Tumbling On-Air [Open]

[Minami Akira]

Akira wrote on her notepad as she walked. She made bullet points of questions she wanted to ask to the Karasumori boys tumbling team.

The broadcasting club just had their regular meeting. The meeting was to evaluate their work for the week and plan for next week’s material. They’ve decided that next week is about the boys tumbling team. The idea was not immediately accepted though. Some of the broadcast club members were scared of the tumbling team.

Akira knew the reputation of the yankees in the tumbling team. They dressed not according to the rules and got bruises all over them. But since they joined the tumbling team, they seemed less hostile. She had seen them walking together to the gym, they seemed so excited. And now they were heading to the Kantou championship. To Akira, they seemed to love tumbling, and very serious about it. She was determined to know more about them.

So she was happy that the broadcast club decided on having those boys to the show. Akira was going to ask them first. And then the others would go to shoot them in the gym. The tumbling team would also be expected on their radio show.

Still walking, Akira reviewed the scenario that the broadcast club made. She jotted down some additions she would like to make. She made a mental note to discuss it with her club mates.

And then here she was, in front of the boys club room. She tapped the door twice.

“Excuse me.”

And opened the door.

[Kiyama Ryuichiro]

There Kiyama sat, arms folded, legs crossed, eyes boring holes into the back wall of the locker room. He wasn't all too happy... not like that was a common occurrence for the boy. On the same token, he wasn't usually this agitated, either.

He was sitting on the sofa of the club house -- locker room -- club room? Did it even have an official name? Well, he was there, not-so-patiently waiting for someone to come join him. Preferably, it'd be another one of the team members.

For some reason, he was about to be interviewed by the school's broadcast club. They were doing a special on the tumbling team. That was all well and good, he supposed, but why was the antisocial newbie the only member present? Why weren't some of those kids who've been doing the sport for years, not weeks, in the hot seat? Why wasn't that second-year all the girls drool over in his place? Hell, even the other yankee gymnasts could talk for days.

Anyone but him.

The only reason he hadn't turned tail was because he was the only member who'd showed up... though he knew all the others had been informed of the interview time. It was his damn sense of responsibility that kept him rooted to his seat, despite of this overwhelming "I just don't wanna!" feeling he couldn't set aside. But he'd keep trying to.

Some time during his efforts, he heard the soft, muffled "Excuse me,", and the door creak open. It nearly made him fall out of the chair, but he quickly recovered and spun around in time to see her enter the room.

Her. Dammit. Unless something drastic had happened in the last few hours, she was the girl from the broadcast club and not one of his teammates coming to save him. They'd definitely have to discuss this punctuality issue later.

Oh well, He'd try his best to get through it, and hope that one of the others would still show before he unintentionally made the tumbling team seem... he didn't quiet know what, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he was the last person qualified to represent them in a situation like this.

He nodded to greet the girl. "Are you from the broadcast club? I'm Kiyama, a third-year."

He inwardly flinched. Off to a great start already. How curt was that? He smiled a bit, adding a "nice to meet you," before gesturing to one of the chairs, urging her to take a seat.

[Minami Akira]

As Akira stepped inside the boys club room she observed her surroundings. There was only one person in the room, a boy she recognized as Kiyama Ryuuichiro.

He nodded.

"Are you from the broadcast club? I'm Kiyama, a third-year."

He smiled a bit.

“Nice to meet you.”

He gestured to one of the chairs.

She sensed his uneasiness and gave a reassuring smile to him.

The others are not here yet. I want to interview all of them at once. Too bad.

She observed Kiyama as she walked down the stairs.

Kiyama Ryuuichirou. 3rd grade. The newest member of the Tumbling team. He seems to be the quiet one. I want to know why he joined team.

She smiled at the prospect of the inteview. She wanted to satisfy her curiosity for the tumbling team.

Reaching the final staircase, she walked briskly to one of the chairs. She took a seat and greeted him.

“I am Minami Akira from the broadcasting club. Thank you for your time. I see that the other members are not here yet. Shall we start first?”

[Kiyama Ryuichiro]

Kiyama watched wearily as the girl descended the staircase and eventually across from him. All the while, her eyes were locked on him.

Then she smiled, something that caught him a little off guard. Whether the smile was genuine, for show, or because she somehow knew how awkward he felt at the moment, he didn't know... it was a feeling that made his own smile falter, but he tried his best to keep his demeanor pleasant.

It wasn't until after she took her seat that he returned to his own.

“I am Minami Akira from the broadcasting club. Thank you for your time. I see that the other members are not here yet. Shall we start first?”

This... Minami seemed succinct and to the point... Like a reporter should be, he guessed. It was really different from what he expected, from hearing the sometimes annoyingly bubbly voices on the daily radio shows. It was a welcome surprise...

...unlike the surprise of still being the only tumbling team member in the room.

Kiyama sighed, before nodding to the girl. "Well... what first?"

[Minami Akira]

After she greeted him she noticed something.

