A/N: Thanks to everyone who followed, favourited and reviewed! It makes me very happy. I don't know if I'm able to update CH26 in two weeks, I have it written, but I need to go over again, and then there is my master thesis in a poor (only 1/3 done state) and I have only 4 weeks left to finish it! Fingers crossed, wish me luck!
Enough of ranting, another long one here! Enjoy!
By making yourself better, that's how you make your team better. – Jimmy Garoppolo
Sister is probably the most competitive relationship within the family, but once the sisters are grown, it becomes the strongest relationship. – Margaret Mead
"You don't need to worry, though. He's not my type." "I don't think I've ever heard a girl say that before," said Simon. "I thought Jace was the kind of guy who was everyone's type." ― Cassandra Clare, City of Glass
There are two circumstances that lead to arrogance: one is when you're wrong and you can't face it; the other is when you're right and nobody else can face it. ― Criss Jami
Chemistry is you touching my arm and it setting fire to my mind ― Nayyirah Waheed
Curses, like chickens, come home to roost. – Proverb
I would always rather be happy than dignified. ― Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
When you're in jail, a good friend will be trying to bail you out. A best friend will be in the cell next to you saying, 'Damn, that was fun'. ― Groucho Marx
Love is not the perfect match, love is the connection between two people. ― Unarine Ramaru
I lost. Taiga thought dejectedly on Sunday's noon, as he was sitting on the balcony, eating lunch. Aya'd gone to practise with Senri again, leaving him home alone. She'd invited him, but he'd refused. His legs hurt around the same as after the match against Shuutoku. He seriously needed to stay put if he wanted to play against Touou in a week. But staying put meant thinking. And right now, that wasn't the best option.
This is not the first time I lost in a one-on-one. I've had a similar experience with Kise, but this time… This time I have a feeling… I don't think I could ever win against him.
"Tch." Aomine was good, definitely stronger than Taiga and the latter knew it. He wasn't a brother of a former world champion for nothing. He could smell excellence when he met one. And Aomine Daiki was an excellent player, who totally crushed him without breaking a sweat. Without getting serious.
Even if we have Kuroko… I don't think we can win.
"Why the long face?" Aya interrupted his thoughts when she appeared on the balcony snatching the last piece of meat from Taiga's plate.
"Ah… Nothin'. I was just thinking."
Not protecting the last bite? That's baaad… "That's always dangerous." She said with a crooked smile and sat on the chair opposite him. "Talk. What's eating you up?" She pulled out several apples from her bag and put it neatly on the table, offering some to Taiga.
He took one and bit into it. The delicious juice filled his mouth and he let out a content moan. He so loved good food.
"It's Aomine…" He said with a sigh. "I don't know. I fell… I don't think I can ever match up to him."
All he could hear for a moment was Aya munching on an apple. "You know. I don't think so. Maybe you can't win right now. But you can definitely match up to him. Talent-wise you're not worse than any of them. You just lack the skill and experience that comes with attending official competitions and championships." She wondered what Aomine had told her brother in that stupid little match they'd had.
"You think I can match up to him?" He blinked in surprise. "You're not saying that just because you're my sister… Right?" He gave a suspicious glance.
"No. I'm not pulling your leg and neither am I joking about this, Tai. You've discovered your weapon. Now you just have to train your ass off in order to make it truly yours."
"What are you talking about?"
She rolled her eyes. "Are you serious?! How can you be so dumb!"
"OI!"
"Your jumps! Do you think it's normal to keep jumping higher and higher as a match progresses? Or that you managed to catch Midorima's high-arc shots?"
"Oh…" He said, understanding hitting him. "So jumping?"
"Yeah! Look, if your legs weren't injured I would've recommended you to find some gambling basketball matches and play. I'm sure it's not on the American level here, but I believe we could find some and it would've helped you…"
Taiga shivered. "That sounds awfully like something Alex would do."
Aya smirked. "She was my teacher as well."
"What do you think I should do now? Considering the legs…"
"Stay put and rest. That's the best thing you can do for your team right now." She shrugged. "If you want to do something, try to find out as much as you can about Touou's playing style, strengths and weaknesses – no I won't help you, I've told you way too much already – and maybe figure out what was the relationship between Kuroko-kun and Aomine. It might help you understand him."
"And you wanna know too, right?"
"I won't deny I'm curious; Aomine refuses to tell me. But you don't have to tell me should you find out. And well… 'Know your enemy.'"
"And if that doesn't help? What if we lose?"
"If you lose you lose. My team is strong after all, but don't take loss as a predetermined result. I want you to go all out, with everything you have. And do it for your team. Understood?"
"Ossu."
"Now then… I'm going out with Aomine and Aiko-san – Kise's older sister, and maybe Satsuki. We want to prank Kise somehow. Any ideas?"
"Ha?! Something like that is going on?!"
"Yeah. For the video he shared–"
"–and which I haven't seen so far." He pouted.
She sighed and threw him her phone. "Just watch it if you want, I don't care anymore. I'm gonna take a shower, I'm sweaty from the practise."
"Stinky pig!" He called after her.
"Burn in hell!" She called back and he could hear a clicking of a lock.
"OI!" He jumped to his feet and tried to open the door. Unsuccessfully. She locked him out on the balcony.
"She can be terrible." He mumbled under his nose and slumped back to his chair. At least he could go through her phone.
Aaaand here it is… He tapped play and watched.
And he couldn't believe the two weren't dating yet.
Sure, Aomine was like a clumsy bear, following his sister, but the sheer fact that he could follow her showed that his physical skills were on a whole different level. Because she was dragging him around in a waltz steps, and Taiga doubted she'd informed Aomine about it. Their upper bodies were not held as they should've been, but the legs moved in the precise set steps anyways. It was strangely enjoyable to watch. And the way he seemed to be holding her. A bit awkwardly, yes. But nonetheless, he held her like a treasure, like something he wanted to protect with all his might. What a strange guy he is. Taiga thought, because the cocky and arrogant jerk he'd met the previous day and the boy on the video seemed like a different people. At least in his opinion.
He watched it at least five times. His sister just made every dance look so thrilling and magical. And then there were the performances with Hikaru. He watched that again too, this time with more attention, and he had to admit that Hikaru was indeed a skilled dancer. For some reason he'd always underestimated the three brothers, but maybe they were better than what he gave them credit for.
"So? Have you seen everything you wanted to?" She asked when she returned to the balcony, rubbing her hair dry.
"Yeah. Ne… You've basically taught him waltz steps!"
"Shhhh…" She put a finger on her lips. "Don't you dare tell him that, Taiga. Once he gets over the 'I don't dance' part, I'll teach him properly."
"So you are in love with him!"
She rolled her eyes. "Do you have to shout that on the balcony?"
"Why don't you just tell him? I hate him but…"
She sighed. "I thought you two might clash. But…"
"… Is it because of father?"
Aya shrugged. "How would it look? We're here for only around three months. If he heard I have a boyfriend the hell would break loose. Plus Aomine doesn't know much. He wouldn't choose me if he had. And he's struggling with himself. I don't need to add another worry on his back right? Heck I don't even know if he likes me."
"Excuses, excuses. You're just afraid to give it a try."
"I don't remember you having a girlfriend. Ever." She mocked him, feeling uncomfortable with the topic. Taiga bristled, but he couldn't possibly retort, it was the truth. "So… any ideas how to prank Kise?"
"Share something embarrassing. Make him suffer through a terrible date. You train him in dancing for no particular reason; waste his time like that…"
"Well…"
"You don't wanna?"
"I don't mind cockroaches in shoes or itchy powder, but getting his hopes up for something, and then shattering it… Or sharing a video… I don't think that's what I want to do, because well, he really didn't mean bad with this." She shook her phone.
