"Come on girls, pick it up again!" Meyer shouted from the sidelines, watching as her team mates darted the ball around the court. She had organised a match between her team and four of the best players on the boys, which she was glad included Kazuki, to help improve both of the teams. Kazuki, from how he was playing against Shira, had improved significantly since the last time the teams had played against one another. Meyer couldn't help but notice that a few of his new movements were similar to Saka's, but she decided to ignore that fact with a small smile, as something else was troubling her a lot , although she was very much into the game as she always was, had not passed the ball to Shira once during the whole game. She had no qualms in receiving the ball from their power forward but the idea of passing the ball back seemed to have slipped the small forwards mind altogether. Which meant that there was still a few worries going on in Ishimura's mind that she wasn't sharing.
"At least she's decided to talk to you again," Jean commented, knowing what his sister was thinking as he noted her gaze stayed on the played. Meyer grunted once in reply, her eyes shifting to the tall player who was facing off against Kazuki. Although she stood a good five centimetres taller than him, Kazuki was definitely applying pressure to the power forward, pressing her back through defense. Meyer knew that Kazuki was an excellent basketballer, only he lacked the drive to win every game. He enjoyed playing no matter the outcome. "So, er, how did your talk with Sei-Kun go?"
"Huh?" Meyer turned to her brother, blinking twice before remembering that she had gone to Rakuzan three days earlier. She shrugged her shoulders before glancing back to the court, seeing Jo shifting around under the basket uncomfortably. Which was strange because she only did that when she felt pressured. "All right I guess, why do you ask?"
"Because he's standing in your gym right now," Jean replied, nudging Meyer's shoulder and nodding to the doorway. Meyer glanced over to the side, spotting the red haired demon slowly making his way over to her. She let out another grunt before turning back to look at the court. No wonder Jo was twitching uncomfortably. By the time Akashi reached Meyer everyone on the court had stopped playing. Takami was standing right beside Ishimura, her hands clasping tight at her friends arm in case the latter decided to go and have a nice little chat with Akashi. Even Kazuki was glaring at the 'emperor', his eyebrows furrowing together as his lip curled up slightly.
"Good morning Meyer-San, Meyer-Kun."
"Jean, Sei-Kun, how many times do I have to..."
"My apologies Jean-Kun," Akashi smiled, reaching out and ruffling Jean's hair gently. Jean growled and pulled away, poking his tongue out before readjusting how he was standing. Meyer let out a sniff, turning her whole body to face Akashi and effectively cutting off his chance of speaking to Jean. Whether this was accepted by her brother Meyer didn't care, she didn't want this troublesome brat in her gym any longer. Meyer smirked a little, knowing this is how she made Akashi feel when she and Saka had all but strolled into Rakuzan's gym.
"You here for a reason Akashi, or just felt like dropping by to say hello?" Meyer questioned before gesturing out to the players on the court, all of whom looked a mix of uncomfortable and being pissed off. Ishimura was all out glaring at the red head, whilst Shira was spinning the ball on the end of her finger, her gaze unwavering as though waiting for a chance to ditch it at the back of his head. "I'm sure there's a few people here who want to speak with you."
"I wish to speak with you, Meyer-San?"
"Always so formal. So spill, I don't have much time," Meyer muttered before turning back to the court, bringing her fingers up to her mouth and letting out a high whistle. The sound seemed to jolt all the players out of the glares and uncomfortable emotions they were feeling against Akashi. "Get back on with the game!"
"I wish to speak with you in private."
"And I wish for a pony, doesn't mean either of us are getting what we want." Meyer could practically feel the fury starting to seethe from the teen beside her and she was hard pressed into preventing the smirk from spreading all over her lips. She enjoyed the differences in them, between herself and Akashi. They were, in some ways, very similar, and then in others they were completely opposite. Akashi was so formal and polite, it almost made her sick, and Meyer wasn't afraid to tell him where to shove it. It probably didn't help for poor Akashi that Meyer's family was currently holding a more superior position that Akashi's father at the moment.
"I do not believe your father would be pleased that you are being so rude."
"So run off and tell him Sei, he's American. He won't... Akira! You have to pass the ball when you get pressured like that!" The seething energy seemed to grow even larger when Meyer made it clear she was paying more attention to the game before her than what Akashi was saying. Worse that it wasn't even her own team that she was yelling at. Akashi clenched his jaw before letting out a breath, glancing over to the court and surveying the girls who were playing. His eyes grew wide on the smallest fraction, not enough for anyone other than Meyer would have noticed if she wasn't paying attention to the game more than him.
