Marriage of an Omega Chapter 4.3: Stolen Inhibitors (Part 3)

Translated by Mojo of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

 

“Sorry.” As if Miyake had seen through Masazumi’s wish that he would speak less formally, he spoke in a casual tone. Now it was as if he had thrown away his social status of a groundsman, and was speaking to Masazumi in an adult’s usual voice. “I saw those three ignoring the festival cleanup, so I wondered what they were doing and followed them. I already knew that Nashiba Takashi tends to lash out at you. When I heard you were sick and resting I thought, maybe… If it were just an unfounded worry then that would be good but unfortunately they really did go into your room.

“It might have been better to call the dormitory dean, but I didn’t think he would act quick enough. I could see Nashiba and Toyonaga in your room, so as a last resort I hoped that nobody was in the bedroom and threw a rock. If you were in trouble there, then I thought it might distract them enough for you to run away. It was a pretty irrational, reckless plan but at that moment, I couldn’t think of anything else. But I didn’t think you would climb over the balcony to get away, so watching from outside I was horrified. It’s good I was able to make it up here before you fell. I’m often asked to change the lights or fix some furniture here, so luckily I have a master key. Yeah, my apologies to the student who lives in this room, for barging in, but…”

“So it’s like that. I was saved because of you… Thank you.” Facing Miyake like this and hearing him talk, regardless of what he was saying, Masazumi’s heart felt giddy. The anxiety from his unusual experience had already settled down, but he was engulfed in a different kind of unrest. His heart would not stop throbbing. “It seems all I ever do is cause you trouble. It’s shameful.”

“The reason we collided a few days ago was because I wasn’t being careful. More importantly, at that time I was surprised to find that you knew my name.” 

“It’s not like I’ve memorised the names of all the workers or anything, it’s just that your atmosphere was different from the other so you stood out a bit.”

“I can see how I would seem a little out of place.” Miyake spoke carefreely and lightly smiled. Though he gave the impression that he was always alone outside of work, he didn’t seem difficult to approach.

“Reading, is that your hobby?”

“I do like it, but I wouldn’t call it a hobby. It’s just because I don’t have anything else to do during my breaks. I’m honored though, I didn’t think you knew so much about me.”

“You catch my attention. Because Miyake, you’re kind of a puzzling person.”

“Puzzling…? Which part of me?”

As he was questioned by Miyake, the image of him in the greenhouse two day ago flashed across Masazumi’s mind. Why Miyake had been together with the Toudou Marquis was one thing he wondered about, and he also wanted to know how close he was to Kase. “… On the first day of the school festival, I happened to see you with the Toudou Marquis in the greenhouse.”

When Kase had asked him, he had denied that he had any interest in Miyake, but the truth was he thought about him more than anyone else in the school. Untalkative and earnest, intelligent, and he had an aura like he somehow wasn’t an ordinary person. With his well balanced form, no matter what he wore it looked attractive on him, to the extent that Masazumi was surprised every time to see that a worker’s uniform could look so cool. He couldn’t not notice him.

When the Marquis’ name was mentioned, Miyake seemed to stiffen for a second. Maybe there really was something going on here, Masazumi surmised.

“If it’s some kind of special circumstance then I won’t press the issue. But you seem close to Kase Masamichi. He even called you ‘Yoshihisa.’”

As if to say ‘You even knew about Kase, I give up’, Miyake gave a strained smile. He pushed his hair back messily with dextrous fingers.

With that single gesture, Masazumi caught a bit of his masculine scent, and his heart skipped a beat. The pleasant smell of citrus floated lightly in the air. Fresh and sweet, but also sharp, it tickled his nostrils. He accidentally began to imagine the warmth of Miyake’s skin, and Miyake’s scent mixed with the smell of sweat. His stomach throbbed. He had thought of something improper, and became embarrassed. 

“I have no connection with the Marquis, is what I definitely would have said until now, but… maybe the circumstances have changed a little.” Miyake seemed to be choosing his words carefully, and gave Masazumi a meaningful look. It was strange, and he wasn’t able to work out why he had looked at him like that. 

