Sakuraba learns a lot during the weeks he tirelessly tracks Shin through the woods.
He learns that Shin is actually quite deliberate and thoughtful behind his usual blunt speech intense expressions. He learns this the day he realizes that Shin’s trails through the woods have been slowly getting smaller and neater. There are fewer snapped branches and disturbed bushes as the days pass, until the trails are reduced to nothing but footprints on the ground. The day Sakuraba notices the changes is the day he realizes that Shin had been leaving a clear trail for Sakuraba to follow, to make sure that no matter how far ahead Shin managed to get Sakuraba would be able to follow and find him at the end of the day.
Because of that, Sakuraba learns to believe in himself, more than he was ever able to before. With Shin’s recognition of his determination and ambition, Sakuraba is able to push himself harder and not give up like he would have in the past. He ends most days barely able to catch his breath and sometimes without eating before he falls asleep, but always with a smile because he can check off one more day that he still followed Shin and didn’t admit defeat.
Shin always shows his particular brand of kindness in the mornings. He wakes up before Sakuraba does most days, but he always prepares enough breakfast for both of them, watches Sakuraba like a hawk, and never starts his training until Sakuraba has finished all the food and drinks all the water he’s been given. It turns out Shin knows quite a bit about nutrition and has not only been tracking his own diet to be optimal for mountain training, but has been taking care of Sakuraba’s as well.
On the days that Sakuraba manages to wake up at the same time as Shin, Shin quietly teaches him survival skills like making small fires and catching fish with his bare hands in the mountain’s streams.
When Sakuraba asks him one day how he learned all of these things, Shin looks embarrassed for a split second, but replies that he has prepared for his mountain training by studying and actually taking a short course in outdoor survivalist training.
Shin goes about the rest of his morning as usual, but Sakuraba can’t keep his thoughts off of the fact that he doesn’t know any other high school students who would prepare so thoroughly just for a training camp.
After that, Sakuraba asks Shin to let him take over catching breakfast in the mornings. It always takes him much longer than it did for Shin, but Shin patiently uses the time to do other training. It isn’t much, but to Sakuraba it seems to be the least he can offer to do with his mediocre skill set.
One morning, when Sakuraba stumbles back and apologizes for how long it took him, Shin just shakes his head and points out that it’s better training for him anyway. Sakuraba, after all, is the wide receiver and will need accurate catching skills more than Shin ever will.
Sakuraba falls heavily to the ground once Shin takes the fish from him. He thinks that statement over and realizes that Shin had once again subtly offered him a training method to help Sakuraba improve, and Sakuraba hadn’t even realized it until now.
After that, Sakuraba works tirelessly at his accuracy until he can catch a fish nearly as quickly as Shin ever could.
The day before they’re scheduled to be picked up and return to civilization, Sakuraba find his confidence.
Shin had, probably deliberately, settled them down under an opening in the tree line. They’re both still awake, the fire is burning low, and the moon is bright above them.
Sakuraba, warm and content and happy, rolls to the side and kisses Shin. It’s brief and entirely chaste, and Sakuraba rolls back to the side to settle into his previous position, for the first time in his life not feeling the roil of embarrassment and fear of rejection that tend to go hand and hand with his confessions.
Shin’s face is above his a moment later, eyebrows slightly raised in question.
Sakuraba shrugs and grins up at Shin.
Shin smiles slowly, his face settling into a contented expression he rarely ever shows. Shin’s smiles are a rare gift that don’t usually manage to crack his normal stoic facade, and Sakuraba can probably count on one hand how many times he’s seen Shin smile before this.
Shin moves deliberately so Sakuraba could stop him if he wanted. Sakuraba doesn’t want, of course, so Shin’s lips press quickly and surprisingly gently to the corner of Sakuraba’s mouth.
Sakuraba reaches up and cups his face, moving Shin’s face so their lips meet more squarely. The kiss between them remains chaste and gentle and lasts for only a few seconds before Shin pulls away. The moon is still shining and making a gentle halo around Shin’s head, and Sakuraba watches as Shin lifts a hand to cup one of Sakuraba’s cheeks for a moment, then moves to brush his hair away from Sakuraba’s forehead. Shin presses a second kiss against Sakuraba’s hair line and Sakuraba can’t keep from wrinkling his nose at that because it’s been too many days since he washed his hair and Shin is definitely the braver of the two of them for doing that.
Shin snorts, and flops back to the side, moving in close so he can press his shoulder to Sakuraba’s. In a show of affection Sakuraba would have expected to need to be the one to initiate, Shin takes Sakuraba’s hand and laces their fingers together.
As they lay there, staring up at the moon and stars above them, Sakuraba realizes that he’s found more of himself following and trying to catch Shin on his mountain training than he had during all his years of living for himself before.
