A/N: Thanks to everyone who favourited, followed and reviewed! It makes me very happy.
I'm sorry for posting this late, but "busy season" in audit is really, really busy. Thank you all for sticking with me!
Enjoy!
Grown ups are complicated creatures, full of quirks and secrets. ― Roald Dahl
One of the things that makes me who I am, is the loyalty I have to people I hold close to my heart. ― Simone Elkeles, Perfect Chemistry
I'll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it's sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot. - Kobe Bryant
Genius is talent set on fire by courage. - Henry Van Dyke
Recap:
Aya comes home from the perfect trip with Daiki and his dad, just to find out about their company's trouble...
"No. He has the match to focus on. No need to get him involved in this shit. Fuck!" Haruka swore quietly. "They stole from me!"
But you're involving me… Well, she was working in the company, unlike Taiga, and she did have a say in quite a lot of things. This involved her too. "I'm not that good with taxes, but tax leaks…if we try to correct it, we'll pay a penalty, right?"
"Oh, fuck the penalty, that's not a problem, there are reserves for that." He huffed. "I want to kill those fuckers. Once I get the proof."
She scratched her head. Suddenly she was more awake than she'd like. "You're going back." It wasn't a question.
"I have to."
"When?"
"Tomorrow evening."
"Can I help?"
"I don't know, Aya. But there is one more thing regarding Akashi."
This was getting better and better… "Urgh, I need a cigarette." She got up and headed to the balcony.
Haruka followed after her, picking up his glass of whisky. We have a long night ahead.
######
"What the…" Taiga's nose twisted in distaste when he walked into a cigarette haze at half past three in the morning. Smoking in the apartment wasn't prohibited, but it certainly wasn't welcomed. He peeked into Aya's room. She wasn't there; her bed was neatly folded just as she'd left it three days ago. Has she even come home?
The huge living room was empty too. The only occupant was a half-empty bottle of whisky on the kitchen counter and two crystal whisky glasses. Taiga sighed and continued to the "office" or study or library which had the lights on.
He found Haruka and Aya slouched over their laptops and tons of papers. The ashtray was overflowing, though Haruka was the one smoking at the moment. Taiga blinked in surprise; he had no idea. The two didn't notice him at first, too preoccupied by whatever they'd been working on. They were scheming something.
He cleared his throat. "Care to involve me?"
They startled, and then exchanged sheepish and hesitant glances.
"Tch, yes, come in. It's your business too." Haruka grumbled.
Aya chuckled. "It literally is."
######
Aya sighed for the nth time of the day. Her brain was going over different possible scenarios, risks and outcomes of their suspicions and plans. They could actually do something only if Haruka found a solid proof. Then there was Akashi's proposal. Was Haruka seriously considering selling the business; more than ten years of his life? She couldn't quite wrap her mind around it. But she was glad that she didn't have to keep it from Taiga. With their bond it would've been close to impossible.
She was floating through social necessities at school and classes on her autopilot, interacting and doing everything that was expected, without paying anything much attention. If Daiki was giving her wondering looks, she didn't notice.
######
Taiga couldn't believe it! The situation in the company. The fact they actually explained it to him, involved him, despite the fact that they originally wanted to leave him out of it. He couldn't decide what surprised him more. Should he be angry that they'd wanted to leave him out? Was it better knowing, or not? What should they do?
His brain was overheating, he messed up at the morning practise, he was barely paying any attention to classes and he was messing up at the afternoon practise too; he wasn't used to dealing with all that. He was a simple guy with simple needs. Schemes were not his forte. He needed to ask Aya how she was handling it, because even if she was worried she could function perfectly fine.
Riko was yelling at him again. He was only half-listening, but she was right. It wasn't like him to foul so many times.
He was glad for the short break the coach gave them afterwards.
Focus, dammit! He closed his eyes and inhaled, filling his lungs, and then exhaled slowly. Then again. Focus!
"Kagami-kun." Kuroko had to shake the redhead's shoulder to get his attention. "It's time to get back." He pointed towards the court.
"Hm?" He refocused on his ghostly friend, for once not frightened by his sudden appearance.
"Is something bothering you? You've been spacing out the whole day."
He shook his head. "It's nothing, I'm fine." He said decisively and stepped onto the court. He meant his words. Company trouble or not… He couldn't solve it on his own, he could barely affect it. But this, his team, they needed him. He had a huge impact here. and their first match was on Friday. He didn't have time for any of that bullshit. Get it together. The matches are the only thing that matter right now. You can't disappoint them again!
######
Taiga didn't stay after practise. He wanted to be with Aya, and he needed to burn the energy in a different way than by playing basketball. Doing acro certainly helped him. Aya might've been surprised, but she didn't protest. She'd spent the whole afternoon digging through paperwork with Haruka, and she was grateful for the extra exercise.
With Haruka on the plane back to L.A., there wasn't much they could do regarding the business issue. So they went out for burgers.
"What's the plan?" Taiga asked, munching.
"We need to get Lindsay fully involved first, and then we might pull some stunt. Like alarming press that there is a 'backstabbing manager'… the title would be nice. Or we can get the auditing company involved and seek help from their European branches; they could try checking out the companies we had problems or agreements with… Or I might get on the plane and go to our branches meeting with management there, or even ask those companies personally… Something like 'Hi, I'm Kagami Aya and since you're providing us some services, I'd like to see and change the agreements' … I'd love to avoid that scenario though. Without Seth, I don't feel safe enough to go there all alone; teenage girl in the big man's world, I don't think they'd take me seriously."
