#I couldn't resist impolite Aki with the tattoo over his eye XD

[ridiasfangirlings]

Title: Polite Company

Fandom: K Project

External: AO3

Ratings/Warnings: T

Summary: Akiyama might have been in Homra longer than him but even so, Hidaka couldn’t help but think that being assigned as his backup was akin to being his bodyguard. After all, that guy didn’t really give off the aura of a fighter at all.

Notes: AkiHida Homra AU for rare pair week ^^ This was inspired originally by a really neat piece of Homra!Akiyama fanart I found on Pixiv here (note: the Akiyama picture is the second one but there’s some NSFW stuff further down).

“Good afternoon, Awashima-san. You called me?”

Hidaka looked up slightly from over the rim of his drink as the bell above the door rang and a figure stepped inside the bar. Awashima was standing behind the bar counter as usual, polishing a wine glass. Her perfect posture didn't even waver as she turned to face the man who had spoken, hands still carefully cleaning the glass.

“Akiyama-kun. Thank you for responding quickly. Enomoto-kun sent us the information just a few minutes ago.” She set the glass on the counter, admiring it for a moment before removing a small folded piece of paper from her shirt pocket and sliding it towards Akiyama. “The location is here.”

“Hidaka?” Gotou leaned curiously against Hidaka's shoulder, nursing his own half-filled wine glass. They were sitting side by side in a booth in the corner of the bar, idly sharing a drink with one of Homra's other members. Mikoto was asleep on the couch opposite them, as the Red King often tended to be. “Is something wrong?”

“Hmm? Oh, no, no, I'm fine, Goty.” Hidaka waved a hand sheepishly. “I just...Awashima-san's sending Akiyama on a mission? Alone?”

“Is that weird?” Doumyouji asked. He was sitting across from them with his feet on the table, something which was probably going to get him in trouble as soon as Awashima noticed. Unlike the others he was nursing a glass of apple juice, being one of the handful of underage members of the clan. “Akiyama-san goes on missions alone all the time. Well, Benzai-san's usually there but he's fine on his own too. There's nothing to worry about.”

“Are you sure about that, Doumyouji?” Hidaka couldn't help but feel incredulous. Sure, he and Gotou hadn't been members of Homra that long – they'd only joined up about a month ago, on a whim almost more than anything – but in that time he hadn't seen Akiyama do much more than make coffee and tend the bar when Awashima was out on errands.

He's really kind of a weird guy, isn't he? Hidaka craned his neck a little to look back at where Akiyama was talking in low tones with Awashima. Homra might have been pretty clean cut as far as street gangs went, but they were still a gang and Hidaka had never seen Akiyama so much as swear. In fact Akiyama was weirdly even-tempered and polite for someone who was supposed to be one of the long-time members of the clan – his partner, Benzai, was scary as hell when you crossed him (as Hidaka could report from experience, having caught Benzai on accident at a cat cafe mid-afternoon one day and witnessed a cooing and fussing that he should not have) and Doumyouji could be pretty enthusiastic when it came to a street brawl. Even Enomoto, who was fairly shy when it came to fighting, knew how to hack a system and pull information with a skill that was second only to Fushimi. But Akiyama was an oddity, a guy who was always calm and smiling and polite, who looked like he couldn't even use the slim length of pipe he was usually carrying around as a weapon.

“Trust me. You've only seen Akiyama-san when he's being polite.” Doumyouji nodded sagely and Hidaka shook his head.

“There's no way. He's so...nice.” Too nice, Hidaka couldn't help but think. A guy like that was going to get hurt in a place like this, that was certain. It was amazing he hadn't already. Though he did make a great cup of coffee and seemed to enjoy lecturing people when Awashima was absent, maybe that was why Homra's top three seemed to rely on him so much.

“Nice?” Doumyouji snickered into his apple juice. “No way. He's like...” Doumyouji made a gesture with his hands. “Bump bump bump and then...boom! Just swish, and then sparkle, and then blam! Like that.”

“Eh...?” Hidaka stared blankly at him and Doumyoji just smiled in reply.

“Be careful. Is Benzai-kun available to accompany you?” Awashima's voice floated back over to them as Akiyama took a step back from the bar counter.

“No, I'm afraid he's visiting relatives today.” Akiyama gave a small smile. “It's his sister's birthday. His parents won't be happy to see him but they won't say no to her. I couldn't bother him today, when he's got the chance to spend time with the people he cares about.”

