6. Kronos (II)
Akagi stands, unnoticed at a distance, watching, eyes tracking and following after every movement— every jump and every spike— of one Fuyukawa Kaga attentively.
She had initially intended to come by early to get in a little more practice before all the hustle and bustle that comes with the start of their club activity of the day. But instead of being greeted by high ceilings, glaringly bright lights and empty courts, Akagi is met with a certain sister pair, going at it fervently by one of the main courts, furthest away from the entrance.
So caught up with studying the aforementioned girl, Akagi has barely even moved past the gymnasium's entrance, even though it has already been a good fifteen minutes since she first stepped foot into the gym.
And all this time, she's been trying her best not to gape or gawk— really is— but it's honestly proving to be just so difficult.
Because fifteen minutes in, and Akagi is still wrecking her brains, trying to figure her out.
She scrutinizes close, neck craning as far out as humanely possible as Kaga picks up on her speed and jumps, launching into the air while her palm descends down into a resounding spike that echoes through the near-empty gym.
And Akagi wants to repeat that whole moment again.
Preferably in slow-mo and HD.
Because how.
Just how are her movements so precise?
Her footwork and form, though a little somewhat rough along the edges, is clean and extremely on point.
Given enough experience and practice, Akagi is sure— without a doubt— that Kaga would be the perfect player.
"Take a picture, it'll last longer."
Akagi stiffens, but at the whiff of an all too familiar scent and warmth, she soon relaxes into the cocoon of arms around her.
"Onee-chan," she breathes, smiling lightly.
A chin plops itself down onto the crown of her head as the arms tighten around her slightly, "Amazing, isn't she?" Comes Amagi's voice from above.
She doesn't even need to think twice to know whom is she even referring to. Eyes peering straight ahead, Akagi watches as Kaga delivers yet another successful spike across the court.
"Like Tosa, everything about her is just so… freakishly precise. It's almost scary. Unnerving." Amagi pauses, then adds in as an afterthought, chuckling. "Maybe they're secretly robots. That's why."
Akagi snorts and chokes back on a laugh.
Seizing this moment of vulnerability, Amagi makes to prod at her cheeks playfully, pinching and pulling at them in the manner that is known of her unique show of affection.
"Geez, Onee-chan…" Akagi pouts, halfheartedly swatting at her older sister's fingers to no avail.
Amagi laughs, and finally relents, much to Akagi's relief.
"Sorry, you're just so cute some times. I really can't help myself." Her arms return to capture Akagi around her middle, giving her a gentle squeeze, as if to make a point.
"I'm already in middle-school, you know?" Akagi huffs, arms crossing petulantly.
"Yes, yes. But you'll forever be my adorable baby sister in my eyes."
A nose burrows, nuzzles lightly into Akagi's hair ever so affectionately. Akagi can only sigh, leaning back against her sister's front in assent as she allows herself to be caught in her loving embrace, relishing in the warmth that comes along with it.
The resonating spike in the background soon cuts them out of their short reverie.
And once more, all eyes are trained onto the small, shorter figure up front.
"But you know," Amagi begins after a thoughtful hum, "in terms of skills, you aren't actually too far off from Tosa's kid sister. In fact, if I had to say…" She trails off, just as her arms around the younger girl's waist loosen, allowing Akagi to glance back up at her curiously.
"I think you might even be a notch better."
Akagi merely sends her a pointed look; knowing her sister and her tendency for crude twisted jokes, she awaits for the punch-line.
But it never came.
Topaz only bores down into her, and Akagi realizes, with a startling clarity, that her sister isn't, in fact, joking.
And probably never meant to be.
"Y-You really think so?" asks Akagi, sounding especially doubtful when her eyes briefly flicker back to Kaga who has just descended from another well-executed spike.
Because somehow, she's better than that kind of… perfection…?
Amagi only sends her a knowing smile and roughly ruffles her hair. "Just don't get too cocky over it." She answers.
"'Kay, Onee-chan," chimes Akagi, grinning, though a large part of her still remains doubtful over Amagi's opinion on her abilities.
She turns away to survey the duo once more.
Presently, it appears that the pair has taken a moment of pause, with the older of the two speaking in a manner that comes across as profound, eyes taking up on a particularly austere glint and it's probably the most serious Akagi has ever seen the older girl out of practice— a contrast to her usual airy disposition.
The talk goes on for quite a bit, till the younger girl finally nods, smiling briefly as the older girl then reaches in to tousle her hair fondly with a soft smile.
And once again, they return to their respective positions.
"So you're just gonna' stand around and watch them all day?" Amagi asks, biting back on a lazy yawn. She swings a careless arm over her younger sister, and draws her in close. "You want to talk to her, don't you?" Without even looking up, Akagi is still able hear that dreaded smirk hanging off her sister's lips.
"Maybe…" Akagi mumbles, giving a half-shrug, pursing her lips as she does her best to smolder the heat that is burning the tips of her ears.
Because while her intentions are already as clear as day, she is most unwilling to indulge that sister of hers any further, lest her teasing gets any worse.
