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Chapter Text

🍁 autumn 🍁

Three piles of sealed envelopes were spread out on the table in front of Tooru, nearly complete with the list of those around the various kingdoms that the prince wanted to invite.

The smallest pile on the left was addressed to the princes and princesses that Tooru personally wrote messages to, they'd be delivered by couriers who were trusted not to screw around and have them delivered in a timely fashion. Karasuno, Shiratorizawa, Nekoma, Fukurodani, Johzenji, Itachiyama, Inarizaki, Date Tech, Mujinazaka, and Kamomedai were all on the extensive list and Tooru spent the last two weeks personalizing his letters to them.

The pile in the middle would be for wealthy noble houses, notable merchants, champions of the coliseum, legendary hunters, remarkable artists, and others of the sort. Tooru took recommendations from his inner circle and his mother on who would be fitting to join this month-long courting event.

The biggest pile to the right would be split up and distributed throughout certified guilds for the commoners to have a chance to win a teal ticket into this event. They were not to be sold; the letter would disintegrate upon any monetary transaction, and that had been an interesting enchantment for Takehiro to work out. They were to be earned through competition such as hunting, dueling, cooking, painting, games…whatever put their skills to the test over simply buying their way in.

Plus the letter would be branded with your name once the royal seal was broken.

All in all, there'd be around one hundred and fifty potential participants from nearly every kingdom seeking out their future mates or possibly just wanting to network or party their ass off next summer, Tooru wasn't going to be too picky about what these people did. What specifically mattered to the prince was throwing a grand courting event that would be remembered for decades to come, one that was inclusive and didn't just invite the same brats over and over.

He might've had other motives too, this was Oikawa Tooru after all.

"I asked my mother for advice about letting Nohebi in," Tooru said as he held up one sealed envelope, idly flipping around in his hand. "She said that she trusted me to make my own decisions concerning a kingdom that may or may not try to kill everyone present."

"That'd be fantastic for the drama." Issei was standing off by the table too; they were surrounded by the taller shelves of books that made up this floor in the castle library.

"Didn't you invite their prince to your birthday last year?" Shigeru, Tooru's personal assistant who'd been helping with writing and sealing all these letters, chimed in "I thought you two got along well… or no one got poisoned and died at least."

"As far as we know." Issei said.

"Suguru swore up and down that his people would behave if they were to come, plus it's been what, fifty, seventy years since their banishment from the courting season?" Tooru replied. "Other than the skirmishes with the kitty cats and owls, it's true Nohebi hasn't thrown themselves into a war as of late…"

"Seventy-five years," Shigeru corrected, "I do think that's more than enough time for them to repent and reflect on their past actions. Plus, you've also shown desires for wanting every kingdom to attend, no matter their past rivalries."

"My mother and sister were absolutely shocked when I said Shiratorizawa was on my list," Tooru mused, getting a few laughs as his friends remembered the queen's reaction quite fondly, "and personally, I have nothing against Nohebi, they've been useful trade partners as well… I do think they've atoned by now."

There weren't any objections as Tooru glanced around; Issei probably didn't give a shit either way if it meant bedding a cute omega, Shigeru argued harder against Shiratorizawa, Takehiro would have more letters to enchant later, Akira had his head in a book, Kentarou had his eyes on Shigeru's ass.

"Hajime? Any comments?"

Tooru's knight was standing opposite of Issei, closer to the prince, but without his full regalia of armor and weapons much like everyone else in here. "Nekoma and Fukurodani won't like it, Karasuno was already iffy on them since you know Kozume and Hinata are tight, but… it'd be hypocritical to keep shunning them for their past generations’ mistakes."

"Alright, then Suguru is in." Tooru set the letter on the royalty pile and they still had a few more matters to sort out before everything could be set into motion. "Have you got my travel itinerary settled?"

Shigeru handed Tooru a smaller, leatherbound notebook from his bag and right on the first page was just what Tooru expected. "Bokkun, that stubborn knothead, he'll be the most difficult to drag away from his precious dragons."

"Just bait him with dragon hunting out on our lands, easy," Issei said, "he has a very one track mind."

"Well yes, but I need him to stay for the whole event, not just spear some poor lizard in the throat and then fuck off back home," Tooru huffed. "Do you know how many courting balls and galas that alpha has been invited to? Do you know how many he's actually attended? None."

"There a reason why he won't go?" Akira's soft voice spoke up in his corner, still looking down at whichever book he was occupying himself with.

"Hates omegas?" Issei said.

"Third in line, no point in getting married when he won't be sitting on the throne anytime soon." Shigeru added.

"Probably wants to hunt more than getting roped into raising a family." Kentarou replied. He would know; it was rare to even see Kentarou in the castle, the famed hunter was always out trying to find the next monster to kill.

Unless he was missing a certain omega.

Tooru clicked his tongue as he skimmed through the excessive history that Shigeru jotted down, Tooru had known Koutarou since they were mere pups and he was always obsessed with fighting and bringing home trophies of the ridiculous monsters he killed. Tooru participated in his own fair share of hunting throughout the years, but Koutarou was carving out his legacy in Fukurodani and throughout their continent as a whole.

Dragons, hydras, griffons, minotaurs, orcs, demons, imps, fae… that alpha was unstoppable. Omegas would soak themselves at the mere mention of his name, fawning over how strong and handsome he was, wishing they could be his mate. Unfortunately that brute hadn't ever courted a single omega in his life and he'd immediately shut down the prospect as well, but Tooru wasn't going to let him skip this.

He would drag that owl kicking and screaming.

"Prince Kozume…" Tooru remarked under his breath, "I just need to pester him enough and he'll give in, I'm not too worried about that kitten."

"He's close with Bokuto and Hinata too, we've got one of them on lock." Issei said with Tooru humming in confirmation; prince Shouyou was the very first to jump on board with the idea in the first place.

"Nekoma also borders Fukurodani, it'd be fitting to visit once you've managed to convince Bokuto to confirm his attendance," Shigeru said. "If not, he may be amenable to coming with us to see Kozume and with his best friend there…"

"Peer pressure, love the strategy Ya-chan," Tooru mused, "Bokuto does have a very hard time saying no to Ken-chan, maybe if he didn't hate the very concept of settling down, they would have shacked up already."

"Their alliance is already dangerously powerful, do not suggest a marriage between the two." Hajime grumbled off to the side.

Tooru wasn't too worried about Kenma rejecting his invitation; he may be known for his reserved and shy attitude, but Tooru knew Kenma had a type if his lingering eyes told Tooru anything during his last birthday party. On the other hand, Kenma's parents were extremely picky, an alpha would need to jump through a dozen hoops to impress them and coming to this courting event would cut them out from the process completely.

Kenma just needed a little shove.

"… Sakusa…" Just the name rolling off of Tooru's tongue had the others sighing or rolling their eyes in distaste, "butter me up with Bokkun and Ken-chan then throw me into a dilapidated hellhole, you hate me, Ya-chan."

"I'm only following your requests, my prince," Shigeru flatly responded. "I would suggest skipping them since they'll be forced to accept the invitation nonetheless in some attempt to save their failing kingdom."

"Why did you listen to past me?" Tooru clicked his tongue as he paused on the sketched out photo of the omega he'd been eyeing, "I'm only showing my face there so we'll secure Kiyoomi, those morons will send their alpha son and no one is idiotic enough to marry into that psychotic family."

"Could always take both," Issei said, "last I counted the ratio was fairly even between omegas and alphas, no?"

"I'm not cruel enough to inflict that alpha on any poor omega, but… I'm willing to compromise." Tooru said, "I'm sure they wonder why no one wants anything to do with them when they're still trapped in their completely backwards ideals."

"I'm just curious how that raggedy nation is still standing, it's ripe for the taking when you consider their resources alone," Kentarou said.

"They invest every gold coin into their army, it's not worth a full scale invasion when it'll turn into a meat grinder and you'll waste your best soldiers trying to force your way through," Tooru replied. "Neither the kitty cats nor owls… or even the snakes are interested in diving into that god awful mess of a kingdom, never mind all the starving peasants you'd need to feed, clothe, properly re-educate? Let them fester until the king dies."

"And you're intent on taking Kiyoomi away from them?" Issei asked.

"I have a soft heart for beautiful and tragic omegas," Tooru flashed a smile as Issei just scoffed, "it's not fair for him to be trapped there. Maybe you can take him as your wife, Mattsun, join me in performing a good deed."

"I'd rather chain myself to Daishou for the rest of my miserable years."

That invoked another round of laughter as Tooru moved onto the next kingdom in their travel plans, by next spring he would have gone through all eleven kingdoms on the continent. Some were huge with piles of wealth and high populations like Karasuno, Fukurodani, Inarizaki. Others were much smaller and powerful in their own right from certain resources and leaders who wouldn't bow down to the bigger nations like Kamomedai and Mujinazaka.

Then there were the ones inbetween… and Itachiyama. Tooru never went there in person, but there were plenty of galas that invited the heads of royalty to gather and that omega often caught his eye once he was old enough to travel with his parents. He had zero interest in mating him, that was way too much potential baggage even for Tooru to handle, but he took pity as Kiyoomi was forced to isolate away from everyone else.

Mistreated by his older brother and father and… who knows what else happened behind closed doors. If anything, this was also a great opportunity for omegas to escape their home life and hopefully wind up with a decent alpha, if there was an alpha who would look past Kiyoomi's dreadfully heinous lineage. Tooru could only try to pull strings where possible…

Their group settled on their travel plans just before dinner was to take place, they'd be leaving for Fukurodani next week and Tooru wanted to keep their party light and somewhat covert. Kunimi would be trusted to stay behind to take care of any affairs on the prince's behalf, while Shigeru, Kentarou, Issei, Takehiro, and Hajime were traveling with him.

