Chapter Text
Hiromitsu was silently stepping his way toward a door. His best friend, Rei, fought his classmate, Matsuda. He needed to get some medical supplies so he didn't look so injured for tomorrow.
Hiromitsu stopped in front of one of the doors and knocked on it door, "Yuki!" There wasn't a response so he did it again. "Yuki!" Right when he was about to knock again, he felt Yuki's glare through the door and froze.
There was a little bit of shuffling and steps. The door unlocked. She was still glaring, eyes only half open. She was wearing a t-shirt and pajama pants. Her black hair was messy, it reached a little past her shoulders.
She spoke with a croaky voice since she just woke up, "What do you want?"
"Zero got into some trouble..." Hiromitsu said, scared for his life.
"And?" Yuki rubbed her eyes.
"I need your kit."
Yuki sighed and walked back into her room, towards her desk. She opened one of the cupboards and picked up the first aid kit, "Where?"
"My room," Hiromitsu replied.
They walked quietly, not wanting to wake anyone else, otherwise, they'd get in trouble. The door was slightly open and Hiromitsu opened it to let Yuki inside. As soon as Rei fell within Yuki's line of sight, Yuki glared at him. Rei was sitting on the bed, smiling like a kid who got a piece of candy.
"Morning, Yuki," Rei said.
"No," Yuki said, her voice dead. She placed the first aid kit on the floor and opened it to pull out disinfectants, "Who'd you fight?"
"Matsuda."
"Seriously?" Yuki groaned and shoved the disinfectant into Rei’s cut.
”Ow!”
“Here,” Yuki left the stuff out for the two of them, “I’m going to Matsuda. Get the swelling down and I’ll be back.”
"Wait, why?" Hiromitsu asked.
"Because if Onizuka sees both of your injuries, he's going to know it was infighting, and I'll end up getting penalized because of your dumbasses!" Yuki resisted the urge to slam the door.
Rei and Hiromitsu looked at each other.
"She's terrifying," Hiromitsu said.
"She's irritated that we woke her at 2 AM," Rei said.
The three of them are lifelong friends. The two of them helped Hiromitsu with his aphonia when they met.
Yuki returned to her room and grabbed the second kit in her other cupboard. Yuki begrudgingly made her way to Matsuda's room and knocked on it.
The door opened slightly, Matsuda peeked his head out to see who it was, "What the hell are you-!" Matsuda yelled, but Yuki clamped her hand over his mouth to shut him up.
"Are you trying to wake everyone up?" Yuki said.
Matsuda slapped her hand away and stepped back inside his room, Yuki following, "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Fixing your face," Yuki said holding up the first aid kit.
"I don't need your help."
Yuki rolled her eyes as she opened the box grabbed some disinfectant wipes and bandages.
The next morning...
"Line up! Columns of three files each! Roll call number!"
"One!"
"Two!"
"Three!"
"Four!"
"Five!"
Hagiwara yawned as it was still pretty early in the morning. Yuki was standing on Matsuda's left and both Matsuda and Rei had some bandaids on their faces. They would've looked more swollen if it wasn't for Yuki.
"Onizuka Class! Attention!" Date, the Group Leader, called.
"Hm? What's up with those faces, Matsuda and Furuya?" Onizuka asked.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Matsuda said mockingly.
"Indeed, I would very much like to know."
"The truth is," Date started, coming to their rescue once more with an excuse, "A whole bunch of cockroaches were suddenly in my room last night, and those two came to help out. They got so into the swing of things that all kinds of mishaps befell them."
Seriously? Cockroaches?
"Killing cockroaches?" Onizuka raised an eyebrow.
"Yes. One ran away and we had to move the bed to get to it. It was pretty late so they were getting tired and ended up tripping a couple of times," Yuki replied before whispering, "Like dumbasses."
"I heard that," Matsuda grumbled.
"Congratulations, your ears work."
"That being said, as punishment for damaging the precious property of the Academy, our Onizuka Class with be running an extra round!" Date said before Onizuka could give them a worse punishment, "Let's go!"
"Alright!" The boys chorused.
