SailorStar9: You ladies wanted this chapter, so here goes. This is Chapter 10 of this fic.

Disclaimers: I own nothing, except for the plot bunny and the pairing.

Chapter 10: Let's Get Started

"I smell the beach." Izuki started, the Seirin team having arrived at the beach. "We must reach it quickly!"

"Izuki, shut up." Hyuuga shut the habitual punner down.

"Let's swim!" Koganei cheered.

"This is a training camp, you idiot!" Hyuuga snapped, Nigou barking in agreement.

"Brats," Kagetora pulled down his sunglasses as he drove up by the driveway. "Lay a hand on my daughter and I'll kill you."

"Yes sir!" the boys chorused as the elder Aida drove off.

"Thanks, Papa!" Riko waved.

"The coach's dad…" Hyuuga muttered.

"He's as scary as ever." Koganei agreed.

"Your father really has a daughter complex, doesn't he?" Ami joked; the blue-haired teen was roped in upon Kuroko's suggestion to save the team's stomachs after the failed taste test; to which Riko had also readily agreed, seeing how she had wanted to pick the girl genius' brain for training methods.

"So, what are those?" Izuki spotted the basketball hoops on the sand.

"My dad bought them here for me." Riko grinned.

"Don't tell me we're going to…" Izuki gaped.

"We're going to play basketball." Riko nodded. "Ami-chan, I'm counting on you for lunch."

"Leave that to me." Ami assured and headed for the lodge. "I had plenty of time to plan the menu; I just might even squeeze in enough time to bake some cookies."

"Good work!" Riko praised, after the morning practice. "Let's break for lunch."

"Okay!" the panting boys chorused.

"We've practiced so much, I forgot how hungry we got." Hyuuga remarked, the team entering the cafeteria.

"What's that aroma?" Koganei wondered, sniffing the air.

"She didn't…" Kuroko muttered. "She did." He sighed, lifting the cover of the top bento box that had been stacked up on the table.

"She mixed Sakura shrimp with rice?" Izuki peered over the freshman's shoulder.

"Ami-itoko tends to get pretty creative with her dishes once she has the time to plan the menu." Kuroko explained, unstacking the bentos one by one. "Just take a look at the side dishes she prepared."

"Pickled cucumber salad, stewed pumpkin with shiitake mushrooms," Kiyoshi looked at the three side dish compartments. "And is that steamed dory fish?"

"Well," Hyuuga shrugged, claiming a bento box for himself. "It can't be any worse than coach's cooking."

"Junpei, you do realize Riko could very well put wasabi in your dinner afterwards just for that comment, right?" Ami teased, entering the eating hall with two pots of flora tea on a tray. "By the way, Kagami," she informed her cousin's new light. "Yours is at the bottom."

"Large…." Tsuchida was stunned at the upsized bento.

"Of course I didn't forget you, Nigou." Ami turned to the husky sitting patiently at the end of the counter. "Here's yours." She moved the dog dish of dog food in front of the puppy.

With a cheerful bark, the puppy dug in.

"Thanks for the food." The team chorused as one and dug in.

"Men," Ami chuckled. "Can't live with them, can't live without them."

"Ditto." Riko agreed, entering the kitchen via the back door.

"You heard what Junpei said, didn't you?" Ami cast a wry look at the brunette.

"Well, for your sake, I'll pretend I didn't." Riko grinned, the two girls settling down for their own lunch of nishin soba with a pot of brewed wolfberry tea between them.

That night…

"Man, Coach really has your brain working out, hasn't she?" Izuki noted, seeing the several pieces of paper lying on the wooden floor beside his girlfriend, the stack pinned down by the clip on the clipboard. "I mean, you're seriously scary with your tactical plays and strategies."

"Shouldn't you be in bed by now?" Ami asked.

"I figured you needed a late night snack." Izuki placed a plastic plate of pint-sized sandwiches next to her. "May I?" he pointed to the empty spot beside her. "It's too bad you aren't in Seirin; it would've made our matches much easier." He remarked, the couple's feet were dangling off from the raised flooring of the inn.

"Then you guys would've ended up being too reliant on me and my strategies." Ami pointed out. "Or have you forgotten what happened in junior high after I left?"

Izuki winced, recalling how the team he and Hyuuga were in began losing their matches after Ami moved to Juuban. "Okay, point." The eagle-eyed teen admitted. "How's your sketching coming?" he asked, tearing off a piece of sandwich and feeding it to her.

"It's still in the beginning stages." Ami replied, leaning her head on his shoulder and allowing the point guard to feed her.

"I don't even want to know just how this could have happened." Ami muttered, seeing the Seirin team stare down the Shutoku team nervously across the court the next morning after breakfast. "Somehow, I just know you had a hand in this." she gave the grinning Riko a resigned sigh.

"Maybe." Riko beamed. "Starting today, instead of holding our scheduled training in the gym, we're going to be practicing with Shutoku High." She declared. "And to make things more interesting, we'll have a wager; the team who wins all three matches gets to snack on Ami's white macadamia cookies. So Ami," she slapped the other girl on the back. "Better start baking. Kagami-kun," she stopped Kagami from entering the court. "Go buy drinks for everyone. Run on the beach to the convenience store 500 meters away. They'll probably be heavy, so you can bring them back one at a time. Everyone's practicing, so hurry!"

SailorStar9: Well, a bit of Izuki/Ami fluff in this chapter. Now that's done, read and review.