3. Distance (II)
Bursting through the door of the gym's locker room, with her hair and uniform in a ruffled and disheveled mess, Souryuu sinks right down onto the floor immediately upon closing the door behind her. Legs crumpling beneath her, she slumps heavily against the door and attempts to catch her breath.
Ah… I'm so going to get an earful from Coach Houshou for being late again.
With the release of all tension in her body in a form of a long weary sigh, Souryuu practically melts into the tiles of the locker room, lying, worn out and drained from her earlier run.
Glancing up, it is only then does she notice the other presence in the locker room apart from herself.
"Kaga-san!" She exclaims with a frantic start, straightening her uniform and bag as she scrambles to her feet with a faint blush painting her cheeks, embarrassed at being caught in such a rumpled state.
Said-girl, who's currently in the process of tying her mid-shoulder length hair up into her trademark side ponytail, merely flashes her a brief glance and a small nod in greeting, "Souryuu."
"You sure gave me a scare there, Kaga-san. The least you could have done was say something, geez." Souryuu sighs, dragging her feet over to her designated locker.
"My apologies," says Kaga, despite sounding not all that sorry.
"So you're late too? That's rare coming from you." Souryuu murmurs musingly, in her effort to make small talk with their impassive setter of the team.
Fingers absently undoing the buttons of her uniform, she goes through the tedious process of dismantling her school uniform.
"I got held back a little after class. There were some matters that I had to take care of."
Squeezing into her gym clothes with a grunt, and shoving the rest of her uniform into the locker along with her bag, Souryuu turns to look Kaga sidelong and is somewhat surprised to find the team's vice-captain to be still fiddling about with her side ponytail.
Then again, she supposes Kaga, no matter how disciplined and stoic she can be, is ultimately still a girl at heart, nonetheless.
"I see," Souryuu makes a non-committal hum as she too, takes her time with putting her hair up into her usual pigtails.
The conversation dies off then as they settle into a lapse of comfortable silence.
It's oddly soothing, Souryuu thinks, going about their own pre-practice routine like this in quietude.
There's just something about Kaga that exudes this sense of serenity that is unlike anyone else.
Maybe it's the way she goes about doing her things ever so calmly with a steady hand, —never faltering, never hesitating— almost as if she's the very embodiment of tranquility itself.
It's just a marvel to how she's sometimes able to pull off the most complicated of moves with such ease and grace.
Of the short two and a half years that she has known Kaga, the setter has always been relatively cool-headed in whatever situation she's placed in. Not once has she ever seen her flustered or fazed. No, not even when she's battling tooth and nail against their strongest opponent on the court. Never.
It's probably the reason why Souryuu usually finds herself lingering around Kaga before a huge match.
Because somehow, even despite not having any words of comfort, just by being in her presence alone, is able to calm her nerves down greatly.
Which is strange; considering how a good handful of their teammates find it to be absolutely stifling to be placed in an empty room with Kaga.
Souryuu just doesn't get it.
"Where's Hiryuu?"
Souryuu gives a jump at the quiet intone of Kaga.
The suddenness of her question cuts through the stillness in the room like a sharp knife, jolting her slightly as she swivels around to face the girl in question.
And it appears that Kaga has finally settled whatever finer details with her ponytail and has moved on to tugging at the laces of her gym shoes.
"She's on cleaning duty. She'll be in late for practice today," replies Souryuu, clipping her knee pads in place.
Which reminds her…
She pauses and glances up sharply, trying to peer over Kaga who is sitting on the bench with a foot up as she does her shoelaces.
"Speaking of which, I don't see Akagi-san anywhere too. Is she late as well?"
Kaga wavers for a split of a second.
It's almost imperceptible, like a fleeting shift in the air. If Souryuu hasn't been paying attention, she wouldn't even have noticed the way her shoulders had tensed ever so slightly, fingers halting briefly in its careful ministration of her laces.
But as quickly as it all happened, Kaga is just as quick at regaining her poise.
"I didn't want to hold her back just because I had a meeting with a teacher, so I told her to go on ahead without me."
She drops her feet back onto the ground from its perch on the bench and pauses for a beat.
"She's probably out on the court, helping the first years out with their practice as we speak."
