Thank you guys for the votes! I've made my decision based off how I felt about the two as well as majority rules - so, brother-sister bond it is! They're just too cute to not be siblings asdfghjkl; Annnnnyway, I'm posting this on the day of my high school graduation (today!) so please enjoy this chapter and talk to me while I'm stuck at the ceremony for 3 hours tonight... ^_^"
Disclaimer: All canon characters and canon events belong to Fujimaki Tadatoshi.
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SPARK
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The days following the end of the Interhigh games was filled with a sort of peace for everyone who have participated. The results were as follows: Yosen High took third, Touou Academy took second, and Rakuzan High, the reigning king of the Winter Cup tournaments for five years straight, won Interhigh and placed first.
Although summer vacation had already started, for some, these few weeks was finally their time to enjoy themselves before the new semester started. However, the upcoming Winter Cup was on every basketball player's mind... It was going to be a hard and cold battle between the top teams in Japan. Whether it was those in Kaijo, Shutoku, Touou; each team had their own plan in training. And for those on the Seirin basketball team, a certain coach has been working them long and hard as well, and their second training camp was only a few days away.
However, all of the teams, like Seirin, get to enjoy a few days to a week basketball-free so they can rest up and are encouraged to finish their dreaded summer assignments in peace.
Some were frantically getting their homework done before the summer ended, while others...
"Mura-kun! How come you didn't tell me you're one of the Generation of Miracles?" Tomoko whined into the phone; she was strategically avoiding to do her math assignment today and decided to call her purple haired friend. There was the distinct crunching of chips on the other end.
"Hm? I didn't?"
"No," she puffed up her cheeks and frowned. "When I asked if you played any sports, you only said 'I don't like it' and stuffed your face with apple pie."
"But it was really good pie~" Murasakibara munched some more. "Don't be mad, Tomo-chin. I promise I'll tell you next time."
She could practically hear the purple haired giant's childish pout from the other side of the line. It wasn't that she was mad at him in any way; she was just a little surprised when she heard about it.
After Interhigh, each day was filled with more morning training from the Aidas at their family gym, and it was then Tomoko heard Kuroko talk about the last two miracles they will finally meet during the Winter Cup. When Murasakibara's name came up, Tomoko was at first convinced that it was someone else the boy was talking about, but the description of the miracle made it no mistake that it was the Murasakibara she met in Akita.
Letting out a small sigh, Tomoko reassured the giant that it was okay. "I know now, and I'm not mad at you, Mura-kun. Anyway, how was the semi-final? I know Touou beat Yosen and all, but—"
"I sat out for the game~ So I don't know."
She blinked, "Huh? Why?"
There was a pause, and the ripping of something cardboard could be heard before Murasakibara spoke again. "Who knows? Aka-chin told me not to play. It's okay though, because I'd rather eat more snacks."
"'Aka-chin'?" Tomoko wondered, twirling the noraemon charm on her phone.
"Hm~Mmm~ That's our captain from Teiko."
Tetsuya-kun mentioned someone named 'Akashi Seijuuro' before... That must be him...
"Ah, Tomo-chin," Murasakibara called shortly after, bringing her attention back to their conversation. "Come visit me."
She paused and thought for a second. Since it was summer break, her brother had recently came over to Tokyo for a longer visit, and she didn't have anyone at Akita to house her if she did travel over there. "I want to, Mura-kun, but Ichi-nii's here so I wouldn't be able to stay at Akita by myself. Plus I have manager duties for my team; we're going on our second training camp soon!"
"..."
She laughed as she heard a whine from Murasakibara. His size may give people the wrong impression of him, but he was actually like a little kid.
"We'll meet at the Winter Cup," she encouraged, though he didn't sound too enthusiastic about the games. "I promise I'll visit you more often then!"
"Hmmm... Can I come see you instead?"
Tomoko blinked at his question for a moment before registering it. "Are you coming to Tokyo?" she asked. There was some commotion in the background of Murasakibara's end before he answered.
"I have to go now, Tomo-chin. Make more yummy snacks for me soon, okay~?"
