Chapter 1: Poison
A/N: Hey guys, welcome to the new story! I know this looks like a hefty read but I was going for something different. Something new, I guess. I promise that the next chapters to come won't be paragraph after paragraph since many aren't into that. And I understand that Aomine is a bit OOC here. Mind you just this chapter. I just assumed that he'd be a little different from his usual self on his first day of high school, but then reverting back to himself after the buzz because of the drag of it all Hope you guys enjoy? Haha. .-.-
Walking into the kitchen as to what could be left to call a "home", I brush past my elder sister who begins to dig around the old, tarnished fridge. Searching to feed her frail body. But there was nothing. There was rarely ever anything in this house to eat. Everything earned went to cheap liquor and cigarettes. Now and then my sister and I were rewarded with some money. By that, I meant a few dollars. But I never took it.
The money given by my mother and father was tainted. Stained with artificial love, resentment towards my unfulfilling life that consisted of going to school. Learning in hopes of giving myself a name and story one day. Something my parents both hated. If I was gone, then less money would be wasted on my studies, more money for them to drain. I was told constantly by my sister of eighteen that they'd be better off without my cold, nagging attitude.
I knew she was joking. She loved me. My parents did. Even though neither have ever told me. But I got the message now and then with the occasional birthday cards. I didn't mind if they forgot either. I was fine with my life. I enjoyed the isolation from them. From everyone, really. The less talking, the less times I'd come across people who I would end up hating. Even worse, people I'd end up loving.
I have nothing because I chose not to love, get caught up in the guilty pleasures of life. People ask me occasionally what happened to my old self. I shrug my shoulders in response as I say, "That was the new me. This is the old me." I used to be happy. Somebody that mattered. Now? Now I could care less if anyone even spoke to me. All of this over love. Something so easy to believe in, yet so hard to do. Something so easy to give into yet, yet so hard to let go of.
Love was poison. A spell. And I refused to ever fall into the trap. Not after that one day. The one day that I am constantly reminded of as I stare at myself in the mirror, fully undressed. My stretch marks mocking me. A reminder that they were the reason why I couldn't love. Why I wouldn't let anyone love me. Why I would die alone with a cold heart.
XxXxXxXxXxXxX
The buzzer goes off, echoing throughout the jam packed gymnasium of Teiko Middle school. Our team had just won their sixth game in a row with ease. As the visiting team begins to pack in unease over their lost, Teiko's basketball team remains on the court, celebrating over another consecutive win. I stand quietly off into the side, as my large group of friends stay behind me for moral support. Or, the friends I had made them out to be that, that is.
"Go on, Hiyori-chan. Aomine-kun's waiting for you!" giggles one of my friends, as they all suddenly begin to push my larger body towards the open floor before me.
"W-What if he doesn't like me?" I ask back meekly, as I try to turn for some reassurance.
"Don't worry, Hiyori-chan. Aomine-kun told me that he reallywants to go out with you. What's the harm in telling him that you like him too?"
"Yeah, Hiyori-chan! Imagine, you and Aomine-kun walking home together holding hands!" says another of my friends, as she places a comforting hand on my shoulder. I turn around, looking into all of their eyes', envying their thin physiques. Maybe this would be easier if I had their- What am I thinking? Aomine-kun likes how I am, after all. I shouldn't be questioning it since my friends are telling me that he likes me. They would never lie to me, right?
Smiling widely at them all, I tell them to wish me good luck. Giving me a thumbs up and smiles in return, they push me forward as I begin to walk towards Aomine-kun and the rest of the players, my heart beating profoundly as I walk to confess to the one boy who I could most likely see myself being with.
Although he did mooch off of me in math and copy my homework, the conversations we had, albeit small and boring, sent my heart and mind off the charts. I loved him. His humour, his caring nature towards his team mates and Momoi Satsuki. Oh how I envied her. Everything about him was lovable. Everything.
But little did I know was that my friends behind me were smirking and laughing for much more darker reasons to come.