The letters would be sent off in the morning and Tooru was excited; Seijoh had been host to courting events in the past, but nothing on this scale, nothing that'd have the attention of all. People would be vying to get in, they'd read the snippets and updates in the papers on their favorite princes and princesses, they'd be privy to those falling in love and fighting each other over an omega.

Things were in motion now…

"Hajime~" Tooru was wrapped up in a fluffy robe after exiting his steaming bath, he should take advantage of the royal treatment he's been spoiled with… soon enough he'd have to be sleeping under the stars with all that… wildlife.

His knight smelled freshly washed too, the omega lingering by the balcony as the door was wide open and Tooru took him in a hug from behind. He planted soft kisses along Hajime's neck, getting a faint purr when his tongue licked his unmarked scent gland. Mine.

"Are you going to mate anyone?" Hajime was blunt with the question as Tooru tightened the hold around his waist.

"You know I'll be too busy running everything behind the scenes, I don't have time to entertain any omegas who aren't you."

"But they'll still want your attention."

"And I'll play along, but you're the only omega that I've ever put my knot in and that'll never change." Tooru's hand went to slip into Hajime's yukata, shamelessly groping his chest. "I love you, Hajime, no one else."

Tooru smelled the sweetness spilling from Hajime's scent gland within moments, that faint purr was a steady rumble as the omega turned his head to press a kiss to Tooru's lips. They'd been together much too long for Tooru to have eyes for anyone else, if that were even possible…

He remembered his father trying to keep them apart, claiming Tooru shouldn't associate with a filthy peasant like Iwaizumi, but that man was long dead by now. It was only a shame that he wasn't around long enough to see that scrawny pup transform into a big, strong knight that devoted his life to Tooru.

"Were you actually worried or did you want to hear it?" Tooru's hand slipped down a little further, fingertips grazing Hajime's tan skin and defined muscles.

"Both… you know they'll be on your ass about getting engaged…"

"I'll keep telling them to fuck off, I'm the prince and I can do whatever I please, including you."

Hajime absolutely rolled his eyes at that, but didn't stop his prince from walking him over to his bed, watching as one of the most powerful men in all of Seijoh fell to his knees.

"I'll make you forget all those silly thoughts, my love."

This time next week they'd be bound for Fukurodani, but Tooru was only interested in the glorious, slick bounty between Hajime's legs right about now. Couldn't have his knight doubting his love for him.

Chapter Text

🍁 autumn 🍁

Koutarou dismounted his horse in the middle of all the charred wreckage of a former village; they were getting closer to the culprits rampaging through the east. Reports poured in three weeks ago of the first group of villages they'd attacked and massacred, many were caught off guard and killed by young dragonlings that escaped whichever nest they'd hatched out of. Koutarou wasn't a fan of outright slaughtering them, instead preferring to catch and release them far from human civilization, but this was one of those cases that was getting out of hand too quickly.

Too many lives had been lost.

They were lucky this time however, word had gotten out through survivors and people warning others in the surrounding areas, villagers were leaving in mass droves to local cities that temporarily housed them. And while the prince could have easily left this to one of the hunting guilds to handle, it was on his honor to see that his monsters were killed with efficiency and his people would see that he wouldn't hide in the palace at a time like this. Koutarou sensed they'd be able to catch up with the dragonlings either by tonight or later tomorrow, it was clear the damage here was fresh.

From the lack of charred bodies around here, Koutarou assumed the place had been evacuated beforehand, but it didn't hurt to double check when the elderly or disabled folk could be left behind. The unit that accompanied him spread out to search for survivors and any hints of where the dragonlings flew off to next, they didn't seem too interested in flying over great distances as they could just find humans around here to gobble up. The whole situation was… bothersome. Koutarou founded a group specifically to track and observe dragons in Fukurodani, they had a detailed log filled with when and where their nests were just to deter innocent civilians from stumbling on them.

None of those nests were recorded in this area. They could have missed it, maybe one of the older females escaped their radar and built her nest up in dense forests of this mountain range. Except packs of female dragons stuck together and rarely ventured out of their preferred territories that were ruled by an elder matriarch. Male dragons were nomadic by nature and the older they got, the less interested they were in fucking around with humans, since that led to senseless retaliation against the entire species.

It was only under the king's current rule that dragons weren't driven to extinction, they could co-exist as long as people left them alone. Akinori had theories of someone stealing dragon eggs and losing control of the hatchlings once they got too big and hungry. That wouldn't be the first time that had happened… and now Koutarou had to clean up their mess because someone couldn't keep their damn hands to themselves.

A muffled shout had Koutarou instantly freezing in his steps, it came from a burned out cottage just a few feet ahead and Koutarou got moving through one of the collapsed walls. He followed the sound of the shouting to a pile of debris that must've fallen on the hatch that led into the basement. The prince didn't hesitate to drag and pull away the wood barehanded without breaking much of a sweat, a couple other men saw him and hurried over to help.

"Hey, hey, hey… you're safe now," Koutarou lifted up the hatch door to see three kids, two boys and one girl. "It's okay to come out, there's nothing out here that'll hurt you."

The girl must've been the oldest as the younger boys were hiding behind her, but she took Koutarou's outstretched hand after a few quiet moments and shielded her eyes from the sunlight.

"Can you tell me your names? I'm Koutarou and this is Onaga and Sarukui."

"… I'm Chimari, these are my little brothers Hiroto and Sota," She softly answered.

"Hiya! We have some food and water with us back at our caravan, I'm sure you guys could use some," Koutarou held out his hand for the little ones to shake, "Onaga will take you right to them."

"Did you…" Chimari paused for a moment as her brothers were definitely interested in the sound of getting fed, she waited until they were both following Onaga, "… did you see a man named Touma?"

"I might have, we passed through a town full of villagers before rushing here, I can go ask—"

"Don't," Her sharp, loud volume even startled Koutarou a bit as she held onto her slightly tattered dress. "That's our uncle. I… I kept him out of the basement, I don't want him to find us."

"Well…" Koutarou shared a brief glance with Sarukui, "how about you head back with your brothers and look out for a priestess, her name is Yukie and I promise on my own honor, she'll keep you safe."

"Okay… thank you." Chimari gave them a slight bow before walking off in the direction of the caravan that was stationed just outside of the village.

"Maybe he's one of the poor fools who got eaten." Sarukui remarked.

"That'd be a stroke of good luck those kids may need," Koutarou replied. "Let's see if there's anyone else… then we'll circle back."

They found someone who was injured in the bathhouse and a small group of survivors who were in the nearby forest, but not much else and Koutarou considered that a win. For all the trouble and annoyance that prince Oikawa could bring with him, he'd done a fantastic job at keeping spirits light and cheerful with those who were almost burned alive by dragonlings.

His healing magic was also greatly appreciated in reversing the rough damage from burns and other life threatening injuries. Koutarou still didn't want to speak to him though, he knew exactly why the Seijoh prince came knocking and already rejected the offer from the moment he saw the letter. He was sure Tooru was ready with a dozen arguments when Akinori came rushing in with the reports about the dragonlings and Koutarou dropped everything he was doing to leave the palace.

And, okay.

Tooru was useful… he was a powerful mage in his own right, not modest in the slightest when it came to showing off. He did promise not to mention the summer courting event until the dragonlings were slayed, but still the subject hung in the air like an awful aftertaste. They had just a few hours of downtime where Koutarou assisted with clearing out what debris he could, making sure that everyone was getting their fair rations, and learning more information about the dragonlings.

There were three of them, which meant one of them was separated or happened to get killed, Koutarou was banking on the latter. He was in the middle of chatting with Issei and Onaga when one of their scouts came galloping through, yelling about how they found where the dragonlings were. They'd planted a discreet tracking rune on one of them and ran off soon after to get the prince.

It was time.

Koutarou mounted his horse and led the charge with the scout, he wasn't going to waste a single second allowing these creatures to destroy more lives. The scout took them deep into the forest, the trees were blurring past with how fast their horses were going and the adrenaline was building up within Koutarou. He heard the signature growling;the dragonlings must've been aware of their presence given their sharp hearing, and it was only a matter of time before they tried lighting them up with fire.

Koutarou wasn't afraid in the slightest, especially once he saw how small they were in comparison to the elder dragons who patrolled the skies high above. The alpha called dibs on the biggest one while it looked like Kentarou was bolting to pick off the one that was about to take flight. Sarukui and Issei were going after the third one that the scout was tracking.

They moved in sync, relying on their instincts as hunters who'd been doing this since they were children. Koutarou gripped his spear as his alpha was howling in his head, thirsty for blood, hungry to kill this monster who was baring their jagged teeth in some fool’s attempt to scare him. Koutarou would never go down with a fight, as if this could be called a proper one.

The dragonling had no clue what to do when food was attacking them instead of running away in panic and Koutarou easily dodged their claws and the pathetic fireball shot in his direction. He may have been a big guy, but fighting close quarters kept him agile, alert, nearly inhuman with his reflexes. All it took was one well timed jab to its neck with his spear, hitting the soft flesh that wasn't covered in protective scales, and blood was spurting all over itself and Koutarou's armor.

There were too many humans for them to fly off, too many surrounding them with weapons and magic and they had no chance at winning this fight. Koutarou wasn't pleased to end a young dragon's life, but it was necessary to keep his kingdom safe and others from trying to paint all dragons as mindless monsters. His alpha was content though, high off the smell of blood and death… victory as prince Koutarou won.

Their bodies would be brought back to town, likely to be chopped up for parts and sold for enough gold to hopefully rebuild their homes and livelihoods. Koutarou's elite hunting unit would be celebrated across the kingdom and they'd continue loving their prince. An investigation would go into whoever possibly stole those eggs… or if it was a rogue mother?