FILL: TEAM Kobayakawa Sena/Shin Seijuro, G
canoodling in the woodsSakuraba learns a lot during the weeks he tirelessly tracks Shin through the woods.
He learns that Shin is actually quite deliberate and thoughtful behind his usual blunt speech intense expressions. He learns this the day he realizes that Shin’s trails through the woods have been slowly getting smaller and neater. There are fewer snapped branches and disturbed bushes as the days pass, until the trails are reduced to nothing but footprints on the ground. The day Sakuraba notices the changes is the day he realizes that Shin had been leaving a clear trail for Sakuraba to follow, to make sure that no matter how far ahead Shin managed to get Sakuraba would be able to follow and find him at the end of the day.
Because of that, Sakuraba learns to believe in himself, more than he was ever able to before. With Shin’s recognition of his determination and ambition, Sakuraba is able to push himself harder and not give up like he would have in the past. He ends most days barely able to catch his breath and sometimes without eating before he falls asleep, but always with a smile because he can check off one more day that he still followed Shin and didn’t admit defeat.
Shin always shows his particular brand of kindness in the mornings. He wakes up before Sakuraba does most days, but he always prepares enough breakfast for both of them, watches Sakuraba like a hawk, and never starts his training until Sakuraba has finished all the food and drinks all the water he’s been given. It turns out Shin knows quite a bit about nutrition and has not only been tracking his own diet to be optimal for mountain training, but has been taking care of Sakuraba’s as well.
On the days that Sakuraba manages to wake up at the same time as Shin, Shin quietly teaches him survival skills like making small fires and catching fish with his bare hands in the mountain’s streams.
When Sakuraba asks him one day how he learned all of these things, Shin looks embarrassed for a split second, but replies that he has prepared for his mountain training by studying and actually taking a short course in outdoor survivalist training.
Shin goes about the rest of his morning as usual, but Sakuraba can’t keep his thoughts off of the fact that he doesn’t know any other high school students who would prepare so thoroughly just for a training camp.
After that, Sakuraba asks Shin to let him take over catching breakfast in the mornings. It always takes him much longer than it did for Shin, but Shin patiently uses the time to do other training. It isn’t much, but to Sakuraba it seems to be the least he can offer to do with his mediocre skill set.
One morning, when Sakuraba stumbles back and apologizes for how long it took him, Shin just shakes his head and points out that it’s better training for him anyway. Sakuraba, after all, is the wide receiver and will need accurate catching skills more than Shin ever will.
Sakuraba falls heavily to the ground once Shin takes the fish from him. He thinks that statement over and realizes that Shin had once again subtly offered him a training method to help Sakuraba improve, and Sakuraba hadn’t even realized it until now.
After that, Sakuraba works tirelessly at his accuracy until he can catch a fish nearly as quickly as Shin ever could.
The day before they’re scheduled to be picked up and return to civilization, Sakuraba find his confidence.
Shin had, probably deliberately, settled them down under an opening in the tree line. They’re both still awake, the fire is burning low, and the moon is bright above them.
Sakuraba, warm and content and happy, rolls to the side and kisses Shin. It’s brief and entirely chaste, and Sakuraba rolls back to the side to settle into his previous position, for the first time in his life not feeling the roil of embarrassment and fear of rejection that tend to go hand and hand with his confessions.
Shin’s face is above his a moment later, eyebrows slightly raised in question.
Sakuraba shrugs and grins up at Shin.
Shin smiles slowly, his face settling into a contented expression he rarely ever shows. Shin’s smiles are a rare gift that don’t usually manage to crack his normal stoic facade, and Sakuraba can probably count on one hand how many times he’s seen Shin smile before this.
Shin moves deliberately so Sakuraba could stop him if he wanted. Sakuraba doesn’t want, of course, so Shin’s lips press quickly and surprisingly gently to the corner of Sakuraba’s mouth.
Sakuraba reaches up and cups his face, moving Shin’s face so their lips meet more squarely. The kiss between them remains chaste and gentle and lasts for only a few seconds before Shin pulls away. The moon is still shining and making a gentle halo around Shin’s head, and Sakuraba watches as Shin lifts a hand to cup one of Sakuraba’s cheeks for a moment, then moves to brush his hair away from Sakuraba’s forehead. Shin presses a second kiss against Sakuraba’s hair line and Sakuraba can’t keep from wrinkling his nose at that because it’s been too many days since he washed his hair and Shin is definitely the braver of the two of them for doing that.
Shin snorts, and flops back to the side, moving in close so he can press his shoulder to Sakuraba’s. In a show of affection Sakuraba would have expected to need to be the one to initiate, Shin takes Sakuraba’s hand and laces their fingers together.
As they lay there, staring up at the moon and stars above them, Sakuraba realizes that he’s found more of himself following and trying to catch Shin on his mountain training than he had during all his years of living for himself before.