Chapter Text
Miyuki could hear nothing but the sound of his heart pounding heavily in his chest and the complaints flowing from his muscles as he put them through their paces, making them strain as he held the position. His breathing was slow and steady, escaping from between his lips as he counted 1-2-3, before changing his position. He panted heavily, but not visibly while he transitioned between the different strength elements, not allowing himself to rest as long as the comforting feel of the rings were grasped tightly in his hands. Legs swinging, building the momentum he needed with minimal effort and kicking upwards till the position he found himself in was the invert of the one he had held before. Miyuki held the inverted element for only a short moment, long enough to score the point he would need if this was a competition, and then once more sending his body moving. He needed speed; needed height, circling around in a fluid motion until he knew his timing was right. Picking the precise moment when his feet were aligned above his head once more and letting go. Throwing his body upwards, then curling in on itself, one, two, tuck turns and then landing on the mats below, the last remaining breath he held passing between his lips while he raised his hands in the finishing salute out of habit rather than an immediate necessity.
“AH MAN… THAT WAS AMAZING… I can’t believe how long you can hold a Maltese Cross for,” an excited voice spoke loudly. A voice which was almost too loud for Miyuki as he slowly began to pay attention to everything around him. “I can’t hold one at all…” a disheartened look passing over his younger teammate’s face as he spoke, before hiding it once more behind his trademark enthusiasm.
Miyuki chuckled, a smirk making its way back onto his face where it belonged as he stepped off the mats and strolled over to his teammates who had gathered to watch. The bright sparkling amber eyes of his younger teammate stared at him with awe and made Miyuki want to tease him; to watch those eyes as they changed with his emotions. Miyuki knew he shouldn’t, but he couldn’t help himself. Sawamura’s reactions; the expressions which passed over his face with every teasing remark he made, made it too much fun not to do it.
“That’s because… you idiot…need to build up your shoulders more,” ruffling Sawamura’s hair before he got a chance to duck away, scowling. “…they are way to flexible… and you’ll only end up hurting yourself if you aren’t careful,” he sniggered, loving the reactions he was drawing from Sawamura.
A scowl entrenched itself firmly on Sawamura’s face as he stared at Miyuki who was now doubled over laughing at him and the flaws he had. There were other apparatus’ which he excelled at like the floor and vault. It wasn’t his fault he had spent his school years at a small town gym club and that unlike the city gyms the others in the team had attended, it not only didn’t have all the apparatus for Men’s Gymnastics, Sawamura had been the only male in attendance.
“I-I’m better at the vault than you… you stupid tanuki,” Sawamura muttered while trying not to appear to be sulking as he stomped off toward the weights room where he was supposed to be training.
Sawamura’s responses to his teasing only made Miyuki laugh harder, not missing the way his junior was sulking. An expression which amused him no end as he watched Sawamura walk away, while stretching his shoulders, freeing them up from the intense strain he had placed them under.
“You know, you are hardly one to talk,” a voice grumped from behind him. “There was no need to hold that Maltese Cross for as long as you did,” Chris growled, concern mingling with the words of reprimand the senior gymnast was delivering. “You were simply showing off, Kazuya… and you put yourself at risk of getting hurt.”
If anyone else had tried to speak to Miyuki like that, he would have ignored them. He would have rolled his eyes and laughed at them as he walked away. But with Chris, he couldn’t do that. He wouldn’t do that and simply because of the high regard which he held the senior gymnast in. Miyuki knew the words which Chris spoke, were spoken from experience. An experience that was still fresh in not only Chris’ mind, but of all those who had been present at the meet and witnessed Chris’ overworked shoulder fail. The injury costing him not only the chance to retain the all-round title he had held, but also out of competitions for at least a year. An injury which reminded the team of the consequences of over training whenever they saw Chris’ heavily strapped shoulder.
“You don’t want to miss meets, like I have too…”
“Yeah… I know, Chris,” Miyuki admitted reluctantly while running a hand through his hair. “I’ll be more careful… but you have to admit,” smiling cheekily. “… it was pretty impressive.”
“Okay… Okay, I can admit that it was, but…that’s not the point,” he sighed realising this was not going to be the last time he would have this conversation and not just with Miyuki. “Just… don’t make a habit of it.”
“Oi, Miyuki!” a loud voice shouted from the doorway, interrupting his chance to talk with Chris further. “Hurry it up… get changed… we are going to be late for class.”
Miyuki hurriedly said reluctant goodbyes and rushed off, not really wanting to go to class. Chris’ voice chasing after him, as he headed for the locker room, with reminders to warm down properly before he left to prevent injuries.
