Chapter 2
The whistle sounded loudly. Akagi clapped his hands together, jogging slowly towards Ayako who was just taking the whistle out of her mouth.
"Okay, everyone, gather 'round!"
They converged at different speeds. Miyagi was first, wanting the practice over as soon as possible so he could go home and take a long cold shower. He attempted to smile at Ayako in his usual over-friendly way, but all he could manage was a slight twitch of the face muscles. He scanned over the rest of the team as they formed a rough half-circle around the captain, breathing heavily.
They all look normal, he thought moodily. Loud-mouth Sakuragi, icebox Rukawa, peacekeeper Kogure, Yasuda...the list went on. Finally, Mitsui, breathing harder than the rest because of his lack of stamina. Miyagi forced his gaze away, fighting to keep his cheeks from turning red.
It was becoming harder and harder not to think of the tall brunette and Ryota was convinced that he was falling hard. And it would be twice as painful when
*if*
he got rejected. Better not to even think of it, he thought quickly, and forced the thoughts from his mind, tuning back in to Akagi's speech.
"...and we'll have extra practice tomorrow. Remember, we have a game against Spika High in two days and they're pretty tough. We need all the practice we can get." He clapped his hands together. "Okay, see you tomorrow everyone!"
A kind of grunt from the team confirmed their attendance the next day. Ryota nearly sprinted for the training rooms despite his tired state - he wanted to be in and out as quickly as possible so he wouldn't have to go through the torture of watching Mitsui change. Mitsui always dawdled after practice, so he should have plenty of time...
"Oi, Ryota!"
Miyagi's heart sank. Of all the...he turned around to face Ayako, who was hailing him from the other side of the hall. He jogged slowly over. Maybe if he could make this meeting last long enough, Mitsui would be gone by the time he appeared.
As he got closer, he could see Ayako's grin. Odd. "Hai, Ayachan?" He didn't stop calling her that: she might start to suspect something was wrong. He was surprised when she looped an arm around his shoulders, winking confidentially. Oh no, don't tell me she's interested in me now.
"Yoooou sly dog, you!" she giggled into his ear.
He pulled away a little, looking at her openly-grinning face confusedly. "Eh? Nanda?"
"You know what I'm talking about, Ryota!" She looked pointedly over at the changing room doors, where Mitsui was casting them a curious look before shrugging and heading away. "You and Mitsui-sempai...ne? Ne?"
The freshmen on the other side of the hall jumped in surprise as Ryota pulled away from Ayako so quickly he nearly fell. As it happened, he stumbled a few steps and did a small twirl of the arms to keep his balance. He was blushing worse than ever, looking shocked. How did she--? "Nanda yo?!" he yelped.
Ayako covered his mouth with one hand, holding a finger to her mouth and looking towards the freshmen worriedly. Ryota took the hint. Good thing they were on the other side of the hall or they would have heard everything.
The manager removed her hand, looking curiously at the blushing point guard. "You mean...you and Mitsui-sempai aren't..."
"No!" Miyagi hissed, turning aside slightly. Damn, I wish I had a fringe, he lamented absently, to hide this damn blush. Traitorous cheeks.
"But...but how do you explain this then?" Miyagi squinted at the small square photo that Ayako was waving in front of his nose, and the colour suddenly drained from his face. It was him...and Mitsui...napping under that tree...in each other's arms.
Miyagi got flustered, and when he got flustered, he began to snap. "What is there to explain?! Can't I take a nap with a friend in peace? Why does -everything- I do have to be turned into a scandal!?" With this outburst, he turned and stormed out of the hall, his face on fire. It was all he could do not to start running.
Ayako watched him go, shocked. But she was even more convinced by his reaction that she'd hit the spot: the boy had more than a soft spot for Mitsui.
*****
As Ayako and Ryota had their...heated debate, Mitsui was changing, carrying on a pleasant conversation with Kogure. Suddenly he stopped and sneezed.
*Hachii!*
Kogure laughed at him. "Someone's talking about you!"
*Hachii!*
"Ooh, bad things too."
*Hachii!*
"Hey, three sneezes, that's good!"
*Hachii!*
"...maybe you just have a cold."
Mitsui made a face and blew his nose on his gym shirt. Kogure winced. "Eew."
Their...uh...conversation was cut off by Miyagi kicking the door open, storming past bad-temperedly and wrenching open his locker. He scooped everything into his bag and breezed past again and out the still swinging door, muttering darkly to himself. He didn't even say bye: it was like he hadn't even noticed them.
A few moments of silence, then..."Oi, Kogure...d'you know what's up with Miyagi?"
"Shiranai...he was blushing bad just now, did you notice?"
"Not really, I was kind of concentrating on not drawing attention to myself. He looked ready to bash someone in. I don't need to go to hospital again."