All of which had to be pushed to the side when Koutarou was trapped in the same carriage with Tooru. The prince did keep his word about remaining quiet on that issue. However… sitting across from him now, Koutarou kinda wanted to jump out.

"Come with us to Nekoma."

That's not what Koutarou expected, "… why?"

"Because we're seeing Ken-chan, isn't he your best friend?"

"Yeah, of course, but… are you going to convince him to go to your courting thing?"

"I don't have to convince him when Sho-kun is already coming and you know Kenma is moved by that little orange," Tooru smoothly answered. "It might take some… begging on my part, but I know he's already a lock."

"Well… I still have business to take care of here, I have to see to the villagers and I need to help where I can," Koutarou replied. "I could possibly take a short trip to see if Kenken will offer any resources."

"I'm literally sitting in front of you, Bokkun," Tooru sniffed as he crossed his leg over his knee, "I've noticed the lack of… trained healers in these rural villages, I could send a few dozen to help out… maybe some seniors who will train yours for free."

"Nothing is free with you, Tooru."

"Then you know exactly what I want out of you," Tooru said, "I have no clue what your hang up is with omegas, but all I'm asking for is one month of your time to attend my courting event."

"I'm not interested in getting married, I don't care about having pups, I don't want someone to tie me down when I'm needed by my kingdom," Koutarou said. "Omegas require so much attention… and not to mention the heats, do you know how often I'm here serving my people? Why would I curse some poor omega with constantly waiting on me to come back to them?"

"Have you considered a fellow hunter and not having pups?"

"Yes, I've been introduced to several, but…" Koutarou's mouth turned into a small pout. "I don't like any of them, my alpha doesn't care for them, I'm happy alone and with what I'm doing now."

Tooru let out a small sigh and glanced out of the window, there were grassy meadows surrounding them now, "… you don't need to come for the sake of getting hitched, just have some fun with your friends and turn down every omega who looks in your direction."

"Why do you want me there so badly? Is it because of my family?"

"Duh," Tooru bluntly replied, "you're the prince Koutarou, you're the only unmarried Bokuto in your household, it'll be great for me if you showed your face at all. However, I do genuinely want you there, it's like a month-long gala and you do like to party, right?"

"… I do." Koutarou wouldn't deny that, he loved to out drink his peers and dance like a fool whenever the band was playing. "I'll consider it."

"Consider the last time you took a vacation, you've been a slave to your kingdom and you've earned a rest by now," Tooru said. "I don't see why you work yourself so hard in the first place."

"I like what I do, I like protecting people, I like the thrill that comes with hunting…"

"More like you're overcompensating," Tooru replied as there was an angry spike in Koutarou's scent. "Everyone knows who you are, everyone knows your reputation, who are you trying to impress?"

"Is it so hard for you to realize that I enjoy serving my kingdom? I want to be held up as a good example, I want—"

"You're never going to sit on the throne, Bokkun, so what is the point?"

Koutarou balled his fists up instead of giving into the urge to strangle this insufferable alpha. "You wouldn't understand, I found my purpose in life, I'm happy with who I am."

Tooru hummed in response, thus killing their conversation as Koutarou wondered why Tooru was being even more of a prick today. He could be blunt, sure, but… this felt targeted. Like he was trying to dig into Koutarou's psyche. 

He was happy.

He liked his life.

Even if that meant he'd never be crowned king, he wasn't jealous of his sister. He was supposed to support her. Look past the throne and be a pillar for her future reign.

That's all he'd amount to… what more could he need as the prince of Fukurodani? An omega to share his spoils with?

… Maybe. If one would be satisfied with just… that. Him as a prince, never a king.

Chapter Text

🍁 autumn 🍁

Keiji was making some last minute adjustments to this dress, the buyers would be here soon with their daughter who would be wearing it for the mating ceremony they were throwing this Saturday. Keiji was invited as he was beloved for his unique skills when it came to designing, creating, and tailoring dresses that ranged from formal to casual events, they were sought out by the wealthier omegas in this region of Fukurodani.

He'd probably show his face for an hour or two before dipping, he generally wasn't a fan of attending such… lavish and gaudy events where all sorts of nobles were coming out. A mating ceremony was similar to a wedding in some cases, the alpha would collar their omega after they scented and everyone would cheer them on. In more… traditional families, they'd watch the alpha knot their omega and claim them right there in public, but it's been some years since Keiji witnessed that.

This was a light pink ball grown fit for a princess, he was fairly sure they also contacted the nearby jeweler for a tiara. It was absolutely not something he'd wear for his own mating, but he wasn't a nineteen year old girl either, he was only here to get paid and follow whatever they wanted. Of course he was proud of his work, he loved most of the dresses he played a hand in making, however it wasn't all that unique either in comparison to his past pieces.

Oh well, they'd be pleased.

Keiji could hear Kaori in the front, welcoming the small family and directing them to the fitting room where Keiji set the dress up on the stand. He stood back and quietly delighted at her reaction, there was a happy sweetness in the air from her pheromones as he rushed over the dress and was eager to try it on. Her parents complimented Keiji on his work and promised they'd recommend him to their family and friends in the future, word of mouth had gotten their business this successful so far.

He'd seen clients from nearly every kingdom walk in here, even some as far as Mujinazaka who were willing to shell thousands of gold for his work. Suzumeda Boutique had done extremely well since their early days of Kaori exclaiming to Keiji that he should sell his dresses, he was much too talented to keep them hidden in the dank basement of his parents’ house. It was a tough choice, but given Keiji's circumstances…. they both left the capital together and headed southwest, along the Nekoma border.

A fresh start for Keiji at least, a place where nobody knew him and it was easier to go by Suzumeda, as if they were bright eyed siblings. 

Keiji and Kaori left to give the family privacy as their excited daughter was looking in the mirror, admiring just how pretty she'd look for her mate. Keiji couldn't say he envied her much, not when the gnarly evidence of his ex still scarred his scent gland and would remain there for the rest of his life.

"What else do we have this week?" Keiji was mostly asking himself, "Chinen, Yashida, Maita, and Iseri?"

Kaori nodded as they both sat in the little seating area of their store, there were dozens of dresses that were hanging up, mostly to show off Keiji's range and creativity. He could work with kimonos and yukata as well, but the vast majority of his commissions were those dresses that'd been blowing up in popularity.

"Two galas, one for mating, and the other was for the winter courting season," Kaori listed off, "damn that reminds me, I really need to print off some flyers and stick them up around the boardwalk."

Every courting season was a decent time for their boutique to pull in the coin, but whenever a noble house around here was hosting for a few weeks, every omega was striving to look their best. They usually had to limit the requests they'd take or else they'd be overwhelmed, so it was first come first serve and Iseri was smart to come in last week to inquire about having a dress made.

"I think I'll go this time," Kaori said, "Morano invited us both, you know?"

"I'll pass," Keiji replied without much of a second thought, "but I'll support your endeavors in finding a good alpha around here."

"You could at least come to the first night, I'll scope out the girls, you drool over the gorgeous knotheads~" Kaori teased, "it'll be fun, pretty much everyone is going and we can chat shit and get drunk with our friends."

"… Fine, it's not as if I have anything better to do." Keiji got an excited squeal out of his best friend and now they had to talk about their outfits. There were a number of dresses that Keiji didn't display out here, he kept them for safe keeping in his workshop and sometimes his mind wandered… would an alpha ever look past his ugly bond bite? His lineage?

He'd been approached a number of times in this city, he knew he was a beautiful and stunning and breathtaking omega, god knows he heard it enough. Yet, they never triggered his omega, it'd been silent for years now… ever since his ex left, it waslike he took that omega's voice with him. And occasionally Keiji let himself fall for the bait, allowed an alpha to sweet talk and take him out and stuff him full with a fat knot to satisfy his deep cravings to be fucked.

But none of them stayed, none captured his attention.

They wouldn't be caught dead with him if they knew his true identity anyway. He was saving them both the wasted time and potential heartbreak. So maybe he'd get laid this next courting season and shoo the alpha off if they got too clingy— that wasn’t what he needed in his life.

Soon the family came out and were ready to take the dress home with them. Keiji hoped to the gods that this girl would be happy with her alpha; it was an arranged mating and they'd saved up a ridiculous amount of gold for the dowry. Keiji was only here to make her look gorgeous on her day though, so he'd keep his doubts and worries to himself.

The rest of the day went as usual, some omegas came in to look over the dresses and they sold a few, then it was time for the both of them to close. Kaori suggested they go out to eat since she didn't feel like cooking and Keiji agreed, the weather was still plenty nice out too. The boutique itself was about a half hour walk away from the seaside and the major port that connected Fukurodani with the other kingdoms across the sea.

Their usual place to get dinner was a saloon that could get rowdy at times from the pirates and drunkards, but the chef was an amazing cook and worth possibly getting a chair thrown over your head. Kidding, but Keiji never got into a brawl there; if anything the brash alphas would swoon over his femininity and beauty despite knowing he'd never give them the time of day.

As they stepped in, Keiji overheard some talk about princes Bokuto and Oikawa saving the east from vicious dragons that were burning everyone alive. Naturally there were the brave hunters who claimed they could have done that themselves, easy, they just didn't have time to travel that far. Keiji was just content that everyone was safe, dragons were all over Fukurodani, Nekoma, and parts of Nohebi and he never had any plans of running into one.

Relaxing with Kaori and listening to the town gossip was his favorite part of the day after spending so much time holed up in his workshop or playing nice with filthy rich clients. Good food, drinkable wine, and excellent company were all Keiji strived for when they closed up shop. They didn't hang around too late though, as mentioned earlier those pirates would get too feisty as the evening went on and Keiji didn't need to find himself trying to pry one off of Kaori.

