A/N: This fic is probably completely inaccurate, seeing we've only seen Beta in one episode so far and it was never confirmed that Alpha wouldn't return (I personally think he will). But yeah, I felt like writing this little moment between them anyway. Just pretend it's slightly AU or something. Enjoy, minna~

Exile. That was the one word that kept ringing through Alpha's head. He sat alone in a dim room, awaiting judgement from his superiors. His teammates, rejected alongside him and collected elsewhere, were likely to be sent home and return to their normal lives. Being the captain of his team, however, Alpha was held responsible for the failure Protocol Omega had caused. Not only would he be scolded, he would be severely punished for underestimating the enemy by retreating from battle on several occasions. He should've just gotten rid of them instead. He should've been able to wipe the floor with Fey Rune, Matsukaze Tenma, Tsurugi Yuuichi, and everyone else who dared to block El Dorado's path to a soccerless world.

Alpha gritted his teeth, a slight expression of anger appearing on his usually blank face. It wasn't so much the fact that he had been defeated; no, he would've been able to handle that, were it not for the inescapable rule that defeat equaled banishment. From the moment he had been appointed as representative captain of El Dorado, Alpha had solely focused on his mission and treated his commanders' orders as law. Ridding himself of all emotions that might lead to distraction – anger, sadness, even happiness – he was determined to devote himself to erasing the evil that was soccer from the world. He was even prepared to lay his life on the line for it.

And then this happened. Several people suddenly got in his way. They gathered a team that not only challenged his in strength, but even ended up surpassing it. Alpha – he had been so dumb, he now realized – would've never thought they'd come this far, after the Tenmas had been so easy to defeat on their first try. But here he was: beaten, exiled, his mind suddenly empty. There was no goal for him to focus on. No ambition to strive for. He was suddenly left without a purpose, and with that, clueless as to what to do once his superiors were done with him.

Alpha looked up when something illuminated his face in the darkness. Hovering bits of light soon fused and took on the form of a person. At first, Alpha suspected it had to be Toudou Heikichi, the chairman, but the figure was too small – and, he soon found out, too feminine.

The captain of Protocol Omega 2.0 materialized before his eyes. The light disappeared, indicating she was his only visitor. Alpha had to admit he didn't see this coming. He had no idea why Beta paid him a visit out of the blue, unless it was to relay a message. Already stationed in El Dorado's headquarters, however, he saw no reason why his superiors wouldn't talk to him in person. After all, he had brought great shame upon the organization; if anything, they ought to be itching to spit his errors in his face.

"What is your motive for being here?" Alpha questioned when it didn't look like Beta was going to open her mouth. All she did was look at him with those big eyes, soft cheeks, and ever so deceitful smile. But Alpha wasn't fooled; he was well aware she was thinking wicked thoughts behind that innocent mask of hers.

"Tsk, tsk." Beta lifted a disapproving finger, wagging it from left to right. "Is that any way to greet the new captain of Protocol Omega? And here I thought you had manners, Alpha-kun."

Alpha was seconds away from correcting that name, but decided against it. He knew Beta longer than today and if there was one thing this girl was looking for, it was provocation. Regaining his perfect poker face, Alpha chose to zip his lips and lowered his gaze, silently waiting for her to go away. Whatever she wanted, there was inevitable misfortune on the way if she approached him with seemingly no motive other than to kill her boredom.

Beta quickly realized Alpha's plan of action and grinned a little. "Did I catch you at a bad time, Alpha-kun? I thought you might appreciate some company, what with being replaced by me and all." She waited for a reaction, grin still present on her face, but when Alpha didn't even look at her, it faded immediately. His lack of response caught her off-guard. She knew Alpha wasn't one to express his emotions – to the point of making one doubt he even had any – but the least he did, especially when she bullied him, was look her in the eye. Now he didn't even do that. Instead, he pretended she wasn't there. Not only did it surprise her, it certainly displeased her as well. Marching over, her face shifted to a resentful glare and she grabbed his chin without hesitation.

"Look me in the eye when I'm talking to you," she ordered in a hiss, and Alpha did little more than blink. He still refused to speak to her, but now that she was sure he was paying attention, her smirk reappeared and she released his face.

"That's better." Beta stood up straight and gripped her elbows. "You know what I noticed about you, Alpha? You're like a puppet. I can smack you around all I like and you still wouldn't stop me. You let me insult you without retaliating and you follow my orders like a helpless little child." Suddenly, she leaned in on him again, and even though his face was still as flat as a pancake, Alpha felt himself tense up. She didn't sound like she was done talking, yet she moved in close enough to reach his ear with her lips.

"... that's exactly what I like about you." Her whispering tone was threatening, vicious and seductive all at the same time, and it scared the hell out of him. This girl was capable of swapping from cheerful and innocent to eerie and frightening in a heartbeat. Alpha wasn't one to let others intimidate him so easily, but if there was one person who was capable of sending him completely on edge, it was her.

Alpha only barely managed to suppress the prompt urge to leap out of his chair and form as much distance as he could. It took all his effort to maintain the same empty expression, because if he conveyed his inner fear – and a different emotion he couldn't quite put his finger on – she knew she had reeled him in. And at that rate, she was never going to stop.

Beta exhaled a child-like giggle, warm breath tickling his ear, and her hand once again clasped onto his chin. "Hey, Alpha-kun..." she mused, lips slowly travelling from his ear to his cheek, "even when you're kicked out of El Dorado, you're still mine, right...? My little puppet to play with? You won't resent me now that I've taken your place, right...?"

