Hello everyone, nice to meet you. Here is my new crack pairing(s) story! Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Half a rescue

Akira Hidaka cursed her own stupidity as she set her foot down with a wince, stupid cliché handbag snatcher, she hadn't had to intervene, she was a member of Scepter 4, and, while affiliated with the police force, she was not a policewoman. But what was she supposed to do, let him get away? So she'd arrested the guy but in the ensuring scuffle one of his kicks had made contact with her leg, right in the crease between her foot and her calf, knocking her off balance and when she tumbled to the ground she twisted her ankle painfully.

So afterwards it was with ill humour that Hidaka limped back towards Scepter 4 muttering to herself about no good gutter trash who had to ruin other people's day.

Just as she was grumbling this particular grumble she crossed paths with an overweight young man with short blond hair and a goatee and, to her horror, recognized him.

He was... um... er... that guy! From HOMRA! The one who hung around with that tiny redhead girl.

His chances of not recognizing her were nonexistent considering she was in full uniform. And -oh crap- she didn't even have her sabre with her. The best she could hope for was that the new Red King, the little girl, had talked some sense into her Clansmen, she didn't want a fight. Even if she was fully fit and had her sword with her she wouldn't want to fight. Problem was, not many from HOMRA seemed to share that sentiment.

Please just ignore me, she begged mentally.

She was almost past him when the guy turned to her, "hey, Scepter 4 lady?"

Brilliant, she thought sarcastically.

The next words out of his mouth shocked her so badly you could have knocked her down with a feather, "are you alright?"

"What?!" Hidaka blurted, stunned.

"Your leg," he elaborated, "it looks like your injured, did you hurt it somehow?"

Yeah, jumping up in surprise upon finding out HOMRA goons actually have souls, Hidaka thought.

But that was mean so she didn't say that, "n-no," she stammered instead, "I'm fine, it's just a sprain," she attempted to walk properly to show that she was perfectly okay thank-you-very-much-please-stop-talking-to-me, she probably failed miserably but the attempt was what mattered.

The blond guy did not look remotely convinced, "are you sure? You don't want some help getting back to Scepter 4?"

Ah, so he was aware of what this uniform meant, Hidaka had been worried he'd mistaken her for someone who wasn't a mortal enemy of his Clan.

"N-no, that's okay, my foot's just a little sore, I'll be fine. You can go back to HOMRA," she threw that line in there to make sure he knew she'd recognized him too, "thank you for offering though," she added, remembering her manners, she gave him one of her bright smiles.

He still looked unsure, "well, okay, goodbye then." He nodded respectfully to her and she gave a stupid little wave back before turning around.

Naturally, the second she did she lost her balance and tumbled backwards, strong, yet soft arms caught her before she hit the cold, hard cement that had been the cause of her woes all day.

"Gotcha," it was that HOMRA guy, naturally, just her luck.

"Please, let me help you!" He seemed genuinely concerned.

He put one of her arms around his neck and placed one around her waist, Hidaka tried not to tense up at the contact (nothing to do with the guy, she was just insanely ticklish, everywhere).

The two made good time down the street, "I'm Rikio Kamamoto, by the way," the guy said cheerfully.

"Akira Hidaka," said Hidaka, not quite sure what had become of her life.

"Nice to meet you Hidaka!" Said Kamamoto, somehow managing to sound like he meant it.

No, really Mr. Kamamoto, the pleasure was all hers, really.

They stopped at the big iron (well Hidaka assumed they were iron she actually had no idea) gates out the front of Scepter 4, the ones you couldn't get past without an ID.

"Here ya go!" Kamamoto made sure she had her footing before letting go of her waist, Hidaka awkwardly removed her arm from around his neck, it was aching a little, he was a lot taller than she was.

"Thank you for your help," she said, still feeling like someone had kicked her in the head, not the foot.

He raised a hand in farewell, "hey, maybe we'll run into each other again sometime! See ya"

"Bye!" She called cheerfully, what is wrong with my life, she thought, much less cheerfully.

Hidaka waited until she could no longer see Kamamoto's broad back in the distance and then turned and hobbled into her, at the moment, favourite building in the world.

"I just had the weirdest day," she moaned to Enomoto as she passed her friend's desk.

The four-months-pregnant woman pushed her glasses up her nose and raised an eyebrow as she observed the older woman's obvious limp, "even weirder than the time Domyoji-"

"YES!" Hidaka almost yelled, cutting her off, today might have been weirder but she still wasn't ready to talk about the time Domyoji had done The Thing.

Contrary to Hidaka's fervent wishes she did see Rikio Kamamoto of HOMRA again, a few weeks later. HOMRA had began to let itself be seen in the world again, after gaining a new Red King the inner circle of the clan had decided to stay together.

Contrary to what they believed Scepter 4 as a whole was actually fairly pleased about this, if HOMRA disappeared the more vicious and ruthless gangs HOMRA had chased out would come back, drug rings and prostitution would come back and no one in Scepter 4 wanted that or wanted to deal with that. And it was better if the inner ring of HOMRA stayed the same too. Scepter 4 was accustomed to them and knew all their faces; they didn't want anyone else taking over. As the old saying went: better the Devil you know than the Devil you don't.

