Hey! It seems that there are people who are interested in this shipping. Thanks for the reviews, I totally appreciate it.
Here's chapter 2!
Douzo!
.
.
.
First lesson: Japanese History
"Absolutely not," Hyuuga said defiantly. Riko simply gave him a strange look. "You shall not tutor him in his house."
"I don't see anything wrong about it," Riko replied nonchalantly. "Besides…just think of what will happen if he goes over to my house."
"Your father will shoot him dead?" Kiyoshi broke in unhelpfully.
Riko sighed before answering, "Exactly."
Hyuuga, however, wouldn't back down. "That's my point. At least your father will be around to keep an eye on you."
The three of them were discussing where Riko would tutor Aomine for the exams. They were huddled in a corner of the gymnasium while Touou Gakuen's ace, along with Kuroko, Kagami and the others were playing in the court. The coach and the captain wouldn't agree when it comes to who goes to the house of whom, and the Ironheart was not helping them settle the issue at all.
"Geez, it's not like I needed a bodyguard. Aomine's just a stupid junior who needs to pass the exams," Riko folded her arms across her chest as she made her point.
"Then again, the boy's a six-foot-plus guy with the muscular structure of a beast. Just think about it," Hyuuga spoke in a concerned tone.
"I don't think Aomine will do anything wrong to Riko," Kiyoshi murmured lightheartedly.
"Whose side are you on, you idiot?" Hyuuga blurted out angrily.
"My decision's final," Riko said. "It'll be at Aomine's."
She got two different reactions at the same time: a frown from Hyuuga and a bright smile from Kiyoshi.
.
.
.
"They're taking a bit too long there," Momoi glanced at the corner where Seirin's coach, captain and vice captain were talking. She and Kuroko were standing at the side of the basketball court, watching Kagami and Aomine play one-on-one basketball. "Seeing as how your captain reacted to the question where Riko-san shall teach Aomine-kun…he must be worried."
"About what?" Kuroko asked, although he already had an idea.
"Well…about Aomine-kun's misbehavior," Momoi smiled almost apologetically. "I think your captain's afraid that he might harm your coach or something."
"Sorry," Kuroko replied. "I guess it can't be helped. Even if she can beat everyone here in our team, we could not help but worry about her. Not that I think Aomine-kun's a bad guy or anything."
Momoi could not help but be slightly jealous because his Tetsu-kun was showing concern towards Seirin's barely B-Cup coach, but she also knew Riko would be dealing with the idiot Aomine, so she quite understood his anxiety.
"My only assurance to you is that Aomine-kun is not into…you know…alphabets that are less than D," she muttered, embarrassed.
She somehow saw a faint smile playing on Kuroko's lips. Surprisingly, the phantom sixth man was quite fond of slightly dirty jokes.
.
.
.
By the time Riko, Hyuuga and Kiyoshi were done with their meeting, Aomine had already beaten Kagami thrice in their one-on-one match.
"Finally," Aomine smirked at Seirin's coach. "I was about to get bored, you know."
"Bastard…" Networks of veins popped on Kagami's forehead.
Aomine grinned from ear to ear. "Kidding," he spoke in a friendly tone. He then glanced at Riko in wonder. " So, where shall it be?"
"Your house," Riko answered directly. The tanned bluenette gave her a look of surprise.
"Why?"
"Why your house? Oh, trust me, you wouldn't want to go to my house. Not while my father's around, anyway."
Aomine sighed. "So it can't be helped, then." He was somewhat thankful that he had decided to clean up his room recently.
"Shall we walk along with you until we get to Aomine-kun's house, Coach?" Kuroko suggested.
"Right!" Momoi agreed. She did so because she wanted to walk home with Kuroko, for her house was not far from Aomine's.
"Okay," Riko answered with a shrug. "That way I'll know how to get home."
.
.
.
So Riko went along with Aomine, Kuroko and Momoi to Aomine's house.
"It wouldn't be hard for you to go home, Coach. The train station was not far from here..." Kuroko spoke as he walked with Aomine, Riko and Momoi.
"Are you sure you've cleaned up your room, Aomine-kun?" Momoi asked.
