The look on Takagi’s face as she confessed to having technical difficulties was priceless.
“You’re stuck?” Saitoh asked dryly, one narrow eyebrow quirking up. Not content to simply piss of Minato by insisting that a woman trespass the sanctity of his office, he’d also lit up and was half way through as well needed cigarette, unsure what was better, the taste of tobacco or the sounds of the armor master fussing and fretting that one stray cigarette cinder was going to result in them all being blown to kingdom come. She nodded, and opened the door a crack more, the reluctant invitation clear.
“Yare, yare,” he exhaled slowly, savoring the smoke before pushing off the wall and walking over to the office, “let’s see what we can do to get you unstuck then.”
And then the smell hit him.
“Gods, Demons and Hepatitis C,” he muttered in distaste as he took in the profoundly filthy office. His sensitive nose protesting the pungent assault, he took a deep drag of the cigarette and then dropped it on the floor, crushing it carefully beneath a boot. A cockroach went skittering by his foot and instantly met the same fate.
A little skittering sound behind the overflowing garbage can made the officer suspect that there were vermin of a slightly larger variety lurking in Minato’s office and he was half-tempted to drag Takagi out of the hazmat violation and get her vest sticking situation resolved in a slightly less stinky locale.
Speaking of vests….
“Not wonder you’re having trouble,” Saitoh shut the door behind him, then turned and faced the attorney, “your vest is on backwards.” As expected Takagi’s face went red and she began apologizing. “Why say sorry? You’ve never worn one before,” he said bluntly as he began examining the front of her armor, which was currently residing on her back. “If I had 100 Yen for every squad member that made a similar error the first time they were fitted for body armor, I’d have already retired a rich man. So quit fussing.”
Saitoh leaned over a little and began tugging at the adjusting straps. They were far too tight and restricting for anyone’s comfort. For a second he wondered if Takagi was responsible for mashing her poor breasts against her tightly constricted chest, then dismissed the thought entirely when he realized how she’d come to be stuck in the first place.
“Minato, you sneaky son of a bitch,” Saitoh swore as he undid an intentionally knotted strap. She felt the vest loosen fractionally and Takagi take what he was sure was a well needed deep breath. “The bespectacled twit cinched up your vest, thinking I’m sure, that he was being terribly clever.” Saitoh’s tone was the polar opposite of amused as he tugged at another strap, trying to allow the woman a measure of relief.
“This isn’t going to work,” Saitoh groused, frowning for a second. He thought for a moment, then moved his hands sliding his fingers beneath the shoulder sections of the vest. “Arms up,” he requested and when Takagi complied, he gave the vest a tug up, then another one.
“I could kill him you know,” Saitoh growled as he tugged up and Takagi twisted this way and that, trying to get the damn vest of her, “we could stuff his body in this shithole of an office and no one would be the wiser.”
After a minute or so of tugging, the vest slipped off over Takagi’s head. Saitoh felt great relief, partly because she could breathe properly and partly because her back was turned to him. In the tug and tussle, her sports bra had caught on the vest and was pulled up high on her back, past her shoulder blades the fabric twisted. Without thinking, Saitoh reached down and pulled the fabric down where it belonged, then froze when he felt the woman stiffen and heard a gasp that had nothing to do with no longer wearing too restrictive body armor.
He frowned, realizing his mistake. He’d done this with wife before, helped her in and out of the crazy contraptions that women were wont to wear and had not thought anything of it. (This woman is not your wife, Moron) At least not yet. Not wanting to frighten her, or worse, have her think that he was not a man capable of keeping his word, he put his hand back on her back, gently.
“Be at ease” he said quietly, and after a second, when she relaxed a little, he removed his hand, “my intentions towards you have always been and always will be honorable.”
He encouraged her to turn around, so she could look him in the eyes and know for herself that the only danger to her wellbeing was whatever was lurking behind Minato’s trashcan. Keeping his eyes fixed on her face; he loosened the vest properly, and helped her slip it back on. Now properly fitted, it slipped on easily, allowing perfectly for the curves and contours of her body.
