Breed
Chapter 25: Meeting
"She lives in the shadow of a lonely girl, voice so quiet you don't hear a word. Always talking, but she can't be heard. You can see it there if you catch her eye. I know she's brave, but it's trapped inside. Scared to talk, but she don't know why. I wish I knew back then what I know now. Wish I could somehow go back in time and maybe listen to my own advice.
"I'd tell her to speak up. Tell her to shout out. Talk a bit louder. Be a bit prouder. Tell her she's beautiful, wonderful, everything she doesn't see. You gotta speak up. You gotta shout out. And know that right here, right now, you could be beautiful, wonderful, anything you wanna be, Little Me."
―"Little Me" by Little Mix
oO_Oo_oO_Oo
"Kuroko-nii, why haven't you Bonded with Uncle Taiga?"
Kuroko doesn't reply immediately, sitting on the edge of Kira's bed with a book. After a long moment, he says, "Bonding is very…tricky. It doesn't really happen on command, so I can't make it happen."
Kira frowns. "But Uncle Taiga likes you, and you like Uncle Taiga, right?"
"Yes, but―"
"Then I don't understand why it wouldn't happen."
Kuroko sighs and sets the book on the nightstand. "Just let Kagami-kun and me worry about it, okay? Go to sleep."
"Okay," Kira mumbles around a yawn. According to Himuro, Kira obeys him much better about bedtime than anyone else, so he's thankful for that.
Kuroko flips off the light with a quiet goodnight and exits the room. Upstairs, the elementals and Shikari are sitting in the living room, talking about this and that. It's been two weeks since Momoi's first day of school, and four weeks since Furihata's and Akashi's trip to Kyoto. Alex and Kagami started staying at the elemental house on Saturday. Everything's going smoothly.
Except, it also isn't. There's going to be an open house at the school tomorrow, Tuesday. Momoi didn't tell Kise and Aomine about it, and they were informed via a phone call that goes out to all parents.
"I don't have class tomorrow, so I could take Momoi and Kira on a shopping trip," Shikari says. "I really think you two should go to the open house."
Takao nods. "Yeah, when Shikari was in middle school, she was failing math, and if I hadn't gone, she probably would've been held back."
"Kazu-nii, you weren't even supposed to go to that though."
"Too bad. I was your brother and your dad, so I felt obligated."
Akashi asks, "What exactly is an open house?"
Himuro answers, "It's when the parents get a copy of their student's schedule and meet the teachers. If there are any problems are far as grades or classroom behavior, the teacher will usually address those, too."
"I feel bad keeping it from her," Kise murmurs.
"But if she's dead-set on you not going, she's probably keeping something from you," Takao replies. "It really is best that you go, even if you have to hide it from her."
"And I also think you're underestimating Momoi-san's intelligence. She knows you're going to go," Kuroko says as he joins them, sitting next to Himuro.
Kise hums in agreement. Aomine has a look of utter annoyance on his face, though everyone knows it's just because he's conflicted.
oO_Oo_oO_Oo
Tuesday at school, Momoi is faced with one of those horrible situations. Working with partners. So as she normally does, she sits alone at her seat without a word and doesn't attempt to find a partner. She can do the work on her own, even if she'll get points taken off for doing so.
"Momoi-chan?" A girl pauses in front of her. "Do you not have a partner?"
Momoi shakes her head.
The girl smiles and moves a desk closer. "Okay, I'll work with you."
The girl seems very familiar. She has black, wavy hair held in a ponytail and large, bright green eyes. There's something though. Momoi can't help but wonder if she's met this girl before. Maybe it's because they're in the same class.
Momoi moves a few of her papers around so she can write on her whiteboard. "What's your name?"
The girl glances at the question. "Oh, sorry, it's Kosaniki Tsukiko."
Momoi recognizes the name immediately. "Sweet…Sweet Niki…."
