Kaho left Taiga on the grass by his cabin and found herself face-to-face with the last person she wanted to see; Sato Kenta, the man who killed Mr Tanaka. She tensed under his gaze.
Kenta cleared his throat.
"Hel-" his voice squeaked, "Hello Kaho."
Kenta's voice the second time, was a confident imitation of a voice she had known since childhood; Ryota's. Kaho's eye twitched. He spoke with the same cadence and rhythm that her friend did. Except, the words he'd chosen weren't right. She felt a shiver go down her spine as he sized her up, using her friend's voice.
"Ah- Good evening, Mr Sato."
He raised an eyebrow, looking Kaho up and down, eyes trained on the bare skin of her legs. Kaho shuffled uncomfortably under his gaze.
"Do you need any more bedding?" he asked in Ryota's voice.
She shook her head, "No. No, thank you."
Kenta raised an eyebrow and turned his head to the side, clearing his throat, his head bobbing up and down. He cleared it again and in a perfect imitation of Kaho's voice spoke again, "Should you even be outside, now?"
Kaho shrugged, "I was just with my brother."
"Just with your brother?" Kenta parroted, "Not your team?"
Kaho shook her head, "I'm just going to them now, I'm going to be late. Thank you, Mr Sato."
She picked up the pace and walked briskly toward the waterfront and the dining hall.
Despite the elevated police presence, and the looming curfew, the teenagers were sprawled out together in groups. Some were playing with Ryota's neon pink basketball. Jean-Luc and Ryota were kicking gravel up underfoot, trying to weave past each other and shoot the ball into an invisible hoop. Instead of an actual basket, stood Omura, his shoulders squared and eyes narrowed.
There were a few people huddled together, playing on games consoles, faces illuminated from under their chins as they shouted insults at eachother and NPCs during racing games. The Seiran club and Kuroyama club really seemed to have bonded in their boredom. It must be weird to be part of a team and know you'll never step onto the court. Maybe that was part of the charm of being in such a small team?
Kaho's gaze flickered over the group, she spotted her teammates across the greenery; while Eiji and Yuta were mostly on the bench, and only put on the court during a run-and-gun play change, and Konoishi was much more a clutch shooter than a steady starter, Tomohiro had a weakness in dribbling, and Yamada needed to get more confident, everyone from Hanagawa could and likely would see some game time during the season. They'd be hard-pressed not to. Even Omura, with his injury.
Her eyes flickered to Shoji, Akane's brother. He was playing on a red console, his body turning from left to right as he steered his character in the game. He was a first year, and a member of the basketball club, and yet he'd known Captain Isamu. Maybe the clubs were more involved than she thought?
She considered, for just a moment, asking one of the other captains. She found them both with Fumiko. She was on the other side of the open space, doing yoga with Konoishi standing beside her. Konoishi looked like a textbook illustration as he stretched forward on his tiptoes, his arms extended with the grace and poise of a crane. Matsushita was with them too, flat-footed but well-balanced on the grass. Captain Isamu was trying, struggling to maintain the pose for the same length of time as Fumiko or Konoishi, but was doing better than Captain Hirano, who wobbled as he tried to stay upright, his arms windmilling in all directions. Beside them was Seiran's captain, Captain Daisuke Fujisaki, with his large, imposing stature, and soft stomach wobbled and teetered. He was laughing, as he stumbled over himself. Kaho couldn't help but smile at him. He had an infectious laugh.
Unfortunately, despite spotting the captains, she had no idea where Akane was. She whipped her head around, just to be sure she was accounted for, and much to her chagrin, she spotted her sitting beside Naseru.
While Naseru was clearly listening to whatever Akane had to said, Kaho noticed how his head turned just an inch when Kaho moved into his eyeline. She couldn't hear Akane, not with her blood pounding in her ears. Which was how she found herself colliding with Tomohiro, who was lounging around in a pair or pyjama bottoms, and a well-worn hoodie. His thumbs had worn gaps into the cuffs of each sleeve, and he now wore the jumper with his thumbs threaded through the caps. He stumbled back a step and looked up at her, eyes wide.
"Kaho, hi!" Tomohiro said, running a hand through his hair. It was growing out, and looked better than it did when it was freshly styled.
"Hi, Tomohiro," she said, her eyes flickering over her shoulder, "Is he following me?"
"Matsuoka?" Tomohiro asked, "No, he's talking to Kiminara, she's talking about college ball and how she's worried she'll flunk out of the college team because she's missing exams."
"Ouch," Kaho winced, "But no, I wasn't talking about Matsuoka."
Her cheeks were pink as she considered why Tomohiro would think she was wanting Naseru to look at her. She wasn't peacocking or showing off, trying to steal his attention. She looked over her shoulder anyway, just to be sure he wasn't looking at her.
"Okay, so who?"
"Sato. You know. Sato."
Tomohiro tensed and craned his neck upward. He looked over, unsubtly, toward the way from which Kaho and come. He shook his head, "No sign of the guy."
Kaho sighed audibly, "It's almost curfew… I'm worried."
Tomohiro furrowed his brows, "Er, I don't think there's much I can do for you, there, Kaho. But maybe Satoru could protect you like last night?"
Kaho let out a huff, "He was asleep by the time I got back from chasing Kiminara last night."
"Maybe ask the Captain to be your meat shield. Or Coach. I don't really have much to offer in that department."
