Another One

Another one's gone missing.

His heart sank. It wasn't over yet.

His hands trembled as he hastily dialed the chief’s number.

shit shit

How could this happen so easily? What was going on in this city?

He paced anxiously outside the store as he waited for the line to connect.

"Sakurai, is that you?” Kenji's voice crackled through the line,

“Chief Kenji, it’s me. What do you mean another one?”

A brief pause crackled over the line before the chief's gruff voice came through. “I was just about to call you. It’s bad. Another one—an beta this time.”

Haruki exhaled sharply, his brows knitting together as he leaned against the cold steel of the shelves. “Do we know who it is yet? Is it someone connected or just—”

“Ordinary,” Kenji interrupted grimly. “A kid off the streets. Name’s Mako. Barely twenty. Works odd jobs, no family nearby. He was snatched from a karaoke bar in Nakano last night.”

Haruki clenched his fist, his nails biting into his palm. “How does this keep happening? Didn’t we increase patrols in that area after the last incident?”

“We did. Whoever’s behind this knows how to avoid us. They’re careful, professional. It’s not random.”

“Do we have any leads? Surveillance footage? Witnesses?” Haruki’s words spilled out in a rush, tinged with frustration.

Kenji sighed on the other end. “We’re combing through the footage, but nothing yet. Witnesses said Mako left with someone willingly—a man. The description’s vague at best. Late twenties, dark hair, average height. Could be anyone.”

Haruki’s gut churned. He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to will away the headache forming. “This makes it the third kidnapping in two months. What are they doing with them, Chief? Selling them? Experimenting?”

“We don’t know yet. But we can’t let this keep happening.” Kenji’s voice softened, his usual gruffness giving way to concern. “Haruki, listen. I know you want to come in and help, but I’m not at the precinct right now. I’m following up on a lead outside the city. The station’s a ghost town tonight.”

“I don’t care if it’s empty,” Haruki snapped. “I need to do something.”

“Haruki.” Kenji’s tone turned firm. “You’re not allowed to yourself too hard. Remember what happened last time? You can’t keep carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders.”

Haruki flinched as though the words had struck him physically. His mind flashed back to a dark alley, the desperate cries of an omega he hadn’t reached in time. He could still see the blood, feel the crushing guilt. “This isn’t about me,” he muttered, his voice hoarse. “It’s about them. If I don’t do something—”

“You’ll burn yourself out,” Kenji interrupted. “We’ll solve this, Haruki. But you need to pace yourself. Go home. Get some rest. That’s an order.”

Haruki stared at the floor, his jaw tight. “Fine,” he lied. “I’ll call if I think of anything.”

Kenji sighed again. “You’re a good officer, Haruki. Don’t let your past mistakes define you. We all have regrets.”

The call ended with a click, leaving Haruki standing in silence. He slid his phone into his pocket and pushed away from the shelves, heading for the door. His mind buzzed with half-formed thoughts, fragments of plans, and lingering doubt. He couldn’t let this case slip through his fingers like the last one.

As he turned away from the store, his shoulder collided with someone. “Watch it, punk!” a brash voice barked.

Haruki glanced up to see a group of men loitering outside the konbini. They reeked of cheap alcohol and bad intentions, their tattoos peeking out from beneath their shirts. Yakuza, or wannabes. Haruki’s gaze swept over them briefly before moving on. He didn’t have time for petty thugs.

The leader of the group sneered but didn’t pursue him. He pressed his phone to his ear again, calling Kenji back as he walked down the brighyly lit street. “I’m heading to the precinct—”

“Didn’t I just tell you not to?” Kenji growled. “I’m not there, and no one else is either. It’s a waste of time.”

Haruki gritted his teeth. “I can’t just sit around and do nothing.”

“You’ll do as I say, Haruki. Go home. Get some sleep. And for god’s sake, don’t let this case eat you alive.”

Haruki sighed heavily, reluctantly ending the call. He knew Kenji was right, but that didn’t make it any easier to walk away.

There had to be something he was missing. There was no correlation between ages or locations of the victims, they weren’t specific to secondary genders too.

The only thing that came to mind was the thought that they were all unbonded.

His thoughts then drifted back to Obaa-san's persistent matchmaking efforts. While he appreciated her well-meaning intentions, her relentless pursuit of finding him a partner often left him feeling weird.

It wasn't like he didn't want to get married and start a family but he was just busy. As an officer, he barely had time for himself, much less another person.

At least that's what he had been told by most of the people he had tried dating.

His spiral only made it worse for him to think about dating at all.

The pressure to settle down and start a family weighed heavily on him, especially as he approached his mid-thirties. It was only a matter of time before the government stepped in to do the matchmaking themselves.

In a country where only 20% of the population was Alpha and 10% Omega, the government began to regulate matches to make sure people with compatible genes were put together.

Everyone underwent reevaluation till they reached their thirties, which was usually when their hormones balanced out and whatever sub-gender they had was their lot in life.

Being the strongest, exceptional sub-gender, Alphas received a lot of privileges from the government, be it scholarships, sponsorships, business loans and the list goes on.

This clear favouritism led to most families wanting to have alpha children, which in turn led to a hike in Omega exploitation and forced breeding.

That marked a dark period in County X's history and other nations had to come in to put an end to it.

Now Omegas were protected and highly loved, almost to an obsessive level.

Omegas were seen as blessings in some families as it was sure that an Alpha would want to marry their child. There were instances of kidnappings and forced mating but not too many. This also led to the high rise of prostitution in some places.

The cycle never ended.

He still had his money on this being a trafficking scheme of some sort.

