Fic: Meet Me in the Morning (Part III)

[redpocket]

“Have you noticed?” Shishido asked, looking up at the sky.

Saturday afternoon, a murky sort of day; neither totally raining nor sunny, as though the weather hadn’t yet decided what it wanted to do. A truck passed them on the road, and Oshitari pulled Shishido back closer in to the footpath. “Noticed?” he prompted, as Shishido looked thrown off his thoughts.

“Oh...” Shishido muttered, frowning. “Noticed... You get along well with Kaidou.”

Oshitari blinked. “Should I not?”

Shishido shook his head quickly. “That wasn’t what I meant. It’s just that... I didn’t think you’d get along with anyone when I met you. I thought you were going to be the oddball of the entire class.”

Oshitari raised an eyebrow. “Why thank you. That makes me feel so good, hearing you of all people say that.”

Shishido smiled a bit, looking back upwards again, Oshitari hanging onto his arm to stop him walking too near the road again.

Was it really so strange that he got along with people? Kaidou wasn’t the only one whose company he found he enjoyed, though he was preferable to Kamio and Shinji, who seemed to come as a pair, and Momo and even the occasional appearance by Ooishi.

He hadn’t noticed it happening, he supposed. He’d been preoccupied with Shishido, really, but he had started paying a lot more attention to those people around him. But it was different to the way he’d paid attention to people before.

He wasn’t paying attention to them purely to compare his own position, to make sure he wasn’t falling behind or to ensure he was staying ahead in some sort of game. He was listening to them and talking to them and even playing games with them because he actually found them interesting; he liked to know what was going on in their lives, even if he felt that sometimes he knew a bit too much.

He could have done without Momo’s graphic descriptions of having the stomach flu, of course, and he could have done without hearing Shinji’s monologue about maggots and reproductive cycles and how quickly they could eat through intestinal tracts (even if they did need to learn that), and Kamio’s ranting about how he was a natural redhead (and did anyone want to check for themselves?).

“It’s better to be wrong about bad first impressions, than wrong about good ones,” Shishido commented.

“Of course,” Oshitari snorted. “Well,” he reconsidered. “In certain circumstances.”

“Always about the circumstances,” Shishido rolled his eyes, and jumped up onto a small concrete embankment to walk, balancing along the top. “You’ll make a good lawyer, one day. Always get your clients off the hook when they’re guilty.”

“Come see me when you have a problem then,” Oshitari joked, walking closer to the base of the concrete slope, in case.

“Won’t need to,” Shishido fired back. “I have no intentions of ever being guilty of anything.”

Oshitari rolled his eyes and looked ahead as he walked. He wasn’t sure anymore he had any intention of going back to law, either.

+

“I want to try something,” Oshitari had said in the afternoon.

Shishido had looked at him, slightly apprehensive, but he’d nodded. “When?” he’d asked.

Oshitari had flopped back on his bed and stared up at the ceiling, conscious of the pinkish hues coming in through the window.

“How about tonight?” he had suggested. “I have things... prepared already.”

And he had prepared. He hadn’t been lying. It was just that when it came down to it, five hours later, half an hour after Sengoku had declared it lights out to the two of them and left them to wander back to whatever game he was playing with the higher-ups in the other building (he didn’t feel the need to supervise the few cadets in the dorm who had stayed on for the holidays), and Shishido was standing in front of Oshitari so stiffly, a bathroom towel around his waist and nothing else...

“You don’t want to?” Shishido muttered. “I thought you were the one who wanted to do it in the first place.”

“I do,” Oshitari insisted softly. It was just that...

“I’m ready,” Shishido stated bluntly. “I already showered.”

Oshitari felt himself blushing, despite himself, despite the number of times he’d done this before. But none of those times with anyone who had meant this much to him. None of those times with someone who’d been so inexperienced as he knew Shishido was; who didn’t know yet just how painful it might be afterwards, or during...

“I said I’m ready,” Shishido said again, his voice louder this time.

“I know,” Oshitari hurried to reassure him. He could see Shishido’s anxiety growing in the look on his face. He probably thought Oshitari didn’t want to do this anymore, which wasn’t true. And to prove it, Oshitari kissed him, arms tightly around him, almost hugging more than simply holding him.

“Are you sure?” he asked again.

“Oshitari,” Shishido snapped suddenly. “Just get on and do it already.”

“Okay, okay,” Oshitari chuckled, his nervousness suddenly gone. He loosened his arms around Shishido.

Shishido frowned at him. “You’re seriously acting like -”

“A virgin?” Oshitari laughed.

“Don’t laugh, idiot,” Shishido frowned, indignant.

Oshitari smiled, sliding his hand down the line of Shishido’s spine. “I’m not laughing anymore, see?” he said softly, murmuring into Shishido’s ear. He parted his lips and trailed his tongue slowly around the whorl of Shishido’s ear, teeth nibbling lightly at the lobe, hot breath against Shishido’s skin making him tremble slightly already.

The room was cold, and colder still for Shishido who wasn’t wearing anything under his towel, but the shivers and raised hairs Oshitari could see on his arms weren’t so much from the temperature around them as they were from anticipation. He could see that much in the way Shishido seemed unwilling to change positions and let go of him, and it took some coaxing for him to relax enough to lie down on the bed, so Oshitari could kneel between his legs.

Shishido’s towel had long stopped being of any use in hiding his erection, as much as he fiddled with it, hands between his legs and trying to cover himself up, despite the fact they both knew exactly what they had already agreed to do. He seemed to think Oshitari couldn’t tell he was incredibly aroused underneath the white fluffy cotton, which was almost amusing, except that the look of worry on Shishido’s face was throwing Oshitari off pace as well.

“Stop being nervous,” he sighed, kneeling and looking up at Shishido. “You’ll pass it on to me too, soon enough.”

“You don’t look nervous at all,” Shishido retorted, almost sitting up again. “You look like you’re enjoying yourself.”

Oshitari chuckled. “And I thought that was what sex was all about. One wouldn’t bother with all the mess if there weren’t something pleasurable about it.”

He trailed a finger lightly along Shishido’s leg, from his knee downwards, drawing small circles across his skin, smooth to the touch, along his inner thigh, right up to the dip between his leg and lower body, and until his knuckles tickling against small curls of hair. Beneath the towel still, Shishido’s cock twitched, and Oshitari pulled his hand out from under the fabric, gently pressing his palm to the bulge there, rubbing up and down with not anywhere near enough pressure to satisfy Shishido, as he tried raising his hips.

Oshitari smirked, taking the opportunity to slip off the towel and drop it over the side of the bed. He was met with the sight of Shishido’s fully erect penis, flushed pink and twitching in his hand when Oshitari touched it, smirking even more to see Shishido let his head fall back on the pillow, his thighs parting further, nearly flattened against the bed sheets.

