change the channel (Ko-Fi Request) Kenma Kozume/Camgirl!Omega!Reader
hello! Id love a kenma x reader fic (maybe a/b/o) ?? Also, thank you so so much for writing so many amazing fanfics :) every time I read a new chapter from any of your stories, it makes my day <3Â
OFC COURSE YOU CAN!!!! And thank you so much for your support and for your donation! AND THANK YOU!! I know this one is long overdue, but I hope you enjoy!
Iâm also killing two birds with this one, itâs substituting for Typetober Day 16: back and forth (using change the channel instead)
title: change the channel
pairing: Kenma Kozume/Omega!Reader
rating: T/very slight M
summary:
Kenma taps his phone again, right back at your picture. He stares at you with wide, piercing eyes, leaning across the table and quickly saying, reverent and eagerâ
âI want to buy your game from you.â
Today, sitting here beside you in your bag, are fully equipped items to try and protect you from the creepy, deranged, rich stranger youâd been about to meet. Today, you were fully expecting to unleash a fury building up inside of you over an injustice you canât tackle on your own in your society on some poor, unsuspecting alphaâ
Here, sitting in front of you, is a self-claimed internet game streamer, who wants to buy your⌠special edition⌠game?
âYou wantâŚâ you say, slowly, making sure you donât have this wrong, â...my game?â
He nods.
You open your mouth. It closes. You open it again, raise a finger, and then press your lips together, staring at him.
âIâm sorry,â you say finally. âWhat?â
link to AO3 for easier reading:Â https://archiveofourown.org/works/27446191
Omegachion has signed on!
The monitor screen flickers to life.Â
An empty room appears. A plush, pink cushioned desk chair is in view. Along the cream, soft colored walls are a series of posters that usual garner less attention. A bookshelf is tucked to the side, complete with a set of potted plants hanging in clean potsâclearly loved. Within the stack of books sits shelves stuffed full with what looks to be discs and an assortment of other items.
The website's main frame appearsâSecondGlanceStreaming.com. The design is sleek and blackâclean and unassuming. A password is prompted, followed by a series of typed keys and then a click.
On the side of the screen a chatroom appears, coupled with a monitored security system in place established by the website. A cherry icon pops to life. Once the chatroom opens, the entire website flickers with light.
Omegalovers has signed on.
Rockyroadncream has signed on.
Omegasarekings has signed on.
Cumqueen324 has signed on.
Mrknottt has signed on.
Msbyjackalboi23 has signed on.
Openwideandsmile has signed on.
Sunnydayandnight has signed on.
Marshmellowtime has signed on.
Thecoolestalpha has signed on.
Bettagetbeta has signed on.
KingKodzuken has signed on.
Kodzu00 has signed on.
The chatrooms explodes with messages. A series of greetings are quickly issued by long-time fans and watchers of the streams, asking how your day was and how youâre feeling. A few more perverse, slimy messages are mixed in-between, demanding for the crude and obscene. A few others snipe back, telling the users to get their hands out of their pants while a series of other users greet each other instead, talking about the excitement over tonight's stream.
You hang back a bit, one arm crossed under your chest, puffed up with the fleecy soft fabric of your jacket while the other hand holds a jelly drink, sipping it in silence. You watch the chatroom explode, quickly gaining more and more users as others signed on to your stream. You check the time on your phone, sighing before you finish off your drink and toss it into the trash can.
You place the fuzzy bunny mask over your eyes, checking how you look in the mirror. You swipe your mouth with your thumb, applying your lip gloss and then smiling cutely at your reflection.
âAlright,â you say. âThe goal tonight is 7,000 cherries⌠you got this!â
You clap your hands over your face and beam. Showtime.
You slide into the monitorâs view, the webcam flickering to life. The chat comes back with more force, messages spamming into the box and a series of cherries already floating into the screen. You beam, laughing as you wave to your viewers and blow them all kisses. âHello! Hello everyone! I love to see so many of you are so punctual⌠Needy omegas like me⌠we love reliable people, you know?â
You hold back a snicker as the chat increases with your words. People shooting messages back at you as you let out a cute giggle. Tonightâs outfit is nothing but a cotton candy pink fleece zip-up that falls to the top of your thighs, also exposing your bare, smooth collarbones. Itâs a special occasion, so youâre going the extra mile.
âHow are we all doing tonight?â you ask sweetly, holding your chin up with your hands as you watch the chatroom, skimming over the responses. âAw, Bettagetbeta, Iâm sorry to hear that! I hope things get better for you⌠do you need a hug?â
Cherry icons pop up over your screen. 50. 30. 10. You smile, opening your arms to the camera. âThere! Iâll make all your problems go away, okay?â
You bat your eyes under the mask, showing them your bare wrists and giving them a little rub with your thumbs. âYou can scent me if youâd like⌠would that make you feel better?â
Bettagetbeta has gifted you 30 cherries!
Bigboialpha has gifted you 350 cherries!
âBigboialpha!â you squeak, covering your mouth with your hands. âThatâs too sweet of you! Did you want to scent me that badly?â
Your chatroom shakes from the force of scrambled messages. You smile, shyly running a finger up and down the slightly swollen scent glands of your wrist. Youâve timed this just rightâand just as you thought, your viewers notice too, instantly spamming the boxes with more fervent messages, begging to scent you, begging to be with you, wrap you up in their smellsâ
(God, you make me want to vomit.)
âIf youâre extra good,â you say sweetly, âyou could⌠maybe evenâŚâ
You tease show off more of your bare shoulder, showing a pink bra strap. You slightly expose the side of your neck, bringing your fingers up dangerously close to your most sensitive scent glands. Cherry icons flash across the screen and you hold back an excited grin, feet tapping anxiously underneath your desk.
Thereâs a new flurry of disgusting messages, of big, handsome alphas promising to do all kinds of things to you if youâd let them. You roll your eyes under your mask, holding back curling your lip in disgust as they prattle on about how theyâd take care of you, make you feel so, so good andâ
âAll right, all right, thatâs enough teasing, right?â you say. âEveryone, thank you so much for signing on again tonight! If youâre new to my streams, welcome! Weâre so happy to have you. Iâm lucky to have you. Itâs a special night tonight, you know why?â
Gonna come for us on screen?
Face reveal! Face reveal!
Omegachion i would do anything for u
Pls let me touch u
Take off ur jacket
Stfu and let her talk u horn dogs
Fking disgusting dont ruin the stream
Open ur legs, baby girl
âBecause!â you say, throwing your arms into the air. You spin once in your chair, showing off the room and stopping right in front of the screen again. âI just got it in the mail todayâŚâ
You bring up the sleek red box thatâd been waiting to the side of your desk. You beam, showing it off to your viewers. âTadah! Do you know what this is? Itâs a gift from our generous website hostsâa gift for reaching the Gold Status on streaming! Everyone, thank you so much! I couldnât have done this without you!â
The chatroom pops with congratulations. Thereâs some demanding comments, ordering for a consolation prize. You skim through them all, smiling a bit at the paragraphs of kind words and thanks. Theyâre the viewers you wish you could treat with a little more care, give them something a little more for all they do.
âWant to see what the gift was?â you ask. You pop open the lid and show off the giftâa dark red, leather collar coupled with a golden dog tag. Itâs a stylish thing, slim fitted and clearly of great quality, thereâs a thickened edge to the leather, coupled with a lock and key.
Itâs an omega collar.
You smile through your teeth. The stench of the perfume from the box makes you want to wretch, but you hold it for the camera as your viewers beg you to put it on. âOh, I donât know⌠should I?â
You play with it, showing it off to them against the column of your neck. Theyâre feverish and desperate.Â
âI donât deserve something this nice,â you say, shaking your head.
Tease
Donât cover up that beautiful neck
Dont blueball us
I only want to see u in my collar
âThatâs right,â you say innocently. âI donât want to cover up what belongs to you guysâŚâ you show off your neck to them again, touching with your fingertips your own bonding gland, unmarked and bare. The chatroom is almost unrecognizable, going off into a feeding frenzy.
You turn back to the screen, smiling.
(Youâre like babies.)
You drop the box out of view of the camera into your trashcan, kicking it under the table with more force than necessary. You ought to burn the fucking thing but leather probably doesnât burn well.Â
I canât believe Iâm already at 4,000 cherries. You feel excitement replace the disgust, toes curling against your hardwood floor. You got this, amp it up a little bit.
