Howl to the Moon (Haikyuu Omegaverse)

Chapter 28: Craving

RECOMMENDED SONG: BOYS LIKE YOU BY TANERÉLLE

Akaashi felt that his entire body was going to burn consumed by fire, trembling like a leaf and rocked by a strong hurricane wind unleashed inside him. Every inch of his skin was steaming hot but at the same time he was shivering, he didn't know if from cold or from fear; maybe both. His forehead was beaded with sweat, and his eyes were lost in a stain on the carpet, his guts twisted and his chest constricted. Each breath introduced gasoline into his lungs increasing the heat inside him, the tenths of fever kept rising without knowing limits; he was being set on fire.

Shit, not here. Not now, a small voice sobbed in his head.

He knew that at some point, sooner or later, it was going to happen but he hoped it would be later than soon. Everything he had been through for years, everything he had built since he first set foot in the hunters' barracks seemed about to collapse in front of his eyes, and he felt unable to stop it. But, worst of all, it didn't matter at that very moment. His cover threatened to collapse but he didn't care what could happen because there was something much more important going on: his body was about to explode because of his first heat.

Akaashi looked around. The barracks were not overly crowded, but he wasn't entirely alone. There were still some hunters, especially newbies who had yet to finish their work. He still had things to do, but although his body was there, his mind was far away. He quickly scooped up the desk a bit, shoving the messy pages into the drawer and bolting out of there trying not to cause a stir, but knowing for a fact that he was indeed causing it. The rookies turned to watch him run through the corridors on his way out, but instinct was more important, and whatever others might do or shout in his wake was of little importance.

He didn't even wait for the elevator; he took the stairs two at a time and went out into the street, but even the night cold did not soothe the burning of his skin one bit. He ran, ran more and kept running, away from the barracks and the city, closer to the edge of the forest and into the vegetation. His body implored for something that at that moment he didn't have, and although he knew the theory, experiencing a first-person heat for the first time was totally different from what he expected. It was much more suffocating, maddening and aggressive than he imagined, his body was full of energy and at the same time he felt exhausted. He took hormone blockers for so many years, delayed the onset of his first heat so long that now that it had finally arrived, it was hitting him with the force of ten swords. He had suppressed himself for far too long that now that he was free his pheromones had skyrocketed, gone crazy.

He fell to his knees, wheezing and clutching the front of his sweat-soaked white T-shirt. He hugged his shivering body and crawled toward a tree to lean his back as he felt the wetness dribble from inside him and puddle his underwear. Sitting on the ground with his legs close to his chest, he let out a couple of needy moans, like the cry of a mermaid luring a sailor. However, no one appeared, no one came to his side.

It took him a few minutes to get back on his feet using the support of the tree. His legs were shaking as much as the rest of his body, but with great effort he was able to stumble out of the forest and walk along the edge of the trees. He knew this area like the back of his hand, even more so after the few packs that still survived in Japan had settled there or in Takefukuro next to Sakusa's. But Akaashi was not addressing Takefukuro, but Bessho. He didn't know if he was going there out of inertia or because there was really something there that called him, but be that as it may, his unsteady steps led him to the place.

He was guided by his nose, which although not as developed as an alpha's —even less so as Sakusa's— was still capable of detecting strong or close smells. Still, finding the trace of the person he was looking for was not easy: he walked the streets of Bessho paying attention to the scents that sneaked into his nose and mixed with each other, confusing his senses and his already misty mind. He kept walking, trying to get closer to his destination but not succeeding.