in all the right spots. Guren kept taking it slowly. Savoring every single second of the food. From the rice to the meat. As he ate the meal, he stopped and looked down at it. Why was this meal familiar to him?

What was it… called?

Guren stared down at it, looking at the sauce that covered the rice and the mixture of meat, vegetables, and potatoes. It was getting hit with a sense of familiarity that he couldn’t explain. After a moment, it clicked.

Curry and rice.

His… favorite meal.

Guren curled his fingers around the chopsticks as he bit down on his lip. How could he forget the name of his own favorite food? A sad smile came to his face as he went back to eating it. A part of him wanted to break down right then and there. Had it really been that long that he forgot? It didn’t feel like it had been that long. The flavors were recognizable now. Phantom memories in the back of his mind were trying to come forward, but they were nothing but blurred static. Something that he couldn’t make out with each bite that he took.

It made Guren look to the bands on his wrists. Now, he could see the slightest bit of a glimmer on them. The magic that was laced into it and the looming threat over him. These were just invisible chains. Instead of keeping him bound to one singular place, it kept him prisoner in other ways. It just gave him the impression that he had freedom, but it was far from it. There was no freedom with those on. Guren looked away from them. They were cuffs that kept him locked in this place. This place was his… cage.

A bird without flight.

Like a… nightingale.

Guren didn’t know why he thought of it. For some strange reason, it brought him a sense of comfort. He was pretty sure he had seen it in one of his books. A soft smile came back to his face as he relaxed a bit and started to finish his meal. Before he knew it, he had gotten through all of it. Tenri had already finished as he closed up his container and kept a gaze on Guren.

“Enjoy your meal?” Tenri questioned.

Why was Tenri being so nice? There had to be a catch. Guren was just waiting for it. Instead of questioning it, Guren just put a smile on his face and nodded. “Yes.” He replied. He closed up his container and placed the chopsticks on top as he leaned back in his chair and placed his hands into his lap.

Tenri stood up, letting out a sharp breath before he smiled and looked at Guren. “Time for your medicine.”

There it was.

Guren nodded slowly, slipping out of the chair and following after the Alpha man as he walked out of the room. As Guren was leaving the room, he took a moment to look over his shoulder and over towards the window. The yearning crashed into him again. There was still light in the world. The world still continued even while he was confined to these walls. Guren forced his gaze down as he turned to walk out of the room. It felt good to just be out of that room, so it was worth it, right?

As they approached the basement door, Guren’s stomach dropped, and his chest tightened up. He hated this room. Still, Guren was forced down the steps. Each step felt more and more like his body was getting weighed down. The light flipped on and Guren looked at the familiar hospital like bed. He didn’t need to be told to walk over to it. The Omega boy simply pulled himself up onto it and sat down as he turned and waited.

Tenri walked around the room, grabbing the items that he wanted or needed. Guren took that moment just to look around the room. What even was all of this for? The Alpha man walked back over to him, grabbing his arm in a hard grip and Guren’s attention was forced down to his arm. He had bruises lining his arms in various stages of healing. Pink and red. Blue and purple. Yellowish and orange. They splotched his skin. All Guren could do was look away. Bruises had never been anything new to him, but he still didn’t like looking at them. Tenri wrapped a rubber band around his arm like a tourniquet, and it pinched harshly into the skin of his upper arm as Guren’s arm remained turned and his wrist facing upwards.

The Omega boy didn’t even flinch as a needle was slipped into his vein. He watched his blood being withdrawn into a small vial. Filling up with the crimson fluid as Guren stared at it blankly. Tenri pulled it away before doing another one. Tenri’s thumb was standing planted firmly over where the inserted needle was. Once he was finished, Tenri pulled out the needle and put a bandage over the location. The tourniquet was pulled off with a snap that caused a twinge of pain to go up Guren’s arm, but the Omega boy felt numb to it.

Guren looked away whenever the black case was brought out. That held the serum or whatever it was. It was going to be rough night. Guren knew that. The Omega boy just took a deep breath and slowly released it as the needle ended up in his arm. The place where it was injected was cold. It felt like ice being pumped straight into his body as Guren lowered his gaze. For just a moment, the room around him started to spin. It made him feel so lightheaded. Now that he had a full stomach, it made the nausea worse. It took a few minutes before Guren felt like he had his bearings enough to even lift his gaze. It was like poison being injected straight into his veins. Only, this poison didn’t kill him. He was left entirely at the mercy of Tenri.

Tenri was closing the black case as he walked over to the other table and started writing down notes. Guren tilted his head, narrowing his gaze as he tried to catch what Tenri was writing. The Alpha man looked deep in thought as he said, “Have you noticed any changes with yourself?”

“No.” Guren whispered. It was a lie. But he didn’t want to say it. He just didn’t know how. His gaze lowered as he felt his chest tightening. Please don’t let Tenri know it was a lie. Guren’s head was starting to throb as it felt like his veins were slowly starting to ignite. Like little sparks flickering through him. The Omega boy looked at his hands, lifting them up as he gazed at his fingertips. His fingers were tingling. Guren flexed his fingers as he surveyed them. That was something he was noticing after he was injected with this medicine. “Not really.” Guren added.

Tenri just hummed, writing down a few more things before turning to look at him. “I told you that I would take care of you.” The Alpha man stated, “But it means you need to be honest with me.” A cold chill started down Guren’s spin as he inhaled sharply. Tenri leaned in close and Guren held his breath as the Alpha man’s gaze darkened. “You know what happens whenever you lie to me.”

Guren yelped as his head suddenly snapped to the side and he could taste the metallic flavor of iron in his mouth. He reached up, touching at his face as he nodded. “A thousand apologies.” It rolled off of his tongue with ease as his ear rang. Guren let out a shaky breath as he lifted up and his gaze and shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Tenri did not look pleased with him, and it left that fear starting to build up in Guren’s chest. His heart started to beat quickly as the Alpha man suddenly growled and took a fist full of his hair. Guren let out a cry of pain that he couldn’t stop as he was pulled straight off of the hospital bed. It made his legs hurt as his feet hit the floor, but he somehow managed to stay standing.

“You little brat.” Tenri snapped. “Even after I gave you a second chance, you still lied to my face.”

Guren reached for his hair instinctively as Tenri pulled him towards the stairs. The wood hit his shins, but Guren had to ignore the pain in desperation just to stay on his feet. The Alpha man was seething. The pheromones lingering in the air started to choke him as Guren found himself curling his fingers over Tenri’s and scratching at the back of his hand.

