Despite trying her hardest, Yuri just couldn't get herself together, and Zeek eventually convinced her to take a break.
Tuss's room was huge, taking up almost half of the second floor. It had not only a bed but also a couch, a gaming station, and a medical unit.
"Where should I sleep?" Yuri inquired, her eyes moving from the big red bed to the nearby couch. The couch was more than five feet wide and over six feet long. Yuri sat down to see how it felt and found it surprisingly comfy.
"I don't like sharing a room with people I don't know," Tuss stated flatly.
Yuri hesitated for a moment, considering asking him if he had lived in a dorm during his school days and how he coped with it.
"You can stay in the guest room next door," Tuss suggested, pointing towards the door, making it clear she should go.
Yuri left swiftly, worried that any delay might make Tuss think she wanted to share his bed.
Yuri had no issue sleeping in new places. Having lived in a post-apocalyptic world for years, she could even sleep soundly on the streets. After showering and a long, exhausting day, Yuri fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow.
Later on, a faint, barely noticeable scent wafted into her room.
While asleep, Yuri shifted and sniffed the air. The next second, her eyes shot open. An icy, woody fragrance had filled her room at some point.
"What's happening?" she asked herself.
Yuri got up, opened the door, and traced the scent. It led her to Tuss's door, which seemed to be the source. The closer she got to his room, the stronger the smell became.
Yuri hesitated, unsure whether to knock or not when a muffled groan came from inside the room.
"Tuss, what's going on? Are you alright?" Yuri knocked on the door.
There was a loud crash inside the room, as if something had toppled over.
Yuri turned the doorknob and found the door unlocked. "Tuss, I'm coming in," she whispered as she pushed the door open.
The room was completely dark, and Yuri's night vision hadn't developed yet in her current body. She groped her way towards the bed.
"Tuss, where are you?" she asked.
Suddenly, she stumbled over something and lost her balance, falling forward. Their heads hit with a thud, and Yuri gasped in pain.
The next moment, the light switched on.
"Get up," Tuss said through clenched teeth.
Only then did Yuri see Tuss's appearance—his face was red, and his clothes were drenched in sweat. Worried, she asked, "What's the matter with you?"
"I'm fine," Tuss claimed, using all his strength to say those two words. He leaned against the bed, breathing heavily.
"You don't look fine at all," Yuri countered, thinking that he might be too embarrassed to tell her what was wrong. She went to inform Zeek.
Shortly after, Zeek arrived with a family doctor.
"Your pheromones are out of control again?" the doctor questioned, his expression serious. "If this keeps up, I'm afraid your tier will continue to drop."
Tuss lay on the bed, his eyes empty and lifeless.
"Is it another Sea of Consciousness disorder?" the doctor inquired, examining Tuss while questioning him.
Tuss merely hummed in response, veins bulging on his forehead.
"Let me take a look," the doctor said, closing his eyes.
"The doctor is grooming his mental threads, let's wait outside," said Zeek to Yuri.
Yuri quickly snapped back to reality, and as she left the room with Zeek, she couldn't help but ask, "Zeek, what does Tuss's pheromone smell like?"
"I've heard it's a cool, woodsy scent, but I can't smell it myself, so I'm not sure about the exact type of woodsy aroma it is," Zeek replied.
Yuri hesitated before murmuring, "Only alphas or betas can smell pheromones?"
"That's right," Zeek confirmed, looking at Yuri curiously, wondering why she would ask something so basic that even a young child would know.
Yuri's heart dropped as she continued, "Do people become alphas or betas before they turn fifteen?"
"It's not a guarantee. Some people change after fifteen. There was a story two years ago about a 23-year-old woman who became a beta, and another one the year before about a 22-year-old..."
Yuri couldn't concentrate on the rest of what Zeek was saying, as one thought filled her mind: she might be turning into an alpha or beta soon.
Throughout the night, Yuri tossed and turned, struggling with a rare case of insomnia. As the sun began to rise, she searched the interstellarnet for ways to prevent the change.
By the time morning arrived, she hadn't found anything. Nobody would want to give up the opportunity to become a powerful alpha or beta.
She would have to take things one step at a time, Yuri told herself.
Today was Yuri's first day as part of the Hiro family. She needed to have breakfast at the main house and meet everyone.
The Hiro family didn't have many descendants. Darth had two younger brothers and one younger sister. Both of his brothers had died in battle, and his sister had married and moved to another planet. Tuss's wedding had been too rushed for her to attend.
Darth had married twice. His first wife, Tuss's mother, died when Tuss was three years old when the spaceship she was on was attacked by insectoids. His second wife gave birth to a son named Keurda, who was thirteen years old and in middle school. He hadn't appeared at the wedding either.
To be exact, only Darth attended both the engagement party and the wedding on behalf of the Hiro family. Tuss's stepmother didn't even bother showing up, making it clear that she and Tuss didn't get along.
This was Yuri's first time meeting her mother-in-law. She had a gentle face and fair, smooth skin. Although she was in her forties, she looked no older than thirty. Part of it was due to her good self-care, and another part was the longer lifespan in the interstellar era. Even for omegas, the average lifespan was 150 years, with alphas and betas living even longer.
Her stepmother's name was Meliena, a B-tier beta. Beta rankings were generally lower than those of alphas, so a B-class was considered quite high. After all, the highest-ranking beta in the Alliance was only S-class, with fewer than five individuals holding that rank.
Rumor had it that Darth had pursued this B-tier beta with great effort and showered her with love after their marriage, hanging on her every word.
He had even given up on his own SS-tier alpha son without a second thought.
Yuri walked beside Tuss's wheelchair, staying quiet unless Tuss spoke to her. After Darth greeted them with a simple "You're here," he remained silent. Meliena, on the other hand, focused on her food throughout the entire meal, not even bothering to look up.
The dining table was unusually quiet, and the air felt thick with tension.
Yuri casually savored the tasty meal and ended up eating the most, catching the eyes of the other three.
"You should pack up today and head to the ore planet tomorrow," Meliena said decisively.
"Make sure to get anything you need before we leave. The supplies on the ore planet won't be as plentiful as they are on Planet Alpha," Darth suggested.
Tuss nodded in agreement.
After breakfast, Yuri and Tuss went to school to sort out the paperwork for taking some time off. Some forms needed their presence and signatures.
Military Academy No. 1 was an elite school, ranking second among all the schools in the Alliance. Six of the Alliance's top ten marshals had attended Military Academy No. 1.
Yuri glanced at Tuss in his wheelchair, thinking that if it weren't for his missing legs, he might have become one of the top ten marshals someday.
"Well, well, who do we have here?" Thanos, hearing that Tuss was at school, hurried over and mocked, "You have no legs, and you still dare to come to class? Can you even pilot a mecha?"
Tuss clenched his lips, and the air pressure around him fell noticeably.
"Don't get in the way. Move," Yuri stepped in front of the wheelchair, nudging Thanos aside.
"Who are you pushing? I'll teach you a lesson if you don't watch your words," Thanos raised his fist.
Yuri was unafraid of the threat. "Go ahead and try. I wonder if the first chair spot will be given to someone who bullies disabled people and starts fights on campus."
After the engagement banquet, Yuri had searched the campus forum for details about the rivalry between Thanos and Tuss. Their conflict originated from the competition for the first chair position that'd usually be given to the top student. Now that Tuss was injured, Thanos was the most likely candidate for the spot.
As expected, hearing about the first chair made Thanos lower his fist and threaten through clenched teeth, "Tuss, if you dare to come back, I'll dare to take you down."