Souryuu notes the faraway look Kaga has in her eyes then, her features falling, withering away into an expression of melancholy.
Immediately, Souryuu is taken back to that one time.
Fingers tightening around plastic.
A frown hidden behind a bottle.
"I'll be heading for practice now," announces Kaga, standing abruptly.
Shrugging on her elbow pads, she heads for the door, leaving Souryuu to watch her blankly in her wake.
"Oh, by the way," Kaga turns to look over her shoulder as she comes to a halt before the door.
Souryuu blinks at her expectantly.
"Coach Houshou is running late today, so do take your time with your preparations."
And with that, she leaves, shutting the door behind her with a resonating metallic 'thud'.
Souryuu stands rooted to her spot for a good second or two.
Looking down at her gym uniform that is all wrinkled from her haste of putting it on earlier, she lets out a roar of frustration.
"That should have been the first thing she could have told me when I got in."
Damn, that Kaga…
"You look lost."
It just seems like lately, running into Kaga has started becoming the course of things for Souryuu.
Not that it's a bad thing, of course, but it's somewhat… peculiar to say the least.
She's been so used to the crackling synergy between Akagi and Kaga on the court that seeing one without the other just feels plain odd.
A Kaga anywhere but Akagi's side is odd.
"I could say the same thing to you too," remarks Souryuu wryly, inviting herself into the seat beside the team's vice-captain on the stone bench at a small secluded spot behind school.
Kaga quirks an amused brow at this, but remains silent, scooting aside to accommodate for the twin-tailed girl.
In the midst of cracking her bento open, Souryuu feels a pair of eyes watching her intently.
"Hiryuu's not around again?"
The twin-tailed girl frowns and does her best to stifle the sigh that threatens spill past her lips.
"She's running some errands for our homeroom teacher. You know, class-rep duties and stuff."
She tries her very best to pass her disappointment off with a careless shrug to no avail. From the sympathetic look that Kaga is giving her, she's pretty sure that it's showing on her face, as clear as day.
Because just when Souryuu's about to get used to the idea of missing lunch with Hiryuu, Kaga has to bring her up, delving the dagger deep into her wound all over again.
So she decides to pay the favor back.
"As for Akagi-san?"
Souryuu watches as Kaga visibly flinches, downing a particularly painful swallow of rice.
"She's off helping the first years out with their receives." She says, words clipped and terse.
"And you're not helping out with the coaching?"
"The juniors are uncomfortable with me around. I wouldn't want to distract them further, with Akagi-san there as it is."
As blandly as Kaga puts this, Souryuu manages to catch the tiniest warble of emotion hiding behind her voice.
Wielding her chopsticks and bowing her head, Kaga resumes to picking at her plainly decorated bento, signaling the end of their conversation.
Souryuu merely sits and stares.
Because, while she might not have known Kaga for the longest of time, she's pretty sure that she knows her well enough to at least know that something is 'off' with her.
Tiny telltale signs like the slight droop in her ever so impeccable posture and the way she has been absently prodding at her food with that glazed over expression that is so unlike of her…
"You're troubled." Souryuu says, before she can even stop herself. "And you have been for quite some time now."
Kaga stops short.
Lowering her chopsticks with an audible 'clink', she turns to face the twin-tailed girl squarely, the bento on her lap long forgotten.
"What makes you say so?"
Souryuu shrugs, leaning back against her palms as she kicks at her legs heedlessly.
"Well, for starters, you've been rather distracted as of late. And recently, you've been giving Hiryuu and me sets that are lower, faster and more direct— the kind of tosses that are Akagi-san's favorite."
"My apologies." Immediately, Kaga descends into a deep bow, this time sounding especially sorry and guilty.
"No, no, no. It's okay. It isn't something we can't handle."
Waving her hands dismissively about in front of her, Souryuu fumbles, embarrassment coloring her cheeks at being apologized to by the Kaga-san. "So I'm guessing that whatever's troubling you has got to do with Akagi-san?"
There is a short beat of silence as Kaga turns away, head hanging low. Lips pursed and eyes downcast, Souryuu notices a rare flicker of hesitation in her.
"Say, Souryuu," begins Kaga quietly, "are you not afraid of me?"