âSince I couldnât have made it this far without all of you,â you say, touching a hand to your chest and playing with your zipper. âI wanted to do something specialânot just this stream! But a nice little event, how does that sound?â
You click your mouse, opening up a new box and icon for your viewers. âCan everyone see the royalty program alright? Yeah? Perfect! If you look, youâll see the cute little banner we had set up and everything.â
You hold up your phone, smiling beside it. âFor these set prices, Iâll be doing a series of special events, just for all of you guys for all the support youâve given me!â
You point.
â50 cherries and you get a sweet text with a picture from me,â you say. âEach picture will be different, and none of them alike! Keep it between us though, okay? Hehe, I mean it! For 100 cherries, Iâll do a one minute call and for 300 cherries, a three minute call, just with you! For 500, weâll do a private web-chat session and finally, the big oneâŚâ
You smile, âFor 1,500 cherries, Iâll be doing a special, in-person meet and greet! How does that sound?â
The reactions are instantaneous.
Cherries already start popping up all over your screen, users filling out the roles and eagerly thanking you for everything while others spit at the prices. You ignore those comments, secretly marking certain users to be blocked. You know the last one is outrageous, how could it not be? Did they think youâd want to meet with any of them? Youâd discussed this with several other streamers and theyâd all done similar thingsâthis deterred creeps and kept you safe. Usually no one ended up doing the meet and greet. It was too expensive.Â
It was foolproof.
I canât wait to hear your voice
Will it be nudes
I want nudes
Thank you so much for doing this!
âI should be the one thanking you guys!â you squeal. Your eyes dart to the corner of your screen, watching the cherries roll in. Your heartbeat accelerates and you do the quick math in your head. âOh my goodness! Sitwhereveryoulike, thank you so much for the Cherries! And you too, theprettiestalpha! Thank you!â
As it should be. You grin at the screen, prattling on with sweet words and thanks. You teasingly unzip a little more of your jacket, greedily watching the cherries pop-up all over the screen, trying to make conversation where you can andâ
A single chat bubble pops up in the corner. You almost miss the question, but youâre almost certain your eyes donât betray you. If you hadnât seen the title so many times, you wouldâve blown right past it.
(But youâre a true fan, down to your core, you could never miss a mention ofâ)
Is your username based on Water Emblem?
âHello, Kodzu00!â you say quickly, trying to stifle your surprise. âYes, it is! You must be new to the streams.â
You gesture behind you, smiling shyly at the poster of Varth on the back of your wall. âIâm actually a bit of a fan! I know the series is old and everyoneâs excited for the new reboots, but I grew up with the old one.â
Ah, stop right there, donât keep talking about it. Youâre going to lose viewers! Your fingers fly back to your zipper, teasingly dragging it down another inch. You could talk about Water Emblem for hours, but you canâtâthis is a stream after all. âBigboialpha! I guess weâll be having that private webchat after all⌠mhm! Iâm looking forward to itâhuh? What Iâll be wearing? WellâŚâ
You cutely run your fingers up and down the column of your neck, bringing their attention back to your scent glands. âWould you⌠pick for me?â
You almost gag at the comment suggestions. You watch more cherries roll inâshit, another 500? I might make my goal after all! No, you would make your goal. You have to. The sooner you rake in the dough from these streams, the sooner you couldâ
For the meet and greet, would it be in person?
You blink, startled by the question. You quickly glance back to the username. Kudzu00 again? âUh, yes! Yes, it would be~ Iâd pick a nice location for us and weâd meet. Wouldnât that be nice everyone?â
For how long?
Who even is this lol
Damn big bucks
Show us the tits already
Pls sit on my face
Your outfit is so cute today!
You swallow nervously. Calm down. What are you even freaking out for? No one in their right mind was ever going to drop that much money to meet with some stranger from the internetâno one.
âFifteen minutes,â you say cheerfully, keeping one eye on the chat. Have I seen this user before? âThereâs a lot we could doâah, I mean talk about in fifteen minutes, right?â
Kodzu00 is typingâŚ
The chat bubble disappears. You eye it for a few more seconds before shrugging your shoulders. Shake it off. You needed to keep this celebration stream going. You slyly bring your bare knees up and watch the chat go a little more wild, quick questions being shot about whether or not youâre wearing anything under that jacket. You keep the conversations going, sweetly asking the users about what theyâd like to do, what kind of pictures and ifâ
A bright icon flashes on your screen. You glance over.
Kodzu00 has gifted you 3,000 cherries!
You freeze.
On your monitor the chat continues to fire off. A few people notice the notification. You blink, once, twice, before taking a second glance at the numbers.
3,000.
3,000 cherries?
3,000âŚ.
The calculation is quick in your head. Youâre terribly good with money, sadly. The final statement minus the small deduction for processing appears in your mindâs eye and you balk.
HOLY FUCK.
Lol i think u broke her
God damn
Congratulations, Omegachion!
âK-K-Kodzu00!â you say, head spinning. âThank you so much! Ohâoh my goodness! Thank you so much for your donation!â What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuckâ âI canât believe youâd be so generous! Thank you so much! Iâm so excited to meet you! Our first meet and greet!â
WHAT THE FUCK?
You quickly try to hold your composure, continuing with the stream. Calm down. Calm down. Calm down. Finish the show! You laugh, trying not to look at the history of the notification and focusing on your show instead. You thank every piece of good sense inside you for using a mask, hiding the sweat rolling down your face as you teasingly stand up for your audience, bending down a bit.
âNow, how about we end the night with a little⌠cuddle, hmm?â you say shakily, unzipping your jacket the rest of the way to show off the lacy, soft pink color of your bra. The chat bubbles pop up by the dozens, but you never see even a lick of Kodzu00 again. What the hell? âCâmon, you know how badly I wish you were here to scent me⌠wrap me up in that smell of yoursâŚâ
(Give them what they all want.)
What feels like hours finally passes in a span of minutes and you quickly say goodbye to your watchers, blowing them a kiss and zipping your jacket backup as you finally sign off. You sit there, staring at the screen of your loading page, dumbfounded.
Limply, your finger finds its way to your mouse. You give it a click.
The final total for your earnings tonight appears in a tacky, almost shady colored box. You stare at it in silence.
9,750 Cherries.
NineâŚ. Nine thousandâŚ
Almost 1,000,000 yen?Â
âYes!â you screech, grabbing your head with your hands as you fly up from your chair. You kick the stupid, plush pink thing aside. âYes! Yes! Yes!â
This is insane! You almost want to cry in disbelief. This isâthis is it! This is what I needed! Iâm so close! Iâm so close! You know the other streams wonât rake in nearly as much, but this is the final push you neededâif you kept up this kind of participation for another few months, your fees would be nothing! Youâd be able to even afford a little extra and get something nice, replace your bathtub and treat yourself to an expensive dinner and all thanks to this stupid job andâ
The grand, generous donation of Kodzu00â
You freeze. Your pure, unrestrained elation plummets. Reality clocks you sideways in the face and you slap yourself for being so dumbâhow could I even forget? Your eyes dart back to the screen and you pull up the donation history, staring in dark silence at the simple, blaring donation of cherries, already transferred to your account and not even pending andâ
Your joy is quickly replaced with something much more dire. You gape at the amount. The award title beside it appears. You stare.
And stare.
A thirty minute meet and greet.
Youâd be meeting in person with this person for at least half and hour andâ
What the hell?
You power off your screens, flying to your room and kicking the streaming room door shut behind you. You lunge for your bed, scrambling for your laptop, covered in Water Emblem stickers. You pop it open, quickly pulling up your admin account for the streaming sight and accessing your private passwords. You pull up the user history for all your past streams, typing in the username Kodzu00â
Nothing?
You stare at the blank history. The only entry is tonightâs stream. The very first time this user has ever showed up.
Alarm bells start ringing in your head. You pull up your emergency tab, a self-made list of all your red-flag boxes to check in cases like this for your safety. You click on Kodzu00âs account, searching through their profile.
MADE THIS MORNING? You gape in disbelief, staring at the entirely blank profile. Itâs even void of an icon for a profile pic. The account was literally made today, just for this stream, and this god damn stranger just gifted you basically 300,000 yenâ
This is insane! All your alarm bells nearly fall off their stands. You search for any kind of information, scrambling and double-checking your banned users lists for any potential matches. Was it some creep trying to meet you from before? A stalker? Were they under a different name and made the separate account just to do this to you so they wouldnât get caught? Whatâs their deal?
