What We Do [Ushijima Wakatoshi Fanfiction]

Chapter 9: (Him) Watching

Ushijima's team finished earlier than expected. The team was already cooling down from their intense training session and people already started leaving.

"Yo Wakatoshi!"

A redhead shouted from across the gym as he walks towards the taller male.

Ushijima turned to the source of the voice raising an eyebrow waiting for a response. "Want to check out the other gym people practice?" Tendo said while swaying his head side to side and putting his two fingers together. "Other gym people?" Ushijima asks confused as to what Tendo was referring with. "You know, the gym next door" The redhead says as he twirls around for a while and ends with him leaning backwards with his fingers pointing towards the exit.

That's where Harumi practices. The tall man thought to himself. As Ushijima was about to disagree but he was cut off by Tendo putting his arm on the taller man's sides pushing the man outside.

"Come come, I wanna see your friend in action." He said as they left their training area and headed outside.

The two could hear shouting when they reached the entrance of Hisoka Gymnasium and as they entered the gym, they were surprised to what was happening.

Tendo and Ushijima chose to sit down at one of the benches as to not bother the intense match before them.

There were two teams playing. One team wears a white jersey while the other wears black. Ushijima noticed that Harumi was wearing a black shirt along with several other people.

"Kyo-kun, cover me!" Harumi shouted as she ran across the court in rapid speed surprising the new arrivals. Her friend covered her by guarding the person who was chasing after her and screened for the redhead.

"Go Harumi!" The black-haired woman shouted as she cheered for her friend. Harumi, being open, shot the ball flawlessly and scored for the team.

Ushijima was impressed with Harumi's in-court behavior. She looks so different inside the court. And he was right. She had an intense gaze as she ran across the court with determination and fire evident in her stride, very different from the happy-go-lucky personality he was used to.

When it came to defending their court, Harumi was in-front of the other three near the basket as she was trying to steal from the person dribbling the ball. She had such a menacing aura as she was trying to man up the person in front of her, the two boys could even feel it.

"Wakatoshi, who's your friend here," the redhead asked his friend sitting beside him and looking at the girls playing. "Black. Jersey number 01," He said as he continued looking at Harumi. "A fellow redhead and a hottie at that," Tendo smirked and began staring at Harumi as she was playing offensive once more.

What Tendo said made Ushijima twitch his brow in annoyance. He didn't know why but the curious gaze Tendo had on Harumi somewhat irked him.

When Ushijima looked back at the court, he was shocked to see the scene before them.

Harumi was roughly pushed to the ground as she tried taking the shot. She made the shot before she harshly fell on the floor shouting in surprise. "Foul!" She groans while looking at the coach from the ground.

Ushijima abruptly straightened from his seat, worried about Harumi's condition. This did not go unnoticed by the redhead beside him and curiosity was filling the man. Fortunately, Ushijima felt relieved when he saw one of Harumi's teammates help her up and saw the smile on her face indicating she was okay.

They then circled the basket as Harumi shot from the free-throw line flawlessly. The game continued on for a while until one of the members playing was asking for a time-out looking exhausted already.

Ushijima glanced at his phone checking the time. It was already 7:25 yet it looks like the game was barely finished. "Ushijima-kun!" The man being called looked up from his phone and his eyes slightly widened as he saw a Harumi running towards him. "I didn't know you guys were watching," Harumi said then began drinking the water bottle she held.

Ushijima nodded but before he could say anything else the man beside him interrupted him. "Are you Wakatoshi's friend?" He said leaning towards the girl. Harumi smiled and turned towards Tendo's direction. "Yep, we're classmates too," She smiled at Tendo as he introduced himself "Tendo Satori."  "I'm Kazuko Harumi, 2nd Year. Point Guard!" She said rather loudly and confidently at that too as she held out her hand.

Ushijima couldn't help but lightly smile as he remembers their first encounter. She introduced herself somewhat the same way and was embarrassed to mention her position in basketball with no context at all. This resulted in him stating his position in volleyball as well, mimicking the girl to save her the embarrassment.

"Ushijima-kun, did you guys finish early? We usually finish earlier than you guys." She said looking at the clock hanging above the door. "Yes, Tendo wanted to visit," Ushijima said while looking at the tired-looking girl.

She was about to say something when the whistle was blown, "Time-out's over ladies! And Oy! Kazuko get your ass here!" The girl flinched at her coach and sighs. "Well, I hope you continue watching us play!" Harumi said enthusiastically and gave them a peace sign as she ran towards her teammates.

Ushijima watched the redhead girl run and couldn't help but stare with a ghost smile on his face. Tendo was now watching the taller male and grinned. "Oh, does Ushijima like Haru-chan?" Ushijima's eyes widened in surprise but then glared at Tendo making the redhead visibly shrink.

The game was about to end with Harumi's team leading by 20 points and there here were only a few minutes left. As Ushijima continued watching the girl, he noticed something change with the girl's overall demeanor.

Harumi was breathing fast yet her intense stare was most noticeable. She gave a curt nod at one of her teammates and passed the ball towards her. She began sprinting towards the center outrunning the girl guarding her. Her teammate then quickly passed the ball back to Harumi, who was suddenly guarded by two people.

However, she outran the first person guarding her, leaving her with one left. Her gaze then intensified even more and she performed several dribbling techniques resulting in an ankle breaker.

Tendo gasps at the intensity the girl was performing and Ushijima was surprised as well.

Harumi then ran towards the basket, jumped at a very tall height, and dunks the ball with fire evident in her eyes.

Ushijima was amazed by the girl's athletic skill and talent for the sport. It is evident that she has been through intense training and practice. He was even more surprised when, instead of resting, Harumi then begins running towards the opposite court ready in her defensive position.

"Kazuko! I'm not saying this again, Your arms are too low!" The coach reprimanded at the redhead girl. Harumi clicked her tongue and adjusted her position.

"She's intense, isn't she Wakatoshi?" Tendo said watching the girl in action. Ushijima only nodded, eyes not wavering. "Maybe that's why people call her basketball freak" Tendo said chuckling to himself. "She's promising," Ushijima replied.

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Author's Note:
I'm really sorry for taking so long to update the story. I've been stuck for a while and I feel so drained lately. But, I will try my best to update more often!

Thanks for the continuous support!

Also, can someone teach me how to posts gifs? I've been want to use gifs but when I do they come out as pictures. :((