"You hate cockroaches…" He reminded her, and then bit into his thumb nail in a deep thought. "Hmm….Then… photo-shoot itchy powder? And he'd have to stay still?"
Her eyes widened. "You are amazing!" She smiled brightly and jumped at Taiga to engulf him in a big hug.
"What can I say… I've seen the pervert planning some of his pranks."
"And you helped some, I believe." She mumbled against his chest.
He laughed. "I won't deny that."
######
"Hey!" Aya walked towards Aomine and a blonde short-haired girl standing next to him. She was right on time and they were waiting her outside, which they didn't have to do, but it felt nice. Aomine just nodded in greeting.
"You must be Kise Aiko-san I believe." She said with a genuine smile. She was looking forward to meeting Kise's sister. "I'm Kagami Aya, nice to meet you."
The girl eyed her up and down with her big amber eyes.
And Aya did the same. Aiko was an inch shorter than her, but she sure had a confident air around her, she looked fierce. Her clothes consisted of sand coloured army boots, very short jean shorts and camouflage tank top. A military dog tag was hanging around her neck and Aya would swear she had her basic info stamped into it. The girl was sure interesting, and first impression-wise a complete opposite of Kise. And Aya liked that.
Aiko offered a handshake and she accepted it happily.
"Oh. Good! You don't give a dead-fish handshakes." Aiko said, and her voice was slightly deeper than usual, but it made her a lot more interesting. "I might even come to like you!"
"Dead-fish handshakes are the worst indeed." She agreed. And with that a friendship had formed. Both girls liked what they saw in the other.
They walked into Maji burger and ordered some food. Aya hadn't had a lunch so she went for three cheeseburgers and two large fries and a large orange juice. She paid and headed towards one of the booths near the window.
"Finally a girl with an appetite! I thought you'd hold back with this kiddo tagging along." She said as she was sitting down opposite Aya and pointed at Aomine who also ordered his fill, thrice the Aya's portion and sat next to the redhead – the safer seat.
Aya laughed at it and eyed Aiko's portion similar to hers. "Why should I hold back when I didn't have a lunch? I'm starving!"
"So tell me, Kagami-chan –" Aiko started excitedly, once she found someone who interested her, she was all in to get to know the person.
"– please call me just Aya." She corrected the blonde automatically. "I like that more."
"Great! Call me Aiko then. I'm not that older than you. I'm a third year at Seiho actually."
"What?! No one told me that! I would've asked you to get me in touch with their basketball club!" Aya exclaimed with wide eyes. Such a wasted opportunity!
"Well you wouldn't have a date otherwise." She said with a wink.
"Oi! It wasn't a date!" Aomine corrected her brusquely. "And how would you know?"
"Oh, dear kiddo. I was there. Believe it or not, the captain is my boyfriend."
Though he called her Aiko-san… "What? Someone would really date a witch hag like you?!"
Her eyes narrowed at Aomine. "Say that one more time, you little maggot, and I'll stomp you to the ground." She warned him.
Aya started laughing at that. She got the sibling like dynamics the two had. And for a moment it stung that Aomine had such a relationship with someone else. But then again, Kise was probably his best friend; of course Kise's sisters took him under their protective wings as well. She did the same when it came to Taiga's friends.
"What?!" They both snapped at her.
"Nothin'. You're just hilarious. Why isn't Satsuki here? I thought she wanted to help."
"But she is helping!" Aiko said and stuffed her mouth with fries. "She is pestering Ryouta so he wouldn't get a whiff of whatever we'll be planning. Trust me. That foxy kid can sniff out about anything you don't want him to know."
"Oh. I haven't thought of that."
"Well," Aiko smiled, "you might understand how he thinks, but you know him only for a short period of time. I grew up with the rascal. And he talked about you so much. I feel like I know you too." She teased the redhead, provoking Aomine at the same time. She wanted to see what Ryouta had been, subtly, talking about.
Aya's eye narrowed. "What exactly did he tell you?"
"Oh? Have you discussed something serious with him?"
Those two are sure siblings. She thought. "Not that I know of." The first impression of Aiko was that she was a fierce, straightforward girl. But that wasn't that much of the truth. Aya could feel the small nuances which were so similar to Kise's two-facedness.
The blonde chuckled. "He told me… That you dance, I've seen the video by the way. That you're pretty sly, but awesome. And that he and Kasamacchi-senpai spent an afternoon with you the last Saturday during the final matches. He told me you pissed of some Hanamiya dude after your match, so they couldn't have possibly left you alone."
"You pissed off who?" Aomine's eyes widened, he couldn't believe what he heard. For the first time. Hanamiya was a definition of a crappy guy. "You sure have a talent to piss off all the wrong people, Sweetheart." He said with a head shake and frowned. He had no idea that after he'd left the stadium Kagami had stayed with Kise. Heck he had no idea that Kise had been there!
"What do I say, Honey bun? Are you worried~?" She teased.
"Oi! Don't call me that! I didn't…" A slight blush creeped onto his cheeks and he looked away.
This time it was Aiko who laughed at the two. They sure had a good chemistry going on between them.
"Now, now." She clapped. "Our main purpose of today's meeting is to figure out how to prank my brother, in a way that's not too terrible. I'm all in, but you know…"
"You protect what's yours." Aya added with an understanding nod.
"I see you know what I'm talking about. Good. Any ideas?"
Aomine shrugged. He wasn't good at finding ways to pull Kise's leg. The blonde was way too sharp for Aomine to ever successfully prank him. Unless he decided to let himself be pranked. And this didn't occur often.
"I have one. Or… Taiga and I had one idea."
"And that is?" Aiko encouraged her.
"Itchy powder in his dress up during a photo shoot... We might or might not record his struggle as he has to keep still and yet wants to scratch his butt so damn much." She presented her idea as if it was already decided. It was a habit of hers to present her ideas in this manner. If she was helping her father with the business, she needed to be persuasive.
"That one's good! I'll call Emi-nee to see when he is working, but I believe it should be some Monday afternoon. That's Kaijo's team day off."
"Hmm…" She exchanged glances with Aomine. "It's ours day off as well. And I just know the stylist in charge of Model-kun."
"Awesome! Wait… You call him Model-kun?!" Aiko laughed. "He hasn't boasted about it!"
"He called me Ice queen-chan at our first meeting. So…" Aya shrugged. It didn't happen often that Aya felt so naturally good with a girl she'd just met. Maybe it was because Aiko was Model-kun's sister or maybe they just had a good vibe but she liked talking with her. And because Aomine was sitting next to her, she was almost forgetting he was there.
"I bet it was because you weren't fawning over him."
"Well sorry, blondes are really not my type." She exclaimed and raised her hands in a 'nothing-to-be-done-about-it' gesture. "No offence." She added.
"Ahahaha! You should just go and tell him that. I wonder what kind of face he'd make."
"Surprised, dramatically hurt and then he'd laugh." Aya said with a poker face.
"Wait, wait, wait. You told him that?!" Aiko's eyes almost bulged out.
She put a finger on her lower lip, her unreadable expression not wavering. "I wonder… Did I?" It was a perfect display of her self-control, because inwardly she was laughing her lungs out. Because… She had told Kise he wasn't her type – he'd simply twisted their conversation during a lesson of cha-cha she'd been giving him on the party, in a way that she'd bluntly announced it. But it was fun watching Aiko clueless.
"Anyways, if we want to do the prank tomorrow, we need to plan for it. I'm calling Hikaru to ask him for help… But it won't be for free I believe." She gave the sideways glance to Aomine 'Especially for the two of us.' she conveyed wordlessly.
Aiko blinked at her. "Right! I'm calling Emi-nee right away. Wait until I give you the clear answer when is Ryouta going to arrive there."
######
"What's the price of his help?" Aomine asked when Aiko left for a date with her boyfriend and they were waiting for Satsuki to join them.