Amagi chuckles, slinking away ever so languidly, fingers running through dark locks that barely reach past her shoulders.
She passes Akagi a quick look.
And instinctively, Akagi knows— from that mischievous glint in her eye—, her older sister is up to something.
True enough, a flash of a devilish smirk is all that Akagi manages to catch before she is abruptly swept off her feet and lugged off towards the sister-duo without any prior warning.
"Hey, Tosa!" Amagi calls out in a singsong voice, catching the attention of the elder of the pair just as Akagi attempts to sound out her protest and struggle out of her older sister's vice grip to no avail.
"Oh my, Amagi-san," greets Tosa with a huge smile, features brightening at the sight of the approaching sisters, blissfully unaware of the dark look Akagi had just shot Amagi. "And Akagi-chan too."
"Hello," answers Akagi with her usual winning smile, unobtrusively wiggling out of Amagi's grasp. To Kaga, she sends a quick polite, but sheepish nod in greeting, to which the other girl returns in tow.
"Yahoo~" chirps Amagi, ever so blithely, grinning as they finally amble to a halt.
With her dark russet hair, tied and swept loosely across a delicate shoulder in a cascading braid, framing up fair porcelain-like features and sparkling pale amber eyes, Tosa is the very embodiment of elegance and femininity— the very opposite of Amagi, who is very much a tomboy at heart, despite her occasional girly tendencies to hoard adorable soft toys by her bedside.
However, Akagi knows better than to underestimate that petite stature of hers.
Because hiding behind that diminutive frame, lies a brute with spikes that could tear through the strongest of blockers, giving them a run for their money.
Tosa's gaze flickers between Akagi and Amagi in appraisal, though noticeably lingering on Amagi for a second or two longer, still holding that beatific smile of hers, "Ah, it's certainly been awhile now, hasn't it?"
"Yeah, it definitely has. Especially when the last time you came over to visit was a couple weeks ago."
Tosa giggles, eyes glittering mirthfully as she turns to look at the other girl teasingly, "Oh my, are you sulking, Amagi-san?"
"What are you talking about? Of course not!" denies Amagi vehemently, though the hint of a blush on her cheeks says otherwise.
Akagi only manages to stare up at Tosa in awe and wonder.
To how she's always able to reduce Amagi into a blushing bumbling mess so easily, is honestly beyond her.
"A-anyway, Tosa," Amagi starts, coughing into her fist in her effort to clear away the last trace of embarrassment, "I'd like to have a word with you in private, if you will."
"Sure," Tosa shrugs, throwing in her usual breezy smile. She looks to Kaga for a moment, then reaches in briefly to fix the younger girl's mussed up bangs before patting her fondly on the head. "You two play nice, alright?" She says to the both of them.
"Oh, they will. I'm sure." Amagi smirks, purposefully brushing past Akagi. "Don't you let this opportunity go to waste now, Aa-chan." She whispers under her breath, sending her a quick wink.
A withering glare is all that Amagi receives as she departs from the gymnasium with Tosa, finally leaving Akagi all alone with Kaga on the court.
Immediately, a blanket of silence lays down over them thickly.
Scuffling at her feet, Akagi glances up sheepishly, looking to the quieter girl who has taken the short lapse in conversation for a quick water break.
Mind teeming, filled with topics of conversation, Akagi doesn't exactly know where she should start. There are just so many things she wants to say— questions to ask— that suddenly, words begin to fail her. At one point, it's almost like her brain has just crashed down on her completely from the overload of thoughts, wiping a complete blank.
So she just opts to watch her quietly instead.
Maybe it's her solitary nature. Or her crazy precise style. But there's just something about Fuyukawa Kaga that inevitably draws Akagi to her.
She's like this puzzle— a mystery. An enigma of sorts.
And it's fascinating, so very interesting and Akagi just wants to figure her out.
"Here,"
Akagi blinks in perplexity at the ball that is being offered to her by the outstretched hands of Kaga. In her reverie, she must have missed the part where the girl had left her water tumbler by the side of the court and made her way back to Akagi.
"Since you're here early and all, you must have wanted to practice a little, right? I'm sorry for hogging the court." She murmurs abashedly, head bowed in apology.
"No, no, it's fine," smiles Akagi reassuringly, gingerly plucking the ball out from Kaga's grasp. She watches as the girl then takes a retreating step back, proceeding to idle awkwardly off towards the side of the court.
She's every bit gawky and gauche, but somehow, Akagi finds it all to be very endearing.
It makes it all the more hard to not just grin silly at her sometimes.
"Fuyukawa-san, why don't you help me out with the tossing?"
Kaga glances up, perturbed, pointing to herself warily. "Me?"
"Yep!"
"I-I'm… probably not as good as Amagi-san, but if Akiyama-san insist…" Blushing, the other girl shuffles into position as Akagi shoots her an appreciative toothy little grin.
Ball grasped firmly between her palms, Kaga briefly nods for Akagi to begin.