(Whatâs your selling point for this whole thing?)
You pause, fingers halting over your keyboard.
Youâve had rich donations before. Users with too much time and money on their handsâusers youâre gladly willing to take from in the pursuit of a better life for yourself. Your crowd ranges anyway; from nervous, shy little dorks to kind, quiet people looking for company to disgusting, wretched lechers and stupid alphas who like nothing more than little, docile omegas to rub their garbage scent overâ
You stare at Kodzu00âs user profile, feeling something bitter and dark and ugly bubble up in the pits of your stomach.
Any person, male or female, whoâd be willing to drop that much money to meet with a streamer like you, notorious for what you do, for what you marketâcanât be a good person by any means.
They only want one thing.
You grind your teeth, knowing youâve got no choice but to reap what you sowed. This was the path to quick cash you chose, so you canât back down now. Youâll just have to do everything in your power to make sure you remain successful.
You close your laptop screen, ripping your stupid mask off your face and tossing it to the side.
You werenât backing down.
--- (change the channel) ----
You started streaming in high school.
The middle of your last year, to be exact.
It started off simple enough, to be honest. Nothing eventful, nothing worth writing biographies or harrowing documentaries off of. It was another story amidst the thousands in Tokyoâs Metropolitan streets.
By all legal health records and means, you are an omega.
(What does that mean?)
Within Tokyoâs urban and suburban streets, it means a collection of different ideals and social norms. It means nothing to plenty, it means everything to othersâto your youthful eyes growing up, itâd just meant you were a little different from some of your other peers, but not isolated, no, never isolatedâthere were other omegas, after all, despite the smaller population.
You get along with people fine. You make friends fine, have a few crushes, get average enough grades and have a particular fondness for social mediaâyou just live your life on top of having to deal with certain physiological functions others around you may not experience the same.
You think by all means until your last year of high school, that it really does mean nothing. Society is so modern now, people donât even blink, right? Thereâs none of those second gender stereotypes or outrageous cult worshipsâyouâre just another person trying to live their life to the fullest.
âA doctor? Are you sure thatâs what you want to do?â
You smiled at your teacher in the faculty office. See? Normalâ
You stopped.
âSee, thatâs a great dream,â the teacher said, pointing to your paper. He tapped it, scratching his rough stubble. âBut itâs not very realistic with your current standing, you know?â
âYou mean my grades? I can work extra hard. Theyâve been more than above passing, and what really matters is the entrance exams and testingââ
âNot just that,â he said. He pulled up your student file. He gave you a second look, up and down, and he seemed to find pity in your hopefully confused expression. âListen, (L/n), hereâs the thingâa doctor⌠is a pretty important position, you know? Very important.â
You nodded like you didnât already know that. Like you hadnât been spending the last years of your educational life aspiring toward that goal, that dream.
âThey need to be physically⌠available,â your teacher said. âThey have to work outrageous shift hours, they have to work hard on top of that, and then they have to take special medication to regulate their pheromones if they need to, and then the schooling on top of all that is hard work.â
You waited for your teacher to explain why any of those things was supposed to get in the way of your one and only dream of saving lives.
âIâll make this easy for you to understand, kid,â you teacher said. He taps his nametag, pointing to his little alpha symbol.
âOmegas just donât become doctors.â
Your dainty, prettily crafted world of normalcy and mundane content shattered around you in one violent, screeching halt.
You smiled at your teacher, nails digging painfully into your thighs.
âIâm sorry?â
âItâs just not a typical job preference,â your teacher said. âLook, youâre not the only one, I promise. There are a few omega doctors, sure, we need them anyway to make things easier or make sense of stuff alpha based doctors or betas might not understand, but the demand isnât high and the placement is extremely competitive. Trust me, kid. I know.â
You kind of wanted to spit at your teacher that no, this pot-bellied, alpha gym teacher couldnât possibly know more than you do about trying to break into the medical industry as an omega. But the thing isâwhat are the statistics? You hardly see any. Every website youâd researched thus far has always been welcoming, nowhere on their platforms or pamphlets saying anything about omegas being doctors or not andâ
You froze.
âEveryone is welcome!â the videos all said. âEveryone is encouraged to try!â
âThis is the real truth,â your teacher said. âTheyâll all tell you you can do it because theyâre not allowed to discriminate or turn anyone away. Theyâll let you do whatever you want, but when it really comes down to the acceptances or not? Youâll just get turned away and youâll have wasted all that time for nothing.
âOmegas arenât considered suitable candidates for doctors,â your teacher said. âThat market tends to go to betas, believe it or not. A nice little mediator.â
Your teacher tossed your career planning forms onto a stack of dozens. You stared at it, smiling continuously with your fingers digging harder into your thighs. He sighed, waving a hand.
âYou should shoot for a hospital receptionist,â your teacher said. âItâs the next best thing, right? Or you could teach biology at a school instead. You might even be able to get by as a school nurseââ
âIâm going to apply to medical school.â
Your teacher stopped, looking at you.
You smiled back at him.
(Being an omega was supposed to stop you?)
What a load of shit.
âI donât really care about anything else,â you said. âIâve wanted to become a doctor my whole life. If people say I canât do it because of something they canât even see, then Iâm still going to do it. They canât stop me.â
Your teacher stared at you for a few minutes. He leaned back in his chair, considering his next words before he finally saidâ
âYou got the money?â
You stopped.
Your family is pitifully lower middle class. Your parents make enough to pay the bills, afford a vacation every now and then, and just get by fair enough without being too stressedâbut small issues, like your own medical costs for heat suppressants or a flat tire can easily set your family back several paychecks.
No, you donât have money for medical school. Youâd already known that looking at all the pamphlets. But there were scholarships and stipends and loansâ
âIf you want to waste your time with this pipe dream, itâs not my job to stop you,â he said, pointing to your career form. âItâs not really ethical either, so donât come back and file any lawsuits against me. But your medical schools donât offer many scholarships, and the ones they do arenât going to go to that one, average ranking omega theyâd rather not even have to worry about.â
Your teacher shrugged.
âGo ahead and be a doctor, kid, but youâre going to need money to do it.â
(This is the reality. People are not equal. Being an omega meansâ)
Means what?
-- ---- (change the channel) ----
You remember laying in your bed that night, scrolling mindlessly through random social media outlets. Youâd spent the last several hours searching extensively for any and all scholarships you might even remotely be able to apply for, but none of them seemed willing to help an omega into their waiting hospital wingsâyour best bet was going to be taking out a loan. Several. Thatâs on top of cram school costs, textbooks, entrance fees and whether or not I can pass the examâ
No, you would. You had too. You werenât about to let some stupid, invisible consensus a group of people somewhere or another had decided on stop you.
âThank you again for the generous donations! You guys are too good to me!â
Youâd paused, staring at your bright screen. One of the streamers you followed from time to timeâhe was an omega, cute and docile and in all honesty, probably the picture perfect cookie cutter definition of one. He always posted great tips on fashion or about cute cafes he enjoyed, and always seemed to be proud of the fact that he was an omega despite how cringingly he played into the stereotypesâ
You glanced at his caption, freezing in disbelief.
Designer bags littered his floor. He showed off his pretty watch, batting his lashes at the camera, talking about how the donations from last nightâs stream helped him live a good, cushiony life, making him feel like he was being taken care of even without an alpha by his side.
Youâd stalked his account almost religiously for the next few weeks, watching his streams, watching the way he⌠flaunted his nature as an omega. Your parents had always told you you were fine the way you were, but being an omega had never been something to be proud ofâyouâd just preferred to act like a beta more than anything else. What was the point? To some extent, your teacher was right, there were no benefits to being an omega exceptâ
âThank you again for all your donations!â
You pulled up your laptop, searching extensively for every little obscure article you could find on the nature of streaming services. Youâd never taken social media outlets that seriously, always looked at influencers and vloggers with a grain of saltâyou were aspiring to be a full-time heart surgeon after all, but if there was actually something...reasonable behind the way all these people would act, proudly showing off the fact that they were omegas in exchange for something monetaryâŚ
(Did people enjoy this?)
Yeah you can make money from it, lol.
You stared at the internet thread, blinking in disbelief.
One user amongst thousands in the thread had responded to your question.
Ppl always keep saying that omegas are this and that. Society likes to paint a pretty picture of what we call equality. Ads and those videos u watch in school and stuff, they all tell u you can be whatever u want to be if u try, but thatâs not rlly the truth. The only thing they were honest about was that youâd have to work hard for what you want in life.