"Oh, come on..." Yuki complained before running behind them as well.
"Marathon in columns of 2 files!" Date said.
"One, two! One, two!" The class shouted over Onizuka's words.
"Hey, Jinpei-chan," Hagiwara caught up to his best friend, Matsuda, "What's up with that face? Your good looks are all ruined like this."
"'Good looks'," Yuki snickered.
"Shut your faces," Matsuda said.
"Wow, you even lost a tooth. How hot~!" Hagiwara complimented, "But that Furuya sure is something. To be able to go toe to toe with you, when you've been trained by your pro-boxer dad. And? Who won?"
"Naturally it was..."
"Me!" Matsuda and Rei both replied.
Yuki sighed, mumbling about how she was definitely going to fail the year with them in her class.
"The heck? Were you hit so much that your head's not working right anymore, or what?" Matsuda asked.
"Don't confuse me with yourself!" Rei said.
"Now guys," Date ran up behind the two and put his arms around them, "I don't know what exactly went down, but lemme join in next time!"
"I don't care what you guys do, but stop leaving visible injuries! I don't want to keep patching you guys up or coming up with more excuses!" Yuki said.
"Run seriously, you lot!" Onizuka yelled.
"One, two! One, two!"
"You really got a troublesome bunch there, and six of them at once, even," Tomori said. He was the owner of Tomori Cleaning the usual cleaners for them.
"Yeah, I really drew the short stick. One peculiar one after another.
Furuya, a straight-A student and valedictorian, who enrolled with qualifications that are frankly unprecedented in the whole long history of the Police Academy. Can't avoid getting into fights with the other students, whether that be due to his over-eagerness or his hair color.
Morofushi, whose older brother is an outstanding detective with the Nagano Police, has a terrific sense of justice, but sadly he is still to overcome the trauma of that affair with his parents.
Date, who is overall number two, right after Furuya, and has great leadership skills, is also troubled by his father's resignation from the force.
Hagiwara, who is blessed with excellent perspicacity and communication skills, wastes those skills on chasing after girls.
Matsuda, may have managed to make up for his shortcomings during the interview with his school work, practical abilities, and specialist knowledge, but his insolence and lack of team work are simply inacceptable.
And Shiozaki, she can think on the spot without being flustered, and her abilities in the medical field surpass even some of the instructors, but she never tries and always ends up in trouble.
Really makes me worried about the future..."
Later in class...
"Hence, the police then gathers eyewitness reports from the area around the crime scene. Can anyone tell me, what you need to be careful about while doing so?"
"Here!" Rei raised his hand.
"Tell me, Furuya."
"Yes, sir," he stood up. He said that witnesses might not be accurate due to bias, stress, and other factors. They must be properly checked and not taken at face value.
"Correct! Well said, Furuya!"
"Well, whether the people graduating from this place will actually be able to properly implement that is a different question," Matsuda commented.
"Matsuda! What the hell do you think police officers are?!"
"If you ask me, they are people who serve their country and its citizens with pride and a sense of duty, who respect human rights and perform their duties with justice and kindness, who strictly uphold the law and emphasize solidarity, who strive to improve themselves, in character and skills, who show integrity and preserve people's peaceful life, that's what police officers are, right?"
Yuki whistled at his answer, "Unexpected," and to that, Matsuda glared at her.
"I-It's fine if you know it!" Onizuka said, clearly surprised that Matsuda had a genuinely good answer, "Alright, that's it for today's lecture! Be sure to revise properly."
At lunch...
Yuki had gotten two trays of food and found Hiromitsu at a table with Matsuda.
"One order of food," Yuki called out behind Hiromitsu.
"Thanks," Hiromitsu said as he grabbed one of the trays.
Yuki sat down on Hiromitsu's right, and Rei to her right as well.
"Why are you sitting here too?" Matsuda asked.
"What? Isn't this seat open?" Rei said rather 'innocently'.
"Yeah, yeah, what they said," Yuki drank some of her water and picked up her chopsticks.
"Man, I'm hungry," Date said behind them.
"Hanchou, I don't want this. You can have it," Hiromitsu picked up one of his side dishes.
