Saka wiped the sweat from her brow as she chased the ball down the court. She easily fell into defense, snatching the ball away and passing it off before letting out a sigh. She played with this team all middle school but, just like in primary school, once the Senpai's had gone she lost the will to keep playing. It wasn't that she didn't adore her friends from the basketball club, she just missed being able to go and play with the Iwozuka team.
"Only a little bit of time left," Saka mumbled to herself as she started running again. She missed Takami and Jo training her to learn the three point shots. She could manage them a metre off the three point line but not much further from that. She missed Ishimura making fun of her and Shira trying to get her to talk to boys, albeit not that much. She missed hanging around in a near empty gym at the end of training as Meyer talked her through basketball strategies and what the best way to approach the team was. She missed playing with the other Queens. She missed being a Queen.
"Saka, focus!" Coach Takashi called, bringing her back to the present time. A pass came straight for her and she caught with ease. It was missing the impact that Ishimura's passes, the sting of Jo's. She dribbled down the court, easily dodging anyone who tried to take the ball from her and passed the ball off to someone else. A few minutes later Coach blew his whistle, letting the girls know training was over. Saka sighed happily, following the rest of the girls into the change room.
"Are you going to go see the movie tonight? It's meant to be really scary."
"No way, I don't like scary movies."
"The boys are going to be coming, you have to come!" Saka could hear the girls chattering behind her, trying not to be insulted. She'd heard nothing about a movie night and by the looks of everyone else, the whole team had been invited along. She wasn't surprised they hadn't thought to invite her, the mention of boys would have turned them off. Still, it would have been nice to be invited so she could have refused it.
Saka pulled her shirt off and sprayed deoderant all over. She could just have a shower later, no big deal. As she was pulling another shirt over her head she heard the door crash open to the girls change rooms. She didn't pay any attention to what was hurriedly being said because it was a lot of blabber mostly, until she heard 'high school boy waiting at the door'. Turning around, she began listening carefully.
"He's just standing at the door, talking to coach. I think they must know each other, but holy shit, he's gorgeous!"
"You think he's an ex student?"
"I've never saw him around, he's got to be a second year!"
"A second year?"
Oh no. No no no no. Saka quickly bundled her hair into a loose ponytail and stuffed her shirt into her bag. She could only imagine who was standing out in the gym talking to Coach right now. Wrenching her bag from the bench she shoved her way through her team mates, who looked at her in surprise. Saka was normally very polite, but at the moment she wasn't in the mood for being polite. Why was he here?
As soon as she stepped out of the locker room she saw him. He was leaning against the door, fingers working the screen of his phone. Coach must have gone back to his office because Kazuki was alone in the gym. He didn't look up from his phone as she walked over and Saka looked him up and down. His jeans were quite tight and slightly unreasonable considering the heat, but he made up for it with a loose singlet with large holes for the arm, showing some of his torso. Saka tilted her head, having forgotten for a moment he was a basketball captain for Iwozula.
"There you are, who says girls take forever getting changed?" Kazuki looked up, letting out a cheerful laugh. Saka just rolled her eyes, grabbing his wrist and dragging him out of the gym. At the contact her cheeks flaired up, turning her into a Christmas tree but she didn't let go. What the hell was he doing here, why was he here, why, why, why? "Whoa, vice grip Ki-Chan, loosen it plea - ah okay, vice grip's fine, vice grip's fine!"
Saka scowled but her face only grew hotter. It wasn't until they were off the school grounds completely did she turn to Kazuki. He was just grinning like he always did, one hand in the pocket of his jeans and the other hanging limply just below Saka's grip. When she realised what she had done she dropped his wrist quickly, rubbing her cheek and trying to bring the redness down.
"W-w-what are y-y-you doing h-here?" Saka demanded. Kazuki frowned before looking around the street, shrugging his shoulders.
"Our practice was cancelled today and I was bored."
"S-s-so y-y-you came h-here?"
"Well, the others are off in some mountain..." Kazuki trailed off, running his hand through his hair. He turned to face the road, leaning against the brick wall that made the schools fence, looking to Saka out the corner of his eye. "I can go, if you don't want to hang out."
"N-n-no, that's f-fi-fine. Just l-let m-me know next t-t-time."
"But then it wouldn't be a surprise." Saka scowled, shaking her head before readjusting her bag. Kazuki was fighting back a grin, so he put one hand on her shoulder and used the other to tilt her face up to him. Her face immediately flushed ten shades darker red and Kazuki grinned a little. She was just too adorable. "I promise next time I will let you know."
Her mouth opened and closed as she let out a squeak of a noise. Kazuki stepped back quickly, shoving his hands into his pockets and letting out a chuckle. It sounded more awkward than he had hoped, so he coughed to cover it up. Saka was staring at the ground, her fingers wrapped tight around the strap of her bag.
