Chapter Text
Patience is a quality that, as far as Inukai is concerned, is only necessary when he’s using his Trigger.
Case in point: How Inukai gets himself chosen for Ninomiya Squad.
“I’ve heard Azuma Squad is splitting up and you’re becoming a captain,” Inukai says to Ninomiya in the cafeteria, in front of everyone. It’s one of the first times he’s ever spoken to Ninomiya. “I saw you watching us B-rankers train yesterday. Just so you know, you should pick me.”
“And why should I do that?” Ninomiya says, his expression not changing at all.
“You need me on the team,” Inukai claims with a smile. “I can figure things out on my own, but I'll always listen to you. And I work well with Tsuji—I saw you talking to him yesterday, and I bet he’s your first pick. You're recruiting Hatohara too, right?"
That gets a reaction of surprise, even if Ninomiya is still saying nothing. Inukai knew that mentioning Inukai and Hatohara would get his attention. He’s familiar with Tsuji from Solo Battles, less familiar with Hatohara, but he relishes the chance to work with both of them. (He’s unsure of the Operator that Ninomiya will contact.)
Since Ninomiya isn’t stopping him, Inukai keeps talking. "Also, I'm not in high demand. The other squads that are recruiting right now? My talent doesn’t fit in with them. There’s no place on their teams for a Gunner with my support style. You're my first and only choice. I basically don't even know the word no."
Ninomiya narrows his eyes. "Tch. The fact that no one else wants you is supposed to convince me?”
Inukai tilts his head back so he can look Ninomiya right in the eyes. “Yeah, I think so.”
Ninomiya looks away first, so transparent that Inukai almost laughs. After a moment, Ninomiya turns and starts walking away.
“I’ll think about it,” Ninomiya says insouciantly, flapping a hand at Inukai as a goodbye.
Inukai grins. He knows for sure that he’s won his place on the squad.
One week after Ninomiya Squad holds its first practice, Inukai goes to Tsuji’s house for the first time to help him study. The two of them slip their shoes off at the door and Tsuji announces that he’s home, to no response, before leading Inukai upstairs to his room.
Inukai takes in Tsuji’s room at a glance. Jurassic Park posters cover the wall above Tsuji’s bed, which is messily made. Inukai notices half-folded, fashionable clothes sitting on the bed, a few socks on the ground, and open textbooks and scattered notes littering Tsuji’s wooden desk.
“I didn’t peg you for being messy,” Inukai says, scratching his head.
“This isn’t messy, it’s actually clean right now,” Tsuji replies with a reproachful look. “I cleaned because you were coming over.”
Inukai makes an exaggeratedly shocked face. “For me? Tsuji-chan, you shouldn’t have.” He doesn’t know what to make of the strange look that appears on Tsuji’s face. “So what test is it you’re studying for again?”
“Japanese. Mid-year exams.” Tsuji sits down at his desk and pulls over a chair for Inukai.
Inukai slides in, kicking one of the socks on the floor. His legs are cramped at the desk, which is barely large enough for two people to sit at. They’re sitting so close that he can feel the heat from Tsuji’s body. “Okay, I remember that one from last year. What do you have questions about?”
Tsuji moves around the textbooks on his desk until he finds the passages he wants to review.
After an hour or so, Inukai stretches his arms to the ceiling, leaning back and tilting the chair onto only two legs. “You pretty much know all the material. I don’t think you need more review, so we’re probably done here.” As he leans back, he notices that they have an audience of two guys in the doorway. Inukai has seen one of them around school before, but he doesn’t recognize the other. Either way, they’re obviously Tsuji’s brothers.
“Go away,” Tsuji says to them.
His brothers enter the room; they’re both around Tsuji’s height. One of them asks, “Shinnosuke, who’s your friend?”
Tsuji sighs and introduces Inukai by name only. Inukai stands up, smiles, and offers a more proper introduction.
“Stay for dinner,” the other brother says to Inukai quietly.
Tsuji looks at Inukai with resignation. “You really don’t have to--”
“Of course I’ll stay,” Inukai says, putting a hand on his shoulder. He’s looking forward to getting to know Tsuji even better, messy socks and all.
When Ninomiya Squad makes it to A-rank, the five of them celebrate by going out to barbeque.
“The look on Miwa’s face when you shot his gun out of his hands,” Inukai laughs, picking up a piece of juicy meat between his chopsticks.
“The same way you looked when Narasaka got your arm?” Hatohara says to him with a gleam in her eye.
