A/N: I. Am. So. Sorry. It has been an entire age since I updated. I have no excuse, and openly admit to being trash. I've given you a long-ish chapter. I promise it's going to get interesting from this point onwards.
"…Momoi-san, here's your key. Hello?"
I shook myself and extended a hand to take the key from the kind landlady, "Thank you, Namoki-san. I appreciate your acceptance on such short notice."
"Never mind, Momoi-san. You were the most responsible of the people applying here – I'm sure you'll be a lovely tenant."
I nodded as she walked away, retreating back in to the rather stylishly furnished apartment. The complex I was only built recently, and the apartment was going for a reasonable price. It was a bonus that it was further into the nice side of the city, and away from where Taiga had last seen me. It wasn't hard to figure that I didn't need to attend lectures to learn the syllabus. With all the time on my hands, I kept up to date with my work and avoided the tyranny of Hanamiya all in one. I submitted assessments to my teachers via email and emailed Riko my data scaffolds so she could appease Akashi.
Life was okay.
Pros and cons to living alone
PROS:
- I can stay up to all hours of the night watching television shows without being scolded
- There's an all-day sports channel
- Take out around my area is amazing
CONS:
- I'm practically nocturnal
- Watching basketball makes me feel sick to the stomach
- I can't cook anything – so when it's too late for takeout I survive on cereal
I was lonely.
Again.
And more often than not, I found my mind straying to my stupid basketball idiots. I wondered whether they missed me – and then scolded myself for thinking that way. They all had lives – of course they would be fine. I hoped Daiki was keeping up with his studies, and doing the 'test yourself!' section at the back of my booklets.
My mind drifted – to him and to whoever his latest girl was.
Annoyingly enough, the idea of him with someone else still put a fire in my chest that I couldn't put out. Anger and hurt and a thousand other stupid things swirled around me when I thought of him.
The summer break was close, and I was prepared to take a little trip outside of Tokyo – once I finished the visits to my local doctor, of course. The requests for my blood to be tested against my fathers were approved, and now it only remained the doctor's duty to call my father and ask him if he wanted to take the test.
I booked to stay in a little beachside cabin over the summer – it was cheaper than my electricity and water bills would be for the summer, and I'd be a hell of a lot harder to locate than if I stayed somewhere within Akashi (and the gangs') grasp.
The week before university was to end, I got on a bus and trekked several hours south, to a little beachside town.
I spent the summer there – spent it writing notes and swimming alone, cooking measly dinners because there weren't any takeout places and wondering why I'd been so stupid to forget my phone charger back in my apartment.
It was strange – to be completely independent, and completely solitary. I found myself hoping the gangs would forget that I existed if I stayed away long enough.
It was on my final week of the summer holiday that I ran into an elderly woman struggling with her groceries.
"Excuse me," I hurried my pace and fell into step beside her, "let me help you with that."
"Thank you, dear," she said as I took the heavy bags out of her hand, "not many young people willing to lend an old lady like me help these days."
I smiled and chuckled, "It's not an issue at all."
A few moments of silence between us, the only sounds coming from the distant crash of the waves on shore, the rustling of the plastic bags and the slap of our shoes on the sidewalk.
"Are you on holiday here, dear?" she asked.
I smiled down at her and nodded, "Yes. I live in Tokyo."
"Big city, eh?" her eyes crinkled as she offered a toothy grin, "escaping the chaos, are you?"
I felt my smile waver, but I nodded regardless, "Yes."
"Ah," she squinted ahead, past the blistering air on the pavement ahead and the ever-droning chirp of cicadas, "I used to live in the city once."
"You did?" I studied her closely, the dark blue of her eyes and the faded grey of her hair. She seemed familiar.
"Yes," she nodded, "it was different back then, but no less busy and no less ruthless."
I nodded, "The city is unforgiving. It's nice to be here, away from everything – seems less harsh here, y'know?"
The woman gave me a rather speculative glance, "Came here alone, then?"
I shrugged and nodded, "Home's not a very welcoming place."
The old lady chuckled and shook her head, "Problems with your man, then?"
I flushed pink and nodded, "Yes. And with my parents. And the authorities, soon – if I'm not careful."
A sharper stare – "The authorities?"
I laughed nervously and looked over at the mountains parallel to the beach, "Yeah. Family business and whatnot," the lie rolled easily off my tongue, "had to escape it for a while."
"Escaping won't last forever, sweet pea," said the old woman wisely, "I went through a rough time when I was your age too – nasty business with the yakuza. I ran and ran – but the problem only stopped when I spun around and made it very clear that I was not going to give in."
I struggled to supress my gasp, "The y-yakuza?" my voice was small, "How did you do that without being shot?"
Another toothy grin, "Who said I didn't get shot at a few times?"
I felt the blush drain from my face and my step faltered, "Shot at? Shit – I mean, uh – well-"
Her wizened chuckle put me at ease, "It was difficult. But if I hadn't done it back then, I wouldn't have married my husband, and I wouldn't have my beautiful grandson!"
I eased out of my shock and smiled tentatively at her, "Any tips for dealing with yakuza?"
She chuckled, "Don't run unless they pull a gun on you. Then you run."
I found myself laughing before I realised it – and I realised how much I missed talking to people – proper talking, not just a 'hello, I'll order…' or a 'good morning'. I wondered what it would be like to talk to Daiki again. It had been weeks – no, months – since I'd last spoken to him.
I missed his stupid snarky grin and his dumb blush and his goddamn laugh.