“It’s rumoured that Kase is a relative of the Marquis, but…”

“Ah, well they are distantly related.” 

He was about to jump in and ask whether he really was an illegitimate child, but quickly realized that it was bad manners to pry thoughtlessly into others’ family affairs. Believing in the rumour in the first place was even more thoughtless. So Masazumi accepted Miyake’s statement obediently.

“Are you interested in Masamichi?” This time Miyake was the one asking a question.

Masazumi was perplexed by this unexpected query. Plus Miyake had also called Kase by his first name. That was a slight shock, and it made his chest squeeze. It felt as if he had found out they were dating, that’s how close they sounded, and for the first time Masazumi realized he might be jealous. 

It was strange to say it, but it seemed like he had been unconsciously thinking of Miyake… Yoshihisa, and now he was attracted to him. Until recently they hadn’t been able to speak very easily. He was an enthusiastic worker who never cut corners, and he gave such a nice impression when he was reading books. It would appear that these feelings had just grown over time on their own.

‘It’s not Kase I’m interested in, it’s you’— the words made it to the back of his throat, but he suppressed them. If he said anything like that then Yoshihisa would be surprised, and troubled. He was scared of his reaction. If he became a nuisance then he would never be able to get close to him again. The thought was painful.

“Not really.” Masazumi had a habit of ending conversations that threatened to expose his real emotions. So in an affected way he said ‘not really’, just those two words, and cut off the line of conversation. Yoshihisa also just nodded his head acceptingly, not pursuing the thought.

An impatient, frustrated feeling overcame him. He couldn’t calm down. He had wanted them to open up to each other, he wanted to talk about various things, but now the conversation had come to a clumsy end. He hadn’t said even half of the things he wanted to say.

“Should we go? It doesn’t seem like there is anyone in the hallway now. I broke the window in your room, so you might not be able to use it. I’m sure the dean would arrange an empty room if you asked.”

It was just as Yoshihisa said; Nashiba, his friends, and the dean didn’t seem to be around. Maybe he had returned to the office to organise the window repairs. Masazumi wanted to stay with Yoshihisa a little longer, but he had work to do, and wouldn’t have time to worry about him. It was a shame but he didn’t want to say anything selfish and be a nuisance, so he stood up from his chair obediently.

He tried to move normally by himself, but as soon as he stood up he was overcome with an intense dizziness, almost enough to lose consciousness. He began to fall, “Oops!”

Yoshihisa managed to extend his arms and support him, so he didn’t collapse, “Are you alright?”

He tried to say yes, but as soon as he felt the warmth of Yoshihisa’s touch and was able to smell him from up close, his heart contracted violently. From the center of his body to his extremities, every corner of him was filled with a tingling feeling.

A hot, obscene torrent rushed from the top of his head to his toes, unlike anything he had ever experienced before. His body began feverishly convulsing, with a torturous pain as if somebody had set fire to his insides. He couldn’t keep still. If he had been alone when this had happened to him he would probably be writing around on the ground, “H- hot! It’s too hot–!”

Not just that, but his stomach muscles kept clenching, and even his clothes brushing against his very sensitive skin almost made him moan out loud. Usually he didn’t need to masturbate that often, but now his penis was hard and sore. His asshole kept contracting lewdly. He could feel himself getting wet, and his body clumsily shaking as he struggled to breathe as lust consumed him. 

He slowly started to become aware of his sweat-covered body and disordered breathing.

“Nirei.” Of course Yoshihisa would be surprised by his sudden changes.

“Shit…” He muttered in a slightly weakened voice, and sat Masazumi back in the chair. But Masazumi wasn’t able to support himself on the hard wood chair, slumping sideways as soon as Yoshihisa let go of him. He lost balance and was about to fall again.

“That didn’t work? We’re in trouble.” Yoshihisa put him back in the chair again, he looked like he was about to go call the dean or the doctor.