"Well… He said he'd tell us tomorrow after we get there. But knowing Hikaru… No. I have no frigging clue what he might want. He might go from something totally embarrassing to a simple dinner." She shrugged. "We'll have to wait."
"Tch. I don't like that."
"Neither do I. But it can't be helped. We're trying to prank Kise here; it's not an easy task. Which is why you didn't come up with anything right?"
He snorted, he truly didn't know what else, and still civilised, they could do. Kagami's idea was the best.
"You telling him he was not your type must've been enough of a prank. I'd give anything to see the face he made." It'd been the first time he heard a girl say that Kise wasn't their type. And he'd never wondered just who was Aya's 'type'.
I can't fool him, can I? "Aiko was clueless. How'd you guess I really told him?" She asked curiously.
He shrugged and simply said: "'cause it's you."
"Kuroko!" Taiga turned around on his seat right after the bell announced a lunch break – so the ghostly boy wouldn't disappear on him again.
"What is it, Kagami-kun?"
"Uhm… I've played a one-on-one with Aomine on Saturday." He admitted, trying to keep his voice down.
After Aya had yelled at him, and forced him to walk on his arms, they'd decided to conveniently omit the fact that he'd played against the ace of the generation of miracles. They'd assumed it'd cause a mayhem neither of them wanted. But now… Now he needed to know.
Kuroko's eyes widened slightly, though a familiar, unreadable expression settled on his face a second later.
Taiga continued. "The guy said he'd been your light in the past. I don't think you 'just happened' to be on the same team. What exactly happened in Teiko between the two of you?" He asked seriously and calmly. Those weren't the traits he showed to his team regularly, but right now, he needed to show Kuroko, that he could be like this as well.
"…" The ghostly boy stared at him for a moment as if evaluating his worthiness to hear this explanation. "Let's eat outside." He said simply, took his lunch and left the classroom, expecting the redhead to follow him.
They sat on a bench in the school's garden and Taiga unwrapped his bento, to eat it as quickly as possible, so it wouldn't distract him from listening to Kuroko's story.
"As you know, Kise-kun joined the team later: in the beginning of summer in our second year. He was a quick learner and he kept challenging Aomine-kun to play one-on-one with him all the time. They could keep at it for hours. At that time, Aomine-kun kept playing with Kise-kun because he liked his talent and the will to challenge him over and over again despite constant loses. In Teiko, Aomine-kun was the most talented and he trained the most, simply because he loved to play. Momoi-san used to say that he was 'just an idiot for basketball'. But he wasn't a miracle yet."
A small smile appeared on Kuroko's face and Taiga wondered what image he had in his head. So far, he could relate. And he patiently waited for his shadow to continue.
"Midorima-kun, Kise-kun, and the others… They weren't miracles from the start. We all started out as above-average players. Nothing more. But Aomine-kun, he was the first one to shine. It happened in one match, when he was particularly concentrated, or in particularly great shape, where he scored more than 80 points on his own. He was like a different person that day. Even Kise-kun called his skills 'scary'. And matches like that kept piling up. He even scored more than 100 points in one match. The opponents were giving up mid-match, and Aomine-kun started skipping practises. He didn't want to become any better, because the games were starting to get boring for him. It was then when he started thinking he had no equal. No rival. And slowly, he started drifting away. Not that he had no equal among opponents, he had no equal on the team either. No one could match up to him. He became too strong for his own good."
Oh… Taiga stared at his taped legs.
Kuroko ate a part of his lunch before he spoke up again. "He was doing a bare minimum for the team to win the matches… I told him that no matter how good he became, I'd want him to be serious, to go all out should we faced each other as opponents. He was still hoping to find that person. But the nationals in our second year were, I think, the last straw that broke the camel's back. We faced someone who'd used to give Aomine-kun trouble every single time they faced each other. A rival he had at that time. But… In that match, the boy gave up. Once Aomine-kun created a 70 point gap, the person he considered a rival gave up. After that match Aomine-kun decided that it was pointless to hope for a serious opponent, that the only one who could beat him was him. We won those nationals only thanks to Aomine-kun. The other four changed soon after. Then something happened in our third year of nationals and I quit the team…" Kuroko said in a tone, which indicated he didn't want to go further into the topic. Then he took a breath and added: "More than anyone else, Aomine-kun needs a true rival. Someone he can go all out against. At least that's what Midorima-kun thinks. And I have to agree."
"Sounds kind of familiar…" Though Aya didn't turn into 'the only one who can beat is me' idiot. Taiga sighed, which earned him a confused but curious glance from Kuroko. "No. Nothin'." He blinked to shoo the thought away.
"There is only one thing I can say to that." His face turned into an angry grimace. "Don't get too arrogant yet, you idiot! There's still a fat chance!" He shook his head. "Seriously… Did the game get boring because you're too strong? What the hell? Oi… Gimme your hand."
"What?"
"Just give me your hand!"
So Kuroko offered him his palm, way too confused by Taiga's behaviour, but keeping his unreadable expression.
"No! Not your palm, your fist!"
"Oh." Kuroko nodded and curled his hand into a fist.
"The only one who can beat me is me?! He will be the fool the year!"
"The fool of the century, you mean?" Kuroko corrected him.
"We'll definitely win this one." Taiga said and fist-bumped with his shadow. "We'll beat him back into his senses!" They had to win. Even if my legs tear apart.
#########
"I-I-I c-can't do that." Kiku gave up. She was flexible, but she just wasn't the one to learn splits.
"It's a part of the curriculum and your final mark, Ohno-san. You have to try more." Umaki-sensei said in a scolding voice. She didn't like students who weren't, in her opinion, trying enough.
"B-but…" Kiku had no idea how to explain that her thigh muscles weren't stretched enough for her to do that. She could go to a certain point but then it hurt.
"It takes time for muscles to stretch enough." Aya said, aiding Kiku. "You can't force it in 15 minutes… Well… not without an injury."
"You don't seem to have a problem with it." The sensei jabbed, but the courageous girl was right. She couldn't force it.
She just shrugged. "Maybe I'm just overly flexible."
Umaki-sensei shook her head and then looked at Kiku again. "Just try to exercise more so you can do it by Friday." She huffed and left to scold some other girls who couldn't do it.
"Uhm, Aya?"
"Yeah?"
"Will you help me to learn it?" She asked quietly.
"Yeah, sure. Come with me to the dancing club after school tomorrow and we'll all help you."
Kiku blinked at her in surprise. "Eh? Uhm but…" That's too many people!
Aya could literally read her mind at the moment. "Oh come on. The majority are kiddos or elders, no one's gonna eat you. So don't be scared, 'kay?"
After a moment of thought, the girl nodded. There was nothing to lose, not really.
"Oh. Look, they're doing handstands." She pointed towards the boys' part of the gym separated by a net, her eyes unconsciously looking for Aomine. She'd swear she could feel his eyes on her when she was doing the things Umaki-sensei told them to do. Now it's my turn. She thought and stared at his tightened arm muscles as he did a handstand. His t-shirt rolled down, showing his abs… Oh how that pleased her.
It was almost the end of the class, so she could move towards them. She was curious what else they'd been doing, because she couldn't keep an eye on them all the time.
"Aomine!" Kano ran up to the ace still standing on his hands, but already struggling to keep balance. "Can you walk on your hands too?!" He asked loudly.
"I ain't a gymnast." He grumbled, and flipped back to stand on his legs.
"I thought you are good at everything! How disappointing." He mumbled, which earned him a glare from Aomine. "Anyways… How do you do it? I can't keep my balance!"
"Try setting off from your left foot." Aya said.
"Eh? Aya-chan!" His eyes widened in surprise. "Why? Everyone does it going off from their right foot."
Aya sighed. Because everyone else… "Can you do a cartwheel?" She asked instead of answering. They didn't learn it at school but it was a kind of stunt boys tended to learn on their own just for the sake of showing off.