Oshitari lowered his mouth slowly, sucking on the tip of Shishido’s cock, swirling his tongue quickly around and then moving his head down, careful centimetre by careful centimetre. Shishido’s erection slid deeper into his mouth, and Oshitari could feel his hips bucking up almost immediately. An arm across Shishido’s upper leg stopped that soon enough, but as Oshitari moved his mouth up and down, he could feel the trembles already starting under him, and he could hear the little grunts Shishido was making, which sent oh-so-sweet little trills through his own body.

Shishido was all sorts of impatient when it came to his physical wants and needs, Oshitari had discovered. The only reason they hadn’t tried going all the way before this was purely Shishido’s trepidation after Oshitari had said that yes, perhaps, there might be a little pain involved in anal sex between men. But he suspected Atobe might have told Shishido other sorts of things which had put him off as well; how else could he explain the hour long shower Shishido took, and his refusal to let Oshitari into the bathroom while he was in there?

Practicalities aside, Oshitari suspected Shishido had long been curious, and it felt as though if they didn’t try now, they wouldn’t have a lot of opportunity for a while. Both the rooms on either side of theirs were empty, for a change, and no one was about to come in and check on them. Which was almost a shame, Oshitari thought, because Sengoku looked like the sort to appreciate a good display like the one Shishido was making under him.

But he was too close to coming for Oshitari’s liking. Too close, too early.

So Oshitari pulled back, lifting his mouth off Shishido with a wet smack. And as he shifted his arm from Shishido’s thigh, he blew lightly across his wet cock head, amused by the sudden look of ire he was getting from Shishido as it clicked in his head that Oshitari wasn’t going to let him come so soon.

“Pull your legs up,” Oshitari instructed with a smile, slapping Shishido’s thigh when he was slow to do so.

Shishido did so with a flicker of a frown, arms hooked under his knees, so that his anus was exposed; the small, pink hole standing out against his otherwise pale skin.

“Good boy,” Oshitari quipped, rewarding Shishido with a kiss to the back of his thigh. If Shishido thought anything funny of the comment, he didn’t have time to respond.

Oshitari dipped two fingers into the tub of hand cream he’d bought (he’d replaced the contents with water-based lubricant since leaving the lubricant tube lying around was just asking for trouble), and he pressed them to Shishido’s entrance, sliding his slick fingertips around the ring of muscle slowly, watching Shishido try to steady his breathing.

“Relax,” he said again, kissing Shishido’s leg, his foot.

“I am relaxed,” Shishido muttered, objecting purely because he could.

“You look tight to me,” Oshitari chuckled. But he looked up at Shishido in concern, holding his gaze as he pressed his middle finger just past the outer ring of muscle. Rubbing the muscle from the outside could only do so much to loosen him up; it was easiest to simply accustom him to the sensation of something sliding in and out of him, so Oshitari concentrated on working his single digit in and out slowly, pressing in as deep as he could, curling his finger upwards, trying to find Shishido’s pleasure spot while still keeping his cock erect with kisses and licks.

He pressed his index finger in as well after a few minutes, feeling Shishido stretch around him, and when Oshitari brushed against his prostate, feeling the jolt that went through Shishido.

“What’s... What was...” Shishido gasped out, as Oshitari pressed once, twice, thrice more. Shishido’s legs trembled, his toes curling, and his arms’ grasp on his legs slackening.

“This?” Oshitari pressed again.

“A-Ah,” Shishido whimpered, caught between gasping and moaning, and simply trying to push back against Oshitari.

“Shishido, meet your prostate,” Oshitari smirked. “Prostate, meet Shishido.”

“You’re such... an idiot,” Shishido moaned out, and Oshitari simply snickered and moved his fingers faster. He was almost sure he’d never be able to take that word seriously again, especially not from Shishido. Oshitari had never thought being scolded could be such a turn on before.

Then, just as Shishido let go of holding up his legs, Oshitari pulled his wet fingers out, and reached down to the floor.

“What’re you doing?” Shishido asked, that sense of anxiousness back in his voice again the second Oshitari moved away from him.

“This.” Oshitari picked a condom up quickly, ripping off the packaging and carefully rolling it over his penis. “Don’t want you to have to take another hour-long shower later,” he commented, seeing the flicker of confusion on Shishido’s face.

It only served to make his heart beat faster. Damn it. He really wanted to kiss Shishido now.

But he was already completely hard, already so aroused just by watching Shishido’s reactions to the way he played with his body, that he had to stop for a second and think of anything but the man spread out on the bed in front of him, afraid he’d come too soon with the sensation of his fingers on his own manhood as he finished rolling on the condom.

Then he crawled up over Shishido’s body to lay a kiss on his lips, but Shishido wasn’t content to stop at a single one, drawing him down into his arms before Oshitari knew it. Their cocks brushed together between their bodies, the sensations even through the latex enough to make Oshitari moan, Shishido’s legs spread and Oshitari’s legs between them, his feet pushing against the bedspread as they rubbed up against each other.

“Mm-mm...” Shishido moaned. “I’m... I think I’m -”

Oshitari froze. Shit. He couldn’t just let Shishido come like this. Nor did he want to come so soon, before he even got a chance to be inside Shishido.

“Wait...” he panted out, glancing down the line of their bodies, and wrapping his fingers hard around the base of Shishido’s cock, getting a grunt of protest.

“Let go, Oshitari,” Shishido demanded, wincing as he propped himself up on his elbows. Oshitari refused, grip tightening until Shishido looked to be coming down from his near-high. Oshitari then lifted himself up and untangled himself from Shishido’s limbs.

He sat back, hangs on his thighs for a second. “No,” he said simply. “I want you to come... while I’m inside you. I want you... to feel me inside your body. I want you to feel really good.”

Shishido swallowed, but kept quiet as Oshitari slipped his fingers back in momentarily, checking he was ready. He probed gently, scissoring his fingers a little, pressing as much as he could against the tightness of the muscle.

His first experience with anal sex had been something of an unpleasant one, not for any reason other than a simple lack of good preparation, not because his partner hadn’t known how to, but because neither one had cared. He wasn’t about to submit Shishido to the same bad experience.

“I’m putting it in now,” he warned, getting a nod from Shishido.

He pushed his cock in more easily than he thought he would, Shishido’s breath speeding up as he adjusted to having Oshitari inside him, filling him. His hand reached down to wrap around his cock, and Oshitari swallowed at the sight.