“Don’t go… please.” Inbetween rough, feverish breaths, Masazumi hung onto his arm and pleaded. He was unable to make rational judgements, and couldn’t even make the connection that this situation was his first heat. That was the extent to which the heat had taken away his reason. Inside his mind, he just felt helpless, wondering why he had suddenly been afflicted with this extreme condition.

If he had realized that it was his heat, then he would probably hurriedly try to avoid anyone seeing him, and hide it. He would have kept everyone but the school doctor away, had he been aware of his own situation. 

“I’d also rather stay with you. To stay, and alleviate this… but I don’t have enough confidence in my self control to remain beside you.” Yoshihisa’s serious words reach Masazumi’s ears.

He can hear the voice, but couldn’t understand even half of their meaning. He was beginning to wonder if he had been drugged, his brain felt so numb, and his self-awareness kept decreasing. It was not a situation where he could think normally. 

“… Did you not take your medicine?” His hesitant words lifted some of the fog, and Masazumi’s dim field of vision expanded, as if lightning had struck him. As if the realisation was injected into his brain. 

“Huh…?”

Beads of sweat were dripping heavily from the sides of his face, some of them clinging to his eyelashes. As he blinked they got in his eyes, and he was unable to keep his eyes open because of the stinging. Once the word ‘medicine’ had been spoken, he finally realized that he was in heat. He had thought that it would come tomorrow or the day after based on the cycle, but it seemed like the shock from Nashiba revealing he was an omega had influenced his body and made the heat come early. 

Apart from finding out that he was in heat, something else had shaken Masazumi. Yoshihisa’s words had indicated that he knew about his secret.

Why did he know?

He had been told that betas were unable to sense omega pheromones, but very rarely there were some who could. They wouldn’t get aroused like an alpha, but they could tell omegas apart. 

Was Yoshihisa one of those rare betas?

Certainly he wasn’t–?

His disorganised heartbeat pounded against his thin chest. It felt increasingly painful and there was no sign of this being cured. 

“The reason you took a day off school, and the reason Nashiba Takashi broke into your room… I get it now. So Nashiba has realized as well?”

“W- wait. What are you saying? Are you really, are you really– you as well…”

“I’m an alpha.”

It was slightly hard to believe but there was no reason to doubt Yoshihisa or deny his words. Masazumi received a shock at this unexpected development, released his grip on his arm, and weakly leaned back against the wooden chair, absentmindedly hoping it would hold his weight.

When he looked at Yoshihisa, he thought that he gave off an impression similar to his brother, Takanori. Their strong and animated bodies were alike, their superior height, their gracefulness, their responsible aura. These were the features he had associated with his brother. Though his position was a little different when it came to his brother, he could see how their fundamental nature might be similar. This might also be the reason that Yoshihisa had interested him so much. The reason why Masazumi had always sought him out.

But there shouldn’t be so many alphas this close to him. Further, for an alpha to be born into the lower classes and be working at the school, would usually be impossible. He hadn’t even imagined the possibility. Was his world view just small?

“That’s not… that can’t…” Masazumi was confused, his shoulders shook and his breathing was pained. Intense cravings were attacking him continuously, it was hard to maintain a train of thought. He was unable to lift his arms, which hung loosely at his sides. His head kept falling to the side, as he lost his sense of balance. His dizziness was getting worse. Cold sweat coated his body, and he was on the verge of throwing up.

More than that, his body kept pulsing, his stomach would tighten and he kept getting wetter. He felt so dirty and confused he didn’t know what to do. His underwear was straining against his erection. If he so much as brushed it with a finger he would probably leak uncontrollably with thick, white liquid. Omega semen had no sperm in it, it only acted to further arouse an alpha. 

He unconsciously imagined the tip being sucked, licked, and a new onslaught of obscene feelings came over him. An erotic sound escaped him, as he unintentionally bit his hips. A sweaty aroma was spreading around the room, it smelt sweet, like overripe fruit, and it was enough to make him choke. It was like the scent of some extravagant flower, it intoxicated him. It was incredibly strange how no beta could be aware of something like this.