"Ah, so what did you want to do then?" Kazuki questioned. He scratched the back of his head before stuffing his hand back into his pocket as they began walking down the street. Saka looked up at him, dumbfounded. He came all the way here to hang out with her, and he didn't even have anything planned?
"Y-y-you're not v-very g-good at this, Kaz-Kazuki-Kun. N-n-no wonder y-you can't g-get a g-girlfriend."
"You think I need a girlfriend?"
"M-Meyer-San d-d-doesn't like ind-indecision."
"You think I should date Meyer?" Kazuki was staring at her open mouthed. Saka shrugged, staring at the tip of his nose. She didn't dare look him in the eye. At first Saka thought Kazuki and Meyer would be good. She called him Katsuo and he was more than friendly to her. Now she was thinking that would be a bad idea. If Kazuki asked Meyer to hang out with her without a plan she wouldn't be impressed.
"N-no, you wouldn't im-impress her without knowing what y-y-you were g-going to d-do."
"That's good. I mean, Meyer is chill and I love hanging around with her, but she's not the main reason I do, you know?"
"Shira?"
"You're funny, you know that?"
"W-What's wrong with Shira?"
"Nothing, I love her," Kazuki put his hands up, trying to make peace. Saka scowled, rolling her eyes at him. "It's just Shira loves everyone."
"She's not that bad. What about Jo?" Saka suggested. She was surprised to look up to Kazuki and see him smiling gently down to her. He looked straight ahead when he realised he had been caught, clearing his throat with a cough. "What was that?"
"Nothing. Jo, no way, she'd rip my head off if she had the chance."
"Kazuki-Kun, don't ignore me, why were you looking like that?"
"I can't say, you'll start up again. Oh look, frozen yoghurt, let's get some!" Kazuki grabbed Saka by the crook of her elbow, dragging her across the road. He caught her off guard and she stumbled behind him. Saka knew the yoghurt store, after practice the team would go and get some. They never invited Saka.
"You changed the subject," Saka pointed out as Kazuki opened the door. She walked in before him, still grumbling but he just let out a light laugh.
"And I did so spectacularly. Get a seat, I'll get us yoghurt. Strawberry, right?"
"How did you know?"
"I'm a genius."
"You sound like Ishimura," Saka shouted after him as she slipped into the booth. Kazuki just laughed back at her before talking to the woman behind the counter. The last time Saka had been in here was when the girls had played their last game for middle school. Meyer had named her Captain of the basketball club. Everyone, including Saka, had been incredibly surprised. It was true that Saka was Vice Captain but she was perfectly fine with that. Everyone expected Meyer to choose Asami Mai, but Meyer must have seen past her blatant kiss-assery. Saka smiled slightly. It was true that Asami was a brilliant basketballer but her personality wasn't one Saka felt comfortable around. Meyer had admitted that the idea of Asami being Captain made her sick to her stomach.
"Saka, what are you doing here?" Saka squeaked, looking up. Asami was standing in front of her, clutching onto her boyfriends arm. She looked unimpressed their Captain was in the yoghurt shop, despite her being one of the first to start the tradition. Half of the team were starting to sit down, looking over in interest. Saka felt her cheeks flush bright red as she looked down. Why did Dosojin Baku have to be here?
"I-I-I w-w-was j-j-just..."
"J-j-just what?" Asami spat the words out. Saka focused her eyes even harder on the surface of the table, unsure of what to do or say. If Meyer were here, she'd tell Asami to go away. Shira would tell her to fuck off. Ishimura would just make her. Saka sat there, staring, feeling her joints begin to lock up as her cheeks grew redder. "W-w-well Saka?"
"I-I-I am j-j-just..."
"Kiko." Kazuki had returned to the table, standing and looking at Asami and Dosogin witha frown. He was holding the strawberry yoghurt in one hand, the other had returned to the depths of his pockets. Asami was blinking at Kazuki, her mouth hanging open slightly. Saka took the chance to stand up and move from sitting in the booth.
"K-K-Kazuki-Kun, w-w-we should g-g-go." A shadow passed over Kazuki's face as he slowly placed the yoghurt on the table in front of where she had been sitting. He roughly shoved his hand into his pocket, turning to face Asami and Dosojin, and leant against the table. He looked like he wasn't going anywhere any time soon.
"I know you from somewhere. You a basket baller?" Kazuki questioned, looking to Dosojin. He tilted his head to the side, smiling politely, but Saka could still see that shadow. He looked angry about something, but what it was she didn't know.
"Yeah I am, I'm lining up to join Kaijo next year."
"Kaijo, that's pretty big. And what about you, where you planning to go? Iwozuka?"
"Shutoku, to play under Katsumi Ai," Asami smiled happily to herself. Kazuki nodded, looking between the pair before letting out a light chuckle.
