4th Disguise

RYUICHI

AFTER that incident, Shimada-senpai has stopped having sex with me. Inisip ko na baka tambak na ang mga gawain n'ya at mahirap isingit ang private session namin pero napansin kong iniiwasan n'ya rin ako. He made sure not to meet my gaze, not to be alone with me, and even not talk to me except for business reasons. And I didn't understand quite well why he was acting that way.

Hanggang ngayon ay hindi n'ya pa rin binibigay ang kanyang desisyon tungkol sa kliyente naming si Fujiwara Ichi. If I remembered it correctly, the client gave us at least a week to give our feedback about his offer. Could it be that Shimada-senpai forgot?

"Excuse me. Shimada-san, may bisita ka." It was Moriya-san who said that.

Awtomatiko akong napatingin sa direksiyon ng aming boss para makita kung ano ang magiging reaksiyon n'ya and he looked a bit confused. It's not unusual to have visitors once in a while but this was the first time that someone, whom I didn't know yet, paid him a visit since I got here. It kind of… stirred my curiosiy.

"Sino daw?" tanong ni Shimada-senpai kay Moriya-san.

Inayos muna ni Moriya-san ang suot na salamin bago sumagot, "Acchan daw po, boss."

「Acchan?! What the hell?!」I exclaimed in my mind.

"What? But I just told him last night na ako na lang ang pupunta sa kanya," tila inis na turan ni Shimada-senpai before exhaling. "Never mind. Tell him that I'll meet him at the lobby."

Napakamot naman si Moriya-san sa kanyang ulo bago tumingin sa pinto at kasabay ng paglingon n'ya ay bumukas ito at sumulpot ang isang lalaking may suot na salamin.

May katangkaran ito na katamtaman lang ang pangangatawan. May kahabaan ang kanyang buhok na abot hanggang balikat, mukhang maykaya, at isa siyang lalaki. He looked a little plain to me but something about made me uneasy.

"Kicchan!" tawag ng lalaki kay Shimada-senpai sa pamilyar na paraan.

「Kicchan?!」I thought to myself while trying to grasp the whole situation.

Shimada-senpai's reactions were both surprised and annoyed. "Ano'ng ginagawa mo rito, Izumi?!"

Namaywang ang lalaki bago ito kunwaring nadismaya. "Eh? Why are you calling me by my last name? It's 'Acchan'!" giit nito sabay nag-pout pa.

「What the fucking hell was that?!」

I saw Shimada-senpai gulp bago ito inis na tumayo at nilapitan ang lalaki. "Geez. Let's talk outside, Izumi," aya n'ya rito at naunang umalis palabas si Shimada-senpai patungo sa lobby.

"Why?" nagtatakang baling ng kulugo sa kanya.

Nagtaka din maging mga katrabaho ko sa kanyang pagdating. So that must mean that they didn't know the person, too.

I was about to ignore the two nang mahagip ng mga mata ko ang pag-akbay ng lalaki kay Shimada-senpai and he didn't seem bothered by it. They walked pass by me and just before I could speak, the guy looked at me with curiosity.

"Kicchan, who is he?" asked the weird four-eyed freak while staring at me hard.

Nag-alangang sumagot si Shimada-senpai pero pinilit n'ya pa rin, "He is Okuda Ryuichi, my new subordinate," pagpapakilala nito sa 'kin.

Nanlaki naman ang mga mata ng baliw at lalo akong tinitigan. "Heh…? Ako nga pala si Izumi Aki. I am Kicchan's—"

"Izumi, tayo na!" putol ni Shimada-senpai sa kanya sabay hila dito palabas ng opisina.

"Eh? Aren't you going to tell him who I am?" parang baliw na baling nito kay Shimada-senpai but he was ignored.

"Just shut up and go already! I'm still at work, you know?!" pambabalewala sa kanya ng aming boss and he finally dragged the four-eyed weirdo out.

What the… hell…? I was dumbfounded. Who the hell was that guy?!

"Mukhang matagal na silang magkakilala," biglang pakli ni Moriya-san.

