There was no denying the pain anymore.

Asami, 23-year-old captain of the karate club at the renowned Keio University, finally acknowledged a niggling injury that had been plaguing his left shoulder for months.

It'd started off a little tight after a particularly hard match against Mikhail from a rival university, all he'd done is stretch some more and literally fight through the pain in the weeks following, because there'd been more tournaments and Asami couldn't allow his club's upstanding record, one that he'd established, diminish because of an insignificant tightness in his shoulder.

It'd been easy to ignore up until now, all he had to do was end the fight quickly and no one would pick up on his lagging left arm, or the way he couldn't even hold it in a proper guard the further into a fight he got, no one except his sparring partner Kirishima, who'd been nagging him to get it looked at every time he rolled his shoulder to relieve the tension, but only made it worse.

In his frustration, Kirishima had simply taken advantage of his weak left guard and thrown him onto the mats without remorse.

Which is currently where Asami was, lying winded on his back with his eye brows pursed in vexation, the delicate scent of tatami mats mixed with hard work and hours of training closing in as the pain throbbed. Kei shouldn't be able to score ippon on him with a simple throw like that, except he had, so Asami resigned himself to the fact that perhaps it was worse than he first thought.

"The campus physio is open right now, go." Kirishima sighed and gave him a hand up, "The sooner you get it sorted the sooner you can come back."

So without a word, Asami got changed from his white karate gi complete with black belt, left the campus dojo and made the walk to the campus physio at the end of the freshly mown rugby field. Suoh, his friend and Captain of the rugby team, walked out through the door with a wince plastered on his face as he rolled his neck. "Finally getting that shoulder seen to, Asami?" his friend smiled, and was that mockery with a hint pity in his eyes? "If you see the guy that I just saw, don't say I didn't warn you."

"Our physio is on vacation at the moment, Asami san." The student receptionist at the desk blushed obviously at Asami as he motioned to his shoulder and asked for an appointment. "But Takaba san, one of our postgrad students can take a look at it for you right now if you want?"

That was how he ended up in the consult room sitting in front of a lithe framed blond who had a steady hazel gaze and sinuously muscled forearms, Takaba Akihito was quick to flash bright white teeth in greeting, he had a substantial handshake, and was more than easy on the eye, Asami didn't think someone like this was who Suoh had been talking about.

"Hold your arms up from your sides." Came the request as they got done with Asami's explanation. He was standing now as Takaba circled him to observe from all angles. "Now try and push up against my hand." Came the next instruction.

As Takaba had him demonstrate various movements, Asami wondered how old Takaba was to be a postgraduate student when he looked so young still. Asami was finding himself curious.

That was until his attention was stolen from him as practiced fingers gripped his hand and made his arm twist in ways that he should be able to move but couldn't, and then he couldn't help thinking that Takaba's concentrating expression was enchanting instead, the way he bit his bottom lip, his eyebrows pursed with distant eyes as Akihito kept on with his evaluation. If he knew Asami was actively staring, he was doing quite the job in not showing it, either that or he was oblivious to his own charm. Asami concluded it was the latter, and his interest grew yet again.

"How old are you, Takaba?" Asami asked as Takaba wrote notes in the computer, teeth still dragging over his bottom lip in thought, he couldn't help thinking he'd like his own teeth on Takaba's bottom lip instead.

Takaba came away from the computer then, his movements graceful, that of someone who knew their own body well, someone as trained in their profession as Asami was in martial arts. "Me? I'm 23, I passed a prerequisite exam when I was 17, so I'm ahead of my age group." He gave a modest shrug, oddly shy about his intelligence and achievements, not looking at Asami as he did so, and oh, that was a bit cute. Takaba moved on quickly to hide his awkwardness though, the epitome of professional. "Ok, can I just get you to take your shirt off and lie face down on the exam table there, I'll have a closer look."