The only person who seemed to be genuinely aggrieved by the remnants of HOMRA staying together was Mr. Fushimi and he always looked annoyed with something so no one really paid him any mind. Hidaka tried inviting him to a couple of Scepter 4 get togethers but, as usual, was more or less told to go shove it.

However, one day Hidaka was walking down a street, minding her own business. But since this time there were no purse-snatchers or twisted ankles she was in a great mood and humming to herself as she walked.

"Oh, hello Kamamoto," said Hidaka as she spied the man coming out of a bakery, instantly she wished she'd just kept walking. Why couldn't she think first and talk second?!

Oh well, he probably wouldn't remember her anyway.

Kamamoto looked surprised for a second, then his face morphed into a smile, "hey Hidaka! How's your leg? Feeling better?"

Ah, so he did remember her, that cheered Hidaka up. She smiled back, "it's fine now. Thank you so much."

He seemed genuinely pleased to hear it, "well that's good. Nice seeing you again."

"Yeah, you too," said Hidaka and was surprised to find she meant it. As far as Red Clansmen went, Kamamoto wasn't so bad.

The pair said goodbye and made to go their separate ways, but suddenly Kamamoto paused and rummaged in one of the bags he was holding, he pulled out a small white paper bag and thrust it into her hands, "I brought too many so you have this one!" He smiled at her again, "see ya round."

He left before she could return the farewell or thank him for the bag, after he was gone she peeked inside, it was a chocolate donut.

Why not?

She ended up giving the donut to Domyoji, whom, unlike Hidaka, had been stuck at her desk all day. Domyoji almost cried and said that Hidaka was a Goddess among insects. Hidaka wondered if the redhead would feel the same way if she knew a member of HOMRA had given her that donut in the first place.

But what Domyoji didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

The third time Akira Hidaka ran into Rikio Kamamoto it was scarcely three days later and she wasn't wandering around, she was enjoying her afternoon off by sitting on the grass (thankfully not covered in frost) under a tree at a park and just enjoying the peace and tranquillity. Domyoji had done The Thing again so she was unlikely to find peace and tranquillity at the office for at least another three hours.

"Every time I see you you're always out here on your own, why is that?"

Akira, who'd admittedly been dozing off, jerked upright with a gasp and looked up.

Rikio smiled down at her before sitting next to her on the grass, "hey," he greeted her.

"Hey," said Hidaka, blinking owlishly, then she shook herself awake and went back to his question, "well that's normally because I'm out on an errand, I always volunteer for them. I can't stand being cooped up at my desk all day. It drives me crazy."

Kamamoto looked around the park and at the tree they were sitting under, "uh, are you running an errand right now?"

"Obviously," teased Hidaka, "can't you see how seriously I'm taking my job?"

He caught on immediately that she was joking and grinned, "okay, stupid question. I get it."

"So, what are you doing here talking to me?" She asked.

"Does it bother you that I talk to you?" Rikio asked, he hadn't considered that, even when they'd only just met Hidaka had seemed like an okay woman, for a Blue anyway, she hadn't looked down on him and hadn't let their respective Clans get in the way of conversing like two mature (more or less) adults.

Hidaka stretched and leaned back until she was resting against the tree again, "no. It doesn't bother me, I was just surprised, that's all." She said honestly.

"Yeah me too, but you don't seem so bad. For an uptight Blue," he added with a smile.

Hidaka smiled back at him again, she wasn't uptight but she knew the reputation her Clan held, especially in comparison to the Reds.

"Why thank you, you're not so bad yourself. For an uncivilized Red," she teased.

Humour sparkled in Kamamoto's eyes as he leaned back against the tree too. Neither of them felt the need to speak again and slowly, even though they were in the presence of an enemy Clansman, first Hidaka and then Rikio, drifted into a light doze, content in each other's company.

Ren Goto slung an arm around his best friend's shoulders, "you know, I haven't seen you in a while Hidaka," he told her, warmth in his tone and green eyes.

Hidaka grinned back, "you work at the desk next to mine," she reminded him.

"Yeah but that isn't the same," he said, shaking his head, "where do you go on all your breaks? You're never here!"

Hidaka shrugged, "I like to wander around the city, it's so pretty in winter."

Goto wrinkled his nose, "yeah, when it's snowing, maybe, I hate to burst your bubble but that doesn't look like it's going to be snow," he gestured up at the dark, heavy clouds, "it looks like it's going to rain any minute now."

Hidaka looked too, a single drop of water hit her cheek and there was a crack of thunder, and that was all the warning the pair of them got before the heavens opened and buckets and buckets of water poured down on the pair of them, drenching them instantly.

They both cursed and shook themselves, "you just had to tempt fate, didn't you Goto?" Asked Hidaka, wiping her eyes.

