égoïste [Akaashi Keiji]

raison #33

Things were almost like a whirlwind for Shiori the minute she landed in Miyagi. It had been a long time since she'd been back, so there was much to do, and that included meeting a whole bunch of connections she still regularly kept in contact with.

The first one she met was her mother, Masae Maebara, a physics teacher at Shiratorizawa. She was someone who she didn't see often, mainly because of the differences in where they lived. She lived in Miyagi whilst her dad lived in Tokyo as a VET. Although she was missed, it was easy to communicate to her as her father called her nearly every night. With this style of communication, it didn't feel like the Maebara siblings had gone without seeing their mother for a while.

The first few days were spent catching up with family and making sure everything was ready for the summer holidays. This also included making plans for the rest of the summer, and preparing for already pre planned events.

And finally, came the day Shiori was to go to Shiratorizawa. It was a couple of days into summer break and before she could see her childhood friends, but it was one she had been waiting for with anticipation.

After she got dropped off by Arata, she made a beeline to the gym, already hearing the noises of players and the squeaking of shoes against the floorboards.

What a familiar sound, she hummed in delight. It had been a while since she'd come to Shiratorizawa - the last time she was here was when she was dropping off lunch to her mum who had forgotten her bento.

Shiori popped her head into the gym, seeing the regulars of the Shiratorizawa boys team warming up and doing drills. She watched them for a while, noting some behaviours of players and how strong the team was overall. After analysing them like a simple maths formula in her head, her gaze wandered to a bowl-cut shaped hairstyle, immediately recognising him as her neighbour, Goshiki.

He's grown so much! I think he's as tall as Akaashi...? She wondered. He was doing some other drills whilst trying to proclaim himself as the ace of the team, however was ignored by Ushiwaka, who just continued on what he was doing.

Shiori could recognise most of the players, as she'd either seen them in their plays when they were younger, or when she watched some games of the team. It was quite interesting seeing them in person.

She scanned the room to find the coach, seeing him sitting by the side of the net in the middle of the room with the other coach.

Tanji Washijou was his name, I think...what was the other guy's one? Akira Saitou I think...I'm sure I've seen him somewhere before? Maybe when I came back the other year and saw mum?

Shiori thought for a brief moment. She dismissed the thoughts and shrugged, thinking that they'd introduce themselves when she came to them. To that end, to help out in the camp, she headed for the coach.

"Washijou-sensei!" She called when she was within distance of getting heard.

The older coach turned his head, showing a grumpy expression as she entered and made her way over. The younger coach had an expression of surprise, and then happiness as he saw her.

"Maebara-kun!" Akira grinned at the teen as she stopped next to them with a smile. "Thank you for coming to help us out on this camp."

"No worries, thank you for inviting me!" She beamed. Akira seemed quite nice, however the older coach, not so much. "Thank you for inviting me too, Washijou-sensei."

He looked her up and down, the same expression on his face and his arms crossed. Shiori held a smile on her lips as she waited for him to say something, but the longer he delayed his response, the more awkward it felt for the newcomer.