A/N: 'Tis a request from a reader, particularly in AO3 where I crosspost my works, to write about the Basketball club and since it has to do with Aira, I'm in. Just expect a lot of fluff and Aira enjoying himself 100%. The title exactly portrays how much he will enjoy himself <33

At first, Aira was not the type to attend clubs at school. Before Yumenosaki, it could be said that the only club that he had ever joined was the 'Go Home' club, especially in the interest of spending as much time as he can with his idols. His parents had berated him a lot back then, encouraging him to join a club at school to make more friends, improve himself, learn something new and spend time more wisely.

He would turn a deaf ear, because he found that meaningless and was stubborn about it. For making friends, he was friendly enough with his classmates but no one wanted to get closer to him in particular. He didn't know how that would be any different in clubs. As for improving himself and learning something new, he could just do that himself. Finally with spending his time more wisely, it was already spent wisely with his idol time, especially for his mental health, he swear.

In the end, it was just stubborn rebellion against a societal norm regarding clubs against his parents and he had felt entitled to it, because his parents were extreme realist against his dreams about being an idol, to choose something more stable and secure. He still loved his parents, but it had been complicated and in his teens, childish rebellion seemed a good way to go in venting his anger against his parents' realism.

However, his stubborn rebellion had to cave in especially when he had to go for high school and wanted to go to Yumenosaki Academy. It took a lot of arguing, shouting and negotiation but he was allowed to go, with conditions. One of them was to join a club, as if to get back at him for not following societal norm. Even the school agreed with his parents, making clubs mandatory and since he really wanted to go to Yumenosaki as his choice school, he submitted to the norm for his idols and idol dreams.

Aira had picked at random when he enrolled, settling for basketball because it was an easy enough sport compared to others. He couldn't do archery because that required specialized skill he was lazy to learn. Martial arts was out because have you seen his delicate and fragile body? So, he stuck to his random choice but had not bothered to attend the club, citing a busy idol life when he joined StarPro agency and tried his best making an idol career for himself even if it meant doing a lot of behind the scenes work in the hopes that the hard work could get him recognized to the stage.

Well, no such luck which caused him to neglect his school life in total and endure his parent's disappointing and disapproving gazes but no matter how hard it gotten, he chose to keep believing. That he would become the real deal idol, and then ALKALOID and MDM happened.

After that, he had to go back to school and thanks to Idol Hijack with UNDEAD, he had started attending the basketball club in earnest and he wanted to thank his past self or God, Buddha and maybe Tatsun-senpai even though he never met him back then who gave him the power of RN-Jesus to choose this holy club.

Right now, Aira was dressed and ready for another round of basketball, directed by their captain Mao, who had always made sure to involve everyone and let all of them have fun. Then, there was also Subaru who unexpectedly ran from behind Mao and put his arm around the other. While indulging in banter that Aira was burning to memory, his eyes slowly drifted a little and found Midori, hiding himself among the crowd looking a little sullen but that was useless with Aira's idol eyes.

Idols in sportswear, something only fans could only hope to see in idol mags, Aira was witnessing now but that was not the only great thing that happened in this club.

"Alright, we will be dividing into teams and playing a friendly round of basketball against each other. Let's switch up the teams like last time now," Mao instructed, as Aira saw many clubmates drifting towards familiar faces.

Those people somewhat repelled from him, reminding him of the first few times he had come back to the basketball club. He hasn't attended in a while so it was unsurprising that he would be alone when people have once again formed their own cliques.

Other than learning all the moves in basketball by dribbling, snatching the ball and shooting it to the hoop in two and three pointers, they would usually do friendly team matches against each other to test their skills. In an interest of fairness, teams would always switch up people so everyone can know the other members better and involve everyone.

However, at first, it was like everyone had their own friends and choosing their own teams repelled Aira away to the back wall, wondering if someone would ever approach him to be invited to teams or to the people he already asked that their team would still have one more spot.

Back then, as a first timer basketball club member, he darkly thought that it was because of his small size that he wasn't chosen and sulked all over it. Surprisingly he wasn't the only one to sulk here.

"Sigh... I hope no one finds me here."

Aira had looked around, seeing Midori leaning against a wall at the corner and giving out a melancholy sigh. He gravitated towards Midori, and asked, "Takamine-senpai, what are you doing here?"

"I already- Oh, Shiratori-kun, it's just you? Aren't you on a team already?" Midori asked, looking around for a sign of Aira's non-existent comrades.

Aira sighed, "I have no luck finding teams. I ask and they are already full. No one approached me either, senpai. Maybe because I'm just small and that's not ideal for basketball."

"Just because you are not tall doesn't mean you won't be good at basketball," Midori said, "If it was Shinobu-kun, he would do well at basketball with his ninja skills."