"You were really scheming."
Aya shrugged. "We need to deal with it somehow. But we're not decided on how exactly we're gonna do it. Yet… Do we sweep it under the rug quietly, or do we make a fuss? There's probably gonna be a fuss with Akashi's either way… So, Haruka is indecisive. But it's not like we'll go bankrupt or anything like that."
"No? You made it sound pretty bad."
"Eh? Really?" She laughed. "No, no. Of course, it's not good, but it's not that bad. We were maybe exaggerating a bit and getting ready for the worst-case scenarios. It's better to be ready than surprised. Anyways, the truth is, we have so much, we didn't notice them stealing until a few days ago… Dealing with it, it's more out of principle, than necessity. I mean… if the person needed the money, they could've asked for it, or something."
"And selling to Akashi's? Doesn't that sound serious to you? If we're that good off then why are we considering it? Wasn't the company father's one and only after mom?"
"Ah, well… Haruka wants to come here. And stay here. It's not easy leading a company when you're not personally there. I do get that." She said with mixed feelings. "He was saying something about getting a deal with Akashi to lead the expansion to Japan, as the country manager, since there are some plans like that…"
"Father demoting himself willingly…? I don't think so… He will butt heads with Akashi."
"Good point." She sighed and then shrugged. "We'll have to wait and see what will come out of this. I understand him, but I have mixed feelings about it. Things are changing too quickly, I guess."
"They are." He hummed, biting off another cheeseburger. "But is it bad?"
Aya shook her head. Having Haruka back. It wasn't bad. Not at all.
"Oh!"
"What?"
"And what will happen with Gabi, and Ivan? And the mansion? And Karasu? Can we drive such a car here?"
"So Karasu is the biggest issue?" She chuckled. "Of course we can, but it's gonna be a bit inconvenient, since the steer wheel is on the other side."
"Hmph… We need to be 21 to get a license?"
"Not 19?"
"I thought you knew!"
"I'm not sure? We'll have to google it out, or ask Derek."
"When he gets back."
"Huh?"
"He left with father."
She blinked at him. Really? "Huh? Really? Well, we have phones…"
"Not like he'll have time to chit-chat with us over the phone. Were you spacing out? They came to say goodbye to the gym."
"Did they? I guess…" She was functioning on autopilot the whole day. Derek and Haruka must've told her about it. Was there something else, she missed? "Hmmm… Shit!"
"What?"
"I think Daiki was asking me something mildly important or wanted to tell me something and I brushed him off…"
"Heeee~" Taiga grinned. "How was your weekend anyways? Ah, wait, I don't want to know the bedroom details."
She was considering throwing her fries on him. "I'm not telling you that! Ever!"
Taiga smirked, "so? Learnt any ninja tricks? Won some fight? Kicked Aomine in the balls?"
Daiki was absentmindedly playing with the dogs in the garden. He wondered what the reason for Aya's constant sighing (when she thought no one was watching) and fiddling with her phone was. When he asked her, she said it wasn't important. Apparently it was. He wanted to know. It probably wasn't his business and it probably wasn't his fault, but still… He wanted to know. He didn't like when she was keeping secrets from him.
He sighed and threw the ball to Shiro, while keeping Kurome sitting by his heel. He was training their self-control.
"Hello, hello!" Michiko came home with a bright smile.
The dogs stopped and looked at Daiki, seeking guidance and permission.
"Yeah, yeah. Go greet." Daiki released them. "There goes the training…" He muttered under his breath. "Okaeri'. Why are you smiling like that?" He asked suspiciously. His mom had a pretty smile and those few wrinkles from laughter suited her. But this kind of smile was definitely suspicious.
"Hm?" She looked at him. "Like what?"
"Like you made a deal of your life? Did you win a lottery or something?" He asked with a hand on his hip.
"No~" She rubbed Shiro's head and took the ball from her mouth, throwing it back to Daiki. Shiro and Kurome both followed. "But I had the most interesting talk today at the ER."
He raised an eyebrow, hiding the ball behind his back.
"A man came in with a dog bite on his arm. We treated it, gave him the necessary shots, but! He was from the local dog shelter. You know, the one where you used to volunteer during the middle school. He told me that they were looking for a part-timer and it would be the best if it was someone who knew how to behave around animals. Since they know you and since Kurome is from there… I've been thinking…"
Daiki raised an eyebrow in surprise. It's been at least a year since he had last shown his face at that place. The guy Michiko was talking about must've been Nakamura Ichijou, the head of the shelter and the person taking care of and working with the most aggressive dogs they had, trying to help them… The idea wasn't bad… "What's the pay?"
"Hmmmm… Are you interested in taking it?" She pulled out her surprised and pleased expression.
He narrowed his eyes, knowing his mother: "You've already told them I'd take it, right? So, what's the pay?"
"Eeeer… Noooot exactly. I just said that you might be interested and that you'll definitely stop by tomorrow to talk with them. I mean, you know Nakamura-san, right?"
"Tch. 'f course I know 'im."
"Weren't you thinking of getting a part-time job anyways?"
"…What's the pay?" He asked again.
She raised an eyebrow at him.
"Tch, maybe? I was thinking about it, so what?"
"Nothin'." She smiled. "That's something you actually like to do!" She was so enthusiastic about it; Daiki had to smile a little.
"What is the pay, mom?"
"Ah… Around 500 yen per hour? I thought that's more than enough for a high-schooler?"
