Chapter 4
. . . . . three years earlier . . . . .
"Sayu. Open it."
"Koukai-nii! Wah...My very own basuke! You're the best."
"Knew you'd like it. Wanna play?"
"Nii-chan. Autograph it first."
"Haha Sayu. I'm not even famous yet."
"You will be when you lead Rakuzan to victory in the Winter Cup." Koukai flashed his brightest smile. He grabbed a black sharpie from his desk and signed his name.
"Alright. Now let's help me train for tomorrow's"
" Interhigh," the siblings said simultaneously and raced each other out to the basketball court.
…..
He's probably waiting inside already. Maybe I should just go home. But what if he comes to find me? I did ruin his basketball. But that was in self-defense. But he didn't really do anything to me. Sayumi was tired of sitting on the bench debating whether or not she should walk onto the basketball court.
"How late can you be?" a voice bellowed from inside the courts. At last, the girl stepped in.
"I was waiting for you outside."
"I was here the whole time."
"I didn't see you."
"You didn't even bother to look."
"Why didn't you call me if you knew I was here?" the girl challenged.
"It was funny watching you mumble to yourself." Sayumi's face heated up. She was not at all aware that she was talking aloud.
"Sorry again." The boy lifted an eyebrow. "For yesterday...the basketball..."
"I don't need an apology. I need a basketball."
"You didn't go buy another one?"
"No. Even if you have money, the basketball brand I play with isn't always in stock." The tall boy pointed at the duffel bag in her hand.
"There's no...nothing in there." Sayumi's face scrunched up. She certainly wasn't cut out for lying.
"Give it." Reluctantly, Sayumi unzipped her bag and took out an almost new basketball. With one hand, the impatient boy removed it from both of hers. "A little flat," the boy commented.
"That's too bad. You can give it back to m-"
"But not too bad." The boy made a shot. "I can manage."
"Um..."
"Aomine Daiki." He landed another perfect swish.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Kineno Sayumi. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu," the girl trailed on the last few words. It was probably a little late for introductions.
"Kineno, huh?" Aomine caught the ball and easily spun it on his finger. "Are you a grade- schooler? Who writes their names on their basketballs anymore?"
"It's an autograph. It's very precious to me. Please don't..." Sayumi flinched when she heard the basketball pole vibrate from the impact of Aomine's full power dunk. The girl opened her mouth to speak, but decided not to. She knew she was being ignored. Sayumi plodded towards the shade and sat down a few feet away from Aomine's belongings. After positioning herself comfortably in her seat, she once again watched Aomine in awe.
Hate to admit this, but even after watching Aomine-kun play for so long, I still get uncontrollably excited each time he shoots. Aomine-kun. When he doesn't talk and only plays basketball...he's actually pretty cool. Koukai-nii. He plays just like you. I can watch him foreve- Sayumi's chain of thoughts were cut off the minute her phone rang.
"Kineno speaking." The girl spoke into the phone.
"Kineno-san. One of our employees suddenly fainted and is now being transported to the hospital. We need you to come in now," a frantic voice coming from the phone reported.
"Manager. Um...I actuall-" The call ended. Sayumi knew she couldn't let the manager down. She sighed and called to the energetic Aomine.
"I need to go now."
"Then go."
"I want my ball back."
"You'll get it back when you buy me another one."
"I will. But that ball. It's extremely precious to me. I have to go somewhere. I'll bring it back tomorrow." She looked at him seriously.
"Or. You can leave it with me." Aomine nodded to emphasize that his idea was more agreeable. He then dribbled and went in for another dunk. Short on time, the girl decided to leave her treasure with her new acquaintance.
"Aomine-kun. If you're keeping the ball, I need to know that you'll take care of it until I come back to get it." Confirming that he heard, she continued. "To ensure that, I'm going to take something of yours and we can exchange it afterwards." Sayumi crossed her fingers hoping that he'll just return the ball, but was disappointed when the boy carelessly agreed. Sayumi walked over and unzipped the boy's unguarded bag.
[If I took his phone, he would definitely remember.] She grabbed his phone and shoved it into her own bag. "Aomine-kun. I'm taking your phone. If you're here tonight, I'll gladly exchange it for my basketball," she shouted as she ran out the fence.
It's just a little while. After convincing herself that it's only a short period of time apart, Sayumi sped away in the direction of her workplace.