Their humble home was off in the countryside, a settlement that was sparse of people when they'd arrived, but the community grew as more filled out the surrounding area and built their own homes. Much of western Fukurodani was wilderness with pockets of civilization, but people were beginning to move away from the crowded capital and other major cities to have space for themselves and their families. Keiji did miss the capital at times… it was just the atmosphere he grew up in with the private academies and expensive galas and ugh, he missed his horse too.

There was a whole other world of society that he was forced to abandon, one that smacked him right in the face as he was stunned from seeing this envelope addressed to him. Kaori checked the mailbox as Keiji went to unlock the door and had plans of going straight upstairs to change and go to sleep, but she yelled for him.

Akaashi Keiji.

That was staring back at him. He turned it over to see the familiar seal from Seijoh too. What could they possibly want— oh. A group of women came in two, three weeks ago gossiping about prince Oikawa throwing an extravagant courting event next summer. Keiji was barely paying attention as he was too focused on sketching something in his notebook, but there was chatter about all the princes and princesses attending and blah blah blah.

"Are you gonna open it?"

"… I don't know if I want to." Keiji admitted, Akaashi was such a horrid, cursed name in Fukurodani… and he was still being invited to join? What his great grandparents did, not even his parents could shake off their tainted history. Every noble house cut connections with them. They were all but exiled out of the country.

He was still noble in title. His great grandfather was the hand of the king… before Bokuto snatched the throne from him overnight. A bloody affair that was contained to the palace and by some miracle, didn't spark a civil war. And yet, Keiji would get spat on if he revealed his true name to anyone in their kingdom.

"You still have a few months to look at it, I guess…" Kaori reasoned.

"I'll read it, but I won't be making any decisions tonight," Keiji said as he carefully opened the envelope, faintly feeling the wisps of magic that also sealed it together. He wasn't much of a magic user, not like his mother who was well versed in witchcraft, but that was probably for his own good.

To Akaashi Keiji,

This is an official invitation to attend the summer courting event that will be hosted by prince Oikawa Tooru next June in Seijoh. We welcome you to join us for a month of exciting dates that will lead to you finding romance with your lifelong alpha. There will be royalty, nobility, gladiators, musicians, and all sorts of alphas that are involved in every craft and trade for you to pick from! There is an additional paper attached with a schedule, rules, and full information about how this courting event will be handled. We hope to see you there (o゜▽゜)o☆

From,

Prince Oikawa Tooru of Seijoh Kingdom

"It's legit," Kaori remarked as they both skimmed the other papers that were folded up in the envelope, "unless someone can fake Tooru's magical signature."

"They wouldn't go through the effort for me," Keiji said, "but how'd they even find me? They must've sent this to my parents first, right?"

"Likely." Kaori lightly shrugged with a small yawn. "You have nine months to decide, so try not to stress over it because I know you will."

"Yeah, yeah… " Keiji sighed and they headed upstairs together, separating into their respective bedrooms. Spending a month in Seijoh… he'd been there a few times as a child, but nothing too memorable… were his parents close with Oikawa? It didn't make any sense to him, his family was blacklisted from everything in Fukurodani, shunned and hated at every corner.

Was it their former ties to the old king? Akaashi did wield an incredible amount of power at one time… fuck, Keiji was too tired to consider all of this now. He would leave the letter on his desk, get out of his dress and change into his nightgown. He could bathe in the morning.

Would he find a mate next summer? That sounded a little too idealistic if these people knew what his family name was. Not as if he could lie either, huh? What a strange predicament…

He'd have to pen a letter to his parents in the morning too… what could they know about this… why would he be on the invite list in the first place? 

But another chance to fall in love…

If there was one thing Keiji was absolutely sure about, he'd need to avoid prince Bokuto if he happened to be there. He'd probably try to kill Keiji on sight.

… Maybe it'd be smarter to ignore this letter.

Chapter Text

🍁 autumn 🍁

Kenma's horse was grazing in the wild grass, as the prince was halfway between napping or reading another chapter after finishing off his cup of wine. The skies above were clear, the large lake at the foot of the hill was calm with a few deer going to drink, and Kenma was free of political bullshit for as long as he could hide out here. His parents always said that their only son should get out more and see the world and that's exactly what he was doing by escaping his duties first thing in the morning.

He didn't know what was going through his mind when he decided to step further into court politics and the spiderweb of hidden alliances that existed within Nekoma, Fukurodani, and Karasuno. There were hundreds of houses to keep track of, grudges that spanned centuries, and the game he needed to play when it came to dealing with all these insufferable nobles without getting himself turned around or taken advantage of. He did like the thrill that came with being politically savvy and once he became king he'd be quite the deadly adversary, but for now… he just wanted to read something that wasn't an intelligence report.

He was also sleepy… his blanket was terribly comfortable and the warm sun was hitting his skin just right and he might fall asleep in the middle of this chapter. The book wasn't boring by any means, Kenma had been waiting on this series to update after the cliffhanger from the last one and had zero time to actually read it. So after breakfast, he went out to the stable, packed up the saddle, and quietly rode out to one of his favorite spots away from the sprawling palace and all those nosey people who constantly wanted something from him.

Maybe it could be a short nap… he'd pick up where he left off and hopefully finish by tonight—

Kenma let out a yelp as someone scooped him up from where he was laying and spun him around, the alpha's scent was instantly recognizable as Kenma hurried to wrap an arm around his neck.

"Hi Kenken! Do you know how hard it was to find you?" Koutarou grinned as Kenma glared back at him.

"Have you ever considered that it was on purpose?" Kenma button nose twitched as another alpha's pheromones came into contact with his nostrils and he looked over to see the infamous prince Oikawa Tooru. He'd snatched up the book from the ground and was flipping through the pages with all the irritating curiosity that came built in with Tooru.

"I didn't know you were fluent in Inarizaki, maybe I should have paid more attention in my classes," Tooru said, still turning the pages for the sake of the illustrations, "what's it about?"

"Why are you two here—"

"KENMA-SAMA IM SO SORRY, THEY TRICKED ME!" And there was his loyal, watchful, trustworthy knight launching off of his horse, "I told them that you weren't taking any visitors and then Oikawa-sama said there was a cat stuck in the rafters of the throne room and you know I had to check that out and—"

"Shut up, Lev. Put me down, Koutarou." Kenma sighed, feeling a headache coming on as Koutarou squeezed him one more time before letting his feet touch the grass. "You're an excessively long way home from Seijoh, Tooru."

"Just doing the rounds! Wanna visit my closest friends, see how they're doing, see what's going on with my own eyes." Tooru handed over the book to Kenma as the smaller prince held out his hand. "Making sure that you're coming to the courting event next summer."

"I am, you can leave now," Kenma said, smelling the spike of delight on Tooru's scent.

"I can't go just yet, feels like it's been years since I stepped foot in Nekoma and as my host, you need to show me a good time." Tooru flashed his smile while Kenma just rolled his eyes.

"I just wanted to see my best friend," Koutarou said, his big hands resting on Kenma's shoulders as Kenma's omega chirped from alpha. "Just dealt with some dragonlings wrecking havoc and Tooru was coming this way, so I thought I may as well join him."

"I'd read about that, I hope your losses were minimal."

"Eh, they shrunk once we got involved and people were evacuated, but there were some who got trapped in unlucky villages… overall, it was a successful operation." Koutarou replied as Kenma hummed in acknowledgement. 

Kenma always enjoyed how… safe Koutarou smelled. Even as pups when their families visited each other, Koutarou may have been rambunctious as hell, but he was one of the nicer alphas.

Protective over the runt that was Kenma.

"Did Tooru threaten you into attending your first courting season?" Kenma squirmed out from Koutarou's hands and plopped back down on his blanket, both alphas took that as an invitation to join him. Lev took up a position that would allow him to scan the surrounding fields and lake just in case of any danger, but the only predators that roamed these lands were coyotes, foxes, and wild cats since any wolves were killed on sight.

"Just a small bribe," Tooru casually replied as he reached for Kenma's pack, making a little happy noise when he pulled out the bottle of wine. "Maybe you two can finally stop beating around the bush and fuck already."

Tooru only smirked when both of their scents briefly spilled into the air and he yanked off the cork, all to content to help himself to some free alcohol, "See? Prove me wrong."

"I'm certain I'm not Koutarou's type, he needs someone adventurous who can keep up with his traveling, hunting, and infinite well of energy," Kenma listed off as Tooru drank straight from the bottle, "I prefer the opposite."

"Well, I'd never expect my future wife to be side by side with me… omegas are supposed to stay home and take care of the pups and— Ow!" Koutarou pouted like a puppy as Kenma smacked his shoulder. "Why did you hit me?! That's what marriage is about."

"Would you seriously expect me to drop everything I've done to become a housewife for you? I thought you were raised better than that."

"Not from you! You're the heir, your situation is different, you're not some normal omega, an entire kingdom looks up to you so… you'd have to serve them well…" Koutarou replied.

"While there are definitely omegas who just want to pop out as many pups as possible and be the perfect housewife who cooks and cleans and takes good care of alpha, you have to look beyond that," Kenma said, as Koutarou was still pouting and his hair drooped. "We all know you have some sort of… hang up against finding a wife and I'll always support you in whatever you do, but acting like a stubborn brat about it will only reflect terribly on you as a prince."

"I knew it was a great idea to see you, Puddi-chan~" Tooru was about to take another swig when Kenma grabbed the neck of the bottle and stole it away from him. "Hey!"

"I knoooow," Koutarou groaned as he leaned over and his face hit Kenma's comfortable lap, "I'm scared, I don't wanna accidentally court someone who only wants my wealth and I'd die before giving up my sword."

