So far so good I'm managing to stick with the update schedule (sort of). Anyways little bit of down time in this one but I won't ruin it too much for you guys. Enjoy!
~*Mending*~
"Does anyone one else find it ironic that we're training together with the same team that knocked us out of the Inter-High?" Hayawaka muttered with the rest of the team nodding in agreement.
"Actually, I'm more worried about our two star players." Nakamura said more to himself, sparing a glance to the two players in question.
Said two were currently avoiding each other. Correction—Mira was avoiding Kise. The girl had barely looked at the boy that morning when they'd gathered near the bus. Mira had made it a point to be known that she didn't want anything to do with Kise. She was pissed. Majorly. The other Kaijo boys vaguely wondered what had happened between the two. Not that any of them were brave enough to ask Mira. And with Kise looking like a puppy that had just been kicked, no one had the heart to make the guy feel any worse than he normally did. They just hoped the two could get over it soon.
"Thank you for the invitation to join you. I must say it is quite the coincidence that we both chose this location to train at during this time. I hope we don't interfere in any way." Takeuchi shook hands with his old friend whose hard mask seemed to crack for the first time.
"Don't worry. The point of a joint training camp is to train together. Besides, it was Akashi's idea in the first place. Seems he and a few of my others have taken a shine to your point guard. I'm eager to get a look at her myself." Shirogane shifted his gaze towards Mira who was already blending in with Akashi and Kotaro. Reo and Nebuya greeted the girl, also looking forward to this joint venture.
The Kaijo boys wondered just how Mira was able to just jump in with the Rakuzan team without feeling intimidated. Already chatting up a storm with Kotaro who was asking for a one on one later. Mira happily agreed as they all headed inside the inn they'd be staying at. It didn't escape Akashi's notice that Mira was putting distance between her and Kise. She didn't even bother to spare a look back at him to see if he was coming or not.
"What happened?" Akashi asked Kanika, scaring the poor girl and giving her a nose bleed. Something that hadn't happened in a long time.
"Sorry." Kanika sniffled from a safe distance away. Even if Akashi wasn't trying to be, he was intimidating to be near. "Mira is still upset about an incident from the other night and Kise-senpai blames himself for it. I don't think Mira blames him for what happened, but she holds him responsible in some fashion. She's only looked at him once since the team met up this morning." The poor girl had to shove Kleenex up her nose to stop the stress bleeding.
Akashi merely nodded, letting the subject drop. The players all got settled in and changed. They only had three days to cram in as much as possible. They didn't have the luxury of sitting around doing nothing. First up on the menu was beach training. The weather was still nice enough to allow them to get some reps done on the beach. Once everyone was changed they headed down to the beach front dressed in practice gear, ready for instructions.
"For the first two days you'll pair off with the one who plays your position. They will be your training partner and the one to push you till the final day when we have a team match up. Help each other, guide each other, and cooperate to reach your goals." Shirogane called out to everyone.
"Mira?" Akashi joined the girl near the front of the group. Her eyes were still hard and she was refusing to look back at Kotaro who was currently harassing Kise.
"Wait till we're far enough away from the main group." Mira took a deep breath, clenching and unclenching her firsts to stay calm.
"Understood." Akashi let the subject drop.
The teams lined up as the first exercise began. A beach run. The full length up and back once. They'd all been allowed to run barefoot for it, but that didn't make things any easier. It didn't take long for Mira and Akashi to pull away from the pack. As promised, Mira spilled her guts. Unlike the others Mira had come to know, Akashi was one whom she couldn't remain silent around. He'd played almost as big a part as Kise had in helping her to regain her old self. He'd trained with her when he'd barely known her. He'd taken her abuse when Mira had learned her Demon Zone. He'd abided by her wishes during the final battle between her and Alexander. Mira owed Akashi a lot. To her, he was like a brother. A strong comforting presence that she could count on. One that she couldn't hide anything from either.
"I see." Akashi said softly to himself as they hit one end of the public marked beach and headed back towards the other end. "I can understand why you are so angered. But your anger is also displaced."
"I know. But when I look at him all I can see is how he protected someone like her. From day one she's been trying to drive a wedge between us. All because some bitch was too scared to find out what was really going on and projected her fears on to me. This is precisely why I don't get along with most females." Mira gritted her teeth in annoyance over the whole thing.
"You aren't exactly the easiest person to approach." Akashi chuckled lightly.
"Says the pot calling the kettle black." The girl muttered under her breath.
"All I'm saying is it's Ryota's nature. He has two older sisters so he understands how to treat and comfort most girls. Why do you think he knows how to turn down his fans so gently?" Akashi pointed out, watching as Mira glanced up at nothing in particular while in thought.