“I see...” Awashima looked momentarily troubled. “Enomoto-kun had some difficulty locating the center of the drug ring's activities. If we wait a day, and they've moved on...”

“I can handle it, Awashima-san.” Akiyama gave something almost like a salute, and Hidaka couldn't help but shake his head a little.

“Have him take Hidaka with 'im.” Mikoto's voice made them all start slightly, the three at the booth included. The Red King hadn't even opened his eyes, hands back behind his head and body posture as still as if he was speaking in his sleep.

“Mikoto-san..” Awashima stared at him for a moment and then smiled. “Of course. Hidaka-kun, if you could come here I'll debrief you.”

“Me?” Hidaka stumbled a little as he scrambled out of his seat, moving to stand near Akiyama. Akiyama didn't even look at him, posture soldier-perfect as he stared at Awashima. His gaze was straight and steady too, Hidaka noticed, not wavering from the bartender's eyes when even though a whole month had passed Hidaka still had trouble keeping his gaze on her face and not her chest (that was one of the first things he'd learned in Homra, the quickest way to be burnt into nothing by supernatural flames was to try and surreptitiously look down the bartender's partially unbuttoned shirt). “M-Mikoto-san, are you sure?”

Mikoto didn't answer, looking as though he'd gone back to sleep almost instantly after the pronouncement. It was a little enviable, in a way.

“I trust you can handle this mission,” Awashima said. “Act as Akiyama-kun's support and follow his orders. I don't want either of you coming back hurt.”

“R-right.” Hidaka's eyes darted towards Akiyama, who was still looking at Awashima rather than at him.

I guess it'll be my job to protect Akiyama, huh? Hidaka sighed quietly, hands in his pockets as he leaned forward to look at the paper Awashima had left open on the bar counter, with the mission parameters written on it. I'll just have to keep an eye on him, that's all. Well, how hard can that be?

–

Bar Homra sat in the middle of the city, cloaked in rumors.

They said the 'Red Monster' lived there and that he ate the souls of any trespassers foolish enough to try and sneak in. They said he was over six feet tall – to which Hidaka always liked to answer 'we can look each other in the eye, then' – and that he once set fire to the entire lower district of Shizume because a business owner kicked him out of a bar. They said he granted power to those who he considered worthy of it, and burned the unworthy into nothing, not even ashes left behind.

They also said that only fools or the foolishly brave approached the Red Monster on their own, and Hidaka was pretty sure that he and Gotou were the former.

“Is this a good idea, Goty?” Hidaka said in a furious whisper as Gotou serenely reached for Bar Homra's door handle. “We could get killed!”

“Hmm? Didn't you want to check it out, Hidaka?” Gotou seemed remarkably calm for a guy walking into the lion's den, but then he usually was. He'd been smoking something funny-smelling at the other bar they'd been in earlier and it seemed to have made him even more unflappable, if that was possible.

Gotou had learned about the Red Monster from some guy that he'd bought an ancient Sumerian mask from two weeks ago. He'd mentioned it idly to Hidaka afterward at their apartment as he looked for a place to hang the mask (the mask which was supposed to have the power to raise the dead, and Hidaka had barely slept for a week afterward thanks to the groaning and creaking sounds of the house that sounded enough like zombies to keep him awake for hours with his hand on a baseball bat) and Hidaka had laughed and said it sounded like a weird rumor. But they'd both been unable to forget it, joking about finding the bar, about taking the test.

Gotou was a NEET, living off an allowance sent by his parents and moving idly from side job to side job, each weirder than the last – he'd just gotten fired from something involving bath salts and muscle relaxants and Hidaka didn't want to know what exactly those had to do with each other – while Hidaka was still stinging from being rejected from the salaryman job he'd applied for. The world had just seemed really boring, it felt like. It was like he and Gotou were floating on their own island in the center of the world while the rest of society moved on around them, and it made Hidaka feel restless and unsatisfied.

That was why he'd been the one to say it, in the end. 'Let's go find the Red Monster for ourselves.' He was just a little bit drunk at the time – that was wearing off, the growing sense of terror warring with the alcohol and the alcohol was finally losing – and tired of doing nothing all day but going from bar to bar looking for companionship and the next cheap thrill. He wanted something...more. Gotou had been more than happy to comply and that's how they'd ended up standing before the doorway of an unfamiliar bar at 3am on a cold rainy Monday.

“Hidaka? It's open.” Gotou looked back at him from the doorway. “Are you coming?”

“I-I'm coming, I'm coming, wait up.” Hidaka shook his head and hurried up the steps to the door. Gotou only smiled calmly back at him, the bell above the doorway jingling slightly as they stepped inside.

