The gym doors swung open as a petite brunette wandered inside, a portion of the team trailing in behind her as they chattered idly. Taking a seat on the bleachers, the group continued conversing in a slightly excited fashion while Riko kept scribbling something in her notebook, muttering to herself in the process.
"So today is finally the day, huh?" Teppei adjusted the strap of his bag, glancing over at the coach who returned the look with masked excitement. "What did you and Hyuuga pick for our training site? And why were we asked to bring swimming gear?"
"We're headed to the beach first, then after a week or so, we'll head up to the mountain resort I showed you a while back." she returned to her writing, no conscious of her muttering. "And, as usual, half of the team is late…"
"Coach, we are half an hour early…" Izuki muttered, rubbing his eyes. "Why did we have to reconvene so early?" he shook his head lightly, rubbing his ears a couple of times. "And where is that clicking come from?"
"Better be early than late-… what clicking?" Riko looked around the empty gym, eyes skimming over the corners before detecting a sliver of movement in the far corner, which was temporarily repurposed as a weight area. They had been using it for a couple of weeks now, and the blonde foreigner was the very definition of a cruel coach – the first few days it was almost sad to see the group of teens wobbling around the court like pensioners.
Slowly standing up, she began walking along the wall towards the main light switch, flicking the peeling plastic into the 'on' position. The sight in front of her eyes made her jump a little – a man was hanging from the pull-up bar, slowly and methodically performing repetition after repetition with surgical concentration. It didn't help that said man was shirtless and looked very familiar, either.
"How the hell did you get in here before us?" she walked over to the blonde, arms crossed. Yakov did not indicate that he heard her, simply continuing with the exercise like before. She was about to yell, before noticing that the teen had closed his eyes, crow's feet forming on the sides of his face as the strain began to accumulate. A small piece of plastic was sticking out from his mouth, catching on the bar each time his face passed it and emitting a tiny clicking noise.
"HELLO?!" she waved her arms around, the blonde opening his eyes with a start and letting go of the bar. Landing frantically onto the ground, he reached up to his ears, pulling out a pair of wireless earbuds, eyes locked with the coach.
"The fuck are you doing here?" he asked plainly, eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights.
"ME?! What are YOU doing here before us?! You don't have a key!" she exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger at the blonde. The latter looked down at his phone in confusion, eyebrows shooting up as he read the time.
"It's 7 already, huh?" he muttered. "My bad, I lost the track of time there…"
"That doesn't answer my question!" the brunette exclaimed, poking a finger in his chest. "Now spill – how did you get in?!" she groaned. "You do know we have a trip today, right?!"
"Yeah." Yakov pointed at two duffel bags over in the corner. "I came prepared, just wanted to get some morning training in." he ducked away reflexively, looking around in confusion for a moment. "Why did I feel like I was about to get hit?"
"Because, right now, I really want to!" the rest of the team had wondered over, spectating the scenario with mixed expressions. "Stop avoiding me – how did you get in? And when, for that matter?!" Yakov heaved a sigh, pointing up to the other side of the room where the stage was lined with windows.
"The far left one doesn't lock." He checked his phone. "as for the when… wow, I really didn't keep track of time well."
"…you climbed through the window." The deadpan caused the blonde to look away, suddenly extremely interested in the design etched onto the wall next to the weights.
"I don't see the issue." With that he walked over to his bag, pulling out a towel and some toiletries. "If you are here, means I have at least 20 minutes before everyone else is." Before Riko could issue a profanity-filled reply the foreigner strolled off towards the showers, humming something to himself on his way.
"I have never wanted to kill a man more in my life." Her tone was devoid of any emotion, however, the team shuddered nonetheless. Heaving a sigh, she turned to assess the readiness of the group – a rather sorry matter, considering half of them could not even be classified as awake.
Okay, we are still waiting on Satoshi and Furihata, then there is also Mitobe. I think Kiyoshi is about to pass out any minute… jeez, talk about being an old man.
