"It looks, nice," Takami commented as she leant against the hood of the car. Ishimura and Shira's parents had driven the girls up to the mountain, but Shira's mother had disappeared almost as soon as Shira and Takami had gotten their things. Shira was standing next to her, her backpack sitting on her shoulder as she tilted her head, squinting her eyes slightly towards the building they were going to be staying in for the next two weeks. She tugged on her now crimson hair uncertain about the building.
"Remind me how she convinced us to come along," Shira questioned. Jo let out a laugh, bouncing off the door of the car and picking her bag up off the ground. She put her arm around Shira's shoulders, pushing her friend forward a little.
"Come on. It doesn't look too bad." Ishimura looked like she was more than ready to jump right back into the car and go home. Jo reached back, grabbing Ishimura's collar and pulling her along with the rest of the group. Meyer had arrived the day earlier to make sure everything was organised, but she seemed concerned about something when Jo had called her that morning. Hopefully it wasn't something too bad.
"Come on, there's like no service up here, how's Takami going to survive?"
"I brought a satellite phone," Takami smiled back to Ishimura. She fished the chunkier mobile out of her handbag before waving it in the air. Ishimura pouted, rolling her eyes dramatically before finally tugging out of Jo's grip as the car drove away. She could see Hiruko kneeling on the back seat and looking back to her, pulling one eyelid down and poking his tongue out at her.
"Look on the bright side guys. Free two week holiday."
"I'd rather have my arms chopped off," Ishimura muttered. She looked around to the nice landscape and wanted to hurl. Her version of a two week holiday was sleeping through the day, going on the computer and then going for a late night stroll. An isolated resort in the mountains, surrounded by trees, was not her idea of a holiday. It was hell.
"I think you're over reacting Yuki," Shira dropped back to walk beside Ishimura. The latter just rolled her eyes dramatically before readjusting her bag. Two weeks. Great. She wondered if Kuroko was going to be all right staying out late at night. She worried about him a bit more than she probably should, but she couldn't help it. There was just something about him that made her feel a bit over protective. It was probably the fact that he looked like he would die from being punched once in the face. He did drop to his knees after getting hit by the basketball after all. "But if you really want I'm sure we could organise it."
"Ha. Ha. Ha." Ishimura's voice dripped with sarcasm as she forced out each word. Shira managed to hide her laugh as they walked through the reception. Meyer had texted them their room numbers earlier that morning and they were pretty close to the entrance. It had been organised that the roommates would be Ishimura and Shira, Meyer and Takami and then Jo would be in the extra room.
Everyone had been surprised when they were informed of that. They all assumed that Takami would be taking the spare room and Jo and Meyer would bunk together, but they didn't question it either. Meyer was standing half in, half out of one door way, looking back into the room with her back to the group. She was talking to someone inside, her shoulders squared and she looked slightly agitated.
"Meyer!" Takami called, gaining their captains attention. She looked over to them before stepping away from the door, looking in for a brief moment before returning her gaze to her friends. She looked quite cheerful, despite her obvious agitation, and it didn't take long for the girls to figure out why she was worried. Jean walked out of the room, his fingers clutching at his crutches tightly. He looked over to the girls and beamed a giant smile in their direction.
"Otouto!" Jo cheered happily. She dropped her bag in the hallway before stepping towards Jean. She pulled him into a tight but gentle hug, kissing the side of his head happily before she stepped back. Shira had been hot on her heels and was careful not to bowl the poor kid to the ground as she crashed into him with a hug.
"You little shit, didn't know you were coming," Ishimura grinned, raising one hand.
"Neither did I till yesterday," Jean huffed back, smacking his palm against hers. They wrapped their fingers tight around the highfive and gave each other a rough squeeze, still grinning happily.
"It's good to see you up, Jean-Kun," Takami smiled, ruffling his hair before frowning. She pressed lightly on his head, much like Meyer would always do. "Stop growing."
"Hey whoa, I just gelled it. You'll ruin it."
