Vests thousand layers of routines

“There are lots of interesting people here, so it never gets boring… There’s even someone younger than all of us who got in thanks to an outstanding written exam, and he works super hard in private.”

“I’ll introduce you to them next time, Natalie.”

… …

Squad leader Wataru?

Kasugawa Shugo, who vaguely heard a familiar voice, looked toward the corner.

Even though he had been punished with that group of idiots to run three laps this morning, he couldn’t just skip his nightly workout. Because of his terrible stamina stat, he dragged his sore body to the police academy’s training ground for his usual night run. However, today’s extra effort made it especially tough, so he finished about twenty minutes later than usual, meaning he just finished showering and was now rushing back to the dorms right before lights out.

He didn’t expect to run into Squad Leader Wataru making a phone call.

Since the police academy was stricter than other colleges, trainees weren’t allowed to use mobile phones during training. That’s why public phone booths were set up downstairs at the dorms—you could swipe your ID card to use them… though honestly, most people secretly kept their phones anyway.

With a towel thrown over his head and his curly chestnut hair still damp, Shugo planned to race against time in the hallway to dry his hair using the communal blow-dryer.

Even though they’d all once questioned why there was a high-powered hairdryer in a male dorm, it really came in handy during emergencies.

The blow-dryer was right next to the public phone. As Shugo walked over without bothering to mask his footsteps, Wataru quickly noticed him, instinctively lowered his voice, and, seeing who it was, spoke a few more hurried words before hanging up.

“Squad leader, were you calling your girlfriend?” Shugo teased casually. But surprisingly, Wataru actually blushed.

Normally, he was the most mature among them, both in looks and mind—though he had a delicate side, he usually came across as easygoing. Being the only one of the four who didn’t style his hair, he looked like a typical manga musclehead. It was rare to see him this flustered.

Quickly, Shugo whipped out his phone and snapped a picture. “Ooh, a rare blushing Squad Leader! This is definitely an SSR-grade photo!”

“You brat!” Wataru glanced at the clock, then at Shugo’s still-wet hair. Instead of grabbing the phone, he changed tactics, ruffling the towel over Shugo’s head with one hand while grabbing the blow-dryer with the other to blast his hair dry.

“Ran late from night running again, huh? Why so late today?”

“Squad leader—!” Shugo protested, struggling for a moment before snatching the towel back. “I’m not a kid! And you were way too rough, my scalp almost came off.”

“Haha, sorry, sorry.”

Since his hair was thick but short, it only took five minutes to dry. He fluffed his hair a bit, hung the towel around his neck, and walked with Wataru back toward the dorm rooms.

“Why didn’t you just use your phone to call? I thought you had one.”

“Battery died,” Wataru said, scratching his head.

“Oh right,” Shugo smacked his own forehead. “I forgot your charging cable broke last night.”

Last night, Jinpei Matsuda and Kenji Hawigara had sneaked out after curfew to buy instant noodles and sodas from the nearby convenience store. Six of them then crammed into Wataru’s room for a midnight snack session, and the resulting chaos broke Wataru’s charger.

Seriously though, what kind of gorilla can break a charging cable with their bare hands? Shugo couldn’t help but pout. Wataru being a musclehead made sense—he was obviously buff—but the others looked fit but normal. Yet somehow, they were all ridiculously strong.

Maybe his face was too expressive, because as they casually chatted about the day, Wataru noticed and asked what was up. Shugo explained, and Wataru burst out laughing, his voice echoing down the hallway.

“Shugo, you’re amazing too. You’re already being called in for case consultations,” Wataru said as they stopped outside Shugo’s door. He reached out and ruffled his freshly dried hair again. “I’ve always wondered what curls feel like. If I tried to ruffle Matsuda’s hair, he’d bite my hand off.”

“So you’re using me as a substitute?” Shugo shot him a side-eye as he opened his door. For a second, the whole scene felt weirdly like a boyfriend walking his girlfriend home. Shugo shivered and shook his head furiously to banish the thought.

