Chapter 22: Three Stooges
"Can someone tell me again, just for the record, why we're all here?" asks an annoyed Kasamatsu-kun, as he tries to ignore the fact that a sea of girls had engulfed a basking Kise-kun off to the side.
"What better way to build such a diverse team with trust exercises?" I point out, as I begin to pull out the list of activities I had planned for today. I even brought Satsu-chan along for the games I had made.
Truth be told, I had no problem with the first shifts unity which consisted of Kasamatsu-kun, Takao-kun, Himuro-Kun, Murasakibara-kun and myself. I was positive we wouldn't have any mishaps of communication there. But as the days passed and the closer the match was coming, it suddenly occurred to me how deadly unbalanced the second shift was. Sure Aomine-kun, Midorima-kun and Kise-kun had all once played on the same team, but everything was different now. They weren't the same boys they used to be. Which proved to be true taking in how last weeks meeting had went.
The official game was in two days, being held on a Tuesday after school in one of the local recreation centres.
Meaning the second shift had two days to get along and play respectfully.
"I can see why the second shift needs the help. But how come the rest of us had to be here?" he asks again, as he begins to tap his foot in annoyance as Kise-kun's voice begins to grow obnoxiously loud.
"Because we're a team and this is a team activity. I know asking you all to play is already a big enough favour but please play along just for to-"
"What she really means is shut up and play," chimes in Aomine-kun from the side, as he places his elbow on my shoulder, leaning onto me.
"That's not what I meant at all!"
"Whatever. I'm hungry. Let's go get something to eat, Kasa-"
Grabbing the hem of Aomine-kun's collar, I hold him back where I loop my arm through his.
"We're a chain. You can't break us," I warn drearily, as I give him a heated look.
Aomine-kun stares down at me, his gaze unwavering before he whistles out in response. "Probably the lamest thing you've ever said."
Flushing, I immediately break the chain, pushing him away from me.
"Look. Satsu-chan already volunteered to go and grab us all some snacks. Plus, our Shutoku and Yosen players haven't arrived yet."
"They're 20 minutes late," points out Kasamatsu-kun, as he slumps further down onto the park bench.
It was true. We were all supposed to meet at the Sakura Park at noon, but the other half of our team hadn't arrived as of yet. I sent a message to them all wondering where they were.
From: Midorima Shintarou
"Takao is peddling too slow. The mongrel claims he is tired. I don't see how so since we are climbing up a hill. Expect some time before our arrival."
From: Himuro Tatsuya
"Atsushi thinks we're having a picnic. He's picking up some snacks for what he claims for everyone. But we all know it's for him. Be there soon, sorry!"
All I asked for was a little flexibility. But what could you expect from a bunch like this?
XxXxXxX
"Alright! Now that everyone's here, I'd like to officially begin our activities for the day!" I greet happily, as I tie my blonde hair up into a high pony.
The boys grumble in response as they wait for me to go on.
"I've set up five activities for the day. They're all group activities which means you'll have to trust those around you and you're partner. The last-"
Suddenly I watch as everyone grabs a partner as if on command. Aomine-kun immediately grabs me and I involuntarily grab Satsu-chan who was on my left. Kise-kun grabs an unwilling Kasamatsu-kun where Midorima-kun fishes around for Takao-kun, making sure he hadn't left his side. Murasakibara-kun protectively grabs Himuro-kun, who smiles up at him.
Well, that worked out.
"As I was saying, the last activity is the most crucial and most enjoyable of them all. Now, I've made up the partners with the help of my dearest cousin," I announce, as I wave the clipboard up in the air. Everyone's expressions immediately drop as Kise-kun goes to great lengths to fall to his knees.
Looking at the names before me, I find myself stalling as I hand the board to Satsu-chan, too afraid to face the wrath that was to come.
"Okay. Himuro-kun and Takao-kun. Murasakibara-kun and Yuki-chan. Kasamatsu-kun and myself. And then Midorima-kun, Aomine-kun and Kise-kun will be a group of three."
Immediately everyone except Himuro-kun and Takao-kun begin to yell.
"Insolence! Give me Takao-kun!" yells Midorima-kun.
"Ah, Mido-chin. Please don't yell at him," warns a playful, yet deathly Murasakibara-kun.
"Hey, Murasakibara! Ya' lay a hand on her and I'll kill ya'!"
"Aominecchi and Midorimacchi are mean to me!" whines Kise-kun into the arms of Kasamatsu-kun.
"Oi, Kise. Shut up and most importantly…DON'T TOUCH ME THERE!" he yells in embarrassment, as he tries to fight off a further slumping Kise-kun who's face was trailing dangerously close to Kasamatsu-kuns' pelvic region.
"Who do you think is going to win?" whispers Satsu-chan into my ear, as she hugs the side of my frame into her. Resting my chin on her head, I tell her my money is on Himuro-kun and Takao-kun, who were both laughing off to the side like old friends.
Maybe this was a big mistake?
XxXxXxXxXxX
"Activity one. The famous trust fall. I think everyone here knows what I'm talking about. Please take this seriously, alright?"