"Sou desu ne..."
Mitsui hoisted his bag over his shoulder slowly, stopping at the door. "Jaa, Kogure." He meandered away down the hall.
*****
Two days later...
"Fast break!"
Miyagi heard the call and reacted through instinct, pivoting on one foot, ignoring the protests from his leg muscles and sprinting down the court. One more basket and they'd win, no overtime. He stuck out his hand.
The ball was in it instantly, Akagi's accurate pass finding it's mark. He didn't even slow down and used the momentum to elude his guard, only to run into another opponent. He cursed. They were double-teaming him.
"Pass, Miyagi!"
Miyagi didn't even look: he just propelled the ball towards the voice. Then he looked to see Mitsui skid to a halt behind the three-point line and aim for a three point shot...
Spika's tall centre, Katou Daiki, appeared in front of Mitsui, blocking the ball's trajectory. Miyagi cursed. One more basket was all they needed...he ducked under the double-teamers' defence and neatly swiped the ball from Mitsui's grasp. The centre wasn't fast - Miyagi was short and went under his defence, hearing a surprised "Nani?!" before stopping in the key and shooting...
*swish*
The buzzer sounded.
*We did it.*
Miyagi had been so concentrated on the game he hadn't realised how close they were to finishing, and rebuked himself. That could become a problem in the future...his thoughts were interrupted by Sakuragi beating him in elation. "Ryo-chin, you did it! We won!"
Miyagi looked up, grinning cockily. "Did you ever doubt me?" The rest of the team converged on where they were standing, cheering hoarsely.
It was odd. Thinking back, Miyagi could never remember anything from that game as clearly as Mitsui's hand ruffling his hair and grabbing him in a one-armed hug before they went to line up.
*****
Ayako's house was dressed to the nines and fit for partying. In a fit of high spirits after winning the game, she'd offered an impromptu get-together of the entire team plus anyone they cared to bring. A perfect excuse for a certain pointguard and, incidentally, 'man of the match' as it were to...uh...accidentally end up in a certain three-point shooter's arms, she mused. It had seemed like a good idea at the time.
But...damn. The entire Shohoku team, subs and all, plus Haruko and her friends, and the Sakuragi army, even Mitsui's old in-school gang members had turned up. And somehow Hikoichi had gotten wind of the party, which meant several other members of the other high schools had turned up to congratulate Shohoku. Spika was a notoriously hard team, but looking around, Ayako could even spot at least two Spikans milling about - their captain, a team member (his name was Uchida Kentaro, she remembered) and a friend of theirs, apparently...she didn't know him. The party had spilled out into her garden - damn lucky her house was big - and now there was more than enough space.
Ayako sighed. She wasn't too concerned, as long as the supplies held out. Akagi and Haruko had had the foresight to bring a hamper of extras, just in case, which were coming in handy. The party was going well: the music was at an acceptable level, little groups had broken off to talk amongst themselves, a few were even swaying their hips to the music...she scanned the room again from her vantage point on the stairs, looking for two people in particular and pinpointed them.
Ryota was...well, just hanging out near the drinks, accepting compliments on his winning shot fluidly, making smartass comments, or so Ayako figured considering that people were laughing at whatever he was saying. Glancing around again, she spotted Mitsui threading his way through the crowd towards his old gang and hailing them.
Ayako sighed. How...HOW would she pull this off...
*****
Ryota laughed and joked easily in the crowd, but inside, he was on autopilot. Usually he enjoyed such gatherings, the attention, the fun, the compliments, but right now it was just getting claustrophobic. He looked around distractedly and spotted Ayako on the stairs...well, more importantly, the stairs, because they led up to the roof.
He wanted downtime, and the roof seemed the best place. It wasn't really a roof...more like a balcony of sorts, but it was quiet and large. He excused himself and weaved through the crowd to the bottom of the stairs.
"Ayako...nice party!" He greeted her with false cheerfulness, their discussion in the hall still fresh in his mind, forgetting to call her Ayachan. She winked and waved at him.
"Going to the roof?"
"Yeah...need some..." He said the first thing that came to mind. "...fresh air." Baka, she'll see through that! You could just go outside to the garden for fresh air.
Surprisingly, she stepped aside. "Go ahead. I don't blame you, it's getting stuffy in here." She sighed melodramatically. "But someone's got to keep an eye on all these rowdy basketball players."
Miyagi laughed, feeling a bit more at ease. "True...thanks a lot, Ayako." He jogged slowly up the stairs, reaching the balcony and sighing into the peace and quiet. That hadn't been too weird.
He didn't see Ayako smirk and disappear into the crowd in Mitsui's direction.
*****
"Oi, Miyagi!"
