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1. Kogure
Akio had been minding his own business. He really had been. Practice had been hard that day, which he probably should have expected given Edgar's little show at the party the night before. After the coach's indirect torture, everyone was either resting or hanging out doing some stuff Akio wasn't really interested in. All he wanted to do was get some sleep and then practice some more in the evening.
Of course, he was Fudou Akio and the universe pretty much hated him. He'd forgotten that until the team's midget nearly barreled into him while screaming at the top of his lungs.
Running and shouting in the lodge. That was already two of the coach's rules broken. Akio made a mental note to keep a close eye on Kogure. Coach Kudou telling people off with his glare alone was always entertaining.
Fortunately, Kogure managed to stop mere inches away from Akio, so he didn't actually run into him. "Fudou-san?"
There was no trace of the usual trepidation that everyone had when interacting with Akio, only mild surprise. Akio wasn't really sure if that was a good thing or not. Not having accusatory looks thrown at him whenever he so much as breathed was a relief — though he wouldn't be caught dead admitting that out loud. Still, Akio was not out to be friends with these idiots, no matter how much Endou and the rest tried.
Kidou, at least, had kept his reservations even after the shitshow that had been the final match of the preliminary tournament. Clearly, he was the smart one on the team.
For a while, Kogure just stared at him. Akio could practically see the gears turning in his head and scowled when the midget perked up.
"I don't care what you want," Akio said. "I'm not doing it."
Distantly, Akio heard Someoka shout.
Kogure must have heard it too, if the panicked look he threw over his shoulder was any indication. "Come on, please. I'll owe you one."
Akio looked at him from head to toe. He really had no time for Kogure or his antics, but having Kogure in his debt might end up being useful.
Kogure attempted to make his face look as pitiful as possible. He widened his orange eyes (not that he needed to with how big they were already) and—
God, were those tears?
Kogure was good at acting at least, though Akio probably should have guessed as much with his history as a troublemaker.
He sighed and made sure to make it sound as weary as possible. "Fine. But I will collect one day."
Kogure's face lit up, fake tears gone as soon as they had come. '"Yeah, yeah. Just tell him I went the other way or something."
Akio rolled his eyes, watching him run off and enter a nearby closet. The corners of his mouth twitched up.
Idiot.
A few seconds later, Someoka was the one to nearly barrel into him next, and this time, Akio had to step aside lest he get bulldozed by the hothead.
"Where is he?!" Someoka said as a greeting. With the way he was soaked from head to toe, it wasn't hard to see what had him so upset. Knowing Kogure's usual methods of attack, he had probably stuck a bucket on the door again.
So naturally, Akio laughed, his grin widening at Someoka's glower. "Seriously? You fell for that?"
"Shut up!" Someoka said, jabbing a finger towards Akio. "It's not like I expected to get attacked in my own room! Now where the hell is he?!"
Akio shrugged carelessly, the grin still etched on his face. "How should I know?"
Someoka's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "He came this way."
Akio rolled his eyes. "He's, like, three inches tall. Pretty easy to miss."
Someoka just started for a moment, and Akio did his best to keep his expression as casual as possible. They stayed like that for a moment, until Akio had had enough of that.
He scoffed and turned to leave. "This is a waste of my time."
Apparently, that of all things satisfied Someoka. He turned and ran in the direction opposite from Kogure, yelling at the twerp at the top of his lungs.
Idiot.
Akio watched him leave, something warm bubbling within him. He immediately squashed the feeling. These people were an annoyance he had no choice but to deal with. Nothing more, nothing less.
2. Tsunami
Akio started, completely dumbfounded at the suggestion. "You want me to do what?"
Tsunami grinned back, undeterred. "Come on, man. You need to loosen up a bit."
Akio scoffed. "I am not surfing, Tsunami."
"Why not?"
Akio bristled. "Because I don't want to! Why is that such a big problem for you?"
Tsunami stared at him for a moment. If Akio hadn't known him, he would have thought that Tsunami was analyzing him, but he knew better. This was Tsunami, after all. He was the only person who survived on instincts alone even more than Endou.
"You don't know how to surf," Tsunami concluded in an awed voice. It was a statement, not a question.
Akio tried to look indifferent, but if Tsunami's growing grin was any indication, it wasn't working. Either he was losing his touch or Tsunami was getting better at reading him.
