Shiori wasn't surprised there were so many people signing up, but she was surprised at how poorly Okamura was doing when it came to hitting on the girls that stopped to ask if there was a girls' team. Of course, Shiori directed them to the right booth but seeing Okamura strike out was so painful to watch sometimes…. A few times, she pondered if going on a pity date with him would be too cruel as well, and usually she decided not to try it. He was a sweet man, truly. He was just….so large she was scared he'd crush her by accident, and she just didn't have those sorts of feelings for him. "Ah, 24 sign ups so far, Fukui-Kun and Liu-Kun must be doing well out there." Shiori hummed as she stacked the sign up forms carefully, Okamura nodding with a slightly depressive look on his face. "S-Shinju-San...D-do you think I am ugly?" Oh god, someone kill her now. "Ah? Of course not! You're ruggedly handsome!" She patted his shoulder, trying to cheer him up. "Then why can't I get one lousy date!?" He pretty much cried, causing Shiori to flinch a bit. "A-ahh…Well…" Shiori trailed off, making him sob louder and then she began rubbing his back to soothe him as her last resort.
Thankfully, soon another man walked up to them and Shiori looked up with a bright smile. "Hello! Here to sign up for the Yosen Basketball team?" She prayed he wasn't too put off by the crying Captain, but he only smiled as Shiori took this chance to examining his features. Slick black hair that fell down over his left eye, his right eye a dark amber with a mole right underneath the right corner, he was generally handsome and Shiori found herself giving a small blush at that sweet smile he gave her. "That I am, I hope there's still room?" He asked as he handed over the form, Shiori taking it with a nod. "Yes, we have a lot of room on the team!" She smiled brightly, looking down at the sheet.
Tatsuya Himuro, 16, transferred in from America, his reason to join was he loved Basketball…and he wanted to meet someone again. Shiori looked up to ask what he meant, but her jaw slowly fell open at who was behind her.
Himuro blinked slowly, finally noticing the shadow cast over his 6 foot tall form and turned around. He was just two inches shy of being 7 feet tall, his hair was a long purple and so were his eyes but they seemed to be a darker shade. He blinked down at them; expression bored as he munched on some chips in a bag he held in one hand, tucked under his arm was a form sheet. "Here…" Licking his fingers, the lazy, almost sarcastic voiced man grabbed the form and reached over Himuro's shoulder, handing Shiori the form. "T-thanks…" Shiori said slowly, Okamura stunned silent from the sheer size of the first year. "Atsushi Murasakibara, 16, formally of Teiko Middle school, reason for joining…Because Aka-Chin said to?" She questioned more than stated, looking up but blinked at the lack of Atsushi. "He went that way." Himuro pointed to the right, and both snapped their heads toward the tall purple haired man as he walked away. "Thank God for Aka-Chin… I think he sent us a Generation of Miracle to our door." Shiori said slowly, tucking the form away, Himuro chuckling as he looked down at the woman. "Well, Miss, I will see you later." He waved, Shiori and Okamura waving him off slowly as he walked away from them. "I knew I had a good feeling about this year..." She whispered, the Captain scoffing. "More like amazing!" He laughed as Fukui and Wei headed over to them. "Hey, guys did the giant purple haired guy come by yet!? I sent him here like 5 times but he kept coming back saying he was lost!" Fukui looked pretty excited as he slammed his hands down on the booth table, Shiori nodding. "And someone from America…." She smiled at the Vice Captain. "I am so excited for practice…!" Everyone was, really.
Lunch rolled around and Chie met Shiori on the school's roof as per every day, the two sharing the baker's sweets and Shiori let Chie pick from her Bento as she explained the previous events of the day to the bored woman. "Purple hair…." Was all she mumbled as Shiori giggled like a happy school girl, tucking her legs together and smoothing her skirt down a little more. "He was almost 7 feet tall, I swear! Yosen's going to have an amazing team this year; I bet we'll win the Inter High and the Winter Cup this year!" Though she didn't share the enthusiasm, Shiori knew Chie was happy for her. "Sounds like it will surely be good, Yosen was strong before." Chie went to all the games for Shiori, for every win Yosen got, Shiori won in her own way for assisting in training such strong players. "Didn't you go to America for a while?" Chie yawned softly; rubbing at her eyes as she laid against the fence lazily, finished eating so she'd probably fall asleep soon after Shiori replied. "Yes…summer vacation when I was young…Family moved there a long time ago, still go sometimes to visit so I can speak English very well." Shiori smiled softly as Chie gave a soft hum to show she heard her, but soon drifted to sleep.
When the bell rang, Chie woke to everything cleaned up and ready to go. Yawning, the two walked to their shared class. Neither had really looked for Himuro or Atsushi, but Shiori shared two with Himuro and one with Atsushi. Chie actually had all her classes with Atsushi, but she literally didn't even notice him at all when she was in class.