"You don't?"
"Yeah. I don't have much of an appetite right now."
"Then don't mind if I do," Date gratefully took the food.
"Hey, have you got any sauce at this table?" Hagiwara asked.
"Here," Date held up a canister of soy sauce, "I thought procuring supplies was your specialty."
"For some reason all the other tables are out," Hagiwara held out his tray and Date put down the sauce, "Thanks."
”You want mine too, Hanchou?” Yuki pushed her tray toward Date.
”You’re not gonna eat?” Date asked. Hiromitsu gave Date a side dish, not the whole meal.
”I’m not hungry,” Yuki said.
“No. Forget what she said, Hanchou,” Rei said to Date, then he turned to Yuki, “You have to eat, Yuki.”
Yuki sighed, “Fine,” Yuki picked at her food.
"Jinpei-chan, you're ruining your good looks," Hagiwara held a handkerchief to Matsuda's face. Yuki laughed at the compliment while the two of them bickered.
Some girls off to the side called out to Hagiwara, wanting to eat lunch with him. Rei questioned Matsuda's attitude. The answer he gave wasn't expected from someone who didn't care or try about his studies.
"Don't tell me you're a tsundere?" Rei asked as someone had the damn audacity to hit his head as they were walking by.
"You can't seriously be blond at a police academy," they said loudly.
"Are you kidding me?" Yuki slammed her hands on the table, the chopsticks still intertwined in her right fingers, and stood up, "You think you can be racist though? Seriously?"
"Stop, Yuki," Rei put his hand on her arm to calm her down.
Yuki glared at the two guys who had hurried away at this point. She sat down and didn’t even bother to pretend to eat anymore.
Matsuda, almost like he was trying to distract the two from that, pointed his chopsticks at Rei, "I didn't change! In reality, I'm still thinking it. That the police can just go fuck themselves!!"
Later...
Yuki heard the bell when she saw her two friends in the Reference Room.
"Guys! We're gonna be late!" Yuki said.
"One second!" Hiromitsu said.
The three started their way to the training center.
"What were you researching?" Yuki asked.
They filled Yuki in on Matsuda’s father. He was falsely accused of murder. It was eventually cleared up, but the accusation ruined his career as a boxer.
"Makes sense why he hates police officers then. I'm curious about why he chose to be one," Yuki said.
"Me as well," Rei said.
At the training center...
It was target practice! How fun! They would take the top two scores out of four attempts.
Rei shot his first set all in the center, earning praise from his friend and instructors, but of course Onizuka couldn't let him have all the glory. He told them about a senior that previously hit the bullseye with all twenty of his bullets.
Yuki shot at the ten five times for her first round, similar to how Rei did, but slightly less accurate.
"I didn't expect that Shiozaki," Onizuka said.
"Thanks for the compliment," Yuki said as she readied up her second round.
Meanwhile, Matsuda was struggling. He couldn't hit the target at all and started to question the integrity of the revolver.
"Quit playing around and get shooting!!" Onizuka yelled as it sounded like Matsuda was giving excuses.
Yuki looked down at Matsuda to see that he had already taken the gun apart, "Quite fast with your hands, aren't you?"
"As I thought, the cylinder stop is done for! The barrel and cylinder were also out of alignment, it's no wonder I couldn't hit anything," Matsuda concluded.
"Or perhaps, you are just shit?" Yuki offered.
Matsuda was about to shot another insult back, but Onizuk interrupted him, scolding Matsuda for taking the revolver apart.
Yuki shot the tens again and stretched, “Done!” She extended the gun toward Matsuda, “You want?”
"Shiozaki! What're you doing?!" Onizuka asked.
"You said the scores will be your best two sets, so I got perfect scores for my first two, that means if I do any more then it'll be meaningless," Yuki replied.
"Shooting practice is hereby suspended!!" Onizuka yelled, "Return your equipment! Matsuda, Shiozaki, stand where you are!!"
Yuki groaned.
A few minutes later…
"What?! One bullet was not returned?!" Onizuka asked, "Are you sure?!"
The assistant confirmed that there was a bullet missing.