"E-Eh, Mura-kun...?" she tried calling him, but the giant already hung up without actually answering her question. Ah...
Sighing, she set her phone down and stared down at the paper before her. It was just her and the half-done math problems again. It'll probably be finished later on tonight... she thought, standing up from her desk. Looking outside, she could see that it was a really nice day.
I think I'll go out for a bit!
Yup, she was ignoring her "problems" in true Tomoko-fashion once again.
"How long are you going to stay like this, Aomine-kun?" Momoi has been trying to get her childhood friend to stop brooding around since the end of Interhigh. He was still pissed about not being able to play the final matches.
The miracle didn't know it yet, but it was Momoi who asked their coach to pull him out of the semifinals and finals game. Ever since the Kaijo match, Aomine had been extremely on edge and she was worried that he would get reckless if he faced the other miracles.
"You should still come to practice once in a while..." she sighed when the tanned miracle ignored her. They were walking down the busy streets of Tokyo, and Aomine had no intention of returning to Touou's practice today.
"Satsuki." She perked up when he finally said something to her. "Stop following me."
Momoi's smile deflated, "I'm just worried about you, geez!"
"Theres nothing to worry about. Leave me alone."
What happened the friendly guy she grew up with? Aomine Daiki wasn't like this before. He was spirited, and his basketball style reflected that. All these winnings the past years really changed him...
She wanted that spirited part of him to come back, but for now, it seemed hopeless... She can only reminiscent about the first years of Teiko when everyone got along. Momoi shook her head and sighed again. "I'll stop pestering you about going to practice for now," she said. "But come on, you need to stop being so pissed. Want to get a Momo Jiro Kun?"
Aomine glanced back at his childhood friend. She was annoying at times and acted like a mom, but as long as she's not pestering him about basketball-related stuff, he could deal with that.
"Fine," he said, and Momoi cheered. "But you're paying."
I'm bored...
When Tomoko left the house with the intention of stretching her limbs, she didn't really have anything particular in mind. Kuroko and Kagami were both busy, so they were out of her options.
It was pretty late in the morning, being almost noon, and she was just idly walking down the busy streets. She passed by a few stores and an arcade that had a newly installed basketball shooting game that came with prizes before a small convenient store came into view at the corner of the street.
It's a nice day to have something cold to eat, she thought. It was hot and the sun was beating down on her, after all. Deciding that she was going to buy a popsicle from the convenient store, she turned the corner to walk in, but she bumped into someone on accident.
"It's you."
"Hm?" she blinked and looked up at the talking male. Her salmon eyes lit up, "Midorima-kun!"
The green haired miracle nodded curtly at her greeting. He was wearing casual clothing, and it didn't look like he was heading for practice or anything, so he must have an off day as well. Tomoko then noticed that there was something missing on his person.
"Are you heading out to buy your lucky item?" she asked with a knowing smile.
"I am," he said.
He could probably have blamed it on the fact that he didn't have his lucky item on him today... Because if it was before, Midorima would have been convinced that he was unlucky to see the caramel haired manager outside of games since their signs were incompatible, but now, he found it odd that he didn't mind the grinning girl's presence anymore.
"What is it today?"
"A Russian doll."
Midorima frowned slightly when he thought about today's lucky item. Oha-Asa had predicted his luck today to be fair, and the lucky item for Cancers was a Russian doll... Yet, the stores he regularly bought his items from were all out of stock.
As expected to not have the greatest luck today.
"Are you talking about those things that look like Daruma dolls?" Tomoko wondered. She remembered seeing one today... "Ah! I know a place that has one."
"Tell me," the miracle took a step towards her urgently. "Where is it?" She only grinned and gave him a sly look; Midorima immediately concluded that he was going to be dragged into doing something troublesome.
"Heh heh... I'll tell you if you'll hang out with me!"
Midorima stared at her incredulously, wondering just what she was up to. What was it that Oha-Asa said about his luck today?
"Although it is not one of the best days for Cancers, you should try to get along with everyone today. Luck will blossom from it!"