Without missing a beat, Akagi kicks off with a steady momentum, bursting right into the air. Back arching slightly as her arm swings back in succession with Kaga's toss whizzing through the air, she follows through with a more or less successful spike across the court.
Landing back onto her feet, Akagi clicks at her tongue, noting the slight stumble in her footwork as she returns to her original position, readying herself for another attempt.
Run, jump, spike. Rinse and repeat.
Eventually, in the midst of their fumbling— some missed spikes and tosses—, a steady rhythm is established.
Granted, Kaga's sets may not have been as spot-on and perfect as the ones that she has been so used into getting from Amagi— being the team's official setter and all—, they are still rather fairly controlled nonetheless.
Just like her overall playing style.
"Kaga-san, if possible, try setting it a little lower for Akagi-san. Hmm, maybe at around fifty to sixty degrees?"
At the sudden sound of their coach's voice, Akagi falters in mid-air, missing her spike as she nearly falls face first into the net.
"Houshou-sa— No, I mean, Coach Houshou," Akagi blushes at her slip, scrambling quickly to her feet, "how long have you been standing there, watching us?"
"Not too long ago," hums Houshou musingly, a small enigmatic smile playing at her lips. "Go on, go on. Don't let me get in the way of your practice. Pretend that I'm not here at all. Just remember to set it a little lower this time round, Kaga-san."
"Understood," Kaga mumbles, giving a small flustered nod as she palms at the ball in her hands, looking to Akagi with deeply embedded anxiety flickering in her eyes.
Akagi casts her a fleeting smile then, gently bumping her knuckles against a particularly tensed shoulder in hopes to offer some form of a respite for the girl.
Which she manages to— somehow—, as Kaga almost seem to relax, albeit marginally.
Once more, with a quick boost, Akagi launches herself right up into the air, wasting no time in descending her palm down against the ball in a swift but powerful spike that echoes through the empty gymnasium.
As Akagi returns back to ground, she gives her fingers a quick flex, staring at her reddened palm in wonder, surprised at how smooth it had all gone.
Maybe it is just her, but for a second there…
That last toss… had a feel to it that is nearly similar to Amagi's usual ones.
"That's a spectacular toss there, Kaga-san. Well done!" remarks Houshou out loud, beaming as she saunters her way over to the two first-years.
At that, Kaga positively swells with pride. "Thank you," she says, cheeks flushed with a small smile hinting at her lips.
Stopping in front of the two of them with a delicate finger tapping away on her chin, Houshou begins to eye them critically, seizing them up. Behind that thoughtful onyx gaze, Akagi can practically see the cogworks and gears spinning and clicking in place as she surveys both herself and Kaga closely.
"Hmm, you two work well together." Houshou comments after a short moment of pause, nodding to herself in satisfaction. "How had that last spike gone for you, Akagi-san? Better?" She asks, smiling sagely down at Akagi who is unable to keep her eyes off Kaga, not even bothering to hide her curiosity and interest in the girl now.
"Y-yeah…"
Houshou releases a soft chuckle, finally switching her focus to the quiet girl in question, who has been fidgeting with her toes nervously, evidently unused to the attention.
"Have you ever considered becoming a setter, Kaga-san?"
Kaga blinks, bemused, "No," she answers, ever so politely, "I intend to be an Outside-hitter."
"Following in your Onee-chan's footsteps?" inquires Houshou with a twinkle in the eye.
Kaga only blushes, then nods.
Humming musingly, Houshou turns to Akagi.
"How about you, Akagi-san? Still gunning to be a Middle-blocker?"
"Yes, of course," Akagi grins, perking up. "I'm going play by Onee-chan's side one day, after all." She declares sprightly, eyes burning with fiery determination.
Because that has been her goal— her promise to Amagi— since day one.
And Akagi has never been one to break her promises.
Chuckling, Houshou leans in to pat them both on their head, fingers gently ruffling through their hair affectionately, like a mother would with her child.
"You two work hard now. I have no doubt that you'll achieve what you have set to accomplish one day…" She trails off, smiling kindly down at the youthful faces— barely fresh out of grade school— peering up at her curiously.
The innocence and naivety in their gazes all strike a familiar chord in Houshou hard, and she honestly has to fight the urge to reach in to pinch at those adorable puffy cheeks laid out before her.
"After all, you're all talented kids."
Both girls practically preen at that, beaming widely.
Gazes clashing as she turns to Kaga, Akagi finds herself staring into a pair of glittering amber orbs and sees her own reflection shining back at her.
Along with the same burning conviction and determination that flares ever so brightly, engulfing the amber in those pretty eyes like a blazing flame.
In that very moment, even without words, just by holding each other's gaze, a mutual understanding passes through them both.
It's like a switch. A connection established between them.
A simple glance.
But innately, Akagi understands.
Turning back to Houshou resolutely, they both declare aloud, hearts beating together as one.
"Yes, we will do our best!"
And this is where it all first begins.
A/N: A little more on middle-school Akaga, but don't worry, we'll be back on course for the next chapter. :) Thank you all for reading! And those who reviewed/faved/alerted, a huge heart-felt thank you to you as well!