Matsuda yawned while Yuki stretched since they had been standing there for a while. Onizuka yelled at Matsuda again. Not only had he not put his gun back together yet, Onizuka assumed that Matsuda was the one who stole the bullet.
"Well, in any case, return that bullet you swiped right now and I won't pursue the matter this time around," Onizuka said.
"I don't have any bullets!" Matsuda said, "I fired all of mine and returned the empty cartridges to the assistant instructor as well."
"Stop lying!! Who besides you would do something like this?!"
"The hell?!"
"Onizuka-sensei, he fired all his rounds," Yuki said.
Matsuda looked at her, shocked she actually defended him.
"All twenty of them missed the target by a mile."
"You little-!" Matsuda yelled.
Date stepped in to diffuse the situation as always. A construction worker grabbed Onizuka's attention, needing to check the interior of their progress. Onizuka led the way, but not before leaving Date in charge of finding the "guilty party".
"Yes, sir!" Date saluted.
"Don't tell me you're suspecting me as well!" Matsuda said.
"Hm? It wasn't you, was it?" Date said. He believed Matsuda with no hesitation.
"No..."
"Then there's nothing to worry about!" Date said before looking at the crowd of students behind him, "I'll uncover the real culprit and make them turn themselves in."
"You're too soft, Group Hanchou," Rei said, "If you don't make him clear his name himself, he'll end up like his father."
"What the hell, Rei?" Yuki said confused about where his sudden provocation came from.
"You bastard, you don't know shit about my father!" Matsuda said.
"Indeed, I don't know anything, so why don't you tell me? Your reason for wanting to become a police officer, that is," Rei said.
"Hmph, I don't mind telling you, but before that, I'm gonna beat the shit out of you!" Matsuda ran at Rei.
Suddenly, the roof that the construction workers were working on gave out, and one of them fell. Some of the tools and supplies they were using fell as well. Onizuka quickly took action—he jumped off the balcony to catch the falling worker.
However, the rope looped around Onizuka's neck, choking him. Onizuka let go of the workers and grabbed at the rope around his neck, trying to stop it from suffocating him.
The supplies and part of the ceiling that fell mostly avoided the students, but one male was zoning out and didn't notice the incoming debris.
"Watch out!" Yuki shouted as she pushed him out of the way.
The man was snapped back into reality and finally took notice of the debris after it had already hit the floor. Yuki got up and took in the situation.
"Good god!! The lifeline went around the instructor's neck!!"
"Looks like the workers who fell fainted."
"We're going to go get help!"
"We'll have to go to the roof and cut the rope..."
"We don't have enough time for that, and besides, what if someone else ends up slipping and falling?!"
"Hey guys, you know, what to do, right?" Date asked.
"Get a gun..." Matsuda said.
"Find a bullet..." Hagiwara said.
"I'll shoot..." Rei said.
"CPR…” Yuki said.
"I'll be the lower support..." Date said.
"Then I'll be the prop on top of the support, I guess?" Hiromitsu said.
"All right! Then, fellas, let's go!!" Date said as they split up.
Date positioned himself under the hanging people and put his arm out so Hiromitsu could get up. Hiromitsu stepped on Date's hands and got on his shoulders, Date holding him for more support, and pushed up the workers that were hanging on the rope. This eased the tightening of the rope slightly.
"How long?" Rei asked.
Matsuda was sitting on the floor again, fixing the revolver, "Hm?"
"How long will you need to put that gun back together?"
"Hmm, I guess about one round."
"One round? So three minutes. That long?"
“Yes,” Matsuda clarified that it was broken in the first place and it needed to be perfect if Rei only had one shot with the bullet Hagiwara was looking for. After he worked on the gun some more, he cursed, "Damn! It's still stuck somewhere."
"No need to panic. When a person is strangled, their respiratory center does stop working within about a minute," Rei said, "But after that, the heart keeps beating for several minutes, and even once their heart stops, so as long as life-saving measures are taken within three minutes, the brain will not take any damage and there's a good chance of saving them."
"I will make sure that he wakes up," Yuki suddenly spoke up, "So focus on making sure the revolver is accurate."