"Relax, it isn't ruined," Shira laughed.
"Yeah, if anything it's improved," Ishimura teased. She reached out and tugged on his dark brown hair. Jean pulled his head out of the way, swatting at her hand with one hand. Ishimura let out a laugh, reaching for his hair again but she pulled back when he lifted his crutch of the ground. "Oh you were not..."
"What would you do about it, Yuki?"
"Oh wouldn't you like..."
"There you are, I've been looking everywhere for you." All six looked up and registered the teen standing in front of them. She didn't look much different since the last time they had played against her, her long brown hair held in a tight braid at the back of her head, lips settled in a crooked smile and eyes glinting with a ferocity that she felt whenever she saw them.
"Well if it isn't Princess!" Ishimura practically shouted, running at Katsumi Ai and jumping on her. Katsumi barely managed to catch Ishimura, having to step back to keep her balance and they both let out a laugh. Katsumi and Ishimura had been friends when they were little, knowing each other through their fathers, both of which who were surgeons. "Wait, if you were looking for us... This is all your fault, isn't it?"
"Get off me dumb ass," Katsumi laughed but half meant it. Ishimura obliged, pulling away but still glowering. Katsumi turned to Meyer, grinning happily as though she had one the lottery. "He finally agreed to talk to you, all of you, but you're going to have to be quick. He's pretty serious about training."
"Wait who's this?" Shira interrupted, her ears pricking up excitedly. She leant forward dramatically, waiting for Katsumi to tell them what was going on.
"Midorima Shintarou, he's in the gym right now waiting to talk to you. As I said, hurry up."
"We won't keep him waiting, thanks for this Ai," Meyer grinned. Katsumi let out a laugh, shaking her head as she turned and walked off. They all knew this wasn't jsut a favour, they were going to have to bust their guts in a game at some point during this 'holiday'. Meyer turned to her team, nodding towards the room she and Jean had just walked out of. "Chuck your bags in there, we can sort them out later. I don't think we should be taking too long with this."
Jean moved out of the way as Jo picked up her bag, throwing it onto the floor of the room. Takami was more gently, stepping inside the door and gently placing the bag just inside. Whilst she was bending down Ishimura wrenched hers up and shot it in whilst Shira sent her bag flying in between Takami's legs. They hadn't had to bring a lot with them, Meyer had brought their suitcases the day before and no doubt they were already in their designated rooms.
"If you think I'm not coming, you're wrong," Jean grinned to his sister. Jo laughed again, hitting him on the back as if to say 'yeah, like we could keep you away'. Ishimura opted to instead wrap her arm around his shoulders, giving him a tight squeeze and letting go before they started walking down the hallway to the gym.
"You know, I remember when I had to bend down to put my arm around your shoulders kid."
"Yuki, I'm fourteen, I'm not a kid anymore," Jean scolded, glaring at her out the corner of his eye. Ishimura let out a laugh, letting her hands rest behind her head.
"Yeah, but you're not old enough to be called a teen yet and I can't exactly call you pubescent."
"Do you ever get this feeling that you should just stop talking about something?" Jean questioned. Ishimura grinned widely, shaking her head. Damn, she had to admit she missed hanging out with him. He had a pretty good sense of humour and she always thought of him as another little brother. Hell, all of them did.
"I usually smile and wave as those feelings pass me by."
...
"Nice shot, Shin-Chan." Midorima Shintarou winced slightly at his nickname. He realised very quickly that the more he demanded Takao Kazunari to stop calling him 'Shin-Chan', the more inclined he was to do so. If he was being honest, Midorima would have admitted he didn't mind it so much now, but there was always that tiniest amount of aggravation that rose every time Takao would utter it. And with his current audience, he wished for once Takao would just keep his mouth shut.
"Yeah, nice shot Shin-Chan." The snicker grew from the far side of the court where the female team had grouped. For some reason they were adamant about staying to watch the boys practice and Midorima was convinced it had to do with what Katsumi had been asking about. She wanted Midorima to meet with a team from some unimportant school and had been quite stubborn about him doing so. Takao had been forced to intervere and promised Katsumi that Midorima wouldn't mind at all, even though he did.