Oshitari moved his hips slowly, hands gripping Shishido’s hips for leverage, knees and toes firmly planted against the bed as he slowly pushed in and pulled out, instant pleasure making his eyelids flutter closed. Shishido was already close to orgasm again, and Oshitari didn’t think he could prolong his climax for very long at all with the heat and sweet, sweet pressure of Shishido pressing all around his cock. Even as slowly as he was moving, he could hear Shishido’s whimpers, hear how he panted through his open mouth, breathing out Oshitari’s name.

It was unbelievable, the way his name sounded when Shishido said it like that; it sent flutters and shivers and pleasure and pain through Oshitari like nothing else, and made his chest ache with a tightness so exquisite, it was nearly overwhelming.

He moved his hips back and forth faster, hearing Shishido’s gasps coming closer together, as though he were almost forgetting to breathe out in his pleasure, and Oshitari opened his eyes to see Shishido’s eyes closed, his body shaking with pleasure as he reached his climax, hands fisted into the pillow under his head. And before he could stop himself, he too was coming, mouth open, panting, as his hips thrust quickly into Shishido, eyes scrunching closed as his ears filled with static and his head with white fuzz.

Somewhere along the line, he was conscious of moaning out Shishido’s name, but it wasn’t until Shishido asked later, that he realised.

+

“You feel...” Shishido hesitated. “It feels funny,” he declared, as though passing judgement on the entire experience.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Oshitari asked, propping himself up to look at Shishido.

“Well... it’s like...” Shishido’s face was turning a stark shade of red, Oshitari was sure of it, even with the small amount of light coming in through the gap in the curtains.

“It feels like...” And he trailed off again.

Oshitari smirked. “You could just admit that it feels good, and be done with it.”

Shishido smacked his chest with the back of his hand.

“So what did Atobe say to you about it?” Oshitari mused. “He said something, didn’t he?”

“He said that it’d hurt so...” Shishido muttered, mumbling incoherently.

“Said what exactly,” Oshitari pressed, shivering. The room really was cold now, and he shifted, lying half on Shishido’s chest so he could pull the blanket up to their necks. A single bed really was uncomfortable for two people, but neither of them wanted to move, and Shishido had declared his bed too cold to sleep in. That it would warm up once he got into it went without saying, but Oshitari wasn’t going to point it out to him if he didn’t want to move.

“He said it would hurt so bad I wouldn’t be able to walk for a week,” Shishido muttered.

Oshitari let out a noise which may or may not have been a ‘hmph’.

“Well I don’t know who he’s screwing, but I’m curious to know now,” he declared, getting a glare from Shishido.

“Just kidding,” he corrected. “But it doesn’t hurt, does it?”

Shishido wriggled a little. “Just feels a bit... sore.”

“It’ll pass,” Oshitari murmured, feeling excessively satisfied when Shishido shifted his arm around his waist. When was the last time anyone had held him like this?

“Mmm, but I don’t feel like walking anywhere tomorrow anyway,” Shishido said quietly.

“Well we don’t have to,” Oshitari yawned. “We could stay in bed all day and do more of the same.”

Shishido gave a sleepy grunt, and a few minutes later, Oshitari felt his breathing even out.

When he awoke in the morning, it was to a ‘good morning’, and a kiss to his forehead.

Oshitari smiled and opened his eyes, and winced at the way the sun seemed to hit his eyes at just the right, horrible angle.

Shishido was grinning at him by the time he stopped squinting, wriggling down further into the bed so that Shishido’s head blocked the light.

“Mm, good morning,” he half grumbled. But Shishido’s grin was infectious, and he hated to think that for once, he wasn’t miffed when he woke up to copious amounts of sunshine. In fact, it felt almost nice.

+

At breakfast, Oshitari was eating a mouthful of cereal when he happened to hear two other cadets talking and tuned in.

“I thought it was just me, but if you heard it as well...” one was saying.

“Maybe that story was true, after all,” the other muttered. “It was definitely coming from somewhere in the dorms and... it was definitely moaning.”

“It was!” the first insisted. “So it is true, that thing about the ghost. And I thought Kamio was having us all on just for fun!”

Across from Oshitari, Shishido had turned a nice shade of pink.

Oshitari kicked him under the table. “Oh, I heard it too,” he said loudly. “Did you, Shishido? I thought it sounded like it was definitely in a lot of pain, and it sounded like it was gasping too. I bet Kamio will be annoyed that he missed it all once he gets back.”

Shishido pursed his lips and crossed his arms. “I didn’t hear anything,” he glared, and gulped down the rest of his food.

Oshitari chuckled.

+

“Move over,” Shishido demanded that night, frowning at Oshitari as though he’d done something criminal by lying in the middle of his own bed.

“Huh?” Oshitari blinked, sleepy already.

Sengoku had been around to check on them not ten minutes before, chattering about how some cadets had heard a ghost during the night. Funny, because upon interrogation, they’d said it sounded like a baritone, and Sengoku was sure last year he’d been a tenor. Perhaps the guy was finally reaching puberty after all these years?

Oshitari had shot him a glare then, and Sengoku had merely smirked and taken his leave.

“It’s cold. Hurry up and move over,” Shishido demanded again.

Oshitari did as he was told, and Shishido climbed into bed.

He snored, again, but Oshitari was too tired to care, glad to have the extra warmth. And when he woke up in the morning, he could look forward to a good morning kiss.

+

January was a strange month. If Oshitari had had to describe the feeling about it, he’d probably have said there was an itchiness about the air; a feeling of needing to do things, needing to make progress in their training, and wanting to learn everything they needed to know all at once. A hurrying feeling, as though they all wanted to rush along to the end of their course, so they could race to get out of the academy and onto the streets.

Perhaps it was that the December holidays at home had reminded the others of what they were missing, or perhaps they were just feeling the five-month itch, as Atobe was labelling it. Maybe it was just that the New Year signalled a need for change.

Perhaps it was an infectious feeling. Perhaps Oshitari himself wasn’t aware of it catching on, latching on to him, but it did, and it was why he found himself at Atobe’s door one night. He’d been out walking, and without thinking, he’d walked across to the old building, stepped through the emergency exit and walked around to Atobe’s office, walked in and taken his usual seat, and all before Atobe had even bothered to look up from his stack of papers.

“I don’t know what you’re waiting for,” Oshitari declared, not even bothering with a greeting.

Atobe smiled, putting down his pen. He seemed to know what Oshitari was talking about instantly, and he never had been one for greetings anyway, as much as he liked to admonish Oshitari for his occasional lapse in good manners. “What if I’m not waiting for anything?” he asked simply.

“But you are,” Oshitari shook his head. “You can’t not be waiting for something. You’re... You just don’t want to make the first move.”

“Did it ever occur to you that perhaps there’s a certain kind of pleasure in simply observing?” Atobe questioned. “In watching other people work things out for themselves? Who am I to interfere before you have things all sorted for yourselves?”

