NINETY-THREE. GF-FORHIRE
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"RYU-CHAN!" Takemichi passed the ball to the greenette as two players from the opposing team screened her.
Ryuguji caught the ball and automatically went for a shot, successfully making a three-pointer.
Nozomi, who was near her gave her a high-five. "Alright!"
The emo-haired girl looked at her cousin, who was watching her with eagle eyes the entire duration she's been on the court— which was since the fourth quarter began. She's been permitted to play for a quarter, so she chose this one. Her eye twitched. The only reason she requested to play was so that she could prove that she was the better cousin out of the two of them.
And by the looks of it, Japan's team captain was fully aware of that fact. Otherwise, she wouldn't have permitted Nozomi to do so, given that she should've been benched.
She was subbed in for Inosuke during the last quarter of the game versus the Philippines. It was now the remaining five minutes of the game. With only a few shots left until the buzzer officially rings to end the game, the score wasn't toe-to-toe.
In fact, Japan was so far ahead.
94 - 76, in favor of Japan.
Five more minutes, then it would be all over.
The ball was awarded to the opposing team, but Nozomi was quick to steal it from their point guard.
Catriona Ichikawa marrowed her eyes at her cousin as she went to guard Mirai Nozomi.
"Mirai." She addressed her first name, the tone coming out more of a hiss than a greeting.
An amused glint played inside the emo-haired girl's eyes as she dribbled the ball excruciatingly slow. "Catriona."
Back at the sidelines, no one from Seinaru's entourage attended. Despite Iwaizumi saying that he'd be seeing Seinaru today, he and the rest of Seijoh (excluding Oikawa) only attended the first game versus Belgium. Apparently, the others wanted to tour around Tokyo. And much to the ace's dismay, he couldn't let them leave alone otherwise Makki or Mattsun might stir up trouble for the first years. And he did not want that.
"I'm itching to play." Utsui visibly itched her hands.
Saito hummed. "Same here."
Kasai rolled her eyes at them. "Give it a rest. We have training later, so you get to scratch that itch in a bit."
Utsui huffed. "Fine."
Her eyes then trailed over to the side of the bench where Ryuguji's belongings were. She spotted a bouquet of flowers that the girl had been carrying since she re-entered their dining area after being called out by a visitor they didn't see earlier.
"Hey, Ryuguji's got an admirer?" She asked.
Jordan, who managed to hear from the other bench behind them, nodded. "Yep! Remember the tall volleyball dude from her school? The one we gave a ride to at the ball? That one!"
"I think his name was Kiryū." Inosuke pitched in, with Chiyo and Tomiko nodding along.
Kasai and Saito could only blink. They were invited to the ball but both respectfully refused as they were preoccupied with academics at that time, despite it being the holidays— Kasai with removal exams, and Saito with her research study. Besides, they were on break at that time.
"Oh, right.." Utsui nodded. "He has a thing for her, right?"
"And Ryu-chan rejected him." Jordan hummed. She slumped. "Poor guy. He knows Ryu-chan ain't straight."
"Yeah." Utsui's eyes trailed over to the court, before she heard her captain's phone ring.
Seinaru, who's been silent during their entire gossip session as she was watching the game, looked at her phone that was ringing. Seeing the caller ID, she glanced at Utsui and Inko and excused herself to pick it up.
The brunette and the coach both nodded and went back to watching the game before Jordan broke the silence.
"Speaking of relationships, isn't Seinaru-san dating someone?" She quipped.
Everyone glanced at her, including Inko. The coach could only hum, being aware that the girl had a ton of admirers at present.
"Yeah." Chiyo nodded. "The blonde guy who went to our penthouse once, according to Takemichi and Ryuguji."
Utsui sweatdropped. It seems she wasn't able to keep those two's mouths shut after all.
Kasai raised a brow, "She told us she was dating Atsumu Miya-sama."
Saito nudged her. "Atsumu Miya-sama is blonde."
The magentanette hummed in understanding. "Oh I see, must be the same person then."
Utsui's eyes were wide. "She told you?"
"Yeah." The two answered.
