Okay, so Tale in Fragments challenge as I wanted to start a new story due to both winter break and Camp Nano here so expect updates and lots of writing. This uses the prompt 'breezy' from 30 Prompts, Easy List 1. Also, I promise I am not trying to bash Yuu. I was trying to show how they've all grown since canon. Does it seem OOC? Please advise me.
1. Ties of Past and Present
The breezy air blew through Tagiru's hair as he jumped up and made the winning final shot to win for the team. He could hear the crowds cheering and smiled. There was a time when he would have reveled in the praise he was receiving from pretty much everyone but right now…all he wished for was Taiki and Yuu to be there in the crowd, cheering for him. Nine years had passed and although he kept constant touch with both of them through Skype and calling, it just wasn't the same as them physically being there.
"Good game, Tagiru!" His team-mate Haruki called out to him as he wrapped a towel around his neck.
"Thanks Haruki!" Tagiru beamed at him. "We all work great together as a team though!" He garbled down the bottle of water. That game had been a tough one and he couldn't help but wonder if Taiki and Yuu would watch reruns of the game. Taiki-san almost always did except when he overworked himself and passed out since Akari or the rest of them weren't there to take care of him. Yuu usually forgot since his psychology degree kept him so busy but he did occasionally watch them as well.
He was beat so he headed home. Nene-san was probably still at work. Being an International basketball player meant he moved around every six months due to season swapping and this season, they were playing in Hong Kong so he decided to stay with Nene. He had come to view her as his own big sister because even when she was exhausted, she tended to look out for him which felt nice being so far away from his home in Japan. Nene had left some food in the fridge which he was glad about because while he could cook, cooking after a game wasn't so fun.
As he was eating his rice, his phone rang and he saw it was Taiki-san video calling him. A smile came onto his face and he answered it.
"Hi Taiki-san!" Tagiru said happily.
"Tagiru, your game was amazing!" Taiki said encouragingly. "I just saw the live feed for it. You've really become a fantastic player."
Tagiru flushed at the praise, swelling with pride on the side. Okay, so his fans said that all the time but somehow it coming from Taiki-san was different, probably because they were so close and all. "Thanks Taiki-san. I'm glad you watched it even if you couldn't come to the game. I know you're busy…"
Taiki smiled, shaking his head. "I'm never too busy to support you or the others, don't worry. Has Yuu seen it yet?"
Tagiru shook his head, face falling a bit. "I don't know. I don't think so. He probably forgot again…"
Taiki sighed. "Yuu's just been busy, Tagiru. You know how he gets with his studies."
"Yeah, I know," Tagiru grumbled a bit. "It's just even Hideaki watches my games more than Yuu does! And Yuu and I were best friends when we were kids! You'd think Yuu doesn't care about me anymore." He knew Taiki-san would be able to see past the irritation that he was a little hurt by Yuu never having time to even watch one of his games or just forgetting when his games were on. It wasn't like he was the only one who was busy after all.
Taiki frowned. "Tagiru, you know that isn't true. Yuu cares about you even if he isn't always good at expressing it."
Tagiru nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Anyway, forget about him. How's your job going? Is it weird working with special kids?"
"Kids with special needs," Taiki corrected him. "But yes, it's really nice. Some of them are actually very intelligent, they just have certain needs that need to be attended to. You'd really like them too, they're pretty fun as well."
Tagiru smiled, rolling his eyes fondly. It was just like Taiki-san to help the needy. "It'd be cool meeting them actually! Kids are awesome anyway."
Taiki laughed at that. "They really are. By the way, what's the date for the reunion party?"
"12th of March," Tagiru said promptly. "Please drag Yuu there somehow. He can't miss that."
Taiki smiled. "He won't. We'll both make sure of it. Anyway, I have to get back to writing this report. Good luck on your next games ok?"
Tagiru nodded. "Okay. Take care, Taiki-san."