He sighed. This way, he could definitely earn more than his pocket money was. And there were Christmas gifts… now that he was dating Aya, he probably should give it a proper thought. And he'd need a new pair of basketball shoes soon too. "Fine, I'll check it out tomorrow."
"Yay!" She jumped up and down in delight. The job offer for Daiki wasn't the only thing that made her happy. Little Kimiko smiled at her for the first time since she'd been admitted to the hospital, a small, shy smile, but it was a huge progress. She couldn't wait until she'd say it to Daisuke.
######
Daisuke sighed. He loved when his wife was happy and excited about something, but he had to bring her into reality. "Do you want to adopt the kid?"
"What?!" She blurted out in surprise. "No, I…" That wasn't on her mind… Or was it? She pulled the covers closer to her face and stared at the ceiling. What did she want?
"Well," he turned to face her, "you're clearly attached and Kimiko won't be in the hospital forever. Once she is out, she'll end up in a foster home. The question is: are you going to be okay when she is gone?"
She looked at him with her dark eyes. Her gaze got distant, like she was far, far away, seeing her demons again. "I… I don't know." She replied quietly, her lower lip quivering. She'd always wanted a baby girl… Should've had one…
He was looking at her, trying to read her mind and she believed that by this point, he really could. The thought of adoption was in her subconsciousness and she wasn't actively thinking about it as a possibility until he had voiced it out loud. "Can we, though? Would you…" She asked hopingly.
"Take up a kid that's not mine?" He raised an eyebrow and chuckled quietly. "I'm not a caveman, dear. I don't mind. But can we afford it? Are we the right fit? Money-wise and work schedule-wise? A teenager can manage being home alone… But a three-year old… Money-wise we have three dogs with high food consumption, and high vet bills, two cars, and a teenage son that's still growing up. Thankfully he has the scholarship, because I doubt, we'd be able to afford Touou without it…"
Michiko didn't think she deserved this amazingly understanding husband she had. He was thinking about things that didn't even cross her mind. "Daiki does have the scholarship though. Thanks to Aya-chan he's even keeping his grades acceptable, which means he won't lose it. And he'll have a part-time job soon…"
"Is that why you pushed the job on him?"
"What?! Of course not!" She made a grimace. She didn't, right? "I didn't! Nakamura-san would reach out to him anyways… I just played a messenger."
"Because Daiki just can't say no to caring for dogs and if he gets paid for it, even better." He smiled.
Her smile was a bit sad. "Do you think I'd be a good mother to her? If… we could take her..."
"The best I can think of." He caressed her cheek and she turned her head to look at him. "But we really need to think it through. Plus there is a hell lot of paperwork."
"Daiki won't be too excited about the idea, eh?"
"We'll need to talk with him seriously. About Kimiko, about what happened between us then…"
"Yeah…" She nodded sadly. "Do you remember? When he came back from my ma's and he barely remembered any Japanese."
"I was finally forced to learn Thai properly." Daisuke sighed. "We failed him as parents then. I wanted to go back in time and correct everything. It was especially hard for me when he couldn't make friends because of the language barrier."
"Then, thankfully, Satsuki appeared, needing a friend… and she didn't mind that sometimes they didn't understand each other."
"Yeah, thankfully… But… look where he is now. One of the best players in his age category, if not the best. He has a beautiful girlfriend, his team, friends he might not think of as friends. Maybe we weren't such shitty parents after all."
"So… you're not completely against taking Kimiko in?"
"No, I'm not. But we need to have a serious talk about it with Daiki too. We shouldn't decide this on our own, even if we're the parents here."
"Give me some time. I need to make up my mind." She said nuzzling her face against his warm hand.
"Haven't you already?" He asked teasingly. Knowing his wife, she already had the final picture in her head, but he would give her all the time she needed. As much as she wanted to give a warm home to Kimiko, it would be equally difficult for her.
The call ended. Haruka was holding his whisky glass and a cigarette in one hand, his phone in the other. Ashes from the cigarette fell into the drink and he clicked his tongue in annoyance, putting it on the table. He drowned the butt in the liquid and pushed it away in distaste. Way to ruin a perfectly fine drink.
He leaned into his leather armchair and sighed. Was this going to work? Was it a good plan? Wouldn't it be better to keep it under a rug? But… it was a highly successful company if he overlooked missing money. There should be no harm in making this public. Still, the press could turn it both ways. Either he'd be a stupid blind leader, or a generous leader who decided to keep his eyes closed until now, giving a chance to his underlings to come clean with him. He should reach out to some reporters he knew well.
"You're hesitant." Lindsay said calmly, sitting opposite him.
"I don't mind you going to Europe to deal with the mess, but I didn't want to pull Aya out of school. Not now."
"She is still one of the owners, and I will need her signature. It has higher value than mine. It's in one week, she'll be there for all Taiga's matches and she can skip the dancing classes for one week too."
"But of course she can!" He raised his voice and bit his lip. Few months ago, he wouldn't care, he wouldn't see. But Aya was doing it for him. If this should work, she would have to make a statement for the press too. That worried him the most. How would they twist it?
Lindsay smiled softly. "You wonder if she wants to?"
"I doubt it. She's doing it for me, like she's always been."
"Once we deal with it, it's gonna be fine." She got up and poured him a new glass. "You deserve some peace of mind and rest too."