You scrolled down.
You have to do the research on ur own and find respectable sites. I can give u recommendations, but u have to kind of get yourself prepared for what youâre signing up for too. Everyone likes to go on television and talk about how all three genders are the same, but weâre not. Itâs not even just whether ur female or male anymore, everyone always finds something to pick at, donât they?
U might get hate for it but whatever, those people who sit on a nicer chair than you and donât pay your bills donât get to criticize you for what you want to do and how u do it.
They always tell us we canât do things because weâre omegas. That we have to be a certain way because weâre omegas and weâre only good for one thing.
So just give them what they want.
And suck them dry.
You remember clearly, that night, pulling up the userâs account and shooting them the message that would change your life.
What sites do you recommend for beginners?
Youcanruletheworld is typingâŚ
----- (change the channel) -----
You triple check all your items, rearranging them on your bed in front of you.
Your outfit is cute, matching your streamer personality but remaining modest enough to keep you protected from unwanted attention. Youâll be wearing a face mask on top of it, just for the extra mile too. Youâd already reached out to this Kodzu00 and sent them the notification for where to meet and when, and what youâd look like so theyâd be able to find you. Wisely, as always, you picked a neutral locationâan extremely popular cafe two hours away from your house just to be safe.
Safety alarmâcheck. Pepper spray, check. Pheromone repellent, check. Emergency contact button, check. Location synced devices and emergency heat suppressant pills on top ofâ
You stare at the last item. It comes special with the standard emergency omega safety kitâyou almost spit at the nameâitâs a quick, easy attachable lock-on collar to protect your bonding glands in the case of an unruly and disgusting attack.
You want to call it ridiculous.
(Behind your eyes you see the comments scrolling over the glowing screen. You see the leering words and the lecherous promises and the disgusting sentences that rattle your brain and make you stand a minute longer in the shower, fingernails digging into your skinâ)
You donât say anything, zipping the bag closed and taking all your items with you.
---- (change the channel) -----
Thirty minutes, itâs just thirty minutes, you can do this. You aggressively slurp on your straw, furiously dogging the cafe patrons with your eyes, keeping them narrowed and peeled for anyone who ought to fit the bill over what you were expecting to meet today. Thirty minutes.
The black iced coffee with an added two shots isnât doing anything to calm your nerves, but itâs doing everything you need to keep yourself pumped and ready to go at a momentâs notice. The cafe is busy, just as always, with people swarming left and right, in and outâthis creep wonât be able to do any of their normal creep tendencies in a place like this.
You bite your straw, tapping your feet under the table.
Alright, Kodzu00, do your worst. Iâm leaving here after the thirty and Iâm taking the cash with meâ
âExcuse me,â you stop, mouth hovering and open over your near chewed through straw, âare you⌠uh⌠Omegachion?â
Hearing your streamer username in real life makes you both want to gag and sigh in happiness. The username was arguably the only way for you to feel remotely sane logging into the streaming service every time for your scheduled program because Water Emblem got you through anything, including all the cram sessions to get into medical school.
Your eyes swing rapidly to your right, moving your head so fast you take your straw with you.Â
Ice coffee drips onto the table.
The young man standing in front of you is⌠is, truthfully, not what you expected. Okay, sure, weirdos on the internet come in all shapes and sizes, but to your own bias, youâve crafted a bit of a face for the specific types of users who flood your streams. He narrowly passes even an inch of those ideas, with the slightly messy hair, the baggy clothes that look like all he does is stay in front of his computer all day and the dark lines under his eyes, but other than thatâ
Heâs a lean young man, from what you can barely tell, underneath the baggy black sweatshirts and the sleek black joggers, lined in white with a logo you donât recognize. Thereâs a dark cap on top of his head as well, and heâs sporting a simple black face mask, just like youâthe most color the damn guy has is the bleached blonde tips still growing out past his roots, spilling a bit past his shoulders while the rest is gathered back into a bun.
In an instant you quickly size him upâthe guyâs probably only a few inches taller than you and he canât be that much older or younger, somewhere probably around your age.
You pluck out your straw. He squints faintly at you, holding his phone, glancing back at his screen and then back to you and shifting, albeit uncertainly. He looks like heâd rather be anywhere else but here right now.
âYouâre,â you start, âuh, youâre Kodzu00?â
âYes,â he says. âThatâs⌠me.â
You stare.
He stares right back.
(His golden eyes are almost like slits, you realize, a bit stunned, they drip gold and heather.)
He has pretty eyes.
âItâs,â he says, awkward, not sounding friendly at all, â...nice to meet youâŚâ
And then reality comes back, this time with a spinning roundhouse right to your face.
This is the guy who just dropped money to come and meet you here today.
This guy.
You stare at him in disbelief.
Kodzu00 stands there in front of you, looking as though he wished he could melt right through the floor and disappear. He slowly starts to make his way into the chair opposite of you, pulling it out and taking a seat, setting his phone down beside him like itâs a lifeline andâ
Your eyes bulge at the sight of his watch. You know how much that watch costs.
Your alarm bells start firing off again. For a brief moment, unease colors your scent, lightly flooding the area until you instantly reel it back in. Kodzu00 glances up at you for a second but you keep your face calm and friendly, quickly slipping back into your streamer personality, your best mask and first line of defense against whatever the hell this weirdo wants with you and time is tickingâ
Before you can even utter a single word, Kodzu00 pulls down his mask.
(Heâs⌠well, heâs not bad looking either, in a⌠weird kind of way.)
âLook, I need to clear the air first and get this on the table,â he says it a bit quickly, despite the low, almost uncaring inclination to his tone. You blink at him. The tips of his ears are staining pink beneath the fading streaks of blonde and he continues, âIâm not here for your streams.â
You blink.
You stare at him, dumbfounded and hopelessly confused.
âIâve never even seen them before until last night,â he says just as quickly, looking embarrassed to even utter those words. âLetâs get that straight, okay? So Iâm not⌠here for⌠that.â
That.
âThat?â you say like a robot.
He looks more and more uncomfortable, but he presses on, whispering quickly over the table, âYeah. Iâm not here for⌠that. So⌠you can⌠uh⌠just be normal, I guess.â
You stare at Kodzu00, the man whoâs just payed off nearly the last of your student loans in debt, whoâs only here in front of you today because he got in touch with you through one of those very streams which very much markets that, which is meant to appeal to all the what-nots who just want to see an omega bat her eyelashes and act like an omega, to feel comforted or have their egos stroked andâ
âI donât watch any streams like that,â he adds for good measure. âI donât. One of my viewers reached out to me because⌠well⌠because they watched your streams and noticed something and mentioned it to me, so I wanted to check it out myself.â
Oh my god. You sit there in the middle of the bustling cafe. Am I about to die? This is it, isnât it. Kodzu00 is actually some kind of crazy internet stalker or person and youâre about to get stabbed right across the cafe table and this will be the end, youâll never even get to save anyoneâs life or help anyone and their bad hearts or do anything beyond your stupid streams and thatâs all youâll be remembered for.
âKodzu00 is just a name I made for that night,â he says quickly. âOnline I run a gaming channel under the user Kodzukenâyou can just call me Kenma though. Kenma Kozume.â
âUh,â you say. âKucina. You can call me Kucina.â You are not giving your real name out to this stranger who can potentially threaten your entire standing in your medical career and out you for the unethical nature of how youâve been procuring money to pay your school feesâ
Kenma briefly pauses, eyes flickering up to you. He looks a bit pleased with your choice of alias but quickly glances back to his phone. You feel, strangely, a little⌠a little happy too.
Wait, wait, wait. No, this guy is a weirdo and donât forget that heâs a complete stranger online claiming to be a game streamer andâ
âThe only reason Iâm here today is for this,â he says, pulling out his phone. You instantly grow wary, inching back a bit from the table. Thereâs a bit of excitement finally creeping into his otherwise mundane voice, and itâs giving you the spooks. Kenma taps, quickly navigating his screen before he pulls up one blurred, pixelated image and turns his screen to show it to you.
âWhy is this a screenshot of my room?â you say roughly, narrowing your eyes at him. You point to the screen shot of your streaming room and your face caught mid-speech, making you look dumb. âWhat are you trying toââ
âItâs not that,â he says, sounding a bit stressed out by this whole ordeal. He looks visibly uncomfortable with the image of you, only in your bright pink bra and you raise an eyebrow at him, suspicious as he zooms in and quickly moves the screen toâ
âThis,â he says, fervent, almost reverent actually, âis what I wanted to talk to you about.â
Carefully, still suspicious, you lean over the table and look closer at his phone screen. You follow his finger, quickly recognizing your bookshelf, your posters, and then right beside Kenmaâs fingertip isâ
You blink.