Akio had known that spending time with his teammates was a bad idea. This was what playing nice got him.
Akio vowed to give Coach Kudou the worst glare he possibly could the next time he saw the man. Endou too. And throw Hibiki-san in the bunch too. It was all their fault no one took Akio seriously anymore.
Except Kidou. He still remained the smartest of his teammates. Not that that was much of a compliment considering what his competition was.
Tsunami clapped Akio's shoulder, putting an end to his plans for murder. For now.
"It's not a big deal, man," Tsunami said. "You can't be good at everything."
Akio scoffed. He didn't want to hear it from someone who created a hissatsu within a few hours of touching a ball for the first time. "And this is coming from you."
Of course, Tsunami, being who he is, didn't get it. "I've been surfing my whole life. I have years of experience."
"That's not what I— Oh forget it," Akio muttered.
"I can teach you," Tsunami said. "I had fun with Endou that one time."
Akio filed that information away, determined to figure out that story later.
Sighing, he weighed his options. He knew Tsunami enough by now to know that he wouldn't stop pestering Akio about trying to surf. He probably wouldn't use the knowledge as embarrassing blackmail, but Tsunami's mouth usually worked faster than his brain. There was always a chance of it slipping out.
Then again, ever since Midorikawa overworked himself and Endou injured his knuckles enough for his whole hand to swell for a week that one time, Coach Kudou and Hibiki-san had set a limit to the amount of hours they could put into training for one day. The managers were especially strict about that particular rule. And since Akio had used up all his hours of the day, he literally had nothing else to do.
It was kind of sad, actually, how few activities he had aside from soccer.
"Come on," Tsunami said. "What's the worst that could happen?"
Aside from the damage to his dignity?
Akio let out a drawn out sigh. "Fine."
Tsunami's face brightened immediately. Something that was definitely not fondness bubbled within Akio, and he squashed it immediately.
He wasn't here to make friends. And these people were not friend material anyway. They were loud, and obnoxious and had no regard for personal space or boundaries.
That didn't stop the not fondness at all. Akio tried very hard to keep scowling, but he had to admit defeat when Tsunami, in the midst of a stunt, ended up unintentionally skydiving into the sea. He deserved it, the show off.
But Akio did not enjoy his company. He didn't. Not one bit.
3. Kurimatsu
Akio was so done. If Kurimatsu thought that he was hiding anything, let alone something as big as a sprained ankle, he was a bigger idiot than Akio had thought. He probably wasn't the only one who noticed. The coach's eyes lingered on Kurimatsu during practice longer than on anyone else. Kidou had been making more strategies that put less pressure on Kurimatsu and his injured foot. Even Hiroto seemed to have noticed, since he kept shooting Kurimatsu looks of barely concealed worry.
Once he passed the ball to Someoka, Akio looked over to Endou just to see if—
Nope, he was oblivious as ever. Granted, Endou had gotten better at freaking using his eyes and noticing shit, but Akio supposed that there wasn't much Endou could do about his nature.
When Kurimatsu barely concealed another wince, Akio sighed in frustration and shot an irritated look at the bench. Why the coach didn't just bench him or kick him off the team was beyond Akio. Kurimatsu wasn't of any use to anyone this way.
Akio clicked his tongue. It wasn't as if it mattered to him. Kurimatsu's injury would leave them with one less player if the coach didn't decide to do something about it, but it was ultimately of little consequence to him. It would be annoying, sure, but Akio supposed he had worked with worse odds.
Besides, Akio wasn't a snitch. If Kurimatsu wanted to destroy his foot and if everyone who knew was willing to let him, then Akio wouldn't say a damn thing. Even if it was annoying.
Akio had only gone to the kitchen for water. He stopped short, however, when he heard pained hisses from the kitchen. The shadow cast by the dimmest light in the kitchen looked vaguely like chestnut, but it was hard to make out many other distinguishing features.
Warily, Akio entered the kitchen, and he immediately wanted to facepalm at his own foolishness.
Of course. Who else would it be?
On his part, Kurimatsu hadn't noticed him at all. He lowered an ice cube to his injured ankle, which he was holding up with his other hand. The moment it made contact, he hissed and pulled it away. Then, the moment he recovered, he lowered the ice cube again. Rinse and repeat.
Scowling, Akio stomped towards him.