Watching everyone do it first, I watch happily as Takao-kun and Satsu-chan are caught happily and safely into the arms of Himuro-kun and Kasamatsu-kun.
Now my turn, I fall into Murasakibara-kun who catches me easily with one arm.
"Oi! I thought I told ya' not to-"
"Aominecchi!"
Looking just in time, I find the rigid, solemn body of Midorima-kun falter under Kise-kun's half grasp as he plummets to the ground, his features motionless as we all stare at the threesome in shock.
"Aomine-kun!" Satsu-chan and I yell both at the same time.
Rushing to Midorima-kun's aid while Satsu-chan lectures Aomine-kun, I ask if he's alright,.
"T-Takao. G-Get me him," he croaks out deathly, as he reaches towards the invisible Takao-kun that wasn't there.
Ushering Takao-kun to handle the situation before him, he crouches by my side as he dramatically grabs a hold of a "dying" Midorima-kun.
"T-Takao…"
"Y-Yes?"
"I always despised you."
Midorima-kun grows unconscious as Takao-kun slumps down next to him, unconscious due to Midorima-kun's final, cruel words.
"They both should just quit basketball and pursue an acting career," I mumble out loud as Murasakibara-kun helps me drag them off into the shade.
XxXxXxXxX
"Alright. Activity two. As you can see Satsu-chan and I have centered these small pillars into close proximity in this small square we outlined with chalk. Now, one partner will be blindfolded and inside the small square. With the helpful voice of their other partner who will be outside the box, they will guide their partner to get to the other side by dodging and walking around the pillars. The key to this exercise is that no matter what obstacles may be in your way, have faith in your partners voice and learn to let every nagging thought go. Understood?"
They all nod their heads in agreement. But I can sense the already ensuing tension and reluctance. Especially from the infamous threesome.
So far, Himuro-kun and Takao-kun were in lead for points. Each of them had caught each other with ease. See, Satsu-chan and myself would have been tied with the two for two points each but when it came to Kasamatsu-kun falling into Satsu-chan, it all went downhill when he landed into her breasts, causing them both to grow flustered and resulting in Satsu-chan letting poor Kasamatsu-kun fall to the ground. As for me, I opted out. There was no possible way that I'd be able to hold Murasakibara-kun's weight. As for the threesome, Midorima-kun refused to catch Aomine-kun from his earlier fall. And when Kise-kun caught Aomine-kun, he struggled out of his grasp and fell, claiming that Kise-kuns' hands were somewhere else. Where, I didn't want to know.
So far, it was Himuro-kun and Takao-kun with two points, Satsu-chan and my group with one point and the threesome with nothing. You'd think that the group with three would be in first place. But they were a special bunch.
Tying the blindfolds on our partners, we position them at the starting line as the rest of us stand at the end.
Satsu-chan blows the whistle, encouraging us to start.
"M-Murasakibara-kun! Please take one step to your left and then two to the front!"
Murasakibara-kun does what I tell him and I watch in horror as he knocks down three pins. That's right. His strides weren't of the average. He unwraps his blindfold as he looks down at the mess before him and then towards me. Giving him an apologetic smile he steps out of the box as he walks towards me, patting me comfortably on my head.
"Oi! What did I say earlier?" yells Aomine-kun, turning to give his former team mate a heated look.
"Take a step forwards," orders a perceptive Midorima-kun as he directs Kise-kun.
Aomine-kun letting it go for now, turns back to the activity upon hearing Midorima-kun's authoritative voice.
"Kise! Take two instead."
Midorima-kun turns to Aomine-kun, staring at him solemnly before he yells out "one".
"Two!"
"One!"
The two boys lock eyes before Aomine-kun, of course being the first as always, knocks horns with Midorima-kun.
"Maybe ya' should clean those glasses, Midorima. Kise clearly needs to take two and-"
"Maybe you are the one who needs glasses. Here," mocks Midorima-kun, as he swiftly takes off his glasses and hands them towards Aomine-kun. He swats his hand away and the two begin to argue.
"Ugh, guys?" croaks out a confused Kise-kun who feels the air around him for a little help.
Sighing, I'm about to end the game due to the problems with the threesome but I watch in awe and joy as Takao-kun and Kasamatsu-kun are both neck in neck at finishing. Well, what could you expect from Touou's manager and the boy who could tame Murasakibara-kun?
Cheering for the two, the others begin to notice the race that was going and within minutes we're all cheering for one, but trying to contain our voices so the two could hear the voices of their partners. In the end, Kasamatsu-kun accidentally knocked over a pillar when he heard his younger team mate, Kise-kun, cheering for Takao-kun.
In the end, the game was a bust for the rest of us, but once again, Himuro-kun and Takao-kun were in the lead with four points, Satsu-chan and Kasamatsu-kun with three, Murasakibara-kun and I with three and the threesome with no eggs in their basket.
I could tell it was getting to them as each one sat on the ground away from each other. Losing was something they had never accepted before.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
"Okay, our third activity. This one is called running free. Now, we all start at the end with our partner where one will be blindfolded. Holding hands, our other partner will lead us from a slow walk to a running sprint towards the finish line. Now, running without sight isn't exactly the most confident thing to do. Especially when you're being told to trust someone. But, like in basketball, at some points you're just going to have to. Understood?"