Oshitari blinked, trying to work out what was wrong with Atobe’s statement. That wasn’t it at all. He wasn’t just watching for the sake of watching; he was waiting. But what if he wasn’t waiting for anything? What if he was just waiting... because he had no inclination to make a move at all? Just biding out his time until they both left?

And what of that?

He and Shishido would both leave in July.

“Coffee? Oshitari?” Atobe asked, changing the subject.

“Huh?” Oshitari frowned. “Ah... With milk, no sugar.”

He watched as Atobe nodded and stepped out of the room for a minute, heading for the staff kitchen where they kept the hot water urn and all the drink supplies.

No, Atobe probably wouldn’t make any move if he was left to his own devices. Oshitari should have realised before; Atobe wasn’t prepared to risk anything for the two of them. Or was he not prepared to risk their two futures for his own sake?

Was he simply being selfish or selfless?

Unconsciously, Oshitari had gripped the armrests of his chair so hard that when Atobe returned, he blinked before holding out the hot mug, which Oshitari took with a muttered ‘thanks’.

“Don’t break the furniture,” Atobe said dryly, before taking a few steps to lean back against his desk. Oshitari’s eyes were drawn to the slight creases across the front of his trousers, and the curve in the lines of his legs where they pressed back against the wood.

“You know how long it took me to get this heater up in here. I shudder to think how long they’d take to get me another chair,” Atobe sighed, when Oshitari didn’t respond.

“And Oshitari...?” Atobe asked, frowning in worry. “Is there something you’d like to talk about? Is that why you came in to see me? Something about the course... about classes? Exams, perhaps?”

Oshitari looked up at his face. “No. I don’t come to talk to you about those things,” he pointed out blankly. “You can hardly pretend not to have noticed.”

“Indeed,” Atobe murmured. “Though you would have been more than capable enough of using that excuse.”

Oshitari snorted. “I’m capable of a lot of things. I just don’t think you’re noticing all of them.”

Atobe’s lips curled up slowly. “And what am I missing then?”

Oshitari put down his mug carefully and stood up from his chair. “And would you really want me to come here under the pretence of being an overly zealous, overly worried student?” he questioned. “Would you really have bought that excuse for a minute?”

“No, of course not,” Atobe answered quickly, giving the answer Oshitari expected. “But I’ve never minded little acts, just for fun. If you’d done that, perhaps I could have played the part of the dutiful instructor, not the -”

Oshitari shook his head, watching as Atobe stopped talking abruptly when Oshitari slipped his hand over the top of his, on the desk.

“What are you talking about playing roles for?” Oshitari sighed. “Maybe you haven’t realised it yet, but you’re not as bad as you seem to think you are.”

“Not as...” Atobe swallowed. “What are you talking about?” he scowled haughtily. “And sit back down before you do something you’ll regret, Oshitari Yuushi.”

Full names now, Oshitari noted, not without a pang of hurt. At least Atobe wasn’t calling him by number yet. “I won’t regret it,” he assured Atobe. “I’m here because I want to be, after all. And you? You’re not walking away, are you. You can’t tell me that you haven’t been interested in me.”

Touching his fingers to Atobe’s cheek, he felt their noses brush together.

“You can’t tell me you didn’t secretly hope for something like this... Didn’t... fantasise at least once that you’d be able to touch me,” he murmured.

He felt Atobe’s hand tense under his, and felt the hard thumping of his heart as he lowered his hand from his cheek to his chest, pressing his hand, fingers splayed, against Atobe’s shirt.

“If you don’t want this, you can always step away,” he warned. He was so sure that Atobe wouldn’t dare, that he wouldn’t have the courage to step away now, now that Oshitari was up against him and Atobe had nowhere to move to, that when Atobe flinched, Oshitari blinked. And his heart jumped into this throat with a sick kind of nervousness.

“Do you know what you’re doing?” Atobe asked, his voice hard.

In his tone, Oshitari thought he heard regret, or perhaps hurt. But what was so hurtful about doing what they both wanted? What he wanted, and what Shishido wanted.

“I know what I’m doing,” he answered quickly, breathing against Atobe’s lips. “I’ve thought about it.”

“Oshitari,” Atobe suddenly breathed out, putting his hand across Oshitari’s mouth.

He turned his head away, frowning.

His eyes were glazed over, his thoughts not on Oshitari, and Oshitari let go of his hand in frustration, stepping back from him and crossing his arms.

“I...” Atobe closed his eyes, a look of tiredness crossing his face. “You are right that I... am attracted to you. Yes, I would like there to be something more between us but...”

“What are you saying?” Oshitari frowned. “That you think I’m going to go tattle on you the second you put your hands on me?” he accused, throwing his arm out. “You think I’m going to run off and claim the high and mighty ground and tell tales about you? Is that what you think of me?”

Atobe shot him a glare. “I never said that.”

His voice was low, his eyes fierce enough that they shocked Oshitari.

“Then why?” he muttered, after a second. “What’s the problem? I don’t understand.”

Atobe stepped towards him. “I’m demanding.”

“I know that,” Oshitari frowned. “What’s new?”

Atobe nearly smiled, but seemed to catch himself, hesitation once again on his face. “And I’ve been around longer than you have, Oshitari. You may want someone like me now, but what about one year from now? What about ten years from now? You’re so...”

He looked away, taking a few sudden steps until he was face to face with the bookshelf, stretching out an arm in front of him, hand pressed against the wood.

“You’re so... much like someone else I knew. Always going after what you wanted, so selfish... so self-centred and childish and never thinking of the consequences... Finding other people to blame them on... And yet...”

Oshitari waited.

“That’s what I thought when I first met you, but I’m not sure anymore if you are,” Atobe breathed out. “Can’t you understand what I’m saying? There’s more at stake here than just your position or my position or even what you have with Shishido.”

“You’re saying you think I’m in it for the short term,” Oshitari summed up, as painful as it was for him to say the words aloud.

“I’m saying that I’ve been there before, and it’s not pretty,” Atobe said coldly. “And that as fun as it’s been to talk with you like this, I’m not sure I have ever been ready to take any further step beyond that nor have I indicated that I would. I don’t need people who are going to jump ship the minute there’s so much as a petty leak. That’s what I’m saying to you.”

Oshitari pursed his lips, swallowed back the lump in his throat and stood to attention.

“If distance is what you want, then consider it done,” he muttered.

“Good night, Atobe.” And he raised his hand in a salute, before walking to the door and throwing it open.

+

Oshitari stared at the vehicle in front of them.

“And what’s the point of learning to drive one of these?” he grumbled, getting a sharp look from Shishido.