"Honestly, I've stopped paying attention to his fans since I finally managed to get them to be quiet at practice." Mira blinked a few times in an oblivious manner that caused Akashi to snicker softly.
"You know what you have to do." Akashi pointed out with a smile on his face.
"I know. But I just need to be mad for a little while. My anger needs to run its course before I can approach him." She admitted as they hit the other end finally.
"Very well. Shall we put that energy to good use then?" Akashi challenged, picking up the pace.
"I was wondering when we were gonna start getting serious." Mira smirked as she easily kept up with him.
"How can those two still have energy to spare?" Kanika whispered, ready to drop her clipboard in shock. Compared to the others who were still lagging a bit it almost seemed like the two point guards were racing each other.
After the run on the beach they moved back inside. They hit the gym next before finally moving on to the court. As instructed, the pairs stuck together while running drills on the court. By now their teams were pretty much hating their point guards who seemed to be breezing through the menu relatively easy. Mira showed once again the work she put in to make sure she stood on par with the guys. While she wasn't anywhere close to being as physically strong as Akashi, her skills and speed made up the difference in a lot of ways. And unlike when she'd first come to Kaijo, Mira was smiling. Mira was laughing. Mira was enjoying her time on the court.
"She's changed so much." Kise said softly as he watched Mira and Akashi take a short water break.
"West-chan? She does seem a lot happier than in the past." Kotaro noted, turning to watch the two now. "Her and Akashi get along really well too."
"That's because Sei-chan see's her like a sister. And I'd be willing to bet West-chan sees him as a sibling as well." Reo smiled tenderly, watching the two point guards go back and forth before setting up for a one on one.
"Anyone that can earn Akashi's respect is okay in my book." Nebuya belched loudly. Those around the boy flinched both from disgust and surprise.
"Think Akashi would be okay if I asked West-chan out?" Kise nearly choked on his water upon hearing Kotaro's sudden question.
'Great. That's another one I have to worry about.' Kise thought to himself. He shifted his attention to where Mira and Akashi were currently playing.
Kise couldn't blame Kotaro for being attracted to the red head though. With her skills she could easily draw in any player worth their salt. Her honest to a fault personality helped to weed out the weak, leaving only those that were serious behind. The question on everyone's minds though…what kind of guy exactly was Mira attracted to? She didn't really show an interest in anyone around her. Even Kise knew she had her pick of the litter should she want. But the girl seemed to only be focused on basketball.
'I wonder if she sees me like that? Not like this recent mess helped any.' Kise admitted to himself.
Even if he wasn't directly at fault for Mira's anger, he had played a small part. He hadn't listened. He didn't heed Mira's warning. It's not like Mira went out of her way to chase the girls away from Kise. She scared his fans into silence sure, but she didn't ban them from the courts. And anytime they'd hung out after practice and a girl came up to talk to him, Mira had always waited patiently for him to get done before they headed off. Despite her threatening to leave him alone in the streets. The fact that Mira had been wary of a girl should've said a lot to Kise.
'I need to apologize.' Kise thought to himself, unaware of the smile he was wearing while watching Mira be her true self out on the court.
_._._
It was the second night of the training camp. After another arduous day, a good long soak in the bath, and some encouraging from Akashi and Kanika, Mira was finally ready to speak to Kise. She took a deep breath before glancing back to Kanika. The mousy girl sent the text and gave Mira a thumbs up for luck before leaving the area. Mira stood out near the beach, enjoying the nice ocean breeze blowing in the air. For once she wasn't dressed in basketball gear. She'd opted for short cotton shorts and a muscle shirt with a light jacket. She'd decided to leave her hair down for the meeting. For once, she was actually trying to look soft and feminine.
"Huh? Mira?" She turned slightly upon hearing Kise call out to her. "I thought Ichinose-chan wanted to talk."
"I asked Kanika to txt you for me. I didn't want you to feel pressured to come speak to me if I'd contacted you." Mira smiled softly, motioning with her head for Kise to join her.
"Mira I—" She pressed a finger to Kise's lips to silence him.
"You have nothing to apologize for. It was me this time. I took my anger out on you when you had nothing to do with the reason that I was pissed off in the first place. Yeah, I was irritated that you were blowing me off but not enough that I should've acted like I did. I just used you as a proxy for that girl. I'm sorry Kise. For being mad, for ignoring, for acting like a total jackass lately." Mira removed her finger and allowed her hands to fall to her sides. "Still friends?"
"Of course!" Kise reached out and pulled the girl to him. Wrapping her in a tight hug in case she changed her mind and decided to bolt. "Mira I'm sorry. I should've listened to you when you voiced your concerns. I ignored it and I ignored you."