Not even when he got scolded for eating pocky during class, she had dozed off a few
Practice soon rolled around and Masako was talking to Shiori about the training regimen. "Hmm….I should be able to come up with something for everyone once I get a look at how they play." Shiori mused as she looked toward the doors to the boy's locker room, where everyone was getting changed for practice. "That purple one…He will certainly be useful." Masako nodded, arms crossed over her chest. "I am excited to see what he can do!" Shiori chirped, smiling brightly as the Coach almost seemed to smile at how happy Shiori was. The silver and black haired girl had a lot of respect for the former pro basketball player, and Masako was aware of how good at the game Shiori was. Not just planning, she was a good player too. Sometimes, when it was needed, Shiori would show the players just what they needed to do to get better, and was well aware of how shitty the girl's team was. It was safe to say, they had a mutual respect for the other.
Still, Shiori was mildly scared of her
"Ah, Chie-Chan is here." Shiori smiled as the tall woman came over, Masako frowning as she had to look up at the 6 foot tall teenager, being 5 inches shorter sucked. "Everything's ready, when did you need that again…?" Chieko asked slowly, scratching the back of her neck softly. "After practice, Chie-Chan. You can go sleep on the bleachers if you want." Shiori waved her hand over at the steel bleachers, the tall girl grumbling softly. "Doesn't look comfy…." Shiori hummed softly. "Use your bag?" Sighing, the long haired girl walked toward the bleachers, grumbling to herself about having to pack a pillow for her naps. "Why is she always tired…?" Masako asked with an eye twitch, probably irritation with her grumbling. "Chie is an insomniac, she usually spends all night reading books since she can't sleep and she can't bake in the middle of the night. She usually gets tired during the day, sadly." She explained with a soft sigh. "She hates medicine, so getting her to take sleeping pills is impossible and she hates the taste of herbal teas and such for helping with sleeping either." Masako merely nodded as the boys started pouring from the doors in large groups.
"Here we go…" Shiori stayed silent as Masako made the loud announcements-which were simple. Two players would be picked out of the groups of first years and the seconds and third years to replace the previous regulars who had graduated the year before. The rest would be split into the second and third strings. Shiori would be helping in the decision, but in the end Coach Masako and Captain Okamura had the final say in the matter. Both respected her opinions on the matter though, she was pretty good at finding talented players. She found Wei, after all.
Looking over the crowd, it wasn't hard to find Himuro and Murasakibara, actually they were standing together. Two first years together wasn't too surprising, but Shiori was amazed the giant had clothes in his size.
Looking over, Shiori smiled when she noticed that Chie had in fact, noticed the giant purple haired player. But, soon thereafter she fell asleep lying her head down on her bag. Sighing, she smiled and stayed silent as the Coach split everyone up into groups and had them begin their stretching and then sent them off for warm ups. Pulling a notebook from her bag, she flipped it open and started looking over the names she listed herself. Thankfully, she had a good memory. It wasn't hard for to recall who was who, and she was able to write down notes on that particular player's stats and such for later use.
Soon though, she was drawn to Murasakibara and Himuro.
Not a single player could get past Atsushi's blocking ability, he barely had to jump most of the time when they tried to shoot, or dunk it in. He didn't move around much, mainly staying under the net. "His height and wingspan are amazing…." She mumbled as she wrote down her notes on the player, and then looked toward Himuro.
Quite honestly, it was like watching a dance….He flew through a screen like it was nothing and performed a perfect three pointer without a flaw in his form. "Shooting Guard for sure, what amazing fakes and form…." She mumbled as she wrote down her notes furiously, silvery hues glinting in pure delight at the amazing player. "I gotta agree!" Shiori jumped when she noticed Fukui had joined her side. "He's good, Okamura and Coach see it too, and he'll be on the Regulars that's for sure." Nodding in her own agreement, Shiori looked toward the handsome boy as he wiped his sweat on his shirt. "You're right, Fukui-Kun…." She mumbled and the Vice Captain pouted. "Just call me Kensuke, Shiori-Chan, no need for formalities." He sang happily, the manager chuckling at him. "Sure, Kensuke-Kun…." That seemed to please him enough, because he soon left to join the / Looking toward a sleeping Chieko, the manager soon resumed her work intently. She had a lot of new comers to check out for Coach Araki, after all.
Himuro quite liked it here, the school was very nice and the regulars were amazing players. He had to focus on his own playing of course, if he wanted to get on the regulars team but he couldn't help but let his eyes trail over the others as they played. Fukui was an excellent point guard, excellent timing and his range was impressive to say the least. Okamura's size certainly helped with being a Power Forward, he still had the speed to back it up too, and Wei was good in his own right as well.