"Why are you so confident?” Matsuda said. He was angry with the gun. If he didn’t fix it in time, Onizuka will die. He took some of his anger out on Yuki, “Sure you're a little good with a medkit, but Furuya outranks you in medical classes.”
Usually, Yuki would respond with something sarcastic and snap back at his anger, but she knew when to be serious. Instead, she stated hard facts, reassuring Matsuda.
"Who do you think taught Rei what he knows?"
Matsuda glanced up at Yuki, ready to retort her comment again, but she wasn’t looking at him. Instead, her eyes were focused, staring at Onizuka. She was making sure that his condition didn't suddenly worsen.
"I learned how to do CPR when I was four. The first person I saved was the first one I did it on. I can do it."
"Here ya go, Furuya-chan!" Hagiwara yelled. He threw the bullet like it was a baseball, "Catch!"
Rei caught it and Yuki loosened her shirt in preparation.
"Take this as well!" Matsuda gave Rei the repaired gun, "A perfect piece! If you miss, I'm gonna kill you, Zero!!"
Rei loaded the single bullet. He aimed straight for the rope and pulled the trigger. The bullet cut the rope, and Onizuka and the construction worker fell. Hiromitsu caught the worker and Date caught Onizuka.
"Sir! Onizuka-sensei?!" Date shouted, trying to reawaken his teacher.
The room went silent, waiting for Onizuka's response. But it didn't come.
"Lay him down," Yuki said kneeling to his level.
Date laid him flat on the floor. Yuki positioned his head to free up the airway.
"Hold his head, Rei," Yuki said.
Rei put his hand behind Onizuka's neck to make sure it didn't move. Yuki put her ear on Onizuka's chest, waiting for a heartbeat. There was none. She sat on her knees, getting a good height, and positioned her hands on his chest.
Yuki pushed down, going down only one inch. Yuki clicked her tongue and used more force, getting the two inches. After 30 seconds of chest compressions, she gave him a breath, and seeing his chest raise, she gave him the second one.
Their classmates were worried, Onizuka's life was in the hands of the one classmate that never paid attention or put in any effort. At the same time, none of them stopped Yuki. Her movements were fluid and held no hesitation. This was a side of her only Rei and Hiromitsu had seen.
She repeated that two more times and Onizuka's arm twitched. Yuki moved back to give Onizuka some space and he twitched again, gasping for air as his eyes shot open.
The previously quiet room erupted into cheers. Yuki sighed in relief, leaning back. She caught herself on her hand and wiped the sweat off her forehead that she didn't even realize was there.
"Nice job, Yuki," Rei said.
"Mm," Yuki responded as she fanned herself with her shirt now that she had a second to relax.
"Good save," Hiromitsu patted Yuki's head.
"Yeah," Yuki said.
"Um," someone said, tapping Yuki's shoulder.
"What?" Yuki looked up.
He had dark brown hair and brown eyes, a common look. Slim build. About 180 cm, or 5'11". Light-skinned.
"I'm Takahashi Haruto," he extended his hand, "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too?" Yuki grabbed his hand to pull herself up.
"Sorry," he held her hand, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly with his other hand, "You saved me just now when the debris was falling."
"No problem," Yuki said retracting her hand.
"Is there a way I could repay you?"
"No, it’s okay.”
“Not even a coffee?”
”It’s okay, seriously. Don’t worry about it,” Yuki said.
”Well, if you change your mind, let me know,” Takahashi smiled.
Yuki nodded, not really sure what to say. Takahashi walked away as things were calming down.
”Wow, you’ve got an admirer,” Hagiwara teased.
”Please, Shiozaki? Having an admirer?” Matsuda didn’t believe it.
Yuki pouted lightly at Matsuda’s insinuation, but she agreed, “Didn’t you hear him? He wanted to thank me.”
”He asked you for coffee,” Hiromitsu said.
“I don’t know, that smile looked a little too happy,” Date shrugged.
”I think he’s got a crush,” Rei agreed.
”Since when did you guys become experts at this stuff?” Yuki brushed them off and announced she was going to her room to sleep since classes were over.