We don't talk about Jouno

This shouldn't be happening

The next morning, Tetchou's mind was still reeling. Jouno liked him. He liked Jouno. They'd kissed. They'd gotten caught. Tetchou had been kicked out of Jouno's room, and given rules about their relationship. And all of this had happened in the course of an hour.

This left Tetchou with more questions now. What should he do, now that he had a boyfriend? Was he supposed to get Jouno flowers? Or should he wait for the first date? Tetchou walked over to the mirror, and started combing his hair extra carefully. Then, he remembered that because Jouno was blind, it wasn't like he was going to notice the job Tetchou had done on his hair.

Today was the start of a new mission. The hunting dogs were going to attack a lab, one that experimented on people. Tetchou shivered at the thought of something like that happening. He was astounded it was happening under everyone's noses. Tetchou wouldn't necessarily have believed Jouno, even if he did like him romantically. But Fukuchi had been adamant that Jouno was right, and that they were going to shut the lab down the next day. Well, the next day and come. And it was time to shut down that lab.

Tetchou found his uniform where he always kept it, in the top left drawer. It was bright red, and if Tetchou said so himself, complemented Jouno's current dye job very nicely. Jouno would frequently dye the ends of his hair different colors, but they were currently a beautiful shade of crimson. Tetchou's favorite by far. He should tell Jouno that before he went and dyed it again.

Once Tetchou was finished getting dressed and ready for the day, he swung his sword around a bit, making sure it still worked. There was no reason it wouldn't, but Tetchou always checked before he went on a mission. It was just a force of habit, at this point.

"I see someone's ready for action." Teruko said with a small grin on her face. "You'd better get moving. The commander is pretty dead set on finishing this thing as soon as we can." Tetchou frowned. Clearly, there was something at stake here that was important to Fukuchi. Whatever it was, the captain of the hunting dogs wasn't telling anyone. Tetchou nodded wordlessly and followed Teruko.

"Hey, Tetchou." Tetchou froze at the sound of Jouno's voice. He turned around. "Hey, Jouno." Oh, this was going to be awkward after last night. Jouno didn't even look a bit tired, despite the fact that he'd woken up pretty early to help with the strategizing. Even if Jouno wasn't a full member of the hunting dogs yet, he was still the brains of the operation. Tetchou was sure that Jouno would be made a full member after they pulled off his mission. The same had happened to Tetchou, and to Choe.

Tetchou looked down, unable to look at Jouno as the force of the memory hit him. Choe Yun, the ice manipulating powerhouse, had been Tetchou's best friend since they were kids. It had been three years ago that she'd died on a mission with him. Tetchou lived in fear of that happening to someone else that he cared about. Now, he had someone he liked. Maybe even loved. Tetchou had way more responsibility now. At first, he didn't trust himself with that. But what Tetchou felt for Jouno was stronger than the ice over his heart.

Tetchou looked back up at Jouno. He had one of the buttons on his uniform in the wrong place. "Here." Tetchou said, and leaned down to fasten it correctly for him. That was, of course, when Fukuchi decided to walk into the room. "He's just helping me button my uniform up." Jouno said defensively. "Sure." Fukuchi said, looking like he didn't buy it. Tetchou kissed Jouno on the cheek, and his face turned as red as his uniform.

"Everyone, listen up." Fukuchi said, and Jouno and Tetchou immediately separated, knowing that it was serious now. "The lab we're attacking is fortified like a military base. Watch each other's backs, and make sure you shut this place down." Then, Fukuchi paused. "And if you find any survivors, they come first."

Tetchou was floored. While protecting the innocent was a big part of being a member of the hunting dogs, Fukuchi usually liked to defeat the enemy above all else, and prevent them going after any more people. This seemed different. Tetchou had been expecting Fukuchi to have planned for the execution of the evil scientists involved, and go for the survivors after the villains were dead. But it was different this time. Was it possible that Fukuchi might know one of the potential survivors?