oof. Happy fourth of July and whatnot, peeps. Imma exhausted, and after a while of editing, everything is back on track. PLEASE GO BACK AND READ CHAPTER SIX, IT IS NEW AND INVOLVES KISE RYOUTA.
Thank you, gincitri, Namerra and steh371 for fav/following the story.
Really, read chapter 6. You have to. I leave you no choice. Enjoy~~~~~~
Taichi looked down at her lap and sighed heavily. It was time.
"Taiga…" she whispered.
Taiga looked up from his basketball magazine with a raised brow.
"I…I've tried putting it off for as long as possible, but I can't; not anymore. I…" Taichi paused.
"W-What are you talking about?" Taiga put the magazine down.
"…It's time." Taichi croaked.
Taiga took a moment to react, but when his brain finally processed what he was told, he stumbled out of his chair and picked Taichi up.
"What are you doing?!" Taichi yelled.
"Taking you to the hospital! You can't have the baby here!" Taiga was smacked in the head for that.
"There are so many things wrong here…" Taichi was set on the ground. "First of all, I'm not going into labor, Taiga. I'm still in my fifth month. Second, even if I were going into labor, what the hell was that reaction?! Dear God, if this were true, I'd be having the baby in a taxi cab."
"I panicked, okay?! I didn't know what else to do…" Taiga frowned. "How was I supposed to know?"
"Well… You're right, Taiga. Sorry, my hormones attacked you again. I kind of created this whole misunderstanding." Taichi hugged his waist.
"Whatever." Taiga brushed it off. "What did you mean by 'It's time'?
"You see, Taiga when a girl is pregnant, a lot of her body parts become bigger, so old clothes tend to not fit," Taichi said tentatively, letting go of Taiga.
"So? Do you want to go shopping again?" Taiga asked.
"Yes, but… it's not the type of shopping you might have in mind." Taichi muttered.
"What's that supposed to mean? Aren't we just shopping for clothes?"
"Uh…no. I need…newbrasandunderwear!" Taichi let out.
"What?"
Taichi let out a frustrated sigh. "I need new bras and underwear." She spoke.
Taiga stared at her for a while, his face becoming increasingly red. "W-When d-do you w-want to go?"
"Today…?" Taichi hesitated.
Taiga kept staring at her, then walked back into their room.
"Taiga…?" Taichi followed him inside.
Taiga grabbed the biggest hoodie in his closet, pulled it over his head and hid his face, then grabbed a sports bag, stuffed a basketball in it and turned back to Taichi. "I'm ready."
Taichi picked up her purse and sweater, swung them over her shoulders and lead Taiga out.
As they headed to the shopping district, an uncomfortable silence enveloped them, and tension filled the air.
"…So… How long will this take?" Taiga asked.
"…Not too long I hope. I just need to find my size…" Taichi explained. "…We never mention this to anyone."
"Agreed."
Taichi, despite feeling awkward, was feeling quite glad. Taiga was always there for her, even if it meant feeling out of place and embarrassed. He was so dependable, sometimes.
Besides, awkwardness kind of made him cute— the little brother type of cute; make no mistake.
"Thanks, Taiga," Taichi spoke.
"Huh? Why?" he asked.
"For coming with me. I know how much this must make you feel weird."
"Girls are weird," Taiga muttered. "But you don't need to thank me. I'm doing this because I want to."
"…So, you want to go underwear shopping? Wow, Taiga, you hid your game well." Taichi gave him a mock-disgusted look.
"W-Wha—No, that's not what I meant!" Taiga held his hand out towards Taichi, but she shuffled away from him.
"My brother is a pervert." An arrow went through Taiga's heart. "That's disgusting." Another two arrows. "I'm so disappointed and ashamed." Three more arrows.
"Gah—! Shut up!" Taiga wrapped his arm around Taichi's neck, pretending to choke-hold her. "Don't make things up!"
"Oh, no you don't!" Taichi grabbed Taiga's arm and wrenched it behind his back. "Did you forget who I am?!"
"N-No! Sorry, I'm sorry!" Taiga yelped in pain. "I'll give you anything, I swear, just l-let me go!"
"I want cookie dough ice cream and potato chips! And a chocolate bar!" Taichi raged.
