#lucaito

Luca stretches his arm, breathing in, holding it, then breathing out. He rolls his head to loosen his neck, once clockwise, once counterclockwise, before stretching out his other arm.

Though the afternoons are sunny and warm, the autumn mornings had just started getting brisk. Luca always looked forward to his close combat classes, and starting the day by exercising both his body and mind always left him feeling energized. He takes in a deep breath, admiring the cloudless sky, clear and bright with just a tinge of purple.

Next, he warms up his legs. He does a series of thirty second foot taps before reaching into his bag for his jump rope. He looks around for Kaito, shaking his head when he’s nowhere to be seen. His other classmates slowly filter in, starting their warmups and practising moves they had learned in previous classes.

As he skips rope, he can’t help but wish that Kaito would take combat classes a little more seriously. The blonde was always nearly late to these classes even though Luca had banged on his door earlier to wake him up, Kaito’s groggy voice shooing him away with a panicked, “Yeah, I’m awake! Be there in a sec!” But then again, he shouldn’t concern himself over other peoples’ issues. He was here to learn and work as hard as he could. His brow furrows in concentration as he spins the rope faster, feet quickly catching up to the new rhythm.

Soon after, the combat professor arrives and Luca puts away his jump rope, glancing around for a mop of blonde hair. Still no sign of him. It isn’t until after attendance and well into the lecture that Luca hears a gasping wheeze as a familiar hand lands on his shoulder.

“Fuji, good to finally see you this morning.”

Kaito continues to struggle to catch his breath. “I’m sorry, Professor. I- ah, slept through my alarm again.”

Luca flinches at the lie, but keeps his mouth shut. The Professor tuts his tongue, but continues on with the rest of the lesson.

After the lesson, the class disperses into pairs to practise what they just learned. Kaito follows Luca to an open area, standing idly by as Luca swings his arms and legs to warm back up.

“Okay, Kaito. Do you want to try first, or do you want me to go first?”

“Uhhhh. Can you go first? I– ah, don’t think I really remember how to properly… arrange my body.”

Luca nods with understanding. “That’s fair. I practised this with Jiro a little bit the other day, so I do have a bit of muscle memory. Let’s start the move by having you lay down as my opponent then, okay?”

Kaito gets on his knees, then awkwardly maneuvers his body facedown, his arms and legs sprawled out under him. “Like this?”

“No, Kaito. The opponent is supposed to start by laying on their back, like they've been flipped. Can you turn over for me?”

“Sorry.” He rolls over like a log, taking in a deep breath and closing his eyes. “This is kinda nice! I feel like I could fall asleep just laying here.”

Luca crouches down and pulls one of Kaito’s arms away from his side. “Just lay like this while I figure out the move.” The blonde nods, eyelids fluttering closed as he feigns sleep.

Luca plants an arm by Kaito's head, then maneuvers a leg over Kaito’s outstretched arm, lowering himself so his weight rests on his shin, which has Kaito’s bicep pinned down. A yelp comes from under him.

“Hmm… I think it's kind of like this. Okay Kaito, try moving now.” The blonde complies, his trapped arm flailing at first, followed by the rest of his body.

Luca chuckles to himself, pleased as his friend struggles to get free. “I get why they call it ‘stapling’ now. Kaito, why don’t you try throwing some punches with your other hand? I want to see how I could deflect.”

The blonde complies, but the position of his body causes him to curl up to throw the punch, and Luca traps him with his arms.

“Ack– Mffgnnh!” Kaito tries to buck Luca off, but his hold is firm. The blonde continues to fight back, wriggling again and again to no avail. Readjusting his grip slightly, Luca plays with his weight distribution by putting all his weight on Kaito’s arm as he looms overtop. A muffled yelp comes from underneath as Kaito thrashes harder, before a pale hand slaps three times against the training surface.

A tap out.

Luca instantly releases his grip, sitting back on his feet and reaching out an arm to help his friend up. Kaito refuses the hand, instead clumsily curling into a vertical ball, his face tinged an embarrassed bright red.

“That was a really good try, Kaito!”

“T-thanks…” Kaito shifts uncomfortably in his seat, eyes cast downward.

“Let’s take a short break and then come back to it, okay?” Luca hops to his feet, grabbing two bottles of water and passing one to his friend. He sips his water, lost in thought. Usually Kaito could eventually manage to shove him off, but today, Luca felt totally in control of his hold. A small smile graces his face; maybe this was a sign that he’d gotten stronger with all his vigorous training. He wipes his brow, turning to look at Kaito who remained in the same position, water untouched, though slightly less red. He locks eyes with Luca for a moment, before quickly turning to look away again.

