Ichiro opened his eyes to the start of a new day, the sun rising in the east and through his bedroom window, but he didn't feel like joining it. He simply turned over and buried deeper into the blanket. This was not because the bed was more comfortable than the lumpy mattress he'd had before, nor because the duvet was that much more plush, the cotton cover that higher a quality. He just didn't feel like facing the day was all. The room that he had been given in Keith's house was a bit larger than his old room; there was space for a wardrobe and chest of drawers as well as the double bed and side cabinet. The walls were of neutral colours, but there were no signs of cracks or peeling paint. There was also no black mould lining the white pvc window frames. It was far nicer than his room in the rundown apartment block flat and yet, he couldn't call it home. Sometime later, could have been five minutes, could have been an hour, a tentative knock sounded upon the outside of the bedroom door. "Jason, breakfast is ready." Ichiro snorted in response and felt even more resolved to stay in bed. He didn't feel like playing house with Keith nor did he want to hear the older man's lectures about him finding a new job. And because he had detoured to the shops on the way home from the prison to buy beer, he'd been lectured on taking it easy with the alcohol and the out of the blue question; did he happen to meet someone that caught his eye? Like he would bother 'trawling for chicks' in a supermarket where most of the women were harried mothers, older women buying their weeks' shop or career women buying a calorie controlled meal and a bottle of wine to wash it down with. No, he was better off staying in bed than dealing with that kind of thing again. The knock came again along with a sigh. He could almost imagine the man who'd been his father's best friend for almost thirty years, placing his hand on his hip in exasperation. Keith had never married, never had his own children. That was because he'd fallen in love with said best friend, but didn't have the courage to say. Ichiro's grandparents had been both betas and managed to produce this Alpha son, their pride had been as high as the sky as had been their expectations. And as they had rather traditional views on the responsibilities alphas bore; setting good examples, taking roles in management, or becoming lawyers, doctors, politicians and taking on an Alpha bride and bringing forth a plethora of small Alpha children, there had been much pressure on the man's shoulders. Keith knew this and stepped aside to allow his to walk this path 'to greatness'. Only the social divides between genders were more illusionary when compared to social divides of bloodlines; there were far more Alphas within the wealthy, influential and elite than in middle class or common folk, like his parents, living from month to month on their earnings. And while Alpha girls could easily marry up (and most often chose to do so) no matter their social background, few would marry down and to an Alpha with less prospects due to his family circumstances. Many would find this sort of thing superficial, but the majority to argue such would be Betas without similar opportunities and backgrounds. At the end of the day, Alphas generally married to have children, while Betas, with their weak fertility, were more likely to marry for love. So Ichiro's father could not find that perfect bride, but he did find a pretty, young Omega with oriental roots and a sunny and kind disposition. The man was charmed and decided to woo her, after all, Omega women had better fertility than Beta women and had a good chance of bearing Alphas. He neglected to think that they also had a good chance of bearing Omegas. There was another knock on the door, plus the rattling of the handle. Just the door was locked. "Big brother...?" It was Saburo. He sounded worried. Ordinarily, Ichiro might have felt more, after all, he'd always adored his two young brothers and helped his mum love and care for them in the way their father refused to. Jason was his first born, perhaps that was why he let the matter of his gender aside when it turned out his gender was Omega rather than Alpha. But the man couldn't accept Jiro nor Saburo being such, allowing his anger over a situation that was not in his control, destroy any affection he may have felt in the beginning for them. He couldn't take his anger out on them, though, so he ignored them instead. Perhaps seeing that Jason was such a strong and mischievous little boy, much like his parents claimed he had once been, convinced him of something that was impossible, so his oldest son was spared his wrath. He shook his head, he'd never once understood what went on in that man's mind. "Ichiro, open this door, right now!" He frowned and pulled the covers down from over his head. That... was that Livvie? The woman did indeed stand outside his bedroom door, crossing her arms impatiently as she waited for it to be unlocked. Her temper had already been tested by the man claiming to