“Hello?” Hidaka ventured. The inside of the bar was silent and dark, as if it wasn't even open. “Anyone?”

“It's empty.”Gotou crossed his arms, looking disappointed. “I wonder if it was unlocked by mistake.”

“T-then I guess we should go...” Hidaka started to turn back towards the door, relief warring with disappointment in his mind.

“Who are you?” Hidaka nearly jumped at the sharp voice, stumbling backwards at the sight of two shadowed figures standing in the doorway behind them. “State your name and business.”

“W-we are...”

“We're here to meet the Red Monster and take his test,” Gotou supplied, still sounding utterly calm even though Hidaka's heart was pounding like a drum.

“...I see. Akiyama, the lights.”

“Right, Benzai.” The shorter of the two moved towards the dark silhouette of the bar counter and flipped a switch. Immediately the shadowed bar was lit by lamps and Hidaka was able to make out the features of the two who had caught them.

They both had slim, almost refined features, not at all the sort of people Hidaka would have expected to belong in the ranks of the Red Monster. The one on the left – Benzai, the other had said – had neatly trimmed long hair that fell over either side of his face and his eyes were stern and cold. There was a length of chain wrapped around one hand that he played with idly and Hidaka couldn't help but eye it nervously. It was clear that despite appearances, this guy wasn't the sort of person someone wanted to mess with.

The man who had turned on the lights – Akiyama, then – was by contrast looking at Hidaka and Gotou with a much calmer face, almost as though he was considering his options. He was reasonably shorter than his partner and he held a length of pipe in one hand, presumably as a weapon though from the looks of him Hidaka wondered if the guy was even able to swing it. His hair was messy and his right eye was entirely hidden by his bangs.

A cool wind blew in from the open door and as Benzai turned to close it Hidaka found himself glancing back over at Akiyama, whose bangs were momentarily ruffled by the breeze. It was hard to tell, with the shadows still dancing on the walls from the artificial lighting and the distance between them, but Hidaka thought he saw something red peeking out from beneath the dark hair.

“We didn't mean to break in after the bar was closed,” Gotou added. “The door was open.”

“Doumyouji must have forgotten to lock it again,” Benzai said, sounding irritated enough that Hidaka almost felt sorry for this 'Doumyouji' guy.

“Well, as long as they're here, should we take them to see the King?” Akiyama suggested, making a calming gesture with his hands.

“I suppose...” Benzai looked thoughtful. “If you think it's best.”

“They did come all this way.” Akiyama looked back at them and even though his expression was perfectly friendly for a moment Hidaka felt a strange shake of fear run through him. “If you two are willing to risk your lives, follow us upstairs.”

“W-wait a second!” Hidaka said quickly. “Risk our lives? Do we have to fight, or--”

“Of course not,” Benzai scoffed. “You have to take our King's test if you want to join. The price for failure is high.” He smirked, looking almost amused. “If you're afraid, Akiyama will see you out.”

Hidaka exchanged a worried glance with Gotou, who only shrugged.

“We did come all the way here,” Gotou said. “We might as well try, don't you think?”

“You're way too calm about risking our lives here, Goty,” Hidaka said in low tones, and Gotou laughed.

“If you want to go, Hidaka, we can still turn back.”

“Yeah, we should probably just...” Hidaka found himself looking back up at Akiyama and Benzai. Benzai was still looking at them scornfully, as if he expected them to turn tail and run any minute. Akiyama, by contrast, still had on the same pleasant, polite smile. His one visible eye met Hidaka's and Hidaka felt a shiver run through him again, eyes quickly darting downward.

It felt heavy, Akiyama's gaze on him, as if he was being measured somehow, and Hidaka swallowed hard.

“I'll do it.” Hidaka clenched his fists. It was now or never, right? He had to at least try, or nothing would change. “I'll take the test.”

“Lead the way then.” Gotou took a step towards Akiyama and Benzai. Benzai gave a small scoff of disbelief but began to ascend the stairs anyway, dragging the chain behind him. Akiyama gave Hidaka and Gotou an apologetic nod and gestured for them to follow as he headed up the stairs after Benzai.

“It's not that bad.” Akiyama glanced back to give them an encouraging smile as the four of them climbed the stairs. “Just have confidence. Mikoto-san isn't as frightening as he looks.”