"Takao," Midorima growled under his breath, glaring at his friend. Takao was looking over to the female who had uttered the snicker, his eyebrows pulling together in irritation. They all knew her, Hotaru Ren. She was Vice Captain of the basketball team but even Katsumi was hesitant about her status.
"Hey, why are you still hanging around? Shouldn't you be training?"
"We can pass up training just for now," Hotaru bit back, her lips pulling back over her teeth slightly. Takao's lip pulled up slightly and was about to snap back when the door opened to the gym quite loudly. Midorima saw Hotaru crack her neck to the left, her eyes narrowing at whoever had just walked in.
"Whoa," Takao breathed, stepping back to Midorima. Midorima didn't look to the door, just turned his attention back to the hoop. Whoever had just walked in would not be worth his time. He lined himself up to take a shot when he felt a tugging on his collar. Sighing and shooting the ball, he turned to Takao, about to snap at him for almost distracting him when he saw what Takao was looking at.
It wasn't the girls that were standing at the edge of the court, all looking at Midorima with interest. Well, almost all of them. One was already lounging on the benches, playing with a red bandana that was wrapped around her wrist and looking incredibly bored already. No, it was the boy at the end and Midorima knocked Takao's foot with his own, trying to get across to his Point Guard that it was rude to stare.
The left side of his face was badly marred with lines of scars stretching all the way to just before his nose. They pulled his lips up slightly so he looked like he was constantly smirking. The scars disappeared under his collar, but his face wasn't the most attention grabbing aspect about him. What was most unusual about him was his left leg, or if Midorima was to put it correctly, the lack there of. His shorts ended and there was nothing to help support him, except for his crutches.
"Midorima Shintarou?" Midorima and Takao turned towards the voice who had spoken. She was shorter than Katsumi had said, but her western features gave her away immediately. Midorima almost turned his nose up at her. This was the Captain that Katsumi had demanded he meet.
"You must be Meyer-San. Katsumi said you wanted to speak with me." Midorima couldn't hide the disinterest in his voice and only a small part of him hope that Meyer hadn't picked up on it either. She did, as she narrowed her eyes in irritation and nodded.
"Yes, myself and two others of my team wanted to thank you."
"You want to thank Shin-Chan?" Takao almost coughed out. Midorima glowered at his friend for a moment before looking back to Meyer. She was a strange one, he would give her that. Katsumi had said she was an excellent basketballer and a rather formidable opponent, but Midorima couldn't see her as much more than a child who had found herself a rather good team to play with.
"Yes. You see, he inspired us to improve ourselves," Meyer didn't take her eyes away from Midorima. He was certain she hadn't even blinked. The smile that was on her lips wasn't entirely a kind one either.
"I do not believe we have met before."
"We haven't, but my team and I saw your first match when you were at Teiko. We'd never anyone take a shot so easily from where you had and, well as I said, we were inspired." Midorima's lips pressed into a thin line as he straightened his body even more. His initial judgement of the short teen in front of him had been wrong. There was something rather off about the girl standing in front of him.
"To do what?" Takao asked, completely oblivious. Midorima had an inkling about what her answer might have been but he still didn't want to hear it.
"To take perfect shots from the centre line," Meyer shifted her eyes to Takao for the first time in the conversation. Midorima felt himself stiffen slightly, still staring at the teen in front of him. Takao was looking at her, mouth slightly agape, before he burst into laughter.
"No one but Shin-Chan can do that," Takao chortled, bending over slightly. Midorima would have called him an idiot and told him to straighten up, but his eyes instead shifted to the other girls standing at the edge of the court.
"No one in the male teams maybe, but in our team there are three." Takao stopped laughed, blinking at Meyer in confusion. She looked back to Midorima, whose lips were still pressed in a serious, straight line. "Do you believe me, Midorima Shintarou, or do you need Oha Asa to tell you?"