Asami did as requested, not before noticing with quiet satisfaction as Takaba's breath hitched at the sight of Asami's upper body, bare with not an ounce of shame to hide his muscled torso. Takaba's eyes roved up and down, and Asami could see that it wasn't for the sake of a simple medical assessment. "So, uh, how old are you then?" Akihito hid his own ogling well as he gestured to the table once more, clearing his throat with a quiet cough. Oh, that was interesting. Perhaps it was worth coming here after all.

Speaking to the floor through the face hole on the table, Asami continued their conversation. "The same." He couldn't help but hum when firm hands worked at loosening the muscles of his shoulders, Takaba leant down over the table, using more pressure as he did so, close enough for Asami to catch his scent, sandalwood and musk, the same thing he wore, and there was something rather provocative at smelling your cologne on someone else. Especially when they were attractive. Definitely worth coming here, he would have to thank Kirishima later.

"Oh, I've never seen you around before, what's your major?" Takaba's next question cut into his thoughts, neutral curiosity in his voice as he continued to work Asami into a state of relaxation.

He must have got lucky; Asami thought to himself, this definitely wasn't the same person Suoh got. "Double major in Economics and Business." Asami hummed again as tension left his body with each pass of those fingers, and he decided he quite liked Takaba Akihito indeed.

"That's a nasty combo." Akihito chuckled, and Asami could see how light he was on his feet as he stepped around the table to position himself on the side of his injury. "I thought I had it bad."

And before the conversation could continue in that direction, the direction where Asami would subtly learn if Takaba was single and what was he doing this weekend; there was an extra surge of pressure, Asami grit his teeth as he winced. "Now that I've loosened you up, tell me if it gets too uncomfortable, you've got a ton of nasty knots all through your left side from trying to compensate from what my guess is; was only a sprain that you didn't rest."

There was no chance for words after that; no chance to even answer as a thumb pushed down deep and dug into a traitorous knot in his back that he hadn't even known was there, he was forced to hold his breath through clenched teeth as pain spilled from that thumb sized point and rendered his entire body taut. How anyone could hurt someone this much with just their thumb, Asami didn't realize, but he refused to let it show. That's about when he knew a true game was on, because he heard Takaba chuckle under his breath, mischievous and playful, laced with a hint of sadism.

Asami found himself more than willing to play.

So Takaba worked with a professional silence, methodically from the bottom of his back to the top, a cold sweat grew on his back, and the pressure only amplified as Asami refused to relent and tell Takaba that it was in fact on the wrong side of uncomfortable.

Just when he thought it couldn't get any worse however, when Asami thought he'd won this little game; Takaba finally moved to his shoulder blade, the place where it all stemmed from, and Asami couldn't hold back the wheezing groan of agony that came from his throat as Takaba's elbow dug in with the weight of his body behind it. He weighed more than he looked, that slight frame must have a decent amount of muscle to it after all, and he was quickly reevaluating his former assumption on who Suoh might have seen.

Another roll of relentless pressure over a knot on his shoulder, and up came another groan as pain refused to be kept on the inside, stronger than his will to not let it show. He wasn't going to thank Kirishima anymore. The pressure abated on cue from his apparent sign of discomfort, "Too much?" came the carefully innocent voice.

"It's fine." Asami lied through his teeth, and was exceptionally quiet for the rest of the session, the minutes as long as years as Takaba worked.

"Alright." Came the announcement, at the same time the pressure, the antagonizing pain, that sandalwood scent and weight that was heavier than it should be, all vanished completely and was replaced by fatigue, lying on that table was a work out in itself, just as draining as rigorous sparring practice.

He'd been so focused on the lancing pressure bearing down on him that he hadn't even noticed how much less angry his joint was beginning to feel now that muscles weren't pulling in all the wrong directions, but as he sat up on the table with a testing roll of his shoulder the difference made itself obvious.

"You sat through that well." Takaba gave him a cheeky wink, back to eyeing his abs and chest once more.

