A few days later, Satoru was walking down the corridor towards SGS's gym with a steady, almost hurried, gait.
He was hoping that on a Wednesday afternoon, not many people had the same idea as he did, namely to work up a good sweat and blow off some serious steam at SGS's impressive range of exercise machines.
He was not upset at anyone or anything; the reason for his need for physical exertion was of a different nature. Maybe, if he exhausted his body enough, he might actually be able to sleep through the night for once without dreaming of Takaoka Eiji.
The close teamwork with Eiji was as much joy as it was anguish. To be fighting side by side, to go adventuring together and retrieving Precious…And yet - to be so physically close to the handsome Ashu-hunter all the time and be able to touch him only in the same companionable way as the rest of the team did was tough. Especially on those rare occasions when Eiji aimed that killer smile of his on him. It never failed to leave Satoru feeling light-headed, and it was getting harder and harder for him to just casually grin back and turn away from that sight when all he wanted to do was grab Eiji by the collar of his jacket and kiss him into oblivion.
Until now only the hunt for Precious had given him that kind of natural high. Until now.
As Satoru walked through the doors of the exercise-facility, he nodded to himself at the thin scattering of SGS employees, but his face fell when he recognized the lone figure by the row of long, sand-filled boxing bags.
There, dressed identically to himself in grey sweatpants and grey t-shirt with SGS in bold black letters across the front, was Eiji.
Satoru groaned inwardly; what irony! Here he was trying to release some pent-up tension through exercising only to run into the very object of that tension! For a moment, he considered leaving again, yet he remained, watching, as Eiji pummeled the hanging punching bag. The Ashu-watcher's movements were so graceful and fluent it seemed to Satoru that Eiji was performing a dance rather than a boxing exercise. The heavy bag quivered under Eiji's relentless blows and Satoru was surprised to see that Eiji was not wearing any gloves, only handwraps.
Just when Satoru was getting ready to quietly slink off towards the other end of the gym, Eiji's attuned senses must have activated somehow, for the Dazzling Adventurer suddenly paused and turned, looking straight at him.
"Chief!"
"Eiji." Satoru plastered a grin on his face as he approached. "I was wondering whether I should jump in and rescue the poor punching bag from you."
Eiji laughed softly; he seemed a little embarrassed at having been observed. "No need. I'll have mercy on it and stop for now." Putting a hand on the sand-filled bag to stop it from swaying, he said, "This is just so much better than bare hands on a tree trunk."
"Ouch!"
"Yeah." Eiji leaned a shoulder against the bag and proceeded to unwrap the bindings from his hands. "But you get used to it after a while."
"Well, you should really like our training facility, then," Satoru said casually. "No splinters." But the picture of Eiji in the wilderness honing his fighting skills with the help of tree trunks, boulders and what else he could use as training materials stuck in his mind. It made him realize just how little he knew about this man.
"It works for my needs," Eiji grinned. "So what are you doing here?"
"Same thing as you, I suppose. I came to get some training in."
Reaching for his bottle of water on the mat beside the bag, Eiji said, "Well, if you need a sparring partner..." The rest was drowned by a long gulp of water, but the invitation had been implied.
"Thanks, but aren't you tired from beating up the bag?" Satoru wanted to know.
Eiji snorted. "Please. That little bit? That was just a warm-up."
The Chief cast Eiji a long glance. This is probably a bad idea, but... "All, right. What do you have in mind?"
The Ashu-hunter shrugged. "How about some good, old-fashioned hand-to-hand combat?"
Satoru had to grin; the look on Eiji's face was nonchalant, but he knew a thinly veiled challenge when he heard one. "You're on!"
SGS's training facility was divided into several sections, with half a dozen smaller martial arts practice rooms lined up against the far side of the room behind the boxing rings. They chose the cubicle farthest removed from the only other occupied one, took off their shoes and socks, then assumed their respective positions, circling one another warily. Having never trained with each other before, both men instinctively sized each other up, each trying to get a feel for the other.
