Sumire sighed as she settled down in her seat, trying to ignore the stares she was getting from the other people in the class. Damn, why do these people have to STARE?!?!?! Don't they know how unnerving it can get?! It's starting to creep me out big time… She sighed, and stared out the window instead. I wish I were with Toru-kun right about now…
She sensed movement in front of the classroom, and straightened up just in time to see the teacher walk into the classroom. Almost instantly, the noise in the room died down to nothing, and the teacher began the roll call.
Sumire didn't listen for the most part, since her thoughts were elsewhere. I wonder if they have a girl's basketball team here? She had been on her school's varsity team since her sophomore year, and though she wasn't exactly the best player, she did get to see quite a bit of court action. She wanted to continue that particular sport of hers, even if she was here in Japan.
Just then, the teacher spoke up. "Class, we have a new student joining us today, Miss Hanagata Sumire Rowena. Hanagata, please come forward."
Sumire huffed, and stood up slowly, trying to appear as poised and as in-control as possible. I can do this, they won't eat me… She stood on the platform, in front of the class, and bowed. "Ohayo!! I am Hanagata Sumire Rowena, but you can all just call me Sumire. I am sixteen years old, and I came from the Philippines to study here in Shoyo with my cousin."
Silence, then one of the female students piped up, "Anou, is your cousin Hanagata Toru-sempai?"
Sumire smiled, relieved that they knew who her cousin was. "Hai, he is."
There was suddenly a flurry of whispers among the females, and it took several raps on the blackboard until they all managed to calm down. "Alright, settle down!" exclaimed the sensei. Turning to Sumire, he said, "Hanagata, you may go back to your seat."
Sumire bowed to the teacher, and made her way back to her chair, ignoring some of the stares she earned as she did so. As she sat down, she closed her eyes momentarily to focus. I'm going to be okay… I will survive this. I know how to speak in Nihongo, and I know how to speak in English. At least I have an edge over these guys when it comes to THAT. And I've taken up all this stuff before… No worries, no worries…
* * *
Fujima sighed as he slumped onto the bench, staring at the piece of paper he held in his hands. I wonder whether I should put this up or not… In his hands he held the announcement that Team Shoyo was looking for anyone who wanted the position of manager of their team.
"Fujima-sempai, are you okay?"
Fujima glanced up, and grinned when he noticed Ito staring at him with a concerned look on his face. "Hai, hai, Ito, I'm just fine. I'm just thinking about whether I should post this up or not." As he spoke, he passed the notice to Ito, who looked over it twice.
Ito grinned. "I don't think you should be worried about this, Fujima-sempai. It will make life easier for you, ne?"
"I suppose so," Fujima answered with a conceding nod. "But why didn't I think of this earlier? It would have been less stressful if I had thought of this sooner."
"TORU-KUN!!!!"
Fujima's head looked up, as did the rest of Team Shoyo, to watch as Hanagata and Sumire entered the gym. Hanagata was laughing as he held a piece of paper up in the air, which Sumire was trying to snatch back from him – with very little success.
Hanagata was laughing his head off as he danced away from Sumire, who was still struggling quite futilely to get it back. "Come on Mire-chan, I don't see anything wrong with this picture! You're very pretty, actually!"
Sumire growled, and jumped one more time to get the picture back. "Yeah right! I look like a walking DOLL, for heaven's sake!!! And one more thing: that guy with his arm around me is NOT MY BOYFRIEND!!!!!!!!! He's just some JERK I met at the party!!!!"
"Honto? You two look pretty cozy to me…"
"SHUT UP!!!!!!! The baka had a crush on me or something! He practically hounded me the entire night!!! The only reason I couldn't slap him in the face for being such a jerk was because it was a formal gathering, his parents were there, AND he happened to be a good friend of my cousin's!! Otherwise I'd have drop-kicked him in the face!!!!!!"
"With a gown like THIS, I suppose it isn't easy for ANY guy to stay away from you."
Sumire snarled this time, and attempted to tackle her older cousin to the floor. She only managed to pin Hanagata on the bench, but that seemed good enough for her. With a triumphant smile, she reached for the photo…but Hanagata was able to pass it over to Fujima.
Fujima grinned as Sumire stared at him, aghast, then turned his attention to the photo. It seemed to be at some formal event or other, because all the girls in the picture were wearing gowns, and the guys were wearing tuxedos. Sumire herself was in the middle of the picture, her hair swept on top of her head in an up-do, little tendrils of hair just brushing against her cheeks. Her gown was a pale baby blue, and glittered with multitudes of beads and sequins. The gown had a stylish tube top cut, and Sumire's bare arms were covered in a thin filmy shawl of the same color as the gown. "Sumire-san, I have to think that Hanagata is right. You DO look very pretty here."
