Ten to four. As the ticks of the clock ate away the minutes she gained by coming earlier, Ritsu was appreciating the tranquility of the small café where she chose to meet Akashi. Around her, only faint murmurs covered the afternoon quietude so relaxing and quite typical of the place. Ever since the seniors had chosen the place to throw a welcome party for Yagami and her as to celebrate their entry in the team, she had yet seen it full or even swamped by myriad of voices. Instead, peace always welcomed her in open arms, and she liked this warmth filling the air.
So when Akashi had asked her about their meeting place, the picture of the café naturally painted in her mind, concisous that both of them were assuredly in need of some calm. Him after another restless day of basketball practice and her to begin enjoying the freedom of summer break.
"Hi there, Asa-chan~ It's good to see you." A sleepy voice greeted her, belonging to the young waitress that entered her field of vision. The plump silhouette of a girl appeared before her eyes, oozing a stiff air of drowsiness that always first caught her attention each time she met her.
"Natsue-san, hello!" In response, she merely gave a very slow nod of the head, a quiet smile softly arching like the curved lines of her round face.
Natsue was the daughter of the café owner, and an acquaintance of Hareki from her senior year in Teikō. One year older than the latter, Natsue was attending an old private high school in the eastern district of Tōkyō called Shūtoku if she remembered right, and sometimes worked at the shop to help her parents out.
"You're alone today?" asked Natsue, as she put a glass of fresh water on the table.
"No, I'm waiting for someone." She craned her head and glimpsed at the clock hung high behind the counter. Four p.m. Akashi surely had already finished basketball practice and was on his way to the shop by now. "He must be coming soon."
Just after the mention of a «he», Natsue blinked twice while the rest of her expression remained as sleepy as ever. At the reaction, Ritsu gave an inquiring look that didn't find any response.
Instead Natsue said in the most simplest way, almost escaping like a reassuring whisper with her sweet yet toneless voice, "I see...You too finally decide to enjoy your summer break."
Her gray-blue eyes dropped down on the glasse at the table edge. With her left hand, she made it slide toward her. Despite the delicacy in the gesture, the fresh water still swayed and bordered each sides of the glasse with contrasting oscillations. Like captivated by the faint swaying of the liquid, she stared at it and said :
"Earlier than expected."
Not the least betraying a frown of worry or disconcert, the sleepy girl stared at her, as her lips tugged up more and more until they shaped into a perfect curve.
"Hm, I think it's you people in sports club that are being a bit late. Summer break has already started about a week ago."
She listened to that sweet reminder with amusement. Her remark was rather silly in itself, but it only reflected the stupidity of her own reply which sounded more like a mere childish excuse to run away from a truth that was already here.
"Hareki-senpai told you everything?"
"«It's over.», that's what Kisa-chan texted me yesterday."
A quite laconic answer coming from a chirpy girl like Hareki.
"That's pretty short."
Her gray-blue broke from the spell of the swaying water, now as quiet and flat as a lake, and traced back to the older girl's face who kept looking at her with the same nonchalant stare.
"I don't think there is much too say about it." replied Natsue in the most simplest way. "I heard your coach called off practice for a week."
Ritsu nodded, tapping her fingers on the glass. "I don't know why he called it off for that long. A day was practically enough to think it over and take up practice again."
She shifted her gaze to the window.
"For now, we can only wait for pratice to start again."
On the other side of the window, people busied themselves like any ordinary day, walking to a side, running to another while talking with one another, on the phone or hurrying themselves to some unknown destination. This quiet stream never stoppped, and she was there gazing upon the scenery from the side.
Only waiting.
Ritsu exhaled, a question slipping through this breath like a vague murmur. "What am I going to do until then?"
As this slip of mind was spoken up, a chuckle tickled her ears.
"Yacchan asked the same thing." When her eyes met the scintillating brown eyes reflected on the window pane, Natsue tilted her head in reaction as she succeeded in catching back her attention, and gave her sympathetic smile. "She was kind of sad for not being able to play volleyball now the competition's over for your team, and wondered about the best way she could spend this week."