Satoru's hands were raised and he moved carefully, in a pattern reminiscent of a karate kata. Eiji, on the other hand, just moved far enough to keep Satoru in front of him, his hands balled into fists, but hanging loosely at his sides.
This lax posture seemed to confuse the chief. Eiji smirked. "Where did you learn to fight, Satoru?" he asked. "Here?"
"When I joined SGS, they gave me some pretty extensive combat training, yes," Satoru said. "They train all of their employees, not just us Boukenger." His gaze never left Eiji's. "What about you?"
Eiji shrugged. "My father taught me all I needed to know to defeat the Ashu."
Satoru blinked; obviously that was not the answer he had expected. "That's all?"
"That's all."
"No formal training?"
"Never needed it."
Eiji's mouth quirked when he saw Satoru's shoulders relax a tiny bit. What, so you think that puts you on safe ground now, Akashi? You'll see...
He put on his patented condescending smirk, raised his fists to barely waist height and jerked his head in a 'bring it on' gesture. Satoru took the bait and leapt at him.
He shifted his weight, dancing out of the way and the Fiery Adventurer's blow struck empty air. For a few minutes, they traded tentative kicks and punches. Then Eiji kicked low, aiming for the backs of Satoru's knees, and Chief stumbled and fell forward. Quicker and more agile than expected, however, Satoru rolled off his shoulder and bounced back up before Eiji had a chance to pin him down.
"It's not gonna be that easy," Satoru grinned and they circled each other once more.
Now it was Eiji's turn to throw some punches. He feinted a left hook and followed it up with a right one aimed at his gut, but Satoru seemed to be prepared this time.
Chief sidestepped him and blocked two more of Eiji's blows before he seized his fist at the third. He pulled, using his moment of surprise to unbalance the lighter-haired man and smoothly angle into him, flipping him over his shoulder.
Eiji's reaction, however, was unexpected as well. Even as he was falling, his hand shot out to grab hold of Satoru's wrist, and as soon as he hit the mat, he kicked at the chief's ankle while pulling him down. Satoru fell once more, and this time Eiji didn't give him the chance to get back up. Lightning-quick he rolled on top of the Boukenger leader, pinning his wrists down to the mat. Satoru bucked, trying to dislodge him, but Eiji held fast. A victorious grin emerged at the corners of the Ashu-hunter's mouth - only to petrify half-formed when he abruptly became aware of his exact position draped over Satoru's body. Or more precisely, lying between the chief's splayed legs, their stomachs, groins and thighs pressed against each other.
Satoru had ceased his struggles as well. Apparently, the other man had come to the same realization at the exact same time.
Both of them lay frozen, looking into each other's eyes.
Pinned wrists forgotten, Eiji reached up and brushed his hair out of his eyes; a futile effort since it fell right back in again. His skin felt as if currents of electricity were sparking at every contact point with Satoru's body. Other symptoms followed promptly: the quickening of his heart, the shortness of breath and the tightness in his chest, the slow burn in his stomach…Startled, Eiji pushed off him and slumped heavily onto the mat. "I…don't...understand!"
Satoru blinked as if jolted out of a trance, then sat up as well and fixed Eiji with an intense, scrutinizing gaze. "Understand what?"
"These…these feelings!" Eiji ran his hands through his hair, bewilderment and frustration plain to see on his face. "Why? Why do I feel so different when I'm around you? It's not like that with the others."
That was true; although at first he had to get used to having people around him and being part of a team, by now he really did consider the SGS treasure hunters his friends. But these feelings of friendship were also part of his current emotional dilemma; whatever it was he was feeling for Satoru was not the same as the friendly feelings he had for the rest of the Boukengers, including Makino-sensei and Mister Voice.
He dismissed the mysterious sentiments as ones of gratitude as well. Eiji had been thankful to people before in the past for various reasons, and it had never felt like this.
