Three Point Line [4/?]
Title: Three Point Line [4/?]
Author: KantanaAmaya
Rating: G
Pairing: None/ TBA
Genre: High School AU
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Arashi. Or basketball. Trust me, I really know NOTHING about basketball.
Summary: When your high school is all about sports, how do you incorporate yourself into a world you weren't meant to belong in?
Word Count: 1,765.
.:.
Even as he walked with Aiba to the school's art room, his mind was a bit preoccupied. The young man he hung out with at tryouts, Nino, was a really interesting person. To sum it up, he piqued Sakurai's interest, and that could only turn out to be good or bad. At the moment it was a bad thing, since being distracted while talking to Aiba Masaki, Sho was learning, was never a good thing. It meant having the energetic second year repeat his nonsensical ramblings to you again, just with more attempts at clarifying something that only he understood anyway. That was how it seeemed to the senior, anyway. So wondering about the kind of person Nino was would not be beneficial to him now. Pushing the freshman to the back of his mind.
“So then, I asked my science teacher to borrow some liquid nitrogen-”
“Wait! What did you need liquid nitrogen for?!”
“Oh, you forgot already? I've always wanted to do an experiment where-”
'I just did something I know I am going to regret. At least we made it to the art room without him trying to start a new experiment or whatever it is he likes to do.'
It was surprising that someone so into the field of science would also be the same person who wanted to start an all-male cheer-leading team, but then again, Aiba was full of surprises, even in only an hour or so.
“Um, Aiba-san? We're at the art room now,” Sakurai said, pausing before moving for fear of a sudden movement on the part of the other male.
“Alright!! Is your friend still there? Do you think he'll say yes?” The bubbly questions never ceased, no matter how much Sho wished they would at least slow down a bit.
“I can look. You wait outside, okay?” Sho ordered, acknowledging the nod from Masaki before quietly slipping into the art room. It seemed empty, but even still, Ohno could be lurking around the cubic classroom somewhere. Walking further into the organized chaos of paint, easels, and covered canvases, he heard a yawn as he moved toward the easel he remembered from this morning. Once he reached the wooden object, he found his schoolmate sitting on a stool in front of the canvas, staring intently.
“Oh-Ohno-san?” The taller of the two spoke tentatively, not wanting to startle him, but not wanting to wait until his own presence was noticed. That could potentially take hours that he did not have to spare. His plan failed, and the older of the two jumped slightly, turning his head to look the other young man in the eyes. His face brightened when he recognized the familiar face.
“Good morning, Sho-chan! Did you come to get me again?”
“Ohno-san...it's evening, you haven't left school yet.” A pause.
“Oh, that's right. Is it this dark already? My mom will probably be mad at me again,” he commented, seemingly to himself, although Sho wouldn't have had an answer even if he was being spoken to.
“There's a guy outside who wants to talk to you, actually...”
“A guy?”
“He's a second year. He wants you to join his new club.”
“What new club?”
“...The cheer-leading team...”
“Sho-chan, we have one of those already. Even I know about that.”
“An all-boys cheer-leading team.”
A moment of silence.
“But why does he want me?”
“He was looking for a senior, and I told him you would think about it. So if you don't want to, just ignore him. But if you do want to, you would probably become popular with the girls around here really quickly.”
Ohno rolled his eyes, but sat up from his stool and walked up to Sakurai. Very close to Sakurai.
“Ne, I thought I said you didn't have to call me 'Ohno-san' anymore...” the senior said with a pout on his lips, reminding Sakurai somewhat of Ninomiya, but it drew him in in a completely different way.
“Well I don't know what else to call you...so...”
“Is this my Captain?” Came a new voice in the art room. Sho recognized him immediately, but Ohno, on the other hand, did not. The toes of his shoes still touching the toes of Sakurais', he leaned over slightly to see the face of the new visitor. The brown haired student rushed over to his side hurriedly, a bright smile on his face. It made Satoshi want to smile as well, even though he did not know the reason the other male was grinning so.
“Hey, hey, you can be our cheer-leading Captain, alright? Our leader! Or, in English, 'Riida'. My English is pretty good isn't it?”
The second year student had an infectious presence, and Ohno liked him already. He was not sure about being the leader or captain of anybody, but since it made the mystery person so happy, he almost felt too bad about rejecting him. So, he did the simple thing: he accepted the position. Sakurai looked stunned, but the other one looked ecstatic.
“By the way... what is your name?” After all, Ohno couldn't work with someone while calling them “second year with the pretty brown eyes and contagious smile” all of the time. Besides being awkward for them, it would be an awkward thing to hear every day. Satoshi was sure he would rather by called by his name than a description. However, things like “Captain” and “Riida” would never bother him.