And then there was Atsushi, which the giant barely did anything but smack balls away from his side of the court and so far, not a single ball had gotten through. They'd gotten along well enough; he had to help the purple haired Titan find his way to the dorms for the night because he had gotten lost and suddenly Atsushi started relying on him to help him get around, thankfully they had most of their classes together so it wasn't too much of a problem and honestly Himuro didn't mind. Atsushi was like…a really big kid that could probably pop your head like a balloon with his bare hand alone.
Disturbing thought, but true all the same.
Humming, he brushed a hand through his hair and looked to the left, where he saw that girl from the booth taking a basketball from one of the other First Years. Blinking in mild surprise, he watched her show the boy how to do a hook shot. He was impressed, despite being just the manager she had very little flaw in her form, and Himuro had a feeling there would be no flaw if she were practicing regularly. Ah, he needed to learn her name…
He snapped from his thoughts when a shadow loomed over him, again, and tilted his head back to look up at the purple Titan. "Ah, Atsushi, what are you doing?" The man merely yawned. "Got bored." Sweat dropping at his blunt answer, he merely handed him a ball. "Why not do something besides guarding the net, then?" Atsushi's reply was to slowly walk to the net while dribbling the ball, many stopping just to watch the giant doing something they had yet to see. Himuro blinked, and as soon as Atsushi got within dunking distance he suddenly leaped into the air and slammed the ball into the hoop hard enough the damn thing made a creaking sound right before the hoop popped right off. Everyone's jaw dropped again but Himuro's, his eye was just as wide as a dinner plate. Even Chie woke up, amethyst eyes as wide as Himuro's as she watched the giant examine the hoop with a bored expression on his face. "H-He broke the hoop…" Shiori spluttered, Masako taking a moment to be in shock before she got out that damned Shinai and struck the giant on the back, Atsushi yelping and dropping the hoop with a loud clang when it hit the ground.
"Idiot! You broke the damn hoop who breaks a hoop!?" Masako hissed, Atsushi looking more like a dog that had been punished for the first time in its life. "Ahh? It's not my fault the hoop was so weak…" Atsushi muttered, scratching his head softly and looking toward Himuro slowly. "He told me to do it." He pointed toward the man, who then flinched under the Coach's harsh gaze. "I-I didn't tell him to break the hoop I said to try something besides guarding the net!" He quickly defended, and slowly Araki looked away but he wasn't sure he was off the hook just yet. "Everyone switch to half Court until the hoop is fixed…" She said slowly, Shiori going in closer to look at the hoop more thoroughly. "He…broke the bolts." She whispered to herself, the Coach looking up and narrowing her dark blue eyes. "Let's go talk to Okamura." Nodding, the two gathered the Captain and talked to him off by the bench.
Chie sat up and watched the giant of a man resume his previous job of guarding the remaining net. He barely had to do much, really. Just stand there and swat balls away like flies, no one was getting by not even the other regulars playing until Atsushi yawned, eyes closing and then Wei Liu tossed in a quick shot. Shaking her head, Chie was just baffled by him. "A Titan…" She mumbled with a soft chuckle before then lying back down once more. Sadly, 10 minutes later Shiori woke her up to get the sweets ready and Chie noticed the boys had cleared out to the locker room for shower time. "Yeah…" She mumbled, getting up and heading to the Home Economics class to get the huge amounts of sweets she'd brought over from home that morning.
"Ah, I can't wait to go home and put my feet up…" One of the First years mumbled as they headed out of the locker room, having to go through the gym to leave. "Mmm, I am hungry…" Was Atsushi's reply as he looked up at the ceiling and not where he was walking. "I think you're always hungry, Atsushi." Himuro chuckled softly as he walked beside the Titan. "Mmm…Yeah…" Himuro couldn't help but laugh at that reply as they walked through the doors into the gym.
Everyone stopped in their tracks when they saw the huge spread of delicious sweets lying on 6 tables. Cookies, cakes, pies, muffins and brownies, in all flavors of a huge variety and each tray had a little tag saying what was what probably to avoid any allergic reactions. To say the least, it was an amazing sight. "To all those that have decided to stay on the team, give thanks to Chieko Hisoka for cooking all these treats as a congratulations for making it this far, and to a new school year!" Masako called, pointing toward that sleepy tie-dyed hair woman Himuro recalled sleeping on the bleachers during practice. She was standing by the manager he recalled needing to get the name of, by the table that had the cookies set up on mainly. "And before you go wild, Tatsuya Himuro and Atsushi Murasakibara have been picked to be the regulars that replace our two graduated regulars from last year. Before you leave, give Manager Shinju your sizes for the Regular jerseys you will get in a few days' time." The Coach instructed, the two mentioned nodding slowly. "Tomorrow, check the bulletin to find out the rest of your string assignment." After that, Masako nearly fell over as the boys rushed to the table of sweets, Himuro looking up to find Atsushi already gone and eating the brownies first.