Asami returned his own playful grin then, "It was nothing." He drawled to cover yet another lie, not bothering to dress quite yet.

Takaba responded with a mischievous chuckle, his eyes twinkling somewhere between the color of coy and charming. "Good, that means I'll see you back next week at the same time. No rigorous upper body work for now." An appointment card was offered to him with the clinic details on it, before the extremely interesting postgrad student stepped back and bid him to get dressed, cutting off Asami's advances before he could even initiate them. "I've got more people to see, so you'll need to get that shirt back on, regrettably." Came the deadpan comment.

Asami couldn't help his own laughter then, making sure to put on a show as he did hit buttons up one by one, followed by his jacket and tie. Business students should dress as the businessmen they would be. "How long will it take until I'm back to full sparring?"

A quiet hum, full of thought and consideration. "If you do some of the exercises I showed you, and work at some of the smaller knots yourself with those stretches I had you do, then I probably only need to see you for a few more weeks, five at the most. Knots like that hurt a lot cos they pull everything out of alignment, but we'll get rid of them and then you'll be back to normal."

Asami was pleased to hear as much, there was a contest in five weeks that he was intent on winning.

"See you next week." Takaba finally offered with a grin as he opened the consult room door for him on the way out.

"I look forward to it." Asami told the truth this time, honey on his tongue and fire in his eyes as an idea flourished in the back of his mind.

It was sooner than a week when Asami came back to the campus physio, having given himself a reason to in the form of ignoring the no upper bodywork advice that had been given to him.

"What'd you do?" came the incredulous question as Takaba made him go over the same movement patterns as last time, his fingers a little more firm, his grip rough with irritation as he scowled at the lack of Asami's progress.

"Nothing." Asami lied again with a smirk as he played his own game, relishing the smell of his cologne on Takaba as he stepped close to twist his arm this way and that. Oddly, there was the smell of chlorine as well; Asami hadn't noticed that last week. "Thought you'd be happy to see me." He teased then, leaning down ever so slightly for that extra shred of intimacy that went beyond a physio and patient. "I'm glad to see you too, by the way."

The answer he got was everything he hoped for and more, the anticipating pause of breath, Takaba's eyes darting to his lips, close but not close enough, the split second decision that flashed across his face before Asami knew his own game was also in motion.

But Akihito stepped back then, annoyance on his face tinged with barely hidden amusement. "Still not an excuse to ignore my instructions. There is no point coming if you're going to make yourself worse."

"Oh? Guess I'll just have to come more often then." Asami countered with all the suave he had, undressing as he did so and reveling in the way those hazel eyes tracked his every move, Akihito not bothering to hide the fact either.

Akihito chuckled then, just as keen to go along with Asami's game, motioning him towards the table with a flourish of his wrist. "I'm sure that can be arranged."

As Asami settled onto the table again, pleased with this small development, he heard Akihito mutter under his breath as fingers began to trace his skin, a whispered warning of the pain to come. "Don't think I'll go easy on you though."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

Akihito meant what he said, and this week he managed to make Asami hurt twice as much as last week, explaining that neglecting his exercises and stretches had only brought this on himself, and that he would indeed like to see Asami twice a week from now on. Asami was too busy trying to focus on his breathing to feel pleased about it at that point.

He started off at the bottom of his back as he had last time, and he took extra care to hunt out every small knot of discomfort and turn it into something that had the groans echoing in his chest in no time. Akihito used all his weight, snickering as he found a particularly nasty spot. "You going okay there?" came the trick question.

Despite the looming pain, Asami managed to laugh, something he found he did a lot of in Akihito's company. "Oh, I'm doing more than okay." He managed to reply, because not withstanding the discomfort; he was pleased he'd get to see Akihito more than once a week leading up to his tournament that was now in 4 weeks.

"If you say so." Akihito retorted with amusement as he kept going. He worked all the way up, humming with concentration and quietly laughing every time he managed to pull a pained noise from Asami's throat.