His first heat was more painful than he had imagined, it was distressing him. He thought he would go crazy if this kept up. It was if he was no longer himself, it scared him.

“From when…? When did you… realize that I was like ‘this’…” He had intended to suppress it with medicine. The terrible Nashiba, who had picked on him for over five years, who had spent entire days nearby him, had only just realized recently that Masazumi was like ‘that.’ It must have been at the water fountain where he saw Masazumi take the medicine, that his doubts had started.

Yoshihisa started working at this school almost two years ago. The fact that a young male university graduate had searched for this kind of work and was employed here, became quite a common topic of conversation at that time. Everyone wondered why he had purposefully sought out this kind of work, thinking it was strange. Even Masazumi, who would not engage in gossip, had secretly thought that Yoshihisa was a weird person.

“Maybe you won’t believe me, but…” As if he were still deciding whether to speak or not, Yoshihisa hesitantly answered, “Only a little while after I had come to this school, I had to go to the library to change a broken light bulb. We passed each other between two of the shelves.”

Ah, thought Masazumi. His memory of that occasion was vivid. Even though he had worn his cap low over his face, Masazumi had been able to see the masculine jaw line, and the intelligent looking mouth, and thought that he was pretty clean-cut for a groundsman. He had accidentally stared, enough for it to be rude. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that it was like his gaze had been nailed to the man, he couldn’t look away. 

Every time he saw Yoshihisa he was reminded of that sensation. He looked back over that first encounter in the library. 

“Back then, as soon as I noticed you appearing from the aisle, my body reacted. I had never experienced that sensation before in my life. Without believing it at first, I assumed I had been mistaken. I knew about you shortly after I came to this school; I’d heard about a famous student. The second son of a famous family, excellent grades. You were so pretty it wouldn’t have been impossible to think that my senses had malfunctioned. I explained it like that, and convinced myself, but the other times when we bumped into each other, the scent coming from you was so strong I felt intoxicated. Eventually I understood that I wasn’t mistaken.”

“But… that’s strange. ‘Cos until now Nashiba and Kase never noticed. I was taking the suppressants every day.”

“Yeah. I wonder why, then.” Yoshihisa’s tone of voice was gentle and kind. He was choosing carefully the things he said, speaking soothingly, so as not to stimulate Masazumi any further. 

Other than his brother, Masazumi had never had an alpha treat an omega like him with such care, such respect. It was unexpected. Alphas who had no blood connection to an omega would definitely act arrogantly, with no mercy, to secure a superior position. He had thought that was how things usually were. Nashiba’s attitude had been an example of that, “Do you think, Kase noticed as well…?”

In front of the greenhouse, Kase had whispered to him. ‘Don’t let your guard down around Nashiba Takashi’. Those words came to mind, and Masazumi opened his heavy eyelids to gaze questioningly at Yoshihisa. The meaning of that sentence was sinking in. It was possible that Kase had realized Nashiba knew his secret, and was warning him. If that was true it meant Kase knew as well. 

“Masamichi likely realized from observing me.” He blinked slowly as he spoke, his black pupils roaming jumping around the room bashfully. “It might not even have been from me. He’s smart, he’s a man who can see the inner workings of people’s love affairs and things like that. It’s possible he just noticed of his own accord. ‘You’re way too obvious’, he’s often said stuff like that to tease me.”

“Obvious…?” Masazumi cocked his head slightly. Whenever he spoke it sent slight vibrations through his body, and his senses were shaken. The impure feeling tormented him so much that he could only stand it if he rubbed his thighs together, so his words became increasingly few.

“…I’m an alpha, but you’re the first omega I’ve ever met.” Yoshihisa said this roughly, awkwardly, and moved away from him slightly. 

It made Masazumi uneasy, and a little sad. Maybe the strong smell he was giving off was painful for Yoshihisa, it seemed like he wanted to get away from him, which was upsetting. 

“When you’re near me, your body reacts strangely… am I a nuisance?”