“Is everything alright, Kaito?” Luca crouches beside his friend, who immediately shifts away.

“Y-yeah! I’m fine! Everything’s fine!” He grabs his bottle of water, cracking it open in a swift motion and chugging half the bottle.

Luca nods. “Excellent. When you’re ready, let’s try again. This time, let’s switch positions, and you can be the one on top.”

Kaito spits out his water. He stammers, shaking his head fervently. “What?!”

“Oh, I mean you can be the one pinning me on the ground.”

Kaito continues to shake his head in disbelief. “That’s not what I meant!”

Confusion fills Luca’s face. “Sorry, I don’t think I understand. Could you elaborate?”

“NO.” The blonde gulps down the rest of his water, crumpling the bottle and throwing it off to the side. “Ughhh, this class always lasts forever. Come on, let’s get it over with.”

Luca nods. “As you wish. Would you like to lay down again, then?”

“Fine. But can I lay the other way?”

“It’s not what we learned in class… Though it would be good for me to see if I would be able to use the same technique on someone if I had them in a hold where they were face down. That’s a good idea, Kaito! Let’s give it a shot.”

“Urgh…”

The blonde hesitantly lays down on the ground, taking a deep breath.

“That’s great.” Thinking for a moment, Luca crouches over Kaito, figuring out how he would position his body. Logically, if someone were face down, they’d use their legs to get up. Luca pushes one of Kaito’s legs to it’s splayed to the side, before using the same technique from earlier to lock down his thigh.

“Ow… Your shins are so bony…”

Luca chuckles an apology. “Okay, try and get out of the hold now, Kaito!”

Kaito sighs before trying to pick himself up using his hands. Luca pounces on him, holding his hands down while keeping his leg locked in place. The sudden impact causes Kaito’s face to slam into the ground and he groans, buried swears muffled by the training mats as he struggles to get free.

It was strange, but today, Kaito seemed to be trying especially hard. Maybe he finally decided to take his studies seriously after the embarrassment of showing up late for class? Regardless, Luca was proud of his friend. Maybe today would be a good day to go a little harder on Kaito, since he’s been so receptive to the grappling.

Adjusting his position, Luca practically sits on Kaito while holding his limbs down. Another muffled sound, followed by an increase in thrashing.

“I’m sorry, Kaito, does this hurt?”

“Mmmfffgghh… No… B-but—”

Luca readjusts again, causing Kaito to whimper and buck his hips. The hold he had on his friend stayed strong, as Luca’s confidence skyrocketed. Somehow, his body had learned to pin an enemy down by combining techniques! In his excitement, he rearranges himself and just as he does so, Kaito throws his body to the side, flipping on his back. His face is flushed, and he’s panting, and the way he took advantage of Luca changing positions to release from his hold was surprisingly impressive.

Adrenaline floods Luca’s body. Immediately, he uses his knee to hold Kaito’s leg down, causing the smaller boy to groan in pain.

“L-Luca… I can’t—”

Kaito continues to struggle to release himself from his hold. Luca skillfully readjusts his body, managing to lay himself over his friend before swiftly turning his arm so that the weight of his chest locks Kaito's head to the ground.

“Luca, crap, I don’t think I can—”

Kaito thrashes again, groaning in Luca’s ear as he bucks once more into his opponent’s thigh. And then he suddenly stills, his breathing ragged, heaving chest pressing into Luca's body.

He taps three times on the mat.

Luca peels himself off his friend, who instantly curls into a ball, burying his face in his knees.

“Kaito! Are you okay?” Worry immediately creases itself over Luca’s face as he tries to examine Kaito’s body, which only makes him curl up tighter. “Did I hurt you? Oh, no. Did I stop too late? I didn’t see a tap out earlier, but you were trying to say something to me…”

But the blonde isn’t listening, and Luca has no idea what he did wrong, but Kaito looks so flustered and embarrassed. Finally, he manages to point to his bag.

“T-towel… please…”

Luca immediately hops to his feet and beelines to Kaito’s bag. As he rifles through it for the towel, an announcement blares from the P.A. system:

ATTENTION PLEASE! Darkwick Academy is currently undergoing an immediate investigation, as an anomaly has been found this morning to be affecting the entire campus. This anomaly has strong aphrodisiac properties, and the Academy will be going into an island-wide lockdown effective immediately. Classes will continue as normal. Please proceed carefully, and take appropriate precautions.