Upon hearing about Yagami, Ritsu stayed quiet and stared at the reflection of Natsue's nonchalant silhouette overlapping the unknown and various forms going by on the street.
"She told me she can't wait for practice to start again and play with you all. Yacchan and you are somehow hopeless without volleyball."
Well, Yagami did sound like so, and she had to admit that it surprised her a bit. Since her self-introduction during the first day at the volleyball club, she always saw her as a rather cool-headed girl to whom volleyball held a great place in her heart, but thought that this passion would solely be expressed and manisfested itself on a court. But in all likehood, Yagami sure had a passionnate side that went beyond the simple bounds of a volleyball court.
Hence why the way Natsue put it, she couldn't help but crack a smile.
"Yagami sure is."
Unlike her, she wasn't especially impatient to play volleyball, or at least she didn't look forward to it with the same enthusiasm. She just hoped that by going back on practice she would get back her old and usual resolve.
"That's pretty cute and so innocent too. Middle schoolers are really full of energy nowadays~"
"You're talking like some old man, Natsue-san. Even so you're only a freshman in high school." She made the remark and marked a brief pause. "...Yagami seems to be doing fine. Did she come here?"
"This morning. She stopped by with Yū-chan."
"Oh, Yūzuki-senpai was with her." Although her voice pitched high in surprise, it barely affected her. The team may have split up for the moment, but that pair of childhood friends would always hang around together.
"They decide to go see the end of the Nationals. They're curious about which school will win the championship."
Ritsu lowered her chin a bit and prolonged her silence.
During that blank, Natsue stared at the girl and cocked her head to the side, wondering what she could have possibly said wrong.
"Oh." She exclaimed suddenly. "You wanted to go with them?"
She looked back at Natsue, getting that the latter misunderstood her silent reaction.
"Ah, no, I don't particulary want to go..." Ritsu promptly rectified. In a timid manner, her eyes took a glimpse at the clock. At this hour was scheduled the second game of the semi-final, in which the team they lost against competed – but if victory had had shone upon them yesterday, her team and her would have stood there.
"I was just wondering if the rest of the girls went to go watch the remaining games too."
"Yū-chan tried to ask Rinrin when they met her at a game center. But she refused, she wasn't interested." As the waitress caught a faint reaction at Kazehaya's name from the ashblondhead, she added more to that refusal. "Even if she intented to, she would rather go alone or with a friend than one of you, she said so."
Put it bluntly, she didn't want to see or spend time with any girls of the team. It almost sounded just like her.
Nonetheless, even coming from a unfriendly girl like Kazehaya, this rejection was quite cold toward a teammate. True, Kazehaya may be not the type of girl who loved to chat around with the other girls for fun or took great consideration to blend in the team when situation called for it, but she managed well into being fully integrated into the team. Despite the apparence, she somewhat cared about the team, not to some deep level close to affection yet enough to appreciate all her teammates.
Having her turning the invitation in such blunt way was one unsually cold expression of the girl.
Perhaps was she reading too much into things due to the defeat, but Ritsu decided to raise the pending question in her mind.
"Why especially not one of us?"
"Hmm," Natsue pressed a finger against her round cheek and pondered a little bit, "It's related to your coach's decision...There's a reason for him to have canceled off practice, Rinrin mentioned it to Yacchan. This break is for you all to spend time and think on your own, and not together like a team as you have to do so far. So she doesn't need to go around with one of you as a teammate when she finally gets a full week to spend with her friends."
Ritsu sort of understood her vice-captain's refusal and thought she probably had been a bit too fast in judging her attitude. Kazehaya just acted plainly normal, as she came to realise it. This desire to distance herself wasn't a consequence of defeat but a simple separation from everything related to the club. Because no matter how strong and united their bond was as a team or how much time they sticked together, teammates weren't necessarily friends outside this secluded sphere. It could be compared to coworkers working at a same company. They worked together, created various links but how many of those links actually extented past the professional sphere?