"Eh? Ah… yeah." Her sudden question made his mind go blank.
"Show me. Do it." She demanded with a raised eyebrow, ignoring Aomine's questioning stare. Her tone didn't allow Kano to question her, it was the tone she used when leading the balance practises.
"U-uhm." He nodded.
With a short run-up, he kicked his legs up and performed a side cartwheel. When he landed he turned his questioning eyes at her.
Ishii was already smirking, catching up on what she wanted to point out.
"Which leg did you use to set off?"
"Uuuhm… Left?" He asked, not really sure. He did the cartwheel automatically, without thinking about it.
"That's right. Because left is your good leg."
"My good leg?" He asked confusedly.
"Yeah. Try doing a handstand setting off from your left foot. I believe it should be easier for you to balance it up."
He shook his head, but tried to do as she said. And indeed… It worked. When he was back at his feet his green eyes sparkled in joy. "You're an angel Aya-chan! Thank you! How'd you know?"
She smirked. "I lead your balance practises, who do you take me for, huh?"
"Oh. So you did it, Kano-kun!" Yoshioka-sensei praised him. He noticed the girl mingling in, but because she was their manager he didn't say anything. And as a result, the boy who was struggling with handstands could now do them. "Where was the problem?" He asked as the other kids started to vacant the gym to go get changed.
"The set off leg." Aya said.
Yoshioka rubbed his chin. This hadn't occurred to him at all. Because everyone else could manage… "Thank you for correcting him then." He nodded to the girl. "By chance... Do you do gymnastics or something?"
A half-smile spread on Aya's face. While Umaki-sensei couldn't notice such things, Yoshioka-sensei did. And he didn't mind if a student helped another one or pointed out their mistake, as long as they weren't rude about it.
"Not quite. I dance. I've been practising acro lately, so…" She admitted. There were people who knew even outside the basketball club, and she wasn't spreading it around. But the teacher could know. She liked Yoshioka-sensei's fairness and out-going personality. He was the kind of a teacher students naturally looked up to.
Yoshioka whistled. "Acro. In a pair or a group or individually?" He asked curiously.
"Pair." She shrugged.
"Hmm… My daughter started nagging me to assign her to a rhythmic gymnastics class for quite some time."
"Oh." Her eyebrows shot up in curiosity. "How old is she?"
"Seven. I'm kinda scared because she isn't that good in any physical activity…"
"I think she should try it out. Children tend to learn quickly as they are not that scared, and she can always quit if it doesn't catch her interest or something. For example, I've been dancing since I can remember so… it can't hurt to try."
"Aaah…" He rubbed his chin in thought. "But the injuries…"
"No one runs seven years old to the ground enough to cause them injuries, especially if they're just starting. If you want a really good club, then try going to Uryuu gymnastics. It costs a bit more, and the lady is super strict, but she is very good. She sees all the possibilities and limits of a person and sets the training regime according to that. It won't be easy but at least you'll see how much and if your daughter really wants to do it."
"Hmmm… That sounds like a great coach."
"Yeah. She is. She put me together two years ago after a severe hamstring overload. I almost tore it off." She rambled out, but then she noticed a panicked glance the teacher gave her. "Oh! Don't worry 'bout that. It didn't happen during a practise and it was totally my own fault."
"R-right. I'll discuss it with my wife. Thanks for advice, Kagami-san." It was unusual for him to ask a student for advice, but the girl had something in her eyes that make it easy. He looked around to notice that it was only the basketball club – eagerly listening to their manager – and a little girl remaining in the gym. "I think we need to wrap it up."
They nodded and followed after the teacher.
"So what is acro exactly?" Ishii asked nonchalantly as they headed towards the changing rooms.
"Acrobatic dancing." She said in full length.
"Isn't it dangerous?" Arai asked curiously. He could do the bare minimum of gymnastics that school required, but he was useless otherwise.
"Depends on who's your partner and how much you trust him. Right now it is a bit dangerous for me, but… it could've been worse."
"So, can you do a cartwheel or a hands free cartwheel?" Kano asked curiously.
They were thinking about what Imayoshi had talked about. They started to pay more attention to her, to what she'd been doing, how and whatnot. So far, she hadn't noticed, and they were glad for that.
Aya raised an eyebrow at him challengingly. "A 'hands-free cartwheel' is called an aerial." She corrected him.
Then, just as they were walking she made the smallest of the jumps and leapt up in a front aerial. For a moment it looked she stopped upside down in mid air, did a split and ended up back on her feet. Just like that. Casually.
"Whoooooah! That's crazy!"
All of them stared at her in awe and she gave them a smug smile. "I think you should go get changed, you are on a cleaning duty today."
Ishii, Kano and Kiku had dejected expressions in an instant. They parted to go to their changing room and Kiku to the girls'.
Before Aomine could leave, Aya grabbed his elbow. "You brought a change of clothes, right?"
He rolled his eyes. "'f course. We can't show up there in Touou's uniforms."
"I'm just making sure." She chuckled. "Wait for me by the school gate." She called over her shoulder.
And off she goes. He stared at her perfect ass as she ran up the stairs and disappeared in the changing room. The day's new knowledge about Kagami Aya surprised him and awed him at the same time. So the girl hadn't just won some championships, she was trying all the cool things she possibly could. No wonders she was so skilled in almost any physical activity.
Kagami Aya's legs wrapped around his hips as he picked her up in his arms… He blushed as the image from his dream popped up in his head. He definitely wouldn't have to support her.
"Oi Aomine! What're you daydreaming about? We can't wait for you forever!" Ishii's head peeked from behind the door. The boys were almost done with changing.
"Aya-chan I believe." Kano added teasingly, which made Sakurai and Arai look away to hide their chuckles from the ace. "But maaan she's awesome!" He continued, ignoring Aomine's glare. "Who would've thought she could do aeariaels."
"Aerials." Arai corrected him.
"Yeah, I've said that."
"Right, Mr. aeariaels." Ishii imitated him.
Kano stuck out his tongue at his friend and pulled the necktie over his neck.
"Why are you not changing into the uniform?" Ishii asked when he noticed Aomine putting on a loose jeans and a white t-shirt, which only enhanced the ace's muscles.
"I need to go somewhere."
"Can he get even weirder?" Kano asked in a whisper.
A vein popped on Aomine's forehead. "I can hear you!" He snapped at him.
######
"Hey!" Aya ran up to Satsuki and Aomine already waiting her at the school gates. She eyed Aomine up and down while he did the same.
"What?!" He bristled up.
"Nothin'. It suits you, Honey-bun." She teased with a grin. "I love the skirt, Satsuki." Aya praised the baby blue calf-length A-cut skirt enhancing Satuski's thin waist.
"Thank you!" The pinkette spun around happily. She didn't get to wear her casual clothes that often lately. "Your dress is awesome too." She complimented the simple black dress with elbow length sleeves.
"I guess it shouldn't attract that much attention. I was thinking about high-heels at first but nah… I suppose it's better like this." She looked at her black espadrilles. She threw her bag over a shoulder and started walking towards the station. "We should get going if we want to catch the train."
######
"What the hell is that?" Aomine asked irritably when the train they were supposed to take arrived fully packed.
"Our ride." Aya said. "Come on, we need to squeeze in if we want to arrive sooner than Kise." She grabbed both of them and pulled them towards an open door.
With a difficulty they managed to squeeze in and the door closed. Satsuki was face-pressed against the door, and cursing all the people taking the train in this hour. This was going to be terrible.
"Woah." Aya let out a gasp when the train moved and the crowd of people pushed her against Aomine, who was now squeezed between Aya and the door.
"What are y' doin'?" He let out a strangled growl as she pressed against his crotch. God this is torture. He thought.