Inukai shrugs and acknowledges his failing. “If it hadn’t been for Tsuji-chan, he would have gotten more than just my arm.”
Tsuji nods. Inukai’s respect for Tsuji’s support style grows every time they fight together; Tsuji always seems to appear out of nowhere exactly when Inukai needs him.
Ninomiya sips his ginger ale, ice clinking in his glass. He looks up from his plate, and says, "Good work."
“Good enough to treat us to this meal?” Hiyami asks without much expression.
Ninomiya shakes his head, looking like he’s trying not to roll his eyes.
"I'll treat you, Hyami-san," Tsuji says quietly.
Inukai glances across the table at Tsuji and experiences an odd flash of annoyance, which he masks with a smile. “Then Hatohara, I'm treating you."
“Don’t you dare!” Hatohara says, pushing her plate away.
“No one is treating anyone," Ninomiya says. "But… I’ll treat you all after we come back from our first away mission."
"I bet that's not too far away," Inukai boasts, and he sees Tsuji smile. Inukai then tries to start a group cheer, but only Hatohara joins in.
Ninomiya Squad does not go on an away mission. Instead, Hatohara disappears, and the rest of them are demoted from A-rank to B-rank, no matter how much Inukai curses about Commander Kido to anyone else who will listen.
After their first rank war as a demoted B-rank squad, Inukai can't wait to congratulate Tsuji when the round finishes with all three Ninomiya Squad combatants alive.
“Hey, Tsuji-chan! You saved me back there,” Inukai says, grinning. He thinks back to the most pivotal moment of the battle.
While facing Suwa and Sasamori in the forest stage, Inukai believed with total faith that Tsuji was coming. It wasn’t something that was communicated to him either by Hiyami or Ninomiya; Inukai just knew. When Tsuji smashed into the tight little clearing with Kogetsu, oak trees falling at his feet, Inukai didn’t even need to look around to know who it was or what he’d come for.
In battle, Inukai has all the patience in the world.
In the present day, Tsuji just looks at him. “I'll always come to save you, Inukai-senpai.”
Inukai feels his stomach swoop like he’s on a rollercoaster beginning its descent. He ignores that bodily response. There’s no reason to be nervous around Tsuji, who he’s known for over a year now. “What a strong promise,” Inukai teases him. “You better deliver on that.”
On the rooftop of their high school, Tsuji asks Inukai for help during lunch period. Lunch is when their schedule overlaps for half an hour.
Sitting cross-legged on the ground, Inukai looks up from his studying and closes his math textbook. “What’s up?” As usual, it’s weird to see Tsuji not wearing a crisp suit and tie, but he still makes an absurdly handsome image in their school uniform, almost like an advertisement. Tsuji’s uniform fits better than Inukai’s does—it must be the measly extra centimeters that Tsuji has on him.
Tsuji sighs. “I'm having a problem.”
“Yeah, and what is it?” Inukai says, a little impatiently. He definitely didn’t study enough for this exam.
Kneeling, Tsuji spreads out four paper cards on the ground in front of Inukai. Each card is littered with obvious heart symbols, and the handwriting indicates different authors. “I've started receiving love confessions.”
Inukai smiles with a strange feeling in his stomach. He’s known Tsuji for a while now, so he’s surprised it took this long to hear about something like this. “Of course you are. You're too cute, who could resist you?”
Tsuji looks away, the way he usually only does when a girl is around.
Inukai tries to laugh, the way he normally does when a girl is around. “Just kidding. I mean... what's the problem then? At least they know you well enough to not do it in-person.”
“I haven't responded to any of them. I don’t know how to respond.”
Inukai blinks. “Do you wanna respond?”
Tsuji thinks about it for a moment before shaking his head.
The strange feeling in Inukai’s stomach settles down. He opens his textbook and starts studying again. Crap, his time is really running out before the exam. Inukai smirks. “You sound like you've got it covered as usual.”
In a training room, Inukai fires into the targets set up on either side of Tsuji’s body, bullets flying straight and true to their mark every time. Not one of them hits Tsuji, who takes his time fixing his hair while Inukai reloads. (Personally, Inukai thinks that Tsuji’s hair doesn’t need fixing.)
“Make the targets smaller,” Tsuji says.
Inukai glances up from his reload. “Huh?”
“You did the same thing last week, with the targets exactly this size. I think you can make it more difficult.”
“It’s not like I’m a sniper, but…. okaaaay,” Inukai says, suddenly self-conscious. He slaps a hand against the back of his neck, yielding to Tsuji’s experience. “If you say so. Hyami-san, can you please—”
“Already got it,” Hiyami says in his ear.
