SailorStar9: Anyway, Chapter 21 goes up. This is Chapter 22. To all my non-reviewing readers, I love you all! Will love you more if you review! *hugs all round!*
Disclaimers: I own nothing, except for the plot bunny and the pairing.
Chapter 22: I Look Forward To It
"Things are pretty lively next door." Kiyoshi remarked, hearing giggles sounding from the women's side of the onsen.
"Now that you mention it, there was a group of college girls at the front desk." Izuki stated.
"What?" Koganei's interest was perked. "Kagami, come here. Forward march!" he instructed, having requested the taller freshman to hoist him on his shoulders.
"Hey, what are you going?" Izuki demanded.
"Isn't it obvious?" Koganei asked.
"Don't say that with a straight face!" Izuki snapped.
"Idiots!" Hyuuga scolded.
"Hyuuga, why are you going with them?" Izuki retorted.
"You're lucky you have your Eagle Eye." Hyuuga remarked.
"It doesn't work like that!" Izuki protested.
"Riko will kill you if she were here." Kiyoshi reminded.
"Kiyoshi, shut…" Izuki fired back. "You're right." he concurred. "Kuroko!" he spotted the dizzy freshman upon hearing Nigou's bark.
"Sorry." The flushed teen muttered. "I feel a little dizzy."
"Get out of the bath." Izuki instructed. "Kagami, go with him."
"What should we do?" Koganei twitched.
"This isn't good." Hyuuga agreed.
"Our peeping specialist disappeared." The boys sighed.
"His misdirection doesn't work like that, either!" Izuki snapped.
"Is that one of Kuroko's nicknames?" Kiyoshi wondered, causing Izuki to let out an exasperated scream.
"A little more…" Koganei mumbled, trying to reach for the wall. "I can't…"
"A hole!" Fukuda spotted a crack in the lower part of the bamboo wall.
"This team is hopeless." Izuki sighed, as the other guys clambered around the crack.
"Now, now." Koganei chided. "You don't dislike this, do you? Come on, Tsucchi, you too."
"But…" Tsuchida muttered.
On the women's side of the onsen…
"Leave them to be, Riko." Ami waved, the twitching coach was about to storm over to the men's side.
"Ami's right." Makoto agreed. "They're boys; it's a phase they'll grow out off."
"Eventually." Minako added.
"Why doesn't that assure me any?" Riko sighed and sat back in the water.
"By the way, Riko," Ami started. "Are you and Kiyoshi dating?"
"Where did that come from?" Riko splattered. "And how did you know?"
"I didn't." Ami shrugged. "I guessed. But thanks for confirming it." She grinned.
"Looks like Izuki's observation skills are rubbing off you." Riko remarked.
"Rubbing off or rubbing on¸ Ami?" Makoto teased.
"Mako!" Ami exclaimed.
"Ami, spill!" Minako hoarded.
"What base?" Rei's eyes twinkled.
On the men's side…
The others looked at the above-mentioned males interestedly, causing a confused Kiyoshi to blink and a deeply embarrassed Izuki to sink further into the water.
"Mind if I sit next to you?" Momoi inquired.
"Suit yourself." Ami gave the go ahead.
"Thanks." Momoi beamed and entered the water, placing herself between Ami and Riko.
"Touou Academy?" Riko and Hyuuga echoed together, the Touou Academy team appearing in the onsen.
"This feels so good." Momoi sighed in relief. "My shoulders have been so stiff lately. You don't seem like you'd have that problem. I'm jealous."
"Shut up!" Riko snapped.
"Didn't you use the massage salts I recommended you, Satsuki?" Ami asked.
"I used them all up the other day." Momoi replied. "And the online store ran out of stock last I checked. Oh right." She turned to Riko. "There's something I wanted to tell you."
"What did you say?" Riko gasped, after Momoi informed her that their next opponent was Touou.
"I like Tetsu-kun, and that's why I won't hold back this time." Momoi promised. "It's too bad you'll be out after the first day, though." She stood up. "Let's have a good game."
"You're acting pretty superior, aren't you?" Riko refused to back down. "Don't underestimate us!" she retorted, pressing her boobs against Momoi's. "My boys aren't that weak! You just wait! We'll show you!"
"Oi, oi, oi." Rei played peacemaker. "Calm down."
"Well, I kinda of expected that to happen." Ami remarked, after both warring females sat back into the water. "So, what's the betting the guys are decking it out right now in the sauna?" she giggled.
