Reliability
By: Aviantei
17—In Accompaniment
What follows after the storm is…?
The pressure of exams had nothing on the prospect of going out to eat with the Rakuzan Boys' Basketball Club's starting lineup.
Yes, Rakuzan's exams were rigorous, and there was no holds barred on what material you could be tested on (and Kenta had even hinted at the chance of questions about things they hadn't covered in class yet, which had almost put Choukou down for the count during their group study session). And, yes, as a scholarship student, Megumi needed her test scores to match up with her class ranking so that she could even continue to attend Rakuzan. And, yes, there was the added pressure of needing to keep said scholarship so she could reasonably afford living in Kyoto, her safe haven.
But it was also going to be a dinner with Akashi. And the rest of the Crownless Generals, who were all sorts of levels of intimidating on their own. She was pretty sure that Vice Captain Mibuchi didn't like her much. The others…Megumi couldn't say for sure. Higuchi was usually the one tending to the first stringers, so she hadn't had much chance to really see what they were like. All she knew was that Nebuya was a hulking mass that had to weigh at least four times as much as Megumi, and Hayama may have looked less scary in comparison but was just as fierce when it came to dominating the court.
What made matters worse was that, since she was giving her all to studying, Megumi couldn't even think up an appropriate excuse as to why she couldn't go. Club responsibilities didn't apply since they wouldn't have practice on the last day of exams, and she and Higuchi had easily finished all the paperwork prep necessary for their training camp the week before.
So naturally the anxiety hit her like a head on collision with a tsunami when the appointed day arrived.
"Pencils down," Uchida-sensei called from the front of the room. A short wave of exhales of relief and the occasional frustrated growl rippled across the room, though in much less intensity than Megumi's middle school. Rakuzan's Class 1-A knew the expectations on them, and exams were something they all approached with their pride on the line. "Pass your papers forward."
Megumi accepted the neat stack of test sheets from the classmate in the seat behind her and added her own to the pile before handing them off to Akashi. He didn't look ruffled in the slightest (Megumi was certain he'd finished way before anyone else, but she'd been too concentrated to properly check), but he did make eye contact before turning back around. She could read the intent in his gaze well enough:
I know you're here. You know where you're expected to be.
Only able to nod, Megumi stopped trying to come up with fresh strategies for bailing out—she'd been brainstorm them all week, but none of them were actually feasible. Now that the day had come, it was looking more and more likely that she really would need to go through with the mess of dinner with her team's starting lineup.
If I hadn't told Akashi-kun that my family doesn't live here I could have made up some excuse that I needed to go home instead. Not that Akashi wouldn't be able to see through her lie anyways. Giving it up, Megumi worked on packing up her things once Uchida-sensei dismissed the class for the day; she stood by, waiting for Akashi's direction.
He gave her one glance, a smug smile faintly curving his lips, before heading for the exit.
Megumi couldn't bring herself to hate how easily she fell into step behind Akashi, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Thanks to their quick departure, they didn't get caught up in the rush of foot traffic to leave classes, though that lack of stimulation only did so much for Megumi's already frayed nerves. She kept her eyes locked on the back of Akashi's head, using it as a guidepost for her path.
"There's something on your mind," he said, without any prompting as they entered the stairwell.
Megumi flinched, glad that she stopped herself from yelping at the sudden conversation. The way things were going, she was much more likely to pass out than make it through dinner. She mulled over her response for a moment. "I'm just… I don't completely understand why you wanted to invite me out with you today." Out of everyone on the team, Higuchi was the only one she'd met up with outside of club, and even those events had been to do extra manager work.
"I did tell you that I'd revised my expectations of you," Akashi said, not breaking his even gait down the stairs or looking back over his shoulder. "If you're going to be a part of this team, you need to interact with them more, especially since most of our starting lineup will be here next year, as well. That's all there is to it."
The idea of there being a next year still seemed foreign, though Shirogane had brought it up before. Megumi still felt like she had so much to learn, and she had a hard time imagining herself surviving the next month, let alone through a whole basketball season. It was even harder to imagine, seeing as Higuchi would be graduating at the end of the year, because then it would just be her left behind to handle the boys' basketball club.
But, most surreal of all, Akashi had already calculated for the future, and he expected her to be part of it.
Her mouth went dry for a few seconds, and Megumi almost tripped on the last stair of the flight when she'd realized the implication. She had the feeling she wasn't entirely worthwhile in his eyes, yet, but something close enough that he saw worth the effort to make useful.
The door to the second floor opened, second years streaming out headed to their own destinations, and Megumi swallowed her half formed thoughts before they could become words.