Kurimatsu flinched at the sound, dropping the ice. "L–Look, I don't know why you're angry, but I have nothing to do with it."
Akio rolled his eyes. "Shut up. What the hell are you doing?"
Kurimatsu looked at the ice cube which had mostly melted into a small puddle on the floor, then at his foot which he was still holding, and then he turned to Akio with a raised eyebrow. The look in his eyes said clearly, "Take a wild guess."
The urge to smack him was almost irresistible, but Akio managed to hold himself back. Never let it be said that Fudou Akio had no impulse control.
He did, however, give Kurimatsu a stinkeye. "Ever heard of an icepack?"
"Someone will notice. I didn't want to leave until the coach found someone to take my spot."
That explained everything. The kid had guts, Akio would give him that much.
He scoffed. "How noble."
Kurimatsu gave him what seemed like an attempt at a smile, but it looked more like a grimace. He let go of his foot and began to stand up. "I'll just g—"
"Oh, for the love of— Stop!"
Seriously, did no one on this team have common sense?
Kurimatsu froze. Slowly, he turned to meet Akio's frustrated glare.
"Sit back down," Akio snapped, making his way to the fridge.
Kurimatsu obeyed silently, staring at his foot miserably, as Akio took out two ice cubes from the fridge. He grabbed a cloth that was lying on the table — because even including the managers and the adults, Akio could count the number of people on this team who had any sense of tidiness on one hand — and wrapped the cubes in it. Then, he stomped back towards Kurimatsu, who was now eyeing him with curiosity.
"What are you doing?"
"What does it look like?" Akio snapped. "Now let me see that."
Without waiting for a reply, Akio pressed the wrapped ice against the swollen ankle, ignoring Kurimatsu's flinch and hiss.
"You never use the ice directly, dumbass. Are you trying to get permanent damage?" Akio said. His skin prickled and he willed himself to not look up and glare; he could feel Kurimatsu's grateful eyes. "Stop that."
"I'm not doing anything," Kurimatsu said, and Akio could hear the smile in his voice.
He could feel his own lips twitch upward, but Akio curbed it. This meant nothing. Nothing at all. He just hated people who had no common sense.
Damn it, these guys were ruining him.
4. Haruna
Clutching his throbbing, swollen forehead, Akio admitted in the privacy of his mind that practising alone in the forest at midnight hadn't been his smartest idea. God, he swore he could see doubles.
He reached out for the door of Inazuma Japan's lodge. A sharp pang in his forehead made him flinch, and he accidentally threw the door open.
Akio heard movement from inside.
He swore. The last thing he needed was everyone knowing about this. The coach would ban him from practising and probably find a way to stop him from training on his own too. Sometimes, it seemed that Coach Kudou forgot that only one of the kids on the team was his. And of course, Hibiki-san would only agree with him.
The face that emerged from the— cafeteria? What? — was neither of them.
It was Otonashi, blinking at him blearily through her glasses. Behind her, Akio could make out a dim light that seemed to be from her laptop in the cafeteria.
"Fudou-san?" She lifted her glasses to her head and rubbed her eyes, all while yawning. Then, she actually focused on him. Immediately, horror flooded her eyes. "Fudou-san! What happened?!"
Akio flinched at her volume.
Otonashi winced. "Sorry," she whispered.
It took him a moment to register that she was already pulling him towards the cafeteria, and he scowled. He tried to pull away, but her grip was tight and frantic, and his head hurt too much to put any real strength behind his struggles.
"Let me go," he said, hating how weak his voice sounded.
Otonashi still paused, frowning. "But your head—"
"I'll be fine on my own," Akio said. He made another attempt to pull away, but Otonashi's grip remained firm.
She looked him over from head to toe and clicked her tongue. And just like that, Akio's fate was sealed.
She switched the lights on, and Akio winced at the sudden brightness.
"Stay put," she said firmly, in the no-nonsense tone they had all become accustomed to from the managers. "I'll get the first aid kit."
The moment she would let go, Akio was free to make a run for it.
His thoughts must have shown on his face because her grip remained and her countenance shifted to an unimpressed look. It was really familiar, though Akio wasn't sure where he had seen the expression bef—
Oh. Right. For all their differences, Otonashi was still Kidou's sister. It was kind of hard to remember that sometimes, since they were so different in appearance and personality. In that moment though, Otonashi may as well have been a clone. And she definitely had more patience and stubbornness than Kidou, which meant that she would have her way whether he liked it or not.
