Midnight Whispers
QAF Brian and Justin Fanfiction
Author's Chapter Notes:

-The campers get taught karate. It is getting harder and harder for their counsellors to deny their chemistry...


 

-Once again the Rangers had been combined with another patrol; the Roselleas. They were one of the oldest patrols with kids from 15 to 17 years of age. Justin hoped that all the kids could manage to get along despite the age differences. He was very aware of how high and mighty some kids could get just because they were older than someone else. 

 

This time, the patrols were combined to save time and money. Just a couple of days after having learned first aid, the campers were being taught another impressive skill; karate. Camp Peatree had hired two senseis to come in to teach the campers the martial art. They were only there for a certain amount of days, so the Rangers and the Roselleas had to learn together. The counsellors were invited to join in and accepted. Justin had a yellow belt, Brian and Perry had a blue belt, and Caroline had a black belt. Justin had gotten his yellow belt in high school, while the others had been learning and training for years. The pleased senseis, with whom the counsellors shared breakfast with, had invited Caroline to help teach the kids. She happily accepted. Brian and Justin were pleased, slightly amused and a little intimidated to be working along side another strong woman. Perry Cox, they quickly learned, was no pushover like Adam. 

 

The campers were dressed in appropriate workout gear. The senseis wore traditional white karate clothing to teach them. “Welcome, campers”, the male sensei said. He was a very buff Romanian man with a heavy accent. “My name is Bogdan.” 

 

He gestured to the female sensei who stepped forward to introduce herself. “Good morning everybody. My name is Mayu.” She was a rather tall, slender Japanese woman with a sweet voice. “Today, you are going to be our students and we will be your senseis. Your counsellors are your ‘senpais’, as each of them are at a higher level in karate than…at least most of you. Is there anyone who has done karate before?” 

 

Several kids from the Roselleas answered that they had, while a couple Rangers said they had as well. Most of the kids who had done it before had moved on beyond the first level and had a coloured belt. Mayu instructed that everyone else was to address these kids as senpai as well. These kids were positioned on the outer corners of the group, who were all told to stand in rows. They were outside, on the smoothest grass on site. “You are out students; ‘karateka.’ To each other, you are ‘doshi’”, Bogdan told everyone. “We are using the Japanese terms in karate”, he said. “But first, we need to warm up.” The man led everyone through a thorough full body warm up that focused on working the neck, shoulders, upper arms, wrists, thighs, hips, knees, hamstrings and ankles. They stretched and moved to prepare their bodies for a day of working out. 

 

After the solo work, the male sensei got the campers to pair up and help each other stretch their legs on each other’s shoulders. Brian offered to be Justin’s partner for this and he accepted. Strangely, he found himself wanting to show off his flexibility to Brian when he helped him stretch his legs. More touching and more closeness was what both men were secretly craving. “My, what bendable legs you’ve got there, Sunshine”, Brian said to the blond in a hushed voice. Justin chuckled in response, hoping to God he wouldn’t get a hard on with Brian’s hands on his legs. They were so very close to his crotch. Yet, not quite close enough. 

 

“Okay, everyone”, Mayu called, getting there attention. They had been granted a short break to drink some water after the rather strenuous workout. Mayu and Bogdan decided they were now ready to begin. “When we say ‘shugo’, you are all to gather together in your lines.” Everyone did as they had been commanded and waited for further instructions. “‘Seisan-dachi’ means forward stance. Like this.” The female sensei demonstrated and the students followed. 

 

“To begin, we bow to each other”, Bogdan said. He moved, demonstrating what he wanted the students to do. “Musubi-dachi”, he said, moving his legs from being together, to being apart, slightly bent at the knees.  “Seiza”, he then said, moving to kneel on the ground, sitting back on his heels. Everyone followed. He showed them how to bow and then instructed them with the commands, “Sensei ni rei”. Everyone bowed by putted their hands on the ground and lowering their bodies. They kept their eyes forward always; for the sake of enemies. “Senpai ni rei.” All of the level one campers bowed, while the senseis and senpais sat still, their hands on their thighs. “Otagai ni rei.” Once again the level one campers bowed, this one meant for each other. With each bow, they all said, “Oss.” 

 

The senseis got their students to rise again. “The first thing you know to learn about fighting is the common stance” Mayu said. Bogdan moved into the stance she was referring to. “Your legs need to be shoulder length apart. For hidari zenkutsu-dashi, move your left leg directly backwards, just enough so that you bend your front knee. Keep the back leg straight. Do not have your legs directly behind each other or you will fall.” 