It was getting rather one sided at that stage, so Asami decided if he was going to make noises anyway, he should make the right ones. So as Akihito got to the most painful spot around his shoulder blade, Asami let go a quiet sigh of pain placed pleasure, laughing yet again as he felt Akihito pause abruptly in his ministrations. The physio recovered quickly though, Asami had to give him that, and so the last part of the session was spent with Asami feigning pleasure, and Akihito working himself into a state of heavy breathing as he worked his hardest on Asami's shoulder to make him hurt.

The silence when it was finally over was heavy, the room a few degrees hotter than when he'd arrived, as Asami got dressed, quiet and exhausted yet again from the physical wringing out, Akihito was looking at him with what Asami now knew was equal interest, and he simply said, "I'll see you in a few days."

And so the sessions following passed with that electrifying tension, with Asami leaning close as he arrived, and to his delight; Akihito leaning back ever so slightly as the sessions progressed.

Akihito was thorough in his checks; relentless in making sure Asami was improving and keeping up with his stretches and instructions, which aside from that first revisit; Asami had been.

Each session brought them a little closer as he made Asami twist and stretch, and the smell of chlorine mixed with his cologne was there more often than not, sometimes it was accompanied with ruffled damp hair, and it was only when he spotted the 'Keio Swim Team' duffel bag in the consult room one day that Asami managed to put it together. That explained his striking figure and strength.

They didn't talk much in those earlier visits, it was all silent attraction and unspoken wants, Akihito's hands lingering just an extra moment longer, or Asami unconsciously reaching out to touch his hip or the small of his back to send the sparks flying.

Goodbyes were always the most tense, and here he was three weeks into his treatment with Akihito, getting dressed slowly as was usual and looking at Akihito all the while. The way Akihito looked back at him was hungry, possessive even, and Asami had gone way beyond the conclusion that he was glad he'd come here on that day three weeks ago.

Before Akihito could open the door for him on his way out as he usually did, Asami surged forward and hemmed the physio against his desk. He could feel the heat of Akihito's breath, see him swallow passed his suddenly dry throat, could hear the shortness of his breath, and seeing all these things up close was almost excruciating.

"I'll see you in a few days, yeah?" Asami rasped, his own throat just as dry. There was no point even asking that question, but he wanted the reassurance nonetheless.

"… Yeah."

"Are you looking forward to it, Akihito?" Asami whispered then, because throughout all these sessions Akihito had never said as much, and it was time to make it verbally mutual.

For all the talking that Akihito did with his hands, confident and well practiced, his mouth did a lousy job of translating it clearly. Hemmed in as he was now; he was shy and uncertain, and that contrast was far too appealing. He leant closer still as he waited for his answer.

With a resigned breath and a cheeky smirk, Akihito stepped in, brining them chest to chest, the closest they'd ever been.

"You know I am."

"So, you swim?" Asami asked as he lay on the table for one of his last sessions, enjoying the short moment of respite between two rough spots. It was getting to the point where there wasn't actually much for Akihito to work on now.

"Not very much lately, with filling in here and studies, I haven't been getting much pool time. Sensei is back from vacation in two weeks though, so I guess that means I'll go back to normal after that…" he trailed off, leaving the rest unspoken.

Akihito wouldn't be here in two weeks, which was good, because Asami only needed one; it was one week until his tournament after all. "Two weeks, huh?"

"Yeah…"

They left it at that; he'd wait until his last visit, right before his tournament.

It'd been five weeks, and it was finally his last time here, they both knew he was here just because Asami wanted to be this time, not because he needed to be anymore.

They went through the routine nonetheless, Akihito more quiet and withdrawn than usual as he stepped close but not as close as he used to. He thought their time together was coming to an end, and Asami would finally prove him wrong.

"I have a tournament this weekend." Asami said offhandedly as he popped his buttons one by one.

Akihito looked up at that, his eyebrow quirked in confusion. "Oh, it's good you're recovered in time then."