"I've been resting for two months now…" He sighed and took the new glass from her hand, brushing her fingers. The skin contact, the warmth. He missed it. Without realizing it he covered her palm with his and trapped it around the glass. "Was I a decent leader?" He asked without thinking. What the hell am I doing? He wondered, looking at his assistant intensely. Despite his tries to overlook it, Lindsay was a very eye-catching young woman indeed. And she didn't seem to be feeling uncomfortable by his gesture.
"You still are." She didn't try to pull away, instead she returned the stare. "I would say you were scary and strict, you could lose your calm, but in the end, you were always fair. And you knew what you were doing."
"Were you ever scared of me?"
"Was there a reason?" In fact, she had been scared of him. She felt respect towards him, usually, but once when he threw a glass against a wall, it genuinely scared her. Violent nuances in men's behaviour or violent behaviour in general scared her. But she wouldn't tell him that. Not after he'd shown her the kind and warm look he could have, the passion for his work, the love for his kids. She actually missed his presence in the office.
He took the glass and released her hand. This was ridiculous. He shouldn't be looking at her like that. She was his assistant, his right hand. She's 17 years younger for god's sake!
"You should go. I need to list all the places you need to stop by on your trip."
Lindsay didn't know where she took the courage. Haruka was her boss. Much older, but so unbelievably attractive… She hadn't been held by a man for a few years, she yearned physical contact. She wondered if he did too. Did he have a woman after his wife? They never spoke about these personal things. Most likely not…
She touched his hand holding the glass. "I'm sure you can do it tomorrow." She said quietly staring into his burning red eyes. And then she glanced at his lips.
"This is so wrong." He breathed out, feeling his heartbeat rise. He got up and put the glass on the table. Lindsay didn't take a step back, and now she was leaning against his broad chest.
"Does it matter?" She looked up at him.
Instead of an answer, he pressed his lips against hers with yearning passion.
######
"I need a party." Aya said, staring at the phone with a frown.
"Something wrong?" Imayoshi asked her with his eyes closed into the usual slits.
"No offence, captain, but you make my skin crawl when you do this."
"Sorry, sorry, I happened to overhear a little bit. Are you planning to skip practises?"
"It appears so." She sighed. She had to inform Imayoshi either way. "Next week. I'll be leaving on Tuesday morning. Hopefully, I'll be back in a week. But you'll have to watch middle school finals yourself."
"Can I ask what is going on?"
"Eeeh… It's a family/business thingy. It doesn't really matter."
"Don't forget to tell it to Aomine. You won't be here to rein in on him and we don't need any tantrum. He can be a pain in the ass when he gets annoyed."
She rolled her eyes. "Don't worry. The last thing I want is to leave without telling him. Even if it's only for a week."
######
"Stop sulking." Satsuki leaned over Daiki on the rooftop. How could he lay on the ground in this chilly weather was beyond her. "And if you catch a cold here, I'll kill you."
"Tch, I ain't sulking." He grumbled and turned away from her.
"Yes you are. What is it? Tell me!" The pinkette demanded. There was only one possible thing that would worry him. And it was her red-headed friend. Or maybe not? She knew she shouldn't assume things so easily.
"Nothin'."
"Aomine-kun!"
"Don't call me that."
"Aya-chan?" She asked curiously and crouched next to him.
"Definitely don't call me that."
She punched his shoulder in offence. "You know how I meant it."
He snorted at the weak punch. "…no."
His tone confirmed that he was lying. Satsuki knew him too well. "Tell me! I mean… She seems fine to me. A bit spaced out, but fine… And she does kiss you every morning." She frowned, trying to figure out what might've been wrong with the couple. There was nothing in particular.
"I'm gonna have a part time job."
"WHAT?!"
"What what? I've been thinking about it anyway." He shrugged, not looking at her. "And mom happened to make a deal for me. I'm going to check it out today. You'll have to go home alone." He rolled his eyes with a sigh. "Like I don't have enough things on my plate."
"Does Aya-chan know?!"
"Errr… not yet… I wanted to tell her today, but everyone is Aya this, Aya that, like they can't copy the damn homework from someone else…" He grumbled. "We had to spend all lunches this week with everybody. And she wouldn't skip a practise just to hang out. Wait…" He glanced at her, "why are you not at the practise?"
"Uhm…" She blushed.
"What?"
"I walked in on Hasegawa-kun this morning…"
"So? You're always in our changing room during competitions."
She turned lobster red and hid her face in her palms. "He was changing his briefs." She groaned mortified.
Daiki blinked and then started laughing. "First real dick you've seen?"
"Shut up!" She wanted to throw something at him. "We are in the same class and we aren't exactly friends." She whined. "I can't look him in the eye now!"
He was having the time of his life. "Did you tell him something?" He asked curiously, still cackling at her misfortune.
"I-I-I… I don't remember! Maybe?"
"I'll ask him tomorrow." He grinned savagely.
"NO! NO, NO, NO! Don't you dare!"
Lindsay woke up first. She was naked, wrapped in blankets. What have I done? - was the first panicked thought on her mind. Haruka was softly snoring next to her. She dared to turn around and look at him. The scary big boss looked strangely peaceful when sleeping.
She couldn't hide a shy smile when she gently brushed his cheek, replaying the whole night in her head. She never would've guessed how gentle the bear of a man could be. How thorough and… Amazing. He wasn't rushing anywhere, he took his time and he gave her all the touches she had so desperately missed and needed. The physical contact with another person, the feeling of closeness and belonging…
Yet, she felt so guilty about it. They weren't in a relationship, he surely didn't love her, and she most likely didn't love him, right? This was just a one time fling. It can't happen again. One time fling or not… How was she supposed to face him now? To face Aya in a week? I should've never crossed this line.