"It was when she was telling us that he'd be staying in our penthouse a few days ago." Kasai told her.
Utsui blinked. Ymari told people outside her circle who she was dating— that's new.
"I see." She nodded.
"I haven't seen him today, though." Saito pitched in her observation. "He hasn't given Seinaru-sama flowers either, it's quite unfortunate."
Kasai nodded in agreement. "I wonder if he plans on doing something extravagant."
"But other guys were doing stuff for her, though." Jordan quipped. "Like yesterday, a bunch of boys from the VIP seats gave her tons of flower bouquets. We had to take one for each of us because she couldn't bring them all, remember?"
"Agreed." Tomiko hummed, nodding. "If Miya-san wants to keep Seinaru-san, he should keep up."
Chiyo nodded. "True."
Utsui couldn't help the amused grin that fell upon her features as she listened to the girls gossip about who they were placing their bets on to come steal Ymari Seinaru from Atsumu Miya.
Honestly, she has no personal favorite.
She grins to herself as she watched the game end with their team deemed the winners.
As long as she's the maid of honor at the wedding, nothing else matters.
-
Seinaru put the phone to her ear as she walked out of the court and into the lobby of the arena. "Moshi moshi?"
"Seinaru-chan!" Oikawa cheerfully greeted on the opposite end of the call.
She was about to reply when someone abruptly zoomed past her. Her eyes widened slightly as she evaded the person within a split-second.
Her brows furrowed as she looked back at the person who almost ran into her. It was a guy. He was wearing a white shirt paired with black shorts, a pair of white slides, and what caught her attention was his iconic black socks that had white heart patterns on it.
She swears the socks look familiar, but this is Tokyo, so it may be because she's seen a stranger wear it in the streets before.
She shrugged it off before her attention went back to the phone call with Oikawa.
"What is it, Shittykawa-san?" She hummed, walking once more, on her way outside the arena.
She sat on the steps of the arena, noting that there weren't that many people outside.
"Can you stop with that nickname already? It's Toorū." He huffed childishly, before changing the subject. "I called to tell you that I left something at your house at the village. It's in the mailbox, so check it as soon as you get back, 'kay?"
Seinaru nodded, but then she realized that Oikawa couldn't see her. "Okay."
"Is that all, Toorū?" She asked.
Oikawa choked on his iced coffee on the other end of the call as he felt his cheeks flush at the way his name rolled off her lips so smoothly. He cleared his throat. "I-uh, yes."
"Alright. I'll see you soon." She referred to her upcoming games, which she assumes the setter would watch.
"See you, Seinaru-chan~!" Oikawa bid her goodbye before the call ended.
She sighed, pocketing the phone before turning back to walk to the court.
However, just as she did, a voice stopped her.
"Seinarucchi!"
Her brows furrowed as she spun around, only to be met with the sight of Kise in his red and white uniform, all sweaty. He waved as he stopped right in front of her. "I heard you called my mom!"
"Yeah." She nodded, looking behind him curiously. "Where's the rest of your team?"
He shrugged. "They're still in the sub-arena for men's basketball prelims. They'll be here in a bit to get snacks. I just went ahead to watch your game."
"Well we're winning if you're wondering." She shrugged as the two of them walked together on the way to the court.
At this point a few bystanders started to recognize them both, all pointing at them as if they were some new controversy. She ignored them, her mind stuck in their conversation.
"I know. You're on your way to winning the cup itself." Kise said, his tone confident. He looked at the girl beside him, her hair swaying after each step she took. "Say, Seinarucchi, I wanna know, are you dating the Iwaizumi guy from earlier?"
Her eyes snapped up to meet his as she peered at him curiously. "How'd you know his name?"
"Ichigo and Hanuka told me." He shrugged.
She hummed. "It depends."
"Huh?" Kise cluelessly pondered. "What do you mean?"
"What day is it today?" She asked.
"It's.. Tuesday." He recalled.
She hummed. "Then I am."
"You're what?"
"Dating him." She shrugged as they turned a corner.
Kise blinked. "I'm confused."
Seinaru gave him an irritated glare. She tsk'ed, something she doesn't do quite often. "Listen, Ryōta. You and I both know your mom doesn't keep secrets from you."