Nodding in agreement, we all begin to tie the blindfold on our partners. Positioning at the line, Kasamatsu-kun holds Satsu-chan's hand protectively as I do the same to Murasakibara-kun. This should be easy. Sprinting was always in my favour after all.
Takao-kun leads Himuro-kun as the threesome begin to bicker loudly.
"I refuse to hold your hand," shivers Midorima-kun, as he takes a look at Aomine-kun's palm. It was true. He rarely ever washed his hands. At points, I was even reluctant to hold his hand when it was the two of us.
"Tch. Fine. Kise-kun will be blindfolded and he can be in the middle."
Grumbling in response, they hold down and blindfold a wailing Kise-kun who's clearly grown tired of being the guinea pig of the two's wrath, seeing as how it either resulted in torture or confusion.
Starting, I blow the whistle as all groups begin to slowly pace towards the line ahead of us.
After a few feet, I blow the whistle again where I signal that all groups can now begin to go into a sprint.
No one taking this activity lightly, I begin to sprint quickly as I suddenly come to a halt as something weighs me backwards. Looking behind me, I find that Murasakibara-kun is opening up a bag of chips. Blindfolded.
"Murasakibara-kun!"
"Eh? I'm hungry. Please?"
Even though I couldn't see his lustful, child-like gaze that was sure to be there, I caved in uncontrollably as I take off his blindfold, smiling up at him as I make him sit and eat.
Instead, I rub the sweat from my forehead and watch everyone go. Of course, the power house team of Himuro and Takao-kun were in lead, hand in hand.
Aomine-kun and Midorima-kun were practically towing what seemed to be a dead Kise-kun, his legs trailing behind him as the two boys competed with each other, trying somehow to out run the other. They seemed to be forgetting that this activity was meant to be worked together, not against.
Well, seems like Takao and Him-
Wait, where's-
"W-WHAT?!" I yell in shock, as I watch an over pushing Kasamatsu-kun sprint to the finish line as Satsu-chan lays slung over his shoulder, yelping as they both cross the line in first.
Running to the teams that had finished, I ask Kasamatsu-kun what he just did.
"Won the race," he says with a smirk, as he high fives a dizzy Satsu-chan. Takao-kun grabs her body from falling.
"You're disqualified," I huff out bossily, as I cross my arms over my bust.
"W-What?!"
"You weren't supposed to break hands! She was over your shoulder. By default, you two are out and once again, Takao an Himuro-kun win."
Kasamatsu-kun stares at me mouth agape for a couple more seconds before he kicks the dirt before him, walking off towards a passed out Kise-kun who lay in the shade.
"And you two!" I yell out again, as I point towards an oblivious Midorima-kun and Aomine-kun.
"What about us?" mumbles Aomine-kun, as he knows fully well about what I'm about to lecture them both on.
Marching right up to him, I slap the back of his head as he growls out in annoyance towards me.
"What was that for?!"
"You know exactly what about."
"Then how come only I get hit?!"
Glancing towards Midorima-kun, I contemplate whether or not he should get the same punishment, but I watch as he pushes Takao-kun in front of him.
"Takao, attack!"
Takao-kun gives a grumble before he walks towards Himuro-kun's side.
"What am I, a dog?" he mumbles in annoyance.
"Fine. Then tell me who thought it would be a wise idea to get up on Kise's back and make him do all the work? And how two fully grown boys managed to climb onto him is beyond my understanding!"
"It was simple. I, of course, on the top and the mongrels beneath-"
Shooting him a look, I tell Midorima-kun that I wasn't looking for the details and master plan behind it.
Their eyes quickly avert my gaze as Midorima-kun clears his throat uncomfortably. Looking to Aomine-kun, I watch as he turns his back towards me, his shoulders shaking as I listen closely to his muffled laughs.
Taking off my shoe and making sure not to get my sock dirty, I throw it as hard as I can at Aomine-kun's head, watching his body slump to the ground. By now from an odd, twisted routine this was becoming, Murasakibara-kun grabs his body and places an unconscious Aomine-kun in the shade besides Kise-kun's passed out form.
By now, it didn't matter if we went on with the next activity. The second shift was beyond hope. Instead, I order for everyone to help themselves to the food that Satsu-chan had brought graciously for us all.
Staying back, I watch happily as they all begin to laugh and talk amongst themselves as they descend further away from me.
I can't help but crack a smile at them all. It was futile. As much as I tried to produce the connectivity with everyone, it was just something you couldn't force upon. With no matter how many games I could plan, I was the one who needed to have the utmost faith and trust in all of them. Especially in myself.
"Eh? Yuki-chan, are you coming?" yells Satsu-chan from ahead, as everyone turns their head to stare at me, giving me an encouraging smile as they all tell me to hurry up before Murasakibatra-kun eats all the food.
Realizing that this could be a possibility, I quickly run to catch some food, making sure there was at least some for Kise-kun who had been through the most today. Ironically enough, the one who had been complaining the most on eating wouldn't be getting any after all. If only Aomine-kun could keep his ridiculous ideas to himself.