Kosaniki's eyes grow large as she stares at Momoi. After a long moment, she says, "Was it…Pinkberry?"
Momoi gives a tiny nod.
"Where do you normally sit at lunch? Let's sit together!" Kosaniki smiles. "Survivors got to stick together, right?"
She nods again.
Oo_oO_Oo_oO
As Momoi hops in the car, Kise turns off his phone and slides it into his jacket pocket before he starts the car. "How was your day, Momocchi?"
"Met friend," she says.
"That's great! What's their name?"
"KoKo." Momoi pauses, playing with the sleeves of Aomine's jacket. "L-like me."
Kise glances at her downcast expression. "You mean…she was a traffic victim?"
Momoi gives a tiny nod. "Knew her before. Sweet Niki."
"So…is it a good thing you met her?"
She nods again. "Understand."
Despite having no idea what that means, Kise doesn't reply, but he doesn't question it if it makes Momoi light up like this.
Oo_oO_Oo_oO
Around six o'clock, Shikari gets home and takes Momoi and Kira to the mall.
An hour later, Kise and Aomine walk into the school. They know how to get to the office, which is just inside the door, and there's a small line of parents in front of it. According to Himuro, this is where they need to get Momoi's schedule since she isn't with them.
Once they retrieve Momoi's schedule, the duo heads to the first class, Language Arts.
Sorane Aya, the teacher, seems nice enough. Kise likes her, though Aomine seems to have a bad attitude today.
"Yes, Momoi-chan is a great student, and she works diligently in class. She's very smart." Sorane sighs. "But I'm afraid she doesn't work very well with the other kids. I've scolded a few of them for harassing her, especially because of the whiteboard she has, but she never seems to get upset."
Kise is surprised Aomine isn't out for blood at this point, but he assumes the tanned male must be using a police exterior at the moment.
The next teacher, Warui Hana, is one they never hear anything about, and Kise is under the impression that means she's the worst. He's right.
The old hag won't stop talking about Momoi's style of speech and how unacceptable the whiteboard is for someone of her age. Apparently, she's top of the class though, and that's all Kise thinks Warui should care about. Aomine is visibly clenching his fists at this point, and in the back of his mind, Kise ponders giving Akashi a pair of scissors and letting him loose on the dog.
Next is art.
The teacher, Oka Akane, is a red-haired, green-eyed crazy person, but she's fun, like Momoi said. Kise likes her.
"Momoi-chan hasn't said a word in class. She uses that whiteboard of hers to ask and answer questions, and the rest of the time, she works and listens to music. Her artwork is quite good; I was considering entering it in a regional contest."
Next comes gym. Kise doesn't mind the teacher, Deiken Yuki, as he seems really cheerful and energetic. But the news he gives…not so much.
"She doesn't dress out for class. She'll participate, but I really hate that she gets sweaty and all and then has to go through the rest of the day in the same clothes. By school policy, if she doesn't dress out, I have to take points off, so she's only getting half-credit during gym, and she can only pull it up to a low C in health class."
Kise frowns. "I'm sorry, but what is dressing out?"
Deiken chuckles awkwardly. "My bad. Dressing out means that you bring a different set of clothes to change into during gym and then change into your regular clothes afterwards."
"Do you know why she doesn't dress out?" Aomine asks.
"The kids aren't the friendliest here. I do what I can, but the girls especially can be vicious, and I can't address what I don't know. Momoi is kind of the odd one out." He pauses. "I never see her wear anything but long-sleeves; I wonder if she might be self-harming, but that could just be my paranoia."
It clicks for Kise. Not that she's self-harming, as he's seen her down to her underwear more than once, but she does have scars. He doesn't think much of it anymore, but of course she's self-conscious about them.
The geography teacher, Mizuni Kei, says about the same thing as Sorane: Momoi is great student, but the other kids don't like her.
"What's next?" Aomine asks as they walk down the hallway. Kise is much better with directions and finding the rooms, as they discovered after spending five minutes looking for a room ten feet away because Aomine was holding the school map.