"And even when I'm tall, it's not like I'm any good at basketball either," Midori sighed, "Not that it's not stopping people from approaching me and asking to be on their team."

"Huh, then why are you here, Takamine-senpai?" Aira asked, when it would make more sense for him to already be in a team and geared up to play basketball.

"I wouldn't really want to team up with people I don't know..." Midori mumbled, "And maybe I can sit out of this. If everyone already teams up and not notice me, that's fine already."

From what Aira knew about Midori through fan sites and RYUSETAI lives, the tall senpai had always been more reserved and out of spotlight but extremely dependable as a part of RYUSETAI, in all for one and one for all fashion. He had done a lot of solo modelling jobs done in a cool professional way and he was known well for his love for mascots showing a gentle and cute side that complimented his reserved side. So it wasn't all too surprising that maybe he didn't feel up to getting involved and playing basketball.

To be honest, Aira can relate here. He didn't hate sports per se and he had great stamina from all the times he had to run and wait for his precious idol merch, so even being a bit shorter than most of the basketball players here, he could hold on his own. However, he wouldn't really want to drain himself in basketball. He had just picked this club randomly at the time and maybe he could have chosen a certain art club instead of sports but at that time, he was too lazy to learn anything important to fulfill certain roles in the club, wasn't interested and went for the most generic one.

He was still defending his choices, and he still would stand proud and say he regretted nothing. It would be nice to just stick around with Midori, watching everyone else but there was no way that was ever going to happen.

As soon as that thought passed through his head, he felt an arm immediately locking Aira in and he almost stumbled upon the weight as he saw Subaru smiling upon him, saying, "Hey, Aira, what are you doing here by yourself? You too Takamin?"

"Uwah, the loud one is here," Midori sighed at Subaru's antics. Aira was trying not to blush over Subaru's arm over him although it was more out of fluster than any admiration. Don't get him wrong, he loved all idols and Trickstar was among them, but a lot of things had happened with Subaru that reminds him a little about Hiiro, casually calling him by his first name, not knowing boundaries and even more. 

Not only that, Aira was a great admirer of Subaru's father, even with the incident that happened but knowing that and getting to know Subaru, there were times it felt awkward. He was not entirely sure why, but it just is. And all Aira could do was keep it inside like he usually does, especially any feelings he had for his idols so they don't think him an overly weird fan bordering on stalker or anything crazy like that.

"Who are you calling a loud one, Takamin?" Subaru pouted, "It's no fair that the two of you are just standing there, looking all lonely so I had come to bask you with my presence."

"I don't need that," Midori declined even when Subaru pouted further and Aira was getting even more flustered being stuck in the middle. Luckily, a knight in shining armor came and rescued him from this awkward situation.

"Hey now Subaru. I think you should let up on Shiratori and stop teasing Takamine like that," Mao said, coming gallantly to their rescue from Subaru's overbearing tendencies. Aira was gradually getting used to it, since he understood idols had their eccentricities but he was grateful for Mao's intervention nonetheless, as someone who he could feel at ease with. Within ES and so many famous idols, there were not many idols he could truly feel at ease with when the power of worship takes over by the otaku part truly but there were some idols that just lets Aira relax in their presence even when worship was still there. It was somewhat unexplainable but maybe it's because they are easier to understand.

There were only few idols that feel like normal people, not that he doubt idols were people but they have their own quirks, majesty and complexity that make a person feel idols are more. Heck, look at the Sakuma brothers who proclaim to be vampires, Nagisa who has claimed to be God in the name of Eden, Valkyrie in general being artists of renown and then the high class nobility who chose to be idols...

It could almost be said a normal idol could be considered a rarity and someone that Aira felt truly at ease with because he could somehow relate, as person to person instead of idol to fan. Mao and Tomoya so far were the only people Aira could say for certain that felt normal enough in this eccentric world of idols, although he was a little doubtful of the latter no matter the claims. There were many others, such as his unit mates, Crazy:B and his other idol friends from clubs and Circles but they still had their eccentricities and there were some that he felt like he was walking eggshells with but deep down in his mind, he knew that could be an exaggeration. Honestly, he felt he was never getting rid the idol fan in him who basically would feel he had to walk eggshells with other idols because he was not worthy...

Thankfully, Aira was pulled out of his conflicting thoughts when Subaru let go of Aira as he quickly adjusted himself as he faced both Subaru and Mao. Behind him, he heard Midori sighing.

"Fine, Sari. I wasn't really teasing Takamin though. I was just here making sure that everyone was being put into teams and if I was to be put in a team, other than you Sari, I had to quickly get Aira and Takamin to join us too," Subaru said.