Akio clicked his tongue. He knew a lost battle when he saw one. "Fine."
Satisfied, Otonashi gestured to the chair and went on her way to rifle through the cupboards.
Damn, his head hurt. Maybe a distraction would help.
With nothing better to do, Akio gave a cursory glance at the laptop. It proudly displayed Otonashi's database on the teams competing in the tournament. He had to hand it to her; Otonashi was thorough and astonishingly good at gathering intel. Although, he had heard her mention being a part of the journalism club before, so maybe it shouldn't have come as a surprise.
Otonashi returned with the kit and announced her presence by pressing an ice pack at his forehead without warning.
Akio flinched in surprise and glared at her. "Warn a guy."
Otonashi winced. "Sorry," she said, but didn't take the thing away.
Akio held it in place and Otonashi pulled out an anti-inflammatory ointment and painkillers from the kit. She set it on the table and put the rest of it away.
She turned to him with the same expression she had whenever she started lecturing Kogure, and Akio groaned internally.
"You shouldn't be training this late," she said. "It's dangerous and unhealthy. You shouldn't even be awake right now."
Akio blinked, caught off guard.
Wow. Did Otonashi realize how hypocritical she sounded?
He jerked his head towards the laptop, shooting her the most deadpan expression he could make.
Otonashi's holier-than-thou stance faltered, and she sighed. She took a seat next to him and started clicking away at her laptop, closing everything that was on — and there were way more files open than Akio had realized.
Her shoulders were hunched in a way that set Akio's nerves on edge, and he had a feeling that he wasn't qualified for this at all. Whatever this even was.
"It's not the same," she said in a low voice, and Akio wasn't sure if she was trying to convince him or herself. There was something in her voice that stopped Akio from pointing out the obvious. "I just couldn't sleep and I had some work to do."
Though half of his vision was obscured by the ice pack, Akio squinted at her. On a closer look, Otonashi looked more tired than Akio had realized. Her eyes were slightly red and there were dark circles underneath them.
He wasn't sure how he hadn't noticed it before, but this clearly wasn't her first sleepless night.
She rubbed at her wrist absentmindedly as she lowered the screen of her laptop. Her eyes were distant and she didn't seem all there. Underneath her hand, Akio could make out a faint, red bruise around her wrist.
Akio wanted to hit himself. It had only been a couple of days since the whole shitshow in heaven and hell.
Otonashi made no move to get up. She just sat there, her fingers drumming on the table top as she stared at things not there.
Akio shifted uneasily, suddenly overcome by the urge to do something. Why though, he didn't know. He had barely spoken to Otonashi before. They were acquaintances, teammates at best. They were certainly not friends.
He sighed and started to make his way towards the cabinet that he knew held the kettle.
"Fudou-san?" came Otonashi's tired question.
"I'm in the mood for coffee," he said.
If Otonashi noticed that he didn't even like coffee or that he made two mugs instead of one, she didn't mention it.
And if Akio's shoulders sagged in relief when she seemed more present when she accepted the mug he passed to her, well, that was nothing. Utterly meaningless.
5. Tobitaka
Hibiki-san's heart disease came out of nowhere and hit them all in the gut. Akio wasn't sure what Coach Kudou said to get Endou and Tobitaka to return from the hospital; they certainly hadn't so much as budged when anyone else had tried. Akio supposed he couldn't quite blame them; if their match wasn't literally the next day, he might have loitered around too.
He had never understood the point in staying in a hospital when there was nothing he could do to help. That is, until now. He had to admit, this team was good at making him experience new things.
Still, as much as he understood it, the way Tobitaka was taking it pissed him off for some odd reason. Probably because he couldn't sleep with Tobitaka punching the wall so much.
If no one interfered soon—
At the sound of another punch, Akio swore and got up from the bed.
"Oi," he said, throwing open the door to Tobitaka's room. "Some of us are trying to sleep."
Tobitaka didn't acknowledge him at all, glaring at the wall as if it had personally offended him. He withdrew his hand but made no move to throw another punch. He straightened, breathing heavily.
Akio allowed him to calm himself down, taking the moment to assess the situation, and— Yep, his hands were a mess. They were definitely bruised, though it was too dark to see if they were swollen too. At least he couldn't find any blood. The last thing they needed was Tobitaka out of commission as well.