"My bad," he agreed, pushing back his rapidly dampening hair, "sorry."

"Yeah you should be," agreed Hidaka, now what were they gonna do about this?

An idea came to her, she rejected it, this was a workplace where they were supposed to be acting like mature adults, but...

She gave a mental shrug, what the heck? You only live once.

She tapped Goto's arm, "tag. You're it," she ran off, careful not to slip on the wet cement and die.

Goto stared after her for a second wondering what the Hell was going on before it clicked with him and he cursed himself for not being quicker, physically and mentally. He bolted after her yelling "get back here!" And Hidaka's laugher echoed around him, mixing with his own.

Twenty minutes later found them both leaning against the side of a building, panting and dripping wet, their hair and uniform drenched and water beginning to trickle uncomfortably into their boots.

"Okay," gasped Hidaka, "maybe we should, you know, get inside and get changed, before we," another gasp, "die of pneumonia or something."

"Good idea," panted Goto.

They walked down the path towards the dormitories, "so," asked Hidaka, "do you still miss me?"

Goto looked down at his soaked uniform, "I'm beginning to regret ever stopping to talk to you," he said, but she heard the smile in his voice.

They reached the divide where you had to go right to get to the boys dorms and left to get to the girls, "I'll see you tomorrow," Hidaka said.

Goto nodded, "see you then."

She made to turn away but Goto's hand on her arm stopped her, "hey Akira?"

"Hmm?" She turned back to him.

He kissed her softly, "you're it."

He left, leaving Hidaka standing in the rain out front of the dorms, a pleasant warmth in her chest despite her chilled skin and her lips tingling. She smiled and shook her head, Goto was a weirdo.

But he was her weirdo.

What am I doing here? Why did I take Kamamoto up on his offer? I must be insane, thought Hidaka, staring up at the bar HOMRA and trying to work up the courage to actually walk in.

She had been on a very important mission for Scepter 4 (picking up the takeout for dinner) when she ran into Kamamoto again.

Hidaka didn't know why she continued to be so amazed when she ran into him, Shizume wasn't exactly a huge city and since they and Scepter 4 shared the same area, she regularly crossed paths with members of the Red Clan. The only thing really noteworthy about bumping into Kamamoto was that she always stopped to talk with him, even if it was only for a few seconds.

Well this time she'd simply exchanged a greeting, barely more than a nod of the head and a hello, he looked busy too, clutching a piece of paper that was probably a shopping list and several bags, and she had food to bring back to several starving members of Scepter 4. Due to a Strain incident involving a buritto, fire, and several flasks of antiseptic, there'd been one Hell of a mess and everyone had ended up working through lunch, so they were all (Hidaka included) tired, slightly grumpy, smelling like chemicals, and hungry.

But out of the blue (no pun intended), Kamamoto had said, "hey, Hidaka, next time you have some time off, if you're not too busy, why don't you visit bar HOMRA?"

She'd frozen, torn between the polite 'I'm not sure that's a good idea,' and the much less polite (but much more heartfelt) 'oh Hell no!'

"I'll always be there," he'd continued, "and I'd love for you to see our headquarters," he'd rubbed the back of his head and laughed slightly, "we're not all the savages you might think we are."

She should have said no, her every ounce of common sense was telling her to say no. But when had Akira Hidaka ever listened to common sense, even if it was her own common sense?

"Sure," she'd said. Like an idiot.

And that was how she'd found herself in her current predicament.

She could just walk away, she could turn around and walk away, she wouldn't be disappointing Kamamoto, he had no idea when her afternoons off were, she could just turn around and walk away and he'd be none the wiser.

But she'd know. And Akira had called herself a lot of bad things in her life, usually when she had gotten herself into a really dumb situation, like right now, but she never called herself a coward.

Come on, she told herself firmly, you've tried to make friends with Mr. Fushimi! The whole of HOMRA can't be half as bad as that!

Her heart stuttered, Hidaka had heard through the grapevine that the new Red King, the young Anna Kushina had a rule about 'not burning people who don't need to be burnt.' But was pretty sure that she would be considered one of the few people who did genuinely need to be burnt.

So either her body was going to be burnt to ashes if she went in there, or her pride was going to be burnt to smithereens if she didn't.

"Come on," she said to herself out loud, "you're being stereotypical, Red's aren't crazy fire-happy, bat-happy bastards," she thought about that statement for a bit.

"Most Red's aren't crazy fire-happy, bat-happy bastards," she corrected herself.

Then she stopped, that still didn't sound right, "some Red's aren't crazy fire-happy, bat-happy bastards," she said.

But that still wasn't true and she knew it, "a few Red's aren't crazy fire-happy, bat-happy bastards?" She tried, but that still sounded like a lie.

Hidaka huffed angrily, "well I know Kamamoto isn't a crazy fire-happy, bat-happy bastard," she said firmly.

And, before she could change her mind or come to her senses, walked to the door of HOMRA and pushed it open.

Done! Let me know what you think guys! Until next time! Bye!