Her mind blanked out for a moment, her brow furrowing as her gaze trailed off towards the showers for a moment.
He is not a morning person either! How is he out and about like life is normal?!
Her mind ground to a stuttering halt when the doors to the gym were practically kicked open, revealing a furious blonde in what looked like overly comfortable clothing – worn shorts and a top that revealed a little too much cleavage to be considered 'modest'.
Maxwell surveyed her surroundings with the animosity of a wild cat, prowling into the room and flashing an admittedly unintentional glare at the trainer before grinding out a greeting.
"…Are you okay?" Riko's eyebrows furrowed even further.
"I am going to KILL that wily little bastard." the Englishwoman ground out, a peculiar accent contorting her speech as she continued scanning the room.
"Oh. He is in the showers, I think." The petite trainer was not prepared for what followed, opening her mouth in silent protest as the woman marched towards the changing rooms, yanking the door open and going inside. After a brief moment of silence and a few curious glances, the group followed her in, cringing slightly at the sounds of yelling already coming from within the room.
Riko was prepared for the explosive blonde to have walked into the changing room, hell, maybe even the corridor, but not into the showers directly! She didn't dare go further in, staying in the entrance, but considering the volume and the echo of the showers… getting closer seemed like a bad idea on several fronts.
"I FUCKING TOLD YOU TO TAKE IT EASY!" the thundering voice seemed to only slightly annoy the blonde, who continued showering with little interruption to his movements. Running his face under the water, he proceeded to run slow and methodic circles with his arms, wincing lightly as sickening cracks were heard from his shoulder joints.
"It's fine, Maxwell, I needed to let loose somehow." Yakov replied in a much calmer tone, extending his hand towards the bottle of shower gel.
"YOU SAID YOU WERE GOIN' FOR A RUN, NOT A BREAK-IN!" the echo was making his head hurt, not that this information would make the blonde any quieter. "IT HAS BEEN H'URS! AND TO TOP IT OFF YOU IGNORE ME CALLS LIKE YOUR SHIT DON'T STINK!" the taller of the two blondes could feel a vein spasm somewhere in his temple, sending an unpleasant jolt down the side of his face.
"Would you STOP YELLING?" his tone was much more frigid this time around, making Maxwell recoil, if only for a fraction of a second. "Sorry, that came out too rough. Point is – I haven't been gone too long, and I can definitely handle myself."
"By 'handling yourself' do you mean breaking into a fucking building in the dead of night and working out until the sun came up?! You are fucking incorrigible!" the blonde let out an exasperated groan, turning to march out of the showers and causing the group that had congregated in the doorway to scatter like roaches.
"…good morning to you too." the resounding slap of someone's flip-flop being launched across the room and hitting the side of the stall made Yakov grimace, shutting the water off and heaving a sigh. "Looks like she is actually pissed off… well, fuck." Peeking his head out to look at the group, who was still standing around in a little bit of a daze, he pointed at his bag. "Could one of you grab my towel? I forgot it and, we do have a female in our midst." "But you're okay with her yelling at you while your dick is out?" Teppei couldn't help but hold back a snicker at Izuki's comment.
"Not very much to hide at this point, she has seen me in worse states before." He accepted the towel Kiyoshi handed him, temporarily retreating back into the stall before coming out with it wrapped around his waist. Giving the group a mild deadpan, he pushed past them towards his bag and pulling out a set of dry clothes. Despite being average-sized, the travel bag was packed to the brim with surgical precision, clothing items folded and rolled into tiny shapes to conform to the bag and maximize carrying capacity. "I would, however, appreciate the space to change in peace."
"Not before you explain this." The corner of the clipboard ran along rapidly forming bruises surrounding the young man's shoulders and back. the blonde didn't react, fulling a loose t-shirt over his torso before pulling out a set of boxers.
