Shizuku came to see her brother before going home alone when she noticed Kumiko on the bench, talking with Yanagi. She was startled to see Yanagi looking really interested in what her new friend was saying. Shizuku didn't take notice of her legs moving to the bench until she bumped into Niou. She blinked and when she recognized his arm, not even having to look up to see his face, she took a step back.
"Niou-senpai, I'm sorry, I wasn't looking"
He looked at her, thinking of how to handle her. Only ended up muttering something under his breath and going away.
When she felt him at a safe distance from her, she took a deep breath she hadn't realized she was holding and her tensed up shoulders relaxed. She grabbed her bag too tight when he was there without herself realizing.
She wasn't an exception, being Yukimura's sister or not, she, too, had a crush on Masaharu Niou. But he kindly rejected her before her crush could grow into something deeper. She hated him for that. She wanted to love and to be properly rejected. But because she was Yukimura's sister, no one approached her, so she didn't fall in love. No one would hurt her, so she'd never be rejected. Hard, hard.
"Hey, Kumiko" Shizuku and Kumiko were already on first-name basis, the Yukimura girl made her way to the bench, standing slightly behind Kumiko.
"Oh, Shizuku, are you going home ? Alone ?"
"Yeah, it's not really a problem, I can't wait for nii-san so, yeah."
"Well, how about I go with you then ? I live in the same direction"
"Really ? That'd be nice" Shizuku giggled, going home with friends, it had been a while.
Yanagi stood up, looking at Kumiko. "Ishimaru-san, thank you for your time. Thanks to your notes I know what to do, see you in two days for the joint practice then" He gave her a light smile and went to the tennis courts.
Shizuku and Kumiko were talking about the homework waiting for them when they saw a girl wearing the same uniform as theirs in front of the school gate. The girl was looking up at the falling leaves, looking lost and dreaming.
"Wait, that lost look...AH !" Shizuku recognized her and pulled Kumiko with her, going to greet the girl.
"You know her ?" Kumiko didn't look so surprised, she just followed her, interested.
"She's my classmate. I wanted to know her better but forgot"
"Sasaki-san ? "
"Oh...You're in my class...Yuki-Yukimura-san right ?" The girl turned her head slowly and looked straight at Shizuku in the eye, her mind still far away.
"Yes, that's right" Shizuku gave her the polite smile. "Are you going home ? How about coming with us ?"
"Us ? Ah" Sasaki Kyoko finally opened wide her eyes and took notice of Kumiko. "Are you a third year ?"
Kumiko laughed heartily. "I'm a second year"
"Eeeeeeh, but you're so tall !"
"Anyways, Sasaki-san, what are you doing here ?"
"I, um, I was about to go home"
"Then you could come with us" Shizuku smiled happily, finally getting the chance to get closer to the girl.
"If you don't mind.."
The three girls left their school to the train station nearby.
"I'm home" Sasaki Kyoko walked up the stairs and threw her bag on her dark blue bed. She ran downstairs and hugged her mother who was cooking.
"Oh honey you came home ! come on, sit down, I'll make you something, you must be tired right."
Her mother was a gentle looking woman in her early forties, Kyoko looked at her and smiled proudly. That was what she wished for, what she wanted. Just living with her father, mother, and brother was enough for her. She didn't need anything else.
"Kyoko, you know, I'll probably go back to work next week"
"Eeeh, already ?" She chewed on her toast, she expected her mother to go back to work. Her parents loved their job after all. She didn't like it as much as they did but she respected their choice. Her parents were still quite young, they married at a young age and Kyoko was born when they were still young enough to eat up life and enjoy freedom.
"Yes, already. Your father told me a lot of things about the centers you know, he said he was surprised by the level here. We didn't expect it at all, in fact, he even he has high hopes for Japan."
Kyoko answered with a hum and went back to her absent-minding.
She looked at the frame on the table. A picture of her parents holding her after she had won her first competition. Her first figure skating competition. Her brother, who was a year younger, had just won his first tennis match.
The famous coach Sasaki and his wife, the ex-professional horse back rider who became a coach too, were their parents. Meaning that they had the genes and the environment to be Japan's top athletes. But expectations were not what bothered her.
Kyoko loved figure skating, of course she did, but she was scared. Not scared of falling, but scared of getting seriously injured. Because if she got seriously injured, she wouldn't be able to play any sport. And it scared her, because she saw her mother suffering. She suffered from not being able to ride a horse.
That's why she stopped figure skating. Because she fell one day. The fall itself didn't hurt her, but the doctor's warning did. The doctor told her that the fall could be dangerous, that it could be the same as her mother.
"Kyo~ko, still thinking ?" Her mother was in front of her, eating too when Kyoko realized it. She herself couldn't explain how she disconnected herself from the world sometimes.
"Not really. Mom, I think I met nice people today"
"really ? Tell me about it"
"TEN LAPS AND THEN GATHER, THERE'S SOMETHING WE HAVE TO DISCUSS"
The girls ended their ten laps and reunited in front of the captain's bench.
Reiko studied each of their faces and her vice captain's in particular. They were all concerned, they felt that something was off. And the vice captain's condition was the worst of all.
"Ishimaru, come next to me" The girls turned their head, a bit startled.
"Everyone, I know it might displease you but please understand. Here, Ishimaru, I let you handle the rest"
"Thank you buchou. To everyone here, I have something quite important to say. Buchou accepted to let me handle the team for awhile. I'm not saying that I'm the new captain or anything, it's still Ichinose-senpai and Suzuku-senpai.
I'm counting on you all, thank you" Kumiko smiled sweetly at them.
The smile and the manners seemed gentle but they knew they didn't have a choice. The girl in front of them, senpai, of same age, or kohai, was not asking them a favor.
"Now that it's settled, we'll resume the normal training for now, the regulars stay here." Reika clapped her hands to dismiss the non-regulars.
"Akira you're staying too" Akira rolled her eyes at Kumiko and muttered "I guessed so"
Under the regulars' judging glares, Chihiro's careful eyes, Akira's poker face and Ai's worried look, Kumiko nodded to the captain before speaking.
"I have two important things to tell you right now. First, it's about the joint practice. We've decided that the regulars would not play against each other, but instead, Yanagi-senpai and I prepared a menu to help every regular improve. Meaning that Yanagi-senpai could be the one to be in charge of your practice, I hope it doesn't bother you. Also, it will be held next week, the whole week, so I hope you'll be ready for it.
The second thing is, the line-up. The district tournament is soon, and Kanagawa only has two other girl teams. I am the one to come up with the line-up and I can already tell you that there will be massive changes and I apologize for it. That'd be all for today, please continue your training."
Kumiko nodded again at the captain and left herself to practice, without looking back at the regulars' whose faces were dead-serious and worried.
"Suzuki Chihiro-san ?"
"Ah yes, Mazumi-san r-right ?"
"do you mind helping me practice for a bit ?"
"o-of course I don't"
They both ran quietly to an available court, Chihiro nervously glancing at Kumiko time to time, and Akira only looking in front of her. She finally said "Suzuki-san, don't worry about Kumiko, she knows what she's doing, believe it or not"
"oh no, I do believe what she said, it's just that, the 3rd years won't be..pleased"
They perfectly understood that it was degrading to have a kohai lead them without proving herself. "They won't. But they have to suck it up, I hate to admit it but the girl can manage a team pretty damn well."
On that note they did drills and ran, in a nice quietness, sometimes chatting a bit, as they pleased.
