!DISCONTINUED! |Protection Detail| OHSHC

4

As Kei left the meetings with his hat in hand, he walked to the mess hall and got his breakfast quickly before spotting the group and walking over stiffly. It wasn't noticeable to many, but his hands were shaking, his hand clutched too tightly as he carried his tray in his other hand, slowly sitting down at the table and staring at an empty spoke.

"Sir! How was the meeting? Anything new?" Kei looked at Sakura before shaking his head. He stayed quiet for another moment before clearing his throat loosely. His voice was slow- neutral, not showing any lingering emotions in his tone as he spoke. 

"Meeting was... Fine. It was fine. I need to... Sort a few things. You're dismissed; I can watch these boys today; thank you, Private." His voice shook barely, deciding to focus more on his surroundings, ensuring the group was okay as Private Sakura stood and saluted before leaving, glancing at Kei briefly on her way past the young man.

~~~

As the group walked through the halls, Kei escorted them to his office. A young woman was walking quickly down the halls, looking around and into offices and rooms on her way down; her eyes landed on Kei, her wild brown hair pulled into a tight bun, and flyaways bounced as she saluted. 

"Corporal Ninato!" She exclaimed happily, grinning widely at the young man before walking closer, getting within arms reach before her smile turned genuine, her bubbly expression becoming excited. "I have exciting news, Kei!" She switched to unprofessional as they walked into Kei's office; Kei held the door open for the group, the young woman standing off to the side and rocking on her feet excitedly. And only once the door was closed did the woman hug him, with excitement clear on her face before she spoke in a gentle tone.

"I'm... Pregnant..." Kei smiled down at her before chuckling and pulling her into a hug. The group near him was shocked, thinking such a young man would be a father sooner rather than later. Kei's arms were gentle, a genuine smile on his face as he held the young woman, his hand coming up to hold the back of her head tenderly. "Oh, that's... That's great news, Maria." His tone was soft, and the group of boys was shocked at the show of affection; Kyouya finally spoke up for the group, clearing his throat gently.

"Congratulations, Kei-san," Kyouya finally said; Kei looked over before letting a puff of air out, a breathy laugh escaping him before he could hold it in. His hands loosened on Maria before letting go of her fully, and his hand moved to cover his mouth, laughing softly for a moment.

"You think... You think..?" He started cracking up, using the wall nearby to support himself as he laughed, his smile bright as his eyes closed. Maria smiled and shook her head. Kei looked so happy at that moment, relaxed for once in a long time. So she let him laugh while she explained.

"No, it's not his; it's my husbands... Kei is like a brother to me." Kei controlled his breathing as he rubbed his eyes and looked up at them. His breathing was still slightly labored as he gathered himself, straightening and clearing his throat.

"Good joke. Thank you! I needed to relax a bit," Maria smacked his arm slightly before rolling her eyes and walking off. A smile on her lips as she speed walked off, going to find the next person to tell her important news. Kei smiled gently, finally looking at the group of high schools and straightening his posture. The group lounged and chatted in the office as Kei moved to his paperwork, thankful his office only had a small window that he told the group to stay away from before drawing the blinds and curtains.

~~~

When the group left, Kei found his commanding officer talking seriously with him in his office, his shoulder taunt and stiff as he spoke lowly. "During my meeting today, I was told I'm returning to the Middle East for three months. Is... Is there any possible way to get those orders rescinded? I'm in the middle of a detail that isn't due to stop anytime soon. The parents of those boys are still on high alert." His CO scratched his facial hair lightly, looking out the window before shuffling through some files. "I'm sorry, kid... I can try to talk to them. But I can't make promises, you know that. I know with your... History there, you'd prefer not to go back, but... If you have orders, you have orders... No going around it." Kei left the office with a renewed irritation.

He made no more stops on his way to the barracks; he changed silently and settled in his top bunk.

At exactly 4:30, two sergeants entered the barracks, clanging trash lids to wake the men up. Kei scrambled off the top bunk, almost falling as he saluted with bleary eyes. Kei was up in an instant, saluting to the two men.

"Excersice time, men!!" Kei sighed softly and quickly got into his sweats; after a quick warm-up, the men were off to the push-up, then the sit-ups, then finally the 'two' mile timed run, which led into a four-mile, then a six-mile... And an eighth mile. Which is when the sergeant at the head turned them around. Kei jogged steadily beside one of his close friends, breathing slightly hard as they finally turned around in their jog.

~~~

While Kei was keeping pace with the other men in the unit on the eight-mile jog, a group of young men were making their way to where the military men were supposed to be. Curiosity on their faces, aside from the tallest of the group, who looked around absently 

"Hey! Where's Corporal Ninato's group?"

"Hm? Oh, the Sergeant took over and decided on an eight-mile jog instead... They should be back soon, though. Poor bastards, honestly, were only supposed to be four miles total; those guys ended up with sixteen miles round trip... Feel kinda bad." The guy, the group wasn't able to figure out his rank, but was some form of a private, spoke loosely, grimacing at the numbers he rattled off before shrugging and looking at the group with a lopsided smile. "Should be back soon, though; honestly, I'm guessing it's as punishment for that one private losing you guys yesterday." He rambled, looking at the dirt trail near a forested area.

The high schoolers nodded slightly, listening to the man as they watched the wooded area, waiting for Kei to come back. However, two of the group kept a close eye on their surroundings, Mori and Honey looking around slowly while the others waited patiently for Kei.

~~~

Kei rounded the last bend of the trail, breathing hard with sweat plastered to his forehead; his sweatshirt had been shoved in his bag a few miles ago. His muscles twitched in protest from the amount of exercise he had been doing this morning, scars littering his torso and marring his skin. He came to a harsh stop near the benches the boys were hanging around; his hands fumbled slightly for his water bottle. He gulped several long drinks from the bottle; his buddy Aric came up behind him, talking animatedly about his scars.

"Dudeeee- show those off more often! Those are so hot- and I'm not gay! But damn. Scars are so cool, man." He rambled, hands moving as he stared openly at Kei's chest, abs having a few beads of sweat rolling down his abdomen. Kei finished off his water bottle before turning his gaze to look at Aric. "Aric. Shut up." His tone was flat, memories flashing through his head of each scar- most all of them came from when he was fifteen-fresh in the military and already on a tour to the Middle East- already in the field and already being hurt with white-hot pain and flesh breaking- blistering heat burning his beaten skin.

"Man- you ruin the fun in everythin-" Kei cut him off this time, expression a bit harsher than before before he turned his head toward him. "Aric. Go away. Get cleaned up." Aric took the hint this time, quickly nodding and leaving while Kei grabbed his sweatshirt from his bag, pulling it back over his scarred body, covering the marks that had been exposed- covering the story that was painted across his young body.

"You guys came quite early. Have you had breakfast yet?" They mostly said 'no', Takashi shaking his head and Kyouya simply humming. Kei checked his watch after a second, leading the group away, motioning loosely for the group to follow. "How was everyone's evening yesterday?" He asked- offering small talk on their way to the mess hall. Everyone- even Takashi- entertained the small talk, going over what they had done the previous evening in vague details.