They had gotten out of the basement, and Tenri had immediately headed for the next set of stairs. Guren knew exactly where Tenri was taking him. It seemed to be a favorite of his. Guren’s heart raced as his breathing picked up. As they returned back to the room Guren knew as his, Tenri went straight for the closet. The door swung open as Tenri forced him inside. The Omega boy yelped as his back hit the wall, and his head was left throbbing as he reached up to cradle it.

He looked up as Tenri glared down at him. “And just as I was starting to think I could trust you with my rules.” Tenri drawled as he clicked his tongue. “Maybe, I should erase your mind. Start from scratch and build from the ground up. Right now, you’re not giving me much of a choice.” Guren forced himself to stay quiet. Don’t fight back. Don’t say a word. It was just adding fuel to the fire as Tenri smirked at him. “Maybe your punishment will suffice for now.”

The door slammed shut as Guren flinched slightly, and he was plunged into immediate darkness. The Omega boy reached forward, grazing his fingers against the door as he moved to lean his forehead against it. It wouldn’t matter how much he tried. Guren wouldn’t be able to get out of here. It was already hot and stuffy in here, but it was already something that he was quickly getting used too.

Guren slipped back, pressing his back into the wall as he pulled his legs up to himself. Just accept his punishment. He knew that Tenri’s kindness wasn’t going to last long, and Guren couldn’t expect for it. Not ever. Guren tucked his head against his knees as he took in a deep breath.

Here… He was just in a cage. With no way out. No way to spread his wings and fly.

But in his dreams… Maybe he had them, and he could fly to a place that was far away from here.

Joy and sorrow.

Longing and yearning.

Guren just wanted to be… free.

Chapter Text

Year Four

The endless cycle of a purgatory remained looming over him. The endless days of basically being a human pin cushion and the series of tests that he had to go through. Tenri was pushing him now. Pushing him harder than before on everything. Guren did everything he was told without a complaint or a word. A terror and fear that would consume him at the thought of accidentally causing the man to be angered with him. This was all he knew.

Everything else was just a blur. It was gone. Guren couldn’t remember a single thing now. It hurt to think about. Causing an ache in the back of his mind whenever he tried to remember what it was like outside of this place. Trying to think of what people were like or stepping outside of the home. He couldn’t even remember what the outside of this place looked like. The interior was all he could remember. Guren struggled whenever he tried. Tried to think of anything other than his life in this… Hell.

This was his prison.

It was nothing more than that.

He was not allowed to leave. He was never taken anywhere. He didn’t even know all the rooms of the home either. All he knew was that it was a home. It was a roof and shelter over his head. Even though he could hear sounds of an outside world, he couldn’t recall a single thing about it. Every time that he remotely tried, it just came up… blank.

All Guren could remember were those fists. The cruel words that would come in his direction. And then the random acts of kindness that came in the forms of gifts. Or the meals that would be eaten at the table, but only once in a while. Otherwise, Guren only ate what was left in his cabinets. It was just enough to keep him from starving. Guren was careful with what he ate, how much he ate at a time, and when he ate. It was the same with the water. Sometimes, whenever Tenri was feeling gracious, he would come with juice or a soda. Those were also few and far between. The only time that the good things came was whenever Tenri was pleased with his behavior. As if it was a reward for him. Honestly, Guren couldn’t even remember what behavior he was supposed to change.

Tenri’s pushing of him didn’t stop at the medical practices either. It was also in his knowledge. He would throw more study material at him. Making sure that he did it all to perfection. If he got a wrong answer, it just meant getting a slap to the face and told that he needed to do better. That he was a… failure if he got it wrong but then praise him if he got it correct. Some of the books were in a different language, one that Guren somehow recognized and knew how to read but couldn’t remember what it was. Those were the ones that Tenri made him focus on the most.

It was the same old path. One that Guren didn’t want to go down anymore but couldn’t stray away from. Straying away from it could mean certain death. Guren woke up most days wondering if that day was going to be his last. Sometimes, he wished it was. That death would gladly come and embrace him. Just so he wouldn’t have to do this anymore.

Sometimes, Guren went and laid in the closet. Staring at the scratches in the wall. He would lay there, running his fingers over the course and splintered surface. It was the only thing that he knew for sure anymore. He always did it so carefully. Going over each carefully scratched mark as he kept it imprinted into his mind.

G… U… R… E… N.

Guren.

Crimson… Lotus.

His name.

Guren knew it was his name.

To Tenri, he didn’t have a name.

He only had nicknames. There was always some variation but never his name. It was like Tenri did it so deliberately. It was always something else. Anything but his name. It was as if Tenri was trying to erase everything that made Guren… Guren.

It was the only thing that Guren remembered.

And he felt like he only remembered it because he recognized his own handwriting carved into the wall after finding it again. Having the vague recollection of sitting here and carefully scratching into the surface with precision to make sure that he could always find it. Guren didn’t dare say this. He didn’t dare try to correct Tenri about his name. It would give away the one secret that he had.

Guren didn’t remember anything about himself. He didn’t know how old that he was. All he knew was that he was growing. A part of him longed to remember. Longed to just know who he was. Who he was outside of these walls. Guren knew he hadn’t always been here, but he couldn’t remember it. It always came back as a blank image with absolutely nothing in the picture. All he could recall was Tenri and this room. But that couldn’t be right.

It felt as if his mind was playing tricks on him. That somehow… everything had gotten locked away and the key had been thrown away. Just waiting for Guren to find it but he never would be able too.

Every night, he had these dreams. It was always the same. Played out just the same. And it left him more confused than ever. Guren liked to run away in his memories. That he could just take off and never look back. It felt like his mind was becoming so fuzzy that he just didn’t know anymore. Even his dreams didn’t have clarity to them. Nothing made sense to him anymore.

Memories.

All the ones that Guren could remember were nothing but cruelty. Tenri wasn’t always cruel, but he could change within an instant, and Guren didn’t like chancing it. Tenri was survival. Tenri was the… only person that Guren had in his life. The only person that he could remember.

And even now, he couldn’t remember who Tenri was to him.

Only that he was his technical caregiver. The person who put a roof over his head and clothing on his back. Who made sure he had food and water to survive. Who gave him things to take care of him. That was all that he could remember. Even those items didn’t stop the feeling in him.

It really was as if he just woke up one day with no recollection of anything at all.

Wasn’t there more?

More to the story that he just couldn’t recall?

Guren didn’t know anymore.

Currently, Tenri had just finished with him. Taking his blood as usual and giving him that injection. Guren was getting used to the feeling of it. Actually, it was at the point that he couldn’t feel it at all. He would simply just list off the symptoms that he was having. Tenri was always writing it down. Writing into a file that he made sure that Guren could never actually see. There were still times that Tenri drugged him, and he would wake back up in his room with no memory of how he got there but with aches in his head and arms.