Akashi wanted to tell himself that what he saw a mistake, but if that was true then he would be mistaken. It dawned on him for a moment that either way, he had made a mistake in his calculations of the players and the extent of their abilities, or he had been wrong in believing they could not improve to this extent. Akashi glanced to Meyer out the corner of his eye. This could be no mistake that the whole team was filled with players such as them, that there was no one who could match them. It couldn't have been a mistake that Meyer had found them and brought them together all those years ago, but how could she have known? Akashi looked back to the players, his breath hitching as he realised he had indeed been wrong that day. Had it been his pride that had refused him to see the truth? Or had he just wanted to believe that it was impossible? It shouldn't be possible.
...
"Yuki! Pass it!" Shira shouted as she darted across the court. Ishimura was slowly dribbling backwards, eyeing up her opponent before the ball shot to the side, her hands moving quickly. The ball sailed through the air and landed in Shira's hands easily, the girl jumping into the air and slamming the ball into the hoop. The duo let out a loud whoop each, giving each other a high five before pulling a face at the girl standing opposite them. Saka tried to hide a smile behind her hand as Jo just shook her head, rolling her eyes dramatically.
"Don't get too ahead, focus!" Meyer shouted as she picked up the ball from under the hoop, eyeing up Shira and Ishimura. They were continuously proving themselves to be dangerous opponents, a strong team, but Meyer wasn't worried. With a small grin she started to dribble the ball, dropping her body down so she was well below their eye level before shooting off to the right. Ishimura was already on her trail, but a quick leap to the left threw her off guard and Meyer grinned, heading straight for Saka. The girl seemed to freeze slightly as her captain came charging towards her, a ferocious and carnal look in her eyes. Meyer breezed right passed her, not even having to try too hard before she passed the ball of to her right. Takami received the ball with ease, jumping back slightly before shooting a high arc, the ball bouncing around the rim before finally sinking in.
"And that is how you score by not being a neanderthal," Takami smiled as she turned and planted her hands on her hips, smiling to Shira, who promptly mimicked Takami in a very high and off voice. Ishimura let out a laugh whilst Meyer giggled, scratching the back of her head before glancing over to the gym door. A broad grin stretched over her lips as she turned on her heels, bounding towards her friend standing at the door. She had hoped he would come, and she was glad that he had because that meant he would finally have an answer for her.
"Sei-Kun!" Meyer grinned, all but leaping onto the red head, wrapping her arms tight around his neck and giving him a peck on his cheek. A series of 'oohs' erupted from the others, but they were quickly distracted by Jean, who had snuck in during their play and had promptly stolen Ishimura's bandana. Ishimura was already swearing her head off as she gave chase, the younger teen just laughing loudly and easily dodging her attempts to snatch at him.
"Good afternoon, Tori-San."
"Always so formal," Meyer laughed, smacking him on his back with a hefty whack. Akashi didn't say anything else, just glanced around the court before looking back to Meyer. "So, you have an answer? Is it a yes?"
"I am sorry Tori-San, but I must say no. I do not believe your team will provide an adequate adversary to my own." Meyer stood still, blinking twice before she broke out into a laugh. Akashi watched her, unsure of whether she thought he was joking or not and he hoped she realised that he was not. He looked around again, surveying her team. They had skill, he was not afraid to admit, but not enough to even provide the smallest hint of potential. They were at their peak already and they could only go down.
"Are you trying to say my team is not good enough for yours?" Meyer was still giggling, but now that she was looking at him he could see a rather dark shadow growing across her eyes. He must have insulted her and Akashi bowed his head slightly. He did not want to insult Meyer.
"I believe your team has skill Tori-San, but not enough..."
"We're not good enough for you 'Generation of Miracles'." Akashi swallowed. All humour had slipped from her face and now he was standing in front of a rather agitated looking teen. Her arms crossed her chest and she raised one eyebrow, looking up to him with a rather angry curl to her lip. Akashi dipped his head again, motioning out to her team.
"I apologise Tori-San, you're team are simply not up to our standard..."
"The fuck you say about being up to a standard?" Ishimura's voice echoed through Akashi's ears and he looked up to find the player glaring at him, her mossy coloured eyes hard and cold. She was bouncing the ball hard against the ground, her feet seemingly pressing into the floor. Behind her stood Shira, the small forward barely reaching Ishimura's shoulder but looking all the more intimidating than her friend.
"What, we're not good enough for your 'miracles'?" Akashi let out a sigh, knowing that he was not going to escape the gym without an obvious confrontation. He had taken this into account in coming to see Meyer, only he had not anticipated they would all be so agitated in such a small amount of time. He cleared his throat, ready to attempt and make amends when Ishimura stepped forward, tilting her head to one side and pointing to Akashi, here eys narrowing slightly.
"No you know what I think? I think he knows we'll kick their asses."
"The chance of you defeating my team is..."