"Well, I wish you all the luck you can get trying to impress the Captains," Kazuki sighed, picking up the frozen yoghurt. His words stung Saka a little bit, wishing he wasn't being so polite. Did he think they were really good friends just because they played on the same team?
"I don't need luck, and neither does she," Dosojin muttered to Kazuki. Asami was looking at the high schooler strangely, obviously confused by why he was wishing them luck. Kazuki straightened himself up, tilting his head to the side again and smiling ruefully.
"Oh you're going to need it, after I talk to the Captain's and recommend you not being on their teams," Kazuki spat before grabbing Saka's hand, "come on Kiko."
Kazuki was rougher than before, tugging Saka along behind him as he headed for the door. She stumbled again, almost tripping over but she managed to scramble along after him. Kazuki's palm smacked hard onto the handle of the door, shoving it open but he didn't let go or slow down, dragging her down the street.
"K-K-Kazuki-K-Kun, c-can y-y-you l-loos-sen your f-fingers p-please?" Saka asked, trying to tug her hand away. They had reached the corner of the street and Kazuki stopped, looking over his shoulder to her and blinking twice. He released her hand, stuffing his hand into the pocket and holding the frozen yoghurt out to her.
"Sorry," he mumbled, rubbing his jaw when Saka received the bowl of frozen yoghurt. His eyes flickered to the ground and he seemed to lose all of his earlier cheerful demeanour. Saka looked up to him, slightly worried. He didn't look like the Kazuki she had come to know over the year.
"A-are y-y-you okay?"
"That should be my line," Kazuki laughed but it seemed more angry than anything else. He let out another sigh before looking up to her. He bit his lower lip before shaking his head, turning on his heel and looking around the street. "Where should we go now?"
"Th-there's a b-b-basketball c-c-court just d-down the r-road," Saka suggested, "b-but i-it's cracked and n-n-no one ever g-g-goes there."
"That's sounds call, and a little creepy," Kazuki added the last bit with a shake of his head. "Lead the way then."
Saka was right. The basketball court was completely deserted. The courto was barely able to pass as a court anymore anyway, the ground was cracked and in some placed the concrete was sitting up at different levels. Weeds were poking through the cracks and yellowing, the rings were rusted and looked like they would fall to dust if a ball hit them. But the court was surrounded either side with a building, leaving the court covered in a nice shade that was welcomed in this heat.
Saka and Kazuki sat agains the wall, sharing the tub of yoghurt and sitting in silence. Saka didn't want to try and talk to Kazuki because he still looked rather glum and she didn't want to make the situation worse. She never knew what to say to people in those situations anywy. Kazuki didn't say anything, but occasionally he'd flick his gaze towards Saka and then force himself to look out to the court. It was harder than he predicted.
"Are you r-r-really going to t-tell Katsumi n-n-not to take A-Asami?" The way she asked made him feel irritated, almost as though she was going to ask him not to. Kazuki didn't respond, just stared out onto the court and clenched his jaw. Of course he was still going to talk to Katsumi about whatever the fuck her name was, Kazuki wanted to say to Saka, she was clearly making the latter distressed about something. He just remained silent. "H-h-how do you know the c-c-captain of K-Kaijo?"
"We used to play together." His sentence was short and his words even shorter. Kazuki's eyes remained hard on the ground and Saka began to feel her chest turning in on itself. This was her fault, he was so happy before she should have just told him not to get the yoghurt. She should have just excused herself when Asami came to the table, if only she didn't have to fucking stutter all the time!
"Hey, Ki-Chan, are you okay? Why are you crying?"
"Huh?" Saka looked up to him, one hand flying to her cheek. Sure enough they were wet. Before she had a chance to do anything, or figure out an excuse, Kazuki put his arm around her, pulling her close. Her cheeks flushed red at his actions, but Kazuki either ignored or didn't notice.
"Don't pay any attention to those idiots," Kazuki murmured in her ear as he pulled the bottom of his singlet up. His hot breath scorched down her neck, causing her to go even redder, especially when he started wiping at her tears with the cloth in his hand.
"I-i-it's not th-them. Y-you were s-so happy b-before and now you're a-angry." Saka risked looking up to him when his hand froze, his skin gently touching her cheek. He was staring at her with his mouth hanging open slightly. The shadow in his eye was gone though and they seemed to be shining like they always did. He let out a soft chuckle before pressing his lips against her forehead.
"You're too adorabla Ki-Chan," he mumbled against her skin, another chuckle echoing from his chest. Saka felt herself go redder and the blush spread from her face and neck to down onto her chest. He pulled away and let out a laugh. "You light up like a christmas tree!"
"Shut up!" Saka shouted. She shoved his shoulder, perhaps a little too hard because he fell down, dragging her with him. Acting quickly she grabbed his arms, pinning his hands above his head as she swung her leg over him, sitting on his stomach.