"Sorry. It's not my fault." She protested. Please don't get a hard-on. She prayed inwardly, because that would've been super awkward. She squirmed against the crowd and created a centimetre gap between their bodies.
And Aomine wasn't sure if she helped it, or made it worse… because now she was gripping his hips for a support and to maintain the negligible distance between them. Whenever she moved a sweet yet fresh scent emanated from her, teasing his nose. Was it a scent of apricots? Just don't move. Please. He prayed and tried thinking about anything else but Kagami's body being so damn close. Be it anyone else he probably wouldn't have felt so awkward, but he couldn't be sure. He pinned his stare into the ceiling and took a deep breath desperately fighting an embarrassing blush and the blood rushing to his crotch.
"I have a feeling we pranked ourselves right now." Satsuki let out a strangled grunt, trying to fight the crowd off her back. But she couldn't move a finger, and the two were so quiet she wasn't sure they were still there.
They both chuckled awkwardly.
"Seems like it." Aya said and her voice sounded weird to her own ears. She could feel how tense Aomine was, not daring to move a muscle. Well, I'm sorry Honey-bun. She wasn't naïve enough to believe that she had some special effect on him; he'd get all flustered no matter what girl ended up in her position.
But she couldn't say she hated it. Heat was radiating from his body and his scent invaded her nose: mint, clothes detergent, a bit of sweat, and something else she couldn't guess. Something she could only think of as 'so Aomine'. She blushed furiously. What the hell was going through her head? She was getting turned on, by the sheer proximity. Oh god, get a grip. Thankfully he was so tall he couldn't see her face at all.
######
"Phew!" Satsuki let out the moment they got off the train. "What the hell's wrong with all the people today? It's not even the rush hour!"
Aya shrugged, not daring to look at Aomine's face for at least ten minutes. "I have no idea." She said, desperately trying to sound collected. "At least no one tried to grope us."
"Oh, they could try! We had Aomine-kun with us. He'd show them." She claimed proudly.
"Mhm. Right." He said sarcastically with a smirk. Once he got out and put a distance between them, it was easier to calm down. "I don't know how, since I couldn't move a muscle, thanks to a certain someone pinning me to the door."
"Eh? Who pinned you down?" The pinkette asked totally clueless about what had been happening on the train just centimetres from her.
Aya's jaw tightened and she shot him a glare, noticing-and-ignoring an excited glimmer in his stormy eyes. He wasn't fair. "Yeah, who?" She asked mockingly, playing clueless as well. She refused to give him the pleasure of teasing her. "I couldn't see a thing."
"Tch." He frowned at her. "Let's go. If we make Aiko wait, we're dead."
She had to bit the inside of her cheek to hold back a laugh. "Right! Let's invade Kise's job!"
Satsuki was walking between the two, feeling some strange vibe. It took her less than two minutes before her curiosity won and she asked: "Aomine-kun. Who pinned you down?"
"Tch. Stop pestering me, Satsuki!"
Aya couldn't hold back her laughter anymore. And the confused glance Satsuki gave her was priceless.
######
"What do we do now?" Satsuki asked anxiously, staring at the building they were supposed to enter.
"We walk in and get to Hikaru's office, or what the hell it is." Aya said casually totally fine with the plan.
"But if they ask us something? If someone stops us? If we can't find it? If someone tells Ki-chan? Or worse… if we walk into him?"
"Getting cold feet now?" Aomine asked mockingly.
Aya rolled her eyes. "You sure you aren't?" Then she turned to Satsuki. "It'll be fine. Just follow me, act natural, don't look around too much and don't speak, okay?"
"But where is Aiko-chan?" Satsuki continued worriedly.
"Somewhere inside." Aomine took care of explaining this one. "She went ahead because there was some job for her… she gets some photo-shoots once in a while too."
"Oh…"
They walked towards the sliding door and entered the lion's den. Satsuki was admiring the redhead, who walked in confidently, like she owned the place. Aomine and she followed right after her, though Aomine in a more leisure and confident manner. It seemed to be a busy day. Two receptionists were occupied by picking up phones and talking with several people at the same time. Some photographers and their models were moving to their next shooting places, or talking in a company's opened cafeteria.
Without flinching or staring around, Aya led the two towards the three lifts to their right. If anyone greeted her, she greeted back. She kept her walking pace slow enough to be able to answer if anyone talked to her, but quick enough so no one would stop them for a casual chit-chat and they wouldn't look like running. The less people knew about them the better.
They stepped into a lift. Satsuki let out a breath of relief, she was holding in the entire time. They made it.
The door was closing when…
"WAIT FOR MEEEE!" Someone shouted as he ran towards the closing door.
Aya considered ignoring him for a moment but he saw her, and she'd bet her neck he'd talk about a redheaded stranger who hadn't stopped the lift. So after a quick inward dialogue, she stuck her foot into the door.
"Thank you!" The man hopped in and bent over catching his breath. "I'm so late! Emi-san is so going to kill me!"
"You're welcome. Let's hope she won't." She said neutrally with a smile: her professional self floating to the surface.
Aomine eyed her curiously, because so far, he'd seen this side of her only once. Or maybe more, but it hadn't been as visible as now.
"Ahaha… You're kind. But I'm late with the photos. She's definitely going to kill me." The man waved with a large envelope he was holding and straightened up.
"Oh. Too bad then."
"I don't remember your face, are you new here?" He asked curiously, all his attention on the redhead.
Aya chuckled cutely. "Oh my. Is it that obvious? I was asked to visit Shiranui-san. I'm super nervous. I'm not exactly a skinny model-like figure. I mean, will I fit into anything at all?" She said in a mixture of excitement and anxiety.
The man eyed her up and down with a scrutinizing look. "Nah, you look great. And Shiranui-kun is totally fine. He doesn't bite heads of and he never orders models to go dieting like some other stylists. He does wonders with his dress ups. If you ask me, he is the best."
Aya let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you! I feel so much better now."
The lift stopped and the door opened. "Oh. I'll be departing here." He said with a smile. "Good luck on your assessment day." He called over his shoulder.
"Thank you, Sato-san!"
The door closed and the lift continued up.
"Haaa…" She breathed out, "So an assessment day." and nodded for herself. "Good to know."
Satsuki and Aomine were both staring at her, baffled.
"Where did that come from?!" He asked with his mouth hanging open. For Kagami to play a model-to-be fretting over her looks in such a cheesy way… If he hadn't seen it, he wouldn't have believed she had this side to her too.
"I needed to attract his attention. And my acting skills aren't all that bad." She explained matter-of-factly. "We want to prank Kise – we need to do what's necessary to blend in."
"I wouldn't be able to do that. I'd die from embarrassment under his look. And how do you know his name?" Satsuki asked because she hadn't noticed any name tag on the man.
"He had a name on his employee card hanging from his right pocket."
The lift stopped on the floor where Hikaru was supposed to sit.
"Well, let's go." She said and stepped out.
"It's so empty." Satsuki whispered to Aomine, as they followed after Aya. "Did you know she could be like this?" She asked curiously, because Dai-chan didn't look all that surprised.
Aomine looked down at her. "I've seen something similar before." He admitted.
"Here it is." Aya found the door with Hikaru's name on it and knocked.
"Come in!" Aiko's voice invited them in.
A huge room filled with racks packed with clothes opened up in front of them. There was a wall full of mirrors and cosmetics with five chairs set in front of it on the right and unbelievable amount of clothes on the left. Right in the middle, opposite of the door, stood a huge wooden table filled with Hikaru's drawings and designs – he was allowed to use the 'office' for his own creative side-work. And Aya believed that somewhere in the back he also had a sewing machine and all the equipment he might need – just like in his apartment.
"Welcome to my world~" Hikaru sang and waltzed out from one alley between racks. "This is where the stars are born!~" Then his eyes zoomed in on Satsuki – the only one he didn't know. "And who are you, my little pink angel?"
