The third part of our saga at the Rookie Tournament- at last.
"Shin-chan," said Takao, hanging off the railing at the top of the seats. "There you are."
Midorima started. She stood and shook out her hair and clothes, settling them back into place. "Yes," she said. "Yes." She began to pick her way out of the empty stands.
Takao stretched out his back, still slung over the railings and watching the empty court absently. His hair fell over his eyes but he ignored it. As she drew even with him he glanced up at her through those too-long bangs, smiling. "How was it?" he said, his voice warm.
A hand clenched on her heart, ice-cold.
"Acceptable," she said, turning away. "Seirin's lack of reserve players was always going to be their sticking point. But they're coming along better than I would have expected." Even Akashi, who had flicked a look up at Midorima in the stands, almost-laughing.
"Touou creamed Yousen in the end," reported Takao. "Aomine tied Murasakibara up and then the rest of her team went to town on them. She got really pissed off." There was no need to clarify which she he meant.
"They prioritized and encourage aggressive talent in their incoming batches," replied Midorima, glad to think of something other than humiliating daydreams. "And of course, there was Momoi."
"That stammering kid got into Murasakibara's face a few times," said Takao, almost dreamily. "So pissed off."
"Sakurai-kun is our age," said Midorima mildly.
"He's a twitchy little-" started Takao, then looked at her and changed what he had been about to say. "Player. Murasakibara did turn it over on Aomine a few times, that was exciting. You guys are monsters."
"And yet you went off with Kise?" said Midorima, her voice sharper than she had intended.
"She had me in a chokehold," Takao pointed out. 'Which you failed to get me out of, by the way."
"You looked like you were enjoying yourself," said Midorima bitingly. "Boys usually do."
"Nah, come on," said Takao, looking uncomfortable. "It's not like that."
Midorima wished a black hole would swallow her up. The compact was clearly not working. She didn't want this. She didn't want to be the one hovering like some kind of shrill harpy, making a too-obvious fool of herself. Kise wasn't even interested in Takao, or vice versa.
She shrugged her shoulders, not wanting to have to spell out what she would be apologising for. "We know who we'll be facing, anyway."
"Yeah," said Takao. His eyes searched her face. She wondered if he knew: if Kise had thoughtlessly stuck her nose in or Takao had seen it himself, the way he seemed to perceive everything. It did take him somewhat longer than say, Akashi, to put things together, which Midorima could only be grateful for.
She desperately wished that if he did know, he would be tactful for once in his life and say nothing. If he did know, he could at least let her keep her dignity intact. It would pass, and one day he would be as only special to her as an old lucky item, set carefully aside.
"Let's go back?" said Takao, still watching her.
"Yes," said Midorima.
.0.
Rakuzan's first-years eventually filed out of their changing room, and Akashi debriefed them. Momoi turned up about half through, and waited for to finish before approaching her.
Kagami nodded at Momoi. He always felt a little awkward around the other guy- nice enough, but it always felt like Touou's manager was a totally different species from him.
Which was proved when a Rakuzan first-year stepped into Momoi's path towards Akashi and, instead of punching him (which Kagami had been struggling with himself not to do since the team that had just beaten Seirin had started smirking at him), Momoi just eyed him up and down, lips moving silently, then dug out a notebook and wrote something down.
The jackass went white and stepped aside.
"Momoi-kun," said Akashi, as if nothing had happened. Her voice was sweet and almost warm, for Akashi. He smiled at her brightly.
"I have the information you asked for, Akashi-san!" he said.
"Thank you," said Akashi, receiving from him an opaque binder which she tucked it away in her bag.
A dozen pairs of eyes watched it disappear.
"We're looking forward to facing your team in the next match!" said Momoi.
Akashi arched an eyebrow, and they both looked at Aomine, who had wandered off and was leaning on Kuroko as she traded amazingly childish facial expressions with Murasakibara. Kagami thought it was cute.
"Yes, so do I," Akashi said, smirking a little.
Aomine noticed them watching and all four of the girls came back towards them. Kagami couldn't help thinking of it as like those slides in science class, with iron filings drifting slowly but inevitably true north. Even Murasakibara, who eschewed actually talking to any of them to leave one bench and come to another one near Kagami, managing to look as though she'd done it for no actual reason at all.
"What'd she want?" said Aomine to Momoi. Aomine just didn't care.
"Just some information," said Momoi innocently.
"What kind of information?" said Kise, looking between them and Akashi. Kuroko's expression gave no indication of how futile an endeavour she considered it that anyone ever asked Akashi to clarify herself.
"Concern is unnecessary," Akashi told her.
While Kise and Kagami were still trying to work out what the hell that meant, Momoi crossed his arms around his chest and huffily told Aomine that she had to be present at Touou's own debriefing talk for tomorrow's game.