"Shinju…" He mumbled and then looked toward the girl as she quickly snatched up some cookies for her and Chieko. "Well, that's a last name." He chuckled, more calmly walking toward the crowd. "Japanese Snack Time Rush…"
"Man these guys are going at it…" Chie mumbled as she nibbled on her triple chocolate chip cookie, Shiori nodding as she did the same to an oatmeal raisin cookie. "Your sweets are truly amazing, Chie-Chan." Grunting softly in reply, Chie bowed her head a little as Himuro managed to slip in beside them and grab a peanut butter cookie and take a bite. "Ahh, these are good…" He smiled, looking toward the two girls. "Thank you for making all this for us; it's a great surprise after such a rigorous training session." Chie merely nodded as Shiori gave a sly smile. "Don't worry; tomorrow Coach Araki will make sure to work you guys to the bone to work off all the calories." She sang softly, holding out a hand to the other male. "I can't wait." He took her hand, finding it to be callused like his own from playing basketball all his life and shook it firmly, keeping as much eye contact one could with bangs that fell over one eye entirely, and her own falling into her eyes quite a bit. "Tatsuya Himuro, I thought I should give a more proper introduction this time around, Manager-San." He smiled sweetly, Shiori fighting down that blush.
Damn his handsome face, she didn't want to blush so much but he was making it hard. "Shiori Shinju, it's a pleasure to meet you Himuro-San. This is Chieko Hisoka; she's a close friend of mine." She looked toward the woman, and blinked as the taller woman looked right at Himuro, the two being the exact same height. "It's nice to meet you, Hisoka-San." He held his hand out toward her as well, and Chie very slowly shook it but kept eye contact as well. "Yo…" She then went back to watching Murasakibara devour the cake table.
"There will be no left overs…" Was what she mumbled before going to said table in hopes of getting to have at least a bite of the strawberry shortcake she had made. "Never thought I'd see someone so large…" She mumbled and scratched her head as Himuro nodded. "Indeed, so Shinju-San do you live on campus, or at home?" He asked, striking up conversation with the woman as he snacked on the sweets. "Campus, but I go to Chie-Chan's place every day after school for homework and come back before curfew." She answered cheerfully, licking her fingers softly. "You two seem pretty close….I have a single dorm, no one's bunking with me just yet." He chuckled softly, picking up a triple chocolate cookie from a small pile. "It's amazing, isn't it?" She asked with a small smile, the boy laughing. "Very true…."
Atsushi was reaching for a slice of strawberry short cake with his bare hand before it was snatched away by another one. It was the last slice, and Atsushi hadn't tried it just yet. "Oi…." He looked up slowly, a small scowl on his face before his lips formed a thin line at the woman that had made the sweets. "Don't eat everything." She grunted before taking a bite of the cake slice on the other side of the table. Staring silently, Atsushi walked around the table without losing eye contact as Chieko chewed on the bite silently. Slowly, he stopped in front of her and looked down at the tall woman as he reached out and grabbed her wrist. She paused, staring up at him quietly as he lifted her hand and turned it so the end she bit from was facing him. Everyone watched with wide eyes as he chomped a good portion of the cake slice off and released her wrist. "Good…." He praised offhandedly, licking his lips with a small smile before he resumed eating the other cake slices. Slowly blinking, Chie watched him before she nodded. "Thanks," and then she went back to eating her cake until it was gone and all she had to do was lick the icing off her fingers.
Instead a hand grabbed her wrist again. "I didn't get to try any of the icing…" He pouted softly, and everyone once more watched with jaws dropped as he licked the girl's fingers clean of the white icing. "You…are so weird…" She mumbled, a light pink tinting her cheeks from the huge man's actions. "Tastes good though…" He mumbled, releasing her hand. Sighing, Chie wiped her fingers clean on a napkin. "You should try the pie." Chie stated calmly before wandering back over to Shiori and Himuro, who'd watched the whole thing with quite a bit of amusement. "Pie…" He grinned a bit and wandered over to that
"He's a fucking sweets monster." Chie told them before snatching a cookie off the table and chomping down, and Shiori could have sworn that blush got a little darker. "I don't think she's ever been flustered like that before…" She whispered to Himuro, the boy laughing. "Somehow, that doesn't surprise me…"
(Welp, this one was considerably longer than the last. Hopefully, this one kinda gives you a better idea of what you're reading, and maybe more incentive to review?)