Satsuki blushed under the man's stare. "Momoi Satsuki." She said in a higher voice. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too, angel. I'm Shiranui Hikaru." Instead of bowing he took her hand and kissed the back of her palm.
Satsuki stared at him with wide eyes and opened mouth.
"Do you have to do this?" Aya asked him unimpressed.
"Feeling jealous, Robin?" He asked teasingly but after seeing Aya's sour expression he stuck out his tongue at her. "You don't have to be so mean."
Aiko started laughing at the two. "I really like you, Aya!"
"Thank you! I really like you too, which I can't really say to this one." She pointed at Hikaru.
"Oi, oi. I'm helping you here. So… Have you talked with anyone?"
"Sato-san, who was running late to bring some photos to Emi-san… I believe he meant your sister?" She looked at Aiko questioningly.
"Oh yeah." Aiko nodded and placed her feet on Hikaru's table. "That'd be her. And if he was late he's done for." There was not a hinge of pity in the girl's voice. "Anyhow, how can you remember so many names?"
"Professional necessity?" Aya shrugged.
"So what sweet lies did you tell him to make him say where he was heading?" Hikaru asked curiously turning his eyes to Aya.
"Ooooi! What do you think of me, huh? He talked about his whereabouts on his own and I didn't tell him a single lie."
"You told him you're model to be." Aomine reminded her.
She put a finger on her lower lip and locked her gaze with his. "Did I really, Honey-bun?"
He blinked at her remembering the conversation. And then he smirked in disbelief. She truly hadn't said a single lie. The man came to a conclusion she was a new model all on his own. He chuckled. "You're unbelievable."
Aya smirked smugly at him.
"But." Satsuki jumped in. "You said you probably wouldn't fit into anything here…"
"And that's true. Hikaru adjusts clothes especially for the people who are wearing them. And I doubt he has something adjusted for me in here, right?" She turned to him with the question.
Hikaru scratched his cheek. "Actually… I have a new dress, you might or might not use during the summer."
"You'll show me later. Right now, we're here to prank Model-kun."
Hikaru chuckled and nodded. "Poor boy. You brought it?"
"Yep. And he deserves it; honestly… you do as well." She fished out an itchy powder from her bag, but she didn't hand it to Hikaru. If she did, it could very well turn into an all out war.
"Me?" He asked innocently with a hand over his heart. "I just gave Ao-kun the opportunity of a lifetime."
"What?!" Aomine bristled. "You gave me what?! And what the hell did you just call me?!"
"What did you do?" Aiko asked curiously.
"Dear Aiko-chan, that's a secret between the three of us." He winked at her.
"Provoke me a bit more Hikaru…" Aya threatened him with narrowed eyes.
"I'm helping for free here. Or rather… You must promise you won't prank me." He stared at both teenagers.
Aya and Daiki exchanged glances. 'What-do-you-say?' She asked wordlessly.
He grimaced. 'Better-than-some-stupid-task.'
Then they both nodded in mutual agreement. Not that they were ever thinking about getting back at Hikaru. "Fine." They both said.
"We won't prank for that scheme." Aya specified. With Shiranuis she had to.
"Did you really just talk without talking?" Satsuki asked in disbelief. Those two were incredible idiots if they weren't dating yet.
"And when is Kise coming in?" Aya asked. She was starting to feel annoyed by the disturbances and unimportant chit-chats.
Aiko looked at a clock resting on the desk. "In fifteen minutes. He has the photo-shoot with me actually. I made Emi to agree on it. He'll be my uke."
"Ohoo." Aomine's eyebrow went up. This was a good payback of its own. "You're gonna beat the crap out of him for some magazine?"
"Basically." She shrugged nonchalantly. "His change of clothes isn't here yet. So this is gonna be tricky. One of you will have to get to his bag, take out the judogi, pepper it with the powder and put it back. But Ryouta usually doesn't leave his stuff lying around."
"So?" Aya asked.
"I'll need to put some make-up on him. I'll turn him towards the window, so he won't see you in the mirror. I like using the natural light if I can, so it's not gonna be strange. But it'll take only like three to five minutes." Hikaru joined in the explaining.
"I'll do it."
"You don't know how to properly fold a judogi." Aomine reminded her. "He'll know something is wrong."
"Will you be quick enough?" She asked him.
"Who do you have me for, Sweetheart? I'll do it. You two just watch and learn."
"Why do I have a feeling this is gonna turn into a disaster?" Aya nudged Satsuki's elbow.
"I don't like to admit it… But I feel the same." The pinkette responded.
"When it'll be done. We'll use the photo-room number 6 on the third floor. It has a mirror glass. You can see the inside, but we can't see outside. It's used so our future employers or photographers can come and watch us, without stressing us too much, or if they want to go unnoticed." Aiko explained the last stage. "So you can go and watch and laugh."
######
"Shiracchi!" Kise walked into the room with a smile. He wasn't particularly happy about this photo-shoot, but it meant money. Shiracchi was already waiting for him and he had a jazz music playing in the background – just like usual. But then… "Oh, Aiko-nee-cchi. You're here too?"
"Yeah. We are doing this together after all."
"Why did you choose me?" He whined. "I don't want to get beaten. And it's for a woman's self-defence article…"
"So?"
"So which woman would mind me attacking?! I'm sweet! Why wouldn't you choose someone more intimidating?" He complained in a childish, yet a self-confident tone.
"Aren't you overly confident? And who should I chose in your opinion?"
"Iwamura-san. Or Aominecchi!"
A vein popped on Aiko's forehead. "My boyfriend isn't scary or intimidating, and Aomine would rather learn to dance than do a photo-shoot for a magazine."
"I doubt that." He pouted.
"Would you two stop bickering and start getting ready?" Hikaru scolded them good heartily.
"Yeah. I'm changing first." Aiko said and headed towards the racks to use it as a changing screen.
"Yeah." Kise sighed and put his bag on the ground. He approached the mirrors and shrugged off his blazer. He neatly hung it over a chair. His necktie and shirt came off next. In a learned process he pinned up his hair.
######
The three pranksters were hiding behind the racks. Trying not to make any sound. Once Kise sat on the chair and Hikaru shielded his peripheral vision, Aiko took her judogi and went to change. She motioned for Aomine to get to it.
He took the powder from Aya and sneakily approached Kise's bag. His heart was beating like crazy, but he didn't mind the adrenaline. Until he found a problem. The bag was zipped up. And despite the music playing in the background, he couldn't open it up soundlessly. Damn. He swore inwardly.
"Ryouta?!" Aiko's voice almost caused him a heart-attack. "Did you bring me the tape I asked for?"
Did the girls really plan for everything?! Aomine thought in disbelief.
"Yeah. It's under the judogi. Just take it."
"Thanks!" She made several steps on the spot, so it sounded as if she approached the bag.
Aomine caught up quickly and unzipped it. Took out the judogi, peppered the inside of it with the powder and folded it back.
"The tape" Aya hissed at him.
"Hm?" Kise asked.
"Nothing." Aiko reacted, frowning at the redhead and the dork trying to be sneaky. "I think my hair is a total mess today!"
Oh. He took the tape and put the judogi back inside.
He slowly shuffled back. Of course he had to graze a hanger with a heavy dress making it fall.
Shit! He swore inwardly.
######
Kise opened his eyes and turned towards the sound. Not seeing anything. "You are unusually clumsy today." He said and his golden orbs narrowed. He could feel that something was wrong. His instincts were telling him to be wary, but he had no idea of what.
"Ahahaha. Happens sometimes." Aiko laughed and picked the dress up.
Kise shrugged and got up. "All done. Your turn."
She was already dressed in her judogi and headed towards the chair.
"Where's the tape?" He asked. "I want to tape my fingers and toes, just in case."
