Chapter Text
It had been the worst year of his life, though it wasn't as if the previous years had been good. This year stood out because it began with the loss of his partner. The alpha he had loved since he was a child, the one he was willing to give everything for.
He had been born an omega, and he felt so unhappy because the family heritage and the power that came with owning a manor would not naturally pass to him or his sister, who was also born an omega.
His parents were wise to raise him as a beta; he only wish that had been enough to protect his sister from an arranged marriage. A beta wasn't enough to secure a lordship; he needed an alliance or backing to be recognized.
Tsutako accepted the proposal of an alpha twice her age on the condition that he would help her brother. He took her far away, where he couldn't hear from her. In less than two years, it was revealed that the agreement was half true and half false.
Giyuu regained his place in exchange for his sister's life.
He felt powerless knowing the man had used his sister as nothing more than a trophy. When she was no longer useful, she fell ill and was abandoned in a stranger’s home. An illness that could have been cured ended her life, and he couldn't even recover her remains.
At least the man didn't last long. He was so arrogant and greedy that he had crossed the wrong people. Despite his downfall, Giyuu had consolidated his power and no longer depended on that monster's existence.
Death had been merciless, and he thought that the future would change that.
Losing the only family he had left made his bond with Sabito a light in the middle of a long night. Together, they protected the territory that was rightfully his by maintaining the façade of him being a beta. And when friendship slowly deepened into love, they united their souls as well as their bodies.
Giyuu had reached marriageable age, and with someone like Sabito who knew his true nature and loved him as much as he respected him, he was willing to reveal his secret, marry him, and build a home with him.
For a brief moment, life shone again.
He couldn’t contain his happiness when he learned he was expecting his first child. He had discovered it at the beginning of summer. He decided to keep the news quiet a little longer, waiting for Sabito to return from selling the crops from his land. Sabito was due back around the middle of the month...
Unfortunately, he never returned.
The ship he had sailed on sank after several days of violent storms at sea. There had been no omens in the sky, nor any history in recent years that could have warned of such danger.
He was devastated and in grave danger.
Without marriage, without a partner, and without the protection of being perceived as a beta male, it was only a matter of time before he lost everything. Grief and stress consumed him, keeping him awake night after night. His work began to suffer, and he still had no idea what he would do once his pregnancy became known.
What would he do with the child when he was expelled from his home?
How would he protect it?
He didn't even have to decide.
One night, grief overwhelmed him, and he discovered something far worse than the dread he had been trying to ignore: he had lost his son. The last vestige of his bond with Sabito, the only family he would ever have, had vanished.
His doctor and his trusted housekeeper were the only ones who knew what had happened. Neither of them said a word, and together they covered it up. Giyuu could not recover from these latest losses.
He abandoned his duties, abandoned life, and awaited his slow demise. Many rumors circulated, and people gathered, waiting to see what they could plunder from what they assumed was the end of the lord of the territory. It wasn't everyone, but a sufficiently malicious group.
The other lords eventually heard the rumors and sent emissaries to demand answers. Some were far more concerned about the stability of the land than about the condition of its lord.
It was logical.
After all, Giyuu had always been seen as arrogant, presumptuous, and condescending the result of his constant distance from others and his seemingly unbreakable secrecy.
Each loss left deep scars and severe trauma. The last thing on Giyuu's mind was what others thought of him. His mind couldn't even process it, and he lived in constant fear of being discovered.
His entire life had become a cage of conditions and restrictions.
In this reality, despite being looked down upon by most of his peers, and despite Tomioka himself constantly undervaluing his own efforts — his domain remained one of the most functional and productive in the territory, often earning recognition from the supreme ruler. But its growing instability was a serious concern, and it was only a matter of time before it threatened everyone.
Their concerns were legitimate.
In an unexpected turn of events, the villagers took responsibility and lied on his behalf to buy their lord time to regain his senses. They knew that if Tomioka disappeared, the security he provided would vanish with him, though that wasn’t their only motivation.
No one knew him personally, nor was he close to anyone — yet he was well‑liked. His efforts were appreciated, and he was valued far more than he ever realized. Many of his workers prayed that someone would come to save him. They wished that some god would take pity on him; no one deserved to live in perpetual torment, least of all someone who had brought so much good to so many.