"F-Fine!" Taiga let out with great difficulty.
"Good!" Taichi let go of his arm and grinned. "Let's go now. The earlier we get there, the quicker we finish. You can even play basketball after lunch."
"Damn… So weird, changing every three seconds." Taichi ignored the comment and took Taiga's hand.
"Let's go, we're almost there."
True to Taichi's words, they reached the shop after five minutes. They felt so uncomfortable that they couldn't immediately enter the store; they stood at the door, staring at each other.
"So… Do we just go in, or…?" Taiga hesitated.
"I guess…" Taichi sweatdropped. "Why are we nervous again?"
"Because… we're doing this together…?" Taiga sighed.
"This is ridiculous. We don't care what others think. Let's just get in and get out. At most, we spend twenty minutes, then we leave." Taichi stated.
"Y-Yeah, let's do this!" Taiga yelled.
"Yeah!"
Hand in hand, with the best poker face they could muster, Taichi and Taiga entered the shop.
Their eyes swayed around, tracking any judging or degrading look that would come from other clients or workers.
To their relief, they were ignored.
"Okay, Taiga. Let's go to the bra aisle, maybe we'll find something my size there."
Taichi pulled Taiga over to the said isle and started looking over the sizes, while Taiga just stood awkwardly beside her, like a bodyguard.
Taichi kept searching for a while, then paused and turned to Taiga. "…Hey, Taiga…?"
"Yeah?"
"Could you, erm." Taichi stopped to clear her throat. "Could you help me? It's… too high up."
"W-What?!" Taiga jumped.
"Sh! Keep it down, we don't need any unnecessary attention. It's not that big of a deal, just grab a few and give them to me." Taichi whispered. "Please?"
"…F-Fine." Taiga stood next to Taichi, in front of the rack.
He was already flustered because of the bras in front of him, so touching some of them…! No, it disturbed him greatly. But… Taichi needed them…
He reached out, grabbed the bra and handed it to her in a swift movement.
"…Thanks." Taichi twitched.
"Welcome," he muttered in response.
"…I'm going to go… try this on. Please stay by the door."
"Of course…"
Taiga walked Taichi over to the changing booths and let her enter before leaning against the door.
"…We should go eat something after this. The doctor says I need to put on more pounds, right?" Taichi tried to make the atmosphere less awkward.
"Sounds good," Taiga replied. "Have anywhere in mind?"
"I was thinking about trying something new… Do you know anywhere I haven't been to, before?"
"Well… there's this one place I went to with the team after a game. I think you'll like it." Taiga smiled at the memory.
Sure, the GoM were assholes, but that one occasion was kind of fun, even if it was tense and awkward.
That made him think of Kise, and how he now knew about Taichi. Gosh, Taiga would've given anything for her not to have to mash up with them, but Kise got involved and ruined that.
Not to mention, Touou's manager also knew her now.
Things never went his way, did they?
"Really? If you liked it, I'll probably love it." Taichi giggled from behind the door.
Then she let out a small grunt, shuffled around a bit, and spoke again. "Taiga… this size is too small."
Taiga gulped. "…S-So…"
"Could you get me another size…? Please?" Taichi asked.
"…How am I supposed to know the sizes?"
"Um… This one is thirty-two double-D, so try thirty-four double-D. Oh, and thirty-six, just to be careful." Taichi let out with a sigh.
"O-Okay." Taiga gulped.
"Take this, so you know how big it should be. The cup size won't be much different." Taichi handed him the bra she just tried on from over the stool's door.
Taiga stared at the bra and gulped before taking it and pulling out his phone. He selected Taichi's number and pressed call.
"Taiga?"
"Okay…" he started walking away and back towards the bra section.
"…Did you find anything?"
"Uh… this one says thirty-four C…"
"Double-D's Taiga. C's are too small, I can't wear them." Taichi reminded.
"Double-D's," Taiga repeated. He approached another section. "…There are… some right here." Taiga scratched his cheek.
"Okay, now only take black and dark colors, okay?"
"Yeah." Taiga hung the bra handed to him on a random rack and looked through the bras, picking out everything that matched Taichi's description. The rest seemed to have a consistent pattern of vivid pinks and bright yellows, with few dark colors sprinkled about.