For all his inexperience, he wasn't half bad on field, and any stupid injuries would only damage whatever morale the team had gathered after hearing that Hibiki-san had woken up, because his teammates were babies like that who needed to be coddled all the time and—
Akio took a deep breath. It seemed that Tobitaka wasn't the only one on edge.
"Sorry," Tobitaka said gruffly. He was still glaring at the wall, his hands lowered by his sides now. "You can go back to sleep."
And leave him to stew over this on his own? As if! That would only cause more problems and frankly, Akio had neither the time nor the energy for that.
He settled at the edge of Tobitaka's bed, smirking when the latter turned to glare at him. "Nah, this looks more entertaining."
Tobitaka gritted his teeth. "Fudou," he hissed, "I'm not in the mood for this."
Akio shrugged. "Too bad. It's happening whether you like it or not. Question is…" He dropped the smirk, staring Tobitaka dead in the eyes. "What will you do about it?"
Tobitaka faltered for a moment before his glare returned with full force. This time, he glared at the floor, his hands clenching. "It's not fair!"
Even without saying it, both of them knew what he was talking about.
"Life's not fair," Akio replied. He could feel a scowl form on his face. Of all things to happen—
"It's not fair," Tobitaka repeated as though Akio hadn't spoken at all. "Why Hibiki-san? He doesn't deserve this."
Akio leaned back, crossing his arms. "Yeah, well, bad things rarely happen to those who deserve it." His voice came out quieter and more bitter than he had intended, but Akio couldn't bring it in himself to care.
With an irritated grunt, Tobitaka turned to the wall and threw another punch.
Akio scoffed. "What's that going to do?" This time, Tobitaka only turned his head to glare at him, his eyes more fierce than Akio ever remembered seeing them. "Instead of ruining your hands and taking yourself out of the match, do something productive."
"Like what, sleeping?"
"Yes." At Tobitaka's incredulous look, Akio sighed. "Look, there's a reason why Hibiki-san didn't tell us about this before. Know what that is?"
Tobitaka did not reply.
"It was so we could focus on playing and winning." Akio stood up. "Don't disrespect his sacrifice like this."
Akio could hear Tobitaka's heavy breaths as he walked towards the door.
"Thanks," Tobitaka muttered. Akio paused, his hand freezing over the door. "I needed to hear that."
Akio scoffed. "I didn't do it for you."
He hadn't. Mostly.
But if sleep came easier than before, well, that was no one's business except his own.
+1. Fudou
Akio woke up to a sore throat and a headache. He blinked blearily at the ceiling, somehow tired despite resting for who knew how long. A sudden chill ran up his spine and he shivered, pulling the blankets closer.
It took him an embarrassingly long while to realize what was going on, and when it clicked, all he could do was groan.
Akio was sick. And knowing him, he probably hid it until he collapsed.
Great.
The others were going to be a pain in his neck for the rest of the week. Hell, probably even the rest of the tournament. And knowing these idiots, it would be the worst thing he had probably ever dealt with.
Subtlety was not a common concept within the members of Inazuma Japan. No, they were the type to go all out in everything, even— no especially their concern. After all, they were led by Endou of all people, and Endou definitely did not know the meaning of the word restraint.
As if on cue, the door creaked open. Akio didn't even bother to hide his groan, turning away whoever it was.
While turning, he caught a glimpse of the green ribbon, which was enough to tell him that Kino was the one to step inside. She stood beside the bed, arm akimbo, and refused to budge.
Akio didn't turn for a while, as if she would disappear if he willed it so.
Ha! If only. If the players of Inazuma Japan were stubborn as a mule, the managers were even more so. They had the patience and rigidity of a mountain. They had to, if they ever wanted to succeed in convincing the players to do anything they didn't want to.
To his credit, Akio managed a whole minute — a new record; take that Tobitaka! — before reluctantly turning to face her.
Kino scoffed and rolled her eyes, entirely unsympathetic. "Don't give me that look. You brought this on yourself."
Akio didn't dare disagree. After all, there was a reason why the managers, when angered, were considered scarier than Coach Kudou.
If Kino thought he was too compliant as he took the medicine she handed him and listened to her lecture, she didn't comment on it.
She merely nodded in satisfaction, sentenced him to bed rest and left the room, closing the door softly behind her.