U-Uh. He doesn’t seem happy.

He sighed and then nodded to her.

"Well... what first?"

I can’t interview him right away. I want him to feel as comfortable as he can be when answering my questions.

She let her eyes trailing around the club room for a few seconds. The lockers, the stack of equipments on the corner. She smiled as she returned her gaze to Kiyama, carefully trying not to constantly looking at his eyes.

“First of all, I’d like to congratulate the boys tumbling team on the victory. And I wish good luck for all of you in the Kantou Championship.”

She smiled and glanced at him to see his reaction.

--------------------------------------------------
ooc: I like how you describe Akira's voice as annoying and bubbly, that's what I imagine of her

[Kiyama Ryuichiro]

Kiyama looked to the girl as she looked around the room; he inwardly chuckled as he wondered if she was going to report on the crap place they called a meeting spot.

Then she smiled at him again. “First of all, I’d like to congratulate the boys tumbling team on the victory. And I wish good luck for all of you in the Kantou Championship.”

Kiyama smirked nervously. Was this girl just dishing out the formalities, or what? Though it did seem like she was trying to make him feel comfortable... which was probably another thing that reporters were supposed to do.

"Thanks... though, I really didn't have much to do with that." And he hadn't. Though he had been slated to perform, a nasty run-in with some of Akabane's thugs had frankly, obliterated his wrist... something he didn't like to admit was still giving him some trouble. But his team really did deserve the praise.

He just really wished they were there to hear it.

He rubbed his hands together, and looked to Minami, who was looking at him expectantly. Did she want him to say something more? Kiyama couldn't help being so terse, and for some reason he was finding it very uncomfortable with the professional-sounding underclassman. He suddenly found himself wishing that, if the others weren't coming soon, that she'd hurry up and finish the interview.

But he did his best to look pleasant. It wasn't his forte, so he wasn't sure if he was doing particularly well at the moment.

[Minami Akira]

She saw the boy’s lips turned into a nervous smirk.

"Thanks... though, I really didn't have much to do with that."

He looked somewhat sad.

Oh, I guess it must’ve made him frustrated.

Akira watched that competition. And, as everyone else, she was surprised that Hino came out in the pink unitard. It was obvious why Kiyama had been replaced, his right hand was bandaged. She hadn’t know (yet) exactly why, but he must’ve had an accident somewhere and felt he was responsible for that. Poor guy.

He rubbed his hands together, and looked at her. He seemed to try getting a grip on himself.

“I know I’m in no place to say this, but I think your team mates appreciate what you’ve done for the team. Even though in competition only 6 players perform, Karasumori boys tumbling team consists of nine people, right?”

She threw a sympathetic smile and continued.

“That’s what great about team activities, don’t you agree? We’re not alone, we’re all in this together.”

Her eyes rested on him but she wasn’t really looking at him. Memories flooded her head. She couldn’t help but smiled as she recalled the times in the junior high school science club and the broadcasting club.

[Kiyama Ryuichiro]

“I know I’m in no place to say this, but I think your team mates appreciate what you’ve done for the team. Even though in competition only 6 players perform, Karasumori boys tumbling team consists of nine people, right?”

Kiyama nodded. She had a point.

There were nine members of the team, and only six were to perform in the group matches. But it made him think... of the members, Takenaka, Mizusawa and Kaneko had strong backgrounds already, while it seemed that Wataru. Ryosuke, and Nippori had improved by leaps and bounds already. Tsuchiya couldn't perform, but he knew so much and was the maneger, while Hino was the solo performer who was the team's pride and joy. And... what was Kiyama in all this?

Although he knew the others were probably glad to have him there, he couldn't help but think of himself as nothing but the weakest link in a chain that wasn't all too strong to begin with.

That's when she piped in again. “That’s what great about team activities, don’t you agree? We’re not alone, we’re all in this together.”

Kiyama looked again to Minami... who was looking at him with a wistful smile, yet it seemed that she'd really left the building. Maybe she wasn't talking about tumbling anymore? He chuckled inwardly at the break in professionalism.

"Yeah..." he began, though he didn't really know what to follow it with. Wasn't she supposed to be better at leading the conversation than this?

But maybe he should try to work with whatever moment she was having.

Hoping he wasn't being too presumptuous, he smiled slightly and leaned forward. "I guess you have some fond memories of a team, don't you?"

[Minami Akira]

"I guess you have some fond memories of a team, don't you?"

Akira was surprised. She thought how stupid she was to go out of focus.

“Yes, I do. There has been many good memories with the broadcasting club.” She smiled. “And many with the science club in junior high school.”

Akira was glad that Kiyama asked her the question. That’s considerate of him. He might be not such a bad partner in conversation after all.

She put down the note and pen she had been holding on her lap. She had intended to use it to take notes, but decided against it. She thought that Kiyama would feel uncomfortable about that.

“There was one time, when the broadcasting club did an investigation about the vandalism in the park.” She laughed a little. “It’s a long story. Let’s just say, we have never ran that fast before in our entire life.”