Haruki sighed as he reached his apartment complex and walked over to the elevator. He paused as he stared at the sign in front of it that read, out of service, please use the stairs.

"What the hell? I was just on it," he grumbled as he made his way to the stairs. The stingy landlord was ripping them off with the rent yet still couldn't fix the basic amenities in the building.

He had half the mind to send someone from the precinct over to have a "chat" with the landlord.

He finally made it up the stairs and reached for his pocket to get his keys. He frowned as he checked the left pocket, then the right.

'Nothing.'

Where did I drop it?

His eyes widened as he realized it was at the Konbini. Fuck, he was going to have to climb all those stairs again.

While he was fit and in shape from his superior Alpha genes and worked as an officer, climbing all those stairs was just annoying.

He groaned as he made his way back down.

It took him a shorter period as he jogged over to the konbini without thoughts to distract him. As he entered, he found Obaa-san standing behind the counter as usual but she frowned and kept looking towards the freezer section covered by shelves.

"Back already?" She asked, looking at him.

"I think I left my keys here," he said, walking over to her.

"Silly boy, I'm sure you got home before you realized, huh?" She scoffed, looking to the side.

"You know me too well," Haruki smiled, cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

She shook her head and reached for something under the counter, "here you go, don't forget it next time," she scolded, but her mind seemed elsewhere.

By the freezer area precisely.

Haruki frowned, "what's wrong Obaa-San?" He asked, noticing her strange behaviour.

Before she could answer, a commotion erupted from the back of the store, the sound of shelves rattling and objects crashing to the floor startled them both.

Without hesitation, Haruki sprang into action, his training taking over as he rushed towards the source of the disturbance.

Turning the corner, what he saw made his blood boil.

The group of men stood menacingly over a trembling teenager, their expressions twisted into leers as they taunted him. Haruki frowned, why would grown men be harassing a teen?

As he got closer to them, he understood why.

The teen was an Omega.

Haruki's eyes narrowed as one of the men grabbed the Omega's arm and pulled him roughly.

Haruki's jaw clenched in anger at the sight of the harassment, his protective instincts flaring up.

"Is there a problem here?" he demanded, his voice firm and authoritative as he stepped forward, his presence and scent commanding attention.

The men turned to face him, their expressions morphing from amusement to hostility as they sized him up.

One of them, a burly figure with tattoos snaking up his arms, stepped forward to confront Haruki, his eyes narrowing with disdain.

"What's it to you, punk?" he spat, his tone dripping with contempt.

Haruki remained unfazed, his stance firm as he met the Beta's gaze with steely blue eyes. "I suggest you leave before things get bad for you," he warned, his voice calm but his scent said otherwise.

He had the height advantage over all of them and stared them down, pressing on them with his scent.

For a moment, tension hung thick in the air, the silence punctuated only by the hum of the refrigerators and the distant sounds of traffic outside.

Then, with a grunt, the men begrudgingly backed down, casting one last venomous glare at Haruki before slinking out of the store.

As the adrenaline began to fade, Haruki let out a long breath, his muscles relaxing now that the immediate threat passed.

He turned to the trembling teenager, offering a reassuring smile. "Are you alright?" he asked gently, extending his hand to help them.

He unconsciously let out his scent to calm the teen down.

The teenager nodded, their eyes wide as they accepted Haruki's assistance. "Thank you, sir," they whispered, their voice trembling with relief.

"It's alright," Haruki looked at the thing clutched in the omega's hand and understood what had happened.

The idiots probably caught a whiff of an omega in pre-heat and began acting like fools.

The omega noticed where his eyes were and tried to hide the drugs. "It's ok," Haruki waved them off, "you don't need to hide those, it's completely normal to take care of your health," he smiled gently at them, eyes crinkling.

The omega's cheeks flushed as they bowed their head and murmured another soft "Arigatou."

"Don't mention, I'm an officer. It's my duty to serve and protect," he said, noticing the omega had stopped shaking.

"Come on, let's get you off the floor," Haruki said, "Do you live close by? Do you need an escort?" He asked as they walked to the counter.

"I-I live close by," the omega whispered, bowing to Obaa-San who still has a worried frown on her face.

He stepped aside to give them a moment, smiling as he watched Obaa-san give the omega some sweets.

He followed the omega out of the Konbini and into the streets.

They talked on the way, it turns out the teen had just written their college exams and was feeling anxious.

"It's ok! It's like that for everyone! I'm sure you did great," Haruki assured them, not noticing the way their blush deepened.

"W-we are here!" The omega announced, Haruki looked at the house, which seemed pretty standard.

Nothing suspicious yet, he took note of the address so he could have someone at the precinct check-in.

"Great! Have a nice day!" Haruki said, turning away.

"Wait!" The omega grabbed his arm, and Haruki frowned at the heat of his palms.

'Was it normal to be this hot during heat?'

"You can come in if you don't mind," they said, shifting shyly from foot to foot.

'Hell no,' Haruki thought, he wasn't about to catch a charge.

"No thank you, I have somewhere to be," he said, prying their hands off him.

"Oh," the omega pouted, scent souring.

Haruki twitched as his inner alpha stirred, wanting to comfort them.

"That's fine, thank you again," the omega bowed.

"You're welcome," Haruki also had a small bow, waiting to make sure the omega went inside before leaving.

He sighed as he made his way to his apartment again and had to climb the infernal stairs, cursing his landlord to his doorstep.

As he stared at the keyhole something occurred to him.

"Ahhh!" Haruki shouted, hands on his head.

He forgot the key at the konbini again.