“OH, I'm sorry! I'm Aiba Masaki, a second year. And your name is?”
Or perhaps that is because Aiba would be the one saying it.
“Ohno Satoshi.”
He grinned again.
“Thanks a bunch, Riida! You're helping to make my dream possible! So, when do you want to have our first practice? Because I think I might know where to find our other ten members...”
As the other two cheer-leaders (whether they had any experience or not, and more than likely not) talked, Sakurai slipped out of the room, letting them talk about their new club. He had a small smile on his face, glad that the two seemed to already get along, as he walked alone, even though a bit of the loneliness he usually felt was slowly beginning to creep back into his system.
“Sho-kun!”
The call was unexpected, yet exactly what he needed to hear. Turning around, he saw Nino walking with someone else, leaving from the gym.
'I guess he finally decided to put his game away, huh? Wait...who is that with him?'
The person with him was definitely a male, and he was definitely familiar. Upon closer inspection, he noticed him to be Matsumoto Jun, from the tryouts. Never would Sakurai have placed the two of them together. Maybe they just happened to leave at the same time?
“Sakurai-senpai, how are you?” Matsumoto asked politely when the two met him at the front of the school.
“I'm doing well, how are you, Matsumoto-san?”
“Will you two stop with the formalities? Sho-kun, MatsuJun, MatsuJun, Sho-kun. Although you two have already met, loosen up. It's weird,” Nino interjected, causing Sakurai to wonder when he ever told Nino to call him 'Sho-kun'. Realizing he hadn't, that just made him wonder a bit more about the younger man, who seemed to be so many different personality traits at once.
“Maybe you are just too lose, Nino,” Jun pointed out, receiving a tongue stuck out between two thin lips in response. He simply turned his head, resisting the urge to repeat the action, but refraining because of the presence of a senior student.
“What are you still doing here, Ninomiya-san?”
“Nino.”
“...”
“I won't answer you until you call me Nino.”
Sakurai sighed. “What are you still doing here, N-Nino?”
“I was waiting for MatsuJun. Why are you still here? You left with Aiba earlier, right?” Nino said with a smile, shocking Sakurai.
“You know Aiba-san? And you're walking with Matsumoto-san?” Nino nodded.
“MatsuJun and I are best friends, and I've known Aiba for years, even though it actually feels like forever,” he stated, affirming the statement by locking his free left arm with Jun's right one. The taller teenager looked down at him curiously, but did not question the action since there was nothing he could do about it now, and merely exhaled a small sigh.
That was some information Sakurai would have never guessed. Even though he knew that Matsumoto and Ninomiya must have known each other, the fact that they were close would never have crossed his mind. And Aiba just seems to make a habit of crossing paths with as many people as possible.
“Speak of the devil...” Matsumoto mumbled, and Sakurai snapped out of his thoughts at that, turning to see what it was that the taller freshman student was looking at. He spotted Aiba and Ohno both exiting the school building from the front entrance, which was directly behind them at the moment. Aiba waved vigorously with both arms, and Nino returned with a one armed wave just as strong, using the one not interlocked with Jun's of course. Since his other arm had two bags draped over his shoulder, Jun just nodded to them, and Ohno waved to Sakurai, who seemed to be the most confused out of the five of them. Sho held up a hand in response, but it was quickly snatched away by Nino.
“Once Aiba catches up, let's all go home, okay?”
Looking at the innocent eyes reflected back at him, Sho just nodded.
The five young men exited the school grounds, all connected in some way. Ninomiya Kazunari was in the middle, with Matsumoto Jun on his left and Sakurai Sho on his right, both with an arm linked in his, MatsuJun's comfortable and Sakurai's awkward. Aiba Masaki claimed the right arm of Jun, entangling it with his school bag and his athletic bag. He tried to skip, but the move failed since the rest were walking. On the opposite end of the line was Ohno Satoshi, who walked very close to Sakurai, although he was not actually touching him like Nino was, save for the occasional, accidental brush of the arm. It was a lovely scene, and it represented a circle of bonds that would be tested over the rocky waters that the five swam known as high school.
.:.
Author's Note: Kind of a corny ending to this chapter, but I wanted it to be! Haha, how was it? Please leave me comments! I'm always looking for opinions, requests, and constructive criticism. I tried to add some Sakumiya moments in there for “all4cyanide”, but only because I'm still not positive on where I want this to go and I feel bad about making her wait. As well as everyone else! I just don't have time to go check all of the comms. Where this is posted. [I had my own journal pulled up to make sure there weren't any contrasts with ch. 3!] ^-^ Well, I hope you all enjoyed chapter 4, and hopefully chapter 5 will be up next week. Thank you for reading!