“Akiyama-kun? Benzai-kun?” There was the sound of a woman's voice as they reached the top of the steps and Hidaka stumbled backwards into Gotou for a moment, nearly sending them both falling back down. There was blonde woman with blue eyes standing there before them, clad in a robe and nightgown that on anyone else Hidaka suspected would not have been particularly sexy but on her looked like it belonged to a lingerie model. Hidaka's eyes were immediately drawn to her cleavage moments before Akiyama moved to stand neatly in front of his line of sight.

“Sorry we're late, Awashima-san, we had a little trouble with the mission.” Akiyama bowed slightly, totally unruffled. Beside him Benzai sighed, looking annoyed.

“It's fine. I'm glad you two are all right.” Awashima's gaze shifted over to Hidaka and Gotou. Her eyes were piercing and Hidaka found himself trying to stand up a little straighter. “And these two?”

“They want to take Mikoto-san's test.” Benzai''s tone was clipped and severe. Awashima's eyes widened for a moment before her expression turned grave.

“I see.” She nodded and turned around, walking back down the hall. “Please let him know, if he's still awake. I'll need a debrief of the mission in the morning.”

“Ma'am.” Both Akiyama and Benzai bowed this time, and Hidaka couldn't help but wonder what kind of weird street gang this was anyway. Benzai turned back to Hidaka and Gotou and made a sharp gesture. “Mikoto-san's room is this way.”

The room they were led to was at the end of the hall, and Hidaka could smell something like smoke and ash in the air. He found himself tensing slightly as Benzai knocked sharply on the door.

“Mikoto-san? We have visitors.”

What did we get ourselves into? Hidaka glanced at Gotou again, who still seemed to be completely oblivious of the obvious danger they'd just put themselves in.

“Bring 'em in.” The voice from the other side of the door was muffled and distinctly sleepy, and Benzai nodded as he began to push the door open and beckoned them inside. Gotou followed immediately but Hidaka found himself hesitating, suddenly aware of the stifling feel of power in the air.

“You can go, if you're frightened.” Akiyama's pleasant voice almost made him jump and Hidaka glanced at him again. Akiyama's smile was calm and pleasant, friendly, and for a moment Hidaka could see it again, that small hint of red hiding beneath his bangs. “It's all right.”

“I'm not...” Hidaka swallowed. “Is it hard? The test?”

“That depends.” Akiyama's voice grew serious, though the gentle smile remained on his face. “I suppose...it's all about whether or not you're too afraid to try.”

With that Akiyama hurried into the room after Benzai, dragging the metal pipe behind him like a child with a stuffed toy. Hidaka stared after him for a long moment before stealing himself and following.

The room was sparse and dimly lit, and it took Hidaka a moment before his eyes focused on the red-haired man sitting on the couch in the corner, idly smoking a cigarette.

“So? What d'you want?” The man took a long drag on his cigarette as Benzai bowed quickly in front of him, giving Hidaka and Gotou a look as though they had interrupted something important by making him lead them all the way here.

“They want to take the test, Mikoto-san.” Benzai's voice was clipped and professional, and 'Mikoto' didn't even bat an eyelid.

“That so.” He leaned back, putting out the cigarette with his shoe. His eyes drifted over first to Gotou, who cocked his head as if interested, before resting on Hidaka. Hidaka felt his breath catch, something about that gaze burning into him in a way that made his skin feel hot and his breath feel choked.

“We...” Hidaka tried to speak but his throat was dry and he found himself unable to meet Mikoto's gaze, eyes moving to focus on Akiyama instead. Akiyama's head was down slightly, face hidden by shadows and his hair, and Hidaka couldn't read his face.

“All right.” Mikoto held out a hand to him. “If you guys want to join us...then take my hand.”

That's it? Hidaka and Gotou exchanged glances and Hidaka relaxed slightly as he stepped forward. That's easy!

Suddenly there was a rush of heat as Mikoto's hand burst into bright red flames. Hidaka could feel the destructive power radiating off Mikoto's palm, enough that he found himself looking at his own hands as if they'd been scalded just by being so close.

“H-hey...” Hidaka took an uneasy step back. “What kind of joke is this?”

“Don't call it a joke so lightly.” Benzai crossed his arms. “If you're worthy, our King's fire won't burn you.”

“And if I'm not...?” Hidaka managed to choke out.

“You'll burn.” It was Akiyama who spoke this time, and his voice was unreadable.

“B-burn?” Hidaka repeated. Mikoto was still sitting there calmly, hand on fire, and Hidaka wondered if he would look stupid if he just walked away right now.