With each step I take, an audible thud shakes the floor as I continue to approach the group. Growing slightly self conscious of the loud noises I was making, I try to make my footsteps discrete. By the time I approach Aomine-kun, I'm breathing much more loudly than usual.
"Oh, it's you., The girl from math class," states Aomine-kun, as he points to me with a small, victorious smile. The girl from math class.Why was he talking like he didn't remember my name? My friends told me that he constantly talked about me in his other classes.
"Y-Yeah! Igarashi Hiyori?"
"Ugh…oh yeah! What's up? Did you watch the game?"
"I-I did. You guys were amazing, as usual. Especially that hook in the last quarter. Amazing," I splurge out, as I close my eyes in recollection, remembering how Aomine-kun had caught Kuroko-kun's pass, running past everyone on the court as he easily hooked the ball in with no effort.
"Know a lot about basketball, huh?"
"P-Please. It's bare-"
"Aomine-kun! Come on!"
Aomine-kun looks over his shoulder as I watch small, glistening beads of sweat begin to roll down the nape of his neck, dripping onto his white and cerulean coloured uniform.
"Sorry, Hiyoko. I have-"
"I-It's Hiyori."
"Oh, yeah. I have to go. See ya' in math!"
With that, Aomine-kun begins to turn and run, catching up to the blonde haired team mate as he ushers for Aomine-kun to hurry up. Stunned, I hear my friends behind me tell me to chase him. To tell him. That it was now or never.
Growing encouraged by their words, I run behind Aomine-kun, but I found that I had easily become out of breath. Halting, I call out his name instead. Stopping himself, Aomine-kun turns around to stare at me.
Swallowing the large lump in my throat and ignoring the aching pain in my chest. I tell him. I tell him everything that I could only feel for him. Everything that was inside me. Love. I had never known how to hate someone. How to act cold and conniving like most people. I didn't know how people did it. But after that day, I did. I learned with ease as to how easy it was to turn off my emotions and live life by myself.
"I love you! So…so much!"
That was what I had said. Now that I thought about it, my confession could have been done without the last bit.
The gymnasium grows silent, as trailing students stop to stare at the overly sized girl in the middle of the gymnasium and one of the schools' heartthrobs. It was a soap opera if anything else for them.
And that's when I had realized it. When my so called friends had begun to laugh loudly amongst themselves behind me, and soon enough, most of the school. Looking around in confusion, I look up to the boy I loved to help me. To tell me that I wasn't crazy for loving him. For him loving me back. But instead, I am left broken heart. Not just that, but everything about me becomes unbroken, as I kick away the pieces, not ever wanting to be fixed. To return to that heart wrenching feeling. Feeling of pain, remorse, anger. The feeling of love.
"Is this a joke? Sorry, Hinata. But yer' not exactly the prettiest looking girl. I mean, you weigh more than me, right?" he says casually, as he begins to laugh while scratching his head in thought.
Not bothering to correct him on my name, I turn around solemnly, towards my friends.
"I can't believe you told him!"
"Did you actually think he liked a fatty like you?!"
"Don't make her too angry. She might sit on you!"
Taunt after taunt was thrown at me, whipping against my back into the wound I had made myself for Aomine-kun. The wound he had gouged out further by his demeaning words.
I exited the gym. That day I walked away from many things. Love, myself and a chance at happiness. Ever since then I didn't believe that I deserved any of it. Anything good because when I genuinely tried to make friends, tried to be happy and joke around, that lingering pain of that one day comes back to mind. I was so self conscious of the people around me that I began to think that new ones before me were the same, conniving, lying cheats that I had considered my friends to be back at Teiko. I had realized that trying to make friends was futile. I didn't want any. I didn't need any.
From that day on, I struggled greatly to get my almost 200 pound body of muscle and fat down to nearly half that size. And I did. After tear after tear, profanity after profanity, I did. I changed myself. Not only my physical, but mental attitude as well. But, unfortunately for myself, I should've realized how unhealthy I was form a sooner age. My doctor would always tell me that if I didn't change now, diabetes would catch up to me quicker than I would expect.