Guren kept feeling this tingling in his fingers or a pounding in his head. It always came after that injection. It was a different one now. Guren had got a glimpse of it. It wasn’t the same color anymore. It had this shimmer to it that always caught his attention. A soft golden glow that would inject into his body. Still, Guren couldn’t question it. Even if he wanted too.

It was just… medicine.

Sometimes, now, Tenri would set things in front of him and told him to focus on it. Nothing ever happened but he didn’t actually focus on it either. He just gave the impression that he was. Just staring at it for a long period of time before Tenri would tell him to stop in annoyance and frustration. It usually ended with Guren bloody all over again. What was the point? It was just staring at an object. There were times that Guren wished they would just explode on the spot. At least then it would be entertaining.

Guren was currently staring at a lit candle. He was just watching the flickering flame mindlessly. He was sitting cross legged in front of it as he watched the steady flame and the melting wax. As he did, there was a part of him that wished it would just fly over to Tenri and set the man on fire or fall over and catch the house on the fire. Either worked, but it wasn’t going to happen. It was almost putting him into a trance. He was tempted to reach out and graze the flame with his fingertip. Just so he could feel the intense heat that would be the fire.

Tenri would practically viciously write notes to the point that his pen would tear the paper. Guren could hear the scratching of the pen now. As long as if he looked like he was deep in thought, Tenri would leave him alone about it.

Tenri finally sighed, standing up and walking over to the candle and blew it out. Guren lifted his gaze as he said, “I tried my best.”

Tenri just let out a frustrated sound as he snapped the file closed in his hand. “We’ll try again later.”

“What…” Guren started as he was hesitant to ask the question, “What are we doing exactly?”

Tenri eyed him before picking up the candle to put it away. “That is none of your concern at the moment.” He didn’t know what else he was expecting. It was always the same. Tenri kept him in the dark on everything. “Get up. We have more work to do.”

Guren rolled his eyes whenever Tenri turned his back to him, but he pushed himself up anyway to follow after him. This was never going to end, so why should he question otherwise.

Four years.

It had been four years since Sakae’s entire world had fallen apart. It had been four years of nothing but continuing heartbreak, anger, and uncertainty. He had desperately searched out answers. Trying to put the pieces together for anything that might tell him exactly what happened to his son. Nothing told him anything.

Logically, it was right in front of him. He knew the reality of a missing child. Most never lived passed the first twenty-four hours if they were abducted. If they were lost, they were up against the elements of the world. If he had ran away, no one saw a thing. Absolutely… nothing. Guren’s case was still open, but it was cold. There had been no leads. Nothing to point to who had truly done this. Search parties had been formed but not a single shred of evidence about his son had been found.

Sakae hated the unknown.

He hated that he didn’t know what happened. That he was left with more questions than he had answers. Sakae had gone through everything to try and piece it all together. The only solid thing that he could think of was that someone was trying to get revenge against the Ichinose clan. That his son had been taken for that reason. He just had no proof of it, and without proof, no one would truly believe him. So, he never said it except to the police officers whenever he had been questioned. Sakae knew that he had also been a suspect at one point but ultimately had been cleared by a lullaby and physical evidence to prove his innocence.

It had taken him a long time to even be able to step foot back into his home. It had taken over a year to do so. Even more so, Guren’s room. Sakae could barely bring himself to go into the room. It was a room that was now permanently frozen in time. It was his son’s belongings. Everything in that room belonged to his son and it was exactly the way that he had left it.

The first time he had stepped foot back inside, he had broken down. Remembering that Guren had been taken away from him. Ripped right out of his life with no answer to what truly happened to him. Sakae desperately wished with everything that his son was right here with him. Sakae found himself constantly waiting for Guren to come through the door with his curious vibrant purple eyes and looking up at him with a sparkle that could never fade.

Sakae hadn’t stayed in the home since that night. He was staying at one of their other properties. Unable to stay the night in the home that once belonged to him and his son. Yet, he found himself standing before it in the late hours of the night. Staring at the lit-up path. He had small path lights put in after Guren disappeared. But he always made sure that the light outside of the home was on. It was something that just made him feel slightly… better.

Just in case if Guren found his way home.

He had a path of light to be able to see.

There was a key stashed away. The only person who would have known the location was Guren. It was Guren’s spare key just in case if he forgot his own. Though Guren was not supposed to go anywhere alone, but he still had. Sakae wouldn’t fault him for that. Guren was a child with a curious mind and a free spirit. Guren had a smart head on his shoulders. If anyone was at fault, it was Sakae for not making sure.

He hadn’t been watching. He wasn’t careful enough. Sakae had kept thinking of all the things that he could have done differently. How he could have possibly made sure that Guren had made it home that night. The person that Sakae blamed for all of this was… himself.

If he had been better… If he had stayed on top of everything… Made sure someone was with his son… This never would have happened.

Not a single trace of his son had been found. They had done everything possible to try and locate him. To find some fiber that would tell them what actually transpired that day. Sakae didn’t have to have evidence. Someone took his son away from him. Guren had been five years old. He couldn’t defend himself. And that fact would have been known.

Sakae found the key, looking down at it with a soft smile. If Guren ever came home… He would have been able to get in. The key had been exactly where it had been left. Completely untouched. The Alpha Ichinose turned and unlocked the door as the wave of sorrow hit him. It still didn’t feel right going into this home anymore. Whenever he stepped inside, he was greeted with the silence. Not a sound in the home. Dark and dreary. The once place that was so full of light and joy was no longer that.

This home held so many memories. This was the place was the only place that Guren had ever called home. From the minute of his conception to the second he had been brought home outside of his mother’s womb. It was all here. The first five years of birthdays and years of seeing his son starting to grow up. To the two of them being in the backyard and practicing kendo together because his son truly enjoyed doing it. Or the times Sakae would sit in his office and Guren would come in and ask him so many questions. They were starting to feel so distant now. As if it was fading with time and Guren was only within his memories now. Sometimes, it was hard to even envision his face anymore. To remember what he looked like. Then, his memory would start to come back, but even as he remembered the memory, it was as if the image of it faded away.

Sakae walked further into the home, stepping out of entryway and continuing into the home. His gaze scanned around the home. It felt like home, but it wasn’t home. Not completely. Not without Guren here. It didn’t feel the same without him here. It didn’t feel like a home. He stayed quiet as he went through the home. Everything was still exactly as it was left the last time that Sakae had stepped foot inside. It was cleaned of dust, and it didn’t smell musty due to the cleaning that the home went under every week. Those who came in and cleaned did so with respect. Sakae wanted it cleaned just in case. He made sure that non-perishable foods were in the cabinets and water in the fridge. It was prepared for Guren if he ever made it back home.

