The stadium was bursting with noise. After the silence of the corridor, the sudden roar of the crowd hit like a wave. Girls and boys cheered wildly for their teams, waving handmade posters, stamping their feet.

“A bottle of water, please.” His voice shook a little—the same boy who had lingered outside the nurse’s office not long ago. When a group of girls laughed loudly just behind him, he flinched as though the sound had struck him. He grabbed the bottle from the woman’s hand and hurried toward the farthest row. Collapsing onto a seat, he drained it in a few large gulps, as if washing something bitter down.

The game was almost over. A few more minutes, and the winners were announced. The stadium exploded again with cheers and shrieks of joy.

“Hey, Yahiko!” A sudden voice jolted him. “We won!”

“Y-yeah.” He forced the corners of his lips up, pretending to share the excitement. But his smile trembled, his thoughts still tangled in what he had just witnessed.

“I can’t believe that idiot Denji pulled it off!” Shin laughed, shoving Yahiko’s shoulder. “Why is it always the sporty ones that turn out to be jerks? Just let him try to mess with me, I’ll show him who’s boss!”

“Okay, okay, Shin.” Yahiko stood quickly, still smiling. “It’s not the time to show off. Let’s go before they catch us here.” His tone was light, almost playful, but all he wanted was to escape the press of voices around him.

“That’s my Yahiko — always smiling, keeping out of trouble.” Shin grinned and pushed through a knot of girls, waving him along.

Yahiko followed close, slipping fast through the crowd. It wasn’t the size of the crowd he hated, but the people hidden in it — the ones he feared to meet.

“Hey, aren’t you going to greet your heroes?” Yahiko flinched as a hand clamped down on his shoulder, making him turn.

“Nerds are hurrying back to their study room,” the boys in football kits laughed.

Yahiko jerked his arm, but the grip only tightened. “Let me go.”

“Don’t forget—" the boy holding him muttered, leaning close so only Yahiko could hear, "you’re just a lone omega.”

“Hey! You wanna fight, Denji-Edgy?” Shin appeared out of nowhere, grabbing the alpha’s collar with his fist and shoving closer.

“Look, an omega fighting for an omega,” someone from the crowd jeered.

“Let’s go, Yahiko.” Shin yanked him free from Denji’s grip, his fist raised in warning.

“Yeah, have your fun while you can!” Denji’s voice chased after them.

“Forget them. Let’s celebrate the win,” another teammate called, while the two omegas hurried into the school building.

Shin was still seething, muttering under his breath. “Stupid asshole. Why did he even come at you?”

“You know why, Shin.” Yahiko’s voice was flat. “Because he’s right. I am a lone omega—and no one can change that. I just wish I could live one day in peace.”

“Don’t say that, Yahiko. Being a lone omega isn’t a sentence. We’ll figure something out. You could always ask my family to help.”

“Thank you, Shin, but I can’t stay at your house forever, hiding under the scent of an elder alpha. I have to look after my grandma.”

“I know.” Shin sighed, slowing his steps. “But promise me this—you won’t do anything to yourself.”

Yahiko met his eyes. “I promise, Shin. Nothing that could ever hurt me.”

“Okay.” Shin gave a quick smile.

He didn’t press him any further as they walked down the corridor. The noise of the stadium faded behind them, replaced by stillness of the school’s empty halls. 

Half the school year was already behind them, and the summer break was just around the corner. The library had become their place through most of the first term — a quiet retreat where rows of bookshelves sheltered them from the noise outside. It felt right to end the year here, on a quiet note.

They sat in silence for a while, lost in their own thoughts, until Shin finally spoke.

“Don’t stress over Denji, alright? He’s not the first jerk and won’t be the last. We’ll deal with him.”

“…I’m not thinking about Denji.” Yahiko’s voice was low.

Shin frowned. “Then what?”

Yahiko hesitated, fingers tightening on the edge of the table. For a moment it looked like he might stay silent. Then, carefully:

“I saw a boy in the nurse’s office today. He’d been bitten.”

Shin froze, his face stiffening. “…And?”

“It was real. A fresh bite.”

“Are you sure?”

Yahiko nodded once. “I’m sure.”

Shin exhaled sharply. “Damn… in the middle of the festival.” He went quiet for a moment, eyes narrowing as a thought struck him. “…You don’t think it was Denji, do you?”

“How? He was on the field the whole time. And the boy wasn’t even from our school, so we’ll never really know what happened to him.” Yahiko’s tone was steady, but his gaze stayed low. After another pause, he added softly, “He may be an idiot, but not that kind of idiot.”

Shin rubbed the back of his neck, still unsettled. Then his expression sharpened again. “Wait. What were you even doing there?”

“Well… my head hurt.”

“Headache?”

“Yes. The sun got to me.” Yahiko nodded quickly, almost too firmly.

Of course it was a lie. And Shin knew it. They both knew Yahiko had slipped away from the stadium to vanish for a while. It was the only time he ever felt free.

In that world, being a lone omega was close to a sentence. Without anyone to shield you, you were left open to be claimed at anyone’s whim. For Yahiko, high school was the worst place to face it. Raised only by his grandmother, he had no elder alpha in the family to leave a protective scent on him, no one to warn others away. And in a world where scents meant everything for secondary genders, that absence made him an easy target.

At first, he had been lucky. Entering high school together with Shin, his childhood friend, gave him some cover. Shin’s family was large, filled with older alpha brothers and a father whose presence clung to him. Spending so much time together, Yahiko carried traces of their scent as well, and for a while, it fooled the others.

But it couldn’t last forever. Alphas soon realized the scent didn’t belong to him but to Shin. And once Yahiko stopped spending time at Shin’s house, the borrowed protection faded from his skin. Slowly, they began to notice what he really was: an omega with no one to stand behind him.

That meant only one thing – sooner or later, someone would try to put a mark on him. And once it happened, he would be branded wasted. A wasted omega was one without family, without protection, who could be claimed over and over again, whenever and by whoever wished. No one wanted a bond with such a person – no trust, no future, only a mark that turned them into something less than human.

Yahiko felt it more sharply than ever: he didn’t have much time left. Today’s accident during the school game had shown him too clearly what awaited him. For an omega, it didn’t matter whether you had someone or not – you always needed an alpha. That could never be changed.

But why wait for fate to decide it? Why leave it to chance? Better to choose for yourself than to be chosen. Yahiko was one of those people.

He closed his book and stood, slipping it into his bag.

“Where are you going?” Shin asked, looking up.

“I guess the club meeting is over.” Yahiko forced a small smile.

“Already? Are we going home?” Shin began to gather his own things.

“You go ahead without me. I need to talk to a teacher about my summer assignment.”

“Oh… okay.” Shin’s voice dropped, just a little. “Then… see you later. And hey, come by sometime, alright? You haven’t been over in ages.”

“Yeah.” Yahiko’s reply was quiet, almost lost in the rustle of chairs. He pushed his seat back under the table and walked out, leaving Shin behind.