The ball bounced against the polished wood of the court, signifying the end of the match, coach nekomata smiled from the other end of the court. Ukai groaned as Takeda sighed,
"Well, that was our last match of the day. I suggest you all complete the penalty and then come back for a quick meeting," he recommended. The team nodded, walking out the back door of the gym. Ukai turned to Takeda,
"While we did win most of our practice matches, our defense was horrible today," Ukai commented, frowning.
"I agree, our libero just doesn't seem to have enough instinct or confidence," Takeda added, looking towards the door where the team exited.
"Yeah, I'll work with him on receiving later tonight,"
"Care to go out for a drink later to help your wounds heal?" Nekomata interrupted, walking over wearing his signature grin.
"You'll be the ones in need of healing when we beat you tomorrow," Ukai shot back.
Nekomada laughed, "I'll see you at the bar then," he replied, walking away.
Ukai shook his head. He knew full well that Nekomata just wanted some friends that didn't get hammered too quickly like Naoi, "Well Specs, we better get to work if we wanna kick Nekoma's ass tomorrow," Ukai stated as the team began to walk back in.
"Right," Takeda agreed, as they walked forward to make their post game speech.
…
"Well, on the bright side I think we made some important improvements during open practice tonight, however the team as a whole needs polishing," Takeda stated as they walked to the bar.
"Yeah, the underclassmen keep making some small mistakes, mistakes that won't fly in actual matches," Ukai added.
Takeda nodded as they continued to walk in silence. The night was pleasantly warm, if not slightly humid. As they arrived, the coolness of the restaurant felt nice. Nekomata waved them over to the table he and Naoi were already at. Naoi looked pink and slightly dazed already,
"After all these years you've been drinking with us, you still can't hold your liquor, huh?" Ukai teased, clapping his friend on the back as he sat down beside him.
"Psh, at least I never went blonde," Naoi retorted. Ukai laughed for his sake, Naoi's comebacks always got worse when he was drunk. Takeda sat down across from the two, next to Nekomata,
"Your team did well today," Takeda complimented.
"Thank you Takeda, but flattery won't get you out of this one. You know the rules," He urged, turning to Ukai.
"Yeah, yeah," Ukai rolled his eyes as he gestured for a server and ordered a round for the table.
"So coach, do you have any free advice on how we can improve our defense?" Takeda asked politely.
Nekomata sipped his drink, "I'll give you some advice, let's just see if you remember it," Nekomata teased.
While Takeda never talked a big game, Ukai knew he was just as bad at holding his liquor as Naoi. He was as you would expect from a literary teacher: an overly enthusiastic drunk.
"We are going to do so well tomorrow! I can feel it," Takeda exclaimed a couple hours later. His enthusiasm and red complexion signified it was probably time to wrap it up.
"I think we better be getting back, it's getting late," Ukai suggested, putting out a cigarette in the ashtray.
"I agree, you two go on ahead, Naoi here is going to need a cup of coffee before I'll be able to get him up," Nekomata replied.
"You sure you don't need any help with him?" Ukai asked, glancing over at his hammered friend.
"Nah, this isn't the first time, and it probably won't be the last," Nekomata finished, smiling.
"If you say so, well Specs, I suppose we should go," Ukai commented, standing up.
"Right," Takeda replied, getting up and finding his balance, "Thank you, for the tips," he said to Nekomata, slightly bowing.
"Anytime," Nekomata replied, gesturing for a server.
As they paid the tab and left Takeda realized the night had gotten cooler and picked up the pace slightly, "we should hurry, it's getting cold," Takeda commented, as he sped down the sidewalk past the streetlights.
Ukai hurried after him,"Be careful Specs, the sidewalk might be uneven and your sense of balance right now isn't the greatest," Ukai stated, catching up.
"I'm fine, I can see alright, I won't fall," Takeda replied casually, and began walking backwards, "besides I can even-" just as he was finishing his sentence, Takeda caught his foot and went flying backwards towards the concrete. Ukai instinctively caught him, reaching underneath his torso. Takeda caught his arms for balance,
"That was close Takeda," Ukai sighed in relief, "you need to be more careful..." Ukai paused as he looked down at his friend. Takeda was looking up at him; his eyes were wide and illuminated by the street lights, but his eyebrows were knit together as if he was deliberating something. Ukai swore the night got warmer just then, he cleared his throat awkwardly and stood back up, "be more careful next time," Ukai finished, righting Takeda and continuing to walk down the sidewalk.
"Sure, sorry," Takeda replied, setting his slacked jaw and shaking his head to clear it. Neither of them said anything else the rest of the way back to the camp.
"Big day tomorrow, we should get some sleep," Ukai offered as he reached his room, in an effort to bring things back to normal.
"Yes, goodnight," Takeda replied, smiling awkwardly and heading into his own room across the hallway.
Ukai sighed, turning off the lights and dragging his hands across his face. was just a fluke, nothing happened. They didn't kiss or anything but he couldn't deny that they had a moment. Regardless, they were both drunk and would forget about this by morning, he convinced himself.