"Well within the binds of a decent match. There is very little statistical difference between our teams," Takami murmured, pulling on her ponytail as her eyes drifted off to the side, calculating the chance of a win and loss for either side. Akashi straightened himself up, looking to Meyer for a moment before narrowing his eyes against the girls who stood before him.
"You are not up to par with my team's skills. You may be undefeated, but you play in girls division. You have nothing against us."
"Y-y-you're an a-a-ass," Saka snapped feebly, her whole body shaking as she stood in front of the red haired basketballer. He turned to face her, raising one eyebrow. Shira was already reaching forward, wanting to snatch the underclassmen behind her but Akashi had already stepped forward, looking down to her and clicking his tongue slightly.
"Am I meant to be insulted by an over rated player who cannot even speak to me without shaking and stuttering?" Shira grabbed Saka's arm, yanking her hard behind her as Ishimura advanced on Akashi, only to be yanked back by Jo, who looked unimpressed with Akashi. Akashi was about to bid them all farewell when he was ripped around, facing Meyer who looked so monumentally pissed off he was slightly worried about what may happen to him.
"You're a real fucktard!"
"Do not speak to me in such a manner."
"I will speak to you however I fucking want to you dickwad!"
"It is not my fault you are not an acceptable opponent."
"It's your fault you're a monumental douche canoe!"
"What is a douche canoe?"
"If you look in the mirror you'll see one!" Meyer snarled before reaching forward and curling her fingers around Akashi's collar, yanking him close with one rough pull. He stumbled only the slightest amount, but he was not pleased with this girl pushing him around. He felt it though, before he saw it. The stinging that smeared from just beside his left ear stretching over his cheek to his nose, how his head had been whipped to the side from the pressure of his palm. It took Akashi a few seconds to register exactly what had happened, and when he realised she had slapped him right across the face he yanked back, fury building up in his body.
"How dare you..." Meyer's fingers danced along his right cheek, the edges of her nails dragging along his skin as the back of her palm seemed to burn along his skin. Akashi stepped back, his eyebrows pulling together as he glared at Meyer dangerously. He considered returning home and telling his father what Meyer had done, wanted to get her in trouble but he knew he would be looked down on because he had not foreseen what she had done to him. She was simply a girl and she had managed to sting him so severely? "It appears my initial judgements of you were quite off, Meyer-San."
"It seems I didn't realise you were a dickhead," Meyer snapped back, crossing her arms over her chest as she eyed him up. Akashi's lip curled and he glanced over to her team, most of whom were staring at Meyer with their mouths hanging open, save for Ishimura. The power forward was grinning from ear to ear and looked like she was itching to get in on the fight alongside her captain. "I suggest you get the fuck out of my gym Akashi-San."
"I was just leaving," Akashi snapped as he spun on his heels and stalked towards the door. He was seething, he was furious. How dare that girl belittle him and make him appear less than what he was? What annoyed him most, however, was that he hadn't even known that she was moving to slap him until he felt the sting of her skin scraping across his. His hand reached for hte handle of the door when he looked over his shoulder, glaring at Meyer. "You will never play the Kiseki no Sedai!"
"That's what you think!" Akashi heard Meyer snarl at him as he stepped through the door, the latch of the door cutting off what ever else she may have had to say to him.
...
"Are you here to ask to play the girls?" Meyer's question barged into Akashi's thoughts and dragged him into the real world. He looked to her, spotting that she was glaring at him out the corner of her eye. Would, if he had accepted to play her team, they still be friends or was their opposition inevitable. True, Meyer was angry at him that day, he knew that much, but now she just seethed hatred for him that was hard to miss. They all did.
"No, I am requesting that you halt this ridiculous attempt at facing my previous team mates."
"And this is my request for you to shut the fuck up about matters that have nothing to do with you."
"You are spending far too much time with Ishimura-San."
"At least I spend time with my team outside of basketball," Meyer smiled as she turned to him, her head turned on the side gently. Jean laughed, which he poorly attempted to cover with a cough. Akashi raised one eyebrow before taking a deep breath. Getting into a fight with Meyer would not be a good idea, not when she is already agitated about matters that did not concern him. He nodded slightly before stepping around Meyer, ruffling Jean's hair again. He saw that Meyer stiffened slightly and he had to fight a smirk, a little impressed that his underhanded attack on her had worked.
"I am being honest, Jean-Kun, when I say I am very disappointed we never managed to have our match in middle school. Perhaps, when you are used to a prosthetic, we could finally have that one on one." Jean knocked Akashi's hand away as he muttered something under his breath about Akashi being a something or other and Akashi sighed, stepping back and turning to walk away. He felt Meyer's gaze on his back but he didn't turn around. Even if he had, she wouldn't have been looking at him anyway.