He could still feel Mikoto's gaze on him though, heavy – and oddly enough, Akiyama's too, intrigued, and suddenly Hidaka found himself reaching forward and grasping Mikoto's hand.

Fire.

It consumed him, covered his body, so hot that for a moment he couldn't breathe –

– And then it seemed to lessen, to sink through his skin where it should have charred it, and Hidaka could feel that power rooting itself somewhere deep inside his body, steady this time, not overwhelming.

Power. His power.

“So you didn't burn.” Benzai sounded almost disappointed but Akiyama smiled.

“Congratulations. You're one of us now.”

“I...passed?” Hidaka felt something hot on the underside of his left wrist and he found himself looking down at the skin.

There on his wrist, clear as day, was a tattoo that looked like a flame.

–

“Are you sure we shouldn't have called for more backup, Akiyama?” Hidaka idly ran his thumb over the tattoo on his wrist as he followed Akiyama through the backstreets of Shizume. Hidaka had brought his bat along and Akiyama was dragging his usual length of pipe, other hand holding the map Awashima had given him. “There's a lot of those guys, right?”

“It should be fine.” Akiyama gave Hidaka a vaguely disapproving look, as he always did when Hidaka used his name without the honorifics. Hidaka didn't get why that guy was so hung up on that sort of thing – they were a gang, right? And family, even more than that, so Hidaka had figured that honorifics weren't really important in Homra (outside of Mikoto, of course, and Awashima, and Fushimi when he was in earshot). “I can handle this on my own. You don't need to come with me, Hidaka.”

“You don't usually work alone though,” Hidaka said, unable to quite keep the note of worry out of his voice. Seeing Akiyama go on a mission without Benzai was rare – from what Hidaka had heard, the two of them had joined Homra together after being turned out of the Defense Force for something Benzai would only refer to as 'the irresponsibility incident.' Hidaka supposed that if Akiyama had been in the Defense Force that meant he knew how to handle himself in a fight but Hidaka just couldn't quite bring himself to believe it. Akiyama was so...polite, after all.

“I can adjust for the lack of Benzai's presence,” Akiyama said, sounding slightly distracted as he studied the map again and led Hidaka down an alley to their right. “I couldn't bother him today, when he's visiting home. This way.”

“Are we lost?” Hidaka asked. “I'm pretty sure we passed that garbage can already.”

“We did...?” Akiyama looked a bit bewildered as he glanced at the aforementioned trash can. “No, I think I followed the map...”

Hidaka leaned over his shoulder, trying to get a better look at the map, and he found himself shaking his head a little as he reached over and took it neatly from Akiyama's hand.

“I think you have it upside down, Akiyama...san.” Hidaka couldn't help the amused grin on his face, even as Akiyama gave him a slightly flustered look and averted his single visible eye.

“Benzai is the navigator, I'm the driver,” he admitted, slightly sheepish.

“I guess I'm the navigator today then!” Hidaka said brightly, ignoring the way Akiyama glared at him. “Come on, Akiyama-san, it's not so bad. I'm here to back you up, right?”

“I...suppose,” Akiyama conceded. “It does make sense that the leader of the mission shouldn't be the one navigating anyway, so that I can devise a strategy for our next move...”

“And I can make sure we actually make it to where we're supposed to be going!” Hidaka added. Akiyama sighed and rubbed at his forehead.

“Right. That too.”

Hidaka swallowed back a laugh as he scanned the map. They weren't too far off course if he was reading Enomoto's handwriting correctly – it looked like Akiyama had managed to make a wrong turn a few streets back but Hidaka was pretty familiar with this area (or its bars, at least) and he knew a short cut to getting back to where they needed to be.

“So these guys we're after...” Hidaka murmured as he led Akiyama through a side alley that should get them back on course. “Drug dealers?”

“The ones Awashima-san has been sending us after for a while now,” Akiyama said. He was, Hidaka noticed, having to walk a little faster to keep up with Hidaka's longer strides. “Doumyouji and Kamo flushed out one of their hideouts a few days ago. A laptop was left behind but it was encrypted, Enomoto and Fushimi-san have been working with it for the past two days trying to get the information we need out of it. If what they found is right, we should have found their central distribution hub. If we can take that place down, the rest of the drug dealers will scatter and we can pick them off as needed.”

“Right,” Hidaka nodded, unable to turn his eyes away from Akiyama's feet. I didn't really notice it before, but he's pretty short, isn't he? “W-wait, if we're going after their central hub shouldn't we bring the whole clan? Mikoto-san...”