be Ichiro's uncle, who had wanted to know what her relationship was with 'Jason'. She wasn't sure if he was glad or disappointed when she had told him that they were just friends. She tapped her stockinged foot, feeling naked without the heels that had been left behind at the front door. She liked the couple of inch extra height, the sound the heels made as she strode over lengths of stone flooring and the confidence they gave her while facing down annoying interns and journalists with a grand sense of entitlement. The door creaked open and her eyes widened as she saw an unkempt head of hair with two shadowed eyes peeking out from beneath the tangled lengths. Her nose wrinkled a heartbeat later. "Fuck, Ichiro, you stink! Go get in the shower!" She tried to prod him with her nails, not wanting to touch the sticky, naked skin of his shoulders to guide him out of his room. "I don't really..." "Now! No excuses!" Once clean and with dignity covered by a towel wrapped around his hips, he entered a room that had windows wide open and sheets stripped. He sulked as he looked over the bed he had hoped to crawl back into once Livvie had said her piece. She frowned as she noticed his expression, but didn't dwell on it. "Jiro tells me that you haven't left this room except to go visit your father once," Olivia mentioned. The younger Omega had also been the one to answer Ichiro's phone when she called ahead of this visit. He moved over to the small cabinet beside the bed and opened the top drawer, pulling out a pair of clean underwear. "Didn't feel like it," he replied. He tossed the towel aside, not caring that Livvie would be subject to his naked body. It wasn't like she'd not seen it before and even then, his thing was a dud now. Only got hard for one man, who was a couple of continents away and no longer interested in him. It seemed he was destined to follow in his mother's footsteps; their Alphas were such disappointments. "Really?" She sneered, picking up the towel and throwing in his face. "Quit sulking, Ichiro. Do you think you're the first person to suffer setbacks? To be smeared with a reputation that you don't deserve?" "Huh?" Ichiro sat upon the edge of the bed, after the towel fell to the floor, tugging on the underwear then glanced over his shoulder. "I don't care about the rumours. I am an Omega and I was a paid escort, so it's not like it's untrue." "You are an Omega," Livvie agreed, grasping his face with her hands so she could see into his eyes to see how he truly felt. "But that does not give others the right to judge you. They don't know you. But Zandre does know you." "En," Ichiro replied, softly, his gaze falling from her own, "and I've already been judged unworthy by him." "Did he tell you that?" Livvie questioned him, causing his eyes to widen as he thought about her words. "Did he?" She pressed. "No, but..." "No buts!" She sat down beside him on the bed, brushing away a loose strand of hair that had cut into her vision. And then she took a personal tablet from her bag, unlocking it, before scrolling through its apps and selecting one. "Here!" She said, thrusting it unto his hold. "This is his opinion on the situation." Ichiro frowned, before looking down at what appeared to be the written draft of a newspaper article. After the first few words of the exclusive interview, Ichiro's eyes widened and after a few sentences, droplets of water ran down his cheeks and onto the screen. He glanced at Livvie, his lips twitching in the corners as he asked her; "He really said all of this?" The woman nodded. Zandre's call had come somewhat out of the blue, insisting them proceeding with the interview he'd promised her months ago happen now. Being that he was in another country, they could only do it over a video call, but Olivia could tell that each word had come from his heart. "...My agent tried to convince me that it was too soon, that it would sound as if I was trying to steal some of the Kobayashi's thunder or echo their experiences, just to make my relationship with him more justified. But this was never about justification. "It was never about making other people happy for me, never about wanting others to accept my relationship with him. If everyone of my fans stopped following my social feeds due to the fact that I chose him, an unknown Omega, over Elani, a rising talent in her own right, then I wouldn't try to stop them. Like Torin Kobayashi said, I don't need that sort of fan. I don't need that sort of fan. I don't need people telling me that we don't match, that they can't bless our relationship. He's not only my fated pair, he's my true other half and the man that I love." "I happen to have four plane tickets in my purse," Livvie mentioned, nonchalantly after a joyous light returned to her friend's face. "The flight leaves tonight, so we should land across the seas just a few hours before the rugby finals. Go with me?" Ichiro laughed through his tears, wiping away the moisture with his fingers before nodding in agreement. His smile faltered a moment later; "Wait, why four?"