Sakae continued down the hall until he got to a familiar door. He slipped it open to reveal his son’s untouched room to himself. Exactly the way that Guren had left it. Right down to the sweater he had been wearing the night before still sitting on the back of the chair by the small desk. He almost couldn’t step into the room. Sakae took in a deep breath before he finally did.

He took in a deep breath as he ran his fingers across the dresser as he looked around. The room looked like it belonged to a child. Sakae wanted Guren to keep that child like innocence for as long as he could. His accomplishments and drawings were hung on the walls. Images that had been of Guren’s interests were also pinned there. He walked across the room, scooping up the soft sweater. It was the blueish-grey color that Guren liked. He had picked out the sweater himself.

Sakae felt a soft smile come to his face as he sat down on the tatami mat as he ran his fingers over it. He curled it in his lap as he looked around and shook his head. Even as the memories did come to mind, he couldn’t make out Guren’s voice anymore. He couldn’t remember it. It had faded away.

He couldn’t remember what his own son’s voice sounded like.

Sakae’s eyes slowly started to fill his eyes as he choked. He curled up, tucking his nose into the sweater. “Happy birthday, Guren.”

Guren found himself standing in a field. A field that was overgrown with tall grass. Wind blew but he couldn’t feel it against his skin. The sun shined but he could not feel its warmth. He couldn’t feel a thing. Everything felt so far away. So distant. No matter where he looked and this sense of familiarity that would wash over him, Guren couldn’t place where he was. He would walk, but it was endless. It never came to an end, it never led to anything.

The Omega boy turned and paused as he saw a figure standing not far from him. It was a simple silhouette but something about it screamed warmth. He kept staring at it. He felt like it should be something from a nightmare, but he felt no fear. Nothing about it was imposing or intimidating. Just a simple black figure.

Guren slowly found himself approaching it. Taking careful steps as he kept feeling this warmth and familiarity coming to his chest. Slowly, the figure started to change. Becoming less of a darkened shadow but having more resemblance of a man. A tall man that stood tall and proud. Something pulled him in. Alluring and comforting.

One would think that darkness should feel so cold. That it didn’t feel like it could embrace him into a blanket of security. But he felt completely… safe.

Slowly, the silhouette’s hand started to rise and held out to him. That same ease hit him. Guren stared at it as he approached and then he stopped. Pausing as he saw a… smile.

A smile that was so… kind.

Warm and reassuring.

The smile changed as if the silhouette was trying to say something to him, but Guren couldn’t hear a word that it was saying. It was soundless. Not a sound echoing around him as it returned to that smile. Guren couldn’t place it, but it was like he had seen it before. It gave him a sense of comfort as he tried to reach out for the hand, but the second that he did, the silhouette started to vanish. Disappearing right before his eyes, but that smile remained within the back of his mind. His chest tightened as a coldness washed over him.

Slowly but surely, the area around him started to fade. Quickly, darkness had started to engulf the immediate area, and the hues of color were starting to turn to shades of grey. As if all the color of the world was disappearing. Soon, it had all vanished and it had left him floating in nothing but pure darkness. He could feel the creeping chains starting to twist around his limbs. Shining in gold as they curled over his wrists and up his arms. Around his ankles before moving up his legs. One around his waist that started to twist around his torso. And finally, the one around his neck.

A cold embrace wrapped around him that left him paralyzed and feeling utterly… trapped.

All he could do was close his eyes and wish for it to end.

Guren opened his eyes as he was met with the dim light of the room. Coming from a small light that was on the nightstand. It was like a night light. Giving him just enough that he could see slightly as he lowered his gaze to the teddy bear that was there. Guren pushed himself up, rubbing at his eyes as he looked down at the stuffed toy. He had been having that dream a lot lately. Yet… He couldn’t place it. That smile that he could see. It always filled him with such warmth. Even whenever he tried to remember, nothing came. Just the… smile.

So much time had passed. Guren had so much difficulty trying to remember anything passed his dark and caged room. The quiet and loneliness of the place. Longing for something more that he could not have. It didn’t matter how many times he closed his eyes and wished that he was somewhere else. That he would finally be free of the chains that kept him confined.

Guren could feel the tingle in his fingertips again. It had been happening a lot recently. Almost like electricity that was moving through his veins. Whenever it happened, his head would get this dull ache to it. The Omega boy reached out, grazing his fingers over the soft fur of the teddy bear. It was calming to the touch. Just a stupid, plain old teddy bear.

Guren grabbed it, turning it so its beady eyes would look back at him. The eyes were dull and lifeless, but the color always caught his eye. He didn’t know why looking into the eyes of the teddy bear had this strange calming effect on him.

Tenri said that this was his friend. Someone couldn’t be friends with an inanimate object. But sometimes, Guren found himself talking to it as if it was a real person. To him, it just somewhat felt better to act as if this stuffed toy had some magically nonexistent voodoo that kept the nightmares away. He guessed that he could say that it gave him a sense of security as if somehow it felt like it was standing guard over him.

A guardian angel?

He felt like an idiot right now.

Guren sighed as he rolled over onto his back and just held the bear up. Guren hummed as he tapped his fingers, “Would it be stupid to give you a name?” Guren murmured out loud. Guren exhaled sharply. “I’m really going crazy, aren’t I?”

The bear just stared at him. Well, not that a toy could just stare, but it felt like that. A name… for a bear. Not just a bear as if it was real but a stuffed one that couldn’t do a single thing and just stayed on Guren’s bed. And, yet, every time he opened his eyes, that bear was right there. If he was going to get attached to a stuffed toy, he might as well give it a name.

Just what would it be?

Guren kept staring at him, tilting his head as a smile came to his face.

“Sakae.”

He didn’t know why, but it just felt… right. Something in the back of his mind screamed at him as Guren could feel a sting in his eyes. For a second, all he could see was that smile and he didn’t know why. The Omega boy sat up as he pulled the bear to his chest. Wrapping his hands around it as he choked. His vision quickly blurred. He didn’t know why he had been hit with this just wave of… sadness. While saying that name felt so good and so right,

Suddenly, all he wanted to do was break down. Tears flooded his eyes as he blinked, and they started to slip down his face. Guren didn’t understand it. Why did this feeling suddenly hit. Just an intense feeling of… grief. It made his chest feel so tight, as if his heart was being pulled straight out of his chest and crushed.

Guren curled up, finding that he had quickly broken down. Small sobs left him as he clutched onto the bear. His cheeks quickly became covered in tear tracks as his shoulders shook. As soon as it started, it felt like he couldn’t calm down. He felt so… alone. That he wanted just one second where he didn’t feel this way. That there was something more.