You know exactly what heâs pointing to.
You also know exactly what it looks like in perfect detail despite the blurry picture. Itâs a large box, big enough to hold against your chest, sleek white and blue, with silver lettering line in a kind of glowing, aqua tealâthe cover art for the product had been top of the line, complete with an engraved metal clasp that opened up to reveal an entire, glossy artbook, coupled with a cd of the gameâs soundtrack and alsoâ
âWater Emblemâs Special Anniversary Edition?â
âYes!â he almost shouts. You jump. Kenma quickly gestures to his screen, to your room and your game and points at it with fervor. His eyes are actually shiny, you stare at him, a little in awe. âDo you know what this is?â
âOf course I do!â you say, offended. âI own the game. Itâs Water Emblem: Light Dragon! Personally my favorite game in the entire franchise and the game that really got the series into the world marketâitâs part of what started its entire cult following. This is the special edition that came out years ago, wow, I canât believe itâs been so long! I remember waiting in line for it andââ
âThatâs exactly it!â Kenma says, throwing his hands up into hair, grabbing it beneath his cap. You blink at him, getting a little excited. âThis gameâthis particular edition re-launched for one night of sales only in the creatorâs hometown and here in Tokyo! It came with a companion edition and most people were only able to get one or the other because it was sold on opposite ends of Japan!â
âYeah!â you say. âI know! I stayed with relatives in the summer and timed it out so I could grab it! They only sold so little copies⌠that was the best night of my life, I couldnât believe it, even though the game didnât seem to do that well at first until laterâŚâ
âBecause no one respected the greatness of the game back then,â Kenma says bitterly. You nod. âNow everyone knows but the rest of the editions have all either been trashed or are kept by collectors somewhere else, Iâve been searching for years for a copy that was at least still playable, even without the extra goodsââ
âBut the goods are the best part!â you shout in disbelief. Kenma looks at you like your crazy. âThe art book, the soundtrack, the interview with the creatorâthey all play their part in bringing the game to life!â
âThis is what I wanted to discuss with you,â Kenma says seriously, lacing his fingers nervously together and staring you down across the table. You suddenly feel uneasy, unnerved by the piercing, golden gaze.
âYou own what might very well be one of the last, in-tact, best kept qualities of this edition in Japan,â Kenma says. âWhen this edition and its counterpart launched, the second issue, the black oneâit came with a playable DLC code that can only be activated when you have its partner code and it unlocks an entirely new, almost never played secret storyline thatâs supposed to reveal another part of the storyââ
âI heard about that,â you say in disbelief. âBut I thought it was just an online rumour because no one ever proved it or could figure out the codeâŚâ
âBecause no one could figure it out,â Kenma says, getting the loudest youâve heard him since. You stare at him with wide, round eyes. âBut recently because of the work Iâve been doing, I was able to meet with the creatorââ
âYOU MET WITH THE CREATOR OFââ
Kenma furiously motions for you to shush. You clasp your hands over your mouth, watching him with round, adoring eyes, sparkling in disbelief. This guy right here in front of you got to meet your heroâthe envy and awe collide altogether, rumbling up andâ
(Your heart starts to do something a little funny in your chest.)
Who even is this guy?
âHe gave me a hint and I was able to find the code in the other edition,â Kenma says, quickly pushing his phone to you to show a picture and you blink, eyes shiny. âWhich I currently own because I was able to secure one when it came out in Tokyo. But your edition is the last part I need to unlock the unplayable path.â
This guy⌠you lean back in your chair, unable to stop the excited tap of your feet. This guyâhe loves Water Emblem. Heâs crazy for it! I donât know anyone except people online who like it this much and heâsâŚ
âThatâs why,â Kenma coughs suddenly, becoming smaller in his seat. You stare at him with a raised brow. âI needed⌠to get in touch⌠with you.â
You blink, remembering the whole reason the two of you were even meeting in the first place.
Your cheeks grow hot, bright red in a flash of rare embarrassment. Kenmaâs ears are just as red, but he pretends itâs not even happening, continuing on.
âWhy didnât you just⌠message me,â you squeak out, feeling more and more mortified that this man has literally paid you thousands just to be here and⌠itâs not even⌠a scam. Itâs about your favorite thing ever. Water Emblem! âInstead of⌠my streamsâŚâ
âThat was the only way I knew how to contact you,â Kenma says, looking a bit defensive. âI told you, Iâve never seen your streams before. One of my viewers told me and you keep everything private, so this felt like my only chance.â
You open your mouth, feeling more and more uncomfortable but Kenma sweeps in, âKeep the money. It⌠works out better this way anyway.â
You stare at him in confusion.
Kenma taps his phone again, right back at your picture. He stares at you with wide, piercing eyes, leaning across the table and quickly saying, reverent and eagerâ
âI want to buy your game from you.â
Today, sitting here beside you in your bag, are fully equipped items to try and protect you from the creepy, deranged, rich stranger youâd been about to meet. Today, you were fully expecting to unleash a fury building up inside of you over an injustice you canât tackle on your own in your society on some poor, unsuspecting alphaâ
Here, sitting in front of you, is a self-claimed internet game streamer, who wants to buy your⌠special edition⌠game?
âYou wantâŚâ you say, slowly, making sure you donât have this wrong, â...my game?â
He nods.
You open your mouth. It closes. You open it again, raise a finger, and then press your lips together, staring at him.
âIâm sorry,â you say finally. âWhat?â
âThis might be my only chance ever to play the game,â Kenma continues, pulling up another tab and clicking away at his phone. He tucks a strand of blonde behind his ear and the action is almost endearing to you until the reality of his words slowly starts to creep into the forefront. âIâve never found another edition like yours, and it seems like itâs in perfect condition too. Iâd be willing to buy it at complete full, current market priceââ
âMarket price?â you say in disbelief. âHow much is my game going for?â
Kenma looks at you in blatant disbelief. You raise a critical brow at him.
Wordlessly he turns his phone back over to you and you glance downâ
You almost fall out of your chair. Kenma doesnât look impressed, hunkering back down and taking his phone as you spin, head swirling at the numbers and figures, math flying around in your head at the sudden realization that all that money could literally be yours, that the game you love so much is worth that much, that all that money, all that money youâve been trying so desperately to scrape for could justâjust fall into your lapâ
You could pay off all your loans with that kind of money. You could⌠you could stop streaming with that kind of money, finally wash your hands of it and get back on track and hardly have to worry as you work toward the job of your dreams andâŚÂ
âI want to buy your game.â
Your heart quiets. The fancy dreams stop. You sit there in the chair, head buzzing with the reality of what heâs asking of you.
He wants to buy your game.
Your game.
And you think then, about a moment far away from this one. About a time when the books and papers crowding around you made you feel like drowning, about lonely summers and arguments bouncing off the rooms around you, and a time where there was nothing else but that loading screen and that game to take you away from all of itâŚ
(The game that youâve kept all these years, loved all these years, because itâŚ)
âIâd be willing to pay whatever works best for you,â Kenma continues, the excitement is low in his quiet voice and his eyes sparkle as he shows you his phone. âI can even pay upfront in cash, have a fund drawn up orââ
âIâm really sorry.â
Itâs the first time in a long time youâve ever felt the need to apologize to anyone. Not when the whole world has been treating you like the sorry sack for so long.
Kenma glances up. His expression is calm, unreadable, but you get the feeling he can see right through you so you stare at the tabletop instead.
âI donât knowâŚâ you start. âI donât know if Iâll be able to sell that game to you.â
(He doesnât seem like a bad guy.)
Anyone that talks about Water Emblem with as much love in his voice as he does canât be, not at all by your books. His methods of getting to you here today mightâve been outrageous and roundabout, but youâre not really doing things the normal way either, so who are you to judge?
But that gameâŚ
You risk a glance up. You stop, staring in surprise when Kenma doesnât look the slightest bit outraged or tense or anything. He looks just a bit disappointed, but the only thing you really see is understanding and something like a bit of grudging envy, a warmth in his gaze you donât think is particularly meant for you but still comes through regardless.