Somehow it was quite naive to hope such a thing, though a part of her often tended to believe in it.
On the other hand, she unconsciously knew how obvious and idealistic it was. When her eyes had rolled over her contact numbers and stopped on her teammates' names, she hesitated in contacting them by e-mail and in the end she never did. It wasn't out of shyness or bitterness, this was only a sign of awareness.
They were girls who shared a common goal and not friends who shared everything.
That distinction she clearly made it when she chose Akashi over them.
"Oh, Rinrin also added that she already sees your faces almost everyday not to miss them. She's more than fine without dealing with the rest of you during her holidays."
A smile was stolen from her.
"Knowing how much time we spend practicing together, it's no wonder that she wants to relax without caring about us or the club. I guess," Ritsu leaned against the back of the chair, giving a furtive glance on the outside, "Kazehaya-senpai may not be wrong about the coach's intention. We all need some change of air."
Natsue nodded in agreement.
"Speaking of change of air...Asa-chan, do you know good spots for spirit training?" Natsue asked out of the blue.
"S-Spirit training...?" She repeated and looked askance at the girl, not knowing if the curious activity was supposed to be for her or not. "You do these kind of things, Natsue-san?"
The waitress shook her head along a short laugh undeliberately accentuating the innocence of her question.
"Gai-chan asked me by email this afternoon. Apparently, she plans to go training in the wild with her big brother and her cousin for three whole days. To steel herself and come back all pumped up for practice."
Round eyes fixed on the older girl, a few biased, not to say silly, images came along her short blank.
"...By spiritual training, you don't mean something like going in the mountain and meditating under a waterfall, fishing fishes out a river with bare hands and sleeping under the stars in a sleeping bag...?" She enquired hesitantly, aware to an extent the silliness of her query.
In her turn, Natsue was short on reaciton for seconds before she laughted.
"Gai-chan wouldn't be able to fight and kill a bear with bare hands though!" She waved her hand off as if to brush away the idiotic ideas. "Or even catch a fish like that."
The pleasantry made blood rushed to her cheeks with embarrassment. Of course spiritual trainings scarcely bordered such extreme – though a part of her easily imagined Ugai giving it a try out of curiosity – Those sort of training came straight from an action drama that her little brother liked to much. And the vague warmth spreading on her face told her that she probably had spent too much time watching it with Shōhei.
Natsue didn't give more attention to it to provok another similar reaction and let that pale shade of red covering Ritsu's cheeks fade as it came.
"From what she said, it's closer to hiking and camping than a harsh training in the mountain." She added. "That's a good way to clear the mind and get some fresh air. In a sense, this could be taken as a spiritual escape. After that, you can view things with a new look and it could be fun."
"Er, training in the mountain is a bit...too much at the moment." She said. "Even though I said we need a change of air, I'm fine with just relaxing and lazing around the town."
"It's true that you don't have to go very far to just relax. In good company, on the other hand," Natsue clasped her hands. For a moment, Ritsu swore to have seen a peculiar glint shining in Natsue's eyes. The instant she tried to catch the meaning, it already had disappeared. "I think a break is not only here to help you relax but create good memories too."
Create good memories.
A gentle sound of chime overlapped her thoughts, and her eyes flickered to the shop entrance as if called.
Just arrived, Akashi was there, scoping the café. While his red eyes wandered around for a few seconds, Ritsu didn't signal her presence to him right away, taking the time to put into order her thoughts, and with less solemnity, to look at him.
The air around him was, as ever, just as formal as the school uniform he was dressed in. But although solemn, his calm was part of his natural charm. Sometimes cold and thoughtful, sometimes warm and peaceful, she never got tired of observing this two side of his appeal, though like most people certainly, she had her preferences.
Under such light, she had no difficulty in admitting that he was quite charming.