"Eh...uh...what?..." Miyagi jerked his head up from where he was leaning against the edge of the balcony. He'd almost fallen asleep, pondering the stars that were so clear tonight...if he squinted at them, he could see Mitsui's face outlined against them...
He snapped out of his semi-sleep reverie when a hand tweaked his nose. "Earth to Miyagi. Damn, man, you're really spacing out."
Miyagi turned to see the object of his affections leaning on the balcony rim next to him, staring out at the myriad of lights that was the city. "Yeah...the game today really took it out of me."
Mitsui slapped him on the back jovially, sending a thrill up the point guard's spine. "Don't blame ya! You're the star of the game!"
Miyagi flushed a little and turned away. Getting a compliment from the one he loved...and a touch...in a private place with just the two of them...was bound to make him do stupid things. Better change the subject fast. "So, why are you up here?"
"Oh, Ayako sent me up to see how you were. Said she was worried about you."
"*Did* she?" Miyagi rolled his eyes. So THAT's why she was so eager to let him get onto the roof - so she could set them up together like this. Like she wanted things to--...she DID want things to happen between them.
Miyagi had mixed feelings about Ayako's help. He wasn't ready, and these uncomfortable situations were just going to make things worse if he happened to do something that he knew he would regret. But part of him appreciated the help, to an extent...someday, it would make it easier to confess his feelings.
He tuned back in to what Mitsui was saying. "...up on the roof and she asked if I could please just check on him, please? I asked why she didn't go herself, and she just hit me with her fan and sent me up...you know how she is." He nudged Miyagi suggestively with his elbow. "*I* think she's just too embarrassed to come up here herself." He winked. Miyagi's heartbeat sped up until he realised what the wink meant.
"Forget it." Miyagi said bluntly. "That won't happen anytime soon. Me and Ayako, I mean."
Mitsui looked...well, he almost looked shocked. Miyagi thought he caught some hope there too. Stop imagination, he ordered. He probably likes Ayako or something.
*DAMN, you're a pessimist.*
Shut up, you.
"Hey, you didn't call her Ayachan...and you're not obsessing..." Mitsui flinched, smiling, expecting some sort of physical retaliation from Miyagi, but it didn't come. He went on. "Could it be you've finally gotten over her?" he asked, surprised.
"Yeah, I guess. I was getting tired of it...plus I...I have feelings for someone else." Miyagi answered evasively, part of him hoping that Mitsui might take the hint, part of him afraid of the same thing.
Mitsui raised one eyebrow. "Really? Who?" He asked evenly.
"It doesn't matter.
*Tell him! Tell him!*
All I know is...I'm pretty sure that person doesn't like me back." He laughed hollowly. "I'm destined to a life of unrequited love." Miyagi sighed dejectedly.
*No, you're not. The chance is there.*
Mitsui slid one arm around Miyagi's shoulders, standing closer to him.
Miyagi nearly had a heart attack.
*See? I told you.*
"Hey, don't say that. You'll find someone to appreciate you...I know it."
"You know--"
Miyagi looked at his team-mate and found himself looking into Mitsui's intense gaze. Their faces were mere inches apart.
*He's going to kiss you.*
Mitsui moved slightly closer.
*He's going to kiss you.*
Mitsui's half-shut eyes were as captivating as any intoxicant. Miyagi felt his breath catch in his throat.
*He's going to--*
"RYOCHIIIIN! Are you UP here?!!"
The mood shattered.
Mitsui unhooked his arm from Miyagi's shoulders, straightening his shirt and looking quizzically at the door as if nothing happened. Sakuragi came through it, his arm being pulled on by Ayako as she tried to stop him from going up the stairs. She took one look at Ryota's disappointed face and frowned, sizing up the situation quickly. Sakuragi was clueless. "Oi, Ryo-chin, Mitchy, c'mon, Sendoh's drunk and he's cross-dressing!"
Mitsui laughed, acting as if nothing had just happened. "I don't know if I want to see that, but I will anyway." He walked away, following Sakuragi back downstairs.
After a few moments, Miyagi wordlessly followed.
*...damn that red-head monkey...*
+~To Be Continued~+
Author's Notes: Heylo everybody...finally, chapter 2 up. I thought they were gonna get together this time round but heydeehey, they didn't! Which shows how much I stick to MY fanfic plans. Anyway. I have absolutely NO idea what Ayachan's house looks like, even if she lives in a house or what, so...bear with me. ^^;;;
More creditos. Inoue Takehiko, of course. Xara again, for being my beta reader, and for putting up with beta reading my fics in a fandom she's iffy about. *hugz* And...uh...my bro for letting me use the comp, even if he doesn't know what for. Ehehehe.
And...uh...*Hachii!* before anyone asks is a sound effect for sneezing...in Indonesian. ^^;;;
~T