"I've got… twenty-three of them right here…" He spoke into the phone.
"Twenty—Taiga! That's way too much! Let's… let's just proceed by elimination." Taichi sighed. "Choose one and tell me what material it's made of."
"Uh… it says silk." Taiga reads.
"Okay, everything that's silk is a no-no. Put that one back and everything that's like it, too."
"Okay…" Taiga felt a presence behind him and stiffened. "So… nineteen?"
"Okay, choose another one and tell me."
"This one says… lace."
"Oh… Check where the lace is. If the whole bra is just lace, put it back. If the lace is on top of the bra's sponge, then you can keep it."
"On it." Taiga sighed. His nerves were starting to calm down since he noticed that nobody was paying him any mind. "That leaves thirteen."
"Thirteen… how many of them are spandex?"
"Uh… they all have spandex."
"I meant, how many of them feel like real spandex?"
"Five."
"Put them back," Taichi ordered.
"…So now it's eight."
"That should do. Bring them over."
"On my way." Taiga turned around to bring Taichi the bras, but he bumped into someone let one of the bras fall to the ground.
"Bakagami?" a gruff voice sounded before him.
"Aomine…!" Taiga growled in response. "How'd you know it was me?!"
"Please! As if those eyebrows didn't give it all away." Aomine rolled his eyes.
"What are you doing here?!" Taiga yelled.
"My mom sent me here. What about you?"
"That doesn't concern you."
"Eh? What size are those? Oh, and who are they for?" Aomine smirked.
"What's it to you?" Taiga asked rudely. "Don't tell me you Touou people are following me?"
"Don't flatter yourself, boy." Aomine clicked his tongue. "And what's that supposed to mean, anyway?"
"Just yesterday, I saw that manager of yours," Taiga grunted.
"Satsuki? Oh, right, she's pissed again." Aomine muttered. "But you didn't answer my other question. Are those for your girlfriend? Or are you a cross-dresser?"
He suddenly remembered Taichi on the phone.
"—ga? Taiga, are you there?!" Taichi voice seemed a bit panicked. "Why aren't you answering?!"
"I'm here, I'm here!" Taiga turned away from the boy and spoke into the phone. "I just… met someone. I'm on my way, okay?"
"T-Taiga, don't scare me like that!" Taichi screamed.
He could hear her from the stalls without his phone.
"Sorry…" Taiga winced. He started to walk towards the stall but noticed Aomine following him with a bra in his hand. "What are you doing?" he asked him.
"Me? I'm just looking around. What, are you afraid the owner of this bra will see me?" Aomine smirked as he lifted the bra in the air. "I mean, you'd be right to worry. If this is her size, we'll get along just fine."
"Shut up!" Taiga growled.
He would've done more, but he knew Taichi was panicked and needed to calm her down, no matter what, so he sprinted away (because running away would be cowardly).
As soon as he reached the stalls, he knocked three times on the one Taichi was in. "Taichi?" he called.
"T-Taiga…!" she gasped. She opened the door and hugged him through the small gap it created. "You idiot! I should have Tetsuo maim you." She sniffled.
"Yeah." He didn't even protest. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have paid attention to an idiot."
"…No, it's my fault for being pathetic. I can't stay alone for longer than a minute without freaking out." She let go of him. "Did you bring them?"
"Yeah." Taiga handed her the bras. "But you are nothing near pathetic."
"Thanks." She smiled a little and returned to the booth.
"There you are!" Aomine came walking over to him.
"You—!" Taiga said in a strangled voice. "Get away from here."
"Why? Are you scared I'll steal your girl?" Aomine asked.
"Taiga?" Taichi asked. "Who are you talking to?"
"No one important!" he answered, looking Aomine in the eyes.
"Hm." She sounded. "I see. Anyway, you said there'd be eight, but you only gave me seven."
"Seven?" Taiga frowned.
"Wow. You really are stupid." Aomine sighed. He walked over to the stall and held the black cotton bra above it. "Here you go, sweetheart. Though, the material's not my favorite."
"Back off! Taiga shoved the guy away from the door and stood by it. "Taichi?" he called out softly.
He didn't get a reply. Then there was a thud.