“You’re the best,” Inukai reminds her.
Tsuji lines up between the targets again, sticking his hands casually into his trouser pockets, his chest tall and proud. Inukai squints one eye closed, focusing his attention. The targets are a little more intimidating at this size.
Inukai takes a deep breath and releases a barrage of bullets. He holds his breath as he smiles this time.
All of his bullets find their mark, or rather, almost all of them. One bullet flies off in an unexpected direction, but away from Tsuji rather than towards him.
Tsuji nods, acknowledging him. Inukai feels his chest swell with pride.
“This is why we’re a team,” Inukai says, setting down his gun. “You and me.”
Tsuji walks towards him with grace, looking like a model on a catwalk, and Inukai can feel his heart beating faster. It seems to take Tsuji ages to reach his side, and once he’s there, Inukai watches his unflappable teammate take a casual, but posed stance. Inukai always forgets that Tsuji is just a little taller than him, despite Inukai being a year older. Inukai briefly considers modifying his own Trion body to be a few centimeters taller before his thoughts are interrupted.
“Why did you choose gunning?” Tsuji says. “I’ve never asked. You’d be suited to an Attacker or a Shooter, as well. Though I can’t say I see you as a Sniper, not with your patience...”
“I am patient!” Inukai knowingly lies with a smile. “I guess it’s because when I enlisted, basically no one wanted to be a Gunner. At least in my enlistment group, y’know? I don’t mind doing the things that no one else wants to do. Plus I thought it looked awesome.” Inukai makes a finger-gun with his free hand and mimes shooting it at Tsuji’s heart. “Pow!”
Tsuji places his hand over the left breast-pocket of his suit, right where Inukai shot him. His cool, handsome face looks like he’s about to smile, but he doesn’t. “Next time, move the targets back five feet.”
Inukai smiles twice as much to cover both of them. “Thank you, Tsuji-chan.”
“I would like to go on a date with you,” Tsuji says, staring mostly at the floor.
Inukai scratches his head. “Not bad. But you gotta have more, like, conviction, or something if you’re trying to confess your feelings to someone.” Inukai honestly can’t believe he’s trying to help Tsuji practice his own love confession to someone—Tsuji won’t tell him who, but Inukai has his suspicions that it’s someone at Border. Inukai’s stomach hurts just thinking about it.
Tsuji looks at him warily. “I am always full of conviction.”
“Not really what I meant.”
Tsuji sighs. “I don’t like this.”
“Try it again,” Inukai says. “For practice.”
Tsuji tilts his head back and looks at the ceiling. “Ugh. How would you do it?”
“Right, I forgot you definitely need to learn from a pro like me. Just watch and learn,” Inukai says, then he takes a deep breath. “Hey, babe, I’m perfectly crazy about you. I’ve been thinking about you day and night like I just can’t sleep. You’re cute and beautiful and I’m totally not worthy of your love. But you know, I’m a former A-Rank agent, current B-Rank Number 1 and it comes with some perks that I wanna share with a special someone, who is you. How about let’s go out sometime?”
There is a long moment of silence. Inukai watches Tsuji hide his mouth behind his hand, almost as if he is violently suppressing something. Tsuji eventually removes his hand and says, “I disliked every moment of that. This was a mistake.”
Inukai rolls his eyes. “Hang on, wait, let’s keep trying. What about—Imagine the person that you like sitting in front of you.” As he looks at Tsuji, Inukai ignores the way his own throat tries to close up, scratching out his final words like a needle on a broken record.
Suddenly, Tsuji can’t meet his eyes anymore.
Inukai waits patiently, because it’s Tsuji.
Tsuji suddenly meets his eyes. “I like you,” he says. “I don’t like many people, but I like you. Will you go out with me?” Tsuji’s gaze is powerful and sincere, and his soft lips, slightly parted by the end of his question, look like pale ribbons ready to be untied.
Inukai swallows hard and realizes the sinking feeling in his stomach has ascended to his chest. He looks at Tsuji’s eyes, his slim lips, his smooth cheeks. He feels his own heart thumping, and it hits him what he’s been ignoring for months now:
He wants to be the one receiving Tsuji’s actual confession. He wants to savor Tsuji’s shyly confessed feelings and accept them with a genuine smile.
Tsuji looks at Inukai like he’s waiting for something: Praise. Ridicule. Constructive criticism.
Inukai thinks that Tsuji was right. This was a mistake.
For once, Inukai has no idea what to say next.