Endou was the one to show up next. Once again, Akio didn't even bother to hide his groan; his head was throbbing hard enough and Endou was loud.
Like most things, Akio's attitude did nothing to deter Endou. The captain just smiled, as though it was the best response he could have ever imagined from Akio. That was just— Well, fair enough.
"Hey," Endou said. Miraculously, his voice wasn't loud. "How are you feeling?"
"As bad as you look," Akio snapped. When Endou's grin didn't so much as waver, he sighed. "Like crap. I feel like I'm dying."
That made Endou laugh. "As if you'd die from something as small as a cold."
Akio scoffed and rolled his eyes, but he couldn't deny that he was smiling.
"So," Endou said, "Aki wants me to remind you that you're an idiot, but you probably already know that. Oh, and you should drink more. Something about staying hydrated."
Akio couldn't refute either statement, so he said, in as dry of a tone as he could muster up, "Anything else?"
Endou seemed to ponder for a moment. "Well, Sakuma said that if you don't get better soon, he'll replace you as one of the playmakers."
He scoffed. "As if he's got the brains for that."
Endou, true to his nature, chuckled. He wasn't taking this seriously at all. "You know, for someone who keeps berating us for pushing ourselves, you sure are a hypocrite."
"Yeah? Who's words are those?"
Endou looked at him right in the eyes, now dead serious. "Mine."
Akio had no response to that. It was unnerving, he wouldn't lie, to see Endou like this. Suddenly, Akio was reminded that Endou had led Raimon throughout the fight with Aliea Gakuen, that his unparalleled charisma and resolve were only part of the reason why he was captain.
It wasn't often that Endou got serious like this.
He swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. "R–Right."
Finally, Endou smiled, and the relief on his face took Akio by surprise. "Good."
Oh. Endou was worried. About him.
Right, Aliea Gakuen hadn't been that long ago. Three months was barely enough time to get over having half your team injured to the point of being unable to play and then return as your worst nightmare. Not to mention the whole thing with Kazemaru and Kurimatsu that Akio had heard about. And that wasn't even counting Fubuki's breakdown.
Akio had only heard the broad details, but even those didn't paint a good picture. No wonder Endou was reacting like this, as illogical as it was.
"I got it," Akio said, forcing himself to speak.
"Well," Endou said, getting up to leave. He seemed much more cheerful now. "I'll let you rest. Get better soon, Fudou. We need all our players to fight in the finals."
"As if a cold is going to keep me down for long," Akio said. The corners of his mouth twitched upwards and Akio couldn't quite suppress his grin.
"What even—?"
"We had nothing to do," Kogure said, as if that explained anything.
"You had nothing to do?" Akio repeated doubtfully. His eyes roamed around the room, glancing over the entire team that had somehow managed to fit into his room. "All of you?"
Judging by the look in Kogure's eyes, he knew exactly how stupid that sounded. "Yep. Now hurry up and pick a movie. We don't have all night."
"And don't pick something that's straight out of a nightmare," Sakuma said.
Akio's eyes wandered over to him and he smirked. "What, scared?"
Sakuma rolled his eyes. "I just don't want to deal with anyone who's too scared to sleep."
"Sure, sure. You know, that's just another way of saying—"
"Fudou-san!" Kogure, apparently, ran out of patience and started shaking him violently.
Akio pushed him away with a scowl. "Stop that. Your lack of a brain doesn't justify giving me brain damage."
Because damn it, his head hurt.
"Aw, don't sweat it," Tsunami said, throwing an arm around Akio. "Your brain's too good to be damaged by that."
Akio didn't push him away, but only because Tsunami would be even more irritating if he did. "What does that even mean?"
"That… Uh… Well, it was a compliment!"
Akio raised an eyebrow. "Right."
As irritating as they were, Akio couldn't deny that his teammates were entertaining.
"Are we doing this or what?" Someoka said.
"Patience, child. Grown ups are talking," Akio said, watching with a smirk as Someoka fumed. Fubuki had been right; a calm response irritated Someoka far more than yelling ever could.
Eventually, they did manage to decide on a movie.
Bundled between his teammates on the severely overcrowded bed, Akio couldn't deny the warm feeling in his gut that crept up out of nowehere, as it sometimes did around his teammates.
They weren't so bad after all. He could think of worse people to be around.