"Taichi! Open the door!" he pleaded.
"What the hell's going on?" Aomine barked from behind Taiga.
"You, asshole! She's scared of men, and you probably just terrified her!" Taiga snapped at the bluenette. "Taichi! Let me in, Taichi!"
"Oi! Keep it down, do you want to get thrown out?" Aomine grabbed Taiga's arm.
"To hell with that!" Taiga slapped his hand away and pounded on the door. "Taichi!"
"No! D-Don't touch me!" she screamed.
Taiga and Aomine froze as she wailed.
"G-Go away! D-Don't touch me, don't touch me, don't touch me, don't touch me!" She yelled. "Let me go, I'll give you anything, please!"
Taiga felt his blood run cold as he realized what was happening. He started to pound on the door trying to break it down.
Aomine stood and watched, slightly concerned for the girl in the stall, who was crying and screaming bloody murder.
"Dammit?! Why are these so hard?!" Taiga glared at the hollow door made of metal.
"No, please, no, no, no, no, no…" her voice cracked, and she began to wheeze. "Don't come cl-closer…Don't… come any closer…!"
"Taichi…" Taiga stopped pounding on the door. She didn't realize it was him. "Taichi, I stopped. I'm not coming closer, okay?"
"No! You're… lying." She puffed out.
"No, look! I stopped! I'm not going to hurt you…"
"You already hurt me!" she cried out. "Y-You grabbed my hair, a-and you hit me, a-and you—!" she stopped to breathe in, but was having difficulty doing so.
"I'm not your coach, Taichi. I'm not him. It's me, Taiga." Taiga slowly backed away to Aomine and whispered to him. "Go get the manager or someone who can get the door open."
"Kagami, what the fu—?!"
"Now!" he ordered harshly. "I don't have time for this!"
"Fine." Aomine frowned. He hurried away to find the manager.
Taiga then slowly approached the door again.
"Taichi…?"
"No! Stay away, you're not Taiga, Taiga wouldn't hurt, me, he's my twin! You're not Taiga, you're—"
"Taichi, you need to calm down…" Taiga told her. "Just close your eyes and breathe."
"Why…Should I listen… to the likes of… you?!" she hiccuped.
"Because Taiga will be worried if you're not okay. You don't want him to worry, right?" Taiga said painfully.
"Don't bring him… into this!" she roared angrily. "Y-You ass…hole." She grasped her chest as she felt pain. "Gah-!"
"Taichi!" Taiga gasped. "Taichi, take it easy and breath! Do it for the baby!"
It was silent after that, for a minute. The only sounds that were made, were those of Taichi's and Taiga's matching erratic breaths, that started to stabilize themselves after a while.
"…Where's Taiga?" she suddenly whimpered. "I need Taiga, he's going to protect me, he's going to protect the baby, why isn't he here?"
Taiga tried to speak, but he knew that she'd just panic if he spoke through the door, so he kept quiet, feeling useless as his sister sobbed.
He felt his phone begin to vibrate in his hand, and half a second, later, it rang and showed Taichi's name showed up.
He immediately picked up. "Taichi…!"
"T-Taiga! Taiga, where are you?! Come and get me!" she whispered quickly into the phone.
"I'm here, Taichi, I'm here! I need you to open the door for me." Taiga told her.
"I-I can't! If I open the door, he's going to get me, and I don't know what I'll do if that happens..." Her voice cracked.
"No, he won't, I'm right next to the door, Taichi. He won't even come close. I promise." Taiga paused. "I need you to put your clothes on, then open the door for me, okay?"
"…" Taiga didn't get an answer, and Taichi hung up.
There was a shuffling sound behind the door, and then the sound of nervous pacing.
"…Taiga…?" she croaked.
"Taichi… I'm right here, open the door." Taiga voiced softly, trying not startle her.
The sound of the lock turning was accompanied by Taiga's sigh of relief.
The door opened slightly, leaving only enough space for Taichi's eye to peak out. She glanced around and noticed the shine of an object. She squinted and looked closer, and finally noticed that the object was…
'Taiga's ring…!'
Without a second wasted, she pushed the door open and pressed her face to his chest, wrapping her arms as tightly possible, tears leaking from her red orbs as she shook almost violently. She clenched onto him with so much force that they fell to the ground.