“Better?” he asked, waiting for an affirmative response before he continued. “I’m going to adjust my vest now and then activate it. Watch closely and then make similar adjustments on your own armor.”
Saitoh made an adjustment, explaining the form and function, and then watched as the woman followed his example and began making modifications on her own.
“Do you feel this?” he asked when they were nearly done, taking one of her little hands and pushing it the side of his ribcage, pushing the material flush against his skin. “The little give?’ he pushed again slightly. “The poly-kevlar has not been activated yet and is still in gel form. This state will allow you to fashion armor that fits you perfectly and will give you much better protection than standard issue armor.”
Saitoh then motioned to the activation button on his armor. “The introduction of the electrical current the first time will cause the gel to solidify, becoming a poly carbonate that will stop most velocity and energy rounds.” He smirked a little, “of course, the vest is not infallible as you saw the other day, but it is the best protection that I can offer you at this point in time.”
His smirk fell and he became deadly serious. “Never leave your home without this on, Takagi-san. Never allow anyone to touch or borrow your armor, not even for a minute, unless you trust that person with your very life.” He hesitated for a second, then reached over and gently brushed her hair back behind her ears, for several seconds he let his hand rest, his long fingers following the elegant line of her slender jaw and neck, feeling her strong pulse leap beneath his touch. “Promise me, promise yourself, on whatever you hold most dear, that you never allow yourself to be as vulnerable as you were yesterday at the diner. If I hadn’t come in for coffee after a long shift, you would be dead, or wishing that were dead.”
“One slip up, one mistake is all it takes and you’re gone.” He pulled his hand away reluctantly, his eyes darkening with the dearly-won knowledge that had broken his heart and very nearly broken him. “I would ask that you never put yourself, or those who care for you in such a position.”
Saitoh reached down and activated her vest, adjusting the setting to a high, but not overloading level. "It takes 4 minutes for the poly-kevlar to set." He then activated his own armor, as crackle of light and energy erupted from the armor, enveloping them both in beautiful blue-white light.
no subject
“You’re stuck?” Saitoh asked dryly, one narrow eyebrow quirking up. Not content to simply piss of Minato by insisting that a woman trespass the sanctity of his office, he’d also lit up and was half way through as well needed cigarette, unsure what was better, the taste of tobacco or the sounds of the armor master fussing and fretting that one stray cigarette cinder was going to result in them all being blown to kingdom come.
She nodded, and opened the door a crack more, the reluctant invitation clear.
“Yare, yare,” he exhaled slowly, savoring the smoke before pushing off the wall and walking over to the office, “let’s see what we can do to get you unstuck then.”
And then the smell hit him.
“Gods, Demons and Hepatitis C,” he muttered in distaste as he took in the profoundly filthy office. His sensitive nose protesting the pungent assault, he took a deep drag of the cigarette and then dropped it on the floor, crushing it carefully beneath a boot. A cockroach went skittering by his foot and instantly met the same fate.
A little skittering sound behind the overflowing garbage can made the officer suspect that there were vermin of a slightly larger variety lurking in Minato’s office and he was half-tempted to drag Takagi out of the hazmat violation and get her vest sticking situation resolved in a slightly less stinky locale.
Speaking of vests….
“Not wonder you’re having trouble,” Saitoh shut the door behind him, then turned and faced the attorney, “your vest is on backwards.”
As expected Takagi’s face went red and she began apologizing. “Why say sorry? You’ve never worn one before,” he said bluntly as he began examining the front of her armor, which was currently residing on her back. “If I had 100 Yen for every squad member that made a similar error the first time they were fitted for body armor, I’d have already retired a rich man. So quit fussing.”
Saitoh leaned over a little and began tugging at the adjusting straps. They were far too tight and restricting for anyone’s comfort. For a second he wondered if Takagi was responsible for mashing her poor breasts against her tightly constricted chest, then dismissed the thought entirely when he realized how she’d come to be stuck in the first place.