"Huh?" Souryuu blinks, perturbed, stunned by the bizarreness of Kaga's sudden question. "Why would I even be afraid of you? You're kind, and nice. And really, really cool. Why are you even asking, Kaga-san?"
Kaga sighs, allowing the slightest escape of air through parted her lips.
"The juniors, I know for a fact that most of them find me… intimidating… to say the least. So in order for things to go on smoothly, I try my best to keep away." Kaga pauses as the luster in her eyes dims, taking up a pensive glow. She frowns. "But naturally Akagi-san is popular with them and I… I'm only able to watch from afar."
Kaga's flinty façade crumbles apart then; and for the very first time, Souryuu is able to see through the tiny cracks and into the pain, the uncertainty and doubt that are all brewing up, like an ominous dark cloud, deep within her.
It strikes a familiar deep chord in Souryuu.
"I think… I think I can relate to that." She murmurs softly, looking up towards the sky wistfully. "Hiryuu's been busy lately, being recently appointed class-rep and all. The time we spend together has gotten a lot shorter and each time I reach out for her, I realize that someone else has already beaten me to her."
Hand outstretched, hovering over the burning ball of flame that is hanging up in the azure blue sky, Souryuu makes a go at grasping for it, despite her fingers falling— clenching— onto nothing but the warmth that is carried by the fleeting balmy breeze.
It doesn't stop her from trying nonetheless.
Absently, she's reminded of sunny smiles and summery amber eyes that sparkle and glow mirthfully back at her under the gentle sunlight.
She sighs.
"It does get lonely some times," Souryuu admits, her arm falling back to her side.
She takes in a deep breath and closes her eyes briefly, basking in the summer heat as it fills her entire being up to the brim.
"But at least, I have the rest of the team, like Akagi-san and yourself, to fall back to." She flashes the setter a small tentative smile.
"Souryuu…"
"Anyway, Kaga-san, I don't think you notice this but… Akagi-san is a lot like you too."
Kaga passes her a look of perplexity, brows furrowing ever so slightly.
Souryuu gives a musing hum, fingers tapping at her chin contemplatively.
"How do I put this? When you're not around, she wears the same expression that you have when you're looking at her from afar. While Akagi-san might be constantly surrounded by people, the only time when she's truly happy is when she's by your side, Kaga-san."
At the sight of a speechless, blushing Kaga, Souryuu lets loose an airy laugh, unable to contain her amusement.
"As I thought, the two of you only shine the brightest when you're together." She says, eyes twinkling knowingly. "You should go talk to Akagi-san. I'm sure you'd be surprised." She grins.
Regaining some form of her bearings, Kaga clears her throat, coughing primly into a balled fist.
But it does little about the blush that is still clearly evident on her cheeks.
She opens her mouth, and Souryuu is right about sure that some form of a refute is hot on her tongue. But at the last second, her lips clam shut, as if struck by a sudden revelation of sorts.
"Souryuu," Kaga murmurs, "you're actually… surprisingly insightful." She says, after a thoughtful pause.
The twin-tailed girl quirks a quick brow, crossing her arms in a show of playful indignation. "Are you making fun of me, Kaga-san?"
A faint amused smile tugs at the corners of thin lips. "I'm not, but thank you very much for your advice. I appreciate it." And Souryuu doesn't— for one second— doubt the sincerity in that surprisingly soft gaze.
"If… If you ever do need a listening ear, you can be sure to count on me to be there for you too."
Souryuu blinks, confused.
"I'd be willing to hear about whatever relationship problems you may have with Hiryuu."
Her reaction is almost instantaneous as Souryuu feels her cheeks— and ears—begin to burn and color.
"T-That is…" She sputters, eyes darting about and finally settling down onto a particularly spot on the ground.
"I meant it in a platonic way, of course."
If it's even possible, Souryuu flushes a shade darker.
Kaga smirks, and with ever so much of nonchalance, she picks up her chopsticks and digs into her bento once more, leaving Souryuu with the urge to wring her hands around that thin neck of hers.
A/N: This is seriously a lot longer than I expected it to be, so I guess it'll be a three-parter rather than a two-parter. School just started for me again, and I'm getting bogged down by lots of stuff, so updates would be a lot slower now. But anyway, thank you so much for reading! And to those who have favorited/followed/reviewed this fic, a huge thank you to you too. :)