“Why are you complaining?” he frowned. “I thought you said you were looking forward to this.”

“To the motorcycles, yes,” Oshitari sighed, trying not to let so much of his grouchiness show through. “Not these...” he banged his hand against the side of the large van. “These... things.”

“What’s wrong with them?” Momo asked loudly, hands on hips. “Can’t you imagine chasing someone down in these? Hands up! Police behind you!”

“Idiot,” Kamio snorted. “If you were chasing someone in a car, why would you tell them to put their hands up? They’d just crash.”

Momo frowned. “I don’t know,” he huffed in exasperation. “I just like saying that.”

“What, ‘Hands up! Police!’?” Kaidou hissed. “You’re such a kid.”

“Am not!” Momo objected.

“There’s no point in arguing,” Shinji interrupted, and before he could continue, Ooishi stepped in.

“He’s right,” he frowned, worry on his face anyway, “We’re going to need to learn to drive these anyway, so we might as well take them seriously. It’s not going to help us later if we don’t.”

Oshitari turned up his nose and turned around, not in the mood for Ooishi’s lectures. Their instructor was late to the class, still standing near the edge of one of the buildings with Atobe, and as Oshitari watched, he realised that Atobe knew he was watching.

Dissatisfaction welling up within him, he turned back around again, unable to bear watching Atobe laughing. Why wasn’t he just as annoyed as he was?

“Honestly, this thing couldn’t chase anything down,” he pointed out to Shishido. “It looks about as useful as an elephant trying to catch a mouse.”

“Elephants don’t catch mice,” Shishido retorted. “Anyway, it’s not that bad,” he said, sounding secretly pleased about their lesson for the day.

“It’s a Merc, you know,” he added. “I’ve heard this model’s pretty easy to manoeuvre despite its looks. And we get to drive around circuits chasing after the instructor.”

Oshitari rubbed at his hair, irked. He really had no interest in having to drive around what amounted to a glamorised panel van, no matter what anyone else thought. If he had to drive a Merc, he’d prefer one of his father’s.

And even if he knew he was suddenly behaving childishly again, he justified it with the thought that it was Atobe seemed to expect of him anyway, so there was no point proving otherwise; he was so set in his thoughts that it didn’t matter.

+

But childishness, like anger, was an emotion that got boring after a while, and while Oshitari stewed over Atobe’s rejection, he thought perhaps he could see why.

He was, after all, just another kid who was admitted on a good interview, good exam results, and a good, clean background. But no part of him had ever truly wanted to be here in the beginning, and there was nothing so far that would indicate to Atobe that he would ever want to stay - with the career or with him. And what Atobe seemed to want was an indication that Oshitari wasn’t someone purely interested in a quick fling for extra excitement. That he wasn’t the kid who was admitted via the backdoor, and forced through it because his father had offered him no other alternatives and he hadn’t been smart or brave enough to create one for himself.

Or so he thought, anyway, if he tried to imagine things from Atobe’s point of view.

He knew he’d changed since he’d entered the academy. He just had to prove it. Atobe had said that he’d seen Oshitari first in the personal files, which meant he’d have known he was a funny case. It was perhaps why he’d let him think until now, that he wasn’t serious about his job or his position, or his responsibilities, when it was as far from the truth as he could get. Perhaps Atobe had thought he would respond best to that sort of an image.

Or perhaps he hadn’t done it for Oshitari at all. Perhaps he’d actually taken his re-assignment to the academy harder than he wanted to let on. Perhaps feigned nonchalance was the way he’d managed to cope with it.

Which meant that whatever incident... or person... had caused him to be sent out here had left him with more of a scar than he wanted to admit. And it worried Oshitari that inadvertently, he’d come to feel jealousy of, and dislike for someone he didn’t even know.

It worried him to think that his emotions were, not for the first time, getting the better of him.

+

Oshitari sighed a bit as Shishido hurried ahead of him along the path. They were walking behind the academy (though they still had to take the front gate out to walk through the trees to get to the roads behind), and he watched Shishido jump up onto the side of an old, half-crumbled bridge.

“Shishido,” he called out, hurrying his own steps.

“What?” Shishido asked, looking down at him, crinkles appearing as he frowned.

Oshitari shook his head, wondering if he’d looked worried for a moment there. “How old are you, seriously?”

Shishido smirked a little. “Older than you. What’re you going to do about it, tell me to act my age?”

“Are you older than I am?” Oshitari blinked, surprised.

Shishido looked a little wary for a moment. “I asked Ooishi if he knew. He said... your birthday was back in October.”

“And yours?” Oshitari asked.

“September. Same birth year,” Shishido clarified.

“I didn’t know,” Oshitari commented blankly. “But why would you ask Ooishi?”

Shishido looked straight ahead, placing one foot in front of the other, walking in a straight line with his arms out at his sides for balance.

For a second, he teetered when he moved too slowly, and Oshitari moved closer to the wall, squinting up into the sun at him.

“Don’t you think you’re too old for that?” he insisted.

“Not really,” Shishido snorted. “And... About Ooishi. I used to ask him things before I talked to you as much.”

Oshitari frowned. “You mean... When you used to talk with him downstairs at night.”

Shishido smirked. “And you used to stare holes in his head out of the window.”

Oshitari felt his face turning pink. “Well, I...” he retorted, but he really had nothing he could say back to Shishido. “I wasn’t staring holes in him. I was just wondering what you two were always doing.”

“Uh-huh,” Shishido rolled his eyes and continued on with his balancing act. “Because you’re really good at hiding what you’re thinking, Oshitari.”

Oshitari stopped walking, and Shishido stopped too, turning around carefully to face him.

“So what am I thinking now?” Oshitari asked.

Shishido smiled slowly, if not a little carefully. “If I’m right, are you going to be annoyed?” he asked.

“Why should I be?” Oshitari frowned, holding up his hand.

“Because you’ve been thinking about Atobe for a while now, but you don’t want to talk about it,” Shishido answered, and lowered himself to sit on the wall before taking Oshitari’s outstretched hand and jumping the rest of the way.

“I’m just annoyed,” Oshitari admitted. “But I’ll get over it,” he snorted. “I mean, it’s his loss if he doesn’t want to... get involved.”

“Mm.”

“And that means?” Oshitari prompted, as they started walking again.

“It means...” Shishido lowered his voice. “I know you’re annoyed, but... I know why he’s out here, instead of working at headquarters, and it wasn’t his fault. He took the fall for someone else and... That person just abandoned him.”

Oshitari frowned. “And? He’s going to play the victim for how long over it?”

“Oshitari,” Shishido snapped, surprising them both. He blinked, shaking his head. “Sorry.”

Shishido pushed his hands into his pockets, slouching his shoulders just a little.