"What is it you want to do, then?" he sighed, and Tomoko pulled him into the convenient store.
"It's hot outside, so let's go get a popsicle," she said with a bright smile. "Then we can go to the arcade!"
Arcade? If Midorima were to be honest, he disliked overwhelming groups of noisy teenagers laughing and shouting about as well as cramped spaces... And an arcade was everything he hated. However, he can't do without his lucky item either...
"Why do you want to go to the arcade?" he asked as the girl grabbed two melon-flavored Momo Jiro Kun popsicles and skipped to the check out line. "The popsicle will only melt faster in such a hot room."
Tomoko only hummed and left the green haired miracle in frustration. "You'll see~"
Inside the store, there was two other familiar faces roaming about. They went unnoticed by Tomoko and Midorima who were near the front, but the same couldn't be said for the two of them.
"Isn't that Okuma-san and... Midorin?" Momoi blinked in surprise. She and Aomine had just entered the store not long ago to buy some popsicles, and it looked like the Seirin manager and the green haired miracle were doing the same.
She just never took Tomoko as someone the usually aloof shooter would hang out with...
"Ha?" Aomine wasn't paying attention.
"Do you see them?" Momoi whispered excitedly as she pulled her friend out of sight. She peeked around the corner with interest, "What do you think Midorin is doing with Tetsu-kun's team manager?"
When Aomine finally saw what she was referring to, a deep frown embedded into his expression and he turned away.
"Who cares."
"Mou," Momoi pouted. "Aren't you interested? Midorin doesn't usually hang out with people!"
He doesn't... the tanned miracle thought with a burning glare. So what are you doing, Midorima?
"Just get your popsicle and let's go, Satsuki," he grumbled as he watched the two walk out of the store. Momoi noticed his change in demeanor...
Aomine was ticked off again.
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twenty-one
the good, the bad, and the tsundere
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The arcade was chaotic in Midorima's eyes. How do people stand such a crowded and noisy place, he will never know.
"Your popsicle's going to melt if you don't eat it, Midorima-kun!"
He frowned and looked at the caramel haired girl besides him. She was happily chomping down on the cool treat as she led him further into the arcade. Wasn't he the one who told her that the place was too hot to stay and eat a popsicle in the first place?
Some kids were running around the large arcade and shouting at each other, and Midorima raised a delicate brow with distaste. "I do not see the point in this," he told her, making sure that the melon-flavored liquid will not drip on his hand. At his slight inattention, one of the kids pushed the other and he came ramming into the miracle.
His half-eaten popsicle fell onto the ground with a splat.
"Hah hah oops—" the smaller kid started to apologize, but the murderous look that he got from the miracle was all it took for him to fall to the ground, terrified and on the verge of crying.
"You..." Midorima started to say with a glare.
"Lucky!" Tomoko cheered as she looked at the wooden stick of her finished treat. She won a second one! "Look, Midorima-kun—eh?" When she saw the scene before her, she quickly understood what happened and pulled the miracle away before the kid peed his pants. The kid took no time at all to run away after that.
Tomoko then picked up the fallen treat and threw it into the garbage can. "You can have mine," she smiled, "I won a second one!"
Midorima, now calmer because the kid wasn't in his view anymore, blinked at the winning stick. She has Kuroko's luck... he sighed.
"Keep it. I do not want it... However, I do want to leave this place at once."
"Huh? But I wanted to show you this!" she pouted, pointing at the new basketball game machine. It was just recently installed, and there was a line of little kids and teenagers alike trying to play the 300-yen game to set a high score of the most baskets made in a row.
"How stupid," Midorima replied stiffly. "That game is for amateurs."
"Midorima-kun may not have a problem playing this, but it's the prize I wanted to show you," Tomoko directed the male's eyes to the prizes hanging on the back wall where a guy was selling snacks and drinks. "They have a Russian doll as one of the prizes!"
That immediately got the miracle's attention, and she blinked when he speedily walked up to the stand and set down some money for the guy behind it. "I will like to buy that Russian doll," he said matter-of-factly.