"Yeah, I did. Stop asking," Aomine replied, irritated.
"Hey, I'm trying to make sure your new teacher enters a clean environment," Momoi pouted.
"I cleaned my room, okay? Stop bugging me, Satsuki, and mind your own business."
The Aomine residence was a nice two-storey house, with a small front yard and a back yard big enough to be called a halfcourt. Inside it was neat and tidy, which was a surprise, because Aomine's parents went away on a trip to visit some relative. Touou's ace led his visitors into the dining room wherein he prepared tea for them.
"Here," Aomine placed cups filled with green tea on the table. He had taken out some sweet snacks from the fridge for them to eat.
"You're surprisingly hospitable today, Aomine-kun," said Kuroko before taking a sip.
"Shut up, Tetsu," Aomine grunted in annoyance. To further worsen his irritation, Momoi giggled softly upon seeing the shadow tease the former light. "Satsuki, you too…"
Riko gazed at the trio, somehow mesmerized by the bond that remained after their middle school years. She became curious as to what kind of person these three people were like back then in Teiko.
"Coach, why don't we discuss how you will tutor Aomine-kun?" Kuroko suddenly asked.
"Eh?" Coach was immediately pulled back into reality. "R-right…" she then looked at Aomine. The tall, tanned youth was already looking at her intensely, as if he was waiting for her to say something.
"A-aomine-kun, what is your weakest subject?" Seirin's coach asked.
This question earned her an incredulous look from the Touou Gakuen's ace.
"Did you seriously ask me about my weakest subject?" Aomine asked, as if what Riko had said was the most ridiculous thing in the world.
"What? Did I say something wrong?" Riko arched her eyebrows in wonder.
"Uh…well," Momoi smiled at the brunette rather apologetically. "You see, Riko-san…Aomine-kun is…weak in all subjects."
At this, all Riko could do was heave a sigh.
.
.
.
Kuroko and Momoi soon left Aomine's house after having some snacks. Riko was left with Aomine all alone. Surprisingly, Seirin's coach did not feel uneasy even if she was all alone with a boy. If anything, she was only worried that she will have a hard time teaching Aomine.
"My parents aren't around, so I guess we shall use the living room," Aomine said as he slumped into the sofa.
"That's fine with me," Riko replied. "Where are your notes?"
"Notes?" Aomine raised an eyebrow, as if the brunette had spoken to him in French.
"Your notes at school, Aomine-kun. Show them to me."
Aomine shrugged. "I don't have any," he said lazily.
Riko looked at the tanned young man in disbelief. This boy was worse than Kagami in a lot of ways. Not only was this bluenette a failure in academics, he totally defied learning.
"Jot down notes starting tomorrow," she told Aomine sternly. "For now, let's start with the easiest subjects…I hope you did not throw your books away."
"No, it's in my room," Aomine replied. He stood up and headed upstairs. Riko sat in the sofa and waited.
"Here," Aomine dropped a pile of books on the coffee table before flopping himself beside Seirin's coach. "Complete and without damage," he said with a proud smirk.
Riko eyed the books carefully, aware that they were undamaged because they were hardly touched.
"I guess you barely read anything," she murmured.
"I have my magazines," Aomine replied suggestively.
"I doubt those magazines are educational," Riko narrowed her eyes at him.
Aomine chuckled lightheartedly, much to the female coach's surprise.
"Well, those magazines are for entertainment," he told her. "But some manga can be interesting too, you know. Some non-fiction stuff, too."
Non-fiction? Riko was honestly surprised. Aomine was the last person she would ever think of as someone who reads non-fiction.
"Which reminds me," Aomine gave Riko an impish grin. "Why don't you start with lessons on Japanese history?"
It took Riko a while before answering him. She got distracted by the boy's smile. There was sincerity in Aomine's midnight blue eyes, a childlike honesty when he smiled at her as he requested for a lesson on Japanese History.
"Uh…sure," Riko replied softly. "We'll start with Japanese History."
For a moment, she hoped her face was not glowing hot.
.
.
.
Uh-huh…I hope you like it. :D
Review?