"Taiga…! I-I was so scared! H-He was back, a-and he was going t-to do the same thing all over again… I-I thought h-he would hurt t-the b-baby, b-but you weren't here, a-and…!"
"It's over, Taichi." He shushed. "It's over. Nothing's going to happen to you, or the baby. I'm here."
Just then, did Aomine and the manager arrive, with a large toolbox. They stopped in their tracks when they saw the crying girls in Taiga's arms, as he tried to console her.
"I-I thought he w-was going to r-rape me again…" she wailed.
Taiga tensed and held her closer, kissed her forehead. "I won't let that happen again. I'm here, I'm here." He felt his own tears prick his eyes but held them back for Taichi's sake. He had to be strong. "I'm not going to leave you."
"He… he won't come back right?" she rasped.
"No way. If he tries, I'll send him to hell, where he belongs." Taiga promised. "But you need to calm down right now. Being this upset isn't good for you."
The manager set the toolbox on the ground and crouched down next to them. "Hi. I'm Mihai Haruki, this store's manager." She introduced herself with a sad smile. "Could you explain what happened here?"
"…She had a panic attack. She'll be fine." Taiga grunted. "We'll leave as soon as she's ready."
"Don't worry about that; take your time." The lady waved it off. "I'm going to bring her some water. Is there anything else that calms her down? Tea, or sweets, maybe?"
Taiga waited a while before replying.
"…Chocolate ice cream. Or cake."
"I think I have some cake here. I'll be back soon." The manager stood back up and smiled again, then left the room with the toolbox.
Aomine stood at the door, unable to correctly process. He couldn't believe he just heard…that. It was just… unbelievable.
There was no way that… that the girl Kagami Taiga was holding could be…!
"…What… why did she say that…?" Taichi flinched when she heard Aomine's voice and held her twin closer, digging her nails into his clothes.
"…I'm not telling you anything. If you just—if you just stayed back, she wouldn't have gone through that again. She was okay. She didn't have any attacks recently, she was fine, and seemed to be doing better but-but you just had to ruin everything…!" Taiga raised his voice slightly, then stopped talking.
"I… I'm sorry." Aomine let out. "I didn't know she would lose it like that."
"Well then, try staying away from her." Taiga blurted out. "Just leave. I'm not dealing with you now."
"No." Aomine frowned. He understood that he caused this, but he wanted to know how, and why. He wanted his questions answered, and he just knew that if he waited, Taiga wouldn't answer any of them. "I'm not leaving."
"Aomine!" Taiga growled. "I'm not fucking around. Leave."
"I'm not playing either. I want to know what happened." Aomine pushed.
"It's none of your goddamn business!" Kagami roared.
"…Fine. I'll just have Satsuki look it up for me—"
"Don't you fucking dare." The redhead growled.
He didn't have time for this! It was Aomine's fault this whole thing happened, and now he's demanding things?!
"Either you tell me, or Satsuki will. I can't guarantee that she'll keep her mouth shut about it." Aomine egged on.
Taiga sneered at the blue haired guy, holding Taichi closer.
She was completely shaken, trembling, holding onto Taiga and whimpering. He was worried, especially since she showed no reaction to Aomine's voice, apart from flinching that one time. She just clung to him, seemingly in her own world.
Taiga didn't want her to suffer. She didn't deserve any of this. She didn't deserve the pain, the fear, the panic… she didn't deserve pity and those looks she was given back in L.A.; Taichi was so affected by the stares more than most things. Taiga would rather die than let their eyes set on her that way again.
He gritted his teeth why did it have to Aomine, of all people…?! Why did he have to be there and cause such a huge mess? Taiga knew that Aomine wasn't kidding by the tone of his voice. Aomine wouldn't hesitate to ask Momoi, and if what Kuroko said was anything to go by, she could ruin Taichi's life all over again.
"…I'm doing this for her. But I swear, if a word of this gets out, I will kill you." Taiga stated firmly. "I'll tell you when she's stable."
"Fine by me," Aomine answered.
They remained silent for a while.
"…Will… will she be okay?" he asked hesitantly.
"…When she calms down, yeah." Taiga nodded reluctantly.
