Chapter Text
Takeru Sasazuka was just about at his limit.
“For the last time, the answer is no.” He snapped. The people here really were testing him. Shinjuku Police Academy seemed to have every kind of idiot in stock.
Like this one. Takeru scowled. Her name was Hoshino Something, not that it mattered. He had a vague recollection of the Field Training Officer introducing her middle of the year. He remembered making quick note of her- mousy, nervous, probably dumber than a brick- and like all unimportant things, discarded the rest.
Takeru did not look at people twice. Not boring people. And especially not stupid people.
So why was she making him look now?
“U-um, neither of us have partners for the Field Operations assignment.” Hoshino Something visibly steeled herself. “We only have three months, and no one-”
She closed her mouth abruptly.
Takeru almost laughed. No one wants to work with you. It was easy to know what people thought of him. Rude. Abrasive. Foreigner. The list was so long it could be indexed.
“-No one wants to work with me.” She finished quietly.
Now that she mentioned it, it was obvious to see that everyone in the room had given them a wide berth. At twenty-two years old with his type of personality he was used to it- but that they were eyeing her as well like something contagious- well, that was just downright interesting, wasn’t it?
Or it would be if he cared. Takeru Sasazuka wasn’t in the business of caring.
“Sounds tragic.” He deadpanned; eyes trained firmly on his screen. What would it take for the Forensics Department to improve their security? The only way he wouldn’t be able to break through it is if he were blind. With one hand tied behind his back. And forgot three coding languages. “I don’t want to work with you either, I’ve got better things to do then-”
“I’m a hardworker-”
Takeru scoffed- he felt a few sympathetic stares directed their way and something that sounded like the muffled whisper of “asshole”.
“Hardworker? Sounds like you don't have any talent. You should give me some incentive at least.” Takeru glanced at his watch. “You have five seconds to convince me.”
She stared at him like he had grown three heads.
“Not failing the exam isn’t incentive enough?”
“Nope. Three seconds.”
“I’ll do all the work. You don’t have to-”
“Like I’ll need your help.” Takeru scoffed. “One second, I’m bored-”
Grey eyes flashed like the glint of steel under loose soil, and for a second he was almost interested-
“I’m a crack shot.”
A crack shot.
Ah. Of course.
Irritation washed over him, sudden and sharp. Takeru rose from his chair, snapping his laptop shut.
“We’re done here. I’d rather fail than work with you.” He snapped viciously, ignoring her surprise at the sudden hostility as he stood up.
“Wait-!” He felt a tugging on his sleeve. Takeru turned and scowled down at her. She flinched but didn’t let go. “What did I do wrong?”
It was past lunchtime and the other trainees had already filtered out of the room, leaving the two of them alone. Takeru told himself he was only telling her this because she seemed so unbelievably thick.
“Here’s a free piece of advice, do you know why the Field Ops practical is our final assessment?”
“I-”
“It’s a test of trust between partners, to show that we’re able to work with any partner assigned to us in the field if needed.” Takeru slung his bag over his shoulder as he made his way to the door. He turned one last time to see her-
“The reason I don't want to be your partner is because I could never trust someone like you.”
He didn’t look back.
xxx
- Rock Candy -
sour then sweet
oh baby, you're gonna be
the death of me
xxx
Minegishi came over that night.
Takeru took him in- his suit had a crease right under his lapel and he had a single stray hair falling out of its gelled slick.
In other words, Minegishi was a mess.
Takeru took one look at him and let him inside wordlessly.
“You look like shit.” He greeted.
“Shut it, midget.”
“Bad language Sergeant,” Ooh, he was really pissed. Takeru snickered. “Sakuragawa give you a hard time?”
Said sergeant shot him a look filled with exhausted hatred before collapsing on the shitty couch that lay in the middle of his living room. It was the only reply he needed.
“I told her I was sorry- I just needed her to hear me out after everything. I reserved a place at that fancy yakiniku she likes so damn much. She flipped me off for shopping with Mukai. She doesn’t even like shopping.” Seiji looked up at him, his face gaunt with remorse. “Do you know how much the reservation fee was? Fifty thousand yen.”
“Should have thought of that last week before you told her you didn’t even see her as a woman.” Takeru said drily.
Minegishi only put his head in his hands.
As hilarious as it was to see straight-laced Minegishi break down into a pathetic mess- over Sakuragawa of all people- it was clear he wasn’t planning on indulging Takeru any further. They went through the usual rituals- Mario Kart (Takeru made sure to only let his friend win just enough to keep him playing), heated squabbling, and a medically concerning amount of junk food.
But then Minegishi set down his controller somewhere around the fourth game, and Takeru knew he was going to say what he had really come here for.
“How are you finding the Academy?” Minegishi tried sound casual about it, but Takeru knew bullshit when he heard it.
“Cut the crap, Minegishi. I’m only here because of what you promised. You know I have zero interest in the academy training garbage.” Takeru drawled as swerved off the road. His character on the screen made a sad trumpet noise and died.
“And that promise only works when you uphold your end of the deal, which is looking unlikely when you’re terrorising every student in the building and turning your assignments in half assed.” Minegishi sighed. “I can’t cover you forever.”