She quietly got up and threw her clothes on. She should leave from his room and take a shower before anyone else woke up. They weren't alone in this huge house.
"Leaving already?"
His voice startled her.
She spun on her heel towards the bed. "Uhmm…" Was he disappointed? No. Not possible. "I don't think it's good if one of the girls saw me leaving your room... In the same clothes I wore yesterday."
He nodded. And she took it as a cue to get lost as fast as possible.
"Lindsay."
She stopped with her hand on the doorknob. "Yes?" She peeped, with her throat tight. Why was she feeling so damn guilty about everything? About leaving him too?
"Do you regret it?"
She bit her lip, but couldn't turn to look at him. Those red eyes of his were irresistible. She was scared she'd return into the bed and kiss him. "… I don't know." She hummed and left.
Haruka sighed gravely, tilting his head back, into the soft pillows. He wanted to disappear. What the hell was I thinking? He was way too old for her. He was her boss… He hoped that was not the reason why she hadn't pushed him away. The last thing he wanted was to use his position for something like this.
He felt guilty, like betraying his wife. He never once cheated on Keiko, even if chances were there. He couldn't do it. He didn't want to do it. Their marriage was based on trust and love. But Keiko was dead. She was dead for years. He had no reason to feel guilty about having sex with someone, yet, he did. He pressed the bridge of his nose. Maybe I am the one regretting it…
He had been deprived of any close human contact for so long. He always believed he didn't need it. But yesterday, something in him broke, and the dam of suppressed feelings and needs. "I won't apologise though." He decided and got up to go take a shower.
######
"Mornin'." Daiki greeted her with a yawn. It was unusual to see her taking notes at sidelines during a morning practise.
"Morning." She smiled and leaned on her tiptoes to kiss him on the lips. "You're late." She pointed towards the guys running around and doing drills. "But I guess you're not here to practise." She noted his uniform.
"No."
"Then why did you come?"
He frowned. "Want me to leave?"
"Wha'? No! Why so harsh…?" She sighed. "We can't seem to find time to talk properly?" Really, she felt guilty for being too busy to listen to him or tell him what was going on in their company.
He shrugged. "Seems so." Seeing her was the only reason he showed his face at the gym. He would leave if he saw her practising, but… He was getting frustrated about their situation again. And the longer he'd keep away, the worse he'd feel.
"I haven't had a coffee today." She smiled. "Buy me one."
He smiled in relief. "That goes without saying."
She nodded and ran to the coach, shoving her notes into his hands. Satsuki didn't show up again, so Aya was forced to stay at the sidelines taking proper notes. Then again, Katsunori could do it too once in a while.
"I don't think he'd take it so calmly if it was Satsuki." He noted when he followed her out of the gym and towards the closest vending machine.
Aya grinned. "Perks of being a family with him. Where's Satsuki anyways? She wouldn't tell me and it's the second practise she's missing without a reason. Is everything okay with her?"
"She saw Hasegawa's dick the other day…"
"WHAT?!"
Daiki laughed. "Satsuki's not used to that."
"Pardon me? Are you saying I'm used to that?!"
"HA?! No! At least I hope you're not. But you wouldn't make such a big deal out of it."
She wanted to protest, but he had a point. Still, she punched his shoulder for his words. "True… But I would surely feel uncomfortable and awkward."
"Who wouldn't? It's weird. But the longer she stays away…"
"The more awkward it will be to come back… Does everyone know?"
"I'm surprised you didn't." He glanced at her and threw coins into the slot.
"Ah, right. That means, not everyone knows. But if she stays away longer, they surely will."
"Explain that to her please, because she's not listening to me." He rolled his eyes.
She chose the coffee she wanted and it rolled out. "Will try. Ne, was it the first real dick, she saw?" She asked innocently, opening the can.
He looked at her and laughed. "Dunno, but I asked her the same thing." He missed the button he wanted to press, so instead of banana milk he got regular, plain milk. "Tch!" He made a grimace. "You made me miss." He grumbled.
She grinned. "I'll buy you another. Leave it here for someone else." She fished out coins from her pocket. Pushing him aside with her hip, she bought him the banana milk he liked so much.
"Didn't need to."
"Wanted to." She kissed his cheek when he leaned down to take out his drink.
He turned to her with a smile. "I miss you." He said simply and put the plain milk on top of the vending machine. Someone would surely take it.
"I miss you too." She sat up on a railing running in front of the changing rooms and he leaned next to her. "Thanks for kidnapping me." She wiggled closer to him, to his warmth. She hated these chilly November mornings.
"Anytime." He rested his cheek on top of her head for a moment. Suddenly he wasn't sure what he wanted to talk about. He felt completely content with just being like this.
She smiled. She knew it was up to her to break the ice and start talking. "I'm sorry for spacing out on you?"
"It's fine. They can't seem to live without you." He muttered.
"Are you jealous?"
"No." He frowned. "Tch. Maybe?" He wanted all of her attention, every single free minute she had. It was silly, but he wanted her for himself only. Not that it's possible…
She chuckled. "We're not arguing over it, are we?"
He shook his head no. He didn't want to argue. "What's up anyways? I think there's something you're not telling me."
Of course he would notice. "Ehm… Well, we're in a bit of business drama. Nothing you should worry about."
"You worry about it."
"…Yeah… a bit… do you really wanna know?"
"Mhm, tell me." He wanted to know her worries.