 

“Hidari is ‘left’. When your right leg is behind you, you are in ‘migi zenkutsu-dashi’. When you stand like this, your opponent cannot trip you. You are strong”, Bogdan explained. “For the arms”, the Romanian man went on to demonstrate the fighting position for arms and his students followed along. The senseis taught the campers how to move forward and backward in this stance, as well as how to ‘mawatte’; turn around. They spent a while doing these movements as a synchronised group until Mayu and Bogdan decided it was a good time to move on. 

 

They gave everyone a few minutes of rest before continuing on. “A kick in karate is called ‘geri’. Mae-geri”, Bogdan demonstrated the technique flawlessly, “is the front kick. Push up and forward”, he said. The group practiced this move until they were told to do it with a step. Each time the senseis called, “Step!” the group would do a mae-geri kick, and then return to the zenkutsu-dashi stance. They moved forward with this kick until the senseis commanded them to turn and move the other way. After doing four rounds of this, they were told to stop. 

 

Everyone was puffing and smiling, enjoying the experience of the day. Brian looked over to Justin and met his eyes. They shared a slight smile. The last time they did karate together, it had gone so differently…

 

________________________________________

 

FLASHBACK- Summer, 2000

 

“Rei!...Ichi!...!...Ni!...San!...Yame (stop).” One of the sensei’s, Kaname, called out to the campers, instructing them. She counted their step kicks as they moved. The waterloos had been combined with another patrol, The Firebirds, to learn some karate. It was the first year that the camp had introduced this activity, bringing in actual karate senseis to teach them. These patrols were the third group to participate. 

 

All the campers and even the counsellors were enjoying themselves. Surprisingly, Charlotte seemed to love it. It looked like all of her kicks and punches were directed at someone she pictured in her head. “Probably an old boyfriend”, Carl guessed jokingly when she wasn’t listening. Lord help him if she was. 

 

Their senseis were two professionals who took their jobs quite seriously. Martial art was after all, an art. The first was an out-spoken young woman named Kaname, and the second was a man who looked like he could be a soldier; Sousuke. Their dynamic was rather hilarious. Sousuke was emotionless and reckless, and Kaname dealt with him by yelling at him and occasionally hitting him on the head. Everyone could tell that the pair had known each other for some time…and that they were completely into each other, but hadn’t admitted it yet. “Fighters, shugo!” Sousuke called. 

 

This prompted the group to gather together again in their rows, ready to be taught more. They had already learned the front kick and ‘mawashi-geri’; the roundhouse kick. They were now ready to learn ‘yoko-geri’; the side kick. The students got into position and took in what their senseis taught them. After learning the technique, the group moved forward, using yoko-geri, as a collective to Sousuke’s counts. They used ‘kiai’, a spirit call as they made each kick. It was a strong ‘Ha!’ sound, coming from the core; the inner fire, as Kaname had called it. It made each person there feel powerful…and really, really badass. 

 

Brian loved doing things like this. He already a yellow belt; he’d taken up karate lessons earlier in the year. He decided he needed to learn to fight if he was ever going to be able to face his father. So, he begun learning to fight in several different styles; kick boxing, street and of course, karate. Each time he id any of those things, he pictured kicking his father so hard that he’d go flying. Brian had never actually done anything like that, however. He wasn’t sure if he would ever get the guts. Never-the-less, he liked knowing that he could fight the man back if he had to. 

 

The activity was an all day one, continuing after lunch. Brian made sure to situate himself directly behind one Justin Taylor. He liked being able to see the blond the whole time. When they turned, he liked knowing that Justin could see him. That meant that Justin knew Brian was close to him. Brian knew he was being pathetic, but decided to push all of those thoughts away and just focus on enjoying the day…and the view. Justin was very cute doing karate. He was trying his very best, like he always did. He’s really kind of…sweet, he thought. Realising how very lesbionic he sounded, Brian shook his head and reprimanded himself. Fuck, what the hell are you thinking, you pussy?! It was then that Brian realised he hadn’t pranked the infuriating and definitely not sweet boy in front of him. Brian smirked, an evil idea bubbling in his head. 

 

In between one of their kicks, meaning the two seconds they had to spare, Brian swiftly reached in front of him and pulled blondie’s pants down. The shorts fell to the ground, revealing the boy’s tighty-whities. Justin gasped audibly and crouched down to pick his shorts back up immediately. Most of the other campers were laughing, but the few decent people around were most certainly not. “What the hell, Brian?!” Justin yelled, facing the brunet after he’d put his pants back on properly. 