………………………………………
An hour spent in the weights room venting out his frustrations with Miyuki had not improved Sawamura’s mood, at all. He was annoyed at how Miyuki seemed to take a perverse pleasure in pointing out his weakness’, ones that Sawamura was already well aware of and he didn’t need the tanuki bastard to rub his nose in it. It wasn’t as though Miyuki was perfect at everything either, regardless of what the senior gymnast thought of his own skills.
So caught up in his internal grumblings about Miyuki, Sawamura almost forgot about his morning classes until Haruichi stormed into the training room to remind him. Dragging him away from the weights and into the locker rooms to get changed while noticing that something was bothering his friend.
“Eijun…are you okay?” Haruichi asked while watching Sawamura fight with his clothes as he tried to change. It was obvious something was bothering his friend with the angry muttering which was escaping his lips and the lines ploughed deeply into his forehead. “…has Miyuki been bothering you again? You know, you really shouldn’t let his teasing get to you.”
Haruichi was one of the first friends Sawamura had made when he arrived at Seidou University. A friendship he had quickly grown to appreciate as the outwardly shy boy had proven to be not only a loyal and dependable friend, but had an uncanny ability to offset Sawamura’s own over excitable nature, calming down easily when needed. Sawamura had been ecstatic when he realised that he not only shared classes with his new friend, but they were also both at Seidou for its gymnastics program. Hi excitement was quickly tempered when he realised they wouldn’t get the opportunity to train together as Haruichi was joining the Trampolining squad alongside his brother, whereas Sawamura was a part of the Artistic Gymnastics squad.
“Yeah, I know…” Sawamura huffed, relishing the coolness of the wall as he rested his head against it. “But he’s just so infuriating!”
“…anyway, we need to get to class before we are late. Where’s Furuya?” Haruichi asked as he glanced around the locker room and noticed their other friend was not present.
“He was practising on the tumble track in the main gym… earlier…” Sawamura began to say, struggling to remember what apparatus Furuya had been training on before he himself had headed to the weights room. “…I think?”
Furuya was the second friend Sawamura had made, meeting him at the first practice he had had with the squad. Unlike Haruichi, who competed in Trampolining, Furuya was a member of the Artistic group like himself. It took him and Haruichi three weeks to realise that they also shared many of their classes with the dark haired boy, having never noticed him present in the classes before. This had mainly been because Furuya spent most of his time in class sitting up the back of the lecture theatre, sleeping. It was because of Furuya’s predilection for falling asleep anywhere and at any time that had Haruichi and Sawamura exchanging worried looks, before rushing to the main gym in search of their friend.
“I’ll bet you anything,” Sawamura yelled as they raced through the doors into the gym and spotting Furuya anywhere. “…that he has fallen asleep in the foam pit, again!”
They both moved their agile bodies quickly through the room. Dodging not only the apparatus blacking their path, but also other members of the club still training. Members who paid little attention to their sudden appearance nor any surprise at the direction they were heading in, simply shaking their heads before continuing on with their practice. This was not the first time the pair had rushed into the gym and none of them expected it to be the last.
It was of no surprise to Haruichi or Sawamura when they spotted Furuya asleep in the foam pit. Every member of the gymnastics club, whether they were a part of the Artistic squad or not, had come to quickly realise the new first year’s ability to fall asleep wherever, whenever, to the point where Furuya’s lack of stamina was more than long running joke amongst the seniors but a hazard. Checks of the foam pit, stacks of crash mats or anything which might easily hide a sleeping Furuya were checked before equipment was used. No one wanted to land on him, as much for their own safety as it was for his.
“Furuya,” Sawamura yelled. “Wake up… we are going to be late for class!” Picking up a piece of foam and throwing it at him as he spoke.
Sawamura didn’t get his friend at all; didn’t understand him at all. No that wasn’t quite true either. He understood his friend was severely lacking in stamina and that he was working on improving it, but it was more where he would choose to fall asleep which Sawamura did not understand. Who in their right mind would willing choose to sleep in the foam pit, no matter how comfy it might look. It may look appealing, but when you consider the sweaty bodies which landed in it on a regular basis… no he really couldn’t understand Furuya’s penchant for sleeping here at all.
“Come on, Furuya, get up!” Sawamura grumbled. “…I don’t know how you can sleep here… doesn’t the smell bother you?”
What was probably more infuriating about his friend, though Miyuki still infuriated him more, was that despite his lack of stamina, Furuya was an exceptional gymnast. Yet the performances he pulled out for his routines, were hard to reconcile against his usually dozing state, and left many people wondering when on earth the young gymnast actually practiced, Sawamura included.