She sighed. "We're Haruka's kids but together, Taiga and I, we own 2/3 of the company. Mom wanted it that way for some reason… So if there are problems, they're our problems too whether we want it or not. And now we discovered some fake contracts, fraudulent invoices we didn't know about, some tax leaks and some stealing managers. We're not going bankrupt or anything like that but… Coming home to worried Haruka on Sunday; it wasn't exactly sunshine and rainbows. It'd be easier if he was raging."
"Someone is stealing from you?"
"Seems so." She sighed. "But we need to make sure, get real proof. Everything we gathered and assume is truly wrong, but it's not a proof, it's circumstantial. So…" She glanced at him.
"So?"
"So… I'll be going on a week or so long 'business trip' starting on Tuesday morning after Taiga's last prelim match."
He blinked at her. "Where are y' going exactly?"
"We'll be visiting our European branches, unannounced of course, and some of the vendors and clients. I'm meeting Lindsay and Derek in Warsaw. There's our starting point. Then we go to Lublin and Wroclaw. I'm not sure in which order. Then Prague, Milan and Florence, Zaragoza, Lyon and Strasbourg and Lindsay will have to handle Haag and Sheffield on her own. Or maybe I'll have to join her, I'm not sure. Haruka is making the plan and schedule for us. It'll be super tight to manage in a week. And I'll be meeting her in person for the first time."
"Who's Lin–?"
"Lindsay. She's Haruka's assistant. She's been in the company ever since she graduated university, I think. And I only know her through e-mails and phone calls. She's very nice though, I think we will get along, but…"
"You don't really want to go."
"No. Not really." She sipped from her coffee and took in a deep breath. "But I'll manage. It's just a week. And I really don't mind wearing high heels again."
He wrapped one arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug, kissing the top of her head. He was already missing her. "Hmmmmm~ I'd love to see you in your business mode."
She laughed. "No. No you wouldn't. I look at least five years older and very serious and I fear that'd chase you away."
"Nothing about ya would chase me away, Sweetheart."
"Riiight." She turned her face to him and kissed him.
"I mean it. Send me a picture."
"You're unbelievable… If you want… I'll call you too."
"Tch, that too, of course." He kissed her softly. He was glad she told him. Glad he knew about her schedule, but damn… How many time zones was she going to cross in a week? How big was her responsibility? Maybe… maybe he would feel inappropriate standing beside her, intimidated. Unlike her, his troubles were rather mundane. Keh, it's not like me to feel intimidated…
"I think you wanted to tell me something the other day, when we got interrupted." She said between the kisses.
Daiki groaned against her lips. "I'm killing Kano the next time he does it."
"Mmmm…" She pulled away to look at him, her free hand resting in the middle of his chest. "What was it?"
"Uhm…" He scratched his ear, feeling nervous, embarrassed even. "Nothing that important."
"Oh, come on. I told you my troubles. I want to know what's going on at your end too." The last thing she wanted was to make his worries seem unimportant.
"It's stupid really…"
"It is most certainly not."
"Tch… I have a part-time since yesterday." He blurted out looking at the ground.
"Eh? Where? How? You didn't tell me you were looking for a job!" She cringed. "Well, maybe I just wasn't listening."
"No, I didn't tell you. It's a local dog shelter, close to my house. I used to volunteer there during Teiko. It was actually mom, who made the deal for me, but I would've probably ended up there anyways. And it only got official yesterday, so…" He shrugged.
A broad grin spread on her face. "Isn't that amazing? You'll do something you like. Ah... Mmmm…"
"What are you imagining?"
"You with a puppy… several puppies… shirtless maybe." She was laughing. Her man looked super cute with dogs.
"Oi, oi. Hold it there, or I'll pull you into the changing room right now."
"Okay, okay. But it's great. You're excited about it, right?"
"Ah. Yeah. Yeah, I guess. I like that place." He smiled, he was really happy he could do something meaningful. "You don't mind it?"
"Absolutely not, why would I mind you working?" She blinked in surprise. She was happy he found a part-time job. He didn't need it, she wasn't expecting him to have any, and she didn't think he wanted any. But if it was what he wanted to do and if it brought him peace of mind, she was all for it. She would support him in his decisions – if it was not jumping off a bridge obviously.
He frowned. "Our dating time will be cut again."
"As long as you kidnap me now and then, I think we'll somehow make it work. Besides, I might stop by your work to cuddle with the doggos too."
She was genuinely excited about his news. And it warmed his heart. "Damn, I love you, woman." He hugged her so tight she dropped her coffee and almost fell off the railing. She squealed and wrapped her arms around him to keep her balance.
Aya woke up in the middle of the night to go pee. With a yawn she closed the door and rubbed her eyes. What's the point? You'll be out again in seconds. "Uaaaah~" She yawned loudly once more. "Huh?"
She saw a tiny light coming from the living room. With a sigh she decided to check up on her insomniac twin, who was too excited to fall asleep before his first match of the Winter cup. "Tai… Can't you just go to sleep?"
"I'd love to." Taiga pouted, "but you know I can't." He didn't take his eyes from his phone where he was watching NBA videos.
Aya groaned and plopped down onto the couch next to him. "Yeeeeah. Selfish brat… keeping me awake."
"HAH?!" He glared at her. "You just went to pee! Otherwise you were sleeping like a log!"
"And I'd love to continue." She stretched like a cat, invading his personal space.
Taiga frowned, protecting his phone from her omnipresent legs and arms. "Then go. Shoooo." He grumbled waving his fingers towards her room.