“I think he just wanted more time, and you kind of pushed him too early... perhaps. Or maybe he still wouldn’t have been ready no matter when you asked him about it. Or maybe it’s you altogether,” he snorted. “You’re kind of...”

“Kind of?” Oshitari hesitated.

“I don’t know,” Shishido shrugged non-committed. “I think he’s used to being in charge, that’s all.”

Oshitari let out a sigh. “Well I can hardly change myself,” he mused. “And you don’t have a problem with me.”

Shishido rolled his eyes. “In case you’ve forgotten, Atobe and I are not the same person.”

“No, it never occurred to me that you could be,” Oshitari muttered. “I’m just...”

He sighed again, reaching out to grasp Shishido’s arm and hold him still. “You know what I mean, don’t you?” he asked. “It’s as though he wants us to do something first, but he keeps saying no and then... I don’t know. I just think he doesn’t even know what he’s doing himself.”

“Probably,” Shishido agreed, taking Oshitari by surprise. “But then shouldn’t we let him figure it out?” he suggested nonchalantly.

Behind them, there came the sound of footsteps, which rapidly seemed to come to a halt. Oshitari’s heart skipped a beat in his chest as he turned, his eyes coming to rest on a familiar figure. “Atobe,” he muttered.

“So how long were you going to follow us for,” Shishido asked, not sounding surprised at all.

“You knew?” Oshitari turned to face him, hand gripping his arm tighter.

Shishido pulled a face. “Well it would have taken someone very... lacking in observation skills not to notice. He’s been there about five minutes.”

Oshitari turned to face Atobe once again, crossing his arms. “So how much of our conversation did you hear?” he asked. “Because if you say you didn’t hear anything, I’m going to tell you to go take a hike.”

Atobe rolled his eyes slightly, stepping closer. “In the case you hadn’t realised, walking around here is awfully like taking a hike anyway. I’m not sure what you’re doing all the way out here, but it’s certainly not what I would call fun,” he half-complained.

“It’s quiet,” Oshitari retorted. Quiet meaning very few of their classmates, meaning... privacy. Something which was hard to come by otherwise.

Atobe looked away for a second, eyes seeming to scan their surroundings. “Yes, of course. I did use to come here once too... When I was a cadet here.”

Oshitari narrowed his eyes a little. “And? Feeling like talking today, are you?” he grouched.

Shishido put his hand to Oshitari’s arm firmly, and to Atobe, he held out a hand invitingly. “Since we’re out here already, walk with us.”

It wasn’t exactly a request, but Atobe didn’t seem to mind, taking a few long, brisk strides to stand at Shishido’s side. “I still take walks out here sometimes when I need to clear my head,” he commented, “but I didn’t know you two came out here as well. It’s not very practical for cadets since you have to walk all the way around and... Most cadets probably don’t want to spend their spare time doing yet more exercise.”

“There’s not much else to do,” Oshitari commented, not in the least bit inclined to be nice. He had wanted to talk to Atobe again, but having him turn up and surprise them like this, and behave as though... he could just pick up where they’d left off...

It was frustrating, to say the least, and Oshitari stewed about it as they walked in silence. But even silence became stale quickly when he could feel Shishido’s hand slipping down his arm to grasp his fingers, squeezing as though encouraging him to do something.

But in the end, it wasn’t Oshitari who broke the silence.

“I wanted to ask you something, Oshitari,” Atobe finally commented. His voice was quiet, and Oshitari felt prickles along his skin when he realised that perhaps Atobe meant he had finally decided one way or another. That perhaps he was done with his stupid teetering and fence-sitting and wavering and never jumping off either way.

“I just wanted to check if you were serious... about... me,” he clarified.

Oshitari let his annoyance show before he realised it. “And when did I ever say otherwise?” he countered.

“When did you ever say you were?” Atobe snapped back quickly. “Forgive me if I’d like a little assurance before I jump head-long into anything, but you can hardly blame me for being cautious. It’s a trait you could do with a little more of yourself.”

Oshitari pursed his lips. “I told you everything already. I’m not sure how repeating myself is going to make my points any clearer if you don’t understand them already.” Then he sucked in a breath, straightening up as he faced Atobe and put his hand on his shoulder. Their three sets of feet came to a halt on the path. “Unless you want a demonstration.”

For a split second, Atobe didn’t dare move, and neither did Oshitari. He was aware of Shishido’s fingers still gripped around his; sweaty and hot and nervous suddenly, even if Shishido didn’t move any closer or step away. He was aware of their breathing in the quiet, in the cool air that stung at his cheeks, wind rustling through the trees either side of them. He was aware of the tension in his body, and of the stiffness with which Atobe faced him.

He saw the flicker in his eyes before he saw him tilt his chin up; defiant yet again, Oshitari nearly thought. But instead of denying him the chance to do anything again, Atobe looked past him to Shishido momentarily, before turning his gaze back to Oshitari.

“So do it,” he demanded. “If you’re so serious, prove it to me. Kiss me. Now. Right here, Oshitari.”

Oshitari bit his tongue. Shishido squeezed his fingers again, this time moving closer to his back and wrapping his arm around his waist. ‘It’s okay’, he seemed to be saying, but Oshitari still faltered until Shishido whispered it in his ear - “Go on, Oshitari.” His voice was rough; anxious, Oshitari realised, as much as he was trying not to let on. But despite that, it was Shishido’s presence that finally gave him the courage to move; to break the stalemate that had been hanging in the air between them all this time.

Oshitari swallowed and tentatively closed his eyes, Atobe’s hard expression flickering in his mind as he leaned in and touched his lips to the other man’s. It was a fleeting touch, and he pulled away quickly, eyes immediately searching for some change in Atobe’s eyes, a look of understanding, or of recognition of some sort - something that acknowledged him.

For a second, neither of them said anything.

Then Shishido snorted loudly. “After all that time, and you call that a kiss?”

Oshitari whipped his head around to glare at him, almost something of a smile appearing on Shishido’s face. “Let’s see you do it then,” Oshitari huffed, flustered.

But they both knew it then - they were done with their games. They wanted Atobe, and as much as he’d protested, there was no denying the look on his face now. Any resistance he’d felt had gone, replaced with a look of hunger, of hope, of knowledge and recognition that he’d been denying himself what he wanted, and he was no longer going to. That he didn’t have to, because he could trust in Oshitari and Shishido and they trusted in him.

Shishido let go of Oshitari’s fingers quickly. “And just who was supposed to be doing the demonstrating?” he muttered, though the smile was still on his face as he spun Atobe to face him. Then he stepped forwards, and Atobe stepped back. Another step forwards, another back, and Atobe’s back was to a tree trunk before he knew it.