The middle aged guy peered up from his newspaper and regarded Midorima with a weird look. "These prizes aren't for sale."
"Nonsense," Midorima pressed on persistently. "I have money."
"Sorry kid, rules say I can't sell em' so you gotta win em'."
That seemed to shock the miracle immensely. Did he actually have to wait in line and play that pointless game to get his lucky item? As expected to not have the greatest luck today, he thought for the second time.
"Look at that!" Tomoko cried with joy, unaware of Midorima's internal dilemma. She was pointing at the medium sized stuffed animals in the corner. One of them was a blue eyed husky. "It looks just like Number 2!"
Number 2? Midorima wondered.
"Thirty points to win the doll and fifty to win the husky," the older man replied offhandedly.
"We have to play now, Midorima-kun!" Tomoko pulled the stricken miracle towards the back of the line. She rubbed her hands together, "I'm going to get that husky for sure!"
Wasn't she here to get him his item? Suddenly it has turned into something for her own enjoyment too. Midorima looked at the girl; they were in line and he was standing a little behind her, so it wasn't too noticeable that he was staring.
The way her salmon eyes lit up whenever she was determined or happy was undeniably... Attractive. She was also very eccentric in a way, but he surprisingly realized that he didn't mind that fact. Her abrupt appearance in his and the other miracles' lives wasn't all that bad, and although he wasn't sure about Aomine's feelings, he knew that Kuroko and Kise were fond of the girl. Midorima wasn't dumb; he could see that she had the ability of drawing people in... It probably won't be long until the remainder of his Teiko teammates start to feel her pull.
But really, Murasakibara will get along with anyone as long as they gave him the time of day and tolerated his childish ways. It was Akashi that was a different matter. He was someone who demanded absolute control over everything and everyone. Her energy and his power may—no, will—clash, and Midorima wasn't sure if it will end well.
As he pondered over the personalities of his former teammates, the line shortened quickly and brought him back to reality. He watched the people in front of him play; it was a simple game where one missed shot was game over. He almost laughed at the current high score that flashed on the screen of the machine.
'61 POINTS.'
He could make that many in his sleep. But anyway, he only needed 30 to win that Russian doll.
"The guy who set the high score is pretty good," Tomoko commented with pursed lips. "He got a husky."
"Hn," was Midorima's uninterested reply.
Soon, it was finally Tomoko's turn. She inserted three 100-yen coins into the machine and the game started. Three balls rolled down to the slot and she grabbed one to get ready to shoot. Midorima noticed that her hand was angled weird.
"Your posture is wrong," he told her. Tomoko only grinned sheepishly.
"I don't really know how to properly shoot a ball, actually!"
And she is expecting to win that husky toy? Midorima rolled his eyes.
She blinked when he came up behind her and positioned her elbow and wrist correctly towards the basket.
"Your stance and balance have to be even. Make sure your feet are shoulder width apart. You should have both hands on the ball, one slightly under and one to the side," he taught her; his breath was fanning right next to her ear and it caused her cheeks to heat up. "Now, eyes on the net and shoot."
Tomoko let go of the ball with a small shake, and to her amazement, it went it. "I did it, Midorima-kun!" she cheered happy, looking at him with a cute, rosy smile. Midorima seemed to just realize what he did and looked away with embarrassment. He coughed.
"It is nothing. Continue to do what I said."
She nodded and gazed determinedly at the basket. Reciting exactly what she did earlier, she made the second shot. It was looking good for her and she continued to make slow and steady points until the machine beeped once she missed.
"Aw... I only made six points," she pouted. Midorima nodded with a small, knowing smirk.
"As expected for a beginner."
She sighed in defeat, "Oh well~ I guess it's your turn now, Midorima-kun."
As the miracle was about to insert his coins, someone behind him started to complain. "Oi, no double turns! You gotta get to the back of the line if you wanna play again."
"He hasn't gone yet though," Tomoko blinked in confusion. The person that voiced out the complaint was a black haired teen and maybe a little older than her and Midorima. "I don't remember you being behind us either..."