Author: KantanaAmaya
Rating: G
Pairing: None/ TBA
Genre: High School AU
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Arashi. Or basketball. Trust me, I really know NOTHING about basketball.
Summary: When your high school is all about sports, how do you incorporate yourself into a world you weren't meant to belong in?
Word Count: 1,765.
.:.
Even as he walked with Aiba to the school's art room, his mind was a bit preoccupied. The young man he hung out with at tryouts, Nino, was a really interesting person. To sum it up, he piqued Sakurai's interest, and that could only turn out to be good or bad. At the moment it was a bad thing, since being distracted while talking to Aiba Masaki, Sho was learning, was never a good thing. It meant having the energetic second year repeat his nonsensical ramblings to you again, just with more attempts at clarifying something that only he understood anyway. That was how it seeemed to the senior, anyway. So wondering about the kind of person Nino was would not be beneficial to him now. Pushing the freshman to the back of his mind.
“So then, I asked my science teacher to borrow some liquid nitrogen-”
“Wait! What did you need liquid nitrogen for?!”
“Oh, you forgot already? I've always wanted to do an experiment where-”
'I just did something I know I am going to regret. At least we made it to the art room without him trying to start a new experiment or whatever it is he likes to do.'
It was surprising that someone so into the field of science would also be the same person who wanted to start an all-male cheer-leading team, but then again, Aiba was full of surprises, even in only an hour or so.
“Um, Aiba-san? We're at the art room now,” Sakurai said, pausing before moving for fear of a sudden movement on the part of the other male.
“Alright!! Is your friend still there? Do you think he'll say yes?” The bubbly questions never ceased, no matter how much Sho wished they would at least slow down a bit.
“I can look. You wait outside, okay?” Sho ordered, acknowledging the nod from Masaki before quietly slipping into the art room. It seemed empty, but even still, Ohno could be lurking around the cubic classroom somewhere. Walking further into the organized chaos of paint, easels, and covered canvases, he heard a yawn as he moved toward the easel he remembered from this morning. Once he reached the wooden object, he found his schoolmate sitting on a stool in front of the canvas, staring intently.
“Oh-Ohno-san?” The taller of the two spoke tentatively, not wanting to startle him, but not wanting to wait until his own presence was noticed. That could potentially take hours that he did not have to spare. His plan failed, and the older of the two jumped slightly, turning his head to look the other young man in the eyes. His face brightened when he recognized the familiar face.
“Good morning, Sho-chan! Did you come to get me again?”
“Ohno-san...it's evening, you haven't left school yet.” A pause.
“Oh, that's right. Is it this dark already? My mom will probably be mad at me again,” he commented, seemingly to himself, although Sho wouldn't have had an answer even if he was being spoken to.
“There's a guy outside who wants to talk to you, actually...”
“A guy?”
“He's a second year. He wants you to join his new club.”
“What new club?”
“...The cheer-leading team...”
“Sho-chan, we have one of those already. Even I know about that.”
“An all-boys cheer-leading team.”
A moment of silence.
“But why does he want me?”
“He was looking for a senior, and I told him you would think about it. So if you don't want to, just ignore him. But if you do want to, you would probably become popular with the girls around here really quickly.”
Ohno rolled his eyes, but sat up from his stool and walked up to Sakurai. Very close to Sakurai.
“Ne, I thought I said you didn't have to call me 'Ohno-san' anymore...” the senior said with a pout on his lips, reminding Sakurai somewhat of Ninomiya, but it drew him in in a completely different way.
“Well I don't know what else to call you...so...”
“Is this my Captain?” Came a new voice in the art room. Sho recognized him immediately, but Ohno, on the other hand, did not. The toes of his shoes still touching the toes of Sakurais', he leaned over slightly to see the face of the new visitor. The brown haired student rushed over to his side hurriedly, a bright smile on his face. It made Satoshi want to smile as well, even though he did not know the reason the other male was grinning so.
“Hey, hey, you can be our cheer-leading Captain, alright? Our leader! Or, in English, 'Riida'. My English is pretty good isn't it?”
The second year student had an infectious presence, and Ohno liked him already. He was not sure about being the leader or captain of anybody, but since it made the mystery person so happy, he almost felt too bad about rejecting him. So, he did the simple thing: he accepted the position. Sakurai looked stunned, but the other one looked ecstatic.
“By the way... what is your name?” After all, Ohno couldn't work with someone while calling them “second year with the pretty brown eyes and contagious smile” all of the time. Besides being awkward for them, it would be an awkward thing to hear every day. Satoshi was sure he would rather by called by his name than a description. However, things like “Captain” and “Riida” would never bother him.