"Ah, what are you doing there?"
"You shouldn't tell Shira your weaknesses Kazuki-Kun!"
"Wait, no Ki-Chan I'm sorry please don - ah!" Kizuki twisted as she raked her fingers down his side, giggles errupting almost instantly. Saka didn't relent, tickling him as much as possible. He thrashed underneath her, yanking his arms away. Saka laughed at him, she couldn't help it, so when he roughly grabbed her arms and threw her to the side, she was caught off guard.
"Ow, that hurt," Saka hissed, crouching and looking at her grazed palms. She was expecting Kazuki to immediately apologise and tease her by asking if she wanted him to kiss them better. Instead she was greeted with silence. She looked up from her palms to Kazuki, who had sat up and pulled one leg to his chest, resting his chin on his knee.
"Ah, sorry about that," Kazuki mumbled, scratching his neck. Saka frowned, swearing that she could see his cheeks flushed red. Was that from her tickling him? "You just, er, had to, um, get, ah, off me."
Saka ripped her eyes from him, feeling her face flaring up a red so hot she thought she was going to spontaneously combust. The feeling spread quickly down from her face to her neck and chest, peeking out from the sleeves of her shirt only slightly. They sat in silence once again, though there was a tension in the air. Saka flicked her eyes to Kazuki then back to her palms, focusing on the little grits that had become stuck inbetween her flesh and the small red marks of blood that were beginning to pool. There was nothing she could do, her legs were locked and she couldn't summon up the will to move them. Why couldn't Kazuki have just left it off with a sorry?
"Hey Katsuo, is that you?" Saka jumped, hearing someone call out to Kazuki. He looked up and a broad grin grew on his face. He waved largely with one arm, motioning for them to come over. Saka snuck a look over her shoulder and the breath almost caught in her throat. She knew exactly who was walking over to them, sweaty and obviously just returning from an intense training session. Kasamatsu Yukio, captain of Kaijo's basketball team.
"Hey, Yukio, long time," Kazuki laughed. He stood, still resting against the wall and he extended his hand. Saka felt her heart pace begin to quicken as Kasamatsu gave Kazuki a high five, grinning like a child on christmas. Lingeirng behind him was the Copycat Kise Ryouta, his eyes shining golden. He quickly latched onto Kazuki, tugging on his arm.
"Kazukicchii, Sempai was so mean in practice! Look!" Kise promptly pulled back, pulling up his shirt. There were some bruises scattering along his back and side that looked to be the same size as Kasamatsu's shoes. Saka let out a squeak, flashing another shade darker when all three looked to her.
"Idiot, put your shirt down!" Kasamatsu snapped, yanking the cloth down whilst Kise just smiled happily. He walted over to Saka, leaning down and extended his hand.
"I'm Kise Ryouta!" Saka supposed he was used to better greetings than someone staring at his hand in horror, because when she didn't respon he looked confused and slightly insulted. Saka looked to Kazuki quickly, who stepped forward and pulled Kise back.
"Kise-Kun, you're way too rambunctious, calm down," Kazuki scolded as he reached down, gently grabbing Saka's elbow and helping her to her feet. She almost stumbled, god knows how she managed that, but Kazuki made sure she didn't fall. "This is Saka Kiko, she's going to be coming to Iwozuka next year to play for the girls."
"Nice to meet you Saka-San!" Kise cheered quite happily, earning him a kick to the side.
"Idiot, Katsuo just told you to stop...being so... rambunctious," Kasamatsu mumbled after meeting Saka's eye. He looked away from her quickly, looking quite awkward all of a sudden. Saka looked to her feet, feeling Kazuki putting his arm around her back and giving her a reassuring squeeze.
"Well, it was good seeing you guys, but we should..."
"Wah, Kazukicchii, you're leaving already?" If anyone could mimic puppy eyes, it would be the Copycat. Kazuki stumbled ove rhis words, attempting to give an excuse when Kise turned to Saka. His lower lip wobbled and he reached forward, grabbing her hands and pleading with her. Saka's joints locked up again at the touch. Even Kazuki felt the motion, looking down to Saka with a confused expression. He must have realised that she was incredibly uncomfortable because he reached forward, shoving Kise backwards with a bit more force than was necessary. "Wah, so mean!"
"Yukio, I actually need to speak to you about something, is it all right if come to yours later tonight?" Kazuki completely ignored Kise's complaint, looking to Kasamatsu. Kaijo's captain thought for a moment before nodding.
"No problem, but you sound serious."
"It is. Come on Saka, I should get you home before one of us kills Kise." Saka felt Kazuki tug her, but her eyes flickered to Kasamatsu for a moment. She had no idea if she was going to meet him again and she didn't want to pass up her chance to speak with him. However, her feet made the decision for her as she followed after Kazuki, looking back to the court before they walked out of sight.