Oshitari watched, his feet moving towards the pair, following them, as he held his breath.

Shishido was slow at first, kissing the side of Atobe’s mouth lightly. Then he shifted, tilted his head and slipped his hand up behind Atobe’s head, and Oshitari watched as their lips connected fully, fitting against each other as though they’d been doing this forever. Shishido’s leg slipped in between Atobe’s, their groins pressed closer together, and their mouths began to move with more fervour as Shishido grunted and pressed up against Atobe impatiently.

Oshitari’s found his feet moving before he knew it, his hand reaching around Shishido’s shoulders, and as Shishido broke the kiss between him and Atobe, Oshitari felt Atobe’s hand on his face, pulling him in towards him, closer. His lips were hot and wet with Shishido’s saliva, his hand twisting itself into Oshitari’s shirt as Oshitari explored the inside of his mouth.

But as Oshitari felt Shishido’s hand against the back of his, directing it downwards, Oshitari’s palm rubbing against something hard and covered in cloth, there was a whimper and a protest from Atobe, hand pushing Oshitari away and breaking their kiss all too quickly.

“Atobe,” Oshitari heard Shishido murmur. “You’re not going back to the office like this, are you?”

Oshitari swallowed in anticipation, Shishido pressing his hand against Atobe’s groin again, moving their two hands together up and down over Atobe’s covered erection.

“You couldn’t possibly go back looking like such a mess,” Shishido continued, surprising Oshitari with his forwardness. But he certainly wasn’t complaining when he felt Shishido shift his hand, and heard the sound of Atobe’s zipper being undone.

“Let me,” Oshitari breathed out, looking Shishido in the eyes.

Shishido nodded, and kissed him briefly, before turning his attention back to Atobe, before he could protest again. And Oshitari knelt down carefully on the ground, Shishido keeping his legs to the side to leave room for him.

Oshitari undid Atobe’s belt buckle, undid the button on his trousers and slipped his hand inside, palming his erection through his jocks, licking his lips at the small spot of wetness he could see, leaning forwards to flick out his tongue across the dampness.

Atobe jerked, above him, and Shishido kept on kissing him, hands tugging his tie loose and unbuttoning his shirt. Oshitari watched them for a moment, appreciating the sight they made when Shishido kissed his way down Atobe’s neck, biting lightly at his throat. He nearly groaned himself, feeling the excitement in his groin, feeling his cock swelling, rubbing inside the confines of his underwear. But it wasn’t time to deal with himself - just yet anyway - and he nuzzled Atobe’s underwear, breathing in the scent of laundry detergent, and beneath that, the musky scent of sweat and arousal, of the fluid leaking from the tip of Atobe’s cock.

Oshitari grunted, shuffling closer, slipping his other hand under Atobe’s pants to push them down off his hips. Next came his underwear, and Oshitari pulled those down to the tops of his thighs, nudging Atobe’s balls with his fingers when he did, and getting a shiver in response.

But he wasn’t just about to look after Atobe and ignore Shishido completely, and he could hardly pass up the opportunity to savour both men together.

Hooking a hand around behind Shishido’s leg, he pulled him so that he shuffled closer, seemingly knowing what Oshitari wanted as he undid his belt buckle and then his fly. Oshitari slipped his clothes off the rest of the way. Shishido was already hard, pulsating in Oshitari’s hand as he used his mouth on Atobe and stroked Shishido in time, thumb flicking over Shishido’s cock head and rubbing his slit as he twirled and dipped his tongue into and around Atobe’s.

He moved slowly at first, but Shishido was insistent, demanding he move faster, and Atobe bucked his hips up into his mouth, his hot penis sliding wetly between Oshitari’s lips and over his tongue again and again.

“O-Oshitari...” Shishido panted, hand reaching down to rub the back of his head.

Oshitari barely gave a reply, taking Atobe as deep into his mouth as he could, relaxing his throat. He felt his hand slackening on Shishido, but a moment later, Shishido replaced it with his own, Oshitari aware of the sound of flesh slipping over wet flesh, even as he concentrated on Atobe.

Atobe’s hands were on the back of his head soon enough as well, grunts and moans coming from up above when Oshitari let his hands wander behind Atobe’s balls, pressing on the spot just between them and his hole, massaging gently.

Shishido was gasping under his breath, Oshtiari’s own breath catching in his state of arousal, so conscious of how close to orgasm Shishido was, and probably not far off himself. He let Atobe slip from his mouth temporarily, and lowered his hand to rub the front of his jeans, desperately undoing them and pushing his hand into his underwear, into the tightness and heat, and curling his fingers around his cock.

There was the sound of shuffling above him, and Atobe moved one of his hands from Oshitari’s hair, and when Oshitari glanced, he realised it was Atobe’s hand now working Shishido’s cock, slipping and sliding up and down along his hard length.

“Ah... Ah... Aaah... Faster, Atobe...” Shishido grunted.

Oshitari moaned, his own hips bucking into his hand as he tried to concentrate on Atobe, despite the distracting sight Shishido was currently making.

He flicked his tongue out and ran it down the vein along the underside of Atobe’s penis, before carefully taking one of his balls into his mouth, sucking gently.

Atobe’s response surprised him, shuddering under the touch. “A-Ah... Ah... I’m about to...” he panted. “Oshitari... I’m...”

Oshitari’s eyes flicked upwards in recognition of his name, seeing Atobe’s chest rising and falling quickly, his gasps an indication of just how close he was.

He released his lips and quickly took Atobe’s cock into his mouth again, fingers fondling his balls until he felt Atobe jerk, his hips bucking up as he let out gasping breaths, legs trembling with the force of his climax. Oshitari tasted bitterness in his mouth, shots of semen hitting the back of his throat and, as Atobe panted, swallowing and trying to regain his breath, Oshitari finished sucking on his cock head gently, tongue tasting and cleaning his come from it.

He lifted his lips off Atobe carefully, feeling his organ beginning to soften between his fingers.

Both he and Shishido came quickly after that, Atobe dragging Oshitari to stand up, even though he ended up leaning heavily, thrusting into Atobe’s hand as Shishido kissed them both.

After Shishido had guiltily buttoned Atobe’s shirt back up and straightened his tie, there was a moment of awkwardness, before Atobe coughed a little bit.

“I’d recommend washing those jeans soon, Oshitari,” he said stiffly, looking almost embarrassed about what had just happened.

“Talking from experience, are you?” Oshitari asked, arching an eyebrow smugly. He began stepping backwards, walking along the path in reverse, heading back to where they’d come from.

Shishido and Atobe followed, walking side by side.

“Well, indirect experience, yes,” Atobe admitted after a pause. “I must say, I think I’ve had more than my share of exercise for the day. My legs are too tired for walking.”