Suddenly, Guren felt a bit of warmth. Like everything around him had stilled as he cracked open his eyes and the room looked a bit lighter. Then, it would slowly get dim. Then, it would once again get brighter. Dim. Brighten. Dim. Brighten. It kept repeating as the Omega boy’s attention followed it. Slowly, illuminating the room before plunging it back into near darkness and repeating. Guren blinked a few times, correcting his vision as he pulled in a labored breath. His gaze turned, landing on his nightstand where that small light was located.

The confusion hit him as that feeling slowly started to go away as he focused on the light. It kept doing it. Slowly getting brighter, then it would dim to where Guren almost couldn’t see it except for the smallest flicker before brightening again. The Omega boy placed down the bear as he turned to keep looking at it. For a moment, he wondered if he was just seeing things. Guren could feel that tingle in his fingertips again as he leaned a bit closer. Guren focused more despite how his eyes burned. His head started to pound slightly. Was the light… flickering? As it got brighter, the ache in Guren’s head started to worsen and it felt as if the light was hurting his eyes, but he couldn’t look away. It had him completely transfixed. Then, the ache in his head got worse as the light kept getting brighter.

Guren winced, squeezing his eyes shut as he grabbed at his head as it suddenly felt like it was splitting into two. It forced him to completely close his eyes as he looked away. Guren pulled in a deep breath and slowly released it as slowly the ache started to go away. It felt like it had taken a while before Guren was confident about being able to reopen his eyes. Slowly and carefully, he started to reopen them.

Whenever he looked back up, the light was back to normal. The same dim setting that it had been before. The Omega boy felt the confusion hit him as his head continued to throb, but it didn’t hurt nearly as bad as before. Carefully, Guren reached over for the light and pulled it to himself. It was still on the same setting and lowest setting. The movement didn’t cause anything to happen, and it had remained lit. Guren kept looking at it in intrigue and confusion. What just happened? Did he just… imagine that? Guren sat it back down, getting an eerie feeling as he leaned away.

Guren quickly looked around the room and just listened. Nothing sounded out of place. Nothing sounded wrong. Nothing felt wrong. Everything that he felt before was long forgotten in his stunned state. It was just him, the four dark walls, and his quiet room. He reached up as he sniffled, wiping at his face as he looked back to the light. It was totally normal again. As if nothing had happened. Guren pushed down what he was feeling as he carefully laid back, pulling the blanket back over himself. It didn’t feel like it was time to get up yet. That he had woken up in the middle of the night because of a dream. Now that his head was hurting, all he wanted to do was lay back down.

Guren turned away from the light, having an off feeling about what had just happened and if it was even real. Guren already felt like he was losing his mind. Sometimes, it felt like even the shadows were going to come out and capture him. Swallow him up and take away everything around him. Close in on him and crush everything in its path. Then, there was the slightest creak of a floor board that would instantly have him guarded as if someone was lurking there.

The Omega boy reached over and grabbed the teddy bear as he let out a sharp breath. Freaked out about what had just occurred or maybe didn’t actually occur. Maybe if he didn’t think about it, it wasn’t real. It was enough to make him pull the bear to his chest and let out a sharp breath. He didn’t necessarily feel fear, but it still gave him this feeling. One that he didn’t quite recognize. His fingertips tingled again as Guren slowly released another breath and closed his eyes. His head hurt a bit more than before and his eyes had this burning sensation to them, but Guren forced it into the back of his mind. He was used to aches and pains. They were nothing compared to what it could be.

All he could do was close his eyes and hope that it didn’t happen again. Maybe, it was some strange form of a sign. Telling him that everything would be okay. Or that catastrophe was right around the corner. That he needed to stay guarded and on edge. But it freaked him out.

Holding the bear a bit tighter, Guren slowly let himself start to fall back asleep. At least in his dreams, reality could be different. Even in his dreams, he was alone, but at least… It felt like he had freedom. At least, until the very end whenever the chains would return and he was no longer in his dreamland but rather a painful nightmare that he could never wake up from.

At least, he had Sakae watching over him.

Even if he was just a simple teddy bear.

At least, in his dreams, that smile was there… And it was the one thing that made him feel… safe.

Chapter Text

Year Five

Things were starting to change. Tenri was giving him just a slight bit more freedoms around the home. Whenever Tenri wasn’t here, Guren was confined to that room, but if he was here, Guren was allowed to move throughout the house. It had taken a while before Tenri allowed it, but Guren wasn’t allowed to be alone. Tenri had to be in whatever room that Guren had gone. It was something else. Guren had felt so good the first time. At first, it had been sitting at the dining table to eat a meal, and then it was sitting in the living room. Guren had kept waiting for the moment that it all changed. That Tenri would stop allowing him to do this.

As long as if he was good, then it wouldn’t get taken away. That’s what Tenri said. If he followed the rules strictly, then he could keep doing it. He didn’t have to be confined strictly to that room anymore. It was starting to become a new normal. Everything else had faded away. This was all that Guren knew. It was a pattern now of how things were.

Seconds. Minutes. Hours. Days. Guren lost track of all of them. He spent most of his time completely alone. Just him, the silent home, and his thoughts. Spending time in his cage where he couldn’t reach outside of the bars. Guren found himself longing. Yearning for more. But not daring to say a word under the threat of losing everything that he was gaining. Under the threat of harm.

Guren had found ways to keep himself busy rather it was by studying, going over the materials that Tenri gave him over and over again. Whenever he wasn’t studying, he spent a lot of time drawing or just simply writing. He would fine himself humming tunes that he did not recognize but felt good to do so. Sometimes, he would even find himself singing just to have the noise. Just his voice and his voice alone echoing off of the walls.

All he had now were the scars of this place and the chains that kept him confined. Nothing ever came to mind. All he remembered was Tenri. He didn’t even remember how he came to be here. Guren did not dare to ask. He did not dare question anything. Questions were not something that he was supposed to do. Not unless it was specifically something to do with the work and studying that Tenri had him do. Tenri still expected excellence and nothing less.

Guren had started to notice a bit more changes in himself. An ache that would come to his head and it would gradually get worse before suddenly going away. The tingle in his fingers from time to time. A sting and intense burning in his eyes that would quickly follow. Guren could not explain it.

Sometimes, Guren wanted to scream until he had nothing left. Scream to the world that he knew was outside of the home but so far away from his grasp. To go until his last breath and make anything that could hear him listen. But nothing could hear him. There was no world for him. Nothing beyond these four walls. All he truly had his dreams. In his dreams, he could be whoever he wanted to be. He could see everything.