"...Handsome boy." Natsue mumbled, her hand covering her lips that moved like under spell. Silent for an instant, business call soon caught her up as she heard the cash register. "Welcome!"
Akashi reacted on the spot and landed his gaze on the two girls in a quick yet subtil manner as though he already had taken notice of them since he came in. He greeted them with a simple smile and made his way to the table.
"Hello, Akashi-kun."
"Hi." He greeted the girls back, casting a glance at the waitress, while he was taking seat.
"Ah, this is Natsue-san," Ritsu started a brief introduction. "She works here and is an acquaintance of a senior at the club."
The waitress bowed slightly to make his acquaintance and he responded with the same regard as he introduced himself to her. The shades of pink on her cheeks took a brighter tone, and without hiding it, she gave him a delighted smile.
The introductions made, the ash-blond haired girl checked the clock. Twelve past four. He was on time. "You didn't have trouble in finding the shop, I hope."
"No, your indications were clear enough. Only ten minutes from school, it's a rather short distance to not get myself lost."
She didn't doubt about it. Ever since their long adventure in the Haunted house, she would never question Akashi's sense of direction. He had no difficulty in orientating himself in a pitch dark place, so finding his way in open light would surely not cause him any big trouble.
"Then," Natsue said, not wanting to intrude more into their time. She looked at Ritsu who nodded her head knowingly. " I let you both enjoy your time here. Do you already know what to order?"
"I'll have iced green tea latte." Ritsu turned to the redhead. "And you, Akashi-kun?"
"Iced tea."
"I'll bring you your drinks right away."
The order in mind, she bowed again and returned behind the counter. As the waitress was bustling about there, carefully preparing their order, Ritsu couldn't help but watching her a few seconds. Although she didn't bring it up, she had a nice time talking with her and really appreciated her company. No matter how short their talk was and sudden it ended, she was sure Natsue grasped her feelings.
On that thought, she left Natsue to her occupation and gave her full attention to Akashi sat across her. Quietly he returned her the gaze, she didn't resist the temptation of smiling at him.
"I'm sorry to have called you so suddenly. You must have been busy with basketball practice and briefings." Her voice may betrayed a bit of her nervosity but it changed nothing to her inner feelings. She was happy to see him.
"No need to mention it, I don't really mind." Akashi brushed it off. "That aside, it has been a while since the last time we spoke with each other, Asaka."
"It sure has."
Indeed, their last conversation dated back to two weeks ago – the last week of school – They had talked about the final exams results and the volleyball and basketball championships that were just around the corner.
Since then, lessons were most of the time self-study, so both of them went about their business. When the last day came, they just exchanged the usual formality, wishing the other good holidays. But, even the goodbyes said and summer break began, it wasn't rare to catch a glimpse of the other in the school grounds during their club activities. She happened to see him from afar more than once, and alone or along teammates, he always responded to her gaze.
This reminded to herself, her nervosity receded and let out a soft expression.
"I also miss our small talks during school time." Ritsu declared, glad to hear the same from Akashi.
His wording wasn't as frank as hers yet beneath the subtlety it practically conveyed the same meaning.
"At that period of time, club duties take priority over the rest for us. We can't help it."
For a mere excuse, it still rang right in her ears. Her own practice got her hands full, it were facts, she didn't think bad by using it to explain their little distance. Moreover, Akashi silently assented to it, manisfesting a close opinion.
Nevertheless, even if the facts won over her heart, Akashi's honesty had quickened some tingling feelings inside her and made her a little guilty for not trying to make contact with him sooner. And contrary what she thought, there were a few good occasions where they could have chatted together.
"But since both volleyball and basketball tournaments are practically held in the same period, our practice schedule often matched up..." She paused and used these seconds to look into the red of his eyes. "Maybe I should have used those chances to ask you once to make the way home together so that we could talk a bit. We ran into each other a few times during breaks."
Her smile shaped the same arc line upon his lips.
"If it still stands, I'll take your offer anytime."