I listened to him. And took action. But I was too late. During my last year of middle, I had developed type 2 diabetes. Something my parents weren't too happy about. My medical bills went up with the new insulin and meters that I suddenly needed. My parents began to fight a lot, blaming the other for my cause. My mother had told my father that she had never intended to have a fat child. Which then my father went on to compare myself to my elder sister. She was healthy, beautiful and their first child. Their precious gem. I was chopped liver, basically. Who cares what happened to me? They did have another, healthy child to love.
After my transformation was when I had changed into what I was now. My family told me constantly that they liked me better before. But I knew that it wasn't true. They didn't like me then nor did they now.
Now here I was. Healthy, somewhat attractive, yet a very ugly, dark personality. Today was my first day of high school. The start of trying to pretend that I actually liked these people.
XxXxXxXxXxXxX
"Where are you off- Wow, wow. My little sister for once manages to look pretty good," says my sister, as she begins to chug the milk straight out of the carton. I look up at her quietly, noticing a little bit of the white, creamy liquid running down her chin. Zipping up my school bag, I tell her that I was off to school, unlike some other people.
"I'm going to ignore that little jab right there. I mean, why so early?"
Brushing past her I pick up my watch from the dirty, grimy counter that hadn't been cleaned or washed in a while. Strapping it securely around my wrist, I exit the kitchen as I walk to the doorway, slipping on my white shoes.
"I thought I told you. I'm the new coach of Touou's basketball-"
"Still think you should've gone to Rakuzan."
"…team. I need to arrive early to meet with the manager."
"Manager? Is he cute?"
Opening the door, the door knob suddenly unhinges as I stare at it blankly in my grasp. Throwing it behind my shoulder, I hear the shriek of my sister as she successfully catches the rusty sphere.
"I'm off to school. You should make yourself useful while I'm gone and repair the-"
Dodging the broken door knob that comes flying my way, I look out the door as I watch it roll onto the street, spinning in a circle before coming to a halt.
"The hell was that you little-"
Climbing down the stairs with my hand on my black and red bag, I suddenly stop as I remembered there was one more thing I had to tell my sister. Turning around, I stare at the empty milk carton in her hand and then back up at her annoyed, gruesome face. Biting my tongue for my own goodness, I walk to school in silence. I believe it was best to not tell her that the milk was long overdue its date.
XxXxXxXxX
Sitting on the bench in the new gym of Touou, I begin to go through my clipboard as Momoi, the manager of the team, stands awkwardly beside me. She tries to make small talk, and I can tell that she genuinely wants to get to know me, but I find that talking to her gives me a weird feeling. Something along the lines of happiness. Content. Something I didn't want. So I try to make the answers to her questions as small as possible.
"So, what middle school did you-"
"Will they be here soon?" I quickly ask, as I began to tap my clipboard with a bored expression. If I had known that these two would be attending Touou then I would've filled out the forms for Rakuzan, my sister's school.
"Oh! Y-yes. They should be walk-"
Not bothering to look up, I can tell the prospects have arrived due to the sudden clamber of noise and obnoxious laughing. Sighing in annoyance, Momoi on my behalf tells the boys to try to calm down as she begins to notice my ragged breathing.
Standing up from my relaxed position, I grab the black whistle from around my neck, holding it up to my plump, wet lips as I blow all my breath into it.
Immediately everyone stops talking, their eyes on me as they give me incredulous looks.
"What's the idea, coach?" one of them asks.
Shrugging my shoulders, I tell them all to remain quiet until I'm done with the role call. And that if anyone dare interrupt me I'd send them outside for laps. I had no problem with the saying "No pain. No gain."My mantra as I had tried to desperately get into shape.
Momoi stands obediently by my side. I'm not sure why. It only took one person to read out a list of names.
"Aomine Daiki?" I call out, knowing fully aware that he was not yet present in the gym. Meaning he was tardy. Meaning that I officially hated him even more. I despised people who weren't punctual and wasted others' valuable time. Especially my valuable time.