Was it admiration? Possible. Akashi Satoru could be considered a hero. He was BoukenRed, the leader of SGS's elite treasure hunting team and obtainer of countless dangerous Precious. He was smart, strong, handsome, brave, but most of all, he was a good leader. He had also stared Eiji down, confronted him and refused to be intimidated by his Ashu-form, even when he was literally a second away from certain death.
But then again – something between the feelings he had just experienced and mere idolization felt off. Besides, hero worship was not something Eiji had ever indulged in. The deciding factor against this particular sentiment, however, was something else. Admiration did not manifest itself in repeat occurrences of The Dream. Eiji was certain about that.
In the back of his mind, a suspicion stirred, a by now familiar one, since it had been poking at him several times before over the past few weeks. Eiji sighed; he needed to finally either dismiss or confirm this notion once and for all, and for that he needed help. Satoru's help.
The sound of his name broke through his train of thought. He looked up to see the chief still studying him intently.
"Huh?"
"I asked what kind of feelings, Eiji?" Satoru pressed.
Slowly, haltingly, the Ashu-hunter did his best to express the characteristics of his emotions, and it was clear from the glimpses he threw Satoru from under lowered lashes that, while the meaning behind all these sensations was eluding him, it did not do so entirely.
Satoru's spirits, on the other hand, soared as he sat and listened to Eiji's descriptions. If Eiji, however convolutedly, felt the same way he did, then there was definitely hope there for them. They would work the rest out somehow.
He reined in his elation, however; too early, too tentative. This had to be done one step at a time, and the first of those steps would be to clear up Eiji's confusion.
"I believe I know what it is you're feeling, Eiji," Satoru said quietly when Eiji eventually fell silent.
Eiji's brows drew together. "Well, what is it?" he asked, and with his heart pounding in his chest, Satoru took the plunge and said, "It is…attraction."
Eiji just stared at Satoru for a long moment, and the Boukenger leader could literally see the pieces falling into place in the Ashu-hunter's mind.
A long silence followed, one that Satoru was about to break when Eiji suddenly grimaced and shot to his feet with a wordless exclamation. He would not look at Akashi as he said, "I'm sorry."
Satoru blinked as he automatically pushed himself off the mat as well. "Sorry for what?"
"I…I think you are right, and I can tell that this makes you uncomfortable," Eiji replied, still staring at the floor. His hands were at his side, balled into fists, and Satoru could see the tension in those broad shoulders. "But you don't have to worry; I can work on this. This is not going to affect our teamwork or my performance as Boukenger. I promise."
And before Chief had the time to reply, the Ashu-hunter abruptly turned and stalked towards the doorway of the training room, snatching up his shoes and socks along the way.
Satoru's voice stopped him a foot from the door. "Wait, Eiji. Please!"
It was the almost pleading intonation of that last word that had Eiji slowly turning around again. Satoru was still standing in the same spot, but now took a few tentative steps forward, narrowing the distance between them again. His voice was soft, yet intent.
"You misunderstood. It's not that I'm uncomfortable with this. Matter of fact, I was hoping this is how you would feel, because - " Satoru paused, and Eiji finally looked at him.
"Because..." he pressed.
Satoru took a breath. "I...I feel the same way."
Eiji had grown so still that he didn't even seem to be breathing. Satoru held his gaze while the look in the Ashu-hunter's brown eyes shifted from apprehension to comprehension.
"That is…If that idea doesn't send you running for the hills," Satoru added carefully, and Eiji actually snorted a laugh at the unintended pun.
"No, I think my wandering days are over."
Satoru smiled at him. "Good."
An answering grin developed on Eiji's face, and for a moment they just looked at each other, taking in this new development between them.
"So,…" Eiji drawled. "What exactly do people do who are attracted to each other?"
The blank and mildly inquisitive expression on his face was carefully cultivated, but Satoru caught the twinkle of amusement in those beautiful eyes. Eiji might be lacking practical experience in the subject, but he wasn't completely ignorant. He decided to play along.