"I knew it..." Midori mumbled.

"Huh? You want us to join you guys?" Aira asked, while Subaru and Mao nodded.

"Everyone is supposed to team up and since you two are just standing there alone, you might as well join us," Mao said with a bright smile.

"Hooray! With Sari, Takamin and Aira, we will make a great team~ Let's make the game a good one," Subaru cheered as Aira nodded solemnly.

That was the first time the four had teamed up in basketball club and although he was deathly curious about why Subaru thought that Aira would be included in 'a great team', he never had the chance to interject from Subaru's infectious enthusiasm and simply played the best we can.

Now, Aira could naturally drift to the other trio for this round of basketball, having come a long way from their first team up. While Aira could not say he was perfect in the game, Mao had complimented him for improving and playing to his strengths so he does his best to live up to those expectations.

"Woo, Aira! Are you ready for a great game?" Subaru asked.

"Let's get this over," Midori sighed.

"Now, don't be like that Takamine. Let's do our best, alright?" Mao asked, putting his hand out which Subaru joined immediately, while Aira and Midori were slower to join even though this has been done a number of times whenever he teamed up with the other three. To this day, he relished this experience and almost wish he could never wash his hand.

When Aira played against his other club members, he cannot shoot as well as the other taller members who had better aim but the small kouhai could at least dribble with speed, dodging any snatches and snatching any ball out of the opponents to pass to more capable members for the shot. They were like a well-oiled machine, playing to their strengths and scoring well. Sometimes, they work on their own weaknesses like Aira shooting. Sometimes, the ball bounces out but there were a few times he could get those three pointers. Those were the ones he look forward to the most because...

"Woohoo! Nice score, Aira!" Subaru shouted, being hugged unexpectedly by Subaru in the middle of the game as they had already broke sweat and after so many games, Aira was very good at concealing his hyperventilating that idol sweat might be trickling on his body by the close proximity of a hug and those hands. Back then, he was only thankful that people mistaken the redness on his face for breaking a sweat and getting tired rather than blushing. 

Even so, he still never knew how to respond when Subaru gets like this as he looked around to Mao who was letting this ride with an exasperated smile on his face while Midori looked at him with a hint of pity that he was not sure whether it was real or not in the first place.

Still, he would always be grateful for the opportunity to witness idol sweat right in front of his eyes as they enact cool moves and were dashing in basketball. To be honest, it was the holy grail that Aira had no idea sports would provide, but it should have been a given since Yumenosaki is a school of idols and people break a sweat in sports. 

Combined with those facts, Aira had to learn as fast as he can to stop drooling and staring at idols for so long after seeing the sweat go through the body and highlighting, well... highlighting the awesomeness of idols of course. Luckily, he could easily covered up his drooling with working an appetite and his staring was noted as distraction that he had been advised to work on since getting distracted in court would just lead to a ball to the face or something worse.

Aira definitely took the advice to heart, working on keeping his desires in check outwardly and not getting balls hit on the face even when he was inwardly a little bit distracted noting down the greatness he was witnessing even if it seems same old same old after so many club activities. Aira was just the type to never get tired of idols and anything they do, ever. He prided in such dedication within himself.

In any case, on court and outside, he just basked in idol sweat. Right after the game where the team went for water and towels, Midori patted Aira on the shoulder as he said, "You did good today, Shiratori."

It might be weird to others but Midori's sweaty hand on Aira's shoulder made him want to squeal. He wasn't sure where his love for idol sweat came from, although he loved anything and everything about idols, but maybe it was because he relate idol sweat, when they sing and dance on stage, as a result of their hard work for the fans. The cases might be different here, but the idea of idols doing their best in sport scenarios with them working hard and simply acing the sport with the sweat a culmination of their hard work... yeah, Aira enjoyed his fantasies, enjoy thinking the fact a sweaty hand was a proof of hard work, of loveliness, of a reenactment of sporty scenarios but with his idols.

"Thank you, Takamine-senpai," Aira breathed out, honestly exhausted by a round of basketball. He honestly wished he could say he had great stamina from how much he had to line up and rush for idol merch and getting tickets but that might be more adrenaline than actual stamina. He could delude himself of having a lot of stamina before the game, believing that he had enough for sporty games but the result speaks for itself, with an out-of-shape Aira.

"Woah there, Shiratori. Steady there," Mao said, even when Midori steadied Aira with his hand on his kouhai's shoulder, "Do you need more water?"

Aira's bottle had emptied itself quickly when he glugged down after a grueling match, so he nodded somehow feeling more thirsty. He knew he had to get more in shape and he totally was but he also still had a long way to go.