Sumire huffed, and rolled her eyes. "I still think my look is over-the-top. And that's the reason why I hate going to formal dinner parties and the like. All that makeup and primping…God, it's ANNOYING!!!"
Hanagata laughed as he got up, and took the picture from Fujima. "That's what I'm scared of, you know? You're acting like a tomboy."
"TOMBOY?!?!?!?! That's it Toru-kun, I've had it up to HERE with you!!!! Today, you DIE!!!!!!!!!!"
Hasegawa attempted to unsuccessfully stifle a snicker as Sumire chased a still-laughing Toru around the court. "Well, at least Hanagata-sempai is getting warmed-up."
Nagano shook his head. "Who's the girl, Fujima-sempai?"
"She's Sumire Rowena, Hanagata's cousin," Fujima answered. "She came here recently from the Philippines to study."
"A freshman?" inquired Tagano.
"Hai."
"They seem like they're very close," Hasegawa observed.
Fujima snickered. "If this isn't an indication of that, I don't know what is."
Suddenly, Ito piped up, "She's pretty."
That made Fujima laugh out loud, and he turned to his kohai, a mischievous smile on his face. "Honto, Ito? Should I tell Sumire-san you said that?"
The rest of the team roared with laughter as a blushing Ito started to mumble something about Fujima not having to do that. Fujima just laughed along with them, waiting for Hanagata and Sumire to stop their chasing each other round and round the court.
When they finally managed to do so, Fujima stood up, and nodded towards the court. "Alright, everyone, get practicing! The Inter-High starts in a few months, and we have to be in the best shape possible! Remember, we're second rank in the prefecture, but this year, we're going to be Number One!" A small smile curled on his lips. "We're going to take Kainan down."
This was met with a roar of approval from the rest of Team Shoyo, and they proceeded with the practice.
Smiling satisfactorily, Fujima sat down again to watch the practice. When he looked around for the copy of the notice, however, he realized that it was gone. Nani? He looked up, and noticed Sumire holding the copy in her hand, looking at it with a smile on her face.
Fujima was puzzled. Why would she be smiling?
* * *
Sumire couldn't help but grin when she read the notice. So they're looking for a manager, eh? I wonder… She turned to Fujima, and he looked back at her.
She smiled. "So you're looking for a manager?"
Fujima nodded. "Hai." He eyed her momentarily, then grinned. "What are your qualifications?"
Sumire shrugged. "Well, I was in the varsity team of my school for two years, and I got to see a bit of court action during that time. We were also trained to manage the team in case of the absence of the moderator who usually handled us, and since I wasn't really a very talented player, I ended up with doing most of the managing."
Fujima tilted his head a little. "Not a talented player?"
Sumire nodded. "I only tried basketball cause Toru-kun seemed to be having so much fun playing it, so I thought, 'Hey, why not give it a try?'. Then I started playing, and…it went on from there." She grinned bashfully as she lowered her gaze. "I'm not really that good a player, though. I'm not tall enough to be a center or a forward, I'm not fast enough to be a point guard, and my shots are not accurate enough to allow me to play as shooting guard. So most of the time I'm stuck on the bench as a pinch hitter."
Fujima grinned, and shrugged. "Well, if you're going to be a part of this team, then the rest of us can help you, ne?"
Sumire glanced up at him, her eyes wide. Does that mean…? "I'm in?"
Fujima chuckled, and nodded. "Hai, that's right. Welcome to Shoyo Basketball Club, Sumire-san."
AUTHOR'S OOC:
Harle cackles: Hoo-yeah, first steps towards the romance…and then the LEMON!!!!
Chibi-Ito frowns: Why did I have to be the one who gets the crush on her?
Harle nods: Think of it as a compliment. I used you because you were the third cutest member on the team, with Fujima-kun getting first place, and Toru-kun snagging second. What, you wanted me to use Tagano?! PLEASE!!! I don't want to kill Sumire yet.
Chibi-Tagano sniffles: That hurt!!!
Harle shrugs: Sorry, all's fair in love and fiction.
Chibi-Fujima eyes topmost sentence suspiciously: What's this I read about a lemon?
Maia grins evilly: Oh, THAT!!!! Well, Harle and I have cooked up a little something for you and Sumire, and, well…
Maia and Harle promptly dissolve into evil cackles and giggles
Chibi-Sumire eyes the authors with a frightened look: Umm… I don't like the looks of that.
Chibi-Rukawa nods: Believe me, authors are dangerous when they're like that. I should know.
Harle waves off Chibi-Rukawa's comment: Anyway, perhaps we should keep this little fic moving, eh? continues to cackle and snicker with Maia