"I saw him take that shot with you. Couples playing together counts as a turn for both," he replied and pointed to himself with arrogance. "Besides, there's no line for me! Everyone knows to let the pro through... You were taking a damn long time to make only six points anyway."
Tomoko frowned. "That's rude! It's not like you own the arcade."
"Whatever! I suggest you get to the back of the line with four-eyes. I'm here to set a new score," he smirked, pushing her aside carelessly—if Tomoko hadn't held on to a nearby machine, she would have fallen. A hand gripped onto the guy's shoulder with force, and he turned around to see a pissed off Midorima. "What the hell? Get your hand off of me!"
What a nuisance. Midorima knew that he was not going to like him as soon as he had heard this male speak. The miracle was already pretty annoyed about having to endure getting bumped into by little kids and staying in the presence of other noisy and irritating teenagers... Now this guy comes in and insults him? Furthermore... He narrowed his eyes at the male for daring to even touch Tomoko.
"You lack proper etiquette. Have your parents not taught you to never lay a hand on a girl?" Midorima regarded the older male coolly, his emerald eyes showing contempt.
The guy let out a mocking laughed. "Ha?! I don't need to hear that from a loser like you, four-eyes!"
"Loser, you say?" a dark chuckle left Midorima's throat and he pushed up his glasses, "I will show you how wrong that statement is, fool."
The guy looked both amused and pissed off, having being looked down by someone who was younger than him. He then smirked, "How about this... I'll let you go ahead of me. If you can beat my score, I will do one thing you want me to do. But if you can't, then I want you to crawl out of this arcade."
"I don't think that's a good idea," Tomoko warned the guy and his smirk widened. "For you, I mean," she added with a raised brow.
"You're lucky you're cute and I'm letting you off, so don't get in the way... Ha, unless you're sticking up for him because he can't take the challenge?"
Tomoko opened her mouth to say something back, but she felt that it was pointless anyway. She patted the green haired miracle on the back softly and smiled, "He's all yours, Midorima-kun. Don't lose to him~"
"It goes without saying that I will beat whatever score he has somehow achieved," Midorima gave her a small smirk. The black haired guy snorted.
"Don't get too cocky, four-eyes. You can only dream of scoring 61 points in your sleep!"
A glint flashed within Midorima's eyes and he walked up to the machine and inserted his 300 yen. As the machine started up and three balls rolled down, he looked back at the annoying male briefly.
"Come. I will show you the true meaning of 'Man proposes, God disposes'."
Tomoko watched carefully as Midorima started to play. Even though the machine was different from the basketball hoops on a court, he was still flawlessly making each shot. The orange ball continued to fall into the net perfectly centered.
Around them, a crowd had started to form. The onlookers knew the blacked haired guy, Kitano Manabu, seeing that he frequented the arcade and was the one who set the high score on the machine, but they were also looking at the green haired miracle with interest and awe as the points started to accumulate.
20... 21... 22...
35... 36...
Kitano was actually starting to look a little nervous.
"As impressive as your score is, Midorima-kun really can make that in his sleep, you know," Tomoko told the guy sympathetically.
"Don't be shittin' me," he spat in defense, "No one will be able to beat my score! I'm about to make it 70 today!"
55... 56... 57...
"H-He'll miss soon!" he stuttered slightly. Midorima looked back at him again at his comment while he threw in his next ball. Cold sweat was forming on the male's forehead. H-He m-made that without even looking...?!
The balls continued to be effortlessly thrown in with such grace and rhythm... And the score continued to climb without missing a beat.
The score soon surpassed 61, but Midorima wasn't done yet.
"Wait, I know him..." someone in the crowd said.
"Isn't he—?"
"Midorima Shintarou!" someone else exclaimed suddenly. "He's the Generation of Miracles' best shooter!"
Generation of Miracles?! Once Kitano Manabu realized his opponent's identity, he knew he had messed with the wrong guy.
120... 121... 122.
The score suddenly stopped and the entire room froze in silence. Midorima had a ball in his hands; he hadn't missed, so the game was still going, but he thought that this was more than enough to end the challenge. He motioned for Tomoko to come by him.