"Ah, then you can have my bottle Aira," Subaru said, and if Midori wasn't holding down Aira, he would have flustered away and reacted in a way that might hurt someone's feelings because his primal reaction since Subaru was offering his bottle that was already drunk from him... wouldn't this be an... an indirect-

"Your bottle is almost empty, Subaru. Here, have this one instead," Mao chided as he handed Aira an uncapped bottle that had not shared lips with anyone except Aira's own once he opened up and glugged down some more. He silently thanked Mao from keeping him out of a situation that could fluster him.

"Eh, my bottle is not that empty," Subaru said, as he shook up the bottled water and water was shaking around, "See, see~"

Since Subaru squeezed the bottle tightly, some water went out and splashed both Aira and Midori. It was not a lot, like a slight unnoticeable drizzle but Aira felt suddenly aware that Midori was splashed a little wet like Aira and he looked back, only to see Midori slightly annoyed with bits of water attaching to his shirt but never enough to have that wonderful lasting effect of the miraculous almost see-through shirt that makes fans swoon. Nah, even Aira will never be that lucky but fantasy works wonder.

Aira and Midori just toweled off whatever they can while Midori scowled at Subaru, when he asked, "Did you have to play around like that?"

"Don't worry too much. At least it wasn't a lot~" Subaru said, trying for reassuring but it did not stop Midori's sigh. Surprisingly, Aira got the feeling that Midori might not like Subaru all that much which felt stranger than Rei and Eichi's animosity (which he understood because of fine and UNDEAD's rivalry) because as far as Aira was aware, Trickstar and RYUSETAI had no problems with each other. Midori and Mao look like they get along fine, and comparing Chiaki with Subaru who are both the same outgoing and energetic types, Aira could not see any reason Midori would dislike Subaru. 

Aira had read through threads and watched numerous Lives how RYUSETAI value each other very much and it was because of RYUSETAI's then-captain (who is still captain now but it might be confusing with RYUSETAI-M and RYUSETAI-N), Chiaki Morisawa, that RYUSETAI was formed today. It would make one think that the other members who owed so much to the captain and probably admired the leader to band together as one to become the amazing RYUSETAI they know today...

Putting all that together, if Chiaki and Subaru were similar personality wise, wouldn't Midori liked Subaru since Midori liked Chiaki? Then again, maybe he shouldn't have assume so quickly because emotions have always been more complex and the dislike might be something more personal. Or maybe it was an exaggeration to call it dislike and leaning more towards exasperation. And Aira did have a tendency to exaggerate, his mind jumping through so many scenarios that reality can leave his orbit in short bursts.

Normally, Aira felt conflicted when idols show negative emotions because idols were, well... idols. However, he was also aware that idols were human and they cannot act positive 24/7. There were sides of idols that not even fans will know, and Aira intend to uncover each and everyone because he would be accepting no matter what. Sure, he was curious about ES dynamics but he knew when not to pry it out like this. Because they are more than idols, they are also people and Aira could at least respect their privacy.

"It really wasn't a lot, Takamine-senpai," Aira reassured as he already wiped away the wetness from his clothes and simply went back to observing the court while waiting for Midori's answer. Although not everyone in Yumenosaki are full fledged idols or as successful as the ES idols he knew, they were still idols who have done their best and had made some dreams come true with their hard work. Witnessing idols play basketball like out of a sporty TV drama, with sweat and competitive spirit flying around, it was really something he did not get tired of watching.

Aira felt another pat on his shoulder and looked up to see Mao smiling at him, "I'm glad you are alright and thankfully you look better. It looks like our team is up again for another round. I hope you recovered enough for another go."

"Of course I am," Aira said, with a glimmer in his eyes and started standing up, exhaustion temporarily subdued.

"You don't have to force yourself, Shiratori," Midori piped up, having always played devil advocate for Aira in the sense that 'he did not have to push himself for those rowdier people, you know? I understand...' That's what Midori had said, but Aira would disagree even when he was touched by his kind senpai's words.

"I'm not forcing myself, Takamine-senpai," Aira reassured, because even though breaking a sweat in court is exhausting, it was worthwhile if he could surround himself with other idols, live up to expectations, have fun in those scenarios and ultimately mentally snapshot so many idol rabui moments fans can only hope to get in fictional sporty dramas idols might star in. Sometimes, Aira didn't believe he should have this kind of luck but those were simply the perks of an idol fan being an idol.

"Alrighty," Subaru said, looking at each of his teammates, "Are we ready?"

"Shouldn't that be my line?" Mao joked, "But the answer is obvious."

"Yes!" everyone replied, as they made their way to another game and Aira once again thanked RN-Jesus for letting him choose the basketball club and getting close to his senpai like this. Maybe clubs were not so bad after all, especially when there are fave idols and a chance to bask with them~