Sometimes, he saw it around him. As if the room around him would fade away and he would see a world of his own making. As if his imagination had came to life right before his eyes before it would go away and drain away to once again show him the walls of his prison. Guren couldn’t remember why he called it a prison other than the fact that he was not allowed to leave. This was home, but it didn’t feel like it. This didn’t feel like a home. It was just four walls meant to keep him in one place.

His dreams still contain one thing. That smile. Without fail, he would find himself falling asleep and he would be greeted with a dark silhouette of a man with his hand held out to him with such a gentle smile. Yet, Guren could not figure out where it was from. It was as if he had seen it before, but he knew it wasn’t Tenri’s smile. Tenri’s smile did not hold any true warmth. It was just a mask to try and make Guren feel better. It made him feel better within his dreams, but whenever he opened his eyes, he would find tears in his eyes and his cheeks wet from where they had fallen. Whenever he was awake, it always made him… sad. It filled him with this intense feeling of grief and sorrow that he could not explain. Then, his head would hurt and suddenly he couldn’t remember why he had been so upset. Even if it was within his dreams, it made him feel just a slightly bit less… alone.

Tenri still constantly lashed out at him. If he did a single thing that the man did not like, Tenri made it known. It started with the sharp glances first. The warning. There were times that there was no warning at all. Tenri would just strike him. Hit him in an instant. It always felt like the temperature around him would drop. Then, Tenri would say that he had no choice. That he had to do it because Guren had messed up. He would say that Guren was just too sensitive about it. That it was a part of all of this.

Guren would find himself in this strange purgatory whenever Tenri was around. A part of him was just happy to have someone to talk to. An actual person who spoke back to him. Then, there was the desperate desire to not have Tenri around. If Tenri didn’t come around, there was no food or water. There was no clothing to keep on his back. There would be no electricity or running water. Or heat or cooling. Everything was a given from Tenri. But if Guren acted out, something was taken away. Or he was locked in the closet and unable to access anything.

Currently, Tenri was here but Guren was doing his best to keep his distance. They had already been to the basement, and he did not feel good at all. His arm was sore where the injection had been inserted, and it was left bandaged. Even though Tenri had given him a meal which he had eaten with no objection. Now, it was that same thing as always. Intense studying in those books and then staring at objects for a long period of time while nothing happened. The room was illuminated with nothing but candles. Giving a low and dim lighting but lighting up the room enough that he could see.

Guren mindlessly flipped the pages of the book that he had read probably a thousand times now. Guren had memorized everything. Tenri still yet to tell him exactly what it was, but there was a familiarity about it. Like Guren knew what it was but just couldn’t put the pieces together. The only thing that he knew was it was an Ancient Language. If he had to deduct what it was, it had to do with spells and magic. Through the corner of his eye, he was able to see the file that Tenri had in his hand.

PROJECT NIGHTINGALE
SUBJECT—

Guren couldn’t quite see the rest of it, but his gaze had focused on that word. Nightingale. So, that’s where he had seen it before. Guren felt a tightness in his chest. If only he was like a nightingale. Guren remembered reached it in a book that Tenri had brought. He could just… fly away from here. A nightingale’s song that could be heard with such beauty and the world just stopped and listened for a while. A voice that could carry through the night. The Omega boy turned his gaze back down at the book and flipped the page. Tenri closed the file, placing it down and covering it quickly with a few notebooks and a black case.

Guren kept staring down at the page as Tenri stood up and said, “That is enough for now.” The book was pulled out of Guren’s hands as the Omega boy placed his hands down into his lap and stared down at the fabric of the shorts that he was wearing. “I’ve been thinking…” Tenri said as he started to cross the room, and he placed the book down. Guren lifted his gaze, watching the man’s back with a sense of dread. He didn’t like whenever Tenri said thinking. A lot of times, Guren just ended up on the ground battered and bruised like usual. “You need a name.”

“A name?” Guren murmured as he felt his chest tightening again. Tenri had always called him nicknames. If that is what he could call them anyway. It was always something that put him down. Something that always made him feel so horrible about himself but never a name. Not his name. Even his own name felt like it was so far away, but even the sound of his own name in the back of his mind felt like it was starting to disappear. Guren felt the wave of emotion that hit him. The Omega boy didn’t know what he truly felt. “A… new name?”

“Stand up.” Tenri ordered. Guren slowly got up to his feet as he could feel the heated glare fixated on him. He kept his gaze down. He knew that Tenri was starting to get frustrated and angry. Once he was to his feet, he could hear Tenri’s footsteps getting closer to him. “You have nothing without me.” Tenri snapped. “Food, water, shelter… I can take it away in an instant.” It was not just a threat. It was a promise. Guren knew that. Guren took in a deep breath, trying to keep himself calm as he could feel this anger and resentment starting to crash into him. “I put clothes on your back. I give you everything that you could possibly need. I do that because there is no one else to take care of you.” Was there? Guren slowly started to lift up his gaze as the Alpha man stared down at him. “I did not have to take you in. All you have is me.” That was true. Guren just hated it. Tenri was the only person he had. The only person he remembered. Guren did not remember a life without Tenri in it. “You are for whatever I want you to be. You are whoever I want you to be.” Tenri’s voice was hardening. Getting harsher and full of venom with each word that he hissed out. “It’s not a new name. You are just a boy with no name. A boy with no family. A boy who had no home. A boy who didn’t have a person who cared about him like I do. A boy with nobody but me.” Tenri let out a sharp breath, giving him almost a fanatic look as he shook his head. “I am whatever I need to be for you. A caregiver, teacher, master. That is me. I continue to give you life in this world.”

“What world?” Guren whispered and froze as he realized he said it out loud. He quickly dropped his gaze as he felt the temperature in the room continuing to drop. A freezing tension that quickly started to fill around him as the powerful angered pheromones started to reach his nose. Pain exploded in Guren’s cheek as his head snapped to the side. The Omega boy stumbled on his feet but regained his balance quickly as he could taste the blood in his mouth.

“The world out there would not understand you.” Tenri grabbed at his face, forcing him to look back to him. Guren gazed up at Tenri in shock from those words. “They would want to destroy you.”

“Destroy me…” Guren murmured.

“If they knew about you,” Tenri said as he shook his head getting this softer look in his eyes. “They would just use you… They would hurt you in ways that you could never dream of.” Just like… Tenri? Guren felt the shiver going down his spine as the man’s fingers curled harder against his cheeks. Nails digging in as amber eyes burned into him. “No one can know about you. You have no true name. Nothing.” That was a lie. Guren was so sure of it. Why else was he… Guren. He didn’t want anything else. If he could have one thing, it would be that. Guren. “I have no choice in being harsh on you. You give me no choice.”