Megumi had desperately attempted to stay towards the back of the forming group of first stringers. It didn't work. Hayama had been far too excited about having someone new in their midst, and he'd dragged her into the middle of the group as they walked out of the school gates and down the street. Megumi had to crane her neck up to look at everyone besides Akashi, but even he had a handful of centimeters on her in terms of height.
I know basketball players need to be tall, but this is ridiculous!
"So you're the new manager that Higuchi's working with right?" Hayama asked, leaning over a bit to talk to Megumi. His grin gave off a perfect view of his fang-like incisors. All she could do was nod in response. "Great! That means we won't have to worry about finding someone else for next year."
"I-I guess so." She hadn't stammered so much in a while, but it was difficult when freshly surrounded by a group she knew as names on paper, but not as real people. Akashi, her only lifeline, was at the head of the pack, not participating in any of the conversation around him. "I still have a lot to learn, so I'm not sure how much help I can really be—"
"Don't be silly," Mibuchi said from her other side, his impressive posture bringing his towering height home. "If you weren't able to handle things, Sei-chan wouldn't have invited you to come out with us, Kai-chan."
K-Kai-chan? Is that supposed to be me?
Hayama laughed. "Reo-nee's right! Akashi said you were gonna be doing more for us, so you're gonna be hanging out with us a lot more."
Reo-nee? No, no, no, wait! When did Akashi make that decision?
Megumi didn't get the chance to ask the question since Nebuya's broad palm smacked into her back, almost knocking the breath out of her in the process. "You'll do fine! Just relax and get some meat on those bones."
Mibuchi sighed. "You can't expect everyone to be as hulking as you are. Especially not someone of her stature."
"That doesn't mean she can't build some muscle. And that starts with eating!"
"Um," Megumi managed to say, "does being a manager really require that much muscle?" Sure, she handled toting around the laundry and water bottes and the like, but most of the stress of the job seemed to be in the mental camp.
"Don't worry about what this muscle-head says, Kai-chan," Mibuchi said, giving Nebuya a side-eyed glance. Megumi felt stunned to have the vice captain talking to her so casually. She had been certain he didn't approve of her. "He doesn't have any class."
Nebuya huffed, letting out so much air Megumi thought it might have knocked her over. "I'd like to see you win a basketball game with that 'class' of yours."
"Clearly you've built up those muscles so much it's impaired your vision."
Hayama caught sight of Megumi's worried expression and patted her on the shoulder, his grin not wavering in the slightest. "Don't worry; they've been like this ever since we started at Rakuzan. It's always words with them. They'll sort it out themselves." Still not fully convinced, Megumi nodded, tossing a longing glance at the sky above, which had a few clouds stringing across it, making everything a paler shade of blue than usual.
"We're here," Akashi's voice said from the head of the group. "Do try not to cause a ruckus once we get inside."
Nebuya's mouth obediently clicked shut halfway through a sentence that didn't seem to have a polite ending. Mibuchi's expression was almost satisfied as he replied, "Yes, Sei-chan."
Not having much else of a choice, Megumi joined the throng inside, the comforting chill of air conditioning slipping over her, though she'd been too nervous outside to realize it was hot. From the looks of it, their restaurant of choice for the day was an American style diner, the color scheme a soothing combination of yellow and blue. Though there was the murmur of people inside, the tables didn't look too packed, which was a small saving grace on Megumi's already tired nerves.
Akashi was already talking with the host at the counter, smoothly requesting a table for six.
Six? Megumi thought, furrowing her brow at the number. Akashi-kun, Mibuchi-senpai, Hayama-senpai, Nebuya-senpai, myself… "Are we expecting someone else?" she asked, more so talking to the air than anyone in particular. She had figured Higuchi wasn't coming because he had university prep to take care of, but…
Akashi was already following the host to their table, and Mibuchi tossed Megumi an almost pitying glance as he followed suit. Nebuya let out a hearty laugh, and Hayama was doing an awful job at holding back his snickers, only halfway managing to say, "About that, Second Manager-chan…"
"There have been six of us since we left the school."
The almost bored voice from behind her made Megumi whirl around, her heart pounding wildly. The sight of yet another tall boy who looked almost as pale as a ghost standing right behind her was too much for her to take.
Before she could help herself, Megumi screamed.
Once she got a good look at him, the identity of their mysterious tagalong became quickly apparent. The gray hair and eyes were a near perfect match for the slate tones of his uniform, and his disinterested expression matched up perfectly with one of the mug shots in Higuchi's painstakingly assembled club member guide:
Mayuzumi Chihiro, the only third year on Rakuzan's starting lineup.