Tomohiro was right; compared to Taiga, or even Konoishi, there was very little of him, his thin body was elven in a way that made him nimble and agile on the court. Which was why his dribbling needed to be tighter. He wasn't much of a meat shield. Not that Kaho wanted someone who would hurl himself between her and Sato's blade.
Captain Hirano strode over, leaving the haphazard yoga session. He slung an arm around Tomohiro's shoulder, "Now, Kousuke, you're not trying to cost Coach his job are you? Anyone with two brain cells to rub together would know he can't crash in the same room as a teenage girl. Sleeping in the same room as Kaho, and therefore Fumiko would jeopradise his job."
Tomohiro's mouth fell open into a little 'o' shape. He paled and shifted himself out from under Captain Hirano's arm. He rubbed the back of his neck and excused himself from the group. Kaho looked up at Captain Hirano and let out a sigh.
Captain Hirano Azumi was a good-looking guy. There was no crime in acknowledging that. He wasn't her type; she preferred a guy that knew how to dress, like Tatsuya, but, just because your favourite flavour of ice cream is chocolate doesn't mean you can't appreciate the sweetness of strawberry, after all. She looked up at him and offered him a small smile.
He was wearing a white t-shirt and a pair of slim-legged tracksuit bottoms with white stripes along the outer seams. He crossed his arms and smirked down at her.
"Damn. Sometimes I wonder about Kousuke. That was really thoughtless, huh?"
Kaho shrugged, "He wasn't thinking, it's okay. I didn't take it to heart. No harm, no foul, no problem for Taiga."
"You're scared though, huh?" Captain Hirano asked, "Has he been about?"
Kaho swallowed the lump in her throat, "Er- Did Fumiko speak to you about last night?"
He shook his head. Kaho frowned and beckoned him closer. She stood on her tiptoes and whispered into his ear, giving him a summary of what they concluded during the previous evening; how Kenta had been in their room, in Fumiko's bed and how they weren't sure if he was still looking to kill Akane. As he listened, Captain Hirano scowled, his face contorting into red-hot rage with every word.
"After all this time," he cut himself off, "She still doesn't want to bother us with her problems. Shit." He began to pace a few steps, running a hand through his hair. His undercut was growing out again, he'd need to get his hand on some clippers when the team got home.
He craned his neck backward and muttered to himself. He glared across the greenery at Fumiko, who remained perfectly poised in her yoga pose.
He sighed and ran his hands through his hair, "That girl, I swear-"
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything," Kaho said quietly.
"No. Of course you should. You're staying there too, don't worry about it, okay?"
Kaho lowered her gaze and stared down at her feet. She clenched and unclenched her fists and chewed on her lip.
"Hey, Kaho, would you walk with me?" Captain Hirano asked.
"Sure, Captain," she said, snapping to attention.
Adamant to keep up with expectations, Kaho bounded toward the edge of the clearing, half a step ahead of Captain Hirano, uncaring that she could feel the quizzical stares of the whole basketball team boring into the back of her head. She just had to pretend she didn't hope one of those people looking at her was Naseru.
Kaho and Captain Hirano left the clearing by the dining room and began to walk toward the cabins. There were several police officers jotted around, their eyes followed them as they walked along the well-worn path. The cabin where Captain Hirano and his roommates were staying was a cabin down from Kaho's, with Ryota's room between them.
"Kaho – would you like me to get Ryota to camp out in your room? I can arrange it on the down-low. You have a boyfriend, right? He's bound to trust Ryota, right? I'd have suggested Matsuoka, but he might be too – you know – for him. Meanwhile, Ryota – well, the only thing in that pretty little head of his is a basketball. Boy was born for the court."
Kaho nodded slowly, "Wait – is this because of Konoishi crashing with us yesterday?"
"Satoru and Fumiko have been friends forever. Like you and Ryota. I figured maybe you'd sleep better with him-" Captain Hirano cut himself off, blushing to the tips of his ears, "I mean, you'd sleep better knowing he was there to keep you safe."
Kaho leaned against the wall of Captain Hirano's cabin and sighed, "He can impersonate voices, Captain."
"Ryota?"
"Sato," Kaho said.
"Ah, that um. That's not good, is it?"
"No," Kaho said. She was going to say more, but she was cut off by a trilling from Captain Hirano's pocket. It was Fumiko.
"Azumi! Azumi! Michio made a bet with one of the policemen and said he could beat any of them at mahjong. Turns out he's really good? Did you know he was good at mahjong? Whatever! He beat one of the cops at mahjong and because the cops lost, they're going to take us for a supervised hike! Get your ass over here!" Fumiko exclaimed, "Coach is going to combust!"
Captain Hirano sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "Okay, Fumiko, we'll be just a sec, I'm just by your room with Kaho, right now."
"Oh! Is that where she went! Akane dipped earlier and so did Matsuoka. I was wondering whether she'd followed them since she's so clearly-"
"See you, Fumiko."
Captain Hirano hung up the phone and looked over at Kaho. She was staring at him, arms crossed and hip jutting out to the side. She raised a brow, "She's so clearly what?"
Captain Hirano shrugged, starting to head off the way that they'd come, "Who knows. But hey, if you want us to sneak Ryota into your cabin, let us know."
"Wait! You should know," Kaho said, rushing to catch up with him, "He can impersonate tonnes of people – he can do me, Captain. And Ryota. Who knows who else-"
"Kaho," Captain Hirano said, putting a hand on her shoulder, "Breathe. We're going for a hike. Maybe you'll see the fish, get the wish."
"Pretty sure you only get good luck if you see the fish, Captain!" Kaho called after him.