“Why?” Guren finally felt like he had the courage to ask. “Why can’t I just see the world? Even if it was just outside?”

“If someone saw you,” Tenri said with another shake of his head, “They would take you away. They would just hurt you. Here, I can be the one to care for you.” Guren’s chest felt like it was tightening more. Care? He did not know a kind hand. Tenri terrified him in ways that he could not explain. He was ruthless and unrelenting. “I would stop hurting you if you just listened to me.”

“I’ll listen.” Guren said quickly, “And you could…” He choked for a second, looking down as he murmured, “Protect me.” That felt like the right word to say.

It must have been because Tenri’s grip on his face started to loosen. “I do protect you.” Guren looked back up to see this strange look in Tenri’s eyes. “You shouldn’t even be alive right now, but look at you… You’ve come so far.” Guren felt the momentary confusion hit him. What did he mean by that? Guren was supposed to be… dead? With each passing second, Guren felt like he couldn’t breathe. That a weight was pressing down harder on his chest as Tenri looked over his face. “But I have to have something to call you. For all these years, you have had no name. Don’t you want one?”

Guren should just agree and let it be over with. To cover for the fact of the secret that stayed hidden in the depths of his closet. He didn’t remember how it had gotten there. Even the memory of that seemed to fade, but the only thing that he could remember was that it belonged to him. It was his, and he wasn’t going to let Tenri take that from him. Not completely.

Slowly, Guren had started to nod. He supposed that it would feel nice not to be called degrading names anymore. He didn’t think they would stop, but it was just another thing that Tenri was trying to give him. It was a rule. Guren had to accept whatever Tenri gave him without complaint. If he denied it, other things would be taken away because he was ungrateful for what he had been given.

“Yes.” Guren decided to say. He barely heard the sound of his own voice, but it felt like it was crushing him inside. An anger starting to bubble underneath his skin. Guren knew he had a name. He just couldn’t remember where it had came from. It felt like something was starting to shatter inside of him. Cracking away and chipping lightly piece by piece.

“Good,” Tenri murmured as he looked over Guren’s face again. “From this moment on, you will be…” It looked like Tenri was deep in thought. “Violet.”

Violet.

That was his new name.

His name wasn’t Violet… It was… Guren.

Guren felt his chest get impossibly tighter as the ability to breathe felt like it was being completely taken away from him. He could feel the tips of his fingers starting to tingle. His eyes started to sting as he fought back the tears. He could not let them show. Do not cry. Not in front of him. If Tenri saw him crying, he would find out what Guren had been hiding, and he would lose everything again. But he didn’t want to be called Violet. He wanted anything but that. His head started to ache as he could feel the pain trying to intensify. He didn’t want this.

His name was… Guren.

He had to remember that.

He couldn’t let Tenri take that away from him.

But he… was.

He was… Violet now.

With each passing second, he could feel the pain starting to get worse in his head and the burning in his eyes starting to get to the point that he was forced to shut his eyes. He winced as he felt the pounding in his skull getting worse as the tingling in his fingers moved more into his hands and it felt as if his veins were catching on fire. He flexed his fingers, trying to get the dull sparks of electricity to stop.

It felt like a piece of him was being taken away. The final piece that he had left. Even if he didn’t know what it was from or how he got it. But it was a part of him. Something that he wanted to keep. Something he wanted to remember. It was something he didn’t want to… replace. It felt as if his heart was being crushed as a way of sorrow and despair started to flood through him. Then came the anger. Anger and hatred that came from something that felt special to him.

Suddenly, this feeling started to overcome him as everything else around him felt like it was starting to become distant. It was almost as if he could feel wind. Wind that he could not explain as he cracked his eyes open and starting from behind him, the candles had started to blow out. The fire extinguishing quickly on each candle as it crashed through the room and plunged them into the darkness but just the bits of moonlight that came through the closed blinds. Slowly, Guren felt like he was starting to get the slightest bit of a grip on himself as he pulled in a deep breath and slowly released it as he looked around in his own surprise.

Tenri was not saying a word. He was just standing there looking at him with absolute satisfaction. A twinkle in his eyes and a smile coming to his face. The Alpha man’s gaze scanned the room, looking over the candles as his smile turned into a smirk. He clicked his tongue, giving a pleased sound as he murmured, “Well, if it isn’t the nightingale’s song.” Tenri’s gaze returned to him. “Don’t you see.” He said as he motioned around, “This is why I cannot let you out into the world. Why you have no name. Why you only have me.”

Guren inhaled sharply as he kept looking at all the candles. They were all blown out. That strange wind like feeling was no longer around him. His fingers no longer had that tingle and the pain in his head was slowly starting to cease. His eyes didn’t burn anymore either. The Omega boy looked back to Tenri in shock as he whispered, “What?”

Tenri just laughed. He sounded so happy. The Alpha man walked over to him, eyes shining as suddenly, Guren found himself off of his feet with hands underneath his arms and lifting him into the air. Tenri looked so… proud. Guren’s heart skipped a beat as a bit of heat of embarrassment and bashfulness covered his face. The feelings that he had felt like they were slowly starting to go away as Tenri just laughed. Tenri never had that look on his face. Ever.

“Everything I have been working for,” Tenri mused as his smirk got bigger. “Is finally starting to show. All the work that we have done.”

Guren’s gaze moved to the candles again as it started to dawn on him as he murmured, “That was… me?”

“You are finally starting to show the signs.” Tenri continued as Guren’s feet returned back to the floor and the Alpha had let him go. “The signs that I have been waiting for.” Guren was so confused, but it didn’t make him feel any better. Guren gasped as he was suddenly pulled forward and his eyes widened as he realized that Tenri had brought him into an… embrace. The embrace felt crushing. Like it was pinning him down and causing those chains to tighten even more. “You are starting to blossom, Violet.”

Guren felt his heart practically stop again as that name rolled from Tenri’s lips with ease. He had to fight that crushing feeling again. It wouldn’t matter what he said or what he did. Tenri’s mind had been made up. Guren had a new name now, but it wasn’t the only thing, and it confused him.

Tenri pulled back from him and Guren froze as Tenri’s hand landed on the top of his head. “From this moment on, we will create something so beautiful. Something that this world has never seen before… And I have done it.”

In that moment, it felt like a chapter of his life was coming to an end, and that a new one was starting and with a new identity.

And Guren didn’t know if he wanted to go forward into it.