 

“What’s going on?” Kaname asked, annoyed. “What is all this silly commotion going on, disrupting our class?” She approached the two boys, one who wore a smirk and another who glared. 

 

Sousuke followed along behind his co-instructor, managing to make no sound at all while he did so. “It appears this young man pulled the pants of this young man off from his waist”, he said. This scared the shit out of Kaname, who had been totally unaware that he was behind her. She jumped and Sousuke went on in his monotone voice, “Though, I’m not sure why? What victory could such a thing accomplish? A tripping method, perhaps?” 

 

Kaname’s face turned red with annoyance and she delivered a swift whack to the back of Sousuke’s head. “I told you not to sneak up on me like that!” he shouted. It was difficult not to laugh at this. 

 

Carl and Charlotte made eye contact and walk over to where the senseis and their biggest troublemakers were. Of course they would be the ones to cause trouble. “My guess is that Brian here was trying to embarrass Justin”, Carl said, crossing his arms in the way that only a cop does. 

 

Sousuke looked thoughtful as a frown appeared on his face. “Embarrass him? What service would humiliating a fellow comrade be in battle?” 

 

Rolling her eyes, Kaname said, “We’re not in battle you idiot. And sometimes that’s what kids do. They bully each other.” Sousuke still looked confused and thoughtful over this. It seemed the man did not understand society all that well. Another thing that was hard not to find amusing. 

 

“That’s right”, Carl said, nodding his head. “These two have made a habit out of causing trouble, haven’t you, boys?” 

 

Justin’s burning cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red. “I wasn’t starting any trouble this time”, he said seriously, looking at Brian as he spoke. 

 

“It’s true”, Daphne said, moving to stand beside her friend. He gave the girl a small appreciative smile. “Justin was minding his own business.” 

 

“And now we are wasting time”, Kaname said in an annoyed tone. 

 

Carl nodded at the impatient woman in agreement and said, “Okay, kid. Come on.” He gestured for Brian to follow him and he did so without another word. He gave Justin a wink as he passed him, confusing the boy even further. “Hope it was worth it, Brian”, Carl said to him as they walked to sit out. Oddly enough, Brian thought that it was. He’d gotten a better view of some very nice…assets.                 

 

________________________________________

 

PRESENT

 

The day went extremely well, with everyone behaving, participating and getting along. It was pure wonderment to both Brian and Justin. They would have thought that getting the endorphins up would lead to some kids mucking around, but everyone was relatively well behaved. It was a great and a pure success. They had learned a couple more kicks, three punches, several blocks and different manoeuvre moves. All involved had fun and Bogdan and Mayu were the ones to thanked everyone for the day.  

 

By the time they were all sitting in the dining hall for dinner, they were all talking animatedly about their days. As usual, Brian and Justin sat with the rest of the counsellors, who were pretty good people, as both men had come to realise. Brian had had his doubts, but they all seemed to be fairly decent. All except for one…Ethan Gold. Justin seemed to like him, so he couldn’t really be that bad. But that was exactly why Brian did not like him. Not at all. 

 

“And so I said ‘just put your back into it’!” exclaimed Carol*, finishing off her supposedly hilarious story. Most of the people at the table laughed, while others just smiled politely. 

 

“I could think of a whole lot of other things you could ‘put your back into’”, Ethan joked, making everyone giggle and chuckle at the innuendo. He curly haired man looked at Justin and gave him a wink. Justin smiled back which Brian did not like. He just finished his drink and looked away. 

 

Justin noticed this and nudged Brian with his shoulder. He didn’t want his co-counsellor to be having a bad time. They had actually become friends over the 12 days they’d spent at camp. Brian looked at him and raised his eyebrows. Justin didn’t say anything, he just gave the man a friendly smile. Brian tried to resist the urge to smile back but it was a lost battle. Everything seemed to be with Justin.

 

TO BE CONTINUED…

 

Chapter End Notes:

*Carol Pilbasian is a character on the tv comedy ‘The Last Man on Earth’. 

**A white belt in karate is level 1, a yellow belt is level 2, a blue belt is level four and a black belt is the highest level there is. All senseis are black belts. 

***This is all based on my own simple yellow-belt training. For pronunciation on all of the karate terms used, you can visit:  http://www.traditional-karate.com/karate/terms.html#Kerikata

****The senseis in 2010 are based on people I know! 

*****Kaname Chidori and Sosuske Sagara are characters from a manga and anime ‘Full Metal Panic!’

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xoxo   


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