"Have you ever considered just becoming an absent father?" Tooru replied. "You get the wife, pussy whenever you'd like and just don't worry about the rest."

"No! I'd want to take care of my pups too, raise them to be strong hunters just like me… or whatever they wanted to do in life." Koutarou huffed as he got way too comfortable with his huge head in Kenma's lap, but it wasn't new for them either. While Koutarou kept others from bullying Kenma when they were little, Kenma was great when the alpha was over-stimulated and needed a place to calm his mind. Reset.

"Maybe… just maybe, you can take the time to think about your priorities, do you want to be hunting exotic monsters for the rest of your life? Do you want to have a family? Look at where you are now…" Kenma's fingers ran through Koutarou's soft spikes as the alpha purred from his gentle touch. "There has to be an omega out there who can match your energy… who is willing to kill demons and be the mother to your pups… someone you must see as your equal."

"Probably… I don't know… I just don't see the point if I'm never going to be the king…" Koutarou murmured, "I want to cement my own legacy and be a beloved prince if I won't amount to anything else."

"I mean… there's a way for you to take the throne…" Kenma said.

"I'm not killing my sisters!"

"See, Ken-chan suggested it, you can't blame me for the idea!" Tooru snickered.

"Then stop moping about it, you're almost in your thirties, just go to one courting season and if you hate it, we'll never mention it again." Kenma pinched Koutarou's cheek as he let out a whine.

"We?"

"We, Nekoma is hosting it three years from now, then Karasuno and Shiratorizawa and… I don't remember the rest of the list."

"Ah right, right I only cared about mine," Tooru replied, "although, imagining you handling an entire season… I feel as if you'd be much too bothered by everyone to try."

"I already am," Kenma flatly said, "… but if I go to yours, I'll learn what to do and what not to do, as well as figuring out who to invite and how I can improve on the event to surpass yours."

"Oh, but you won't, this is going to be impossible to top! They'll be talking about it for decades, all the romances that'll occur, the drama of alphas fighting for their omegas!" Tooru grinned, "but you've got me looking forward to whatever you'll pull out, kitty cat~"

Kenma wrinkled his nose at that, "I'm almost curious enough to ask about who else is on your invite list… are you going to try playing matchmaker? I don't want to sit through ten dates with awful alphas."

"The list is a secret my dear, I'm sure you know Sho-kun is coming though." Kenma nodded, he'd gotten a crow from the young prince with a letter full of excitement about the event since he could talk about it now. "And it's going to be a relaxed dating style… mixing traditional with modern, as in alphas will seek you out, but you're free to reject them all and go home alone."

"Not as stressful…" Kenma remarked, his nails scratching along Koutarou's scalp as the alpha was still purring in pleasure, "… I do want to find someone, I… I'm envious of what my parents have, they're always happy together and it'd be nice to have an alpha to share that with."

Tooru's eyes widened a bit as Kenma allowed himself to be vulnerable. "Yeah, yeah I can make that happen, Ken-chan, you'll need a future king to rule with you and I will get you a lovely alpha."

"Either you or Shouyou, he listed about twenty different names in his letter and he doesn't even know which of those are coming, but he thinks they're all my type."

"Who?" Koutarou's big golden eyes blinked up at him as Tooru was absolutely tuned in.

"You were first," Kenma said, just to get that out of the way and Koutarou's smile did ruffle the butterflies in his stomach. "Ushijima, Ojiro, Meian… some of my past royal guard and retired generals, you wouldn't know of them."

"So basically, huge muscles, much taller than you, can manhandle you in bed, pin you down to breed you full with pups," Tooru said as Kenma's cheeks warmed in embarrassment. "We all have a type, Ken-chan! Bokkun, would you knot him?"

Oh, Koutarou's scent gave him away immediately and Kenma's omega was voicing it's thoughts again strong alpha, big alpha, can provide for us, "Uh… if he was okay with it? I wouldn't force him, but I think I would like to… not that I want to right now, but—!"

"Hush," Kenma clapped a hand over Koutarou's mouth, "you shouldn't be advocating for a marriage between our kingdoms, Tooru, it'll be much too powerful."

"Yeah, yeah, the risk of Nekoma and Fukurodani merging into one and you both going mad with power to kill us all." Tooru dismissively waved his hand. "Or maybe I just like to see my friends happy without obsessing over politics first."

It'd be difficult to believe that coming from anyone else, but Tooru was often honest with his intentions and it wasn’t not the first time he had suggested that these two just get it over with. Kenma glanced down to those expressive owlish eyes, he'd thought about it… lingered on the possibility, what it'd mean for their two kingdoms. They'd been in an alliance for decades now, with Nekoma citizens considering Fukurodani to be their brothers and sisters in spirit.

And having Koutarou as a husband… it'd be a solid choice, even ignoring the politics of it all, Kenma would be happy with him. Yet… there was still another alpha on the back of his mind, one who was trained in the palace that Kenma would watch from afar, one who was always kind to the small prince whenever they crossed paths.

They were never allowed to speak alone given their class and second gender differences, the peasant alpha would be punished harshly and Kenma didn't want to endanger him or break any rules. However he still snuck a letter under his pillow as the barracks were empty, just days before the alpha would be shipped out to battle… did he ever read it? Probably thought Kenma was a weirdo…

"Should I leave you two alone? I'm not like, opposed to watching either." Tooru voice broke through his train of thought.

"Jump into the lake, please," Kenma sighed, pulling back his hand. "How long are you staying, Tooru?"

"Couple weeks… I have to head to Itachiyama after this, so I'd rather soak in the good times here before I'm faced with a wall of depression, poverty, and omega oppression."

"… I actually don't blame you for that, I'll send some men with you, I also have business with them, but they'll only listen to alphas." Kenma rolled his eyes as Koutarou sat up. "Are you joining him?"

"Nah, that place terrifies me."

Yeah… good luck to Tooru.

"Can I ask if there's one alpha on your invite list?"

"Give me the wine back and I'll think about it."

Kenma likes being certain, he likes having a dozen plans at his fingertips in case something goes wrong, but with this alpha… is it better to know or hope?

Chapter Text

 ❄️ winter ❄️

Tetsurou barely had time to make himself decent when he heard a knock on the door and Morisuke was strolling right on into the captain quarters. He was lucky Tetsurou didn't have a girl in here warming his bed, but the quartermaster probably wouldn't give two shits either way.

Tetsurou was covering his lower half with his sheets when he saw Morisuke toss an envelope in his direction, landing square on his stomach. Kuroo Tetsurou was on the front and the captain looked over to see Morisuke grabbing a seat at his desk, it seemed he had a similar letter as well.

"It's from the prince."

Tetsurou never worked so fast to flip the envelope over, only to see a familiar seal and sigil from Seijoh, stupid of him to assume that it'd be him.

"Don't look so disappointed, sheesh."

"Shut up," Tetsurou grumbled as Morisuke snickered at his devastation. He was then careful about breaking the seal and pulling out the letter. "Did we have business in Seijoh that I forgot about?"

"Not that I know of, we haven't sailed there in months," Morisuke was also reading over his own letter, "I went to the saloon for breakfast and Azuma handed these over, so now I'm still hungry and wondering what the fuck Oikawa wants."

"Summer courting event…" Tetsurou murmured as he skimmed the letter and the other papers attached, "… are you going?"

Morisuke was quiet for a moment, reading over the papers again and making sure there was nothing else he was missing, "I may; an excuse to party and fuck however many alphas I want is wildly tempting and a decent break from the sea."

"When you put it that way, how could I resist?" Tetsurou sat the letters down on the draw beside the bed and snatched up his trousers from the floor. Morisuke didn't care for the alpha's brief nudity, in fact for how promiscuous the both of them were, they never showed much sexual interest in each other.

"We must've gotten invited for our glowing achievements during the war against those barbarians, I can't imagine why else Oikawa would want us around."

"We're both young, attractive, gorgeous men who everyone will fawn over," Tetsurou grinned, he went over to his closet to pluck out a white button down, "I'll be fighting all of them off of my fat knot."

"Disgusting," Morisuke fake gagged as Tetsurou laughed. "Now I'm curious who else will be there… probably all the princes and princesses in every kingdom… what are the chances that I seduce Ushijima?"

"I think you've got a fair shot, just tie up Tendou somewhere and get Ushijima drunk off three shots," Tetsurou replied. "I'm sure he's still a lightweight."

"I'll make it a personal goal," Morisuke mused with a small smile. "Are you going to court Kenma or will you chicken out for the… twelfth time?"

"If he goes… I'll try, I will, don't look at me like that," Tetsurou said as Morisuke clearly didn't believe him in the slightest, "I'm a noble now so I can speak to him without fears of being lashed."

"You gained that title nearly a decade ago, I would know because I was there, we got it at the same time."

"And we've been busy with slaughtering barbarians and pirates and rebels, keeping Nekoma safe from those who wish to harm her citizens." Tetsurou half buttoned up his shirt, plenty of his tanned cleavage was still exposed.

"We also both retired at the same—"

"Anyway! This is a proper chance for me to court him, all without the judgment of his parents and all those snobs who would see me drop dead." Tetsurou couldn't help the excitement that began to course through his veins; it'd been a year and a half since he last saw the little prince in person. They'd successfully invaded and brought down one of the most populous and biggest pirate strongholds that was hidden with a rare glamour that could only be broken by a mage who had knowledge of the spell.

Tetsurou, Morisuke, and Nobuyaki searched for years with their naval crew and it was through an escaped slave who exchanged information for guaranteed safety that they got their way in. The battle itself was long and bloody, Tetsurou was there on the front lines and none of those pirates really stood a chance against the calamitous might of a fire mage who only wanted to keep his prince safe. They brought the pirate king in alive, much to queen Kozume's satisfaction, and were given any rewards they sought out.

