Kick, Push

Competition Day: +12

Glancing around the cafeteria, Zayn can easily pick out who went way too hard the night before. It's not difficult to guess based on the dark circles and washed out skin that some had from not getting adequate enough sleep, yet still needing to be up this early to train. The ones who weren't present however, were probably of the worst. Niall's absence around the table makes Zayn think that the male's spearheading that group.

"You look pretty refreshed." Zayn takes a quick bite of his oatmeal, seeing Louis do the same across from him. "Early night after all?"

"Ummm," Louis squints his eyes in thought at just how he wants to phrase what Zayn's already making his own assumptions about. "Harry makes this green juice that's good for the skin apparently."

Zayn nods in understanding, keeping his thoughts to himself, just like he had when Louis got to their room that morning right as he was just waking up.

"Do you know what he puts in it?" Liam asks from Zayn's right, nursing his own kale something or other, power drink.

"Why don't you ask him yourself," Louis offers before taking a drink of his coffee. "He's meeting us in Shinjuku after we eat and Niall resurrects from the grave. You should come."

Liam glances at Zayn as if he's looking for some sort of permission, though the skater's not sure why. It's not like he was in charge of Liam like Camden was. "You guys are just gonna hang about?" Liam asks unsure.

"We don't 'hang about' Liam." Louis takes another long swig from his mug, "we skate."

The physio still seems hesitant at the idea, "Harry included?"

"With those baby deer legs and Saint Laurent boots?" Louis says with a raised eyebrow, Zayn snickering at the comparison. "No, he rents a bike to keep up."

The answer seems to put Liam at ease, knowing that he won't be expected to grab a board and no doubt make a fool of himself next to worldstar athletes. "As long as I can be back by my afternoon shift," he lets them know. "I've gotta check the facilities and be on hand."

"Shouldn't be a problem," Louis waves off with his spoon. "I want to be back after lunch to practice for a few hours at the park."

Again, Liam looks to Zayn for some sort of validation. "You too?"

"No." Zayn pushes his finished bowl away, moving on to popping a few berries into his mouth. "I'm gonna consider the 'hang about' as my practice."

"Zayn's a prodigy, he doesn't need to practice."

Stopping mid fruit reach, Zayn turns to look at Louis with a glare. He's completely left out the part where Zayn doesn't need a bowl or pool to practice like he does. That, and the fact that he's most definitely not a prodigy.

"No, really," Louis goes on. "He just avoids anything that gets him inside his own head." It's brave of Louis to talk about Zayn's inner struggles like that to Liam, but it's not terribly detailed, so Zayn just nods his head to the side in agreement. "Still think he's a prodigy though," Louis adds quickly.

Instead of groaning, Zayn just shoves another handful of blueberries into his mouth.

"Alright, sounds fun," Liam acquiesces, smile on his face at being included in something non-work related.

—

Japan's humidity wasn't letting up, early morning or not. Now was one of those times where Zayn would consider going along with one of Louis' crazy plans like sneaking into the Olympic Aquatic Center for a dip. He hated swimming with a passion, but a quick jump in and jump out was all that he'd need for some relief. Wearing distressed jeans didn't help matters, but Zayn hated practicing seriously in shorts. The harder the training, the rougher the falls, and he'd much rather have material be what rips, not his skin.