âI was,â Kenma admits, a bit quiet. âWorried that would be the case.â
âDo you want,â you start quickly. Kenma looks at you. âDo you want to, uh, see it, at least? Take a look⌠see if itâs even in the condition you want?â
(You just⌠you canât sell it, but you donât want this conversation to end. Itâs been so long since youâve talked with anyone about this game, itâs felt so long since you talked to anyone in general andâŚ)
Maybe, just maybe.
(You feel a little desperate.)
âUh,â Kenma says, awkward. âIs that⌠fine?â
âWell, sure!â you say, hoping you donât sound too eager. âOf course it isnât a problem! I mean, I know we just met, but you seem pretty legit and I can just check you out laterâplus, Iâm perfectly capable of handling myself, even against anââ
You stop, sniffing the air. Kenma doesnât look bothered, but he rubs the back of his neck.
And you realize, suddenly, you havenât smelled a single damn thing because Kenma Kozume isâ
A beta.
(Oh.)
---- (change the channel) ----
The entire way back to your apartment, Kodzu00, or as you now know him, Kenma Kozume, complains.
He does it quietly, but he still complains.
âWe could just take a taxi,â Kenma says, quiet and unhappy when you start making your way toward the train station. âI can pay for itâŚâ
âItâs easy to remember an address but tough to remember a bunch of stations and stops,â you say, ignoring his offer. Kenma follows, unhappy but he still follows. Itâs kind of cute.
He walks with a bit of a hunch, you notice. Like heâs doing everything he can to remain out of everyoneâs vision, but he watches, careful and observant because he avoids people before they have the chance to bump into him, glancing this way and that and picking things out with particular ease.
Kenma doesnât look very confident, but heâs comfortable. You stand there beside him on the train, calmly holding onto the railing while he taps away at his phone beside you, sighing every now and then. Heâs different, you realize, very different, from what youâve become accustomed to when it comes to the kinds of people you let surround you for the sake of money.
You almost want to say itâs because heâs a beta, but you feel thatâs a disservice in all its entirety. Maybe Kenma will turn out to be a snob of some kind. The guyâs strangely loaded.
You sneak searches on your phone, paling at the articles about him that come up, about stocks and investments and companies and you realize in seconds, this guy is completely and utterly the real deal.
But despite everything, Kenma still does as you ask. He lets you lead as you navigate the string of trains to get back home, doesnât ask any questions, only comments on the occasional thing, and the entire affair is two hours, but he doesnât even blink.
Either he really, really wants this game, you think, or heâs just weird.
Quiet, weird, but fairly quaint, and youâre a little alarmed by how much you⌠like that.
(Youâre a weird guy.)
A rude, burly man makes a pass at you on the last train home, breathing down your neck and letting his greasy fingers try to slide against yours on the same railing handle. Kenma makes a face, eyes narrowed into slits in disgust and he quickly looks at you, blinking at your unbothered, nonchalant expression.
His scent wafts over you, thick and uninviting. Alpha. You rub your nose, inhaling your own familiar scent. Kenma looks more and more uncomfortable, shifting from foot to foot, starting to lean your way and scanning for open seats when you calmly turn to the man directly behind you, meeting him dead in the eye.
âGet,â you say calmly, digging your fingernails into his skin, threatening to draw bloodâthe man stiffens, he pales, surprised, startled by your confrontationâ âThe fuck away from me before I scream.â
He scurries back, shouldering past people in seconds. A few people shoot him disgusted looks, glancing your way in pityâbut you ignore all of them too. They didnât care seconds ago when they knew what he was doing, if you hadnât done anything, they wouldnât have either.
Thatâs just how it goes.
âSorry,â you say, even though you probably shouldnât. You look at Kenma, lips curling a bit. âI was expecting to meet a guy like that today instead of you. I think all that pent up anger and anxiety needed to go somewhere.â
Kenma opens his mouth, closes it, stays quiet for what feels like minutes and then he starts up again.
âYou donât really act the same way you do on your streams, do you?â
âOf course not,â you say. âIf I acted like that in real lifeâno offense to anyone who does thoughâIâd probably lose my shit.â
Kenma sniffs. He doesnât say anything after that, and you quaintly let your shoulder brush against his ever other jostle of the train.
(Itâs been awhile since youâve been around anyone. It feels nice.)
---- (change the channel) -----
Kenma balks for a bit at the front door of your apartment, but you quickly usher him inside, kicking your shoes off into the entryway and flying inside. He toes off his own shoes, eyes scanning briefly around the entryway, around your homeâitâs neat, he realizes, even if he wasnât sure what to expect. You keep it clean enough, but thereâs bits and pieces where your life slips through, making it feel lived in. You keep plants in the corner, healthy and well but youâve got a few dishes still sitting in the sink.
He guesses he wasnât really sure what he was expecting to begin with.Â
Kenma pauses for a second, rubbing his nose. He looks uncomfortable, eyes flickering around your apartment and back to you, but youâre already steps ahead of him, too excited to pass a chance like this up.
âItâs in my streaming room,â you say, âcome on.â
Kenma follows warily behind you.
You almost kick the door to your room open in your haste, unable to stop the ecstatic beating of your heart as you scramble toward the back. Kenma pauses a minute, sniffing the air again. He glances behind him, back toward where your bedroom is left ajar and then to your streaming room. He looks a bit thoughtful for a moment, but quietly keeps it to himself, slipping inside and lightly closing the door politely after him.
(Heâs not one to snoop, but heâs here, itâs not like he canât look.)
Kenma tries very, very carefully not to consider the fact that he had seen you on that screen only a few nights before, and tries even harder not to remember what youâd been doing and how youâd look. He hyper focuses instead on the stand-out merch that becomes very, very clear to him.
Heâs almost amazed your users havenât said anything more about thisâmaybe itâs because of your camera angle.
Poster after poster of Water Emblem decorates the entire side of your wall. Kenma finds himself instantly drifting up to it, spotting your shelf in record time. He scans the collection of game titles, eyes growing brighter and brighter as he ghosts a finger over the well-kept discs and the old gamesâŚ
âYou play a lot,â Kenma says, quiet, glancing your way.
âI used to be a bit of a shut-in because I had to study,â you say, squatting down beside your other shelf and moving a few books aside. He finds himself watching the way you tuck your hair behind your ear and smile. âThey were great breaks for me and helped keep me company. Iâm not as social as people think, so itâs nice.â
Kenma considers your words. He looks at you, trying to reconcile the image heâd had of you from your stream with what heâd been witnessing all day todayâhow different it all was.
(If heâs honest, heâd been expecting to deal with someone different.)
âDo you do PC games too?â he asks. What are you doing?
âIâm not as familiar with them compared to console games,â you admit. âAfter exams I might try though. Got any to recommend?â
Kenma does. Plenty. He could go on but he doesnât even know where to start, turning from your games to try to look at you again and think about how strange this entire meeting is, how different from what heâd been expecting. It reminds him of his meeting with Hinata, sudden and vibrant and impossible to categorize, leftâ
Pleasantly surprised.
âWhat happened to your chair?â
âWhat, the pink one?â you glance over your shoulder, noticing where Kenmaâs looking toward your streaming station. âI shove it into the closet when Iâm not using it. Sometimes the color hurts my eyes.â
Kenma looks at you like youâre crazy.
â...You keep two chairs?â
âWell, the chairâs mostly for looks anyway,â you say. âSome people like that kind of simple stuff. Itâs a nice contrast, you know? Sweet and spicy, I guess? My boss said something like that. My ratings are good so I donât complain.â
Kenma considers your words. He looks at your station, almost engulfed with stacks and stacks of what he can easily recognize as textbooks. Biology, medical tech, chemistryâall of it nearly crushing the fuzzy bunny mask youâd been wearing on the stream.
Kenma takes it all into his head and he looks again at your small back.
â...Do you even like your job?â
âItâs not my job,â you say. âMy job is studying and working at the athletics complex to try to help figure out ways to help people stay in shape, take care of themselves and be better. This is just⌠part-time.â
You pause, staring at your shelves. It feels weird to be saying this outloud, but itâs nice too. Itâs refreshing. You think you can take advantage of it anyway, what if you never even meet this guy again? You hardly know him, he probably doesnât care.
âAnd I guess,â you say, a bit quieter. âSometimes itâs kind of rewarding⌠sometimes people are nice, you know?â
Kenma says nothing, watching your back. You rub your neck and then finally beam, pulling free the reason for all of this.