"Take your shot," he said. The caramel haired girl blinked in wonder.
"You want me to do it? I might miss."
"I cannot lose, but I am done with this childish game."
She puffed up her cheeks once she got his meaning, "So you want me to miss for you so you don't have to..."
"That is correct."
Tomoko took the ball from the prideful male and stood in front of the machine. Taking a deep breath, she released it.
123.
"W-Woah!" she blinked and laughed giddily at her accomplishment. "Take that, Midorima-kun! It actually went in!" Midorima's eyes ticked. He wasn't used to being wrong. Her next shot, however, did miss and he felt slightly better.
As expected, he pushed up his glasses coolly.
"That's 123 points! Incredible!" the crowd around them cheered.
"He doubled Kitano's score!"
"Oi Kitano! Looks like you lost the bet!"
Kitano visibly paled. He wanted to run away, but that would only make his situation more pitiful and embarrassing. What will Midorima tell him to do? Surely he won't be able to show his face around here anymore!
"I warned you," Tomoko told the male. There was no mockery in her voice, but she wanted him to know that he shouldn't go around causing trouble with such a haughty attitude.
"He just got lucky this time, that's all!" Kitano gulped when sharp emerald eyes locked onto his.
"Another foolish thought," Midorima scuffed. "I never miss my shots. Be grateful that I did not increase the gap even further. Now, I believe you owe me the bet."
"...W-What do you want?!"
"Learn some etiquette. Apologize for your crass action," he said simply. Although he didn't specify who, everyone knew the person he was referring to. Everyone was startled with the miracle's request, however. He had the chance to make his opponent do whatever he wanted, and he chose something as simple as an apology?
"Like hell—!" Kitano started to yell, but the glares from both Midorima and the rest of the crowd got him to shut up.
"A bet's a bet, Kitano."
"Yeah, it's not like he asked you to crawl out of the arcade like you wanted him to do!"
Gritting his teeth, Kitano walked up to Tomoko. They were all watching him, so there was no way out of this. Swallowing his pride, he muttered out an apology to the bewildered girl. "Sorry!" he said and quickly shoved his way out of the arcade.
Everyone cheered, and Tomoko blinked at the empty space before her momentarily before a small smile made its way to her face. She was glad this whole ordeal ended peacefully. Midorima-kun didn't want to embarrass him at the end...
She turned towards her green haired friend, but he was no longer by the machine. Instead, she found him standing in front of the counter where all of the prizes were, and she laughed to herself. Of course.
"Wow kid, didn't think you were that good," the man behind the stand praised with a whistle. He pointed to the giant beanbag penguin, "100 points gets you this baby!"
"I will like to exchange that for the Russian doll," Midorima immediately said. When he noticed Tomoko coming up from behind, he added, "and the husky."
The man behind the stand looked at him incredulously. "You sure you don't want the grande prize?"
"Yes."
"Alright..." the man handed him the doll he desired so much as well as the small husky.
Midorima internally smiled with victory. Finally... Finally, his lucky item was in his hands... That should ensure that no more troublesome things will happen for the rest of the day.
"Did you get your prize, Midorima-kun?" Tomoko asked him. Midorima quickly hid the husky toy behind his back as he nodded, showing her the red wooden doll.
"That's good!" she smiled and walked with the male out of the arcade. "See, the arcade isn't so bad. Did you have fun?"
"Hardly," Midorima said.
"Well, I had fun~"
"Hn."
He guessed it actually wasn't that bad, since Tomoko was there, but he would never admit that out loud. He then noticed the time; it was way past noon already and he should head back... But he still had the husky prize with him, clutched behind his back, and he didn't know how to give it to the girl without being awkward about it.
"Is something wrong, Midorima-kun?" Tomoko asked, noticing the weird look on his face. "I was going to say that I should head home to finish my math homework, but are you okay? The heat didn't get to your head, did it?"
"I..."
She leaned closer worriedly and Midorima blushed, suddenly shoving the toy into her face.