"You think so?" I faced him.

"Wala kaming alam tungkol sa private life ni Shimada-san kaya base sa pagtrato n'ya sa lalaki, mukhang magkaibigan sila. Well… para sa isang kagaya ni boss na isang Alpha, nakakapagtaka na wala pa siyang mate," ani Moriya-san.

「That's because he's actually an Omega!」I shouted in my mind.

"Y-yeah," I agreed hesitantly.

"Izumi Aki. Izumi… Aki…" Moriya-san muttered to himself bago ito biglang napapitlag. "Ah!"

"Fuck!" Napamura naman ako sa pagkagulat at nilingon kami ng iba. Nang tapunan ko sila ng medyo naiinis na tingin, kaagad din silang nagkunwaring abalang ginagawa ang kanilang mga trabaho.

"Parang narinig o nakita ko na ang pangalan n'ya kung saan," ani Moriya-san and he hurriedly typed the guy's name on the browser and searched for possible answers. "Sabi ko na nga ba!" he exclaimed.

"What?" What was his deal, fidgeting like that and all?

"Isa siyang licensed Alpha doctor. He specializes in giving check-ups and prescription medicines sa mga Omega na may irregular heats. Maganda ang reviews n'ya. Alam mo na? May nabibiling suppressants sa local drugstores pero may ilang Omega na kinakailangang magpatingin sa doktor kung hindi tumatalab sa kanila ang ordinary suppressants."

「Irregular heats? Come to think of it, Shimada-senpai's been experiencing his heat too often. Sa pagkakaalam ko ay once or twice in a month lang dinadalaw ng heat ang isang Omega.」

"Wait. He's an Alpha?" I suddenly asked.

"Huh? Si Shimada-san ba? Oo."

"No! I mean, the other guy!"

"Oo?" patanong na sagot ni Moriya-san.

「If that guy was really an Alpha, what will happen if Shimada-senpai suddenly goes into heat while being with him?!」My thoughts started to make me act unnecessarily these past few days.

"Moriya-san, give me Izumi's contact details and address to his clinic," biglaan kong utos sa kanya at nagtaka ang aking kausap.

"B-bakit? Magpapa-check-up ka ba, Okuda-kun?" he curiously asked.

"Just do it," giit ko at balisang kinapa ni Moriya-san ang kanyang laptop.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

Sa araw ng aking day off, napagpasyahan kong puntahan ang clinic ng nasabing doktor. It seemed that his clinic is open anytime. It's not that I was worried about Shimada-senpai but if that guy ever took interest on him…

「Why am I so worked up over something like this?」

I managed to reach his clinic without any hassle. Hindi ito kalakihan at mukhang disente naman para sa isang doktor na kagaya n'ya na may magandang pangalan. First, I went to see his secretary who happened to be a guy. Talk about an unusual secretary.

"Ano'ng pangalan nila?" tanong ng lalaking secretary sabay titig sa akin. He was a huge, scary looking guy who was almost as tall as me and had a great build, too. His hair was shaggy and a bit messy and wore a stupid look on his face as if his mind was flying off somewhere despite looking at me directly. I don't get why he was here but I guess you can't really judge a person by their appearance.

"Okuda Ryuichi," I answered and he listed my name at ilang sandali ring sinuri ang log book na hawak nito bago ako binalingang muli.

"First time mo magpa-check-up dito, sir? Wala kasi akong mahanap na record," he asked.

"Well… I am not here for a check-up. I need to have a word with Izumi," pagbibigay-alam ko.

"You mean 'Izumi-sensei'?" the guy corrected in a happy tone. Okay, that was unexpected. His expression suddenly changed after hearing the doctor's name. "Are you in a rut, sir?" he suddenly asked.

"Rut? No!" mabilis kong tanggi. And how the hell did he know that I was an Alpha? Was it obvious? I was not emitting any Alpha pheromones though.

"Bukod sa Omega suppressants, nagpre-prescribe din ng gamot para sa Alpha rut si Izumi-sensei," pagpapaliwanag nito.

