Unlikely Pair

"Ah… I don't know how much longer I can survive on desk duty," the detective griped, "I should be out on the street solving crimes and catching criminals!"

"You've got no one to blame but yourself, Kotetsu. You really pissed the chief off this time AND lost another partner," came the patronizing reply.

"Aww c'mon Antonio! I caught the guy didn't I? Plus, it's the Chief's fault for always assigning me rookie partners," the bearded man sulked.

"You drove your car through a fence! That poor kid was traumatized. And of course he keeps assigning you rookies! Everyone else around here already knows you and your bad habits. You're a good guy, Kotetsu, but honestly you're like a wild tiger out hunting on the job sometimes."

"If I had taken the time to stop, get out of the car, climb the fence, and then continue to chase him on foot the criminal may have gotten away!"

"Not again with that 'end justifies the means' crap. Do you know how much in damages caused by YOU this precinct has to pay a year? Not to mention how many trainees you scare off within the first few months of working with you."

Kotetsu sank down into his chair and pouted a bit before replying, "So you really don't think the Chief will let me off?"

Antonio stared dumbfounded at his friend for a bit before bursting out in raucous laughter. "You have GOT to be kidding me! Don't you even think about talking to the Chief right now. Just do as he says for a while and he'll eventually let you back out into the field," he advised.

Kotetsu smiled bashfully up at his friend and chuckled, "I guess you're right.. I'll be good and stick to the paperwork for now. But if I'm not off desk duty in a week, I'm not gonna be able to keep quiet about it anymore."

"Haha. Alright. I guess that's reasonable enough," Antonio quipped before pushing the front of Kotetsu's hat down over his eyes, "you about ready to get out of here? I'm starving."

'Che- Kotetsu pouted as he righted his hat on his head, "Just let me finish up this last bit and I'll be ready to go."

"Got'cha. I'll be waiting out front," Antonio said as he turned and waved over his shoulder.

It took about five minutes for Kotetsu to finish up the last of the forms. He pushed back in his chair, stretched his arms out behind him and yawned lazily before standing and walking over to the file room.

'Aww man, seriously? All the way up there?' he thought to himself when he located the proper shelf, 'better make it quick.' He spotted a stepladder off to the side of the room and used it to climb as high up as it would allow. "Damn. Can't quite reach-" he said aloud, stretching up onto the balls of his feet to reach up and roughly shove the folder into its place.

"Got it!" he exclaimed, cheerfully. "Now I've just gotta- W-whoa!" he cried as he lost his balance and tumbled backwards off of the ladder. He covered his face with his hands and mentally braced himself for the impending impact with the floor. To his surprise, instead of hitting solid ground, he fell into a comfortable, yielding warmth.

"You should be more careful, old man," came the voice of a man Kotetsu didn't recognize.

'OLD MAN?' Kotetsu fumed inwardly as he quickly withdrew his hands to glare up at his 'rescuer'. Heated brown eyes met mocking green, and the stranger was revealed to be a tall, younger man. He wore a strange biking helmet with long, pointed additions on either side. 'Kind of like bunny ears,' he thought. As he inspected the man further, he could see strands of blonde framing his face where visible. It was then he noticed that face was now smirking down at him.

Suddenly feeling self-conscious he finally came to his senses and became all too aware of his award position in the other man's arms and says, "Uh.. thanks for helping me out and all, but could you put me down?"

"Whatever you say," came the response and the taller man all but dumped him to the floor. "Try to be a little more careful~" he taunts as he nimbly saunters out the door.

Kotetsu sat on the floor speechless for a while, unable to sort through his mixed emotions. He knows he should be grateful to the stranger for bothering to help him, but he finds he's far too irritated to care.

"Che- Old man, he says," he muttered mirthlessly, picking himself up off the ground, "who was that bunny-boy anyway?"

Just as he made his way back out to his desk and began to gather his things to leave, he heard a door swing open and a voice call out from behind him, "Kaburagi. Before you leave for the day I want to see you in my office."

"O-okay, Chief," came Kotetsu's wary reply. 'What did I do this time? I've been stuck in the office for the past couple of days… I couldn't possibly be in any more trouble, could I? Man, today sucks,' he thought ruefully to himself as he ushered himself into Chief Maverick's office.

Kotetsu took his usual spot in the chair opposite the desk and asked, "You wanted to see me, sir?"

"I just wanted to check in and see how you're liking your desk job?" the Chief questioned with a sly smile.

Kotetsu did his best to keep his expression as friendly as possible and answered, "Oh it's not bad, sir. I guess it's always good to have a change of pace every once in a while."

"Oh? Is that so? Well since you seem to be adjusting to your current position, I'd feel bad taking you off so suddenly…"

Kotetsu's face lit up at the prospect of getting to do some real work. "I'll go wherever you need me to, sir!" he spat hurriedly, "D-did you want me back on my regular job?"

The older man chuckled at his enthusiasm and replied, "That's the plan for now. But don't for a second think that I've forgotten about the mess you made on your last case."

"I'm really sorry about all that… I just have a habit of acting first without thinking things through."

"It's because of those instincts that you've managed to make it as a detective for this long, Kaburagi," Maverick conceded, "but I do want you to learn some restraint. That's what I'm hoping your new partner can teach you. His name is Barnaby Brooks Jr. He's transferring into our district as of tomorrow, and I want you to show him the ropes."

"Not to sound ungrateful or anything, Chief, but do you really think it'd be good for me to work with another rookie?" Kotetsu questioned, knowing his poor track record with new partners.

"I don't think even you'll be able to scare this one away. He's smart, careful, and everything needed to balance you out. Hopefully working with Barnaby, will help you learn to curb that wild streak. You'll be meeting him first thing tomorrow morning. That's all I wanted you to know. Good work today."

"Got it, Chief. Thanks," he stated and made to leave the office. "Oh, but before I leave mind telling me what he looks like so I'll be able to recognize him?"

"Ah, that's right. I meant to show you this earlier. This is a picture of him from his file," the older man said as he passed a photo over the desk.

Kotetsu's eyes widened in shock the second the picture came into his sight. Those taunting green eyes stared up at him and it took everything in him not to make a sound. 'That BUNNY is my new partner?'