Shadows and Lights

Chapter 13

The sky is so very, very blue today. Bluer than Daiki's eyes and Kuroko's hair, brighter than the lights that shine down so relentlessly on the basketball courts below me, and more unusually at ease than the calm ocean near my old home. Flat, fluffy clouds twist into unconventional wisps and cotton candy shapes as some invisible wind pushes them across the sky. I'm definitely glad I agreed to come to the roof today. 

It's so silent up here, without a trace of the busy lives of the students who are no doubt hard at work somewhere on campus during their club activities. I'm pretty sure that Daiki's asleep beside me, like he doesn't sleep enough at home or during class. I'd look over at him, check to see how deeply he's asleep and maybe try to see what kind of expression Daiki makes when he sleeps, but I don't. Instead, I continue to stare at the sky and wish ruefully that I could feel at peace forever. 

"Hai-chan!" Satsuki says as her head pops up over the edge of the rooftop, most likely still on the ladder. I jerk with a start, breathing in a bit too sharply and nearly yelping at the sensation of my ribs expanding beyond what they deem acceptable. 

"Satsuki." I reply with a smile, watching how the pinkette rakes a somehow pleased gaze over the sleeping Daiki and my rather lazy body. She says nothing for a few moments, stepping over the edge of the rooftop and sitting down beside me. Without a word, she stretches out her legs and lets me rest my head in her lap. "The sky is pretty today." 

Satsuki doesn't really respond to that. She looks up to examine the sky, assessing it on her own. "It's a nice day today." She says with an unusually sweet tone of voice. "You haven't been coming to practice as often, Hai-chan. I was getting really worried about you. All you do is sit there looking pissed and bounce that ball of yours against the wall." I almost disregard her words completely, feeling a sense of relaxation set in. 

"The breeze is really nice, too. It isn't strong at all." I murmur. Then I look back up at Satsuki. "I'm just kind of irritated, that's all. I want to practice, but I can't. It's annoying." I stretch my fingers for a moment before sitting up carefully. "It's nice up here. I can see why Daiki's always out here." 

I gaze at the blue-haired prodigy from the corner of my eye, wondering if he's still asleep or faking. It's not like I'll call him out on it or anything. Daiki has his own behavioral rules. If he thinks he should fake sleeping, I won't stop him. When he fidgets his fingers slightly, I glance away and pretend I didn't see anything. After all, he really could be sleeping, and it's weird to watch sleeping people. "Did you come up here just to tell me that?" 

"Mm." Satsuki says, a noncommittal look on her face. I look at the pink-haired girl suspiciously. 

"What is it?" I ask with an exasperated sigh. So she did have an ulterior motive. Oh, well. "I'm not lending you money." 

"That's not it at all!" Satsuki says with an almost indignant expression. "Coach Harasawa thought that it would be beneficial to have something the team does together for bonding, and I agreed to talk to the players about it. We haven't really decided on what we're going to do, so..."

"You want us off the roof so we can discuss this altogether?" I reply with a sigh, scratching my side absentmindedly. "Fine. I'll get down this time." 

"Um... Dai-chan..." Satsuki says as I sit up and she goes to wake him up. 

"Don't wanna." He replies flatly. 

"Keep up that attitude and I'll have you carry me down the ladder, lazy." I reply, peering down the ladder. "Saaaatsuki, I don't wanna move this much." 

"You're as lazy as ever." Satsuki says with a playful sigh. We grin at each other before I glance at Daiki. 

"C'mon, Daaaaiiiiiki." I say with a sigh. "There's a 90% chance you'll get free food out of this." Daiki's right eye opens lazily as he looks at me. It looks like he'll certainly say no, but I might as well try anyway. "Besides, you can probably manage to annoy almost everyone in first string just by showing up. Wakamatsu's always funny when he's annoyed."