Chapter 3: Mistakes
The whistle blew and Riko cupped her hands to her mouth, loudspeaker style. "Run play number three!" she yelled. Immediately afterwards, she picked up her clipboard from the bench and started furiously scribbling notes on what the first years needed to work on, making up training routines for them on the spot.
Hmmm… she thought, tapping the pen on her pursed lips. I should assign Furihata-kun drills to strengthen his basic dribbling skills. Kawahara-kun needs more defensive training and Fukuda-kun could use some shooting practice…
Completely lost in thought, she continued to write when a loud crash erupted from the far side of the gym. Surprised, she looked up to see a small figure lying face down on the ground, open bottles and water spilled everywhere around her. Riko sighed, put down her clipboard, and started towards where Kuroko was lying.
On her way over, Hyuuga caught up with her and matched her pace. "Again?" he asked, a friendly smirk playing on his face. Riko smiled and shook her head.
Before either of them could make it to Kuroko's side, there was a flash of red that cut them off. Kagami had reached the far side of the gym, and was already helping him up.
"Isn't it already the fourth time this week?!" Kagami scolded Kuroko, roughly grabbing his arm and pulling him up to his feet. The way he spoke made it seem like he was trying very hard to sound brusque, but an obvious gentleness found its way through his words.
Kuroko regained his balance, and started to pat off his uniform. "Actually Kagami-kun, I think it was the fifth," he said pointedly without looking at him. Immediately, he started to pick up the water bottles and put them back in the crate that he had obviously dropped in the middle of his delivery.
"Seriously…" Kagami muttered as he bent down to help. "Oy, can someone get us a mop…?" he turned his head to call out to someone nearby, but as he looked around, he was greeted with smug grins from all around the room.
"What the hell-"
"Ne ne~ Mama Kagami~" Riko said in a joking tone, trying her best to conceal her laughter, "Could you come teach me how to tie my laces?"
Hyuuga, who had been standing beside her, had taken off his glasses and was covering his face with one hand. His body was perceptibly shaking, obviously from trying to keep down the laughter, and the rest of the team was in the same state.
Kagami suddenly realized what had just happened. He dropped the bottles he had been holding in his hands and shot up from his squatting position. He could feel the colour rising in his face, and all it was doing was building thanks to the snickering he could hear behind him.
"Kagami-kun, are you alright?" Kuroko asked, looking up at him with his wide blue eyes.
Kagami refused to look him in the face. Instead, he kicked a few of the bottles that were in the way and raced out of the gym through the nearest doors. Behind him, there was a loud thunk, and he could hear Riko yelling "Kuroko-kun!" but he didn't bother to look back.
Kagami ran a couple of laps around the school field to blow off some steam. After a solid half an hour had passed, he made his way to the change rooms. Throwing a towel over his neck, he walked to the sink and splashed cold water on his face, hoping it would cool him down even more. He looked up and inspected himself in the mirror. It didn't look like he had changed at all, so what was the big deal?
He shrugged and threw the towel into a laundry bin. There was still half an hour of practice left… He thought he should probably head back to the gym or else there was a good chance Riko would come hunt him down, and then he would never hear the end of how badly he had behaved.
Kagami left the change room, and walked back to the gym at a leisurely pace. When he arrived, he quietly tried to push the heavy door open, hoping that he could make a stealthy entrance. If he could sneak in and join in on drills without a word, maybe no one would say anything.
Huh? Kagami stopped for a moment and listened. That was strange. How come there was no sound coming from the gym?
Giving up on his plan, he pushed the door open. To his surprise, the gym was completely empty! The mess from earlier was all cleaned up, all the basketballs had been put away in a cart, and none of his teammates were anywhere in sight.
What? Coach would never end practice early… Kagami stood at the entrance for a few more seconds, then bolted off to find where everyone had gone. Something must have happened if Riko had cancelled the rest of practice.
He ran towards the school's main building, asking anyone who happened to pass him if they had seen the basketball team. The students he asked shied away from him or pretended not to hear, and this only added to Kagami's frustration. Finally, while jogging through the halls, he saw a familiar face.
"Ah, senpai-" Hyuuga was leaning against the wall by himself, staring grimly at the ground. When he heard Kagami call out for him, he looked up and stood up straight, staring straight at Kagami.
"Where did everyone go-" Before he could even finish his sentence, Hyuuga's fist connected with Kagami's face. The punch wasn't enough to send Kagami flying or anything, but it definitely left an impression, and a mark. Kagami held his cheek and looked confusedly at Hyuuga. "What the hell was that for?!"
Hyuuga turned his back towards Kagami and started to walk away. "He's at the nurse's office."