"It's okay. I'm just glad to have you back Kise." Mira smiled to herself, keeping her head down so that Kise couldn't see just how happy she was.
"You never lost me in the first place." He said softly, resting his chin on her head as the two just stood there.
Both knew words would only complicate the situation at hand. They would both grow self-conscious and want to separate in order to save face. But neither was willing to give up the warmth they were enjoying. Mira reached up and gently held on to the back of Kise's shirt. Somehow Kise had gone from annoying friend, to someone she physically wanted to be around. Someone that she looked forward to seeing. Someone she felt like she could be her real self around. Someone she didn't want to lose. Mira couldn't help but wonder if Kise felt the same for her. She'd never have the guts to ask him. When it came to feelings, it was about the only girly thing about Mira. She refused to be the first one to ask or say anything to the other party. She was perfectly comfortable sitting back and letting things play out. Last time she'd confessed it hadn't exactly gone well. It was that fear that kept her from speaking up now when she so desperately wanted to know how Kise felt.
'For now. This is enough. Maybe one day I can tell him…." Mira thought to herself as she snuggled into his chest, feeling Kise's arms tighten around her waist in response.
The next day…
Unbeknownst to anyone, the camp continued as normally as possible. They ran through the drills per usual as the hours ticked by until the team competition. Kaijo glanced over to Mira who was having a conversation with Akashi before jogging back to her team. Mira spared one last look over her shoulder before heaving a sigh and scratching her head.
"I'm not gonna lie. It's gonna be a tough game. But this is where we see if the training we've put in with them paid off any. I'm not Akashi. I can't pull you all into Zone like he can with his team. But I'm not going to just roll over and die, even if they blow us out of the water. I owe you guys more than that." Mira gave the guys a bonified smile as they all shared a look between each other.
"West-chan? Are you okay?" Nakamura asked since no one else was willing to speak.
"You seem chippier than usual." Hayawaka noted with a hard nod. "Is it because you and Kise made up?"
"No. Well, we did but…even I've never seen her like this before a game." Kise said softly, amazed at how bright Mira seemed then.
"Maybe it's because you're seeing the real me." Mira laughed softly as she lowered her gaze. "During the summer, my old teammates reminded me that there was no reason for me to be afraid anymore. I have no reason to not trust you guys like I did when I first got here. They told me to stop holding back. And it's exactly what I plan on doing."
There was a light in Mira's eyes that hadn't been there before. Normally she was extremely serious with a touch of humor before a match. Today she looked overjoyed. As if a weight was off her shoulders. Kise's eyes widened as he realized what it was. She was finally showing them the real Mira. The one Kise had only caught glimpses of in the past. The one that she'd been struggling to be again after her trust had been shattered to a million pieces. The fact that Mira had come to apologize to Kise should've told him something was different. Now he knew what. Mira was whole again.
The two teams set up for the jump ball as Mira went through her normal ritual. She adjusted her shooting sleeves before taking her calming breath and turning her mind off. From across the way Kotaro's eyes lit up upon seeing that look in Mira's eyes. The same look Akashi had been hoping for as well. They were in for a good match today. The ball was tossed up and Nebuya won the jump. He pulled the ball down and looked to Akashi first. Surprise coated his face when he saw Akashi shake his head. He was saying no to starting things off. Nebuya turned to Kotaro and dumped the ball off to him before taking his spot underneath the basket as the game began.
Playing against Rakuzan was no easy feat. Even without the makeshift shadow, the Uncrowned Kings and Akashi gave them a run for their money with the new player fitting in seamlessly. Mira did her best to keep Akashi's play to a minimum as Kise tried his best to help out underneath. But for every basket Kaijo scored, Rakuzan easily scored two or three in turn. They weren't known as Emperor's for no reason. The score was a testament to that as the gap only continued to grow. Even knowing this, Mira kept up her job. She forced Akashi to play a bit more conservatory. Mira was a tough opponent for Akashi. Her adaptability allowed her to play Akashi on equal footing. He knew the only way his special skills would be effective against the red head is if he entered Zone. But should he do that, he would drain himself far before the game could conclude. He wouldn't be able to pull his teammates into Zone if his own energy was depleted from the start. And after seeing how hard Mira had fought against Alexander, Akashi knew how tenacious the girl could be. It may only be a practice match but Mira never slacked off on anything.
'Huh?' Akashi could feel a shift in the aura on the court.
He couldn't believe what he saw from a top the key. Despite their exhaustion, despite the widening score gap, despite being outclassed, the Kaijo boys all stood at the ready. They all appeared as if they had their second wind and were ready to charge into battle once more. All their eyes focused on top where Akashi stood with the ball, ready to move whenever the ball did. But it wasn't Akashi they were watching. It was Mira.
