The Captain and The Coach

Playing Dirty

Riko winced as she watched Junpei get elbowed yet again.

All of the guys were covered with bruises by now, thanks to Kirisaki's dirty play. But somehow, Riko felt the hits more whenever it was Junpei.

Suddenly, Junpei came barrelling towards the bench as he dove to save the ball from going out of bounds. Riko's eyes widened in horror as a Kirisaki player stuck his foot out, causing Junpei to trip and crash into the sidelines.

"Junpei!" she yelled as she rushed to his side. Her heart was in her throat as he lay still on the floor.

"Referee timeout!" she heard as a whistle blew, and Riko began to tap Junpei's shoulder urgently.

"Junpei," she said, willing her voice not to crack in fear as she noted the entire team gathered around them.

She breathed a sigh of relief when he stirred and let out a groan.

"Riko," he said, blinking up at her, and immediately she put up two fingers in front of him.

"Two," he replied without her having to ask, and he pushed himself off the floor.

"Captain, you're bleeding," Tetsuya said as he pointed to Junpei's lip, and Riko's eyes darted swiftly to Junpei as he wiped the blood away.

"I just cut my lip, it's nothing to worry about," he said, then nodded to the referee.

"Let's go!" he roared as he made his way back to the court with the rest of the team.

Riko sat back on the bench and watched the rest of the game intently, determined to keep her focus. Seirin needed their coach. She couldn't let them down.

Finally, the game was over and Seirin had won. All too soon, Riko found herself in the locker room with the guys, going through the motions of reminding them to get enough rest before the next game.

"You guys go ahead," she said, and waited until everyone had cleared out of the locker room. When everyone had gone, Riko opened and shut the lockers one by one to make sure no one had forgotten anything.

When she opened Junpei's locker, it was empty, but she suddenly found herself bursting into tears. She buried her face in her hands as she let out the worry and anxiety she had been keeping inside.

Suddenly, she felt a strong pair of arms envelop around her, and she knew instantly who it was.

Junpei turned her around in his arms and she beat her fists on his chest. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?!" she cried.

"I know, I'm sorry," he murmured as he wiped the tears streaming down her cheeks.

"You weren't moving! You were just lying there!" she said brokenly, and he pulled her close as she sobbed into his chest.

"I'm sorry for worrying you," he murmured as he stroked her hair, "I'm okay, I promise."

She sniffled as she looked up at him, "You promise?" He nodded at her reassuringly, "I promise. You can even use your scan on me, if you want."

He let her go and took off his shirt, but Riko's eyes widened at the sight of all the bruises on his torso. Tears welled in her eyes again and Junpei looked at her in a panic as he put his shirt back on hurriedly.

"Never mind that, I'm sorry, please don't cry anymore," he said as he pulled her close again. Riko wrapped her arms around his waist and held him tight.

"I couldn't stand seeing everyone get hurt, but most especially you," she whispered.

"I know, okay? But it was a rough game, we knew we were going to take these hits going in, remember?" he said gently, and she nodded.

"We're all much stronger than we look, including you," Junpei looked down at her and brushed the hair off her face, "I was proud of you for keeping it together on the sidelines. I know it wasn't easy for you to watch that game."

She shook her head and buried her face in his chest as he held her close. They stood together that way for a while, until Riko said, "They must be waiting for us."

To her surprise, Junpei shook his head. "I told Teppei to take them out for a meal. We can join them whenever you're ready."

She looked up at him and gave him a small smile. "In that case, just a little while longer then."

Riko wrapped her arms around Junpei again and rested her head on his chest, and her heart felt at ease when he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.

Neither of them ever wanted to let go.