It was just curiosity, at first. Perhaps a bit of amusement too. Something about those ice cold blue eyes had made Sendoh feel nostalgic. He'd seen those eyes before after all. Was intimately aware of everything that went behind them, of everything that was seen by them.
Those eyes were a bit different now. A little brighter, perhaps. Definitely filled with even more headstrong determination to crush all those in front of him than before. And, he notes with surprise, a clarity that he'd never seen before.
As Sendoh stared at those frigid eyes once again, after a full year and more, he wondered what they thought of him. If they noticed the way he'd gotten a bit taller, or the few centimetres he'd cut off from his hair. The way his team jersey moulded onto his body, a little uglier than the one he used to wear, but still suiting him as always.
He wondered if Rukawa still saw him as someone worth beating.
Not like it matters anymore. Rukawa was supposed to don the same jersey as him now. It was a funny image, now that he thought about it.
He takes a step forward, and raises a hand in greeting, smile intact on face. "Yo, Rukawa. Been a long time, huh?" Rukawa, to his credit, doesn't bat away his hand like the time after their first practice match. A calloused palm joins his, the warmth of his hand betraying the ice in his eyes. Sendoh's smile widens.
"Sendoh," Rukawa nods and then grimaces at the leer on his Sendoh's face. Whoops, he can't help it. It's Rukawa on the same team as his, after all. God knows how Coach Taoka would have cried if he saw them shaking hands right now.
"Welcome to the team, Rukawa. I get why Coach was saying we were gonna win the university high this year. Let's work together, yeah?"
Rukawa just rolls his eyes. "Whatever." He pulls out his hand from his grip unceremoniously and walks by him to where Coach Monoma stands at the side of the court to greet him. Ah, good old Rukawa. He's the same as always.
Sendoh chuckles to himself and flashes a thumbs up to the Coach. Things were about to get interesting this year.
Sendoh yawns as he stares out the window at the birds flying outside. God, he hated calculus. It hasn't even been five minutes into the lesson and he already wanted to drill a hole in his head. Just as he was about to stand up and ask permission to go the washroom for some reprieve, the classroom door opens to let in a head full of black hair.
The teacher at the front of the class stops her lecture and glares disapprovingly at the newcomer. "You. Are you in this class? Why are you late?"
Sendoh blinks.
"Today's my first day. I didn't know where this room was." The boy doesn't even sound unfazed at being reprimanded. All around Sendoh though, students erupt in whispers and gasps.
"Hah, alright. Take a seat and don't be late next time." The boy nods at the teacher and turns to face the class. Immediately everyone shuts up, too stunned by the beauty of the boy that stands in front of them.
Rukawa Kaede frowns as he looks for an empty seat. He frowns harder when he realises the only empty one is next to Sendoh. With a resigned sigh, he walks forward and plops down on the seat. Sendoh turns to him with a grin.
"We meet again, Rukawa Kaede," he says. Rukawa just scoffs and looks away.
Around them, the whispers pick back up again furiously, now finding new prey for gossip.
"Sendoh-kun and that new guy… what a combi…"
"It's like the balance of the world just tilted to one side…"
"This world is really too unfair sometimes, the fuck."
"I can't believe we just got another ikemen in our course, and he's so tall too!"
Curious, Sendoh pokes Rukawa at his arm.
"What." Rukawa glares even harder, as if that were possible for his face that already looked so nasty at default.
"Isn't this a course for second years? Why are you here?"
"I needed some extra credits," he says simply.
"Extra credits? What for?"
"The foreign exchange program in third year. To America."
"Oh right. You wanted to go there. I remember now."
"Hnn."
With nothing else to talk about, Sendoh turns back to the lesson, not with much enthusiasm. After some time, he turns to his side again to see how Rukawa's faring.
A gigantic sleep bubble threatens to pop under his nose, and his head droops down in intervals. It seems he's already in deep sleep. Sendoh covered his mouth with a palm to suppress his laughter.
His kouhai was really too cute for his own good.
Thankfully, the teacher doesn't notice Rukawa dozing away in the corner. When class finally ends, Sendoh shakes Rukawa's shoulder but he doesn't even twitch.
"Rukawa. Oi, Rukawa! Rukawa-kun, wake up!" Like a bullet, Rukawa shoots up and tightly grabs Sendoh's wrist.
His eyes smoulder dangerously in irritation. Sendoh gulps. "You… how dare you disturb my sleep? I don't forgive anyone who wakes me up."
Before Rukawa has the chance to beat him black and blue, Sendoh raises his hands pacifyingly and says, "I just woke you up because class got over. You wanna sleep through basketball practice?"
Rukawa blinks in confusion and tilts his head. "Practice?"
Finding an opportunity to save himself, Sendoh grabs it thankfully. "Yeah, practice! That was your last class for today, right?"
Rukawa nods.
"Well, come on then," Sendoh manoeuvres himself to stand by Rukawa and puts an arm around his shoulder, "I'll show you the university landmarks along the way!"
Rukawa frowns but doesn't shove his arm away, so Sendoh takes it as an invitation to stay by his side. The Sendoh of a year ago could have only imagined being this close to Rukawa in a court. The feel of Rukawa's firm body under his arm is grounding in a way even fishing isn't.
It's not a bad feeling, in retrospect.
Rukawa didn't know what to think of Sendoh acting so familiar with him. Sure they'd known each other for three years now, but it's not like it ever went beyond basketball. He'd be hard pressed to call them friends even for all the one-on-ones they've played over the years.
Was he supposed to feel grateful that he was spending time with him to help him settle? Or should he feel annoyed that Sendoh was running off his mouth pretending like he knew everything there was to know?
After some thoughtful contemplation, Rukawa decided feeling the latter was just less troublesome.
As Sendoh chatters off about this and that by his side, Rukawa thinks about the kind of teams he's going to see now at this level. Heat pools in his gut just imagining the skills and techniques that he was about to go against. It was true that Rukawa lived and breathed basketball, but if he were to be honest, the sight of the disappointed and defeated faces of teams he won against wasn't bad either.
And now that he was playing with Sendoh… well, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't looking forward to playing with the boy who was a genius before him. He probably wasn't the only one either, what with Coach Monoma already telling him about the kind of plays he'd projected for his matches. No matter how talented the other players, Sendoh was still the star of the show, and the whole college seemed to know of it.
He wasn't so blind as to not notice the lingering eyes following them as they walked around campus. He kept his blank face on, but Sendoh's deep but warm voice, and the gazes penetrating him from all sides made his nape hair stand up on their ends.
It felt like high school all over again, but less juvenile. This was a bigger aquarium than the one he was used to. Of course, he had to make the biggest splash.
It's only fitting if he is to become the best basketball player in Japan.
ive never used ffnet lmfao sorry if you saw the earlier post. i got really into senru recently and hope to write about them more :') r&r! :D