Ever since that happened, Tenri had been driving it even more into him. The Omega boy didn’t understand what had happened. Was this what Tenri had been doing? It had been months since then. At least, that’s what Tenri said. That he had made no progress in months whenever he should be showing more. From that moment on, he had started to call him, Violet. It was his name now. He had a name that was given to him by Tenri, and he was expected to use it. Expected to come whenever he was called by it. Tenri had told him that the name was to give him an identity. Something to hold onto as his own. That it had originated from how his eyes seemed to shine at times, and Tenri just said it felt right. His eyes were purple. Hues of purple and violet. To give him a new purpose as he went into his new future. It even got to the point that the name that had been on the back of his mind felt like it was melting away. That it too had started to fade, and he could no longer remember what it was.

Tenri kept saying it was the exact reason that he could not go into the outside world. That he couldn’t come in contact with anyone. That they would want him dead. Tenri kept saying it again and again. He didn’t understand what it was, but he knew that it had to do with the medicine and the sessions where the Omega boy would be placed in front of items. He just didn’t get what he was supposed to do or what was supposed to happen.

Tenri was starting to grow angry with him and even more frustrated the longer that went by and there was nothing to show for it. Nothing like that had happened again since then. Whenever nothing did happen, Tenri’s anger would come in the form of his fists or the closest object to him. Harsh words and insults of how useless and worthless he was would be thrown at him. Tenri was locking him in the closet for long periods of time now. Leaving him deprived of food and water until he was unable to hardly move. To the point that he felt like he had no strength at all. Tenri would look him inside bruised and bloodied and leave him in there to have time to think how he could be… better.

That’s where he was now. Locked in the closet with nothing but darkness around him. Laying on the cold floor as he was curled up in a ball. He could taste the blood in his mouth. His lip was split open, and he was pretty sure that both of his eyes were bruised. Brand new bruises and broken open skin covered his body. He shivered from the cold but somehow it still felt so hot and stuffy. Goosebumps covered his skin, but a layer of sweat was on him.

The Omega boy coughed as he could feel his lungs burning. His throat was parched and in desperate need of water. His stomach was twisting up violently, growling in hunger at him as he felt so sick from the lack of food. He had already lost track of how long he had been in here. It was a lesson. That he was supposed to sit in here and just think about what he could do better and do better next time.

In this place, he felt like he had no light… No thoughts of his own… No voice… It was nothing but pure darkness that lingered over him and kept him wrapped up in chains that he could not get out of. That something covered his mouth whenever he tried to scream. He was really starting to hate such small and enclosed spaces. It felt like it was caving in on him. Getting closer and closer to him until eventually it would crush him.

Tenri had actually been proud of him whenever he had done that. But how could he do something that he didn’t know how to do it? Tenri had been nice in the days following but for the rest of them, his anger started to show. Bubbling over until he had finally beat him down again. Was it bad that he wanted to see that proud smile again? To have that kindness once more? Just as long as if it meant this wasn’t happening?

What could he even do?

He didn’t know.

The Omega boy coughed again, wheezing slightly as it felt harder to breathe. It was hard to tell if his eyes were open or not, but he knew they were because he could feel himself blinking.

He wanted to… remember.

Remember anything but this cold and harsh world that he was living in. But this was all that he knew. Everything felt so… cold. It couldn’t have anyways been like this.

Tenri had said that he had just been a boy without a name. That he never had a name. That wasn’t true, right? He knew better. He was positive that was not the case, but still, it felt even harder to remember now. Every time that he thought about it, all he could recall was Tenri saying his name was… Violet. That wasn’t his name. Only, he was struggling to recall it. Violet didn’t feel right. That wasn’t his name. He was so sure of it. Every time that Tenri called him that, he kept wanting to say, “That’s not my name.” as a small bell in the back of his mind would tell him that wasn’t him. He was just struggling to remember what it once was. Whenever he thought of his name, only Violet came to mind now. And then he would feel broken… sad… angry. It was like Tenri had taken another piece of him whenever he named him. It didn’t feel right. As if Tenri wasn’t supposed to do that. It wasn’t right.

His body felt so weak. His head was pounding but with an actual headache. His eyes hurt despite not being able to see anything. Being without light and the ability to see made his hearing focus on everything else. It was like it had gone into overdrive and he could hear the eerie creaking of the home. The wind hitting the sides of home. He rolled over onto his back as he first heard it. Rumbling. Like thunder. It was thunder, wasn’t it?

He kept listening to it. It sounded so loud. As if it was close by. It was like a low rumble and not just a crackling sound. Something soothing. Like the roll of drums. For just a moment, he wondered what the sky looked like. He couldn’t remember what the sky looked like. A clear, sunny day or the night sky that was littered in stars. Or whenever clouds would cover the sky. He tried to remember, but it just came back as a blank canvas. All he had was the sounds of it. The rumbling would stop momentarily before it would start back up again.

The Omega boy reached up with a shaky arm. His fingertips grazed the wall as he had the thought that maybe it would put him just a bit closer to it as he kept hearing that rumbling sound. It was so soothing to him. It was like music. The longing to just step outside to see it for himself came as his fingers started to slide down the wall. He froze as he felt something beneath his fingers that dug into his fingertips. For a second, he pulled away before a sense of familiarity washed over him. He let out a soft, labored breath as he placed his fingers back down and glided them over the splintered surface. One by one, he started to make out what it was. Letting what he was tracing appear before his mind as if he was writing it down.

G… U… R… E… N…

The Omega boy completely froze. Going utterly rigid as his fingers grazed the carving. It came crashing back to him as he remember who put that there. He did. Because… He didn’t want to forget. That felt so long ago. He had forgotten this was here. He felt completely paralyzed as it came back. A warmth suddenly hit him as it just felt… right.

Guren.

Suddenly, he heard a loud crack of thunder that jolted him out of that shocked state as he let out another shaky breath and he could feel his eyes starting to water. Against the roof, he was starting to hear the soft pitter patter of rain. Slowly making a steady sound that started to calm everything. He rolled over onto his side, touching each individual scratch in the wall where the name was carved in. Going over each one again and again to imprint it into his memory.

He knew what this was now.

He remembered.

“Guren,” The Omega boy whispered, “My name is…” He choked as he closed his eyes, leaning his forehead forward and pressing it into the wall. “Guren.”

Guren choked back a cry as the tears started to fall over as he heard the rain get heavier as it was followed by another loud roll of thunder. That was his name. The one thing that Tenri couldn’t take from him. Because he had made sure of it. The rain and quickly started to make him relax, letting his body calm down enough that he could feel sleep trying to come for him.

And as he was falling asleep, completely lulled by the sound of the thunderstorm that was brewing outside, Guren muttered one more thing before sleep finally took him.

“My name is Guren.”