One winter morning their answers were heard and a tragedy would end up becoming the salvation they so desperately needed.
People feared the wolves that lived in the forests surrounding Giyuu's territories. At this time, there wasn't enough food in the forests, and instead of migrating, they learned to hunt the villagers.
When they were lucky they only took their provisions; when winter was harsh, they were harsh too, and they took whatever was within reach.
Tomioka had dealt with them for years and protected many travelers. Since his departure, his people were overwhelmed and many accidents had occurred, but none as tragic as that of the Kamado family.
The parents died, and only two of their children survived because the mother locked them in one of the trunks, and the villagers found them in time. A one-year-old boy and a nearly newborn baby girl survived. She was truly tiny.
Giyuu didn't realize anything was amiss until he heard crying inside his mansion and discovered that the children had been taken to his home. The housekeeper was responsible.
Lady Hoshi, a 35-year-old omega, had already experienced a loss similar to her lord's. She lost her second child and brought the Kamado children with her, hoping that perhaps the grief could be eased if something else took their place.
Giyuu's heart pounded at the sight of them, and before his mind could grasp the reason for their arrival, his body reacted, and the pheromones he always fearfully suppressed flooded the room. The baby's cries were soothed, and the boy stared at him, dumbfounded.
Tomioka didn't know what to do. They weren't his pus, and it felt strange to approach them. He looked around for their mother and only found the woman with them. Before she could explain, the little one started crawling around, looking for him, and struggled to stand up.
Giyuu noticed his eyes filling with tears, and his
legs, trying to walk quickly, gave way beneath him. He soon collapsed to the ground. Now he truly began to weep uncontrollably. The omega rushed to him, cradled him in his arms, and held him close to his chest.
“Please don’t cry… please,” Giyuu pleaded as he stroked the little boy’s face, gently rubbing his cheeks. He pressed soft kisses to the child’s face with utmost tenderness, and the little one readily accepted every bit of affection.
Giyuu was perplexed that the child was so receptive to his touch, and even more surprised when he clung to his clothes as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"This isn't... normal?" He looked at the lady, and she smiled at him.
“I don’t think so. Children are always attached to their parents, especially during the first three years. But does that really matter? Do you truly believe it would be bad for him to grow close to you?”
He had no clear answer. Death surrounded him; what fate awaited anyone who came close to him again? He wanted to push the child away, yet instead he gazed at the little one with unexpected tenderness. The boy was more baby than child, still clearly in need of care. His crimson eyes stared up at Giyuu, tears welling at the corners.
Soon, the baby smiled at him.
Giyuu wept when he saw the sun reflected in that tiny smile. Perhaps, he thought, his own child might have smiled like that one day. He was still devastated by all he had endured, but holding the child made his existence feel less miserable.
They needed a father, and he needed a reason to live. That was the conclusion he reached after learning the condition in which the children had been found. And so, Tomioka Giyuu raised both little ones as his own, even though he wasn’t sure he could give them all the love and protection they deserved.
He couldn’t shake the feeling of inadequacy.
The news spread far and wide, sparking the curiosity of several lords, particularly that of an alpha who had thought about him for years. An alpha in love, who had never imagined that a relationship with the young “beta” could ever be possible.
If only Kyojuro the firstborn son of the Rengoku family and heir to the neighboring manor had known the truth, his nature would never have been a dilemma. He would have asked Giyuu to be his husband the very day they met, all those years ago.
Before all the chaos began in their lives and they lost what they loved most.
It wouldn’t have mattered if that dream never came true, even if Tomioka’s heart could not reciprocate. At the very least, Kyojuro would have been by his side during the lowest moments of his life — in whatever way Giyuu would have allowed.
Unfortunately, secrets and fate had never allowed it. Both of them had been forced onto separate paths — paths that were only now beginning to lead them back to one another.
‘This time it could be different,’ the the alpha thought. Nothing would ever again take him away from the one he had long ago decided was the only place he wished to return to.
He'd bet everything.
Kyojuro's actions would soon begin to transform Giyuu's reality.
Like an unstoppable wind, the alpha would clear the clouds that kept Tomioka trapped in a continuous storm, and the omega would never be alone again.
Love was within their reach.
All stories could be rewritten.