Academy finals were the worst. Yuuta grit his teeth and ran his hands through his hair, eyes slightly bloodshot. 17 years old and still up late. Deckerd teased him about his nightowl habits on a daily basis, even if he was no better. Yuuta sat back in his chair, sighing and rubbing at an eye. If he could just take a short break maybe he'd be able to type the rest of his 25 page essay on traffic laws. Maybe.

There was a knock at his door and he wondered absently if it was Saejima. The man had been dropping by to give him surprise quiz questions, and he'd usually bring Deckerd along. Grateful for some company in misery, he stretched and walked over to the door, yawning.

"Saejima, what've you got for m— …o—oh." Saejima wasn't blonde.

Regina stifled a laugh, leaning against his doorframe. "I didn't know the commissioner was into wearing make up," she teased, and in the dim light she could tell Yuuta's face was one of humiliation and 'you'll never let me live this down.' She nodded. "I heard your finals were this week— how are you holding up?"

Yuuta shook himself out of his embarrassment, quickly shrugging. "It's impolite to use such terms in front of a lady," he grinned, stepping aside to let his friend in. He blinked at the fast food cups she carried. "That's not some 'magic A's' potion is it, because it'd trade you my car for it."

Regina set a cup on his desk, taking a sip of her own and peering at his computerscreen. She laughed softly. "Deckerd would be very upset to know you'd trade him for coffee."

"Coffee, huh? You're a real lifesaver." Yuuta walked over to poke her shoulder, indicating she sit at the desk. She was still a head taller than he was.

Taking a seat and crossing her legs, Regina smiled up at him. "Well, Deckerd can't follow you everywhere, so I take it upon myself to save you." She paused, nudging his knee with her shoe. "God forbid you retain your tendency to find trouble and get abducted at the worst possible moment."

The comment made him sputter. "That only happened a few times during this career—"

"Yuuta, 37 times in 6 years is not normal for a typical policeman. If you were studying you'd know this."