“Minato, you sneaky son of a bitch,” Saitoh swore as he undid an intentionally knotted strap. She felt the vest loosen fractionally and Takagi take what he was sure was a well needed deep breath. “The bespectacled twit cinched up your vest, thinking I’m sure, that he was being terribly clever.” Saitoh’s tone was the polar opposite of amused as he tugged at another strap, trying to allow the woman a measure of relief.
“This isn’t going to work,” Saitoh groused, frowning for a second. He thought for a moment, then moved his hands sliding his fingers beneath the shoulder sections of the vest. “Arms up,” he requested and when Takagi complied, he gave the vest a tug up, then another one.
“I could kill him you know,” Saitoh growled as he tugged up and Takagi twisted this way and that, trying to get the damn vest of her, “we could stuff his body in this shithole of an office and no one would be the wiser.”
After a minute or so of tugging, the vest slipped off over Takagi’s head. Saitoh felt great relief, partly because she could breathe properly and partly because her back was turned to him. In the tug and tussle, her sports bra had caught on the vest and was pulled up high on her back, past her shoulder blades the fabric twisted. Without thinking, Saitoh reached down and pulled the fabric down where it belonged, then froze when he felt the woman stiffen and heard a gasp that had nothing to do with no longer wearing too restrictive body armor.
He frowned, realizing his mistake. He’d done this with wife before, helped her in and out of the crazy contraptions that women were wont to wear and had not thought anything of it. (This woman is not your wife, Moron) At least not yet. Not wanting to frighten her, or worse, have her think that he was not a man capable of keeping his word, he put his hand back on her back, gently.
“Be at ease” he said quietly, and after a second, when she relaxed a little, he removed his hand, “my intentions towards you have always been and always will be honorable.”
He encouraged her to turn around, so she could look him in the eyes and know for herself that the only danger to her wellbeing was whatever was lurking behind Minato’s trashcan. Keeping his eyes fixed on her face; he loosened the vest properly, and helped her slip it back on. Now properly fitted, it slipped on easily, allowing perfectly for the curves and contours of her body.
“Better?” he asked, waiting for an affirmative response before he continued.
“I’m going to adjust my vest now and then activate it. Watch closely and then make similar adjustments on your own armor.”
Saitoh made an adjustment, explaining the form and function, and then watched as the woman followed his example and began making modifications on her own.
“Do you feel this?” he asked when they were nearly done, taking one of her little hands and pushing it the side of his ribcage, pushing the material flush against his skin. “The little give?’ he pushed again slightly. “The poly-kevlar has not been activated yet and is still in gel form. This state will allow you to fashion armor that fits you perfectly and will give you much better protection than standard issue armor.”
Saitoh then motioned to the activation button on his armor. “The introduction of the electrical current the first time will cause the gel to solidify, becoming a poly carbonate that will stop most velocity and energy rounds.” He smirked a little, “of course, the vest is not infallible as you saw the other day, but it is the best protection that I can offer you at this point in time.”
His smirk fell and he became deadly serious. “Never leave your home without this on, Takagi-san. Never allow anyone to touch or borrow your armor, not even for a minute, unless you trust that person with your very life.” He hesitated for a second, then reached over and gently brushed her hair back behind her ears, for several seconds he let his hand rest, his long fingers following the elegant line of her slender jaw and neck, feeling her strong pulse leap beneath his touch. “Promise me, promise yourself, on whatever you hold most dear, that you never allow yourself to be as vulnerable as you were yesterday at the diner. If I hadn’t come in for coffee after a long shift, you would be dead, or wishing that were dead.”
“One slip up, one mistake is all it takes and you’re gone.” He pulled his hand away reluctantly, his eyes darkening with the dearly-won knowledge that had broken his heart and very nearly broken him. “I would ask that you never put yourself, or those who care for you in such a position.”
Saitoh reached down and activated her vest, adjusting the setting to a high, but not overloading level. "It takes 4 minutes for the poly-kevlar to set." He then activated his own armor, as crackle of light and energy erupted from the armor, enveloping them both in beautiful blue-white light.