Aiko sweatdropped. Aomine has it! "I put it on the windowsill."
He nodded and headed to take his judogi.
######
"Give it here." Aya hissed into his ear. "I'll put it there. And don't you dare move a muscle." She ordered to both.
"I can –" Aomine wanted to protest but she covered his mouth with her palm and frowned at him. Those fierce red eyes tolerated no arguing at the moment.
He handed her the tape with a scowl, but didn't protest further.
She grabbed it and quickly, while Kise was still bent over his bag, moved towards the windowsill. She placed the tape there and wanted to leave, but she could hear Kise's footsteps approaching.
Crap! She snuggled into the clothes hanging on the closest rack and froze. Thankfully there was some red blouse, so her hair didn't scream 'this doesn't belong here!'. She knew that if she didn't want to get discovered she couldn't move a muscle, because she was taught it was the movement which caught attention as the first.
Kise was standing in front of her as his pants came off.
Just don't change your underwear too. She prayed inwardly, though she kept her eyes opened – she needed to know what was going on. Blondes weren't her type, but when she omitted the hair and the face, Kise didn't look bad at all. Her prayers were heard, he didn't change his underwear, but he put on a jockstrap, just in case.
When he was all dressed up, he sat on the ground taping his toes. For a moment he lifted his head, and Aya would swear he was staring right into her face. She didn't dare to blink or to breathe or to move. Then he just shook his head and continued his taping.
"Let's go." Aiko called him. "You know Emi hates when we're late."
"Haaai!" He jumped up and headed after her.
When the three of them left, and the door clicked closed, Aya waited a few more seconds before she let out a heavy breath. "Fuuuuck!" She breathed out. "I thought he saw me there for a moment!"
"Aya-chan!" Satsuki sprang to her feet immediately. "You okay?"
"My heart is beating like crazy, but I'm fine. If I'm correct, he hasn't noticed, though I swear he stared right into my face for a second."
"Wait… You watched him change?"
"What? You've seen them all in a changing room in Teiko." The redhead shrugged. "And it's not like he was naked – naked. Don't even try to tell me you'd close your eyes or somethin'."
"Ah… well…" She blushed. "No." She admitted.
"Ohoooo…. So that's why you're always in a changing room with us?" Aomine teased both girls at the same time.
"Aomine-kuuuun!" Satsuki blushed and hid her face in her palms.
Aya laughed at the reaction. "We're girls, not saints, Honey-bun." That made the bluenette blush slightly, but before he could retort something, Aya continued. "And are you an idiot?! You should've given her the tape right away! Kise'll definitely notice she didn't tape anything."
Aomine shrugged. "Too late. He's already all dressed up in the powder."
"True." Aya nodded. "It should take like 3 minutes for it to take effect. Let's wait a moment and then we'll go."
######
"Ne?" Kise asked his sister as he followed her.
"What?"
"You'll think I'm crazy."
"I think that anyways, so?"
"I think I saw a girl. Stuck in the rack of clothes. And she looked so similar to Ayacchi."
"And what would a girl do there?" Aiko raised an eyebrow and struggled to keep a straight face.
"Dunno." He shrugged. "I probably imagined it." He said and scratched his itching neck.
Aiko had to hide a devious smirk. The itchy powder was starting to take effect.
######
"Like that! Stay still!" The photographer ordered. Aiko was holding Kise's neck in a choking grip and he needed a good shot.
Then he frowned. The boy didn't seem to be able to hold still. "Ryouta-kun! Focus! Why are you squirming so much today?" It was unusual for him to be so antsy.
"Ah! Sorry!" He said and bit the inside of his cheek in try to calm down. He felt like scratching his skin off. It was so damn uncomfortable. What the hell was going on?!
"Oh little brother, did something happen?" She asked with a smirk. "I thought you didn't want to get beaten more than absolutely necessary."
His eyes narrowed at her. "What have you done?" He asked suspiciously.
She blinked at him. "What are talking about? Is something wrong?"
"Stop chit-chating and get back to work!" The photographer reminded them.
"Haaai!" Aiko nodded and scratched her arm which came into contact with Ryouta's neck. Oh god no… She thought desperately. Only then did she realise that by showing Jiu-jitsu moves, which sometimes required close physical contact, she'd get itchy powder on herself too. Or was there the itchy powder on the outer side of Ryouta's judogi? Damn you Aomine!
######
The three stood in front of the photo-room no. 6 laughing at the two siblings.
"This is awesome. I had no idea she'd get itchy too." Aomine said through laughter, but he knew all too well she would. He was a bit evil. The past few days he'd been a bundle of prickles and bad mood, but this distraction seemed to be working well.
"I had a suspicion." Aya said and stared at the laughing ace. She'd never seen Aomine laugh so naturally, his ever present frown was off of his face and it made him actually look his age. He has a nice laugh.
Satsuki looked at the redhead with a knowing, kind smile. As if saying: 'See? He can be cute too.'
"And I bet you peppered the outside of Ki-chan's judogi too." Satsuki said.
Aomine looked at her with a mischievous spark in his eyes. "I thought it might fun."
"Now you'll be hiding from Aiko in the sewers." Aya reminded him.
"Definitely worth it!"
######
"Are you itching too?" Kise asked his sister when she scratched her arms for the nth time.
She tried to laugh it off. "You're imagining things."
But her brother was sharp. He noticed Hikaru's discreet laughing fit. And the cogs in his head kept spinning. Aiko was behaving suspiciously. He started itching after he got changed… There was something off about Shiracchi too, and the girl he imagined in the rack… Had he really imagined it? If not… Plus they were using the room no. 6, while he usually used the room no. 16 and Aiko the room no. 5, those didn't have the see-through mirror…
"Waaaaait a minute." He turned towards the door.
Before the three could run and hide, Kise yanked the door open. "Oi!" He jumped into the corridor and stared at his friends, dying of laughter.
"What are you doing here?!" He asked totally baffled.
Their laughing fit became even more uncontrollable when they saw the shocked expression on Kise's face.
He noticed the itchy powder in Satsuki's hands – for some reason she forgot to leave it in the room, and the show was too hilarious for her to leave. It all clicked. "Oh no you haven't." He shook his head.
"Oh yeah we have, Model-kun." Aya said and stared at him. "The pineapple pattern on your boxers is cute."
Kise gasped and blushed in an overly dramatic gesture. "So I didn't imagine you! Ayacchi! How could you?!" He whined, but his eyes had an amused sparkle in them.
"Aomineeeeeeeeeee!" Aiko ran out of the room in only her t-shirt and attacked him.
"Urgh!" He let out a grunt as Aiko threw him over her shoulder. Because of his laughing fit, she caught him by surprise.
And the mayhem started.
"This is war, Ryouta!" She shouted at him, keeping Aomine in check. "You little devil!" She growled at him as she tried to catch him into some of her typical holds. So far, Aomine was fighting her off pretty effectively. It was more difficult to wrestle when none of them wore a judogi – they wore nothing sturdy enough to grab onto.
Ryouta didn't need another nudge. He looked at the two girls –
"Satsuki, RUN!" Aya shouted and turned on her heel to run for it, not caring about Satsuki anymore. But she tripped over Aomine's outstretched leg which appeared out of nowhere.
"Oh, no you don't, Ayacchi!" Kise grabbed her elbow, pulling her back. She rammed back-first into his chest, and he held her tight with one of his arms. She could squirm and kick in his grip all she wanted, but he was way too strong.
Ryouta shrugged off one side of his judogi's top. Then, he took a breath to quickly move Ayacchi to his other arm without giving her a chance to run, because he knew she would find a way to slither away from him given the chance. When he managed to get out of his judogi's top, staying half-naked, he wrapped Ayacchi into it.
"Noooo!" She squealed, as Kise thoroughly rubbed his hand along her arms, back and waist: to get as much powder on her as possible.