“According to Awashima-san, there should only be ten to fifteen men currently stationed there. One person should be enough.”

“Two,” Hidaka said automatically and Akiyama sighed.

“Right. Two. Are we almost there?”

“After the next two rights. We're headed towards the shipping district, aren't we?”

“It seems like it. That would explain how they've managed such a widespread network, there are enough warehouses there to make hiding contraband easy and locating a single specific storehouse like finding a needle in a haystack.”

“We'll teach them to mess with Homra's territory though, right?” Hidaka glanced back to give Akiyama a confident smile, slowing his footsteps in order to allow Akiyama to catch up.

“What are you stopping for? Did you get us lost again?” Akiyama tried to lean over to look at the map in Hidaka's hands and Hidaka couldn't stop the small laugh.

“Akiyama-san is surprisingly short, huh?” His hand reached out almost on its own to ruffle Akiyama's hair. Akiyama made a sound like a surprised cat as he pulled away and Hidaka suddenly realized what he'd been doing. “Ah, s-sorry, sorry! I got carried away.”

“It's...fine, it's fine.” Akiyama smoothed his hair a bit nervously, looking slightly thrown off guard. Hidaka thought he caught a glimpse of something red behind Akiyama's bangs again and he suddenly wished he'd pushed those bangs out of the way entirely, finally gotten a good look at Akiyama's entire face. “Try and keep on task, Hidaka. We have a mission to carry out.”

“Right, right.” Hidaka turned his attention back to the map. “Well, Akiyama-san can count on me! That's what backup's for, right?”

Even with Hidaka's shortcut it was still about another ten minutes before they finally found themselves standing in front of a deceptively empty-looking warehouse, crouched behind some shipping containers as Akiyama surveyed the building.

“It doesn't seem like they have much in the way of surveillance,” Akiyama said. “Still, we'd best be cautious. Pay attention to your surroundings, Hidaka. We can't afford to be caught off guard.”

“Got it.” Hidaka swallowed a yawn, arms crossed behind his head and bat dangling loosely from one hand. “It doesn't look very well-guarded, Akiyama-san. Are you sure this is the right place?”

“You had the map,” Akiyama reminded him. “I'll go in first. Stay behind me.”

“W-wait a second!” Hidaka immediately protested. “That's making yourself a target, isn't it? I should--”

“I told you, I can handle myself,” Akiyama said. “Awashima-san put me in charge of this mission. I can't send a subordinate in first while I hang back.”

“Subordinate?” Hidaka repeated blankly. “Aren't we comrades, Akiyama-san?'

“Ah...” Akiyama looked a bit surprised for a moment, lowering his gaze. “Apologies, Hidaka. Of course we are. But even so. I trust you to cover my back, all right?”

“Right...” Hidaka couldn't help but feel uneasy being the one staring at Akiyama's back but it didn't seem like Akiyama was going to budge on this one. I'll just have to keep a close eye on him, I guess...

Akiyama led him around the far perimeter of the warehouse, towards the back service door. There was a broken window along the left side of the building, low enough that Akiyama could reach it on his own. He gave Hidaka a small smirk as he pulled himself up through the broken frame, hands gripping the lower edge of the window and just barely avoiding the bits of broken glass still sticking out of it.

“Akiyama-san...hey! Isn't that a bit of a tight fit?” Hidaka said in a low whisper as Akiyama carefully heaved himself inside.

“I guess it pays to be 'short,' doesn't it?” Akiyama said easily and Hidaka stared blankly at him for a moment before laughing. Maybe this guy's not as uptight as I thought.

The window was still an issue but there was no way Hidaka was leaving Akiyama to explore the inside of the warehouse alone and with a sigh Hidaka carefully folded himself as best he could in order to slide inside. He lost his grip on the windowsill halfway through and flailed about wildly for a moment before landing with a thump on the floor inside the warehouse, bat falling loosely from his fingers.

“Hidaka! Quiet.” Akiyama sighed, covering his face with one hand for a moment. “You do recall this is a stealth mission?”

“I'm fine!” Hidaka dragged himself to his feet with a wince. “I told you it was a tight fit.”

“Clearly.” Akiyama sighed again and beckoned Hidaka to follow as he stepped forward into the darkness, the pipe in his hand glowing with a soft red light as if to act as makeshift torch. The room they were in was small and relatively cramped, with empty boxes piled all along the walls. Akiyama ducked through the next open doorway, stepping out into a larger room with a conveyor belt in the center, wooden boxes stacked one on top of the other nearby. There was a service entrance large enough for a small truck to enter along one wall, locked with a rusty lock, and the air felt cold and stale.

