minor injury??? slight blindness, IH day 3 spoilers 759 words Not quite sure if this is completely IC but...I am definitely more intrigued with this pairing now. Pining!Naruko is a lot cuter than I expected.
It’s a rare occasion that Naruko gets to spend any quality time with his captain, Kinjou.
His captain is an all-rounder, an amazing cyclist and while Naruko isn’t too bad himself, the fact comes down to that he’s a sprinter, through and through. When they aren’t practicing as a team of six for Inter-high, Kinjou has them split up into different groups: Climbers, Sprinters, and lastly, All-Rounders. This leaves Naruko paired up with his least-favorite, old-man senpai for most practices while Kinjou and Imaizumi go off and race with each other...wherever they go and race with each other.
And that’s fine. It is. Naruko, not that he likes to admit it much, has been learning a lot of thing from Tadokoro and has gotten even faster than he was since he joined the cycling team at the beginning of the year. So really, he can’t complain.
But on the days where they practice together, he can’t help but let his gaze wander until it lands on their captain. His cycling is so strong, so powerful, and Naruko often wishes that he had that as much control over his bike and body as Kinjou had over his own. Naruko prides himself on being fast, but how cool would it be if he could be fast and strong, just like Kinjou?
It’s a thought that stays with him when he starts training himself more on climbs before the Inter-high. Tadokoro is the one to tell him to train, but it’s the team, it’s his captain that he thinks of as he climbs hill after hill.
He catches his captain still in the club room one day when he comes back for his own extra training as the sun’s setting. Kinjou’s still on the rollers, alone, sweating dripping onto towels on the floor. The sight of his captain working so hard makes him want to work even harder, more than Kinjou himself because if this is how Kinjou is so good, then Naruko would have to work at least twice as hard.
Maybe then he’d actually be able to practice with his captain alone instead of hot shot Imaizumi, but then again, he’s still a sprinter. Just a sprinter.
And that’s how he ends his Inter-high experience too, as a sprinter that has given his everything to send his team forward. From the moment that he crashes into the ground, everything is a blur. His vision’s completely black and everything sounds fuzzy, and when they move him to the recovery van and he gives into the darkness.
When he comes to, his vision still black, but everything is cool. Everything but something on his shoulder. He can’t move any of his body, so it takes him a while to realize that something is touching his shoulder and eventually can place the feel of a hand and fingers. He must make some sort of noise because the hand gently squeezes down.
“Naruko, are you awake?”
With all things considered, Kinjou is the one that should be with him in the recovery...thing. Place. Wherever they are, but the sound of his captain’s voice surprises him. Still, thinking about where they are, the first words that Naruko says are
“I’m sorry, Kinjou-san.” Because he is. He’s sorry for being here, for having to drop out, but he’s not sorry for giving the rest of Sohoku a chance. Still, being next to his captain who had to drop out being of his knee...they’re the only words that come out.
The hand squeezes his shoulder again and another weight settles next to him. Carefully, Naruko lifts his hand to his face, feeling for what must be a cold rag and carefully pulling it up. His vision still isn’t the best, but there’s no denying the back of his captain that he’s stared at all these months.
It would be so easy to reach out and touch him, and maybe in this moment Kinjou would let him, but his captain’s voice stops his hand as it starts moving.
“There’s always next year.” Kinjou says, and stands up again when the announcers talk about the current rankings.
Naruko wants to say there’s no next year with you but instead he takes in the rare moment of shock on Kinjou face when it’s announced that Onoda is riding in the front. It's almost adorable. It makes him want to smile.
Sure, there would be no next year for Naruko and his captain, so he would just live in every moment he could get.
FILL: TEAM AOYAGI HAJIME/TESHIMA JUNTA, G
Not quite sure if this is completely IC but...I am definitely more intrigued with this pairing now. Pining!Naruko is a lot cuter than I expected.
It’s a rare occasion that Naruko gets to spend any quality time with his captain, Kinjou.
His captain is an all-rounder, an amazing cyclist and while Naruko isn’t too bad himself, the fact comes down to that he’s a sprinter, through and through. When they aren’t practicing as a team of six for Inter-high, Kinjou has them split up into different groups: Climbers, Sprinters, and lastly, All-Rounders. This leaves Naruko paired up with his least-favorite, old-man senpai for most practices while Kinjou and Imaizumi go off and race with each other...wherever they go and race with each other.
And that’s fine. It is. Naruko, not that he likes to admit it much, has been learning a lot of thing from Tadokoro and has gotten even faster than he was since he joined the cycling team at the beginning of the year. So really, he can’t complain.
But on the days where they practice together, he can’t help but let his gaze wander until it lands on their captain. His cycling is so strong, so powerful, and Naruko often wishes that he had that as much control over his bike and body as Kinjou had over his own. Naruko prides himself on being fast, but how cool would it be if he could be fast and strong, just like Kinjou?
It’s a thought that stays with him when he starts training himself more on climbs before the Inter-high. Tadokoro is the one to tell him to train, but it’s the team, it’s his captain that he thinks of as he climbs hill after hill.
He catches his captain still in the club room one day when he comes back for his own extra training as the sun’s setting. Kinjou’s still on the rollers, alone, sweating dripping onto towels on the floor. The sight of his captain working so hard makes him want to work even harder, more than Kinjou himself because if this is how Kinjou is so good, then Naruko would have to work at least twice as hard.
Maybe then he’d actually be able to practice with his captain alone instead of hot shot Imaizumi, but then again, he’s still a sprinter. Just a sprinter.
And that’s how he ends his Inter-high experience too, as a sprinter that has given his everything to send his team forward. From the moment that he crashes into the ground, everything is a blur. His vision’s completely black and everything sounds fuzzy, and when they move him to the recovery van and he gives into the darkness.
When he comes to, his vision still black, but everything is cool. Everything but something on his shoulder. He can’t move any of his body, so it takes him a while to realize that something is touching his shoulder and eventually can place the feel of a hand and fingers. He must make some sort of noise because the hand gently squeezes down.
“Naruko, are you awake?”
With all things considered, Kinjou is the one that should be with him in the recovery...thing. Place. Wherever they are, but the sound of his captain’s voice surprises him. Still, thinking about where they are, the first words that Naruko says are
“I’m sorry, Kinjou-san.” Because he is. He’s sorry for being here, for having to drop out, but he’s not sorry for giving the rest of Sohoku a chance. Still, being next to his captain who had to drop out being of his knee...they’re the only words that come out.
The hand squeezes his shoulder again and another weight settles next to him. Carefully, Naruko lifts his hand to his face, feeling for what must be a cold rag and carefully pulling it up. His vision still isn’t the best, but there’s no denying the back of his captain that he’s stared at all these months.
It would be so easy to reach out and touch him, and maybe in this moment Kinjou would let him, but his captain’s voice stops his hand as it starts moving.
“There’s always next year.” Kinjou says, and stands up again when the announcers talk about the current rankings.
Naruko wants to say there’s no next year with you but instead he takes in the rare moment of shock on Kinjou face when it’s announced that Onoda is riding in the front. It's almost adorable. It makes him want to smile.
Sure, there would be no next year for Naruko and his captain, so he would just live in every moment he could get.