I wondered what things would have been like if he wasn't miles and miles out of my league.
"…you okay, dear?"
I shook myself out of my stupor and nodded to the little old lady, hoping I'd live to be as old and happy as her.
"I'm fine," I spared her a smile as she pointed to a quaint little two-storey house, leading us down the path to her front door.
"Thank you for your help," she said, "I hope we run into each other in town. Stop by for tea sometime!"
"It's not a worry," I bowed politely, "hopefully, soon. Thank you for the advice."
Pros and cons to this quaint little beachside town
PROS:
- It's lovely seeing the little old woman (her name is Tamako, I found)
- It's peaceful and easy to complete assignments with all the serenity
- The sea is beautiful
- I'm going home tomorrow
CONS:
- I feel like I'm intruding if I go to Tamako's every day for tea (I've restricted myself to every second day)
- It's boring more often than not
- The ocean is scary when you're by yourself
- I'm going home tomorrow
I grunted as a cool breeze swept through the streets, grumpily wondering why summer was coming to an end so soon. Up the steps to Tamako's house I went, yawning in the early morning sunlight.
The door was unlocked.
"Satsuki! I've just made breakfast – it's on the table!" called the elderly woman from somewhere inside the house, accompanied by a material-like shuffling.
"Thank you Tamako!" I called back, making my way into the lounge room, sitting on my knees at the traditional table.
I sat and began to eat, pausing to pour myself a cup of tea as I went.
"Oh, you'll love this!" she shuffled in, "I've found some old photos of my grandson! He's so handsome, dearie – you should meet him sometime!"
She sat opposite me and handed over photos as soon as she was done cooing over them herself.
I blinked down at the image of a tanned baby, big, blue eyes shining up at the camera.
Another photo, a little boy – the same sun darkened skin, big blue eyes and navy – no –
"His name is Daiki. Aomine Daiki. Aomine is my surname, too – didn't I tell you that, Satsuki?"
I shook my head, and swallowed down the lump in my throat – no way –
"Isn't he wonderful?"
A picture of a seven or eight year old Daiki – smiling hugely as he held a large fish by the hook of his fishing rod.
"I know him," my mouth felt dry, "we go to the same university."
She gasped, "Really? The world is such a small place!"
Everything she'd said about the yakuza - her time with the gangs and the way they'd barely let her go – I felt my stomach drop to my feet as I remembered what my father had told me.
"The gangs – they're looking to extended members, ex-members, old suppliers and clients - they're trying to recruit young people whose families are connected to them in some way. They scout sports, universities, high schools, business corporations…"
"Tamako," I hurried to my feet, "I have to go. It's urgent. I'll call you when I get to Tokyo!" and I was out of there before the poor elder had a chance to ask a single question.
I gathered my things in a rush, and ran to the nearest bus stop – thanking my lucky stars that the morning bus back up north was scheduled to be there within the hour. The bus ride was spent with me – on the edge of my seat, knee bopping, hands clenching, teeth grinding.
I arrived back in the city in the afternoon – and I found myself running back to my apartment to dump my bags and notes.
It was there that I paused, taking a few minutes to breathe and think.
I raced to the landline and called who I knew would have their phone on them.
"Hello?"
"Ki-chan!" I was still puffing, "Are you at training?"
"Momoicchi?"
"Yes, yes, I know – training? Yes or no?"
The scar below my lip tingled as the sound of chatter in the background filled in Kise's absence.
"Yes. We're taking a small break, but where have you bee-"
"Put me on to Daiki! Please!"
A disgruntled, "O…kay?" some shuffling and a, "Aominecchi…it's Momoicchi…"
"Hello?" his voice made me want to fall to the floor and cry with relief – because he was safe and alive and-
"Is anyone there?"
"Daiki," I began to pace, "you need to answer me truthfully, okay?"
"Satsuki? What are you-"
"Have you been informed of the 'asset' movement?" my voice shook but I breathed as steadily as I could.
"The asset what?"
I thought I'd have to spell it out eventually, and so I blurted it out right away, "The yakuza – have they come for you too?"
A sharp intake of breath and I knew he was stumped, "What the fuck are you talking about? Is this why you haven't been-"
"Let me know if they do. I can help."
I hung up and breathed a sigh of relief – because as far as I knew, the yakuza hadn't found my safe haven and my father had finally agreed to go in to the doctor's to test his blood against mine. After plugging my mobile onto its charger and throwing my clothes into the wash, I set the rice cooker to go and trudged into the living room.
Another sigh as I flopped down on the couch and sunk into the soft leather – there was no place like home, after all.
I fell asleep – even though it was early afternoon – and woke to the sound of my mobile blaring its generic ringtone at its highest volume. Rolling off the couch, I grunted at the impact and scrambled to answer it.
"Hello?" I groaned groggily.
"Satsuki."
"Oh. Daiki. Hi." I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and supressed a yawn as I padded into the kitchen.
"I want to ask you something."
"Go ah- fuck!" I spotted the rice cooker and thought I might die at the thought of the way the rice must have been sticking to the sides and the bottom.
"What?"
"Sorry," I sighed and set to cleaning to stupid pot, "go on."
"It's about your call this afternoon."
"Hm?" I wondered why he was beating around the damn bush.
"Did you set this up? Is this some fucking joke?"
"What?" I dumped the rice into the bin, "Did something happen?"
"You mean you… didn't send the letter?"
"What letter?" I felt my stomach take an ungodly swoop just as he said-
"Inagawa-kai."
I know I don't deserve it… but review? Please?