"Uhf!" she caught the fluffy stuffed animal and looked at it with wide eyes. "This is—!"
"Do not think anything of this. I merely had extra points to spare," Midorima quickly cut her off and turned his back to her. "I am leaving now."
Tomoko stared at the green haired miracle incredulously. She has come to realize just how right Takao was when he called the miracle a tsundere. "Midorima-kun!" she called after him. He turned around and gave her a weak glare, to which she smiled at. "Thank you!"
She watched him storm away with embarrassment and a small laugh escaped her lips. It was just like the time he helped out Kagami and played it off as something else...
Midorima Shintarou was simply too prideful to just admit straightforwardly that he was doing something nice. But he was, indeed, a very nice person.
Aomine was lying on the grassy open field by himself for god knows how long after Momoi left him alone, being fed up with his terrible mood. Oh well, he told her he'll come to the next practice and that got her to cheer up a bit before she left.
Maybe I'll take a nap here... he yawned tiredly, closing his eyes. However, he didn't go off to dreamland immediately. His mind traveled to a certain caramel haired manager and he scowled.
Why did she have to be on his mind? Seeing the way she was cheering so earnestly for Kise during their game really got to him. Was it because she promised him before the game that she'll cheer for him, and then at the end she was only showing concern for Kise?
It was Kise's own fault for trying to do something he was incapable of doing, anyway! He then frowned; was he actually starting to feel bad about what happened to Kise?
...Hell no.
But there was a bigger question at hand—just why the hell did he feel so irritated when it came to situations that involved the Seirin manager? He's only met her a handful of times, and yet, she was one of the only females aside from Momoi who he genuinely didn't mind having around. Momoi was his childhood friend, so naturally he was used to her and cared for her... But Okuma Tomoko was different.
Her words—declarations—and actions excited and and fueled his being each time. She was something interesting in his otherwise boring life. He wouldn't say that he had feelings for her quite yet, but she definitely was someone that held something special in his heart and mind, and it was frustrating to see that his former teammates were swarming her.
Being the way that he was, Aomine never experienced this type of uncertainty and he definitely didn't like the feeling. It felt like a brewing battle was surfacing between him and his teammates and it didn't have anything to do with basketball...
"You really can sleep anywhere, can't you?"
Oddly, that sounded awfully like Okuma Tomoko... Heh, am I hearing her voice in my head now?
Aomine opened his eyes just in case though, and blinked disbelievingly when he saw her actual person peering down at him with a toy husky in her arms. "What the..." he sat up and looked at her closer just to make sure that she was actually real.
"Hi Aomine-kun!" Tomoko greeted. "What a coincidence to find you here!"
"Shouldn't you be with—" he quickly stopped his sentence when he realized just how creepy he'd sound if he told her that he knew of her whereabouts. She titled her head to the side in confusion.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing!" he muttered and crossed his arms behind his head and laid back down. He wanted to ignore her and convince himself that whatever she does wouldn't concern him, but he quickly found that he couldn't as he heard some shuffling and found Tomoko laying besides him. "...Oi, what are you doing?"
Turning her head slightly to look at him, she flashed him a wide smile. "I was wondering if laying down here was comfortable since you like to sleep on the ground so much. It's actually not too bad!" She patted the soft grass.
"Heh..." Aomine felt a devious smirk surfacing and his bad mood was temporarily forgotten. "You sure you're not just tryin' to find an excuse to get close to me?"
"Eh~ You're twisting my words!"
"Am I?" he grinned as she pursed her lips. "Or are you just hiding your attraction to me, babe?"
Instead of answering, Tomoko only hummed as her thoughts trailed off elsewhere. Outside of games, Aomine Daiki was actually a pretty normal human being. Like she told Kuroko before, she felt that Aomine was lonely because he pushed everyone out of his world, and he needed someone to open up that wall he built out of arrogance. It was deeper than just beating him in a game to show him that he wasn't alone... Maybe he needs a friend, she nodded with resolve and rolled over to face the male.
"Can we be friends, Aomine-kun?"