"Sucker bet." The girls chorused as one and laughed.
"All right, everyone is here." Hyuuga declared, having led the team out of the inn the next morning.
"Excuse me…" Kuroko voiced. "Kagami's been missing since this morning."
"Your bed head is ridiculous!" Hyuuga exclaimed.
"Tetsuya, come here." Ami instructed, armed with a fine-toothed comb and a can of hair spray.
"Kagami's missing?" Tsuchida echoed, after Ami fixed up her cousin's hair.
"It's fine." Riko assured. "Starting today, we'll be practicing without Kagami for a while. I'll explain later."
"Okay, let's go home." Hyuuga declared.
"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Riko chided. "Our training camp starts here." She pointed to the gym next door.
"Are all the kids here?" Kagetora questioned.
"The coach's dad?" Koganei echoed.
"Don't call me dad." Kagetora scolded. "Call me Kagetora."
"Kagetora, what are you doing here?" Fukuda asked.
"My lovely daughter asked me to come." Kagetora replied. "I came to make you stronger. First, I have a question for you." He loaded his shotgun. "Step forward if you saw Riko naked yesterday. Come forward now and I'll kill you painlessly with a single headshot. Listen up! I'm the only one who can see Riko naked."
"No, you can't!" a furious Riko sent a basketball flying to her father's head. "Get started already!" she slammed a fist onto Kagetora's nose.
"Seriously, a serious daughter complex, huh?" Ami deathpanned.
"Fine." Kagetora relented. "Start by taking your shirts off."
This seems familiar. The boys mused.
"Well, you're not too bad." Kagetora noted, after surveying the Seirin team. "You seem to have been keeping up with Riko's training since this summer. Your stamina and muscles show balanced improvement. Split into two groups. Go play cops and robbers in those mountains for about three hours. Afterward, the losers will practice footwork. I'll start you off with double practice."
"Fartlek, huh?" Ami noted. "Using their whole bodies to run over uneven ground, this will improve overall fitness."
"Just like Saeko;" Kagetora nodded appraisingly. "Like mother, like daughter, I suppose. You're right. Like I mentioned earlier, they've all improved physically, but they're stiff. You can't just build muscle. Your body need to be able to use them. They need to become acclimated to use the muscles they've built. Running around the mountains is the fastest way to do that. Before we begin practice," he addressed the boys. "I'll tell you what you need to do by next month. Riko showed me a DVD of your opponent's play. They're an aggressive team of strong players who focus on individual skill. At first glance, they're the opposite of a team that empathizes team play like yours. However, if you ask me, their teamwork is much better than yours. They don't empathize on team play, of course. They can just do it. Ignoring individual play doesn't cut it. The most important thing is for everyone to be aiming for the basket. That's what makes a team come together. Simply being friendly isn't teamwork. For example, four-eyes," he turned to Hyuuga. "You tried to dribble past someone in your last game against Touou. That was stupid. Why would you fight such a strong team with something you're bad at? Anyway, don't you make shots from the outside? Cutie and cat-face can shoot threes, too, but they're far from being weapons. If you'd made your shots from the beginning against Kirisaki Dai Ichi, you would've won easily. Realize you're Seirin's lifeline. Learn to make shots without a screen."
"But how?" Hyuuga asked. "I was dribbling because I couldn't…"
"I'll show you." Kagetora replied. "Cute, pass the ball to me." He tossed the basketball to Izuki.
"Kagetora's going to play?" Koganei blinked.
"Can he even play basketball?" Furihata gaped.
"Not only does he play," Kiyoshi replied. "He used to play for Japan's national team."
He's fast. Hyuuga was stunned, Kagetora performing the 'Barrier Jumper' after Izuki passed the older man the ball. How did he do that?
"Something like that." Kagetora remarked, sending the ball into the basket. "Just so you know, that wasn't speed. Even you can do it. Teamwork really starts to shine with a group of strong individuals. You'll all develop your own weapons by the Winter Cup. In other words, they'll be your special abilities. Some of you noticed during your summer training camp and have laid foundations. You have less than a month before the Winter Cup. I'll train you as much as I can for the price of bloody nothing."
"That aside…" Kuroko voiced.
"By the way, where's Kagami?" Koganei thought to ask.
"About that…" Ami trailed.
SailorStar9: Now that's done, read and review.