“What time is it?” Furuya asked, his voice barely audible unless you were used to its quietness.
“It’s nine thirty,” Haruichi replied as Sawamura stretched out a hand to help Furuya out. “… class starts at ten,” pushing the taller boy in the direction of the locker room without sounding panicked at all. “… you need to hurry.”
………………………………………..
“What are you still doing here, Haruichi?” a sinister voice asked from behind a sweet smile. “Won’t you be late for class?”
“Ryou…” Haruichi exclaimed, surprised at his brother’s appearance behind him. “I-I just needed to get Furuya…” he reassured Ryou, not always appreciative of his overprotective nature.
“Fall asleep in the foam pit again, did he?” Ryou snarled, not needing his brother to confirm it when he noticed the boy in question emerge from the locker room with pieces of foam stuck to his hair. “…anyway I will be late to practice this afternoon. I’ve asked Kuramochi to go over the routine with you, until I arrive.”
“Okay…” not even thinking to ask his brother why, knowing he wouldn’t tell him. “…I must get going…” he told his brother as he noticed his friends standing waiting for him nervously. “…don’t want to be late for class,” he said quickly, before grabbing his friends and pushing them out of the gym.
……………………………………….
Miyuki pushed open the main doors to the gym, laughing with Kuramochi who had an arm slung over his shoulder as they headed for the locker room. The sounds of the gym, as everyone got stuck into their training, relaxing him as they wrapped themselves around him. Sounds like the thud of the sprung floor when it rebounded, the creak of the high bar and the clattering of the rings were welcoming sounds to Miyuki’s ears having been away from them while at class. A welcoming feeling which was similar to the one you got returning home after a busy day, then again with the amount of time he had spent in a gym environment since he was a child, this place may as well be his home.
He didn’t even notice Kuramochi leaving his side after they left the locker room and had headed into the main gym, his eyes being drawn to the floor where Sawamura was currently putting together a routine for the next meet. Miyuki tried to shift his focus away; tried to fight the way his eyes kept drifting back toward Sawamura but it was a battle he was not going to win. Sighing to himself, Miyuki positioned himself near the floor while he went through his warm up routine, giving him a plausible excuse to be near his junior while he watched Sawamura go through his paces.
Miyuki was transfixed by the routine. A routine which only lasted 70 seconds, or at least it would once Sawamura had finished putting all the elements together. He couldn’t understand why his eyes were so drawn to the routine, to the man performing it as the skill level could not be considered high, by competition levels. Yet he had to admit that the way Sawamura was managing to incorporate a large number of original moves and his transitions between elements was smooth. The moves and combinations Sawamura was putting together reflected his earlier training, showing the distinct style of flexibility which would normally be seen in Women’s Artistic and yet, it was a flexibility that Miyuki envied. It sent shivers down his spine, as he watched Sawamura perform moves which made him wince – round off, backwards handspring and finishing in the splits – had him wondering why Sawamura had not been shuffled into the Acrobatics Team. A thought that grew louder as he watched Sawamura start off in a handstand and then proceed to bend himself in half, his feet dangling near his head, in what Miyuki vaguely remembered an Acro team member call a scorpion.
“He’s really something to watch, isn’t he?” Chris spoke suddenly beside him, making Miyuki jump in surprise. “It will be interesting to see how far he can go…”
“You mean, competition wise, right?” Miyuki croaked out, before realising he had all but admitted to gawking at Sawamura and not understanding his need to clarify how Chris was viewing the other gymnast as a strange possessiveness toward Sawamura over took him. A feeling he quickly pushed aside. “…because other than the floor and the vault… where I’ll admit he’s talented… Sawamura doesn’t have the necessary strength for the other apparatus.”
“Yet,” Chris replied with a confident smirk. “He’s going to surprise you Miyuki…” patting him on the shoulder before walking away.
“I hope he does,” Miyuki muttered to himself, his eyes following Sawamura once more. Carefully watching as he tried out different tumble pass variations and finding himself admiring the height Sawamura achieved with his double layout double twist; jealous of how easily he stuck the landing. “…but he won’t catch up to me…easily.”
Finally managing to pull his eyes away from Sawamura, Miyuki headed toward the parallel bars. He needed to focus on his own training; his own routines before the next major competition in a few weeks. A strange grin crept onto his face as thoughts of his unusual teammate padded through his mind, quietly tugging away at his focus and waiting for Miyuki to finally give them the attention they desired.