"Ha?" he sounded surprised.
"I wouldn't mind being close to you. Let's be friends!"
...The first part sounded so damn misleading! Aomine thought. He looked at her sincere expression (along with the toy's impossibly big blue eyes) blankly. His attempt to fluster the girl didn't go as planned... If anything, he was the one who couldn't find something to say back to her. Was this how it was like for Kise and Midorima? For Kuroko?
"Do you say that to everyone you meet?" he raised one navy colored brow.
The caramel haired girl laughed, "It's the first step to making friends, you know."
"Even if our teams are opponents, huh?" the miracle smirked idly. He thought she was too friendly for her own good... But he wasn't one to turn down a girl. Especially if she was a pretty one. "That sounds interesting enough."
"So we're friends?" she concluded with a happy grin.
"Sure. Just don't go cryin' when I defeat your team again," Aomine said cockily, turning his head to look straight into her bright salmon eyes. In turn, she stared at him in a thoughtful silence. "...What?"
A few seconds passed and she lifted herself off the ground before finally speaking. "You can't win by yourself, Aomine-kun."
"Ha? Of course I can," he replied with nonchalant confidence.
"Just wait for us then! We'll show you that you can't play alone, and not only that, we'll become the team that you'll enjoy playing with again," she declared with her signature lopsided smile.
Aomine looked at her amusingly. It was kind of hard not to laugh when she was trying to say something serious with that damn husky toy clutched to her body; she looked like a little kid demanding for more ice-cream after dinner. Cute.
"Eh," he grinned, deciding to humor her. "Try to not let it be a repeat of Interhigh then, O-chibi-kuma."
Tomoko glared at him confidently, a spark of determination shining in her eyes. "You'll see. Seirin has gotten a lot stronger since then..." a playful smile tugged on her lips. "So prepare for us, Daikon!"
"W-What the hell did you just call me?!"
Aomine's eyes ticked with embarrassment as he plucked the toy out of her arms in retaliation, but she was quickly able to snatch it back because he was in a sitting position so the toy was very much within her reach. She laughed and stuck her tongue out childishly at his fuming face. "I'm going to call you Daikon since you keep calling me O-chibi-kuma," she explained cheerfully before waving and running away.
"OI!"
"I have to go now. See ya!"
Aomine glared at anyone whose attention had drawn his way and made them hurry along on their way as a blush and a scowl made their way to his face. "She just called me a radish..." he grumbled. Though he was annoyed with her, he didn't hate her... Tomoko was really all he could think about as he stomped off the field. She was interesting, alright...
And he decided that he definitely didn't want to lose this "battle" to the others.
Far away off on the other side of the field, there was a couple that had watched Aomine's and Tomoko's out of ear-shot exchange with interest—well, one of the was showing more interest than the other. That person was a tall, mature-looking high school male, and standing next to him was a shorter, cute high school girl with two red ribbons in her ginger hair.
"Nozaki-kun...?" the girl, Sakura Chiyo, watched as the male scribbled something in his handy notepad.
"Open field... Couples' quarrel... Husky toy?" he mumbled, an excited expression taking over his normally serious face as he found more inspiration for the next issue of his manga. "I got it. Some guy gives Mamiko a gift and Suzuki says something snarky out of jealously when he finds out. Mamiko runs away and Suzuki is forced to chase after her!"
Sakura only laughed with a sort of exasperation at her companion's enthusiasm as he took out a camera and snapped some pictures of the field. She looked at the disappearing figures ahead; couples or just friends, those two will have no idea that they will most likely be featured in some way in the mangaka's next issue...
Well, at least they're probably making more progress than me... she pouted and followed behind her oblivious crush. The mangaka was more interested in his manga series than her not-so-subtle feelings...
Little did she know though, the romantic aspect of Okuma Tomoko's life was going to be a hell lot harder and more confusing than her own. Nozaki would probably have a field day if he ever gets wind of the girl's situation.
"Shin-chan may be good at pretending, but nothing can fool these eyes of mine!"
-Takao Kazunari
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