"Either you fuck off or I continue changing." The dry remark clipped the corner of Riko's mouth, sending it into a small grimace for a moment before her hand brought the clipboard down onto one of the bruises in a light smack. the foreigner didn't utter a sound, however, his jaw tightened noticeably as he began reaching for the towel. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
"Fine!" the petite trainer turned around in a hurry. "I swear to god; you have a problem."
"Problems – as far as I'm aware there are several." Yakov couldn't help but chuckle at the exasperated sigh coming out of the coach, who was already halfway out the door. Turning to look at the remainder of the group, who was also trickling out, he couldn't help but notice that Teppei was standing by one of the lockers, seemingly waiting for the rest to leave. "Need something?"
"You this rude on purpose?" he asked bluntly, tilting his head a little.
"You always this blunt? I would honestly appreciate it if you were this straightforward more honest, Iron Heart." The blonde fired back, discarding the towel and climbing into the boxers.
"You have managed to piss off two people in one morning, and you don't seem the least bit perturbed by it." the center continued pressing, a slight frown decorating his features.
"Not a morning person, and I am not good with people." Yakov pulled on some black sweatpants, tightening the string as far as it would go to prevent the clothing from slipping off. "But that is not what you want me to say."
"No, it's not." the brunette sat on the bench beside the bag, looking the older teen straight in the eyes. "Something happened."
"It's nothing you need to worry about." The bag was zipped shut rather roughly. "I am fine – just in a bit of a shitty mood today."
"…if you ever want to talk about it, do let me know." The door closed behind the blonde as he walked out of the changing room, a dense silence feeling the surroundings as Teppei looked at the closed door. "Idiot."
"Right, guys!" Riko grabbed her clipboard, surveying the gathered group in front of her. The entire team was now present, if only physically – Kagami was swaying on his feet and Maxwell kept zoning out, a deep-set scowl on her features as she avoided looking at the seemingly unfazed blonde who was busy rooting through his phone with a similar scowl. "It's time to head out! Thank you for making it on time."
"Where are we going, coach?" Fukuda piped up, raising his hand. "You never did tell us the specifics."
"We will be staying in some lodgings by the beach." Cheers erupted from the group. A shiver ran down Kagami's back, forcing him to look down to see Kuroko standing next to him.
"You seem uneasy." The redhead finally managed to sputter out after regaining his composure.
"That doesn't make you uneasy?" the plain-looking boy pointed over at the blonde coach, forcing the blood to slow in Kagami's veins as his eyes took in the scene of the foreigner's lips curling back into a snarl-like grin.
"Don't go celebrating quite yet, vegetables." The blonde cringed. "That sounds SO much better in Russian… oh well." He pointed at the clipboard in Riko's hands. "We have taken it upon ourselves to ensure that this trip will be your very own personal hell – if you are walking straight by the end of the day, I will consider my job incomplete." The cheers subsided as an eerie silence filled the air. "Better give it your all, I am not accepting anything else."
"…We're going to die." Kagami whispered, Kuroko nodding in agreement.
"I can't help but think I have seen him somewhere before…" blue eyes squinted slightly as they examined the blonde who was currently discussing something with the coach. "…but I cannot remember for the life of me."
"Now you know how the rest of us feel…"
"Huh?"
The group began boarding the bus, taking their seats while Riko gave instructions to the driver. The atmosphere grew a little tense as the two blondes climbed into the bus, taking seats at a distance from each other – the mood from earlier in the morning still present in the room. the rest of the group piled in shortly after, getting comfortable in the vehicle as it began moving.
Maxwell sighed, pulling out a set of headphones and shoving them in a little too aggressively, recoiling when a quiet yelp sounded from her left. Turning her head, her eyes met confused blue ones as Kuroko rubbed the side of his face, looking at her with a rather blank expression.
"Why did you hit me?"
"I'm so sorry!" she hugged the boy, checking his cheek a moment later. "I didn't notice you there, I was too busy being annoyed." She muttered out the last part, glancing over to the other blonde who was seemingly disinterested in life as a whole, lying across the back seats with a hoodie over his face.
"At Yakov?"