She glanced at him. Once again careful not to look directly to his eyes. She liked to look at people in their eyes. But this was not the time to do that.

“So, what are your fond memories of the team?”

----
ooc: I’m sorry for the late reply (>_<)
I’m loving Kiyama more XD No.1 is still Hino though

[Kiyama Ryuichiro]

OOC: No problem, I always take so long with my replies! D: And yay for the Kiyama love! I do what I can... XDDDD

Kiyama was taken a back by the look on Minami's face when he asked his question. Was that out of line?

“Yes, I do. There has been many good memories with the broadcasting club.” She smiled. “And many with the science club in junior high school.”

That was when she put down the pen and paper, placing them aside. Kiyama's eyes followed the girl's stationary, resting on them before his gaze returned to her face. Why did she put her stuff down? Wasn't this an interview? Didn't she need those? Why haven't Wataru, Takenaka, or one of the others come to save him yet?

“There was one time, when the broadcasting club did an investigation about the vandalism in the park. It’s a long story. Let’s just say, we have never ran that fast before in our entire life.” The girl was laughing, that nostalgic look still on her face.

Kiyama never felt all too comfortable being close to others, and having others intrude on his personal moments. So he felt very strange sitting in on Minami's moment, like he was watching something that wasn't meant for his eyes at all.

“So, what are your fond memories of the team?”

Now the girl was looking at him, but avoiding his eyes. And she was asking about personal things, feelings, about a club was barely a part of. How awkward would this get?

"Well..."

Kiyama looked to the table; there was some stationary, one of the routine notebooks, probably belonging to Takenaka, and some magazines that focused on high school sports.

He then thought to the very first time he saw Azuma Wataru work for something. He'd known Wataru for years, but it was only a couple of months ago that he saw the boy trying for something like he really cared about it.

You never quite forget the look in a person's eyes the first time they burn with passion. It moves you.

That change he saw in Wataru, he felt in all of the other members of the team, on some level or another. He briefly wondered if he was experiencing a change like that... if the other members of the team were changing him.

"Every time I see everyone... practicing together, doing their bests... every time I see them bonding..."

Despite his low ability level, despite all the trouble that's plagued the tumbling team for the past weeks... it really felt like every moment with the team was important to Kiyama Ryuichiro.

"I think that, maybe, every time I see them practice, it's a good memory. Any time I'm with them, I'm making a good memory."

After a second, Kiyama clamped his mouth shut, hard. He'd said another one of those things he tended to say... something that the other members of the team might consider ridiculously sentimental. Something that would garner him stares and laughs at his expense.

His gaze fell to the table again, and he looked at the top magazine's cover again.

[Nippori Keiji]

Nippori was pretty sure that he would be a dead man when he reached the club room. He was late. And quite a bit late, at that. If he didn’t get reprimanded by Yuuta, then he would surely get an earful from Aniki. His homeroom teacher had kept him behind to discuss some things, including his grades declining even further lately. Trying to explain that without touching on the severity of his home situation had been fairly difficult, because he knew that if his teacher found out about it then social services would be dragged into things. That was the last thing his family needed.

Nearly tripping over his feet, he hurried his pace a little further as he dashed down the stairs in the school building. Damn it... he cursed to himself, dodging around a few people that were making their way up the stairs. Eventually, he reached the ground floor (after a few more instances of nearly crashing into people or falling over), he dashed around to the entrance to the club room, also nearly falling on the steps outside, putting out a hand to stop himself from face-planting the stone steps.

Bursting into the club room, he barely paid any mind to the rooms occupants as the door shut behind him and he tried to catch his breath, hands on his knees and his head hanging forward. A minute or so passed before Nippori straightened up a little and headed to the first set of stairs. When he didn’t hear any sort of reprimand or anything coming his way for being late, he looked up and practically jumped at who he saw.

“O-oh, Minami-san,” he said, stopping dead in his tracks halfway down the first set of stairs, feet suddenly rooting to the floor and nearly sending him toppling forward. Grabbing the railing to steady himself, he gulped. Now that he saw her, he remembered Yuuta saying something about an interview with the broadcasting club happening today. How the hell could he have forgotten about that? He could practically feel his cheeks heating up.

Offering a “Yo” to Kiyama, he forced himself to move over to the lockers, setting his bag down on the bench. He didn’t want to turn back around – his cheeks were flushed, both from running and from seeing Minami again, he was a nervous wreck, and he was bound to make an idiot out of himself. Although, he considered, it would be very rude if he didn’t. Turning around and trying to force the blush off of his cheeks, he looked between Kiyama and Minami for a moment, before it suddenly hit him. “W-where’s everyone else?” he asked the older boy, silently thankful they weren’t here to see him make an ass of himself.



((ooc - ...why do I seem to concentrate better when I’m in a school library? Lol this happened last year too XD Two posts within a few hours – woohoo! Oh, and sorry if this isn’t any good, guys, and sorry I kept you waiting on it ^^;)