"No, no, noooo." She grinned. "So? What are you watching?"
"Urgh. Nothin'."
"Heeeee… porn?"
He blushed. "God no! You're disgusting!"
Aya laughed. "Wanna hear –"
He covered her mouth muffling whatever she wanted to share. He didn't want to hear anything. He was sure; he'd be red behind his ears. His sister had spent too much time with Kouta, and too much time with that perverted Ahomine.
She glared at him, and that gave him chills. Whatever she was about to do, he'd suffer.
Yep, I knew it. He thought desperately when his world suddenly spun and the two of them tumbled off the couch. His phone fell somewhere between cushions, they knocked the conference table aside… Ah, that idiot taught her well… however, Taiga wouldn't give in without fighting back.
They turned into a bundle of arms and legs, rumpling the carpet, using some cushions as weapons then tossing them away.
The winner was known from the start.
After a few minutes of their wrestling match, Aya was immobilised in a lock hold. "And I win, stuuupid~" Taiga stuck his tongue at her. I win, huh? She sure hit me well here and there.
"Teheee~" She grinned. "Congrats'."
With a huff he let her go. What was the point of winning when the loser was grinning at him happily? No point at all. But that was Aya. He yawned and stretched. He felt so drained suddenly.
"Tired enough?" She asked, still smirking.
"You did that on purpose." He huffed, putting the carpet and the conference table back to its place.
"It's 3 AM, you should get at least one good hour of sleep." She picked up his phone and waved it in the air. "Watching pros pulling one-in-a-lifetime stunts won't make you feel better the night before."
"Yeah, yeah, you know it all."
"I do." She smiled. "So. Bed. Now." She pointed at his room. "I'm confiscating this."
Taiga rolled his eyes. Even if she said that, he probably wouldn't get much sleep either way. But he felt tired enough now… Maybe… She's the worst… "Yes, mom." He saluted and turned on his heel.
"You'll win, Tai."
"I know."
She liked the confidence in his voice. "Then everything's good."
######
"I hope you are going to practise."
Satsuki looked at her bento with a blush. "I have to." She muttered. "Since you're going to watch the match."
Aya raised an eyebrow, "are you pouting?"
"I don't want to go there alone. It's mortifying."
"You could've come to the morning practise with me." The redhead grinned.
"Hmpf… I overslept."
"No one believes that." Daiki joined in with his mouth full. Aya's lunches were always amazing.
"Shut up."
He cackled.
"Don't you want to join us?" Aya turned to him.
He stared back at her for a moment, considering the offer. It was a way to spend time with her, but… "Nah, Tetsu's the winner." And Aomine Daiki showing his face at a mere qualification match… No, not a chance.
"Okay, at least go to practise with Satsuki."
"No. She should enjoy her mess to the fullest."
"Baka! Burn in hell!" The pinkette was burning him with her gaze.
He just smirked at her, but he was happy for Aya sitting between them. "Take Ohno, if you're so embarrassed." He proposed.
"Eh?... Right! I can always ask her! She'll be happy to watch Wakamatsu-senpai."
Aya sighed. Poor Kiku, the tiny girl was suddenly turned into Satsuki's lightning rod. "Don't put her into any unpleasant position."
"I won't." Satsuki said seriously, she liked Kiku. "Promise."
######
Seirin's team gathered at the school's gate to depart for the match. Taiga was playing with a ball, circling it around his left wrist and arm. He got pretty skillful in that since he'd asked Aya's help.
"Ooooh~ you left hand got a lot better!" Furihata praised him.
"Hell yeah, Aya's a demon." He chuckled. "It's a lot easier to use my left hand for eating too, it's a matter of time until she'll force me to write with it."
"But you still can't sleep the day before the competition." Koganei teased him.
"Shut up!"
Kiyoshi was smiling goofily. He was so excited about the competition. His first one this year. He had a team he could rely on, and they even got along well. He couldn't ask for more.
" –s' with that grin Kiyoshi? You're grossing me out." Hyuuga grumbled at his friend.
"Sorry, sorry. Don't bother, I'm just happy."
Koganei smirked. "I understand Kiyoshi! It's 'cause the new uniforms are raising the tension!"
"Huh? New uniforms?" Kiyoshi looked down at his jacket. "For real?"
"Notice earlier, dumbass!" Hyuuga scolded him.
Riko joined them with a sigh, but she was glad they were able to joke around. It gave her a peace of mind too. "Is everyone here? If so, let's get going then!"
The boys looked around, counting their teammates. "U-um… hmmm… one person's still."
"Ah, Kuroko!" They almost forgot about him again.
"I'm here." The ghostly boys said quietly. "I was here all along."
"I knew it!" Several guys startled. "He was here from the start."
"Yes, from the start." He agreed, letting out a discrete huff. The quick sprint to get there on time wore him out, but he wouldn't admit it.
"It's a lie this time!" Taiga pointed a finger at him. "Tell the truth, you've come here last minute!"
"…." He avoided looking at Taiga, since when could he tell it was a lie?
"Silence!" Hyuuga jumped in before it could turn out to be a brawl. "What's it matter? Everyone's here, right? Then let's go!"
######
"Hmmmm…" Daiki hummed, laying on the rooftop and gazing on the clouds. He was bored. There were no matches ahead of him, the winter cup participation was certain for his team. Satsuki was panicking because of some new Tetsu's technique, but he couldn't be bothered. Whatever the technique, he knew he'd find a way to counter it without practising. Besides, he knew Tetsu the best.