“It feels like no one's here,” Hidaka murmured as Akiyama approached one of the crates, breaking it open carefully with his pipe. “Maybe we really are in the wrong place?”

“No.” Akiyama's low voice made him turn. Akiyama had pried open the lid of the crate and held up a bag of something powdered. “This is where they're keeping the drugs.” His one visible eye narrowed as he looked down at the crate. “I don't understand why they would leave all of this unguarded though. Perhaps something happened...”

“Maybe someone tipped them off that we were coming?” Hidaka wondered, strolling around the room to look at some of the other boxes. The light from Akiyama's powers cast a soft glow throughout the room, Hidaka's shadow looming large along the wall. “Or there was some kind of emergency? Wait, what if they heard we were coming and went after everyone in the bar? We should--”

“Don't panic, Hidaka,” Akiyama said sharply. “Mikoto-san is at the bar. They won't be foolish enough to attack Homra on our home turf, especially with our King present.”

“Then...” Hidaka trailed off, looking thoughtful as his eyes scanned the shadows on the walls, his own and Akiyama's behind him.

And something else, he realized, something shifting in the darkness, and Hidaka whirled.

“Akiyama-san!”

Hidaka ran forward without even a moment's hesitation, one hand grabbing Akiyama by the shoulder and shoving him roughly backwards as Hidaka swung his bat with the other, just managing to intercept the rusted metal pipe that had been inches away from cleaving in Akiyama's head. The man holding the pipe cried out in pain as Hidaka swung his bat again, hitting the man hard on the chin, not even pausing to look at the body as it crumpled to the ground. The seemingly empty crates were already shifting, men with weapons climbing out from inside.

Shit... Hidaka bit his lip, weapon beginning to glow red. These bastards were waiting for us all along!

“Akiyama-san, get out of here!” Hidaka didn't even turn to see what Akiyama was doing, rushing forward to meet the approaching enemies. “I'll take care of these guys, so you get somewhere safe!”

He thought he could hear Akiyama yell something in reply but it was impossible to make out the words with the blood pounding in his ears, all his concentration focused on keeping the steady flow of power into his bat as he was surrounded by armed men. Hidaka gave a wordless yell as he charged forward into the cluster of enemies, swinging wildly and hoping that his distraction would be enough to give Akiyama time to escape.

Something hard hit him in the side and Hidaka stumbled, nearly losing his grip on his weapon. The press of men surrounding him had grown smaller but he was still ringed on all sides, outnumbered. Another blow struck him in the side of the head and he fell back, reeling, trying in vain to raise his arms in defense.

Shit...Hidaka could taste the blood in his mouth and suddenly the floor seemed to be rushing up to meet him. Someone grabbed his arms roughly, forcing the bat from his grip as they pinned him to the ground. I can't believe this is how I'm gonna die...I hope at least Akiyama-san managed to...

“Let him go, please.” The polite but firm voice cut through the pounding in his head and Hidaka forced his head up. Akiyama was standing there facing Hidaka's captors, the pipe in his hands still held loose and easy, more like a toy than a weapon.

“Akiyama-san--!” Hidaka tried to yell and someone kicked him in the side. Akiyama's single visible eye narrowed as one of the men stepped forward.

“And what are you gonna do about it, punk?” The man snorted. “We've had enough of you Homra assholes acting like you run this city. You guys think you're so special, just because you got powers. We're not afraid of you.”

“Is that so?” Akiyama said, perfectly calm like the eye of a storm. “I'm still afraid I'll need to ask you to let my comrade go.”

“And what'll you do if we say no?” One of the men kicked Hidaka again. “We outnumber you, brat.”

“This is the last time I'll ask politely.” Akiyama swung his weapon over his shoulders, taking another step forward. “Please let him go now.”

“Fuck you!” laughed another one of the men, spitting in Akiyama's direction. Akiyama sighed, covering the right side of his face with one palm.

“Very well.” Akiyama raised his head, pushing aside the bangs that always covered the right side of his face.

Revealing his right eye, and the swirling flame mark of Homra that covered it.

The pipe in Akiyama's hand glowed red, and he smiled.

“The impolite way it is, then.”

–

“Akiyama-san...” Hidaka couldn't stop staring at the pile of unconscious men lying on the floor, the warehouse filled with soft groans and whimpers of pain. Akiyama was carefully brushing his hair back into place over his eye, rubbing his wrist a little where he'd been holding his pipe.