If he had someone he liked, then he wouldn’t want to get caught up by the temptation of an omega. Masazumi would understand if Yoshihisa wanted to avoid him. It didn’t matter if they liked the partner or not, an alpha physically could not ignore an omega in heat. Though within that group were some unlikeable alphas as well. Yoshihisa seemed like the kind of person to swear fidelity to his partner. That was the kind of personality he appeared to have.

“No…” Yoshihisa faltered and made a strange expression. 

Masazumi regretted asking something so hard to answer, “Sorry. Just go, and I’ll try to work this out by myself.”

“No, it’s not like that.” His words had surprised the man, who denied it strongly. Masazumi’s eyes widened, surprised by the intensity of his voice. “It’s the opposite, I’m… I don’t know if I can take it anymore. As much as I desperately try and control myself, if I’m around you any longer I don’t know what I’ll do. So I think it’s best if we separate a bit. I don’t want to do anything against your wishes.”

“… That’s…”

Yoshihisa knew Masazumi was an omega, but he still respected him like a person, and had been trying to keep up an equal relationship. 

“For now, I’ll go get the school doctor. The dean will probably be coming back soon, so go wait in your room. You can’t use the bedroom, but you can lie down on the sofa. The rest you can leave to the doctor, who’ll probably have some way to lessen your symptoms.”

“Wait, Miyake-san…!” Masazumi just managed to grab Yoshihisa’s hand, as he was already turning to leave. “… Really, please don’t go.”

His fingers shook; he had no power over them. Even he could tell that his entire body was burning up, including his palms. Yoshihisa stopped moving, and pressed his hand to Masazumi’s forehead, “Your fever, it’s pretty bad.”

Just from their hands being linked, and from his forehead being touched, Masazumi was engulfed in a lust so intense it made him writhe in agony.

“Ah… nn.” He tried to clench his teeth to endure it, but his lips were shaking so much he couldn’t even close his mouth. He wasn’t able to swallow either, a drop of saliva spilled out of his mouth and along his jaw. The sensation of that made his body shake even further.

“Miya– Yoshihisa-san…” He was so close to losing his grip on reality, almost on the verge of wandering about to find an alpha without regard for appearances. His emotions were so overworked that tears began pouring out. He didn’t want to cry, but he couldn’t stop it.

If he could have the seed of an alpha, he could escape from the pain of his heat. If he wanted an alpha, there was no need to become paired. Until he found an alpha which would pair with him, he could either find a partner every time he went into heat, or suppress this with medicine. The nature of the relationship between alphas and omegas was that alphas were in a completely superior position.

“I… want you.”

There were three alphas here. If he had to choose, he would pick Yoshihisa over his classmate Kase and Nashiba was out of the question. He didn’t hate Kase, but Masazumi had been interested in Yoshihisa for a while now, and was drawn to him. If Yoshihisa had any interest in him in return, then there was no reason for him to hesitate.

“You’re trying to seduce me?” Yoshihisa took his hand, and entwined their fingers again, squeezing tightly. 

“I’m an omega, you’re an alpha. You can use me as you like.” Even if he only embraced him once out of curiosity, or carved a promise into the muscle of his neck by pairing with him, making him serve him for life, it didn’t matter. Masazumi had already decided he wouldn’t have regrets. 

“It’s unbearable. I can’t win. There’s no way I could deny you.” Yoshihisa said that, but it didn’t seem like that was the case. He smiled lightly, placed his hand on Masazumi’s mouth, reverently pressing on his lips. “Do you believe in love at first sight?”

“… It exists, I think.” Masazumi had first noticed Yoshihisa with a feeling similar to that. According to Yoshihisa’s story from a little while ago, it would seem like he also had fallen in love with him at first sight.

“Then, what about soulmates?”

Masazumi gulped, swallowing a little bit of air, “I thought they belonged to the world of fiction, but… hearing it from your mouth I think it would be nice if they existed.”

“When you’re with me, do you feel something like ‘fate’?”

At such a blunt question, Masazumi averted his gaze, his eyelashes fluttering. He nodded slightly in assent.

“I feel it.” Yoshihisa had also said it clearly.