"Well, they spend time with one another, get to know each other better, share their thoughts and feelings." He paused to lock eyes with Eiji. "They…kiss."
Although he had already envisioned something along those lines, Eiji could hear his heart pounding in his ears, could feel the heat rising into his cheeks, but all he could say was, "Ah."
Satoru's eyes stayed on him, a look somewhere between anticipation and wariness and with a start Eiji realized that the chief was waiting – for a gesture, maybe? But what kind? He could think of only one.
"I guess we should stick to tradition, then," he murmured as he reached out, grabbed a handful of Akashi's t-shirt and gently pulled him even closer. Satoru complied only too willingly.
"Good idea."
They were the same height, so neither of them had to tilt his head. They simply came together, mouths finding each other like magnets. Satoru saw Eiji's eyelids flutter closed a moment before his own did, and for the few heartbeats that their lips touched, there was no SGS, no Boukengers, no Precious, no Negative; just soft lips, Eiji's scent and his own wildly beating heart.
Perfect.
Although it was a chaste, close-mouthed getting-to-know-you kiss, it nevertheless left Satoru breathless. He desperately wanted to wrap his arms around the other man and crush him against him, or run his hands either through that hazelnut-colored hair or under the grey SGS t-shirt. But since any of these actions definitely fell into the 'too much too soon' category, he settled for curling his fingers around Eiji's upper arm instead. A few moments later, he felt a tentative hand on his shoulder in return.
When their kiss ended, they didn't move apart right away. Instead, they shared a long, silent look. Eiji seemed to be as much in need to catch his breath as Satoru was. His eyes were still slightly glassy and his cheeks were flushed, a look that Satoru leader found incredibly sensual.
More to himself than to Eiji, he murmured, "I have never kissed a man like that before."
Eiji didn't miss a beat. "Then you've got one up on me, because I've never kissed anyone like that before," the demon-watcher said. His eyes strayed to Satoru's mouth, and for a moment the chief thought Eiji would lean in for another kiss, but instead, the Dazzling Adventurer took a step back, his hand leaving Satoru's shoulder. The loss of contact almost made the chief sigh.
"I might need some time to...to process all this," Eiji said. "My way."
Satoru's brows creased slightly. "Your way?"
"Alone."
The last thing Akashi wanted at this moment was for Eiji to leave, but he found himself nodding nevertheless; Eiji had indeed quite a few things to mull over now and come to terms with, and as much as he wanted to talk to him about these new developments between them, he knew that before that could happen, Eiji had to make some decisions on his own.
So he nodded again, this time in encouragement, and Eiji gave him a slight, almost shy smile as he turned and made his way back towards the cubicle's doorway. At the threshold, he paused and looked over his shoulder.
"Don't worry. I'll be back."
"Yeah, I know," Satoru replied quietly, but Eiji was already gone, leaving the chief standing in the middle of the training room, barefoot, his mind racing in sync with his heart.
In the meantime, on the other side of the city, in an ostensibly abandoned warehouse in the harbor district, a white-robed figure let out a hoarse cackle.
"It is done!"
Arch priest Gaja turned from his lab table piled high with an assortment of glass tubes, jars and mechanical gadgets, and held up a dark green flask for the two looming figures behind him to see.
"Are you sure this will do it?" Quester Rei asked and the priest leveled a piercing glare on him.
"Of course it will! Once he drinks this potion, his transformation is a sure thing," the Gordom leader said, indignant that his abilities were questioned by his underlings. "And this time, he won't be able to fight it."
"Excellent!" Quester Gai rubbed his hands together. "And just in time, too. The new and improved Quester-Robo is ready as well. We can move out any time you wish to collect him, Gaja-sama."
At that, an evil smirk grew on the priest's face and he balled his stone-like hand into a fist. "The sooner the better, then," he replied. "Go now. Bring him to me!"
The two armored ex-Ashu warriors bowed curtly and strode towards the back of the building, their own guffaws filling the air as they made their way to their hidden mecha.
TBC…