"You would?" Ritsu blurted her surprise. More than the answer itself, its rapidity was what took her by surprise. She was quite certain that he would have given a thought before answering, despite the joke intention.
One day he mentioned to Momoi and her that his home-school commute was rather long by public transports, so he seldom made detour on his usual itinerary not to come home late. Adding this to his daily basketball practice and club duties that often kept him past school hours, the day already set down. If she were to exaggerate things, she would say that getting a little of his time was practically a feat in itself.
Furthermore, on regular days when club activities were not on schedule or he finished earlier, it wasn't rare to see him split from schoolmates or teammates at the gates and quitely walk home alone, a book in a hand.
"I guess it's fine once in a while." From one movement of his eyes, he sneaked a look at her casual clothes. "These kind of occasions aren't that bad."
Perplexed, she examined her clothes – a sleeveless white lace blouse and a mustard yellow capri pants. There weren't anything strange. When she raised up her nose, she gave a short yet peculiar attention to the pale blue shirt and the black tie perfectly knotted around his neck.
It was the first time they got to see each other outside school, she finally noticed.
Taking into account what had been said previously, she then asked, "So, you're not against the idea we hang around on days off as well?"
"For the most part, yes." He answered laconically.
Ritsu accepted the reply with a delight. While in truth, she didn't ask that much of him, and a negative response wouldn't have made a difference. Just the thought of him appreciating their time together in general had been a more than satisfying answer.
"But I suppose we'll have to wait a little bit for that."
The basketball championship started the following week and was held for seven days. And needless to say that this major event would be keeping him real busy, though it was already the case. He made an exception for today, she wouldn't be inconsiderate enough to invite him again on a whim. For the moment, they would likely continue with their daily routine at school.
Akashi simply gave a nod. "Your club is already competiting for the championship. For four days now, if I remember well."
Ritsu tensed up, clenching her hands on her tights as though not to let her nervosity surface by concentrating it on them. At this rate, he would surely ask more about the tournament progression.
But despite her anxiety, she didn't hold it against Akashi. On that rainy day in late June, they did say they would keep an eye on the other's progress – To prove themselves.
"It has been very calm around school since then." His voice was inflected with softness, close to a whisper of sincerity that surfaced along the memory of those calm days.
"Ah...er,...I guess cicadas are much better neighbours than the volleyball club." She stammered in both relief and surprise, the latter feeling taking ascendance over the rest. Then, while using the joke effect, she tried to get a more poised countenance and went on, "Since the start of the tournament, days were pretty sustained with matches and game observation. There was no time left for practice anymore. We only came at school to debrief games and review the next one. "
As she ended her sentence, a detail managed to breach the boy's composure. It took her a second to perceive it, and then a minute to realise the cause. She has been using past tense.
What a blunder, she cursed herself. But well, far from intending to hide the bitterness of her defeat from him, at least she wanted to decide the proper moment she would tell him it.
"I wanted to keep this for later but since we're at it..." Things said, she took it upon her and let him know. "You won't see the volleyball club for a moment. Since yesterday, we're officially in summer break."
Ritsu inhaled. The chill air slipped briskly to her lungs and pushed back all sort of feelings that were about to crack her semblance of composure.
"...The competition is over for us now. We lost at the quarter-final."
She looked him in the eyes, a mere glance to catch a reaction from him more than an attempt to put on a brave face. In his red pupils, nothing reflected a change of attitude, and the rest of his expression followed.
She wanted to hear him say something about it. Recently, Akashi became an existence to whom she desired to prove herself and with whom she wished to be on equal footing.
"Here's your order."
The sleepy voice made her jump. She was musing so long on her friend's silence that she didn't hear Natsue coming. While Akashi exchanged a polite look with the waitress as she put the two drinks between them along with a part of lemon chiffon layer cake.
"Eh? We didn't order a part of cake." remarked Ritsu, scrutinizing the pastry.
