#naganos

"Don't think we're not bloody aware," Kansuke says, "there's something you're not telling us."

"Us?" echoes Koumei, as if the answer isn't a given the same way Kansuke always goes out underprepared because Yui would bring a scarf for him anyway.

Alas, that the wrap of it around his neck now does little to muffle the uncouth brashness of his words. "You know damn well what I'm talking about. Whatever the hell you've been hiding since that trip to Tokyo."

He says the name with the same derision that someone else might say garbage. Or possibly Yamato Kansuke.

Koumei brushes snow from the shoulder of his suit; Yui's the only one in kimono today for their shrine visit, which at least saves everyone the incongruity of Kansuke in refined attire. "I wasn't aware that I had any obligation to apprise you of everything I hear."

It's not the best answer, but there's really no way to be evasive without getting into a full-blown argument. Hardly a great omen for a new year's beginning.

Unfortunately he appears to be the only one with such reservations, judging from the bristling snap nearly tangible in the air as Kansuke opens his mouth –

"Sorry I kept you waiting!" comes the call before he can get any further, and they both turn in Yui's direction as she hurries over. "The queue was so long – here's yours, Kan-chan. And you too, Morofushi-keibu!"

Kansuke takes one of the omamori she holds out with a grumbled thanks, as if he'd been the one troubled with waiting a small eternity in line for it, then flicks a look over at Koumei. "Why'd you get one for him too? Not like he bothers with this traditional fuddy-duddy stuff."

"Of course I know! But… well, I figured we could all do with some good things this year, right?"

The dusting of wintry pink across Yui's cheeks contrasts against the soft green of her shawl; he makes a mental note to find some pretext for gifting her a warmer one, and accepts hers with a nod. "You're quite correct, Yui-san."

Kansuke harrumphs – a sound not unlike a horse, if it had equine aspirations of turning yakuza. "And here I was about to remind somebody that he's not free of stuff owed from last year just because it's a new one!"

"Doesn't mean you have to do it on the first day, either," Yui says, and smiles at him fleeting but clear – us. She knows there's something, too, but at least she's acquainted with the virtue of patience.

Unlike certain people.

Then she turns back to Kansuke with a mock frown. "And you're getting grumpy because of the cold, which means we'd better find somewhere warm before you bite anyone's head off."

"Won't be Koumei's," mutters Kansuke. "That'd just ruin my appetite."

Koumei does him the unappreciated favour of ignoring his existence, and looks over at Yui. "I know a fairly decent cafe twelve minutes' drive away, it shouldn't be crowded at this hour yet. Unless you had somewhere in mind…?"

(here is a list of things)

6. a messenger bird, an arrow, a vow

"But how will you get the message out? My messengers won't be back until tomorrow evening, at least."

Kansuke bristled with boorish annoyance. "Are you an idiot! What do you city fools think we do every day, run around like one of your headless chickens crowing anything we want to pass on?!"

"My messenger sparrows are highly trained, thank you–"

"That's enough," came the sharp snap, but the edges in Yui's expression had faded by the time she stepped into the room proper. "Kan-chan. We're short on time as it is, stop riling our visitor up just because you disagree. He's here to help."

"Sure as hell doesn't seem like i–"

The rest of the sentence swung shut on a look that would make the Morofushi estate chef proud; Koumei would freely admit to the faint desire to quail under it.

It was followed by a swift series of motions: brush, ink, the unroll of paper. "Koumei-san. Can you recall the location and size of the ambushes you spotted on your way here?"

He nodded. "With some detail, yes."

"Good. Kan-chan, you draw the surrounding map, help plot–"

"–the locations, yeah, got it. I'm gonna kick those lazy assholes and their fancy watchtowers into the next century when I see them again, just they wait!"

Yui smiled, mild as the longbow slung across her back. "I'll go get ready."

Koumei flicked his glance back to the terrain rapidly unfolding on the paper. "I see."

"Not yet, you haven't." Kansuke's words were flinty with defiance. "Yui's the second-best archer in the whole region, and not just for show like you city decoratives."

the three-way battle between these two along the lines of

academics (kansuke's tendency to be careless during exams loses him this one)

sports (unfortunately for koumei, strategy does not achieve too much effect here. bystanders beware)

and whose classroom yui decides to visit most regularly (extremely heated fight. yui is blissfully unaware of this she's just so used to hanging around older kids that it barely registers)

(micro story prompts)

"Uehara. You better not be falling asleep."

"'m awake," she mumbles back, which he takes as true mainly because he does know how Uehara sounds like half-falling asleep, in between years of schoolwork and stakeouts. "You're loud."

…probably also true, but it's not worth the oxygen it'd take to point out that it's because his ears are still ringing from the roar of the avalanche. "Koumei's gonna laugh his head off when he hears."

Though assuming they'll both be alive to be laughed at seems a bit of a stretch right now, but then again Kansuke would absolutely not put it past Koumei to get his damned amusement in post-humously.

"If he hears about it at all it'll be because I actually sent him our location before giving chase. You're lucky I followed you, Kan-chan."

"Sir," said Yui for what was probably not the hundredth time but definitely felt like at least the sixty-eighth, "this is a coffeeshop. I don't know what you think you're looking for, but the closest we get to law enforcement is serving the officers that come through here. Which your presence is preventing me from doing."

It wasn't even a lie – she could see the portly inspector from Division One answering a phone call a couple steps from the door, accompanied by one of his detectives who gave her a sheepish wave when he caught her glance through the wide window.

Takeaway? Yui asked with a lift of her hand, and proceeded to ring up the orders at his nod. (If it just so happened that brought her away down the counter from where she'd been stuck for the past fifteen minutes, that was merely and obviously a complete coincidence.)

She stayed there long enough to watch the PSB agent to see himself out, but Azusa waved her off when she turned to the coffee machine. "It's your turn for a break, Yui-san, I'll handle their drinks!"

"…I don't suppose it's possible that we pretend this never happened?"

Koumei's expression, at least, was commiserating. Not that it reflected in his voice. "Unfortunately not, Yui-san. On account of the fact that I had to bail you both out of–"

"That wasn't bail, don't you bloody exaggerate–"

"Only because it would be massively awkward to arrest two fellow police officers for attempting to break into the precinct. What possessed not one but both of you to accidentally lock your access cards in the office?"

Kansuke returned the flat stare with the mulishness it deserved. "Those stupid new lanyards HR gave keep chafing at my neck!"

"A great suffering, I'm sure," came the dessicated reply. "Yui-san?"

"My lanyard snapped when we were taking down that suspect last week, remember? And this skirt doesn't have pockets, I thought Kan-chan would bring his anyway."

"Fair enough."

"How's that a valid reason but not mine!"

All of this, Yui thinks, would have been much simpler if Kan-chan hadn't discovered the entire possibility of learning alchemy.

Not that it would've changed the most essential parts of it all: Kai-senpai and Koumei's parents both would still be dead, and for all that they'd talked about taking over the Morofushis' automail business together, Yui honestly couldn't see Kan-chan ever being willing to stay still long enough for the work.

(Oh, doing the designs and all was fair game, even if Kan-chan's scribbles tended to have parts worryingly just labelled BOOM, but actually building them? At least alchemy was instant in that sense, once you had all the materials at hand and the knowledge in your head.