Alpha said nothing. He appeared to be totally indifferent to her words, but inwardly, he was fighting a nasty battle. He was still shaken up by her terrifying tone from before. It had now shifted from intimidating and alluring to plain alluring, which had him wondering where the hell she was taking this conversation. On top of that, he had no idea what she was trying to say. As much as she teased him around, and as much as he let her (not that he had much of a choice), he didn't consider himself 'hers'. He wasn't anyone's possession. He served only El Dorado and refrained from personal attachment. He had no interest in social contact aside from the obligatory communication with his commanders. In his opinion, that's what anyone in his position should do. That brought him back to the question: what was she even doing here?

"Beta," Alpha said just moments before their lips met. Her half-lidded eyes fluttered open and she observed him curiously, apparently not intent on leaving his personal space. To his satisfaction, he managed to make her do that by repeating: "What is your motive for coming here? Aren't you supposed to fulfill your duties as a captain?"

Leaning back, Beta recovered a naïve expression. That innocent smile from before even returned, but it failed to match her cocky voice. "Oh? I see my little Alpha still has some fighting spirit left in him. I had to say I didn't see that coming." She gave a shrug and turned away, indicating she was leaving. Alpha knew she was going to do anything but when she added: "I'll beat that out of you soon enough."

His hand caught her wrist moments before her fist connected with his face. Beta's face fell in shock, while Alpha sent her a calm gaze and even managed to regain control of his nerves. He may allow her to ridicule him, but physically abusing him, even if she believed she could get away with it, went too far. In a way, she had already done it; having kept his face untouched until now, Alpha wondered if her feather-light kisses of death on his jawline could be counted as harassment.

Tense silence rose between them and Beta broke it by growling through gritted teeth. "You're just lucky," she claimed, and she tried to retract her hand – only to find Alpha wouldn't let her. She tugged on it harder and harder, but no matter how hard she tried, her wrist was trapped in his iron grip.

"Bastard! Let go!" Refusing to give up, Beta flashed an expression Alpha didn't see on her often: anger. She'd been impatient with him before, but she was quickly growing infuriated the longer he held her hand hostage. When she realized he wasn't going to obey her, nor would she manage to escape on her own, she threw her other fist at his face – he snatched it just as easily as the first.

"What the—hey!" Beta stepped back in attempt to yank her hands out of his grasp, but Alpha didn't feel like letting her go just yet. His face was still void of any emotion, but he was secretly indulging himself in this little situation. It felt like the tables had turned on them at last; that he finally had some power over her for a change. The more she struggled, the more his amusement grew. How good, oh so good, it felt to finally be able to tease her back.

Beta flinched when Alpha got up on his feet. "Alpha—?" she started, expecting him to let go, but he did the exact opposite. He began to approach her, forcing her to step back if she didn't want him to trample her feet. By the time her back hit the wall, Alpha was met with an expression much more rare than anger: fear. She was actually scared of him. Now this was an expression he liked.

"Alpha..." Beta was visibly trying to regain her composure, but it seemed to be miles away. Her eyes were narrowed, her cheeks were red, and her cunning smile was nowhere to be found. Her voice, always sweet as sugar, now sounded bitter and even trembled a little. "I-I demand that you let me go. That is an order."

Alpha wasn't the least bit fazed by her so-called order. This girl may have taken his position and feel entitled to boss him around just because she was capable of bullying him, but that didn't mean he was going to 'follow her orders like a helpless child', as she called it. Finally, for a reason still foggy to him, he had gained the willpower to fight back. To not just take her mocks and threats lying down, but to show he wasn't as weak as she thought – and that, without a doubt, he was definitely not her puppet.

Beta pressed her lips together when Alpha slowly closed the gap between them. She froze as his nose touched hers and those soulless eyes pierced through her own, frightening her like no one had before. Alpha opened his mouth and spoke a sole word against hers: "Leave."

Beta's hands suddenly fell to her sides. Alpha had abruptly released them and wasted no time in showing her his back, calmly making his way back to his seat. Beta stared at him, completely baffled. He had just done something she never thought he'd have the guts to do. She liked that he was so stiff and bland; that made her capable of venting to him, raising her superior status by breaking his. She took enjoyment in scolding him, mocking him – and her wish to stay with him when he departed had been nothing short of sincere. This whole act of defiance, his sudden desire to strike back... it ruined all the fun.

"... tch." Safely distanced from him, Beta felt herself unfreeze. As long as Alpha didn't approach her, she was fine. She shot him a glare, urge to punish him rising, but she wisely refrained from it now that she knew physically tormenting him was a no-go. It seemed that fighting spirit of his wasn't so easy to break after all... but she'd do it. She'd definitely do it. As if she was going to let him have the last word.

"I won't let you get away with this," she threatened, and Alpha knew she was leaving when the room momentarily glimmered behind him. He turned around when darkness enveloped him once more, and when he was sure he was alone, he finally allowed his lips to curve into a small grin. The last thing she'd done before vanishing was promising she'd come back. Though in exile, this wasn't the last time he'd get to see her – even if she returned solely for the purpose of getting him back. While small compared to his duty as team captain in terms of importance, Beta had given Alpha something new to strive for. Meeting her again would enable him to defy her a second time – which, he found, made him surprisingly happy. It was then he realized just why he hadn't chosen to stand up to her before. Because, deep inside, he might enjoy being dominated by her just a little bit.