To say Takao lost it at her comment would be an understatement. Whether it was the deadpanned expression she had when she'd said it with complete seriousness, the fact that Midorima's cheeks flushed slightly red or a mix of both, Takao couldn't be sure. He did know, however, that he was having trouble breathing and that Midorima was glaring at him with the fury of a thousand warriors. That may have just set him off even more.
"What is your star sign?" Midorima growled. He was curious as what this little creature in front of him might possible be, and to see if Oha Asa had warned him away from her at the start of the day.
"Capricorn." No, Oha Asa hadn't said anything about a Capricorn at all today. Midorima turned his nose up slightly, irritated now just by looking at her face. She was crawling under his skin and leaving impressions that he didn't want. He didn't want to admit it but something about her was suddenly so completely and utterly intimidating. "Did Oha Asa warn you away from..."
"Enough," Midorima was more gruff than he had intended to be but he was done with this, this creature. He turned away from her, grabbing a ball from the basket next to him and lined up to shoot, when someone was in front of him. He didn't often come across someone taller than him, and when his eyes flickered up he was surprised to see a rather soft expression on the girls face.
"We were talking," her gaze shifted from Midorima to Meyer. She seemed comfortable, even though she was quite close in his personal space. Midorima wanted to step back but part of him refused to let him do so. He was not about to be intidimated. "And we want to play."
"Play?" Takao looked up to the girl, his eyebrows pulling together as he tried to comprehend what she meant.
"Basketball, you nugget."
"Yeah, it should be fun. Our three shooters against your one." The remaining three girls were walking towards them. The first to speak was fiddling with a red bandana that had been tied around her neck. She looked to be scowling in Takao's direction, but the other was grinning widely. She was the taller of the three, with bright red hair that she was pulling into a high pony tail.
"Statistically, the odds are in our favour. It is doubtful Shutoku would win." Midorima growled as he looked closely to the girl wlaking behind the two. She hadn't even looked up from the satellite phone in her hands as she spoke but she seemed to certain of herself.
"Yeah, especially if they play like their girls!" The girl fiddling the red bandana boomed, turning to the team sitting on the bench. Hotaru scowled, obviously the comment was aimed at her more than anything. She stood, her hands in fists, and her team mates quickly grabbed her.
"You talk a load of shit Ishimura!"
"And your mouth is the only thing that runs!" Ishimura growled back, sticking her middle finger up to the other player. Hotaru was barely pulled back into her seat by her team, but she remained scowling towards Ishimura. There was no love lost between the pair.
The crimson haired teen pulled on Ishimura's collar, shaking her head and turning to look at Midorima and Takao. She lingered on Midorima for a moment and then seemed to shake her head for a second, focusing her gaze on Takao.
"Come on Meyer, agree to it. I'm sure the boys wouldn't have a problem playing with us."
"I would," Midorima growled, but Takao was already jumping up and down excitedly. Even Miyaji and Otsubo looked interested in their exchange.
"Yes, that would be so much fun. Katsumi's told me about your games, oh mighty Queens," Takao laughed, dramatically bowing before looking to Otsubo hopefully. Takao obviously wasn't the only one to hear from Katsumi about them, as Otsubo looked to the team carefully, scratching the back of his head.
"It would be interesting none-the-less. One game should be enough." They all turned to see the coach of Shutoku walking into the hall, Katsumi close on his heels. She was smiling gleefully and it was a apparent to all that it hadn't just been the Iwozuka team that intended to play Shutoku.
"Thank you Nakatani Sensei, I promise you, it will be a good experience for the boys."
"We're still talking about ball here, right?" Ishimura called back to Katsumi. She received a hefty smack to the back of her head from the girl on the phone, who glowered in the direction of her friend. Ishimura scowled but grinned back to her, pulling her bandana to pulled her fringe out of her face. Takao had to admit, there was something rather frightening about the way she was grinning at them.