Takeru glared at him.
“One year in the academy. One year in Cyber Security, and then I’m fuckin’ outta here. That was the deal. You don’t get to tell me to like it.”
“Sasazuka Takeru I am your superior-”
“-pain in the ass.” Takeru finished. “I might take longer, dig dirtier, but I don’t need your end of the bargain. You scouted me. Your precious police force wants me. So take my offer, or beat it.”
There was a beat of silence when Takeru thought he would finally let it drop, before Minegishi turned that cool, assessing gaze upon him- and Takeru remembered who he was talking to. Sergeant Minegishi who was the sharpest tack in his graduating class, could discern between a second degree burn and a first or how many bullets were in a gun just by it's weight.
“You have a Field Operations Evaluation at the end of the year."
Trust Minegishi to say something but mean another. Takeru rolled his eyes.
“I think I’ve made it plenty clear that I’m never touching fieldwork.”
Minegishi's controller lay forgotten by his side. The blue light from the TV did strange things to the lines of his face, making him look sharper. Harder.
“Sometimes I don’t remember why I brought you to the Academy at all.”
Takeru smiled with all teeth.
“Because you know I’m a genius.”
“You’re a nuisance, that’s what you are.” Minegishi grumbled as he fumbled with a chips packet. “Also, your turn to pick a course, and I’m not doing rainbow road again.”
Takeru picked up the controller and flashed him his best shit-eating grin.
xxx
Here's the thing:
Takeru has long since figured out he didn't have the most pleasant personality.
So when walked away from Hoshino Something, he thought that would be the end of that. Most people didn’t come back after he had given them a tongue-lashing as bad as that one, and those that did usually only came to pick a fight with him.
It should have been the end of it.
It wasn’t.
xxx
Monday was Flowers. Tuesday was a handwritten letter. Wednesday was various offers of homemade food. She might be denser than a brick, but she had guts, he’d give her that.
He was allergic to pollen. He tossed the letter in the trash immediately before her and the offer of food was just…no.
He also found out her name was Ichika, which he immediately regretted as it was as dull as she was.
“What’s wrong with you? Do you have a thing for me or something?” he snarled at her, but she only kept her chin up and shot back. “If I say yes, will you work with me?” to which he almost- almost doubled over coughing.
On Thursday, donuts appeared on his desk.
Cinnamon flavoured too- goddamn it, he loved cinnamon. What he didn’t love however, was the puppy eyes she was giving him across his desk. His desk only had room for three things: Takeru, his laptop, and whatever garbage he felt like calling food that day.
“I heard you like donuts.” She beamed.
Takeru wanted to strangle her.
“Really now.” He tried to play if off as nonchalant, but it was hard when his hand was itching to reach across the table and snag the paper bag. She must have followed his train of gaze because she gave a decidedly uncharacteristic little smirk.
“Partners, and you can have the bag.”
“Keep the whole fucken’ store for all I care.” He growled back. “Leave me alone, idiot. I’ve got actually important things to do on my laptop.”
“What are you even doing on that?”
Takeru raised a brow.
“Porn.”
Hoshino’s face instantly went up in flames. Takeru gave a self-satisfied smirk, glad that he had found some way to beat her off-
“Liar.” She said in a slightly strangled voice. Impressive, given that she looked like she wanted to bury herself in a hole and die. “You hesitated before answering, you’re just trying to scare me away.”
“I’m serious,” Takeru’s grin widened. “It’s full of nasty, filthy things that shouldn’t be seen by a nice girl like y-”
“I can see the reflection of your screen in the window.”
Takeru’s eyes widened. To his credit, he didn’t immediately whip around to check, but he didn’t need to. He knew sat in the back of the classroom where his back faced the ceiling to floor window.
Meaning she could see his screen was currently displaying the entire email exchange between Senior Commissioner Takaeda and his mistress, along with four other tabs open with equally illicit blackmail content.
Hoshino stared.
Takeru stared back.
“Fine.” Takeru gave in. “I hack security systems for fun, okay?”
“Oh.” Hoshino gave him a thoughtful look. “Are you…good at it?”
Takeru flushed. It’s been a long time since anyone asked him that. Most people just knew. The question made him feel like a little boy again, prompted to show off his skills for the adults.
“Better than you’ll ever imagine.” He snapped. “So leave.”
Instead, she pushed forward the paper bag onto his desk. The smell of butter, sugar and cinnamon filled the air tantalisingly.
“You can have them.” She said cheerfully.
Takeru tore his eyes away from the donuts and scowled.
“You think just giving me donuts is enough to make me want you as my partner?”
“No.” Hoshino rose from his desk. “It’s for telling me more about yourself.” Before she left, she gave him a faint smile.
“If it gets you to trust me Sasazuka-san, then donuts are a fair trade.”
Takeru gritted his teeth. It felt like he had somehow lost a game he didn’t even know he was playing. He snapped after her, angry enough for whole class to hear-
“Not even if you baked me a birthday cake, idiot.”
-but she was already gone.