Kise's eyes were squinted in confusion, before something seemingly clicked inside his head. "Oh!"
"Oh!" He repeated, thumping his right fist against his left palm. "I get it now!"
Chapter nineteen, back in the first arc, it has been shown that the blonde coach of Niiyama instantly knew what was going on the moment Ushijima walked inside Sendai Sports University to fetch the girl.
This is due to the fact that Rei Kise, also known as the mother of Ryōta, and the coach of Niiyama, knew of the nature of her job. She had to inform the woman, otherwise, she wouldn't have a proper excuse for skipping practice at times.
Seinaru is fully aware that her coach isn't the type to keep secrets from her kids, so obviously both Ryōta and Ryla (the older sister) are aware of her job as well. She could have said it to her children during a dinner conversation, or any event, really.
That's why Kise has been so adamant on pursuing the girl. Because as far as he knows, she doesn't push for personal relationships within her clientele.
She keeps it platonic.
As far as he knows.
"So, Iwaizumi dude is.."
"Yep." She popped the 'p' as they stepped inside the court.
They glanced at the scores. 110 - 82, in favor of Japan.
The game was only a minute away from ending.
"Oh." Kise nodded in understanding. "So you're not really dating anyone?"
Seinaru had an irk mark on her forehead. She hit Kise's shoulder lightly, as if scolding a child. "Idiot, I just said I'm dating Hajime."
'Hajime.. is Iwaizumi.' Somehow, her being on first name basis with the guy left a sour taste in Kise's mouth.
Seinaru pulled out a piece of candy from her jacket's pocket and unwrapped it as the two of them watched the game from the sidelines.
"But you said—"
She shoved the candy inside Kise's mouth, effectively cutting him off.
Kise cringed at the sudden taste of the candy.
Sour lemon candy!
"Urusai." She grunted, putting the wrapper inside her pocket.
She looked at the court where Nozomi was having a power trip. A small smirk pulled at the corners of her lips. It's so petty, but it's also so amusing.
"Are you emotionally available, though?" Kise, who finally got over the sour taste of the candy was now enjoying it, much to Seinaru's displeasure.
"What do you mean?"
"Are you up to dating anyone outside your work— with feelings n' stuff?" Kise asked, his golden eyes peering down her heterochromatic ones.
She pursed her lips, before looking away from his eyes and instead focusing on the court.
"I'm not interested, Ryōta." She told him.
The boy paid close attention to her words.
"Like I said, I'm taken." She said, crossing her arms over the other. "I don't plan on being unfaithful."
Kise nodded in understanding, albeit saddened by her response. "Understood."
"But that won't change the fact that I'll still pine over you. And it goes for the rest of us, you know?"
"I know." She chuckled, eyes glinting with amusement. "Feel free to try."
Kise grinned, accepting the challenge. "I will, and I'll succeed."
She shook her head in amusement, leaning against Kise's side slightly. "Sure you will."
-
"Can't I just go back to sleep?" The tall brunette ran a hand over his face frustratedly as he continued to listen to his mom's voice over the phone.
He just arrived in Tokyo, and he needed to sleep off the jetlag he got from the travel when his mother decided to drop this heavy task onto him.
"You know I'd rather not spend any unnecessary time here." He tsk'ed, entering the arena. "Especially when she's not playing."
He heard his mom let out a string of unpleasant words. "As much as I support you with your childhood sweetheart, you know this is not the time for it, Kenji."
Kenji Futakuchi rolled his eyes at his mom. He was sent here with an important task to do. However, he'd deemed it a waste of his time the moment he found out who he was about to deal with.
"Takanobu's there with you, right?" Kai Futakuchi, his mom asked.
He looked to his left where the tall middle blocker of Date Tech was and nodded, though his mom couldn't see. "Yeah, and Kogane's here too."
Kenji Koganegawa beamed from the other side of Kenji. He cheerfully greeted his captain's mom. "Hi Futakuchi-obaasan!"
Kenji flinched at the loud volume when his mom greeted just as cheerfully.