Since Higuchi was the one in charge of the first stringers, it made sense that Megumi hadn't recognized him at first, but she was having a hard time processing that Mayuzumi had been there the whole time and she hadn't noticed him. His height fit right in with the rest of them (in other words, he was a giant), yet it was like he'd been invisible.
Or maybe I'm just stressed because this is ridiculous.
After Megumi's far too loud outburst, they'd managed to get settled down at a table (unmistakably for six). Nebuya, Hayama, and Mayuzumi were all along the wall in the booth half of the setting, while Megumi had managed to snag a chair on the corner to give her room to breathe and potentially an easy exit. Not that she'd have an easy time slipping away since Akashi was right next to her. Content, Reo had the other corner seat on the Captain's left hand side.
"Can I get you all started with some drinks?"
Hayama shot up his hand first, claiming the first order, and their server went around the table, taking everyone's drinks in turn. When it came to Megumi's turn, she opted for water, since she still had to balance out the rest of her budget with the training camp trip coming up.
Tucking their pencil away, their server nodded. "Alright, I'll get those—"
"I'll need some coffee," Mayuzumi said in a controlled monotone.
Their server blinked once, as if just realizing that the boy was there. Megumi felt bad for them, but she was also glad that she wasn't the only one caught off guard. "Y-yes, of course. I'll be back with your drinks right away!" And then they scrambled back off to the back to hide their embarrassment—though not without checking around the table once more to confirm that no one else was hiding in plain sight.
Megumi tried to steal a glance at Mayuzumi without being too obvious, which should have been easy since he was sitting right across from her.
Too bad Mayuzumi noticed, and his unimpressed gaze shot right back at her. Megumi flushed and tried to busy herself with looking at the menu, even though she wasn't really processing any of the characters on the page. Is that some kind of superpower? That he's invisible?
"Higuchi hasn't told you about Chihiro?" Akashi asked. When she looked to him, there was a faint smirk on his lips, though it might have just been her imagination. "If you're going to be our manager, I'm going to expect you to understand our team's strategies."
Megumi looked back at Mayuzumi for a split second, trying to figure out if it's possible for a strategy to revolve entirely around one person, especially since she didn't remember Mayuzumi being on the court for what little of the Inter-High tournament she got to watch. But she did vaguely remember Higuchi and Shirogane talking about something during the practice matches, though her nervousness most had done the job of blocking out the memories.
"I'll be sure to talk it over with Higuchi-senpai next time I see him," she said, and though she wanted to add, There's no pleasing you, is there? there was no way she could get the words out with so many others watching her.
"It's not quite something that you can really describe in just words, Kai-chan," Mibuchi said, giving their server a smile as they came back with everyone's drinks. Hayama quickly busied himself with blowing his straw paper at Nebuya like a missile, though it just bounced off the bulge of muscle. Megumi tried to sip at her own water in peace, though the cold drink could only do so much for her nerves. "We'll be sure to give you a proper demonstration at the training camp, won't we?" he added, giving Mayuzumi a knowing stare that wasn't quite harsh enough to be pointed.
"Yeah, whatever," Mayuzumi muttered, his expression not changing in the slightest. The server, not willing to repeat their mistake from the last time, started by asking for Mayuzumi's order first. When Megumi's turn came around, she ordered the smallest, cheapest portion she could find, hoping she wouldn't feel too sick by the time it made it to the table. She really didn't want to explain why she felt so sick in front of an audience.
This is going to be a long evening.
If you were going strictly by the amount of time passed according to the clock, it hadn't taken the team that long to get served and polish off their meals. But in Megumi's perception, it seemed at least three times the amount, if not four, and just walking to the station would have been much more of an exertion if she didn't know that home was waiting at the end of the line.
It seemed they all went to the same station, so she couldn't just slip off on her own. Akashi kept an eye on her anyways, though he didn't say anything, and Megumi stuck to the group, not offering much in the way of conversation. She did her best to keep an eye on Mayuzumi, though, since he always seemed to disappear whenever she wasn't looking. By the time they made it to where they needed to split up to their respective trains, Megumi estimated her accuracy rate at about twenty percent.
She was so busy focusing on Mayuzumi that she didn't realize that she and Nebuya took the same line home until they were getting on the train together.
"I didn't know you took this train, too," Nebuya said, securing a spot with a handrail in immediate reach. Though there was a perfectly good seat near him, other people getting on steered clear of his berth. Not noticing (or noticing and not caring), he pointed to the empty spot. "Here, take this seat if you want."