"Why?" said Aomine, looking genuinely surprised.
"You're the one coach left in charge!" Momoi said. Even as he said it he seemed to be amazed the words were coming out of his mouth.
Aomine scratched her head. "Oh, yeah," she said. She turned to Kagami and dropped her bag on his lap. "I'll be back. Apparently they can't do anything without me." She looked at Momoi. "Let's get this over with- what the hell are you two doing?"
"Are you kidding me I have to see this," said Kise, bouncing with excitement.
"It will be very interesting," said Kuroko.
Akashi looked somewhat torn, but instead signaled her teammates to leave, nodding farewell to her former teammates.
The rest of them walked off, leaving Kagami alone with his really definitely all time least favourite Generation of Miracles member.
.0.
Kagami Taiga was absently scrolling his fancy-looking smartphone while waiting obediently for Mine-chin and Kuro-chin to come back and pick him up, and Murasakibara contemplated her options now that Yousen was out of the rookie tournament and the quads had left to cry and not annoy her by crying, feeling as though she could just slump over and go to sleep here, waking only when the Interhigh rolled around.
How annoying.
Kagami Taiga spoke, frowning at his screen. "Uh, Tatsuya says he really wants you to answer your phone. He heard about the rumor."
The look Murasakibara threw him should have melted the flesh off his bones. "And why is he telling you?" she said. She should have gone outside to sit.
Kagami shrugged. "Do I ever not end up mixed up with you people?" he said, as though they'd asked for him to arrive, for him to talk to her. As though she'd asked to inflicted with Himuro Tatsuya, returnee.
Murasakibara thought about reaching over, pulling her phone out of her bag and then flinging it at his stupid eyebrows, but that would involve both moving and admitting she knew where her phone was.
"This is all your fault anyway," she said, closing her eyes.
"It's just a stupid rumor, don't let it bother you," said Kagami, who probably thought he was being helpful. "The rest of them don't care. Aomine doesn't."
Mine-chin is actually dating you, burned in Murasakibara's throat. It still seemed so stupid and alien that that was actually what they were doing, like girls with mussed hair and crumpled skirts skittering out of her brother's rooms with smug smiles tucked in their eyes, like adorable matching lovebirds who held hands and billed and cooed and playacted their romances all over the classroom. She wasn't doing any of that. People could think whatever they wanted of her, but it was particularly infuriating to think of Muro-chin thinking that.
"I don't care," she said. "When I want to talk to him, I'll talk to him. It's none of your business."
"Just passed it on," muttered Kagami. He lapsed back into silence. Murasakibara stared straight ahead and pushed herself off the bench.
"About him," she muttered. Kagami jumped.
"Tatsuya?" said Kagami.
"Obviously," said Murasakibara, wondering how much sarcasm she had to load into her tone before it managed to drop through that morass he called a brain. How did Kuro-chin stand this? No wonder he and Mine-chin got on so well, and Akachin had stabbed him. "If you tell him I asked you this, I'll kill you. He was popular back with you guys, right?"
"Uh," said Kagami. "Popular how? We weren't in the same school."
"Girls," said Murasakibara, still staring straight ahead. "He got a lot of chocolates on Valentines. Same in America. Right?"
"Oh," said Kagami. "Yeah. They don't do chocolates. But he was chased a lot." A thought must have managed to worm its way into his head: he looked at her and said, "Why?"
"I just find him annoying," said Murasakibara.
"What?" said Kagami, apparently nonplussed by the sudden change in subject.
"Because he keeps looking at my breasts," said Murasakibara, and was meanly glad to see Kagami's gaze flicker and his ears turn red.
"He doesn't just look at your- there," said Kagami, and now it was Murasakibara's turn to flush, because Muro-chin didn't just look there, and she would have socked him long before now if he did. He looked at her all over, lingering and knowing, as though she was beautiful. Every time she caught his eye, he refused to stammer and look away, instead holding her stare like a dare, until she turned her head away first. Or he'd smile to acknowledge she'd caught him and then turn away, leaving her feeling- feeling-
On edge.
She started to walk away.
"Just-" said Kagami, into her hostile silence, to her retreating back. "Anyway, talk to him. He says he's been trying to reach you all day."
Murasakibara only sneered at him, but once she had cleared Kagami's line of sight, she pulled out her phone. Its notification lights flashed madly at her, all of them at once. It would be worse, if he was sorry for her, worried about her, ha-ha, the monster girl finding a boyfriend, he'd have to kill her to get a kiss first, ha-ha-ha. Perverts, assholes, annoying little kids. She could deal with all that. She could deal with stupid rumors and the endless whispering about a girl two meters tall with muscles like knotted ropes, the stares and the stares. But Muro-chin bothering her, calling his friend to find out if she was all right, to ask about her-
It would be worse, if he was sorry.