"Yeah…" Maxwell sighed, averting her gaze.
"How come? Did I miss something?"
"Not really, he is just overdoing it again and trying to hide it from me." She replied, pointing at her phone. "He vanished in the dead of night, didn't answer any of my 15 calls, and guess where I find him in the morning? The FUCKING gym!"
"Doesn't he get, you know, sleepy?" the blonde replied, eyebrow twitching slightly.
"Both of us are perpetually tired – we're insomniacs." The Englishwoman chuckled. "Only difference is he believes that enough training can fix everything in life – because that has worked out so well for him so far, hasn't it?"
"He seems fine." Kuroko shrugged, pointing over at the redhead who was sitting across the aisle, pretending not to listen in on the conversation. "Kagami is pretty similar – he wouldn't stop playing basketball even after he hurt his legs while playing." The redhead sputtered, looking over at the unfazed teen.
"You didn't have to call me out like that…" he hissed, glancing at the blonde who was now grinning. "…Sorry, I may have been listening."
"It's fine, love, just don't hide next time." she replied with a smile. "And for the love of God don't go overdoing it, or you'll end up like the old man over there." She pointed at the prone Russian, who turned to face away from the rest of the bus.
"If I am being honest, I shouldn't even be letting him come on this trip with you guys… not that it would stop him." she sighed, shrugging a little. "the doctors said that, ideally, he shouldn't be training until October, and yet here he is… barely started fitting into his old clothes again, and already back at it."
"I did notice that he only wears baggy clothing – why is that?" Kagami glanced over at the foreigner, who was now stirring violently in his sleep, muttering something under his breath. Maxwell grimaced a little, shuffling in her seat for a moment, but in the end, opted to stay seated.
"Ah fuck it! If he wants to piss me off so badly, guess I can spill a few secrets." She finally caved, promptly ducking under a hoodie that flew across the salon. "There he is." The now seated teen blinked a few times before palming his face in annoyance.
"Fuck." He muttered, getting up to retrieve his sweatshirt. "Fell right into that one."
"Yes you did, now get your stupid ass over here so I can check your bruises." The blonde rummaged through her backpack, pulling out a small tube of ointment and shaking it a few times. "Maybe your dumbass will learn to stop overdoing it." Yakov paled noticeably, grabbing his sweatshirt off the floor and sitting down next to Kagami.
"We don't have to do that on the bus." He replied, trying to tug the hoodie on before the blonde managed to grab it. the attempt failed miserably, leaving a very annoyed blonde trying to climb into the hoodie while it was being pulled away from him. "NO."
"Yes, fucker!" the temporary accent returned as she finally pulled the garment away from the teen, exposing his midsection for a moment. The shirt was promptly discarded, revealing the now fully bloomed bruising surrounding the shoulder joints and a little bit on the elbows. "Well, at least you didn't do any permanent damage this time… just burst a bunch of capillaries." The blonde suppressed a groan as an intruding thumb began applying the ointment with what could easily be considered too much force.
"This is *wheeze* fucking torture *cough* you are doing this on purpose!" the blonde grunted out, hands grabbing onto the seat with a white-knuckle grip as the occasional yelp escaped him.
"That looks like that hurts." Kuroko commented idly, earning himself a glare from the foreigner.
"Ya think- OW!" he ground his teeth together as he glared at the Englishwoman.
"I didn't mean sarcastically, sorry." the blue-haired teen muttered out, running a hand through his hair. "Also, I have a question for you." The only response he got was a suppressed grunt of approval. "Were you in any sports before? The type that would be broadcast? You remind me of someone, but I am not sure of who…"
The blonde paused, suddenly a little less averse to the intrusive massage he was receiving. Looking back at the Englishwoman, who wore a slightly more worried expression, he turned to face Kuroko with a slightly distant look in his eyes.
"It has been a while now, but if you really need to know…" the bus came to a stop by the side of the road, interrupting the conversation as a man climbed into the bus, removing his glasses to flash a glare at the team.
"Aida-san?"