You cradle the box in your hands. Itâs weighty. You run your fingers over it and stand up, turning proudly to Kenma, beaming from ear to ear andâ
You almost jump back in surprise, near squeaking. Your ears almost flash red in embarrassment at how close Kenma is all of a sudden, sneaking up right behind you with shiny, adoring eyes as he stares at the box in your hands, looking at it in awe and disbelief.
âCan I see it?â he asks reverently.
Your heart swells in happiness and you eagerly nod, handing it over to him.
Kenma receives the gift with care. He runs his fingers over it, carefully, as though afraid to even leave a single print behind before he pops the metal engraved latch and opens it up.
You and Kenma sigh together in unison, swooning at the sight.
âItâs amazing,â Kenma says.
âI know.â
âI canât believe Iâm seeing it in person.â
âI know!â
âYou took great care of it.â
âIââ you flush at the praise, wilting a bit. âI-uh, thanksâŚâ
âCan I see you play it?â Kenma says suddenly, looking almost desperate. You freeze. He looks up at you, expression completely different from his near lifeless one. His face is vibrant and full of excitement, thrumming just under the surface of his nonchalance. âThe loading screen even? IâI have to see what it looks like logged in andââ
âI...actually canât,â you say quietly, embarrassed. Kenma looks confused.
âI⌠I sold the console for it,â you say, feeling more and more guilty to finally have to admit one of your biggest regrets. Kenma pauses, expression quieting as he looks at you. You stare at the floor, trying not to look at the computer and web camera sitting in the corner. âI needed to buy some stuff⌠so I had to sell it in. I still kept a lot of the games, thinking Iâd buy another one when I got the chanceâŚâ
You ruffle the back of your head, trying to quell the stifling scent of embarrassment that tries to escape you. You rub your wrists. Kenmaâs eyes are briefly drawn to the action before he looks at you, still holding your game. You bow your head a little. âUm, if you want though, you can take it to your place and seeâit absolutely will still work. I can just, take something to make sure you donât run off or I can justââ
âDo you want to come over and use mine?â
You pause, looking at Kenma, dumbfounded.
Kenma stares right back at you. You canât read a single inch of his face.
âWe can use my place,â Kenma says, calm, unbothered. Your eyes grow round. âI really⌠really want to see the game in action⌠itâll probably be more fun to see you play it anyway first.â
âIs that,â you start, uncharacteristically shy. â...okay?â
Kenma wordlessly nods.
(Your heart does something a little funny. You just write it off as an exaggeration. Youâre such a sad sack.)
âUm!â Kenma looks up. You flush, hating how embarrassed you feel, hating how much of your bravado is missing, but you almost stutter out, âI-Itâs (L/n) by the way⌠(L/n) (Y/n)...â
â... okay,â Kenma says. âItâs nice to meet you, (L/n).â
--- (change the chanel) ---
âYou know, Kenma,â Kuroo said once, leaning back on the train ride home as Kenma tapped away at the buttons on his console. âFor all you say and stuff, youâre pretty good at putting all the pieces together, arenât you?â
--- (change the chanel) ---
One month.
Non-stop, several days a week, for hours on endâthatâs how long the two of you play the game together.
You nearly miss streams, spend hours at Kenmaâs house, laughing when you come to find him half-asleep in his sheets, barely rolling out to come greet you and instead just buzzing you in. You think itâs insaneâhow quickly this⌠this thing builds. You think you ought to be dreaming, but you donât really want it to end.
(Youâve gone too long without anyone to laugh like this with.)
 You pull late-nighters that are terrible for your complexion, eat take-out like youâre cramming for exams all over again, laughing while Kenma quietly watches and scrolling through Water Emblem merchandise and fan bases andâ
You spend time with him. With Kenma. You spend hours and days and what feels like endless forever and fun. Itâs so sickeningly amazing you almost donât believe itâs real. Sometimes you two argue, getting into heated spats over calls on how to move your characters, critiquing each otherâs moves and then laughing when the other fails, sometimes itâs outright cheers from you while Kenma nods in satisfaction when you clear another mission and proceed forward andâ
You havenât even been alive that long, but compared to everything else, it almost feels like the best moment of your life.
âI did an entire episode on why moving this character is better than the rest,â Kenma mutters one day beside you. âIâm telling you, we need to deploy them. Theyâre wasted as an adjutant.â
You pause beside Kenma, blinking at his massive screen. You stare at your hands, and then you look at Kenma, blinking again in realization.
And in all this sudden time youâve spent with him, you realize youâve never seen one of his streams.
--- (change the chanel) ---
âUh, hey everyone, thanks for stopping by again.â
You snort. Kenma doesnât look the slightest bit at ease, his small face-view camera appearing in the corner of your screen as the old stream starts. Itâs only of his earliest ones, the one where he replayed Water Emblem for his channel.
âI like this game a lot⌠itâs the one I always wanted to do a stream for⌠so I hope you enjoy it too.â
Is that it, dude? You laugh, shaking your head and kicking your legs out as Kenma gets the loading screen started and adjusts his chair. His camera shakes a bit and everything about the video attests to its age and its novelty. It makes you smile. He mustâve come a long way from these videos to the freaking multi-millionaire he was now.
(He worked hard.)
At first the show starts off rather quiet, maybe a bit awkward. Kenma hardly talks, quietly playing through the beginning sequences of the game and only commenting once or twice on the music or graphics. Itâs kind of nice, peaceful, just watching someone go through the familiar motions until the real first part of the game starts and thenâ
âI never get tired of this part.â
You pause at his voice, glancing to the corner of the screen. Kenmaâs eyes glow. He smiles, low, small and quiet, and he leans so far forward, almost out of his seat as he starts to play, quietly talking, describing the things heâs doing, the parts of the game heâs in love with andâ
You roll over onto your side, watching the stream. Everytime Kenma mutters something under his breath you laugh, when he flubs you grimace, when he succeedsâyou cheer, kicking your heels into the air. Itâs really like playing the game all over againâeven if the comments say he hardly shows any emotion, you can see it.
Kenma Kozume loves this game.
He loves what he does.
The thought makes you pause, staring quietly at the screen.
The dark corner of your room looks a little bigger. The quietness is a little louder. You lay there in your bed, watching Kenma thank everyone for watching with a sigh, giving the game a second glance, like heâs thinking of playing more even though he said heâd stop andâ
Your alarm nearly startles you out of bed. You quickly glance over, shooting up in realization.
âMy stream,â you murmur, dropping your phone and hurrying to your video room. âGotta do⌠my streamâŚâ
Your eyes glance back to your phone. You stare at the dark screen.
âDo you even like what you do?â
You shake your head, closing the door behind you.
--- (change the chanel) ---
âThanks again everyone for coming! Your favorite omega is going to be lonely without you~â
The screen clicks, turning off.
You sit there in your plush, bright pink chair. Your open jacket hangs on either side of you, revealing your bikini for the beach theme you were going with today. The video room is near silent, save for the soft, quiet hum of your computer running while your monitor blinks, turning to a save screen.
Your game sits in your lap, carefully cradled by your hands. Off to the side is a thorough stack of medical textbooks you still owe money on. You were planning on studying for your test tomorrow after the stream tonight.
You run your fingers over the amazing edges of the collectorâs box. You thumb every part of it, retracing the familiar memories, even the small little dent in the corner when you dropped it the first night you got it and almost cried.
You hold it there in your hands. It feels so, so warm, even though you think that shouldnât really be possible.
There, in the darkness of your video room you sit. Quiet in the near-silence, head lowered, gently running your fingers over it, again and again.
Kenmaâs lulling voice is the only thing you hear, playing over his stream, and you shut your eyes, bringing your knees and the box up to your chest. It jabs your ribs, sits uncomfortable, but you donât really care.
âDo you even like what you do?â
(What Iâm doing now, at least⌠yeah, I do. I really do.)
--- (change the chanel) ---
(L/n)Â is typing...
Hey, can we talk?Â
Itâs nothing important, letâs just meet up for dinner if youâre free!
Is that fine?
Kenma is typing...
Yes.
Location sent.
Letâs go here. Iâll make reservations.
Okay! :)
(Y/n) is typingâŚ
(Y/n) stopped typing.
--- (change the chanel) ---
The place Kenma picks is some ridiculously nice looking Japanese Restaurant. Itâs dimly lit and elegant and fancier than anything youâre used to, and youâre not really sure why he picks it until he orders for both of you and then the wagyu comes out and you know.