"Takanobu and Kanji are both with you, so be at ease." He heard his mom say. "I know it's such a huge favor to ask, and a difficult task, but I trust that you'll be able to handle it. I would have done it, but as you know I'm preoccupied with other affairs."
He pursed his lips as the tree of them entered the main arena's court. His eyes trailed over the place and spotted the Japan team leaving after their second and last game of the day— they won again, no surprise there.
"Kenji, I'm relying on you." His mom said in a serious tone.
He sighed, watching a familiar black-haired girl exit the opposite end of the court, most likely to grab some snacks with the team before going back to the Olympic village.
"Okay, I'll do my best, mom."
The call ended with his mother wishing him luck, before he turned towards his two companions.
"We better get going before they leave."
Aone nodded as they made their way inside. "The people we're meeting— you know them?"
There was a dark look on Futakuchi's face as he walked alongside the two other Date Tech players. "Unfortunately."
The white haired boy hummed. "I see."
The three of them went downstairs, passing by security check briefly where Futakuchi had to present a certain pass before they were permitted to go through. There was an upcoming game, the one after Japan vs Philippines, but Kenji wasn't interested in it at all. He just wanted to get this task done and over with.
They went to the courtside bleachers, where he spotted a familiar brunette, with the same brown eyes, an expensive designer suit, shoes, and accessories from Starcci— just like Utsui described to him via text yesterday. She looked like she was waiting for someone, Kenji assumed it was him.
Their eyes met, and Kenji couldn't help but feel nostalgia rushing through his veins in huge tremors.
After all, how would you react when..
"Terushima-san." He bowed lightly as the woman stood up to greet him upon his arrival.
.. the mother of your former best friend is right in front of you?
He looked up, meeting her kind brown eyes that reminded him so much of her revolting son that he wanted to pummel to the ground so badly.
She smiled at him, pearly whites on display. "Kenji, I told you to call me Auntie Yua."
Yua Terushima, mother of his former best friend and Director of Terushima Group of Companies— one of the new principal sponsors of the Tokyo Junior Olympics, alongside Tokyo Energy Corporation.
The brunette smiled at the woman, his grin not quite meeting his eyes. False. Untrue. Unwillingly smiling. Fighting back the sour urge to turn away and leave the woman that reminded him so much of his revolting former best friend despite her not doing anything wrong.
"That would be a stretch, Terushima-san." He smiled. "I wouldn't want to act so familiar."
The woman laughed, not sensing the hostility in the boy's voice that was directed towards her son that wasn't present.
"You used to come over so often." She grinned, waving her hand. "Now, let's get to the short meeting, yes?"
Kenji hummed in response as he handed the woman the folder Koganegawa's been holding on to. It was what they were here for, after all.
"Mother would like for you to scan through this agreement for the sponsors."
As the head of the new principal sponsors, his mom had to be the one to send the agreement to the other sponsors regarding the closing ad awarding ceremony. It involved a lot of prize money for the athletes, so the signatures have to be settles at the soonest time possible.
Yua didn't even hesitate as she clicked her fountain pen that she picked up from inside her designer bag, and signed all the empty spaces sthat needed her signature. She closed the folder and handed it back to Kenji.
"Here." She smiled as the boy accepted the file.
Kenji bowed lightly, "Arigato."
The woman only hummed as the three bid their goodbyes. However, before they were out of earshot, she mumbled something incoherent, but was caught by Kenji's eardrums.
"I hope you boys make up."
Kenji tensed, before walking away with his two companions.
A few moments later, someone came back to the courtside bleachers, where Yua Terushima was. She looked up at the boy, who gave her a a paper bag full of takeout from Starcoffee.
"There you are! What took you so long?" Yua asked.
"Traffic." The boy replied with a grunt. "I also got lost finding your seat."
"You just missed him." Yua sighed in exasperation.
The boy clad in black iconic socks with white heart patterns sat down beside the female, eyes trailing over the court where a new game was starting.
"It's fine." He accepted the cup of iced coffee from the woman who handed it to him from the bag.
A cheeky grin was on his face as he spoke. "We have all the time in the world to catch up, mom."
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