"Will you come watch?" he chose to advance on Akihito then, to trap him against the consult table as he leaned in close, shirtless with his intentions on full display.

The surprise on Akihito's face was palpable, like even after all these weeks of flirting this was not what he thought would happen. "Wha-why?"

"Why not?" Asami drawled his counter, "It's the least you could do for all you put me through."

The adorable puzzlement vanished, replaced by surprised laughter, unrestrained and unbidden, "I'm pretty sure you're the one who said you were fine this whole time."

"I lied." Asami admitted blatantly.

There was more laughter, and it was infectious. Soon Asami was smiling in response to Akihito's mirth, pressing closer in his insistence that Akihito pay him back for all the hurt. "So, will you come watch then?"

No longer withdrawn, the answer was exactly what he wanted. Purposely coy, perfectly teasing, "I guess I can find the time. Now though, why don't you get on that table so I can make up for all pain."

There was indeed no pain this time, the feel of oil warming on his skin with the friction from Akihito's fingers was a welcome change. He didn't focus only on his left side, but his whole back, his fingers roving and ravenous as they dug in with sublime pressure. Asami groaned this time anyway, because all those previous sessions had truly been worth it if this was what he was getting now. "That's more like it." Asami commented as nails raked teasingly across his skin.

If he thought Akihito had been bold with his hands before, he was even more so now, his hands wandered under the hem of his briefs to squeeze at his ass, his fingers played in the hair at the nape of his neck like it was something they'd wanted to this whole time.

"Turn over." Akihito murmured into the quiet.

"Oh? This is new." Asami commented, turning over anyway.

Hazel eyes met his from above the consult table then, flashing with content and satisfaction at the turn of events. "It's the least I could do, I suppose."

This new sort of pressure bearing down on him was just as unbearable in its own way, fingers worked at his chest, down his abs and all the way back up, rendering him into a relaxed mess on the consult table. Akihito worked at his neck, caressing his racing pulse and running his hands outwards along his biceps and back in, teasingly deft and suggestive in the way they moved and grasped at his skin.

"You can go a little lower, if you want." Asami mumbled as fingers teased at his abs, taut because of an entirely new tension now.

Akihito responded with a groan of his own for a change, his fingers paused at the hem of Asami's pants, "As much as I want to, I would be expelled so fast if we got caught."

"Mm." Asami agreed, "Why do you think I haven't jumped your bones yet?"

All he got then was a tortured whimper and fingers gripping ever tighter at his flesh. "You're making this really hard for me you know."

There was no way Asami could possibly ignore something as easy to play off as that, Akihito had walked right into it. "I can make something else hard for you if you like?" he drawled, rolling his hips off the table as he did so.

Akihito watched it all, watched his muscles ripple under his skin, his abs clench and flex. "Oh my god." Came the half plea. "Stop that or you'll get me in trouble."

Akihito left him on the table after that, taking away their temptation to wipe his hands before he bid Asami to get up so he could pat him down as well. "We'll save it for after my tournament." Asami commented as he got dressed for the last time.

And Akihito was still playing this silly game, smiling as he feigned ignorance. "Oh, what's after the tournament?"

To hell with it, Asami thought, if someone walked in on them at this moment then he could pull enough strings to smooth it over, right now all he wanted to do was make his intentions loud and clear.

For someone who was concerned about getting in trouble, Akihito didn't protest much as Asami strode forward and pressed their bodies together. He didn't hesitate to kiss him back at all, Akihito's tongue was insistent as he pressed into Asami's mouth, his lips pliable eager and Asami was loathe to end it here. Akihito was putty in his arms, just how he wanted him to be.

With surmountable effort Asami managed to draw his lips away, looking down into hazel eyes that were brimming with frustration and lust. "Afterwards, I'm going to take you out."

Before he could react, Akihito placed another chaste kiss on his lips, a playful lilt to his voice as their last session drew to an end. "I'll see you in a few days then."