Chapter Text
Emi sighed with relief as the bell rang, ending her last class of the day despite the fact that her teacher was in the middle of his lesson. No one was paying attention to him, though, even in his frustrated state. There were only a few weeks left of school, and she couldn't wait until the day she wasn't cooped up inside of a classroom for over half of the day. Weeks could seem like an eternity, though, depending on what happened in those few weeks.
She picked up her books quickly and slipped out of the classroom, her hazel eyes focusing on where she was headed as she passed by the one of the school's many gyms. She knew that the girls basketball team was practicing in there, and the last thing she wanted to think about was the girls who had once been her teammates.
One month ago...
Emi smiled as she approached the doors of the gym where basketball practice was normally held, eyes gleaming as the sound of a basketball hitting the floor reached her ears. She hadn't been to practice in months because of a broken leg she had received in a game, but her coach had finally said that she was well enough to practice with the team again. She had never stopped supporting her team throughout that time that she'd been injured, but sitting on the sidelines and watching was never the same as being out on the court. It was especially painful during the first game, for the replacement they'd chosen for her was a cocky first year who acted like she ruled the court. She was about as fast as Emi, but she didn't know her teammates as well as she thought she did. She made mistakes in that game that she was sure the coach never would have excused if she was able to get a word in with the girl, but it was no use. The girl refused to acknowledge it, but she wasn't near capable of being a point guard yet.
The middle school girl opened the door quietly, not at all surprised to see the captain practicing free throws on the right side of the court. The third year, Tessa, had been the first one to arrive at and leave practice every day since she'd arrived at the school. She hadn't become captain until the beginning of her second year, but the girl was an exceptional small forward; she knew her position well, and it had won the team many games during that time. One thing they hadn't done, though, was win the state championships. There had only been a few teams to ever win the championship, and the current champions had held the title for over five years. The current third years had all agreed in their first year that they would win the championship game at some point in their middle school career, but so far they'd been unsuccessful. This would be their last chance, but their captain seemed confident that it could be done.
"Still the first one here, as always," Emi chuckled, watching as the basketball bounced off of the backboard and into her friend's waiting hands. She'd always had a knack for knowing whether or not a shot would go in, and it had saved the team quite a few times.
"Would you expect any less from your captain?" Tessa replied, placing the basketball carefully on the ground and approaching her teammate. She wasn't sure how well this conversation was going to go, but she was praying that it would end well.
"We need to talk, Emi."
The point guard tensed up at the statement, but gave a soft nod despite her fears. She wasn't sure what her friend wanted to talk about, but she knew from the other girl's expression that it wasn't anything good.
"What about? I know I haven't been back to practice in a while, but coach had me on a different practice reg-"
"It's not that!" Tessa interrupted, pushing her blonde hair away from her face before looking back up at Emi. As much as she didn't like the situation they were in, she needed to finish this before the other team members got here. They would never forgive her for what she was about to do.
"I think it would be best if you just quit the basketball team."
Emi froze for a moment, unable to believe what she had just heard as her eyes locked on Tessa. There was no way she'd heard the girl correctly, but there was no sign that she was faking, either. Her face was too serious for this to be a joke.
"B-but why?! I already recovered faster than I was supposed to, I can-"
"Even if you d id recover quickly, Emi, you won't be able to play like you did in the beginning of the year. As much as I hate to admit it, you won't be as good as you were for a long time. Now, all you'll do is slow us down."
"What about championships, Tessa?" she asked, biting her lip gently to keep it from trembling. She'd loved to play basketball since she was in elementary school, and to hear one of her best friends say something like this was almost too much to bear.
"What about our promise?"
"Oh, don't worry about that. With me as point guard, we'll win for sure."
Even now, she couldn't help but flinch at the memory. She had found others to play basketball with very quickly, but the fact that the people that had been her teammates for years had cast her out like that was unacceptable to her.
She continued down the crowded hallways and made her way out of the school at a brisk walk, cursing as she looked down at her watch. She was supposed to meet her friends to play basketball in five minutes, and the park was a ten minute walk from the building.
"You'd better not start without me like you did last time, Tatsuya," Emi growled softly, taking off at a brisk run in the direction of the park. The heavy book bag she was carrying on her back slowed her down quite a bit, but she managed to get within sight of the park fairly quickly since no one was walking around at this time in the afternoon. The park where they played was usually occupied by younger children on the weekends, but even then they didn't have to worry about the little ones wandering towards the small court that was distinguished from the rest of the park only by a thin layer of cracked concrete.
"You're late, Emi!" a voice called, drawing her attention to the court she'd been headed towards anyways. She chuckled as she saw Alex running towards her, blonde hair blowing behind her since she had yet to put it in a ponytail.
