Chapter Text
When Sakurai started at Touou Academy, he was hoping for a fresh start. At his previous school, he had been the target of bullying and coercion by both students and teachers. Frequently, he had his things stolen or damaged. He recalled a time when he returned from lunch to find all the pencils left on his desk had been broken, even the mechanical pencils. Every piece of pencil lead was split into pieces too tiny to use. When he asked to borrow a pencil from his classmates, they all refused with a smirk. His teacher accused him of coming to school unprepared and made him stand out in the hall.
His classmates constantly forced their cleaning duties on him, so he often came to basketball practice late. As a result, his teammates thought poorly of him and the captain had him do extra exercises to punish him for tardiness. That, coupled with his frequently stolen lunches, made Sakurai very thin. His parents worried about him, but he always brushed off their questioning. He apologized profusely, insisting that it was nothing, or that his studies were causing him stress.
Naturally, his parents thought he should quit basketball in order to focus on his schoolwork.
“I’m sorry,” he sputtered, “I’ll work harder to keep up!”
Sakurai loved basketball too much to quit. Even if he was bullied by his teammates, even if he was half-starved at the start of practice, even if his extra workouts made him too tired to perform well enough to qualify for anything other than third-string—Sakurai’s love for basketball kept him going.
Sakurai chose Touou mostly because of its reputation in the academic arena. When he started looking into it more, he found out that they were making an effort to recruit strong players. Sakurai made more time on weekends to practice his three-pointers, going to local parks. He slacked on his studies in order to qualify for the team.
Try-outs were difficult. There were a lot of strong players, but his punishment exercises proved to be an edge. His endurance and sure-shooting made him stand out. He listened to conversations around him, picking up rumors that one of the Generation of Miracles was going to be on the team.
Sakurai was terrified.
His terror mounted as the entrance ceremony for Touou drew closer. Sakurai studied issues of Basketball Monthly in order to memorize their names and faces. Each one seemed more terrifying than the last. Especially Aomine Daiki. His dark, narrow eyes pierced into his heart, planting the seeds of fear. Sakurai began having nightmares about him. Each morning before the entrance ceremony, he woke up in a cold sweat.
The day arrived. Sakurai woke up from yet another nightmare, shaking and in need of a shower. He got cleaned up and dressed in his uniform, willing his fingers to stop twitching as he knotted his tie. He triple-checked his school supplies, shoes, workout clothes, and bento. Today, his bento held a well-balanced meal in the shape of a cat, with onigiri for ears. He patted his pockets, confirming their contents: a coin-purse, his cell-phone, school ID, and handkerchief. He checked his watch and then made his way to school.
Sakurai lived just far enough to take the train to school. As he found a place to cram himself in, he took a look around for Touou uniforms. He didn’t see any of his schoolmates yet, but anticipated their eventual arrival as the train came closer to the school.
Reaching the next stop, the train doors opened, passengers came and went. One bumped into him and he immediately apologized. He looked up and his gaze met a pair of sharp blue eyes. Sakurai glanced down quickly. His knees shook.
“S’alright,” the teenager said.
It’s him. Sakurai thought in a panic. He stole a sidelong look where the teen stood and confirmed his suspicions. It was Aomine Daiki. His height was incredible to behold in person. Aomine’s dark tan stood out amongst the pale passengers, along with his deep blue hair and eyes. Then it dawned on Sakurai that the uniform Aomine was wearing was identical to his—though Aomine’s tie was hanging untied about his neck.
Sakurai could feel his heart rate increase, his throat closing as he fought a panic attack. It’s ok, Ryou, he assured himself, you’ll only ever see him at practice. The brunette suppressed the urge to whimper about it, reminding himself that this would be a fresh start. When his heart finally slowed and his breathing came easier, he still felt unsteady on his feet. He kept glancing at Aomine, as if to make sure the teen wouldn’t grab him by the throat and throttle him (as Aomine had often done in his nightmares).
He watched Aomine step off the train first at their stop, and resolved to keep his distance. As Sakurai followed well behind him, he began to grow annoyed with Aomine’s relaxed pace. Sakurai eyed his watch.
If he doesn’t hurry, we’ll both be late to the entrance ceremony.
Sakurai pouted. He shook his head, then clenched his fists in resolve. He would not allow himself to be late because of this guy, even if he was the scariest person he’d ever seen. Sakurai increased his pace, walking almost suspiciously quick—he might as well have run away. Though as he passed Aomine, the tall boy hardly spared a glance.
Sakurai let out a deep breath of relief when he was safely out of range. He resolved to take an earlier train to school tomorrow.
As the entrance ceremony progressed, Sakurai was thankful that the alphabet allowed him a safe distance from Aomine. He almost felt comfortable. Sitting in a sea of new faces, a new start ahead of him. He would not allow Aomine to put a damper on his high school experience.
Then he looked at the class list.
Aomine Daiki.
And a bit further down the list.
Sakurai Ryou.
Ohgodohgodohgodohgod…