Ｌｉｇｈｔ

forty one - new practice

Sasaki yawned as quietly as he could, seeing as no one was awake besides him yet. He was a morning person, one of the few that still existed as far as he knew. Of course, he didn’t enjoy being a morning person, but his body said the sun is rising so you will too.

First, the boy went to brush his teeth and do all the bathroom mumbo jumbo, then he headed outside. It had been a while since he had run on a beach, since the time his volleyball friends had gotten him to go with them for a sand volleyball tournament.

He liked leisurely running in the sand, being able to feel the ocean breeze and, because he was like that, splash in the ocean while running. Of course, that meant he got wet, but Sasaki didn’t mind since it was fun that way.

Welcoming the new day on the beach, Sasaki thought to himself as he looked towards the horizon as the sun was working on getting above water level, is a beautiful sight.

Soon enough, the white haired boy decided to turn around and head back, having gotten to the end of the beach in the direction he had gone. Running back, he was sweating and panting by the time he arrived at the inn again. After wiping the sand off of himself as much as he could, Sasaki went inside only to almost run into someone.

“Oh, there you are! Come on in, Riko just got done cooking,” Koganei greeted. “By the way, everyone was worried about you when we woke up and you weren’t anywhere around.”

“Really? Sorry Koganei-senpai, I was just out on a run,” Sasaki explained, causing the other male to get blue in the face.

“You did extra training? Aren’t you sore? What are you made of..?”

“Of course I’m sore,” The white haired male deadpanned before grinning. “But the best way to get rid of the soreness is to work it off!”

“You’re crazy,” He shook his head, the two arriving at the cafeteria. “Huh?”

“Shutoku?” Sasaki’s eyes widened, then he locked eyes with Midorima. Immediately brightening, he waved as subtly as he could.

“Sasaki-kun! You’re late, where were you?” Riko demanded as the two late arrivals sat down. “Thanks for going to fetch him, Koganei-kun.”

“Sure!”

“I was out running, I apologize for any trouble,” Sasaki bowed before Riko waved him off and told him to sit. Breakfast was served, and then it was time for beach training. Because of his run, the white haired boy was able to get more traction from the sand than he could have without the morning run.

Once Riko had deemed the beach training complete for the day, Seirin moved to the gym. And that was when the surprise happened. “Starting today, instead of holding our scheduled practice in the gym, we’re going to be practicing with Shutoku High!” Riko announced as the two school’s teams looked at each other.

Once again, Sasaki subtly waved at Midorima, who let a slight smile come across his face. Takao noticed, snickering to himself. Once the Seirin players were tasked with putting on the practice jerseys, Midorima made his way over to Sasaki.

“Hello Hayate,” He greeted, causing the person in question to spin towards him, see him, and beam brightly.

“Hey Shintaro! I missed you, how have you been?” Sasaki asked animatedly, holding his arms out for a hug. Immediately, the greenette didn’t hesitate to take him up on that and hugged him.

“I missed you too, Hayate. I’ve been well, but it’s nice that you’re here as well,” He replied as they separated. “May I hold your hand a bit longer?”

“Sure,” Sasaki allowed it, and everyone around them was gaping at the fact that Midorima could show emotion other than anger and annoyance and indifference. “Ready to get wiped out?”

“Only if you are ready for the same,” He smirked, bringing the hand to his lips as he maintained eye contact. Friggin nuts, that’s hot, Sasaki blushed brightly, gulping.

“As nice as it is that you’re reuniting after not seeing each other for a while,” Takao broke between them, “We have a game to play.”

“Right then,” Sasaki fastened his practice jersey over his shirt, grinning. “Don’t hold back just because you like me, Shintaro~”

“Of course not,” He pushed up his glasses.

“Hayate-kun, come over here please,” Kuroko suddenly called, and immediately Sasaki could tell he was jealous. Chuckling, he waved at Midorima as he jogged over to the phantom. “Lean down please.”

“Uh, okay,” He did so, and Kuroko kissed him full on the mouth. Sasaki heard someone—it sounded like Takao but he hadn’t seen him in a while so his assumption might have been wrong—gasp, slapping a hand over their mouth. “Mmmph, Tetsu-“

“I’m okay,” Kuroko muttered as they broke away, smiling slightly as he looked up at his lover. “Let’s win this.”

“For sure!” The two fist bumped, and Sasaki was about to call Kagami over to discuss strategy, only to see that Riko was sending him away for drinks. However, the white haired boy could see what was underlying in that request. So this is what made her eyes glint the other night, Sasaki shivered.

Having Izuki come in as point, Sasaki went on offense since that was where he was needed as Kagami was off doing his laps for drinks. At one point, Kuroko attempted to go one on one with Midorima, but failed miserably by getting the ball stolen by Takao and having Midorima score right after.

“You’ve come to make some ridiculous plays,” Midorima said as he walked past Kuroko.

“They’re not ridiculous,” The blue haired phantom replied. “I just want to be stronger.”

“Don’t make me laugh,” The greenette glanced back at him from the corner of his eye. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you laugh so please do make him laugh, Tetsuya! Sasaki thought to himself pleadingly. “I don’t know what you felt after losing to Aomine, but we already know your limits. I thought you played knowing them. Did you really think something could happen if you tried harder? A man who cannot play by himself cannot improve by himself.”

“Dang, that’s solid advice,” Sasaki stroked his imaginary beard, one he never planned on getting because it would ruin his face even more than his mother had already claimed his face was ruined by the fact that he existed.

But that's a story for another time.