Toru was the first to notice it.
He frowned as he watched Fujima and Sumire from out of the corner of his eye. What is up with the two of them? It had been three months since Sumire had joined as manager, and as far as he could tell from her, everything was going smoothly. It gave him a sense of security to have his cousin under his watch most of the time, and the fact that she seemed to be very happy with her job as manager was more than he could have ever hoped for.
But now he noticed that there was something going on with his best friend. It seemed like Fujima couldn't tear his eyes off Sumire. Toru always caught him sneaking glances at the girl while she worked on recording statistics just an arm's length away from him. Even when Fujima played on the court, he would invariably flick his eyes to Sumire, linger on her for a moment, and then return to the game at hand. It was strange, extremely so.
Toru always wanted to confront his best friend about his odd behavior, but something always held him back. He didn't know why, but there was a certain unwillingness in him to question what was going on. At the very least, Mire-chan hasn't mentioned or hinted at anything about Fujima yet, but still… There's something really weird going on here, and I think that I should find out.
Soon, the whole team had noticed it too. First was Ito, then Nagano, then Hasegawa, and finally Tagano. And apparently, they were a bit worried about their captain-slash-coach's sudden interest in their manager.
"He keeps on staring at her, as though he couldn't get enough of her," Nagano said when they had a rare moment of solitude in the locker room, since Fujima remained behind with Sumire to look over the statistics of the day.
Ito nodded. "If I didn't know any better, I would say that he had a crush on her."
Toru looked up, a flash of insight striking him out of the blue. Of course! How could've I been so stupid?!?! "You know what Ito, I think you're right."
Hasegawa blinked in surprise. "Nani? Do you really think so, Hanagata-sempai?"
"Demo…aren't you going to do something about it?" Tagano asked. "I mean, Sumire-san is like a little sister to you… Aren't you going to interfere?"
"I don't see the need…yet," Toru answered softly. "I suppose that this is entirely Mire-chan's decision. Though I might find the need to get between them if it only does more harm than good to either of them. Fujima's being my best friend might help him should he want to court Mire-chan, but it can also work against him in certain cases. Just because he is my best friend doesn't mean that I will willingly let him do what he pleases with my cousin. As they say in the West, 'Blood is thicker than water'."
The meeting was immediately broken up when Fujima entered the locker room. He blinked when he saw the little gathering. "Nani? What's going on? What are you guys talking about?"
The team members stared at each other for a moment, until Ito managed to quickly cover up and say, "Ah, we were just talking about that new player in Shohoku, Fujima-sempai!! The one named Rukawa Kaede! The rumors claim that he's absolutely brilliant, and that, in spite of his being a freshman, he's already in the starting lineup!!"
Toru sighed with relief. Great cover-up Ito. I owe you a big favor now…
* * *
"Fujima, we have to talk."
Fujima turned to Toru then, puzzled at the strange tone in his best friend's voice. "Nani? About what?"
Toru seemed to wait until the rest of the team had filed out of the locker room, before he began, "I just noticed something weird about you lately, Kenji." He paused, peering down at him with an almost interrogating gaze. "Kenji, is there something going on between you and Mire-chan?"
Fujima gulped involuntarily then. Kuso, he knows!!! He wasn't the kind of guy who was easily intimidated, even when he faced up to the taller players on the court. He knew how to keep his cool. But there were certain things that made him nervous – and one of those things was his slowly budding romantic affection for his best friend's cousin-slash-pseudo-sister.
He tried to maintain his cool. He stared at Toru straight in the eye, and answered, "What about it?"
Toru sighed, and sat down on one of the benches in the locker room. "Nothing, really. I just wanted to prove my suspicions true." He glanced at Fujima then, and grinned. "So what was it about Mire-chan that got to you, eh? Come on, tell me! I'm not your best friend for nothing, ne?"
Fujima laughed, and sat down opposite Toru. "I can't really explain what happened," he replied. "It just hit me one day. You remember that time three months ago, when you were sick at home with the flu and Sumire had to come to school alone?"
Toru nodded. "Hai, I remember. I also remember that YOU were the one who walked her home. And since I haven't thanked you for that yet, I'm going to say it now: arigatou."
"Iie, it was nothing. Anyway, as I was saying, Sumire and I stayed behind a while because I caught her practicing jump shots. I helped her a little with that, and to thank me, she…she hugged me."
A slow smile appeared on Toru's face. "Hai, Mire-chan's like that. She's very…expressive of what she feels, though there are times when she tends to hide them, especially if she's unsure of them."
Fujima nodded. "Hai."
"Are you going to court her?"
"Maybe."
Toru laughed then, and stood up, heading towards the door. "Well then, all I can say is, 'ganbatte'! I think you're going to need it."
Fujima jerked his head up to look at his best friend. "Does that mean you will…"
"Interfere? Maybe, but only if I see that it's just hurting either you or her. Otherwise, I guess that I'll have to let Mire-chan do the deciding." He turned to him then, a huge grin on his face. "Oh yeah, and just one piece of advice: Mire-chan's got this romantic image in her head. If you want to win her, you're going to have to be especially romantic about it: the whole roses-and-chocolate-and-chivalry bit. Work with that, and maybe by autumn I can expect to see the two of you together!"
Fujima hurled a towel at Toru's retreating back, though he was laughing. "Wonderful advice, Hanagata!" He grinned to himself in spite of that. Romantic? Maybe I just have to wait a little more…give it some more time…and maybe, maybe…
"Ja ne, Fujima-sempai! Toru-kun and I will be going home now!"
Fujima smiled, and called back, "Ja, Sumire!!"
* * *
Sumire blinked with surprise at the question her cousin posed to her. "Nani? Could you repeat that again, Toru-kun?"
Toru looked up at her from his bowl of rice. "I said, what would you do if someone on the team started courting you."
Sumire was silent for a moment, thoughtfully chewing on a piece of sushi. After a while, she swallowed, and spoke. "I wouldn't really know. After all, I haven't even been courted at anytime in my life, so I wouldn't know a suitor even if he danced naked in front of me."
That made Toru splutter with laughter, but he controlled himself, and nodded for Sumire to continue.
"As I was saying, my knowledge about this is nil, and I wouldn't know how to act." She raised her eyebrow then. "Why are you asking this, by the way? Does someone on the team REALLY intend to court me?"
Toru shrugged. "I suppose so. I've been seeing signs from one of the members – whose identity I will not reveal – and the guy seems pretty much enamored of you. Ready to drop down on his knees and worship you, even."
Sumire laughed. This is ridiculous, she thought. "Oh Toru-kun, don't say that! No one will go to that extreme no matter how much he might like me."
"Let's just wait and see, Mire-chan. Wait and see."
AUTHOR'S OOC:
Harle beams: Ooh-la-la!!! This is FUN!!!
Maia nods head vigorously: Hai, hai!!
Chibi-Sumire small smile curls on lips: Drop down on his knees and worship? Me? I hope you really plan to do that!!
Chibi-Fujima frowns: NO WAY!!!!!
Chibi-Toru rolls eyes and shakes head: I always knew you had a megalomaniac complex, Mire-chan…
Chibi-Sumire evil grin: Women were born to rule the world! Men were born to serve us!
Maia gulps: She's got a feminist-Nazi thing going… Harle!!! Knock some sense into her!!
Harle nods: Hai! raises hand, and a blast of lightning strikes Chibi-Sumire That should do. In the meantime, let us move on with the story!!!