“Good night, squad leader.”

“Good night.”

Once back in bed, he posted the SSR photo he took earlier into their six-person group chat. Wataru, who didn’t have a working phone, remained blissfully unaware of the rounds of laughter he was subjected to.

Still… he remembered the expression Wataru had when he was on the phone.

So gentle…

No, wait—not gentle at all!

After being thrown to the ground, Shugo crawled off the training mat and sat down beside Morofushi Hiromitsu, taking off his protective helmet.

“I can’t believe I’m still alive. I thought I was done for.”

“Squad leader’s way too strong,” Jinpei Matsuda muttered, resting his head on one hand as he watched Wataru in the ring. In the few seconds they were talking, Wataru had already beaten his next opponent and was catching his breath at center stage.

Seeing the opponent clutching his side, Hiromitsu instinctively covered his own ribs and murmured, “Ouch…”

“I thought my helmet was going to shatter,” Kenji Hawigara said, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

“I’d definitely beat him if it were just law or sociology,” Shugo said with a grin of mock bitterness. Matsuda immediately chimed in, “If it was just a fistfight, I definitely wouldn’t lose.”

“If it was about flirting or driving skills, I’d be the winner!” Hawigara added proudly.

“Yeah, yeah,” Shugo lifted a brow sarcastically. “The brawling Matsuda and the playboy Hawigara.”

Before the two could protest, Hiromitsu leaned forward and said, “But… Squad Leader actually has a girlfriend.”

Ouch. That hurt.

The three looked at each other and couldn’t help bursting into laughter again. Nearby classmates turned to look at them, and Hiromitsu hurriedly hushed them.

“Sorry, sorry,” Shugo wiped the tears from his eyes. “Hawigara’s face when he got owned was just too funny. Right, our supposedly ultra-popular playboy who still doesn’t have a girlfriend.”

“That’s only because I’m not ready for a serious relationship!” He defended weakly. “Besides, Matsuda’s face was even better.”

“Ha? Why should I care about that? I’m not interested in girlfriends,” Matsuda said as he picked up his helmet from the ground and hugged it. “Anyway, are we going out somewhere this weekend? We should shake off the bad vibes.”

“If it’s not to a hardware store but to a car or bike shop, I’m down,” Hawigara said.

“I’ll come too,” Hiromitsu chimed in, turning to Shugo. “What about you, Shugo?”

“Uh… I’ll probably be going with Squad Leader to the mall to buy a new charger and some supplies,” Shugo replied, without a hint of regret. He added teasingly, “You sure you want to hang out with those two? You might end up stuck in a hardware store or bike shop all day.”

“No way,” Hawigara said unconvincingly. “Anyway, tools and bikes are a man’s romance! If you and Hiromitsu went, you’d just stay at a bookstore all day.”

“That’s… that’s not true,” Hiromitsu protested, but not very confidently.

“Too late! Hiromitsu’s coming with us,” Matsuda said, giving a thumbs-up. “We’ll drag him to the bike shop. Oh yeah, speaking of which, I saw a guy with a weird tattoo at the bike shop the other day.”

“A tattoo?”

“Yeah, like one of those goblet-like cups—what’s it called again? A wine glass?”

Hiromitsu’s expression changed immediately. He grabbed Matsuda’s shoulders, breathing hard. “What kind of guy was it? Where does he live? What’s his name?!”

Startled by Hiromitsu’s sudden outburst, Matsuda instinctively raised his voice. “How would I know?!”

Realizing he had overreacted, Hiromitsu released him and sat back down, muttering a soft, “Sorry.”

“Idiot, nothing to apologize for,” Shugo laughed. “Besides, you’re way gentler than Jinpei when he drank bitter melon juice yesterday.”

“If it’s bothering you, come with us tonight,” Hawigara suggested. Even Matsuda, who had been grumbling, looked over seriously.

“Okay,” Hiromitsu said, finally smiling again.