Tetsurou almost asked for Kenma's hand in marriage, but he simply requested a peaceful retirement from his post and a ship to sail freely. Morisuke joined his crew while Nobuyaki went off to get married to his girlfriend, who, according to his last letter, was pregnant with pup number two.

The freedom at sea was fantastic: he didn't have to follow any orders, they could sail wherever they pleased, they met so many people from multiple kingdoms too. None could compare to the prince that he still dreamt of to this very day, his love solely motivated by the letter that he'd kept with him since leaving the palace. Did the prince still feel the same way… did he want to be friends with Tetsurou?

For someone so beautiful to wish him luck while he was fighting on behalf of the crown too, wanting Tetsurou to come back in one piece and maybe then they could talk. He had no clue that the prince was watching him too, that he was noticed by royalty, Tetsurou was just hoping to stay out of trouble and earn a spot with high enough pay to support his family. All he really had was Morisuke and Nobuyaki, everyone else was forgettable or people who wouldn't be caught dead speaking to a peasant.

He wasn't allowed to think about Kenma in that way, even if he admired those pretty golden eyes and silky blond hair and round face that he wanted to bite. Tetsurou could have taken up a spot with the royal guard, probably replaced that clumsy kid as his knight, but…

There was another knock, but this time they were respectful enough not to barge in.

"Captain, someone seeks your audience."

"I'll be out soon." Tetsurou slipped on his boots and left his coat behind, despite the chilly temperatures on deck, Tetsurou was always running hot. Morisuke followed him up and they were greeted by the sights and sounds of the harbor waking up and getting to work. They'd been docked in Southern Fukurodani for about a week now, mostly due to restocking and not really in a rush to head out to their next destination.

"Oh, what a pretty dame." Tetsurou commented as his eyes landed on Keiji standing on the dock, he was all bundled up with a scarf, a heavy coat, and an ankle length dress. They'd met each other on this very same dock early in the spring and Tetsurou was immediately taken by him, as in he wanted to do more than knot and bail.

But Keiji could be so… flighty.

"Good morning, Keiji~" Tetsurou stepped off of the plank and onto the wooden docks, "to what do I owe the pleasure, love?"

"… I wanted to know if you were going to Shiratorizawa? I have a client who is requesting my presence since she is unable to travel this far. I'll pay for the trip, as well as the cargo I'll need to bring."

"Wasn't on the list honestly, but since you're asking." Tetsurou smirked as he approached the omega, he could smell his faint sweetness and wanted to bury his face in his neck. "I'll have Morisuke see if anyone else wants to head out that way and we could be out by the end of the week, if that's good for you."

"That works, what'll be the payment?"

"Warming my bed for the duration of the trip." Tetsurou winked as Keiji narrowed those gorgeous blue eyes back at him.

"Numbers, Kuroo."

"Whatever you want to pay me, love, I don't need the gold," Tetsurou replied, "we can haggle it out while I help you box up all your delicate fabrics and whatnot."

"You do have to pay your crew," Keiji said just as Tetsurou was bold enough to lay a hand on his lower back. "Unless you're a cruel captain who forces them to work for nothing."

"Is it nothing if they gain incredible seafaring experience under my command?" Tetsurou said, getting a scoff out of the omega when they were walking through the docks. "I promise you, whoever I hire is paid handsomely, I have quite the retirement fund laying around."

"Right…" Keiji didn't make any move to push Tetsurou's hand away, if anything it may have meant that Tetsurou could get lucky tonight. Keiji certainly carried himself like a stuffy rich boy who would call Tetsurou all kinds of ridiculous names on the playground, but once the alpha got past his reserved attitude… he was rather delightful. Snarky. Bitchy. A bit of a sweetheart.

"Who’s your client? Anyone I may know?"

"The Kenjiro house, the lady desires my skills for a new wardrobe and we've been writing back and forth. I was hoping to get there before the new year and may stay through the summer since I'm expected in Seijoh as well."

"Got work all over the place, huh? Everyone wants you." Tetsurou purred as he saw the soft pink on Keiji's cheeks.

"That's for pleasure, actually, I… got an invitation to attend a courting event."

"Oikawa's?" Tetsurou blurted out. "Me too, see, even royalty notices you, I'm almost jealous."

"Mmm… I wasn't sure if I was going, it's not really my scene."

"You're a hermit, there's not much that can be considered your scene," Tetsurou said just as Keiji pushed him away by the shoulder. "Am I wrong?! When's the last time you've gone on an adventure or even left this town?"

"I've been working on my business with Kaori, I can't just frolic wherever I want to unlike a certain sailor," Keiji replied, letting himself be pulled back in by the waist. "My options are extremely limited given my circumstances."

"Hire a few extra hands, Kaori can take care of it while you're off styling some old broad, then you can vacation in Seijoh with me and get courted by a sexy alpha." Tetsurou grinned. "Any of them would be lucky to land such a beauty."

"You're much too kind," Keiji clicked his tongue as felt the steady warmth from Tetsurou's hand, his heat magic curling around his waist and torso to keep the omega warm. "Will you be trying to mate some other poor omega?"

"Yeah, assuming he shows up, if he doesn't then… there's always you, love."

"The second choice, fantastic," Keiji huffed and Tetsurou kissed his cheek. "Stop that."

"I'm serious though, you've been cooped up here for too long, you're allowed to have fun, to forget whatever is haunting you." Tetsurou's shift in tone definitely had the omega's attention. "You're far from the first person I've been friends with who is obviously running from their past, I just don't speak on it because it's not my business."

"… You're too observant for your own good."

"And you, my love, deserve happiness." Tetsurou kissed his cheek again, then the omega turned his head and allowed for one on the lips. Tetsurou was rarely shy with his physical affection and he was more than willing to give Keiji whatever he needed; he was drawn to the omega like a moth to the flame.

"Who is it that you're wanting to court?" Keiji asked as they were nearing the boutique.

"A prince~ I do think he's been waiting for me."

"I'd expect nothing less out of you."

"Why does that sound like an insult?"

Keiji declined to answer as he went inside and Tetsurou was quick to follow, no one else was in the main room and Kaori must've been in the workshop or maybe their office. Keiji led him off to the storage area where there were rolls and rolls of colourful fabrics that Tetsurou would never have any idea of what to do with.

"I'll make a list, you pack them up, and take them over to your ship," Keiji said. "Come back by closing and… we can discuss payment."

"As in payment or payment?"

"Whichever you want, I'd forgotten how bothersome you can be."

Tetsurou was not going to fuck this up with further perverted jokes, he wanted to get straight to work and impress omega. The voyage to Shiratorizawa would be somewhat long from here, but well worth it with Keiji by his side.

It'd also give him time to plan his approach with Kenma… he wasn't going to run away again.

Chapter Text

 ❄️ winter ❄️

There was an omega mother with his three pups sitting by the window, an elderly couple sharing dessert at the counter, and a lone alpha with his nose in a book, slowly chowing down on his fourth tuna onigiri. The heavy downpour outside felt as if it'd never quit and Osamu would be surprised if anyone else came in today; he could close early, but he didn't want to kick those pups out into the rain and possibly endanger them with getting colds.

Well, he didn't mind the company between his customers and the two employees who were lazing about and shooting the shit. Mitsue's sister had three alphas who were competing for her affections and Tamaki's brother was one of them, Osamu heard about all the drama revolving between the four of them at this latest courting ball. He just felt lucky he didn't have to bother with any of that shit anymore, there was plenty of pressure as a teenager to attend the yearly courting events around here, and as an adult, he used the restaurant as an excuse out of it.

He wanted to settle down with an omega eventually, he just didn't have much interest in fighting over one or going out of his way to prove he was the best alpha in the south. He was positive he'd come across an omega soon or later in life, one that would understand his passion and love for his restaurant instead of bitching about it and putting him down. Atsumu chased off the last omega who tried to make Osamu feel guilty about splitting time between work and them, suggesting that he should sell off Onigiri Miya to focus on raising a family.

And yeah, okay, maybe his brother was right all along about that one. Still, he missed them just… sometimes, someone to hold and snuggle with. Someone to scent and share his nest with. Someone that he could give all of his love and affection to. He liked being romantic and in love and that was the one omega his heart raced for every time he saw them.

Ugh…

For now, he got his entertainment from Mitsue and Tamaki's gossip. Honestly, the ball was the talk of their small town since they barely had anything else going for them. A much different atmosphere from the huge city that Osamu was thrilled to escape from, he'd take a sleepy and boring town over the chaos there. There was also a sense of familiarity when he knew nearly everyone who walked through those front doors, he knew where they worked, how their pups were doing, who was fucking someones else's wife…

And that was another reason he wasn't feeling the overwhelming urge to close up and go home—because Onigiri Miya was his second home. That omega mother was struggling with taking care of his three pups since his husband went off to find work elsewhere and Osamu didn't mind letting them hang out here. The elderly couple had a set routine and would come in nearly every Wednesday to share a slice of blueberry pie that Osamu began to bake early in the morning when it was their day. That alpha was one of their strongest hunters who kept the lingering monsters at bay, he also just really fucking loved onigiri and could clear Osamu's entire stock if left alone.

Osamu adored the community here… he just needed an omega by his side.

The relative peacefulness was broken as someone pushed open the door and rushed in,  soaking wet from head to toe. "SAMU! I need ta talk ta ya!"

"Will ya quiet down? What the fuck do ya want? What are ya even doin' here?" Osamu said as Atsumu was dripping all over the god damn floor "Shut the door behind ya, moron."

"I'm doin' it! Ya happy?!" Atsumu slid the door closed as now all eyes were on him. "As I was sayin', we need ta talk somewhere private."

