"Will all participants in the summer Interhigh Intersport Festival please make their way to their appropriate divisions for the beginning of the preliminary events. I repeat, will all participants please make their way to their division for the start of the preliminary rounds."
The voice boomed over the loudspeakers around the large sports complex. Heath looked up at his team and took another headcount. One, two three, four, and… He frowned; there had been five when he counted only a few minutes earlier. Nana, Kyousuke, and Dan-sensei were picking up their team's registration, but the rest of the team had been accounted for. He did a quick scan of the tents set up around the track, but he didn't see their missing teammate.
"Riku," he said, "have you seen Takeru?"
Riku looked up. "Of course I have," he said, pointing to the corner of the tent. "He's right—" Riku stopped abruptly. There was a neat pyramid of protein drinks in the corner, but Takeru was nowhere to be found. "He was right there," Riku said defensively.
"It's fine," Heath reassured him, "just help me find him before we're late. Hozumi, Ayumu, you too."
"Will do, Heath-kun!" Hozumi said as he and Ayumu joined in the search. They found the rest of their team coming back from the registration tent, but no Takeru.
Just as Heath was about to start worrying in earnest, Hozumi yelled, "wait! I think I see him! Over by the track." The entire team followed Hozumi's finger, and sure enough, they all saw the back of a familiar black-haired teammate's head in the group gathering by the starting line.
Heath chuckled. "Of course Takeru would be the one to go ahead without us," he muttered. "Oi, Takeru!" he yelled, "Wait for us!"
The rest of the team echoed his call, but Takeru didn't seem to notice them, continuing to stare at the track and...undressing? "Umm, I don't think that's Takeru," Ayumu said, voicing what the rest of the team was thinking.
"If you're looking for the pool, it's inside," Hozumi said to the person-who-wasn't-Takeru when he noticed his swimsuit.
The stranger barely spared him a glance, pointing out onto the track and saying a single word. "Water."
Everyone looked at each other in confusion, but it was Kyousuke who finally made sense of the strange situation. "You're not a track person at all, are you?" he said. "That's not water; it's just a mirage."
"Not water?" the swimmer asked, looking dejected.
Before Kyousuke could reply, he was interrupted by shouts of "Haru!" and "Haru-chan!" and the stranger looked up sharply as a group of swimmers hurried over.
"Haru, we were looking all over for you. Our race is starting soon," one of them said, taking Haru's hand and pulling him off the track.
"Haruka-senpai, you really shouldn't wander off like— Could you cut that out?" a swimmer with glasses snapped. The entire Stride team looked down at the cause of the interruption and saw a familiar sight.
"Not bad, for a swimmer" Takeru said, feeling Rei's legs. "You should run Stride."
"I used to do track," Rei said through gritted teeth.
Heath walked over and pulled Takeru off of Rei. "What did we say about not touching people like that?" Heath scolded, sounding every bit the exasperated parent. He turned to the swim team. "It looks like you found our missing teammate for us, and I think we may have found yours. Sorry for the mix-up, but we'll trade you your teammate for Takeru now, apologies for his behavior."
As Haru and Takeru returned to their respective teams, more than one person watching asked "Are you sure those two aren't related?"
Fill: Team Grandstand, G
615 words
"Will all participants in the summer Interhigh Intersport Festival please make their way to their appropriate divisions for the beginning of the preliminary events. I repeat, will all participants please make their way to their division for the start of the preliminary rounds."
The voice boomed over the loudspeakers around the large sports complex. Heath looked up at his team and took another headcount. One, two three, four, and… He frowned; there had been five when he counted only a few minutes earlier. Nana, Kyousuke, and Dan-sensei were picking up their team's registration, but the rest of the team had been accounted for. He did a quick scan of the tents set up around the track, but he didn't see their missing teammate.
"Riku," he said, "have you seen Takeru?"
Riku looked up. "Of course I have," he said, pointing to the corner of the tent. "He's right—" Riku stopped abruptly. There was a neat pyramid of protein drinks in the corner, but Takeru was nowhere to be found. "He was right there," Riku said defensively.
"It's fine," Heath reassured him, "just help me find him before we're late. Hozumi, Ayumu, you too."
"Will do, Heath-kun!" Hozumi said as he and Ayumu joined in the search. They found the rest of their team coming back from the registration tent, but no Takeru.
Just as Heath was about to start worrying in earnest, Hozumi yelled, "wait! I think I see him! Over by the track." The entire team followed Hozumi's finger, and sure enough, they all saw the back of a familiar black-haired teammate's head in the group gathering by the starting line.
Heath chuckled. "Of course Takeru would be the one to go ahead without us," he muttered. "Oi, Takeru!" he yelled, "Wait for us!"
The rest of the team echoed his call, but Takeru didn't seem to notice them, continuing to stare at the track and...undressing? "Umm, I don't think that's Takeru," Ayumu said, voicing what the rest of the team was thinking.
"If you're looking for the pool, it's inside," Hozumi said to the person-who-wasn't-Takeru when he noticed his swimsuit.
The stranger barely spared him a glance, pointing out onto the track and saying a single word. "Water."
Everyone looked at each other in confusion, but it was Kyousuke who finally made sense of the strange situation. "You're not a track person at all, are you?" he said. "That's not water; it's just a mirage."
"Not water?" the swimmer asked, looking dejected.
Before Kyousuke could reply, he was interrupted by shouts of "Haru!" and "Haru-chan!" and the stranger looked up sharply as a group of swimmers hurried over.
"Haru, we were looking all over for you. Our race is starting soon," one of them said, taking Haru's hand and pulling him off the track.
"Haruka-senpai, you really shouldn't wander off like— Could you cut that out?" a swimmer with glasses snapped. The entire Stride team looked down at the cause of the interruption and saw a familiar sight.
"Not bad, for a swimmer" Takeru said, feeling Rei's legs. "You should run Stride."
"I used to do track," Rei said through gritted teeth.
Heath walked over and pulled Takeru off of Rei. "What did we say about not touching people like that?" Heath scolded, sounding every bit the exasperated parent. He turned to the swim team. "It looks like you found our missing teammate for us, and I think we may have found yours. Sorry for the mix-up, but we'll trade you your teammate for Takeru now, apologies for his behavior."
As Haru and Takeru returned to their respective teams, more than one person watching asked "Are you sure those two aren't related?"