Seeing the steak, knowing youâll get a good mealâit kind of makes this whole thing a lot easier.
Kenma sits comfortably on the floor right across from you. Itâs a small, private room heâs rented out for the both of you. Heâs dressed in the usualâbaggy sweatshirts and athletic but comfortable joggers, and his hair is pulled back a little more neatly tonight as he pours tea for you and then for himself.
âThis smells so good,â you say, mouth watering as you pick up the smooth, fancy wooden chopsticks. âMind if I start?â
âGo ahead,â Kenma says. He leans back, picking up his spoon to dig into his own soup first. âWhat did you want to talk about?â
âThe game,â you say around a mouthful of wagyu. It melts like butter on your tongue. âIâm going to give it to you.â
Kenma freezes, looking up at you in shock. His spoon clutters back into his bowl.
âWhat?â Kenma says.
âIâve thought about it,â you say. âYou were right. I donât even have the console to play it anymore. It kinda just sits, collecting dust. Itâs not fair when that game is literally everything.â
Your hands still a bit. You stare at the sizzling hot plate.
âI think you have a lot of fun with your streams,â you say, softer. âI think⌠I think Water Emblem would be well off in your hands. I think⌠I think itâs what it deserves, you know?â
Kenma is silent, frozen like a statue in front of you. You continue, lightly tracing a thumb over your other wrist, as though in comfort. Moments like this, you do wish for the chance to scent or be scented by someone againâjust something familiar, something warm and nice. Your family is miles away and you just...
âIâve had too much fun playing it again thanks to you,â you say, warm, full of happiness. Yeah, this is what feels right. âAnd you never once asked for the money from that night back, even though it shouldâve just gone into paying for the game⌠thatâs why I want to just give it to you. Youâve already done too much for me, and itâs more than paid for the game.â
âHold on,â Kenma says. âIâhold on, one second.â He rushes for his phone, fumbling. You shake your head. âNo, hold onââ
âIâve still got my streams to do,â you say with an awkward laugh. âI canât spend all my time playing video games again. Once exams come up and thenââ
âNo,â Kenma tries, looking a bit frustrated. He curses at his phone, âGive me a second to explain before youââ
âIâm doing this,â you say resolutely, standing up from your seat. Kenma balks. âThereâs nothing you can do to stop me. Besides, I guess I got to meet you. Thatâs not so bad. Now stop making this weird and let me just do something cool for once in my lifeââ
âI want you to do a streaming series with me!â
You stop, staring at Kenma. He holds out his phone, showing the screen to youâbut your eyes are on him, round and disbelieving and thenâ
Your entire face flushes bright red, cherry like a tomato.
âY-Y-You w-w-w-want to d-d-do a s-stream with meââ
âNot one of yours!â Kenma blurts. You blink. He curses, ruffling his hair roughly before he gestures again with more vigor to his phone, âThisâjust look at this.â
You glance to Kenmaâs phone.
â...youâre doing a new stream series,â you say, eyes widening in awe. âItâs going to be on the secret, never played route for Water Emblemâsee! Thatâs perfect! If youâre going to do that, you need my half of the game andââ
âI want to do it with you.â
You freeze, mouth falling open.
âIâve been thinking about it since you came over to play,â Kenma says, quietly setting his phone down on the tableâhe takes on the tone that means business, the calm, lulling one he your hear him use on the phone sometimes to make sure deals are delivered and he gets what he wants. âItâd be a great idea, and itâd be⌠fun. Iâve been letting you play because I wanted to see if the style would be compatible and I think itâll be more than fine.â
Kenma taps his phone again.
âOf course, youâd be compensated,â he turns it to you, âweâd split the profits 50/50 from each streaming episode. Considering my normal projected view count and ad revenue, you can expect at least this much.â
You look at the numbers.
Your mouth stays open, knees sinking to the floor.
âIf youâre willing,â Kenma says quietly, âto take a break from your streams to do this series with me⌠I think it would be mutually beneficial.â
Can things really, really work out, just like that?
âBesides,â Kenma says, even quieter. You close your mouth, looking at him in disbelief, in awe, in reverence, and he meets your gaze with his golden one.
âThe secret route is meant for dual players,â Kenma says. âWater Emblem is known for being a single player, but what makes it special is it needs two for this route⌠it⌠it would be a disservice to the story to do it any other way.â
You canât help it.
Your scent and pheromones you struggle and try so, so hard to always keep under lock and key explode forth, nearly flooding the entire room. Kenma stiffens, going ramrod straight and grabbing onto the top of his pants as your happiness engulfs the two of you. Youâre sure it probably alarms everyone in the hall or anywhere near. Your happiness crashes and lulls and your entire face crumples in disbeliefâ
âIs it reallyâŚâ you start, like a whisper, âreally okay?â
Kenma shifts in his seat. He pulls at the hood of his sweater, opening his mouth before he quickly closes it. He mutely nods, resolute, and you stand up, lunging across the table to grab his hands. Kenmaâs face flushes a bright red, his body stiffening in alarm.
âKenma!â you say. âKenma! Kenma, youâre a godsend! A guardian angel! My guardian angel! You donât understand what this means for meâyou donât know what youâre doing for meââ
â(L/n),â Kenma says, he sounds strained. You pause, looking at him with round eyes. âIâm⌠excited⌠but I need youâŚâ
Kenma lets out a slow, ragged breath. âPlease⌠tone it down⌠just a littleâŚâ
You tilt your head in confusion. Your eyes drop down, noticing the sweat beading at the corner of Kenmaâs temple, at the hard, rigid look in his hazy, warmly golden eyes andâŚ
A soft scent teases your nose. You pause, blinking in disbelief. No way. Youâre crazy, right?
âUm, Kenma,â you say, a little nervous. Thereâs no way, right? âYouâre⌠youâre a⌠beta, right?â
Even betas could be sensitive to pheromones. You were being too careless right now, you mustâve just been too much andâ
Kenma rigidly shakes his head.
You blink, feeling very, very, very small.
âAlpha,â Kenma exhales, holding his hand to his nose, scrunching in on himself while he peers up blearily at you, eyes swimming with something youâve never seen once in his gaze before. He sticks his wrist out to you.Â
âUh,â you say, hating how nervous you sound. âC-Can⌠I?â
Kenma wordlessly holds his hand out to you, keeping it in the air. You tentatively step closer for a moment, sniffing lightly. His smell.Â
Kenmaâs scent is so quiet, itâs no wonder you⌠you never noticed. Itâs become so familiar, always felt so calming and subtle and soothing, but if you look for it the way an omega would, pheromones in tune and acuteâyou do catch it, just the faint hint of something sharp, the familiar, light tang of alpha andâ
You quickly pull back. You open your mouth, close it, open it again, and then close it.
âIâm so sorryââ
âYouâre fine,â Kenma says, quick and quiet. You mutely nod, mortified. Kenma motions for you to relax as he stands, grabbing his wallet. âIâm going to take care of the bill. Get⌠fresh air. Iâll be backââ
âYou should let meââ
âYou can get the next one,â Kenma says. Something in his words makes you strangely complied to listen, ridiculously docile, and you blink in surprise when you sink back to your knees and Kenmaâs eyes seem a little warm, a littleâ
(Pleased?)
âIâll be right back.â
âOkay!â you say jovially. Kenma nods, leaving you. You canât believe it. This is itâthis isâ
The start of something great.
You hold your head in your hands, unable to contain your happiness.
Oh my god.
You stop, blinking again in realization.
BUT IâVE BEEN SUCH AN IDIOT, HEâS BEEN AâTHIS WHOLE TIMEâHOW RUDE MUST I HAVEâ
You fall back into the cushion, kicking your feet up in disbelief.
âStupid, stupid, stupidâI better apologize over and overââ
--- (change the chanel) ---
Kenma quietly steps out of the private room, sliding the door shut behind him.
He stands there, silent, basking in the faint afterglow, of the leaking, intoxicating feel of your happiness wrapping thickly around him, clinging to his skin.
Kenma lifts his hand up to his nose. He sniffs, once.
Your scent floods him.
Kenmaâs tongue lightly drags up the inside of his wrist. He closes his eyes, briefly catching itâthe soft, sweet taste of you against his lips, on his tongue. Kenma waits there, inhaling softly before his eyes slide open, thin, golden slits.
This would be the start of a fairly interesting partnership.
Omegachion has signed off!
Thanks for watching!