"Fine, fine, in my office… did ya run straight here from the city? The fuck is wrong with ya?" Osamu grumbled while Atsumu wasted no time in hurrying behind the counter. They hadn't seen each other in person since Osamu rode out back in October for their birthday. Atsumu wanted him to see the autumn festival and try out all the creative food at the stalls.

Atsumu was supposed to visit closer to the new year, but it must have been important for him to barge in like this. Their Ma used to tease them both about how they were stuck together and would cry when they were apart for too long… they only broke that habit once Osamu moved back to their hometown. Mostly.

"Look at this, Samu, I got invited this courting shit in Seijoh, by the fucking prince." Atsumu pushed a dry envelope in Osamu's hands. "And pay attention to who it's addressed to."

Osamu furrowed his brows, his nose twitching from Atsumu's stinky pheromones pouring out because this grown ass alpha forgot how to control himself, "… GK? Golden Kitsune?"

"Yes, how in the fuck do they know I'm him?! It was literally sitting in my mailbox and I assumed it was some payment from Kurosu, but no I was fucking flash banged by the Seijoh royal seal!"

Yeah, that looked real alright.

Osamu skimmed through the contents, it was just as Atsumu said, an invitation to the summer courting event that would be taking place in June. "Ya think someone ratted ya out?"

"There's three people who know about that alias: Kurosu, Ginjima, and you. I'm sure as shit that Gin doesn't have some secret connections to the royal family and Kurosu had no clue."

"Strange…" Osamu uttered under his breath, "yer books are doin' pretty well, guess that caught their eye all the way up north and now they want ya."

"I… I guess, yeah…" Atsumu blinked as he seemed to stop panicking for two seconds and let Osamu's words sink in. Atsumu's day job involved hunting monsters, bounty hunting, and mercenary work since he was skilled with several types of weapons and had a decent hold on magic. He was also quite the storyteller and might've gone the bard route if the pay wasn't complete dog shit, so he wrote in his free time under the alias Golden Kitsune and Kurosu was one of their former teachers who owned a bookshop in the city now.

"Ya think this was a plan to bait and kill ya or some shit? This is good, dumbass."

"Fuck off, I just don't need everyone and their fuckin' Ma knowing what I do… wasn't even supposed to be that serious."

"I think ya passed that part when ya penned the seventh book fer the Serpent series…"

"Probably…" Atsumu was silent for a few moments as his twin couldn't really tell what was on his mind, neither of them really expected his hobby to reach the desk of prince Oikawa, '… ya know, I can make this a new novel. I'll go there, seduce some prince, go through the trials and tribulations of courting, and marry myself into royalty."

"… That might be a little too much for a fuckin' book."

"Nah, it's perfect, I've been running out of ideas for Serpent anyway," Atsumu began to pace in Osamu's tiny office, snapping to himself. "Oikawa's gonna be inviting all his rich and fancy friends and they'll all be ripe fer the pickin'… oh this is good, I'm gonna get myself a real cute princess and all her gold…"

"Atsumu…"

"Yer comin' with me too," Atsumu had a feral grin as he looked back at his twin. "I heard chatter in the guild about these invitations goin' out, and I didn't give a shit, however—"

"No, I'm not scamming some princess with ya, they'll hang both of us fer that," Osamu bit back.

"I ain't askin' ya to join my scheme, but I want ya there, ya belong at this event more than me since ya want a wife and all that cheesy shit, right?" Atsumu said. "I know ya were on the verge of proposing to… them and they fucked ya up, so it's time fer ya too get out there and get ya a real omega who won't walk all over ya."

"And exactly how am I supposed to get one of these?" Osamu held up the envelope. "I can't imagine ya can buy them at the fuckin' corner store."

"I remember seein' some flyers at the bulletin board back at guild headquarters, some huntin' competitions with courting invites as prizes."

"I don't hunt."

"There's other competitions too! Maybe one fer cookin' if I look hard enough." Atsumu perked up as he plucked the envelope from Osamu's hand. "If anything I'll enter some huntin' shit and get one fer ya, if not… I mean, we're twins, ya can have the invite."

"I can't—"

"Ya can, Samu, I don't care about findin' love anytime soon." Atsumu squeezed his shoulder. "If they ask questions, ya already read all my books and ya can bullshit through the rest, as far as everyone else knows, GK is just some mysterious hot and sexy author."

Osamu could not believe that Atsumu was kinda… right. There was a twinge of envy that Osamu immediately ignored when he saw that Atsumu was invited. Yeah, he didn't care about courting events as a concept, but… they were inherently romantic and one hosted by a prince was sure to be radically different from some local shit. Most of the omegas around here were taken, already had pups, were much older than Osamu, or uh… their personalities clashed too much.

"Alright, as long as ya don't do anything too stupid, Tsumu."

"I might hafta ta get ya into this shindig, but promise that I'll find a way!" Atsumu grinned, "… now ya got any spare uniforms around here? Tired of feelin' damp."

"Idiot."

The rain died down by the early evening and Osamu closed up with Atsumu, chatting about all kinds of possibilities, acting as if they were both going to attend this courting event. They made a slightly long detour to the hunter's lodge that was stationed in the next town over, the only one around these parts. Atsumu could be considered somewhat of a local hero—the Miya twins were famous for taking down all sorts of creatures in their younger years before Osamu quit the profession.

He still came back whenever something supernatural was trying to snatch up  kids or gobbling up their cows and sheep. And just as Atsumu predicted, the bulletin board sitting outside of the lodge had numerous flyers that they had to sort through to find anything about Seijoh.

"This spring…" Atsumu murmured, tearing off one flyer that was buried under a few of them, "… the annual art competition in the capital, rewards include gold, plots of land, weaponry, blah blah blah… ah, there we go, an invite to Seijoh! There's different categories like writin', paintin', sculptin'…. singin'… cookin'! Ya can submit yer best original recipe and prince Ojiro himself is gonna judge ya."

"That sounds…" Osamu wanted to reject the very notion, he didn't like being the center of attention, didn't want to change anything about his current life. "… maybe."

"I'll convince ya by April, yer gonna show up all those northern noble snobs with yer food and they'll be begging ya ta relocate into the royal kitchens," Atsumu said. "Ojiro will hire ya on the spot and wait, that's another great idea—"

"My life is not fodder fer yer fuckin' books," Osamu huffed as he stole the flyer out from Atsumu's hand and tucked into his coat pocket, "let's get home, it's cold as hell out here."

"But think about it: small town boy moves out to the royal palace and falls in love with the prince! Seduces him with his food and they make nasty love in the middle of bakin' cookies."

"I hate every single word comin' out of yer mouth."

Osamu had heard of this art competition before, it usually took place during the spring fair that was in the capital and people from all over the kingdoms would come to enjoy the food and games. The twins had traveled north a few times with their Ma to see family who lived there, but Osamu hadn't been to the capital in years, never had much of a reason to visit when everyone he knew was here.

That said… he didn't find himself too nervous at the thought of entering and maybe that was due to his pride as a Miya. He knew his shit as a chef and could probably beat out all those rich fucks without breaking a sweat. All for a chance at finding true romance?

Ridiculous, but Atsumu was the best hypeman that was ever known…

"I hope we both get in though, been awhile since we've done anything fun together," Atsumu said as they were taking the main road back to Osamu's place, the skies dark and dotted with stars above them.

"I feel bad for your future victim," Osamu replied as Atsumu cackled.

"Don't go empathizing with our oppressors, they hoard all that gold and for what? I may as well steal some of it, they ain't gonna notice."

Osamu did chuckle at that. While king and queen Ojiro were well respected and loved by their people, Osamu heard enough wild and cruel stories about other royal families throughout the centuries. He'd be curious to see which prince or princess Atsumu ended up targeting… and if he could successfully pull off his scheme without getting lashed for it.

Chapter Text

 ❄️ winter ❄️

The tea was warm and sweet against his tongue, causing Kiyoomi to let out a pleasant hum as the drink went down his throat. He'd completed his chores for the morning and went off to the secluded tea room that was located by the shrine devoted to their gods. It was out surrounded by the wilderness of the forest, free of the confines that restricted him in the castle, constantly reminding him of his place among the many alphas above him.

Even as a prince of their kingdom.

The chilly weather delighted him, the omega dressed in his kimono and a thick fur splayed across his shoulders, along with being cocooned in his favorite blanket that smelt of his mother's comforting pheromones. As with most days around here, Kiyoomi could exist without much interruption, no one ever sought him out for anything important and his duty as an omegan prince was to merely exist and obey. He learned not to expect or hope for more.

His rebellious phase was short lived, beaten out of him by his father who chose to make an example out of him in front of his advisors and their family. A good omega served their alpha, never questioned their alpha, pleasured their alpha when asked. He had to maintain his beauty and silence, follow the long list of rules that were taught to him, and wait for an alpha who would find him worthy of marriage.

Then you know how the rest went, especially as Kiyoomi was five years from thirty and most alphas wouldn't be interested when he was no longer in his prime. He wouldn't dwell on his faults though, how there hadn't been any offers of marriage in recent years and his father was growing more irritated and disappointed by the day. What could Kiyoomi do about it?

For today, he'd enjoy his tea and the book that his cousin was kind enough to smuggle in for him. It'd come out over the summer and Kiyoomi was incredibly tempted to become fluent in Inari to read it, but finally it was translated into common and now he didn't have to stress over that cliffhanger any longer. In the sixth book, it ended with Kie possibly betraying Arata and on the verge of decapitating him, but then it cut off right beforehand and Kiyoomi had been waiting months for the continuation.