"I'm sorry, guys! I had to get some things from my locker," she replied, moving out of the way before the other girl could even attempt to kiss her. She still couldn't figure out why, but Alex had decided that trying to kiss everyone was going to be her new form of greeting. She had managed to avoid it so far, but she was hoping that her green-eyed friend would soon get rid of the habit.
"That's fine, but you have to play with on a team with Taiga once he gets here," Alex teased, a smirk crossing her face as she turned back around and ran towards her teammate and friend.
"That's no fair! You know me and Tatsuya work better as a team," Emi pouted, following the other girl over to the court as Alex nearly tackled the black-haired boy that was shooting baskets there. He yelped slightly, Alex's weight throwing him off balance, but he managed to remain on his feet enough that he barely had to steady himself before answering Emi.
"Hey, if I can play with Taiga, you definitely can," he retorted, cursing softly as the ball he had previously thrown bounced gently off the rim of the hoop. Dark eyes immediately found the cause of such a blunder, and soon Tatsuya and Alex had entered a full blown argument about her messing up his shot. Emi was quick to zone out, hoping that they would be able to start a game and stop arguing soon. She sighed as she scanned the nearby area for her teammate for the day, unable to hold back a nearly inaudible huff of disapproval when she spotted him sprinting up the street.
"Don't tire yourself out now, you idiot! We still have to play," Emi called, starting towards the red-headed American at a slight jog when she saw him begin to slow down. His face was already drenched in sweat, and she knew already that his fatigue would cost them a few points in the match to come. It wouldn't lose it for them, though. At least, that's what she was hoping.
"I'm sorry, I had to find something I'd left in class. Now, who am I playing with?" The tall male inquired, looking over at his other two friends - who were still fighting - before his brown eyes focused on the former point guard once again.
"You're with me today, Taiga," the girl replied, looking up at her giant of a friend. Taiga was almost a foot taller than her, but so were most of the children at their school. She hoped, however, that she would grow a bit before high school started. "Your dunks had better be just as good as when you play with Alex."
"Don't worry about that, Emi. As long as your passes are as good as when you're with Tatsuya, we should be fine," Taiga replied, determined eyes meeting with hers as he flashed a smile down at her. Though it was their first time playing together, he was rather excited for the change. She had been an ace on her team for a reason, after all.
"Then I guess there's only one more thing to say," she said, smirking as they headed in the direction of their still feuding friends. Emi's hands were already itching to touch the basketball that Tatsuya had brought and start the game. The feeling was like the return of an old friend, but she had yet to be numbed of the joy she felt whenever she stepped out onto that court.
"Don't beat them too badly, okay? They might not want to play with us anymore."
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Emi stepped quietly into her home, sweat still dripping from her forehead as she gently pulled off her shoes. She was used to the house being quiet since her younger brother got home late from soccer practices, but the last thing she expected was for the living room where her mother normally worked to be empty. Had she gone out for the day and forgotten to remind them at breakfast?
"Mom, where are you?" She called out, switching over to Japanese since it was her mother's native language. Emi's father was American, and most of her looks she'd inherited from him. However, she'd received other good traits from her mother as well, like the ability for her to quickly absorb information, which often came in handy during class. It had also helped her learn Japanese quickly, for she hadn't been taught until she was able to speak English decently.
"I'm in the kitchen, Emi! Come and help me make dinner before your father gets home," the woman called back, sticking to the language her daughter had chosen to use. She was barely able to use it in the United States, so it was always good for her to continue speaking it in her own home.
Emi didn't answer, but instead took off her jacket, wiping the sweat from her brow before heading towards the kitchen. She smiled a bit as her mother turned to face her, placing the article of clothing she was carrying on the back of a chair.
"How was your game today?" The woman asked, tucking her dark black hair back into a neat bun as she arranged the ingredients for the night's meal on the counter. From what Emi could see, they would be having some sort of pasta dish, but she wouldn't know exactly what until her mother decided to reveal her plan.
"It was great! Taiga and I played together for the first time, and we won," she replied excitedly, washing her hands in the sink and looking over at the older woman. Her mother had never been a big fan of basketball, but her father had played a lot during his high school years. He had even coached her middle school team until she'd been asked to quit. After that heartbreaking incident, the subject was mainly avoided in the house. "What about your day? Did anything exciting happen?"
"Well, I do have some interesting news, actually," Sakura replied to her daughter with a small smile. It was exciting news to her, but she wasn't quite sure how her daughter would take it. It would mean a big change, after all.
"Oh, do tell," Emi urged, walking over to where her mother had left a cutting board and a variety of vegetables. She mainly did the preparation while her mother cooked whenever she helped, so she was very familiar with the tools that had been left there.
"Well, your father got an offer for a better paying job in a different division of his company. He'll still be doing the same work, but the location's a bit far from here," the woman said, trying to approach the subject cautiously. However, her daughter could see her excitement getting the better of her as she spat out the rest of her statement.
"He'll be working in Tokyo, and we'll be moving to Japan!"