"Science with Mibuchi Reo." Kise pauses and points at the door next to them. "This is it."
When they walk in, Mibuchi is sitting at his desk, typing something. Aomine pauses, his brow furrowed. "I know you."
Mibuchi glances up with a smile. "Detective Aomine Daiki. I'm a good friend of Imayoshi and Sakurai."
"Really?" Aomine asks. Kise can't decide if his mate sounds intrigued or appalled.
"Yes, but enough about me. You're here about Momoi-chan, aren't you?"
Now Kise is slightly impressed, slightly unnerved. "Yeah, how'd you know?"
Mibuchi shrugs as he stands from his chair, much taller than either Aomine or Kise expected. "You could say that you share the same scent. You know, there's something about her that reflects the two of you."
Kise didn't notice before, but now he does. He can't smell anything on this man. He smells human, like it's been rubbed off on him, and a minty shampoo, but nothing more. Like Hinaki Shinji. Aomine seems to notice as well.
Mibuchi continues, "Momoi-chan is a very bright girl. You've probably heard this from other teachers, but she gets harassed often." He pauses. "I'm not sure if you're aware, but she doesn't eat at lunch."
Kise frowns. "She doesn't?"
"No, she sits by herself and plays on her phone." He shakes his head. "I try to make sure everyone gets to eat, you see, so I walk through the cafeteria, and if one of the kids doesn't have any food, I offer to buy lunch for them, but she just told me she wasn't hungry." He pauses again. "It's none of my business, but if I may ask, is she a trafficking victim?"
"Why do you think that?" Aomine asks.
"I adopted a victim myself. When she first started living with me and going to school, she acted exactly the same way. Imayoshi also mentioned a girl had been found recently."
Kise glances at Aomine before he says, "Yeah, Momocchi started staying with us about a month and a half ago."
"I understand how hard it must have been to put her in school," Mibuchi says. He looks like he's about to say more, but then a girl appears in the doorway. "Hey, Dad, do you know if Momoi-chan's parents are coming tonight?"
Kise glances at the newcomer. She has black hair and green eyes. Is this the KoKo that Momoi mentioned? "Yeah, we're her parents."
"Sweet!" She skips over to them and bows. "I'm Kosaniki Tsukiko. Nice to meet you!" She straightens and pauses with her eyes on Kise. "Let's see, you must be Ki-chan." She points to Aomine. "And you're Dai-chan. Did I get it right?"
Kise nods. "I'm Kise Ryouta, and this is my partner, Aomine Daiki. It's nice to meet you, too, Kosaniki-chan."
Kosaniki laughs and shakes her head. "Please, everyone calls me KoKo." She smiles. "You two really are just like Momoi-chan described you."
"How'd she describe us?" Aomine asks. It certainly would be easy to tell them apart: Ki-chan has blonde hair, and Dai-chan has blue hair and dark skin. Doesn't take much.
"She said Kise-san is like a mama bear and Aomine-san is like a guard dog."
They both pause. How does one interpret that kind of description…?
Mibuchi steps in again. "KoKo, I thought Kotaro was taking you to that manga shop you like so much."
A blonde head peeks inside the door with a guilty smile. "S-sorry, Reo-nee. She's really persuasive when she wants to be."
oO_Oo_oO_Oo
After the open house, Mibuchi drives home to his apartment. When he arrives there, Hayama and Kosaniki are playing Twister in the living room.
Feeling slightly irritated with his mate, Mibuchi points his finger down, and Hayama's butt hits the floor, narrowly missing Kosaniki's arm. The blonde looks back at the taller male and says, "Reo-nee, you're awful!"
"I gave you one task, and you couldn't even do that much. You're hopeless."
"Reo-nee…" Hayama whines.
Kosaniki interrupts, "Anyways. Dad, are Momoi-chan's parents like you? They seemed…off, and I know you said there's another generation."