"S-sure, thank you, Senpai." Her legs starting to feel weak, Megumi plopped down. With Nebuya standing right in front of her, he looked even more hulking than before, like an adult slipped into a high school uniform, especially with his facial hair. She faintly recalled his profile mentioning Nebuya's training routine, but it still seemed impossible that any one person could have that much muscle mass. Maybe that was why he was still standing after the get-together, though Megumi felt exhausted with her considerably lighter physical workload.
Of course, that could also be the stress talking.
"You sure you ate enough? You're looking a little pale."
Megumi blinked herself back to awareness. "Yes, I'm fine, please don't worry." The idea of eating more food just made her feel sick. Though, judging by the literal stacks of plates Nebuya had gone through at the diner, he probably thought differently. "I generally don't have that big of an appetite, so I promise I'm full."
Nebuya frowned, but it wasn't as intimidating as it could have been. "If you say so. You gotta take care of yourself. You're one of us after all."
"I don't know about that." It took Megumi a moment too long to realize she'd said the thought out loud, and she flailed her hands in a feeble defense as Nebuya stared at her. "I-I mean, I'm seriously new to this whole thing. And I don't know a lot about our team strategies. And I'm just really doing grunt work and learning names. I'm nothing like Higuchi-senpai or the rest of you, so I can't really contribute much—"
"Nah," Nebuya said in a deep drawl. "You're more like us than you think." He grinned, a completely different expression from Hayama's easy laugh or Akashi's cold smile, but no less the expression of a predator. Only feeling more distant, Megumi blankly looked at Nebuya as her brain failed to produce any sort of response. "I mean, you wanna win, don't you?"
"…Isn't it normal to not want to lose?"
Nebuya waved off her answer with one of his massive hands. "That's not what I mean. Nobody wants to lose. But a totally different group of people want nothing else than to win." He pointed at her. "You're definitely one of us. I can feel it."
Megumi had no idea how he had reached that conclusion; she'd always lost out, especially once her siblings decided to turn her into their punching bag. If they played a game together, she was expected to lose, since she was younger. Being the winner, being the person in first place wasn't something she was allowed to do.
But it's not like you liked it. You hated it. Not just because the punishment was unfair, but because you were better than that, you wanted to—
Megumi bit her lip, pushing the memories back. She couldn't have a fresh episode again, with so little time between them. She didn't think she could take it.
"Well," Nebuya said, dropping his hand, "if you don't get it, you'll start to feel it soon enough. Especially since Akashi wants you to do more on the first-string side of things now." He clapped Megumi on the shoulder one more time before stuffing his hand into his pocket. "It'll be nice workin' with you."
The slightly informal version of the phrase triggered Megumi's own, "I'm looking forward to working with you," in response. Thankfully the next announcement to come over the speakers was the one for her station, and she stood up, clutching to the handle of her bag for some form of support, trying not to sway as the train slowed down. "This is my stop, Senpai. Excuse me."
"You gettin' off here?" Even with his large size, Nebuya deftly moved to let Megumi head towards the door. "Mine's not 'til a bit further down the line, but I can walk you to your place if you want."
"No, thanks, I'll be fine. I'll see you at our next practice." Leaving one more bow in her wake, Megumi slipped off the train before Nebuya could get a word in edgewise. There was just enough of the crowd for her to get lost in, and she made it home without any further incident, a heavy sigh escaping her lips as she shut the door behind her.
Exams may have been done, but it seemed the pressure wasn't going away anytime soon.
[Author's Notes]
MAYUZUMIIIIIIII.
Thanks go out this update to broked, Cherylicious, Jummper, AnimeLover345643, jullan898, AnimangaManiac20000, an unnamed Guest, and Angela0205 for the favorites, follows, and reviews! It never ceases to utterly amaze me the level of support you guys give this fic, especially in such a short period of time. Absolutely mindblowing. My love goes out to you all!
My love also goes out to Rakuzan, because I really love all these characters! Megumi finally gets to interact a bit more with the rest of the first string. Honestly, I was looking forward the most to introducing Chihiro, though I feel like he and Megumi don't really interact much... I also went ahead and gave some attention to Nebuya in the process. We're inching our way towards summer training camp, so expect more Rakuzan member interactions coming up!
First up, though, there's a transition chapter coming up next as we wrap up school stuff and get into vacation. Assuming I don't decide to go wild and upend my usual posting schedule, we'll see chapter eighteen in a few months! Please look forward to it!
-Avi
[01.06.2020]