“Are you all right, Hidaka?” Akiyama nudged one of the unconscious men with a foot, looking grim. “They must have intended to ambush us from the start. We should get back to the bar and inform Mikoto-san and Awashima-san.”

“R-right...” Hidaka tried to smile and couldn't quite manage. He still couldn't believe that Akiyama of all people had taken out all the enemies almost on his own, all while Hidaka had lain there useless on the ground.

I was supposed to be his back up, wasn't I? Hidaka clenched a fist, trying to shake the worries from his mind. They had both made it out alive, that was the important part.

“Hidaka...” Akiyama coughed, causing Hidaka to turn and look at him. “Well done. If you hadn't distracted them I wouldn't have been able to defeat them so easily. Were you hurt at all?”

“Huh?” Hidaka felt off guard for a moment and then a small disbelieving laugh came out of his mouth. “I'm fine! I mean...I'm a little bruised, but I'm okay. What about you? You fought all those guys on your own, you didn't get hurt at all did you?”

“Of course not,” Akiyama said. “I told you I know how to handle myself in a fight--” He cut off with a sharp hiss of pain, metal pipe dropping to the floor as he clutched briefly at his wrist.

“Akiyama-san?” Hidaka moved without even really thinking about it, immediately reaching over to grab at Akiyama's arm. Pulling down Akiyama's sleeve Hidaka could see that Akiyama's wrist was covered with rapidly darkening bruises. “You...”

“It's probably just a sprain.” Akiyama pulled his arm away, looking a bit sheepish. “You don't need to fuss over it, Hidaka.”

“I'm not fussing, I'm just making sure you don't hurt yourself more!” Hidaka grabbed for Akiyama's wrist again, running his fingers along the skin feeling for any bumps or irregularities that might not have been immediately visible. “Just because you're strong doesn't mean you need to do it all yourself, you know? What's Benzai-san going to say when he sees I let you get hurt? And if you ignore it then it might be hard for you to keep using your weapon...”

“Hidaka. I'm fine.” Abruptly Hidaka found himself pushed roughly against a wall, Akiyama looking up at him with a firm and steady gaze that made that sudden almost familiar shiver run down Hidaka's spine. He found himself glancing at the hair covering Akiyama's other eye again, remembering that flash of red and the crooked smile that had crossed Akiyama's face and it seemed as though his heart was beating very fast all of a sudden.

“A-Akiyama-san...c-could you let me go now?” Hidaka choked out. Akiyama looked at him blankly for a moment and then seemed to suddenly realize that he'd pinned Hidaka to the wall, immediately letting go and stepping back with a nervous cough. For a moment Hidaka thought maybe Akiyama's face looked a little red but then Akiyama turned away and he couldn't tell anymore.

“Anyway...we-we should start heading back.” Akiyama reached over with his uninjured hand to pick up his fallen weapon. “Are you coming?”

“Right, I'm coming, I'm coming!” Hidaka grabbed for his own bat and then hurried after Akiyama, catching up easily with only a few long strides. Akiyama kept his back turned, leading the way without a moment's hesitation.

“Also, Hidaka...” Akiyama finally turned to glance back at him. “...Thank you. For saving me. Even if it was a reckless action that could have gotten yourself killed.”

“Well, reckless actions are my specialty!” Hidaka said with an easy laugh.

“Just try not to do it again. Awashima-san would not be happy if I got my backup killed.”

“Right, right.” Hidaka felt a lightness in his chest that he couldn't quite explain and the smile wouldn't leave his face. “I can't believe they almost caught you by surprise anyway, Akiyama-san is surprisingly slow sometimes, huh?”

“I-I was just focused on the mission,” Akiyama said, sounding a little embarrassed. “In any case, I'm glad you were being observant for once.”

“What's that supposed to mean, 'for once,' I'm always watching Akiyama-san!” Hidaka said before he could stop himself. “A-ah, I mean, I'm—I'm always watching, because you've been in Homra  longer than me and—and I could learn some things from you!”

“I suppose,” Akiyama muttered quietly, looking away. “And...I've watched you sometimes too, so there's no need to feel nervous about it. We're comrades, after all.”

“Right. Comrades.” Hidaka risked clapping a hand on Akiyama's shoulder and Akiyama didn't shrug him off. Hidaka knew there was probably a stupid grin on his face but he couldn't seem to stop smiling either.

Comrades, and the word sounded even better coming from Akiyama's mouth, though Hidaka really wasn't entirely sure why.