There were reporters outside the gym when Kaho and the other teams headed to the dining area. Each team had been escorted from the gym by an officer. One by one.
Flashing cameras, random men with notebooks and little recording devices. Kaho averted her eyes and quickened her pace. She was in the thick of the crowd of teenagers, and yet, she felt like each flashing camera was a siren call just for her. It was like they were lighthouses, coaxing her nearer. She felt nauseous. How had the press arrived so quickly? What did the press know that they didn't? She bit her lip and scowled. There were dozens of them, harassing the few officers outside that weren't escorting the three basketball teams to get their lunch. At least they weren't eating in the gym again.
The dining hall was rammed with guests, frustrated and pacing, nursing cup after cup of tea, and picking at blueberry muffins. It was like they were on some kind of house arrest, unable to leave the area. Maybe the officers were taking statements like Ueno had done when Sayuri went missing? Kaho wasn't sure.
She could still see the reporters teetering and reaching to try and catch photos of whatever was going on, on the premises, flashing lights were frenzied in Kaho's periphery as she queued for her food. The Seiran team were spread across two tables, eating their lunch under Coach Tomogawa's gaze. Similarly, Coach Itomi was gazing down at his own series of tables. There were three Kuroyama tables, all brimming with spread legs and chatter. Kaho could hear both teams complaining they weren't getting the chance to hang out with the other teams.
It was strange how bouncing a ball about was means enough to secure true friendship. How people can bond through sport beyond the limitations of language and ability, and yet, these three teams were bonding and quickly. Though, having the teams need to be separated was probably thwarting Taiga's plan for a successful training camp.
When Kaho reached the front of the queue, she used the serving spoon to grab scoops of white rice from another aluminium serving tray and then used a slotted spoon to get stir fried veg and put it on top. There was a separate tray with grilled chicken in sweet chilli sauce. She licked her lips and took a scoop of that too. Most of the members of her team had gone for rice noodles and pan-seared fish in soy sauce, the alternative dish. There was also a pyramid of various fruit and veg to access, beside the smoothie machine, which had a massive queue. Fumiko was loading mason jars up onto a tray that Konoishi was struggling to hold up, meaning fewer members of Hanagawa's team would need to fight for a drink. Behind them, Akane was cursing, tapping her foot.
Fumiko span on her heel and slurped a big mouthful of a green smoothie – that same green smoothie Eiji had mentioned that morning. Kaho let out a bark of laughter as she walked to the table.
"Eiji!" she exclaimed, sitting diagonally across from him, crammed onto the end of a bench beside Ryota, and across from Naseru.
"Yeah?" he said, putting a mouthful of noodles in his mouth. A stray strand dangled from between his lips, he sucked it, and drew the noodle into his mouth, leaving a trail of soy sauce on his chin.
"You were right," Kaho conceded, "That smoothie does look like the algae from yesterday!"
Eiji finished his mouthful of noodles and grinned, "Was it a good conditioner at least?"
"Why?" Yuta said from beside him, elbowing Eiji in the ribs, "Looking to give it a go."
Eiji elbowed Yuta back. Beside them, Yamada rolled his eyes.
"Don't know why you're making that face, Ren," Taiga said as Fumiko and Konoishi teetered over with their plethora of smoothies. He got out from his chair and took the tray from the two of them. They began distributing mason jars of smoothies among the team, everyone had one unceremoniously plonked in front of them. Most were strawberry and banana or orange and mango, but there were three kale smoothies, a luminous, viscous green. Fumiko picked her one up and took a sip. She passed one along the table to Sunada, who wrinkled his nose but began to drink too. He made it three sips before shoving it away. The third had been unceremoniously placed in front of an empty seat, where the last member of the Hanagawa team was yet to sit down. Naseru.
Kaho scanned the room and found him beside the trolley of fresh fruit and veg, an impassive look on his face as Jean-Luc Barbier spoke to him animatedly while peeling an orange. He offered Naseru one of the wedges, which he refused. He turned his gaze to the Hanagawa table. Kaho beckoned him over, lest he be uncomfortable and need an out.
Naseru said something to Jean-Luc. His smiling face fell, and he returned to the Seiran table. Naseru grabbed one of the waxy bell peppers from the pyramid and took it to the table. He kept his head down and sat at the far end, so he wasn't wedged in amongst the rest of the team, all elbows and boisterous laughing as Sunada attempted to drink the kale smoothie Fumiko had bestowed onto him. He was sitting opposite Kaho again. She felt her throat tighten under his gaze. She smiled at him.
He picked up his pepper, the green skin shining under the dining room lights, and bit straight into the skin as if it was an apple. Kaho's jaw dropped and her chopsticks. They clattered onto the ceramic bowl of stir-fried veg on her plate, sending a spurt of sweet chilli sauce over the rim of the dish.
She rubbed her eyes and watched as he took another bite. As he chewed, the collective awe seemed to dissipate, leaving everyone pointing.
"What the Hell, dude? Who eats peppers like that?" Omura said, pointing across the table.
"You seeing this?" Eiji whispered to Yamada.
"My guy, you have to be some kind of alien!" Yuta added.
"I've never seen someone do that before. You freak!" laughed Nitta.
The table burst into hysterical laughter, a stark contrast to the silent onlookers forced into the dining hall by the police. Kaho wiped the tears from her eyes and glanced across the room, catching the glares of half a dozen unimpressed guests. She caught a glimpse of a woman, the same woman as yesterday, who had been wearing yellow. She was in grey sweats and a tank top with a foundation stain on the left breast—pyjamas. Her hair was scraped back in an untidy sock bun and her face looked red and puffy.
Kaho pursed her lips and looked back at the table. The laughter was dying down. Though Matsushita and Omura were still struggling for breath, banging their fists on the table as they fought through frantic gasps for any sense of composure.
Taiga, however, didn't seem to care for the scorn of strangers, and cleared his throat as his red-faced team struggled for breath.
"Guys, settle down," he said. We have to treat extraterrestrial life forms with respect. Otherwise, they'll vaporize the planet."
"Please!" Matsushita wheezed, "I'll pee!"
Omura snorted. Captain Hirano let out a little squeak. Fumiko made a choked-out noise and coughed.
"Oh my God I thought my smoothie was gonna come out of my nose," Fumiko said, pinching the bridge of her nose.
The team burst into fits of laughter, clapping Fumiko and Matsushita on the back. Kaho glanced back at Naseru. He seemed content enough.
The table only simmered down when an officer came to chastise Taiga for letting his table be so rowdy. A man had just died.
Taiga bit his tongue, resisting the urge to fight back and argue with the officer.
"Sorry Sir," Taiga muttered, turning his gaze to his plate of cold rice. His phone promptly buzzed. Taiga looked across the room and flipped Coach Itomi off.
"Coach, I get that someone just died and stuff," Tomohiro said, producing a handheld games console from his gym bag "But, can I go sit with Ayase?"
Taiga shook his head, "Sorry Kousuke, I'd love you all to be mingling and bonding outside of the gym, that's what this whole trip was for, but the cops have made themselves clear. Not only do we need to be quiet and respectful even though I doubt anyone would care about us laughing like this had it happened yesterday," his tone was sour, "But the officer also said we need to ensure everyone is accounted for at all times. And I mean all times. Ryota – that means no running off for a basketball rendezvous, and Matsuoka, you won't be able to go off galivanting for a run. It also means our quest has reached an impasse."
Ryota cursed under his breath. Naseru said nothing.
"But Taiga," Kaho said, "Surely if the police said no, they mean it, so we can't just vanish to go fishing."
"Unless," Taiga grinned, "We all go fishing!"