「Oh, I see. It wasn't like I cared, anyway. Ang Alpha doctor ang ipinunta ko rito,」I sarcastically thought.

"Okay. But is he in today? I really have to talk to him," pag-iiba ko ng usapan.

"Oh. Okay, maghintay ka muna dito, sir. Itatanong ko muna kung ayos lang na may makipagkita sa kanya ngayon.'' After that he offered me a seat and I silently waited.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

Matapos payagang makausap ang nasabing doktor, kumatok ako sa pinto ng kanyang private room at hinanda ang sarili kong kumalma. Somehow, kanina pa akong hindi mapakali.

"Pasok," the doctor said from inside and I opened the door.

Ang unang bumungad sa akin ay isang lalaking nakabukaka habang nakaupo sa swivel chair habang pinapaikot-ikot n'ya ito sa loob ng kuwarto. Binigyan n'ya ako ng nakakabuwisit na tingin na para bang sinasabi nitong ano ang ginagawa ko rito.

"Will you stop doing that?" mahina kong sita, referring to what he was doing just a while ago.

"Huh? Ang alin?" Parang hunghang naman siyang napatingin sa buong paligid na animo'y wala siyang kaide-ideya na napaka-inappropriate ng kanyang ikinikilos, considering his profession.

"Tsk. Never mind," pambabalewala ko na lang at saka tumikhim. "I am here to confirm something."

"Tungkol saan?" He wore a more serious expression now but he still kept on playing with his swivel chair.

"Are you really an Alpha?" diretsahan kong tanong.

Namilog ang kanyang mga mata kasabay ng paghinto n'ya sa kanyang ginagawa. Bahagya nitong inayos ang suot na salamin bago n'ya ako sinagot, "Yes. Is there a problem with that?"

"Don't you think that your job is way too risky?" I asked further.

"You sound like a jealous beast," bigla nitong komento. "And aren't you being rude right now? If you don't have any business with me, the door is wide open, dear sir," he sarcastically added.

Nagkasalubong naman ang mga kilay ko. "What?"

"Are you worried about Kicchan?" pag-iiba n'ya ng tanong.

"Ki—! How did you—?!"

Kung kanina ay mukha siyang tanga, the air around him suddenly changed. He looked at me while smirking. I felt this shiver down my spine that most Alphas feel when an Alpha releases strong pheromones when they see another Alpha as a threat. This usually happens when two Alphas are both interested in the same Omega and they tend to scare off the other by creating a heavy atmosphere around them; a great way of telling the enemy to back off. Most of the time, it is proven effective.

And this four-eyed freak was seeing me as a threat!

Muli nitong inayos ang suot na salamin bago siya nagsalita, "For a young Alpha like you, you are one feisty predator."

"Ugh…" I couldn't argue with him on that.

"Releasing a plentiful amount of semen while he was in heat, have you ever considered the consequences that Kicchan might face if he got pregnant? And worst… you're not even mates," he said in a stern voice.

"You…! How do you even know?!" taranta kong tanong. I was quite sure that our little secret was only between the two of us. Or was it not?

"Okuda-kun, I'm a doctor. It's my job to know the factors that causes an Omega to suddenly go into heat, that is for example, if that Omega used to have normal heat periods. Asking them about things like this is natural so I can pinpoint the exact problem and what medicines to prescribe them," he clarified.

「Okuda-kun? So, he's older than me then?」I assumed.

"Did he tell you himself?" Sa mga sandaling ito, nagsisimula na akong mairita sa paraan ng pananalita ng lalaking ito na para bang alam na alam n'ya ang tungkol sa amin ni Shimada-senpai. And asking that only made me sound like a fool. But he's much more of a fool for going along with me.

"Hmm? Who knows? Ha ha!" pabalang n'yang tugon at nakuha pa talagang tumawa. He went to his desk, took a history record from his drawer at pinakli ito nang pinakli hanggang sa mahanap na n'ya ang tamang pahina.

"Are you his friend?" I asked out of impulse and curiosity.