“OH, I'm sorry! I'm Aiba Masaki, a second year. And your name is?”
Or perhaps that is because Aiba would be the one saying it.
“Ohno Satoshi.”
He grinned again.
“Thanks a bunch, Riida! You're helping to make my dream possible! So, when do you want to have our first practice? Because I think I might know where to find our other ten members...”
As the other two cheer-leaders (whether they had any experience or not, and more than likely not) talked, Sakurai slipped out of the room, letting them talk about their new club. He had a small smile on his face, glad that the two seemed to already get along, as he walked alone, even though a bit of the loneliness he usually felt was slowly beginning to creep back into his system.
“Sho-kun!”
The call was unexpected, yet exactly what he needed to hear. Turning around, he saw Nino walking with someone else, leaving from the gym.
'I guess he finally decided to put his game away, huh? Wait...who is that with him?'
The person with him was definitely a male, and he was definitely familiar. Upon closer inspection, he noticed him to be Matsumoto Jun, from the tryouts. Never would Sakurai have placed the two of them together. Maybe they just happened to leave at the same time?
“Sakurai-senpai, how are you?” Matsumoto asked politely when the two met him at the front of the school.
“I'm doing well, how are you, Matsumoto-san?”
“Will you two stop with the formalities? Sho-kun, MatsuJun, MatsuJun, Sho-kun. Although you two have already met, loosen up. It's weird,” Nino interjected, causing Sakurai to wonder when he ever told Nino to call him 'Sho-kun'. Realizing he hadn't, that just made him wonder a bit more about the younger man, who seemed to be so many different personality traits at once.
“Maybe you are just too lose, Nino,” Jun pointed out, receiving a tongue stuck out between two thin lips in response. He simply turned his head, resisting the urge to repeat the action, but refraining because of the presence of a senior student.
“What are you still doing here, Ninomiya-san?”
“Nino.”
“...”
“I won't answer you until you call me Nino.”
Sakurai sighed. “What are you still doing here, N-Nino?”
“I was waiting for MatsuJun. Why are you still here? You left with Aiba earlier, right?” Nino said with a smile, shocking Sakurai.
“You know Aiba-san? And you're walking with Matsumoto-san?” Nino nodded.
“MatsuJun and I are best friends, and I've known Aiba for years, even though it actually feels like forever,” he stated, affirming the statement by locking his free left arm with Jun's right one. The taller teenager looked down at him curiously, but did not question the action since there was nothing he could do about it now, and merely exhaled a small sigh.
That was some information Sakurai would have never guessed. Even though he knew that Matsumoto and Ninomiya must have known each other, the fact that they were close would never have crossed his mind. And Aiba just seems to make a habit of crossing paths with as many people as possible.
“Speak of the devil...” Matsumoto mumbled, and Sakurai snapped out of his thoughts at that, turning to see what it was that the taller freshman student was looking at. He spotted Aiba and Ohno both exiting the school building from the front entrance, which was directly behind them at the moment. Aiba waved vigorously with both arms, and Nino returned with a one armed wave just as strong, using the one not interlocked with Jun's of course. Since his other arm had two bags draped over his shoulder, Jun just nodded to them, and Ohno waved to Sakurai, who seemed to be the most confused out of the five of them. Sho held up a hand in response, but it was quickly snatched away by Nino.
“Once Aiba catches up, let's all go home, okay?”
Looking at the innocent eyes reflected back at him, Sho just nodded.
The five young men exited the school grounds, all connected in some way. Ninomiya Kazunari was in the middle, with Matsumoto Jun on his left and Sakurai Sho on his right, both with an arm linked in his, MatsuJun's comfortable and Sakurai's awkward. Aiba Masaki claimed the right arm of Jun, entangling it with his school bag and his athletic bag. He tried to skip, but the move failed since the rest were walking. On the opposite end of the line was Ohno Satoshi, who walked very close to Sakurai, although he was not actually touching him like Nino was, save for the occasional, accidental brush of the arm. It was a lovely scene, and it represented a circle of bonds that would be tested over the rocky waters that the five swam known as high school.
.:.
Author's Note: Kind of a corny ending to this chapter, but I wanted it to be! Haha, how was it? Please leave me comments! I'm always looking for opinions, requests, and constructive criticism. I tried to add some Sakumiya moments in there for “all4cyanide”, but only because I'm still not positive on where I want this to go and I feel bad about making her wait. As well as everyone else! I just don't have time to go check all of the comms. Where this is posted. [I had my own journal pulled up to make sure there weren't any contrasts with ch. 3!] ^-^ Well, I hope you all enjoyed chapter 4, and hopefully chapter 5 will be up next week. Thank you for reading!