Golden Kitsune was secretly his favorite writer of them all and Kiyoomi would consider himself rather well read for an omega who wasn't supposed to be literate in the first place. He'd discovered his books around five years ago; his family took the rare trip to Inarizaki and Kiyoomi had been curious as he saw the cover of one book on the shelf. Fiction generally wasn't his… thing… but the blurb on the back hooked him and he bought it, keeping his purchase hidden from his siblings and parents.

And honestly? Everything about this book was terrible, from the prose to the dialogue to the atrocious pacing that made no fucking sense and all the random characters that introduced only to be promptly forgotten about? Let's not mention the excessive descriptions of omega tits bouncing boobily down the stairs. But… but… the characters themselves were great, they had more depth than Kiyoomi expected and carried the disastrous plot all the way to the end.

So… he needed to read more. And now he owned nearly every book put out by Golden Kitsune… probably. The Serpent series was hands down the best so far, it was about a peasant (Kie) who got kidnapped by a gangster (Arata) due to their father owing millions of gold in debt. They went from arguing and screaming at each other to being forced to work together so Kie could pay off his father's debt to slowly falling in love during his captivity.

There was also uh…

Lots and lots of sex.

Kiyoomi didn't know that it was even possible to have sex with someone you hated, but those two were going at it like rabbits and arguing at the same time! Kiyoomi picked up other romances over the years… but no one quite scratched his itch like the erotica that Golden wrote. It was raw and filthy and fucking raunchy and had Kiyoomi as desperate to touch himself as a virgin who hadn't yet experienced his first kiss.

Kiyoomi had reread Serpent about twelve times by now, maybe more as he truly immersed himself in the story and craved an alpha like Arata who was so sexy and dangerous. His dirtiest fantasies were filled with an alpha covered in tattoos who pinned him down by his neck and called him all kinds of crass names while fucking into him. Kie may have been trapped, but at least he was getting dicked down and knotted unlike Kiyoomi… fuck.

Losing himself in this series did make everything a little more bearable… although now they switched to Arata's POV and Kiyoomi was swooning over everything he said, never mind where the actual plot left off. Were all alphas from Inarizaki this hot? Kiyoomi might have been inclined to believe it from their short visit… the accents, the golden skin, those sly smiles and being called sweetheart… heaven.

That was before Katashi left a bright red hand print on his cheek and told him to stop acting like a whore. Kiyoomi didn't even do anything, they were watching a horse race and one of the locals started talking to him and the omega was being polite with his responses. Katashi scolded him for it back at the inn and all Kiyoomi could do was stay quiet and take the abuse, his mother wouldn't stop her oldest son from disciplining him.

Kiyoomi wouldn't let that moment taint his memories… or ruin his indulgent fantasies about Arata. He sipped on more of his tea as Arata and Kie got into another argument that lead to hate fucking and Kiyoomi nearly missed the sounds of someone rushing around the shrine. His cousin skidded to a stop as Kiyoomi glanced up at her.

"Prince Oikawa is demanding your presence."

What?

"What?" Kiyoomi blurted out, "Why— he's here?"

"Yeah, and I think he's about to declare war on Itachiyama if you don't get your ass up!" Motoya said. "All the servants are looking for you and I might have sent them all off in the wrong directions."

"Right… right." Kiyoomi quickly set down his tea and book as Motoya came in.

"I'll take care of this, you go hurry up to the dining room."

Kiyoomi thanked her before bolting out, his horse was still tied up at the post and he hurried to mount the mare, all while wondering why in the world Oikawa was here and wanted him? They shared small talk when they were at the same dinners and galas, but otherwise the prince was much too noteworthy and popular to spare a single thought towards Kiyoomi. Or Itachiyama.

Seijoh was one of the wealthiest kingdoms around and Itachiyama was the exact opposite, barely any other royalty stepped foot in their castle. Their relationship with Shiratorizawa degraded so much over the years that the engagement with Ushijima was called off and Kiyoomi still couldn't tell if he was happy or saddened by that one. Nekoma and Fukurodani wanted nothing to do with them, Nohebi was… Nohebi, they were outcasts for different reasons.

Kiyoomi arrived at the stables within minutes, servants were scrambling to take him inside, clearly terrified of the punishment that the king would dole out if his omega son wasn't located. Kiyoomi did his best to fix himself up and appear as if he hadn't rushed here on horse,smoothing down his kimono and tossing the fur elsewhere for some servant to scoop up.

He could immediately feel the oppressive mood in the grand dining room as he stepped in, and he kept his head low and quietly walked past everyone who was seated on the way to his parents. The delicious smell of food only made his stomach churn—it was never particularly good when any of these alphas wanted to see him.

"Where were you?" His father's voice was low, dripping with annoyance.

"I was praying at the shrine, I apologize for being late to your summon, your majesty."

"Lift your head, Kiyoomi, let me see your pretty face." A lighter voice, one directly to his right as he followed the command and his black eyes landed on Oikawa. The alpha was holding a half empty glass of wine, his posture far more relaxed than anyone else in this room.

"See? Why would you deny me such a gorgeous omega?" Oikawa said. "If it pleases you, I'll invite your useless alpha prince as well, but I know Kiyoomi is bound to be a hit with everyone there."

Kiyoomi wanted to ask where, but he knew better than to speak out of turn.

"Do you know why he's still not married? He's defective, broken, not a single alpha will want to waste their time on him. He'll be a burden to anyone stupid enough to even consider him."

"Are you calling me stupid, Sakusa-kun?" Oikawa raised an eyebrow. "Would it truly be idiotic of me to mate and breed Kiyoomi tonight?"

"You know that's not what I meant—"

"That's exactly what you just said." Oikawa slammed his glass down on the table. "Perhaps I'm too much of a moron to keep protecting this horrible realm and I'll let Ushiwaka run through and destroy everything you know. We've discussed it, multiple times even, your army is starved and wouldn't survive a real invasion."

"You can take him," his mother blurted out. "Please, we'd rather not have any trouble with you, we're honored you came here at all."

… Is Oikawa going to marry me?

"You should listen to your omega, unless you want me to walk out of here and straight into Ushiwaka's arms with the promise of a new territory." Oikawa flashed the king a smile.

The king was seething in his seat, Kiyoomi was still so very confused to what in the world was happening, "… fine, he can go. Both Katashi and Kiyoomi."

"Was that so hard? I could have been in and out of here in five minutes and you had to be a stubborn knothead." Oikawa clicked his tongue and stood from the table. "You can send the alpha later, but I'm taking Kiyo-kun with me, I'm sure you won't miss him around this destitute paradise."

The rest of the men that came with Oikawa stood as well and began to follow him out as Kiyoomi just remained in place.

"Kiyo-kun? Come along."

Kiyoomi looked to his father who didn't spare him a single glance, so he scurried off to follow the Seijoh prince and uh… were they mates now? What was going on?

"Hajime? Can you go help him pack up his things, I'd prefer we leave before dark, or… hell even traveling under the cloak of midnight and getting ambushed by fucking bandits would be preferable."

"Of course, wanna show the way, Sakusa?" Hajime… looks like an alpha…

"Yes, alpha." Kiyoomi replied, turning on his heel to head down the corridor when he heard laughter behind him. They were speaking in their native tongue too, so Kiyoomi didn't understand what they were saying or maybe he did something wrong? Was he going to get punished?

"First, I'm an omega, second, I'm this idiot's knight, third… just call me Iwaizumi."

"… You're an omega knight? That's not…" Kiyoomi stopped himself before he put his foot in his mouth just like his father, "… I see, it's nice to meet you, Iwaizumi."

"Yep," Iwaizumi nodded as Kiyoomi got the hint to go up to his chambers. "We're going to Nohebi next, you been there?"

"Often enough, they're close trading partners," Kiyoomi said as they were at the foot of the staircase, "I believe my father was seeking an arrangement between Katashi and Daishou…"

"How's that going?"

"You've seen his negotiation skills."

That got another laugh out of Iwaizumi, not as scary knowing that he was an omega and Kiyoomi's tongue could be looser with him. Maybe he could ask what was happening…

"Um… may I ask something?" They reached the top of the staircase as Iwaizumi nodded, "… Am I going to marry Oikawa?"

"Nah, he sent an invitation for you to come next summer to the courting party he's hosting, but I'm guessing you didn't get it?"

"I heard nothing about it, at all."

"Well, it's just as it sounds, a month of alphas and omegas trying to court each other, they'll be coming from all over the place and I'm sure you'll have much better luck without that asshole around."

"Oh… why me?" Kiyoomi asked. He'd been to courting galas and balls before, but alphas never cared about him. They were polite enough, but Kiyoomi was typically left alone in the corner.

Watching everyone else.

"You just deserve better than to be stuck here for the rest of your life; I was born in a brothel and I still grew up with more freedom than you."

Kiyoomi really didn't know what to say to that, Motoya and his sensei Iizuna were the only ones around here that he held real conversations with. Small talk with servants barely counted and his family…

"Will I get to say goodbye to my cousin?" Kiyoomi asked once they were standing in front of the doors to his bedroom.

"Komori? She got an invite too, but of course… you can feel free to say your goodbyes to whoever," Iwaizumi replied. "You're under Tooru's protection and he won't let anyone hurt you."

Kiyoomi… never quite saw himself actually leaving.

Not when there were so many things wrong with him. Broken. Defective. Ill mannered. Disobedient. Loud. Emotional. Fat. Ugly. No alpha will ever love you.

He was cautious not to let himself react too much, not to shed a tear when Motoya hugged him, not to speak when they left the castle at sunset… he had to be small, unknown, hidden.

"Kiyo-kuuuuuun, drink with us!"

Seeing all of these strangers sitting around the fire, Oikawa holding out a bottle of something with a drunk smile… he had no clue what he was getting himself into.