「Fuck! Why did I fucking ask that?!」pagwawala ko sa 'king isipan. Now, this guy would think I was being curious about him.

Tumingin siya sa akin at kumurap ng ilang beses bago ngumising parang baliw. "Are you curious?"

"No fucking way!" mabilis at pasigaw kong tanggi.

He burst into laughter at pinalo-palo pa ang hawak nitong record sheet sa kanyang mesa. What a really weird guy. I feel like I might go crazy if I stayed here any longer. He was way too… weird.

"Siguro alam mo naman na may ilang Omega na irregular ang heats, 'di ba?" pag-iiba n'ya ng usapan at umayos ng upo. "Umupo ka nga muna," biglang sabi nito nang mapansing kanina pa akong nakatayo lamang malapit sa pinto.

I sat down on a vacant plastic chair beside his desk, crossed my arms and gave off an intimidating vibe and continued conversing with him, "Are you telling me that Shimada-senpai's heat is irregular?" I took a lucky guess.

"Yup. Pero, alam mo bang maraming maaaring dahilan kung bakit nagiging irregular ang heat nila?" aniya.

"Yeah. It could be that their body is not compatible with the suppressants that they take." The way I responded to him almost sounded so natural… too natural.

"That's true," pagsasang-ayon nito at nagpatuloy, "Meeting their fated pair can also trigger sudden changes both in their body and heat periods."

"I thought fated pairs and soul bonds ended years ago?"

"It still exists," mariin n'yang pakli. "Omegas react differently to their fated pair. Suwerte sila kung magkakilala o mahal na nila ang isa't isa but being total strangers to each other is a different story. Alphas can't resist an Omega in heat and the rut is twice as strong if it's their fated pair. But recently, nalaman kong may ilang Alpha na hindi naaamoy masyado ang scent ng kanilang fated pair kahit kaharap na nila ito pero may mga pagkakataong kusa silang naa-attract sa Omega nang walang dahilan."

"Is he pregnant?" paglilihis ko ng usapan.

"Who?" naguguluhang baling ng baliw na doktor.

"Shimada-senpai." Why am I even wasting my time talking to this guy?

"Oh, don't worry. He's fine. Mabuti na lang at hindi ganoon kalala ang heat n'ya noong huli mo siyang ginalaw," pagsisiguro nito and I felt relieved, too.

It was true. Shimada-senpai's scent at that time was faint but it was still so sweet so I wasn't able to resist and hold myself back. A part of my mind knew the risk of getting him pregnant but I was so frustrated that I took it all out on him. Despite telling myself over and over again that I would not be bewitched by his charms, I kept finding myself being drawn to him by my own will.

And I hated it!

"You sure know a lot about him," I said in an irritated tone.

"Sort of," he calmly replied. "Pero may isa pang factor kung bakit nakakaranas ng irregular heat ang isang Omega."

"What is it?" It piqued my interest, that's all. This whole Omega thing was starting to raise confusion within my head. But what I didn't expect was the following informations that Izumi told me.

"I bet you know that we Alphas have the ability to retract the bond with our mates. You see, when that happens, Omegas are left with two choices: find a new Alpha or suffer a long-term of irregular, intense, and painful heats," he said it in a very serious tone.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked in confusion. Does this have anything to do with Shimada-senpai?

"Ah. You didn't know?" ani doktor na tila nagtaka din sa naging tanong ko.

"Know what? And stop talking halfway!" medyo inis ko nang tugon.

Naisuklay ng baliw ang kanyang kamay sa kanyang buhok bago pagak na tumawa. "So, despite you guys being sex friends for a while, I guess Kicchan is still afraid, huh?" he muttered to himself.

"What the fuck are you trying to say?" medyo galit ko nang tanong. Why couldn't he just say things directly? He was only making me nervous the more he leaves it hanging like that.

Inayos pa ng doktor ang suot na salamin bago ito seryosong nagsalita, "Kicchan had a mate once."

The moment I heard that, I forgot what facial expression I made but I was certain that I was pretty much taken aback.

「to be continued」