"I know. It's on the house, you don't need to worry." Natsue giggled, leaving two forks next to the dessert. "Yacchan and Yū-chan got their parts too and looked happy when they ate it. So I thought you'd like it. Sweets have that kind of power, no matter what, they can take away all traces of bitterness."
In other words, she should indulge herself in. She stared at the part in front of her again, then with a smile she obliged to Natsue's kindness. The airy texture recovered of a thick layer of whipped cream married with lemon curd, visually left a very sweet taste on her tongue, one that could ligthen the heart in all and any circumstances.
"Besides, we can't have our customers leaving without spending a good time in our café." The waitress added in a business tone, though her sleepy voice made it less serious. "Relax all you want here and since you're here with company, it should be a good occasion to share..." She paused a second, just the time to glance at the part of cake, and eventually uttered, "...good memories."
The glints in her brown eyes seemed to be scintillating with excitement instead of her typical insouciance. Suspicious, Ritsu followed her look on the dessert. This time, her gray-blue eyes widened and blinked as she came to noticed the two forks put next to the plate and the size of the part – quite generous for one person. The two factors additioned, her brain didn't have to make other great calculations to know what it meant.
That part of cake was brought with intention to be shared – she took a look at her friend – with Akashi. Perhaps had she obliged to Natsue's kindness a bit too fast, this on mind. The plate was just under her nose instead of being put right in the middle of the table as suggested the idea of sharing. Likely, Natsue made it in sort the initiative would come directly from her.
When she sent a dumbfounded look to her, the sleepy girl winked at her in such awkward manner that it could have been mistaken as a silent sneeze or blink.
"Well then, if you need something else, please call me." Her task done, Natsue took her leave, an expectant smile growing on her lips.
Alone once again, Ritsu crossed Akashi's eyes that were only abandonning the sight of the pastry before their actual contact. Assuredly, Akashi wasn't being fooled and might have undergone the same logical process as her.
She was hesitant. But once assuming that he noticed everything, she grabbed the cutlery. It would be even more embarrassing if Akashi was to make the remark, though she had no worry about this happening.
"It's a big part. I don't think I'd be able to finish it alone...M-Mind if we share it?" She didn't left Akashi much choice as she already forced the fork upon him and pushed the plate to the middle of the table. "...I'd be a waste and impolite to leave rest."
Ritsu used that last argument to make sure that at least he wouldn't refuse to take the fork, which he accepted. Despite the forceful way, she stopped right there. She suggested yet she didn't force him to eat the cake with her. What was the point of sharing if the other party was unwilling?
However, the picture of Akashi sharing sweets would surely have made a...good memory, if he hadn't put the fork down next to him a minute later. But well, sharing time with him was more than enough.
By resuming the train of her thoughts, she sensed the visual sweetness of the cake melting away and slowly taken over by this faint trace of bitterness that remained stuck in the back of her throat.
Relying on the power of sweets to cheer her up, Ritsu helped herself first.
"So you and your team made your way until the quarter-final."
The voice of Akashi startled her. The delicate movement of the fork sliced the cake with a swift cut and clanged against the plate.
Ritsu craned her head and gawked at him whose placid attitude came into contrast with hers. After Natsue's interruption, she thought this conversation now over. Yet, his interest didn't seem as flat as he made it look, or she should say, as she assumed. Did he just wait for Natsue to bring their order to speak up?
"Y-Yes, the competition was fiercer than expected. Each games were a challenge for our team, and the last claimed our defeat...We were so close..." She let go of the fork and leaned on the chair, giving up on the cake for the moment. Her back straight against the wooden chair, her lungs was filled at their maximum capacities as she breathed in air like some reflex to channel all her feelings with one single inspiration. She then evacuated them all through a simple breath.
"...But the higher we go, the tougher our opponent is, that's a common rule in competition." She added, using a lighter tone to not feel the weight of defeat on her any longer.
"As there always are victors and defeated at the end." said the red-haired boy matter-of-factly.
"That's absolute."
Akashi cracked a smile and was mirrored by her.