We don't talk about Jouno

Suehiro!

When Jouno's senses returned, he was somewhere unfamiliar. He realized there were many things that were off. The first, and the most major one, was that Jouno was about half a foot shorter than he usually was. He was lying on some kind of a bed, a hospital one from the feel of it. Jouno was sure of one thing, though. He was in his hunting dogs uniform. Jouno sat up, and tried to get a sense of what was going on here? Was he in a parallel universe or something? No, that couldn't be right. But what the actual hell had the book done to him?

Jouno reached into his pocket, assuming his phone would still be there. It was. "What's the date today?" He asked. When the robotic voice answered him, his blood ran cold. No. There was no way. Because it said Jouno was almost eight years in the past.

Jouno tried again, but was met with the same result. Was this some kind of sick joke? He remembered what the book had said to him. 'This time'. What Jouno wanted the most was to be with Tetchou. And the book had specified that Jouno couldn't control how that would be interpreted... After a while of thinking things over, Jouno arrived at one conclusion, as improbable as it was. He'd gone back to being his sixteen year old self again, and the book was giving him a chance for a do over. A second shot at making sure the world didn't end. This time, Jouno had all the knowledge of what was to come, and he could act accordingly. Jouno ran a hand through his hair. If the book sent him back, it must trust him to be able to do this. Jouno wished the book didn't trust him quite so much.

Jouno stood up, and took stock of the situation. He might have the memories of himself from the future, but he was his sixteen year old self through and through. He had the mind of a teenager, which could be both a good thing, and a problem. Jouno was also a very small teenager. As a teenager, Jouno had just joined the hunting dogs a few months ago. He hadn't exactly been packing on muscle. Jouno reached for his sword, and was surprised to find it wasn't there. Right. At this point, he didn't have the strength to wield it yet, so Jouno hadn't been given one of the hunting dogs signature blades.

The sound of someone walking down the hall snapped Jouno out of his worries of being sixteen again. A very familiar set of footsteps he'd know anywhere. "Suehiro!" Jouno yelled, before he could contain himself. This was Tetchou. He was real and he was alive. What had happened before Jouno got the book could only be counted as a bad dream. Everything was going to be okay.

"Last time I checked, we weren't on a first name basis." Tetchou said coldly. Jouno did a double take, then remembered what was going on here. Tetchou didn't really like Jouno at first. Jouno was the one who had fallen first, and Tetchou eventually grew to see him that way. Jouno internally cursed the book with all he could. He didn't know if he could get to be with Tetchou again, only to have his partner hate him.

"I'm sorry." Jouno said. "I was just worried, that was all." If Jouno was remembering this correctly, he'd just been on his first mission, after months of training. Tetchou was about to get shot, and Jouno rematerialized in front of him, taking the bullet. Jouno had thought Tetchou was just mad at him, but Tetchou had later revealed he'd been worried. Jouno was assigned to him, and Tetchou felt like Jouno was his responsibility. Tetchou couldn't stomach the idea of Jouno getting hurt because of him.

"That was the most pathetic display of 'look at me' heroism I've ever seen." Tetchou said. Jouno grimaced. Had Techou really been so harsh? "If you're so desperate to become a full part of the hunting dogs, think these things through. You haven't had the full surgery, and I have. I'd be fine getting shot, while you'd wind up in the hospital. If you pull something like this again, I'll personally request you're taken off the team."

Jouno tried to remember exactly what he'd said. If his memory served true, which was more questionable now that he had the brain of a sixteen year old, this was the moment Tetchou started to have a thing for him. "I didn't take the bullet because I wanted the powers that be to take notice of me being good." Jouno said defiantly. "I did it because I didn't want you to get shot."

Tetchou stood there, clearly confused. That, and Jouno thought he must be blushing a bit. His heartbeat had certainly sped up. "I can take care of myself." Tetchou said quickly, and walked towards Jouno. "You, on the other hand, did not take care of yourself. So you are now in the hospital for at least a day."

Before Jouno could react, Tetchou reached down, and swept Jouno off his feet, damsel in distress style. "Hey!" Jouno objected. Though on the inside, he wasn't complaining that much. As a result of what the book had done to him, all of Jouno's memories of the future were sort of...blurred. He could only remember major, world shattering events, not so much the interpersonal stuff.

"What are you doing?" Jouno asked. His answer was Tetchou unceremoniously dropping him back on the hospital bed. "Stay there. Rest. Get better." Tetchou said, and turned to leave. "And don't pull something like that again." And with that, Tetchou left Jouno alone in the hospital bed, wondering what he'd said wrong, and if he and Tetchou were actually going to find a way to be together.