'Could it be?' Akashi wondered as he decided to put his theory to the test.
He passed the ball to Reo who wasted no time in taking the shot, believing that his man was guarding him much to loosely. Akashi's fears were confirmed as Nakamura jumped to try and block Reo. His finger managed to touch the ball and throw off the shot. Ignoring Akashi, Mira darted underneath and used her speed to allow her to box out an off guard Kotaro. Kise and Hayawaka double teamed Nebuya to keep him out of the fray as Manami (a second year who was almost as tall a Kobori) jumped to get the rebound. He turned and chunked the ball down the court as Mira blazed by Akashi. The point guard rushed after his man, wondering when Mira had gotten so fast. He managed to stop her drive as Mira pulled out her street skills and pulled Akashi into a one on one. Mira rolled to the left, came back right, crossed between her legs, made a drive to her right, only to pull into a jump shot. Akashi timed his jump right but had forgotten about Mira's sneaky ability. She passed the ball behind her back and threw the ball to the basket with her left hand. It rimmed off and appeared as if it was going to fall out. A slight smirk appeared on Mira's face as Kise flew by and forced the ball into the basket. Akashi looked from where Kise stood to Mira and then the Kaijo boys standing behind her on the other end of the court.
'This is going to get immensely harder.' Akashi thought to himself. Already excited by the thought of what was to come in the next two quarters.
_._._
"Damnit!" Hayawaka howled.
The final score had been 115-92. While it was still a win for Rakuzan, it was a much closer game than the last time they'd face at Inter-High. One, because they had Mira back and it seemed she was pretty good at keeping Akashi at bay until he'd pulled his whole team into Zone. Two, Mira had a new ability. One that the Kaijo boys weren't even aware that she'd used on them.
"That was a good match." Reo smiled, offering a hand to Hayawaka.
"It shows we're getting stronger. Thank you for your help these last few days." Nakamura bowed slightly to the Rakuzan players.
"It was fun. And we got to see something interesting as well." Nebuya chuckled. He glanced to Mira who had to crane her neck in order to look up at the boy.
"See! I told you it was different playing her than just watching!" Kotaro yelled happily. He was about to reach out to hug Mira, only to have Kise pull a Jason. He pulled Mira towards him and shot Kotaro a look that dared him to try and take Mira away.
"With a little more work, that ability of yours might just push your team to new heights." Akashi said cryptically.
"Akashicchi?" Kise questioned, wanting his friend to clear things up for him.
"It's similar to how I can pull my team into Zone with me. While I bring out the best in my teammates, Mira inspires hers to push past their limits and keep fighting. Almost as if she's giving some of her energy to you all." Akashi clarified.
"Hmm…Well, it's true that I when I saw how hard West-chan was fighting against you that I didn't want to leave all the work to her." Hayawaka nodded in acknowledgement.
"It did seem as if we got our second wind in roughly the second quarter." Nakamura noted while fixing his glasses.
"That's because you have a leader who doesn't just lead. She fights alongside with you. You all unconsciously sensed her fighting spirit. You could see she was willing to put it all on the line for her team. So you naturally responded in time with your own strong wills. Your bodies just couldn't handle the continued strain of going past your limits. She has what's known as Alpha Sense. Mira is a natural born leader." Akashi chuckled. Once again, Mira amazed him.
"Did you know about this?" Kise asked, looking down at the girl still trapped in his arms.
"Kinda….the guys always told me that they played harder whenever I was point guard. This was the first game that I was able to fully put my trust in you guys and play like I used to in the states." Mira admitted softly, looking around to her teammates with a somber but happy look in her eyes.
"Well, looks like we're going to have to get stronger. We can't let our point guard take all the responsibility anymore, can we?" Nakamura smiled with the others agreeing.
"By the way Kise…...why didn't you use your Perfect Copy!" Mira snapped. She elbowed Kise hard before knocking his feet out from underneath him.
"Mir~a!" Kise whined as the abuse continued. The Rakuzan boys looked to Kaijo who waved away their concerns.
'It would seem those two made up.' Akashi smiled, watching the two like a proud older brother. He was glad to see them both back to their usual selves. He was eager to see just how much they would grow between now and the Winter Cup. It would be interesting to say the least.
I had fun with this one. Even back in Fresh Start I always saw Akashi taking on a brotherly role with Mira. You could say their bond developed after Akashi helped Mira to train to kick Alexander's ass. That, and he's probably the only one Mira will listen to seriously without bad mouthing them.
We got to see a new skill develop as well! Our favorite red head isn't growing only in life but basketball as well! Or I guess you could say this is a talent she used to have and is just now bringing back. Either way I hope you all enjoyed and can't wait to hear from ya!