Aomine gulped. "And this happened before? It's… not the first time, is it?"
"Yeah." Taiga nodded again. "Where's the manager?"
Aomine didn't question why he changed the subject at all. He gave him an honest shrug and didn't utter a word.
Five minutes later, the manager came bustling in, with a nurse and a tray.
"Sorry I took so long. The infirmary was ways about from here." She gently kneeled next to Taiga and Taichi, then motioned for the nurse to come over. "Panic attacks can be physically damaging too, so we'll have my sister, Nana, check her out. Would you rather do it here or in my office?"
Taiga held Taichi up and shook her a bit as if to snap her out of her trance-like state that he hated so much. "Taichi?"
Her hold on him wavered slightly, then let go of him completely. She removed her head from his chest slightly, unsure what to do next.
"Y-Yes?" she answered with a broken voice.
"She wants to see if you're okay. You had another breakdown, remember?" he spoke gently, taking her hands.
"…Y-Yeah." She breathed out unevenly.
"They said you might've hurt yourself. I want you to go check it out." Taiga told her.
"O-Okay." She nodded. "Only if you come."
"I'll come. Want to make sure the baby's okay too."
"The baby…" Taichi looked down, at her stomach, then back up at Taiga. "Can you h-help me up?"
"Sure." Taiga let go of her hands to stand up, then took her and brought her to her feet. "Do you want me to carry you?" he offered.
"…Yeah." Taichi swallowed thickly. "Sorry."
"Don't say sorry. You didn't do anything." Taiga picked her up with slight difficulty but refused to show it.
Taichi didn't answer. She put her face against his chest again and held her hands to her stomach awkwardly.
"Follow me, please. My office is this way." The manager guided them to the office.
Taiga carried Taichi over to the office and held her close as the nurse checked on her physical state cautiously.
"Your blood pressure is a little low and your heart rate is too slow, but that's because you just had a panic attack and are coming down slowly after the shock." She concluded. "You just need to rest up for an hour or so. If you have another attack in the next forty-two hours, you must go to the hospital. The baby's heart rate is normal, and there is nothing to worry about for now."
Taiga sighed in relief. He was glad the baby was okay. Now for the mother…
He pressed his cheek against the top of her head and slightly rocked back and forth, trying to get her to relax, even a little bit.
She couldn't help it, however. She was still trembling, extremely stiff in his arms and still clung to his shirt tightly.
Mihai came back with a tray of tea and a medium sized piece of cake. "Here you go. This should help you calm down, now." She placed the tray on her desk, in front of Taiga and Taichi.
"You should eat now, Taichi. Then we can go home." Taiga told her.
Taichi took a while to react. She slowly unclenched her fist and released her grip on Taiga's shirt.
"N-No…" She breathed out. "I'm…I'm not done yet."
Taiga's eyes widened slightly, then closed in understanding.
"…Okay."
The manager and the nurse looked at the two in confusion.
"She… she wants to finish shopping before leaving." Taiga sighed.
"O-Oh… well, then I…"
"J-Just the articles in the changing room I left…" Taichi rasped. "I'm n-not leaving until I'm done."
"Okay." The manager nodded and turned to fetch the requested items.
Taiga made Taichi sit up and handed her the cake to eat, while they waited.
"…I love you. You know that, right?" Taiga kissed the top of her head.
Taichi nodded. "I love you too…"
He fed Taichi a forkful of cake. "You're too strong. You make me look weak." He joked.
"No, I don't." She pouted and sniffed. "You do that on your own."
Taiga laughed half-heartedly. "You're so mean." He took her hand and squeezed it. "I'm glad you're okay."
Taichi nodded. "I have to be strong. If I'm stronger… I'll be okay."
"You're already strong. You don't need to be stronger. Let me be strong for you." Taiga spoke.
"Don't you know?" Taichi smiled sadly. "You're my strength."
Taiga hugged her closer. "I guess we're each other's strengths, then."
Taiga held a sleeping Taichi in his arms with a plastic bag slung over his shoulder.
Trailing along behind him, was Aomine Daiki, holding two other bags (one for his mother, who'd probably ground him, or something; the other being Taiga's sports bag.
They were walking along the park, heading towards the open area.
"…So…are you going to tell me?"