"Aomine Daiki?" I yell out once again, looking around the boys. They all look around each other, some with fear. I watch it in their eyes as they stare at me with nothing but the sensual, uneasy feeling.
Placing an "x" by his name, I hear Momoi whisper beside me that he'd be here.
"Then how come I don't see him?"
"He's late. He woke up late this-"
"Yo!" yells an obnoxious voice, as the gym doors smack open, a loud, thundering sound echoing as they mercilessly swing open.
"Sakurai-"
The pencil in my fingertips begins to falter under pressure as Aomine begins to talk amongst the boys. Interrupting me.
"Ya' should've seen the game! Bunch of amateurs yet they-"
Tapping my foot in irritancy, I can tell that Momoi beside me begins to worry. "A-Aomine-kun. Please be quiet until-"
"Come on, Satsuki. It was the story I was telling you about last night!"
Sighing, I figure that this was the end of his pointless rambling. So I start the next name over again.
"Sakurai-"
"And then the guy goes in for a dunk but-"
"Aomine Daiki, is it?" I ask slyly, as I tap my pencil delicately onto my clipboard. The boys grow quiet as they suddenly see the dangerous glint in my grey eyes.
"Yeah?" perks up Aomine, as he suddenly realizes that there was someone else standing besides Momoi. I didn't understand. I wasn't hard to miss. We were the same height after all.
"Is there a reason as to why you find it necessary to cause a disruption while I'm-"
"Come on, sweetheart. Let's just hurry up and get this over with," he says tiredly, as he drapes his large, tanned arm over a frightened, much smaller boy in comparison.
The pencil in my hand suddenly snaps in half. Sweetheart? Sweetheart? Well, I suppose it was time to show him that I was anything but that.
"Four laps. Come back as well when you're ready to apologize," I say causally, as I begin to make a few notes on my clipboard. The boys begin to howl in response. Apparently the new coach meant business. And did I ever.
Silence remains in the gym after as I realize that Aomine had made no movement towards the door.
"What are you standing there for? Are you waiting for your team mates to hold your hand and guide you to the door? Last time I recalled this is high school. Not playschool. Your laps await you."
Aomine suddenly begins to look around, as if wondering who was getting told off like that. As if clueing in, he points to himself with a dumbfounded look.
"Me?"
Rolling my eyes, I rub the bridge of my nose in annoyance. Yes. This was my breaking point. Looking towards an unknowing Momoi, I tell her to pass me a ball from the pile of them beside her. Running quickly, she grabs one tightly as I notice her hands beginning to shake. Handing me the ball, I take it delicately as I thank her kindly with a smile.
Something I did mostly out of mock than sincerity. Giving her my clipboard, she holds it tightly against her chest as she stares at Aomine, mouthing something towards him. Something of a warning. But Aomine smirks in response as he signals to Momoi that I was "cuckoo".
Twirling the ball in curiosity between my fingers, I feel the texture. It's small, yet noticeable bumps for grip. The horrid smell that radiates off of the orange sphere.
And as if a switch being turned on, I nail it into Aomine's stupid looking face as he stumbles back into our third year and captain, Imayoshi. Or at least I try to. He instead swiftly dodges, making me even more agitated.
"YOU IMBICILE! GET OFF OF MY COURT BEFORE I-"
Aomine has no time to hear the other half of my threat as he has already bolted out of the door, leaving it swinging softly behind him.
"Now. Where I was? Yes, Sakurai Ryou?"
"S-Sorry! I'm here!" chokes out a small, simple looking boy. The one who had been used as a post for relaxation by Aomine.
Smiling down at my clipboard, I check off his name with a smiley face drawn beside it. Something told me that I'd get along with the boy. And something also told me Aomine was by knows intending to do his laps because when he ran out, he ran towards the right. The track was on the left.
I didn't want to be sure, but a nagging feeling told me that Aomine had been restraining himself, seeing how it was the first day of school and all. Had it been any other die he wouldn't of gone down with such a easy loss. I knew that I hadn't seen the true Aomine yet.