"Yes, they are," Mibuchi says. "If I'm not mistaken, Kise is a Water, and Aomine is a Light."
"So Aomine-san is like Imayoshi-san?"
"Yep."
"What about Sakurai-san? Do they have a Shadow?"
Mibuchi nods. "Kiyoshi works with their Shadow."
"Is he evil, too?"
Hayama laughs. "I don't care what you say, Reo-nee; Sakurai is creepy!"
"You hush." Mibuchi sits down on the couch and starts poking his mate with his toe. "You better be perfect the rest of the night, or you're sleeping on the couch."
Hayama shuts up.
Mibuchi turns to Kosaniki. "KoKo, Sakurai isn't evil. He's actually a great guy, but his power takes the phrase 'looks can be deceiving' to a new level. That's all."
"If you say so," Kosaniki says. Then she lights up. "Daddy, play with us!"
"I suppose one round won't hurt."
"And no cheating!" Hayama says.
Mibuchi glances at his mate for a moment before Hayama is flat on his back this time.
"Reo-nee!"
Oo_oO_Oo_oO
When Aomine and Kise open the door, they're both knocked down by a small but powerful force, who is now laying on them. Crying. That catches their attention.
Kise wraps his arm around Momoi, the other arm stuck under her along with one of Aomine's. "Momocchi, what's wrong? Are you okay?"
Aomine strokes her hair. "Satsuki?"
"G-gone! Left b-b-behind!" she hiccups. "Sorry! Sorry! D-don't leave!"
"We're not going anywhere," Kise says. "What made you think that?"
Standing previously unnoticed next to them, Kuroko replies, "She was convinced that you two went to the open house and when you talked to her teachers, you became angry with her and left."
Aomine sighs and starts moving Momoi around so he can stand. Once he's on his feet, he lifts her bridal style. "Come on, let's get you in bed."
Kise scrambles up after them.
When the trio arrives in their bedroom, Aomine deposits Momoi on the bed before he sits down beside her. Kise settles on her other side.
"Listen, Satsuki," Aomine says as she wipes her eyes, "Kise and I aren't going to leave you. We aren't angry, and even if we were, we wouldn't just up and walk out on you and the family. Okay?"
Momoi nods.
Kise sighs. "We'll talk about it in the morning. It's nearly ten o'clock; Momocchi needs to go to sleep."
"Yeah," Aomine agrees.
Momoi crawls under the blankets as her father instructed, and after a moment, she curls up against Aomine, who now has his phone in hand. Kise leans over and gives them both a kiss on the forehead. "I'm going to go for a swim. I'll be back in a few hours."
At that, Aomine feels Momoi's body become a little tenser. He glances over his shoulder at his mate before said mate can leave. "Why don't you stay until she falls asleep?"
Kise pauses, noting the pleading eyes Momoi is giving him over Aomine's chest. "Yeah, I can do that."
Momoi relaxes as the blonde picks his way over the two of them to take his place next to the wall. After a moment, she whispers, "T-thank…thank you."
Kise hums and replies, "Go to sleep, Baby Girl."
Author Note: Didn't you just love that Kagami and Kuroko development? More in the next chapter, I promise! I just can't stop writing about Momoi because Aomine and Kise are adorable parents! If you agree, please, Please, PLEASE REVIEW!
A hint for next chapter (and sorry for skipping it last chapter!):
Kuroko follows, curious as to what's so great about this contraption. He lifts the edge of the sheet and slides inside, crawling over the edge of the pillow nest. Kagami has already lied down to one side of the nest and left a space for the Shadow, who settles quietly. It's actually very comfortable, and Kuroko finds that it's also very…romantic. The low lighting―not that he can tell a difference―the blankets, and Kagami, of course.
Kuroko smiles as he curls up against the redhead, finding the warmth of his skin comforting. "I like it, Kagami-kun. Thank you for building it."