Oshitari snorted. “You didn’t do anything,” he retorted, making Atobe laugh. “Save your complaining for later, after the real workout. That was just the warm up.”

“I need to wash my shirt though,” Shishido muttered, a little concerned.

“I can’t believe you’re both thinking about washing already,” Oshitari complained to them both. “You’d have thought after all that, you could come up with something a little bit more romantic.”

“I’m not a romanticist,” Atobe smiled slightly.

“What he said,” Shishido snorted, making Oshitari roll his eyes.

“Why do I have all the bad luck?” Oshitari grumbled. “You don’t want to try, at least? Just a simple little -”

Shishido ignored him, rolling his eyes and then grinning as he rushed past him to jump up onto the bridge.

This time, when he reached the end, he had two hands held out to him when he jumped down, and he took them both.

+

Shishido staggered a little after he climbed off the motorcycle for the first time, their instructor laughing a bit from where he still sat at the back of the seat.

“Takes some getting used to, doesn’t it?” he joked. “A bit like riding a horse or something.”

Shishido cringed, and Oshitari smirked, approaching them with Kamio.

“You’re up next,” the guy nodded to Kamio, and Oshitari grasped Shishido’s hand briefly, tugging him off as Kamio yelped, pulled down onto the machine suddenly.

“It kind of... hurts like a bitch,” Shishido moaned, once they were around the corner of the building and nearly back at the normal courtyard.

“You’re just using muscles you’re not used to,” Oshitari pointed out. “Nothing that you won’t get used to.”

Shishido rubbed absentmindedly at the inside of his leg, stopping walking and leaning next to the wall. “But it still hurts now,” he groaned. “I think I prefer the vans... somehow.”

“I can’t quite agree with you,” Oshitari sighed. “At least on a motorcycle, there’s some sense of excitement. How can anyone get excited about driving a truck?”

Shishido rolled his eyes a little, still rubbing at his legs, as a wicked little idea occurred in Oshitari’s head.

“Hmmm?” he leaned up next to Shishido. “Well if you’re so worried about it, do you want to take another ride?” he offered.

“What sort?” Shishido frowned. “More motorcycles?”

“Not that sort,” Oshitari corrected. “One you don’t need any seats for,” he smirked, reaching around to squeeze Shishido’s arse.

Shishido yelped a little, but let Oshitari rub his hands over him anyway, letting his own hands wander down to Oshitari’s hips to pull their crotches together.

“But here isn’t a good place for it,” he frowned. “We should at least go back to the room... don’t you think?”

“No time,” Oshitari responded. “We have another class in twenty minutes, remember?”

There was a brisk tap on the window next to them, making them both jump, Oshitari in fright and Shishido in guilt.

Beside them, Atobe opened his window and leaned out of it. “I would ask if you were doing this right in front of me for kicks, but I suspect you’re doing it out of stupidity,” he commented, before giving Oshitari something of a dirty look.

“Just for the record, your next class instructor isn’t going to appreciate your turning up to his class completely exhausted, having just screwed like bunnies in the public courtyard. And get your hands off each other before someone else sees, for goodness sakes,” he half-moaned. “Are you two impossible?”

Oshitari looked around them - no one was in sight, but Atobe did have a point. He’d been completely careless.

“Well,” he quipped. “You know, you do happen to have an office, and you do happen to be in it. If you wanted, you could invite us in and we could screw like bunnies on top of your comfortable sofa, which, I might add, we still haven’t tested out.”

“Oshitari,” Atobe snapped. “Are you stupid? You need to concentrate. You only have another week until your final tactics exams start.”

Oshitari frowned, a little disconcerted. “So? Cut us some slack since we’ve been working so hard,” he suggested.

“That’s exactly why I won’t be cutting you any slack,” Atobe retorted. “You’ve worked hard. Now don’t forget it and become lax.”

+

The lecture hall swapped for the tactics training complex, Atobe stood in the centre of their class, arms crossed over his chest as he dictated the situation they were to act out. Around them, building fronts glowed with signs for non-existent companies, and the occasional door led to an inside set up, cameras aimed at every stairway, corner, nook and cranny, street and space.

They all knew their actions were being monitored; it was part of the feedback and learning process. It was part of their assessment.

Oshitari was aware he was zoning out of Atobe’s monologue a long time before he was actually caught.

“Cadet!” Atobe snapped suddenly, startling the men either side of him. “You’re looking awfully sleepy for someone on duty right now. Can you repeat for me the last five sentences I’ve said?”

“No,” Oshitari answered instantly. No point even trying to lie.

Atobe’s eyes narrowed at him. “Pay close attention, was what I said at the beginning of this lesson,” but he said nothing further to Oshitari then, turning his eyes to the other members of the group. “Be especially careful of staircases or alleyways; anywhere there’s a dead end or where any possible subject of a chase is going to feel cornered. This isn’t just about geography; this is also psychology. You need to anticipate how someone is going to react in particular situations. You need to have a feel for situations so that you know how best to go about dealing with them.”

He let out a slight sigh. “You will not always know your territory. Sometimes you might be able to take instructions, other times you may have no opportunity at all, and you’ll have to be thinking on your feet. You may think you have the advantage, but you do not. You must, at all times, be aware of members of the public around you; be defensive, not aggressive, but don’t hesitate in using your weapons if you have reason enough to believe the suspect is armed and threatening the direct safety of civilians. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

He turned. “17771?”

Oshitari nodded. “I heard.”

“I asked if you understood,” Atobe corrected.

“I understand,” Oshitari gritted out.

“Good,” Atobe nodded. “Cadets, to your positions. Keep in mind that you are to imagine a situation where there is a hostage inside the building. You do not know the condition of the hostage and the gunman has a known tendency towards violence. You are not to make any rash moves.”

Oshitari shook his head to himself and jogged after his classmates, ready for the pretend stakeout, as it were.

Glancing back at Atobe, he noticed him looking in the opposite direction, a dark mark visible just above his collar for a second.

He smirked to himself, feeling slightly better. Honestly, Atobe scolded like no-one’s business, but he was deceptively compliant when in front of him and Shishido, if not a little bit demanding for attention.

The hostage declared dead and the gunman having killed two officers during their fumbled, mistake-riddled ordeal, the stakeout exercise was declared a failure and Atobe had them all running laps to ‘think about their stupidity’ and how it had cost three lives without even accomplishing its purpose.

Oshitari couldn’t quite take it all seriously, but he couldn’t deny that there was a rush of adrenalin when things did go correctly. At any rate, it was the first terrible screw-up they’d had when they’d been under such scrutiny, and he expected their exam would go better.

It had to, anyway.

Continue to Part IV~