Satsuki's eyes widened, she was so surprised she didn't try to run when Aya told her to and everything was happening so fast... But now, she didn't want to suffer the same fate as Aya. Everyone seemed occupied, so Satsuki tried to run for it. It had one obstacle: she had to get around Aomine and Aiko, who now turned into a ball of flying arms and legs, and who filled the entire space of the corridor.
"Stay where you are Momocchi!" Kise said in a dangerous voice. He took a step in Satsuki's direction, letting Aya go.
"No you don't." The redhead growled and jumped on his back. "Run! Don't let them get it!"
"Ah!" He hadn't expected that. He lost his balance under Aya's weight and toppled forward.
Aiko noticed the desperate girl trying to get past them and her eyes zoomed on the itchy powder the pinkette was holding.
Aomine, noticing Aiko's stare, shouted at Satsuki, "Just go! I'll hold her down."
"You think?" Aiko's growled and punched his lower ribs, not at all gently.
"Urgh." His body instinctively squirmed to the side, just to get punched in the chin.
Aiko turned around and grabbed Satsuki's ankle, as she tried to run around them. With a loud 'thud', the pinkette spread on the ground. Aiko climbed over her and yanked the itchy powder from her hands. She opened it and dumped part of its contents on Satsuki, into her hair and under her shirt.
"Oi!" Aomine crawled to his knees. He grabbed Aiko's leg and pulled her off of Satsuki. He didn't know she was now in possession of the itchy powder, he was just helping his friend.
With a quick round kick, still on her knees, she hit his shoulder making him fall backwards and with an incredible speed she got on top of him, dumping the powder under his t-shirt – ripping it in the process, over his face and hair. He squeezed his eyes and mouth shut in a desperate struggle to not get the powder in them.
"What are you doing, Ryouta?!" She turned to see his brother, who was totally tangled up with Aya and his own judogi. "Eh?!" She immediately went to help her useless brother, who got bested by a girl. Aomine's arm shooting out to catch her when –
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!" Emi thundered when she got off the lift with Sato-san closely following her.
All teenagers froze on the spot.
Hikaru and the photographer where laughing their heads off. They were leaning against the wall and watching the show. Some photos were taken, just to commemorate the prank.
"Uhm… Emi-nee. Ahahaha." Aiko was the first one go get up and dust off the powder she got covered with in the process. Not that it helped.
Satsuki and Aomine got up the next. His t-shirt was ripped in the front halfway to his stomach and Satuki's shirt got several missing buttons after fighting with Aiko.
It took a moment for Kise and Aya to untangle their limbs.
Aya's hair was a mess, at some point Kise tore out her hair tie, which came out with a strand of red hair. Her dress was ripped on a side of her thigh all the way to her hip, her cheeks were flushed from the effort she put into fighting with the blonde, but she was squeezing her lips not to laugh.
Kise had a bleeding scratch on his bare shoulder and a bruise already forming on his side, where Aya kicked him – he'd swear she knew exactly what she was doing. At least she didn't bite. He thought and picked up his judogi's top.
"You were supposed to work Aiko! Not to cause mayhem! That's why I don't like the two of you having a joint shoots!" Emi was in her late twenties, with long blonde hair tied into a high ponytail, she was dressed in a skirt-suit and high-heels. Compared to the sweaty, snickering and totally dishevelled teenagers she looked almost comically.
"The work is all done, Emi-san." The photographer said. "They can have some fun too, no?"
"Not like this! Get out! Go get changed, all of you! You look ridiculous." She spat out angrily and walked into the photo-room no.4, to check it out before the next photo-shooting.
Aiko stuck out her tongue after Emi. "She's a fun killer." She grumbled and started heading towards the lift. They really needed to change.
Aya scratched her neck and arms, she was starting to itch. When she saw that Aomine and Satsuki weren't better off, she couldn't help but laugh. "I'm glad she came, or you'd yank out more of my hair." She looked at Kise with a scold mixed with mischief.
"Ahahaha." He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, and because it itched. "Sorry! I didn't mean to yank your hair out, but uhhh… Oi, you scratched me too, Ayacchi!" He accused her, pointing at the scratch.
Hikaru slapped Kise's shoulder. "Be glad she hasn't had a proper fight with her cousins or Taiga in years. Otherwise she'd best you. Martial art skills or not."
"WHAT?! You do jiu-jitsu too?!" Aya asked him with wide eyes.
Kise laughed. "I didn't want to tell you. Maybe I should've and you wouldn't try to fight me…. or scratch me…" He pouted.
"Robin wouldn't get discouraged by that… But, look at it positively Ryouta-kun… As Kouta would say –"
Aya slapped her palm across Hikaru's lips. "We're not curious what Kouta would say."
"Who's that?" The blonde asked curiously, tilting his head to a side.
"His perverted younger brother." Aomine said, scratching his chest. "Oi witch hag, you destroyed my t-shirt!"
"Ha?!" Aiko glared at him as they squeezed into the lift, ready to start another fight.
"Now, now." The photographer tried to calm them down. "Don't fight in here."
"And my shirt!" Satsuki added, pulling the shirt together to cover her chest.
"And Model-kun ripped my dress!" Aya complained too.
"YOU WHAT?!" Aomine glared at Kise. In the ruckus he hadn't noticed.
The blonde smirked deviously. "Oh, don't be jealous, Aominecchi. I bet you'll get to try it once." He teased, which only earned him a double punch into the ribs from Aomine and Aya. What did it matter that they were both blushing…
Kise get out of the lift as first, coughing and spitting after taking the punches. "That's unfaiiir!"
"Well done." Aomine smirked at the girl, admiring the long fiery hair and ripped dress. Without thinking about it, he raised his fist and offered it to Aya.
She stared at it for a second and then she smirked too. "Well done." She nodded and fist bumped with him.
Eh?! Satsuki was staring at the gesture which Dai-chan had reserved solely for Tetsu-kun. Well… He had no time to think about his superiority and unnecessary stuff… And she couldn't fight a gentle smile appearing on her face.
######
They all arrived to their homes in their uniforms, scratching themselves like crazy – Hikaru hadn't let them use the company's showers out of fun. After they took showers, washed their uniforms and clothes, they all received a mail with photos of their crazy fight.
"Seriously?" Taiga looked at it over Aya's shoulder. "I didn't know you were into blondes." He teased her when seeing the photo of Kise falling to his knees with Aya on his back.
"Shut up!"
Taiga laughed. "Let me see the rest."
They went over it. Taiga blushed, when he saw a part of Satsuki's bra peeking from her torn opened shirt and Aiko straddling the poor pinkette. And he laughed at Aomine's expression when Aiko was peppering him with the powder.
But… "If this gets to our father Aya…"
"Nah. I'm gonna trust Hikaru with this. He knows it can't get there."
"But you know…"
"He won't care anyways."
"It's you, fighting with a half-naked model, Aya. Without the pranking context and the other photos…" He said seriously.
She shrugged. "He'll think what he wants anyways. And stop fouling my mood, stinky! We did nothing of the sort and I had an awesome day!"
"Oh, okay. Then I won't tell you what I found out about Aomine's past."
"I want to know that."
Taiga stuck out his tongue at her. "Nope."
Another mail from Hikaru arrived. 'Just for you, Robin.' – it said and a picture of her and Aomine fist-bumping with bright grins was attached.
Taiga rolled his eyes. "Just start dating him already. I bet he won't turn you down."
"Go to hell."
A/N: I hope you liked it. I'm not good with thinking up pranks, or pranking in general, but I sure as hell don't like cruel pranks, so I think an itchy powder could be enough :) Our two dorks are getting closer and closer, but you all know the match is right around the corner...
Let me know what you think but remember, reviews are appreciated but never necessary.
-S.