Taiga grunted in reply. "Shut up. If she wakes up and freaks out again…"
"I got it, chill." Aomine frowned.
They remained silent until the got to an empty area in the park where they could talk quietly.
Taiga kneeled slowly, then sat down and placed Taichi in his lap gently, her head resting against his chest.
Aomine flowed his example and laid down in the grass, and patiently waited for Taiga to start.
"…Taichi is… She used to be in L.A.'s greatest high school basketball team. She was the captain and she brought home so many different titles. She's still amazing at it and at so much more." Taiga began. "She plays soccer, volleyball, and baseball too; not to mention, she did two years of kickboxing and took a couple of self-defense lessons. She can do a little bit of figure skating and even a little bit of gymnastics."
Aomine listened silently as Taiga described the young girl in his arms. Aomine was slightly impressed that she could accomplish so much, like a female Kise before he started basketball. It made him wonder. How would a girl that athletic, who even did combat, be raped?
"She was getting her team ready for the next season, working everyone as hard as she could, pushing them as far as they could go. But the way she is, the more she pushes you, the more she pushes herself. So, she stayed back after practice, to work some more on her shots but…"
Aomine glanced at Taiga when he paused. He suddenly stopped talking, and Aomine saw how Taiga began to shake in anger but didn't comment on it. Aomine just remained silent and waited until Taiga was ready to continue.
"…Her coach just…. He showed up while she was practicing and just… He's two times her size, full of muscles. She couldn't defend herself at all." Taiga held Taichi closer to him. "He took advantage of how tired she was, and the fact that she was alone to… rape her…"
Aomine ran a finger through his hair and sighed. "That's messed up. No wonder she's afraid of men. Players trust their coaches with everything, considering they're the ones that put the whole career in place. That he broke her trust and did something like that… it's a miracle she even trusts you."
"Yeah, well, we've known each other since we were born. She didn't even let me touch her at first, but… She opened back up to me. Back in the States, she got a lot of attention for this whole thing. Paparazzi harassed her, followed her around. No matter where she went, she was asked about it, and it was really affecting her, especially since she was pregnant, because of the whole ordeal and… With… her parents, we decided to have her come to Japan and move in, with me." Taiga finished.
"Her parents trust you after what happened?" Aomine looked at Taiga in slight disbelief.
"Yeah. I mean… we were raised together. We spent every moment in our lives together as kids, up until I started school here. We're like… twins, you could say. It's why she trusts me; they trust me." Taiga replied. "…There. Now you know. What's next?"
Aomine shrugged and glanced at Taiga. "I don't know. What do you think should happen?"
"…I don't want a single word of this to get out. Not to the Generation of Miracles, not to Touou, not to the manager of yours, and not to Kuroko." Taiga stated softly, but firmly. "This stays between us."
"I'm not a stupid blabber-mouth." Aomine looked up to the sky. "You don't need to tell me that much. I'll get Satsuki to drop it, help you keep the secret and what not."
Taiga nods in approval. "Also… This has nothing to do with the Winter Cup. I don't want you going easy on me because you know about Taichi."
"Again, I'm not stupid. There's nothing you could do or say to make me let you win. If you want to defeat me, you'll have to do it while giving your all. Or else, you'll get even more boring." Aomine told him. "And… I don't really have anything to do with you two. It won't affect my playing."
"Then why'd you want to know?" Taiga grunted.
"Because I wanted to. And, I don't know about you, but… those screams were pretty damn sad. I'm not into mushy stuff, but it would've kept bothering me, not knowing why after hearing them." Aomine could already feel Taiga's disbelief. "And before you say anything, I'm not heartless."
Taiga and Aomine remained silent after that, just sitting and thinking about Taichi and her story.
They spent a whole hour without spouting a word until Aomine stood up and dusted off his pants. "I'm heading out."
Taiga nodded and looked up to the blue-haired basketball player wordlessly.
"Let me give you some advice, Kagami." Aomine turned away from Taiga as he spoke, and began walking off. "Don't let anything distract you from basketball if you want to win. For your and her good."
"What does that mean?" Taiga questioned.
Aomine's only response was a wave of his hand as her left.
Taiga sighed. He'd never catch a break, would he?