A/N: Thank you once again to my darling reviewers! Here's the next instillation, I hope you enjoy it ;) let me know what you think!
On Monday, thoroughly rested and ready to lug all my information to university, I grabbed my favourite umbrella and hurried to the bus stop. Daiki was quick to relieve me of the enormously heavy backpack I'd neatly filed all of the copies of the data into, whistling lowly as he swung it on to his broad shoulder, "If I'm right, you've really outdone yourself, Satsuki."
I merely grinned up at him, and set to chatting about his classes and how he was going with notes. He looked a little sheepish, and confessed to have missed a study night on Saturday because he slept at Tetsu's. After I'd given him a lecture on the importance of diligence, we stepped off at our stop and I excused him just once. The gym was cold, and I struggled not to shiver as we made our way to where the empty bleachers sat.
As Daiki headed off to get changed, I unpacked the bag I brought, setting down the copies I'd made specifically for the first-string players to the side before leaving a stack for the rest of the team off to the side (I made sure to leave a special copy for Riko also).
Midorima was the first to enter, and so I handed him his copy, hoping he wouldn't mind that I'd been taking notes on his Oha Asa… hobby. On Sunday I'd done extra research and stated the star sign of every player on every team, and whether or not they were a 'lucky' person on a 'luck-scale' of 1-10.
For Akashi, I'd added their backgrounds and home lives as well as school records so he would better be able to navigate the players and the field.
For Kise, I made sure to feature all the moves he'd be facing in explicit detail so he'd be prepared to try them.
For Tetsu and Daiki, there was a scale of how much they loved basketball from 1-10.
Mukkun was perhaps the easiest to do – I just gauged the team's skill against their love for basketball on a chart, knowing he'd try harder for the ones who loved it and worked hard to get to their skill levels.
Akashi entered the gym after Midorima (who hadn't looked up yet), and I handed him his copy, praying that he would like it. After Akashi came Kise, Mukkun and Himuro, who all got a copy (Himuro-senpai received a standard copy without the little add-ons of the first-string players).
Tetsu and Daiki emerged from the change rooms and I handed them theirs before gathering the ordinary stack and makings rounds to the players warming up. Riko came next, demanding to see her copy (which I handed over without much of a fight). I stood as part of the circle the first-stringers, watching on patiently as they flipped through their sheets.
"Excellent, Momoi-san," said Akashi suddenly, eyes still trained on his documents – and I daresay he looked… excited!
"Satsuki, this is great!" Daiki as he thoughtlessly ruffled my hair from where he stood beside me, "Can you really sign up as manager?"
I laughed – and then sobered immediately when their eyes trained on me.
"Uh... are you serious?"
Akashi narrowed his mismatched eyes and lowered the paperwork to his side, "I'll have the paperwork done by tomorrow afternoon. Is it a yes, or a no, Momoi-san?"
Knowing I'd probably have to sacrifice a limb if I refused, I nodded and said, "Yes. Sure. If you'll have me."
To which Akashi fired back, "Right. Be here every morning at your usual time. While you tutor Aida-san, you'll watch and make your usual observations. I want a full report every week-"
"A week's not enough for a statistic comparison-"
"A week and a half, then," he looked none too pleased at my interruption, but continued nevertheless, "and I expect you to be at our games."
I nodded.
"Also," his tone was cold, and I spared a quick glance up at the sheepish Daiki, "I'll be placing you responsible for getting the first string to pass their exams."
I barely supressed a groan before I realised I'd already done that – Mukkun and Daiki were the only two who had been failing, and I'd taken care of both of them already.
"I have one condition," I said before the Captain could get too ahead of himself, "if Riko or I see that any of you are unfit to play in a match, you must listen to us, no matter the circumstance."
They all nodded rather tersely and I exchanged another look with Riko, settling on a steady glare, "You better be ready for that qui-"
She dropped her notes and made to run for it, but I lunged across the circle and tackled her to the ground, "Oh, no you don't!"
Somehow I managed to force her to take the test while observing the training regime rather innately. After practice, Riko and I were about to head to class when Kise burst out of the bathrooms, yelling, "Party on Friday night!"
When I asked my short haired friend about it on the way to class, she explained it as 'the gathering of all sports teams on the campus, usually at a club and most definitely filled with drunken idiots and strangely good music'.
"So we get to see the basketball team drunk then?" I couldn't help the bubble of excitement welling within me.
"No," Riko shot it down before I could get too worked up, "Akashi allows them to go to the party, but forbids more than two cups of alcohol because 'they're all professional athletes and need to be more mature and health conscious'. Which I totally agree with, by the way."
I grimaced, imagining the rule must've resulted in some very unhappy team members, but shrugged nevertheless, "So, are you going or…?"
She looked at me as though I had grown three heads, "Of course I am, idiot! Just because the boys can't get smashed, doesn't mean I can't every once in a while!"
With her rather bold exclamation, I shrugged and nodded when she asked me if I wanted to go – heck, if Riko thought it was okay to get drunk, then I supposed I could do so as well.
On Friday night, I dressed up in a perfectly cut little black dress, wore heels the same pink as my hair and dolled myself up as best I knew how. Riko was dropped off around ten, and we called a taxi as she went about using a curling iron to manipulate my hair into long, loose waves.
"Momoi-chan… you seem a little nervous," she commented as she let another layer of my hair loose from the clip atop my head.
"Me?" my voice sounded ridiculously high pitched, even to myself, "No, not at all! I'm just excited!"
And I was excited. Tetsu and Daiki were going to the footballer's house early to help the other teams set up, but they said they'd be catching a cab back with me afterwards seeing as they lived around my area. I'd offered my assistance to helping with the set-up of the party, but the boys had adamantly refused, telling me it was some kind of team-player ritual, and that my presence would be more than a little disruptive (Tetsu pointed at my chest and told me no lies, bless his heart).
Pros and Cons in relation to my first major university party:
PROS:
- I must admit, I looked quite fetching with the rather provocative dress on
- The heels make my legs seem ridiculously long
- Many new people will be there – a chance to make new friends, perhaps?
- Daiki (that boy will be looking fine as hell, no doubt)
CONS:
- While the specifically cut dress makes my figure absolutely pop, I look kinda slutty
- The heels are ridiculously high and I don't trust my drunken self to remain upright in them
- Many new people will be there – a chance to make new enemies, perhaps?
- Daiki (that boy will be looking fine as hell, no doubt)