Satsuki had her own worries now, so he was enjoying the sunny and relatively warm November afternoon basking in the sun. Without the pinkette's nagging. The only thing he missed was Aya laying there curled up against him.
Aya… He sighed.
He wondered if her brother got any better. She said he had, but could he believe it? There was probably no need to worry about Taiga. In the worst-case scenario, he'd finally enjoy a match, but he doubted that. He hoped, but doubted.
The only one who could beat him was him, after all. No one had proved him wrong so far. And no one would any time soon, that's a stupid dream.
######
"Sakurai, where's Aya-chan?" Imayoshi asked when they were leaving school.
"Uh, sorry, I…I think she's already left." He peeped. Going alone with Imayoshi… He wasn't too happy about it; he'd hoped someone else would join them. Or at least that Aya would keep him company.
The captain sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Can't say I haven't expected this."
"So, Seirin vs. Josei, who do you think will win?" Sakurai asked as they were heading to the bus stop.
"Who knows? Their strengths are about equal, but for Seirin, Josei is their worst mismatch. Seirin's inside is really weak. On the other hand, Josei's selling point is their powerful inside. Especially their newly arrived first year center. He has quite some strength. So for Seirin they might turn out to be a tough opponent."
######
Seirin arrived at the place of the competition one hour earlier, as was agreed. They wanted some time to go over the videos of Josei, their first opponent, right before the match one more time.
Aya arrived at the same time.
"What are you doing here?" Taiga shot the question immediately.
"I told you I'd come." She grinned. "Hey guys! It's been some time."
"Hello. Long time no see, Aya-san." Kuroko greeted her formally. "Kagami-kun didn't tell us you'd be joining us."
"No?" She glanced at Taiga.
"I didn't know you'd infiltrate our pre-match meeting."
"But we're more than happy to hear your thoughts about the opponents." Riko smiled and hugged her friend. "Right?"
"Sure. Imayoshi-taichou and Sakurai-kun should come to watch the match too."
"Hmmm~ they don't trust your judgement?" Kiyoshi asked in his knowing manner.
Aya stared at the senpai. He still made her feel uneasy, like he could read her mind. "Imayoshi takes into consideration that Taiga's my twin. And that I purposefully omit to tell them some things about your team I wouldn't know if I was an outsider."
Kiyoshi smiled contently. "And you won't tell us about your team…"
"That's right. Although… Daiki was practising during the training camp and he does show his face around to 'check up' on the level of others, giving them a hard time." She pointed out with a smile.
The mood got heavier. If Aomine was practising…
Riko clapped loudly, breaking their train of thoughts. They needed to concentrate on the opponent in front of them. "All right, let's go to our changing room. "The tournament is just starting and we'd better get to the final rounds."
"Ossu!" They all nodded, pushing Aomine out of their heads.
Riko brought her laptop and set it on a bench, playing several typical games for Josei. Aya was leaning against a locker at the back, watching them. It was different from Touou's pre-match meetings. Unlike her guys, Taiga's team was actually paying attention to what Riko was saying and they were 100% on board with her plans.
"To remind you all," Riko stared at each one of them, "there are only 8 schools participating in the preliminaries. Among these, only two schools can earn participation in the Winter cup as Tokyo representatives. With today's matches, it will be reduced to four schools. From tomorrow we'll be starting league matches of these four chosen schools. Top two will qualify."
The guys nodded. It was well known, but it was always good to be reminded that these matches were a 'quick death'.
"However," Riko continued seriously, "those 8 schools competing today are the top 8 from the Interhigh preliminaries. In other words, they are all schools that achieved some success during the summer. We have fewer matches, but all the battles will be against tough opponents."
"And today's opponent," Hyuuga joined in as the captain, "Josei high school, was in 6th place. Which is lower than us. We will definitely win!"
"YEAH!"
Aya chuckled. It was nice. From the footage… Josei was not a particularly strong team. Against Touou they'd stand no chance, even if Aomine didn't play. Hmmm… Maybe we could get a practise match with them. She tapped her lower lip and took out her phone to pass the idea to Satsuki and Katsunori.
######
"Aya-chan~" Imayoshi and Sakurai walked towards her in the spectators' area. "We finally found you."
She smiled at the captain. "Sorry, sorry, I wanted to catch up with friends for a bit."
"Are they going to win then?"
"You tell me."
Imayoshi looked down at two teams gathering on the court and warming up. His slit closed eyes opened in surprise. "Well, well… It's good I came to watch." He laughed under his nose seeing Kiyoshi in his jersey.
"What do you mean, Imayoshi-taichou?" Sakurai asked curiously, following the captain's gaze at the no.7. Is he someone new?
"Do you remember when we talked about the 'uncrowned kings'?"
Sakurai nodded. "Hanamiya-senpai is one of them."
"Pffft, Hanamiya-senpai. Ahaha, please, Sakurai, don't use words Hanamiya and senpai in connection. It makes my skin crawl."
"Ah! I'm sorry, sorry. I won't do it anymore."
The captain shook his head. "So, that guy down there, no. 7, he is Seirin's center. He is one of the uncrowned kings. 'Iron heart' Kiyoshi Teppei. Who knew he was back…?" He gave a sideways glance to Aya.
She put on an innocent expression. "You didn't ask."
He smirked. That cunning girl… "And you didn't want to bother us?"
She shrugged.
"I must ask… Where does your loyalty lay, Aya-chan?"
"With my family, then with my team. I simply didn't tell you things I wouldn't know if I wasn't Taiga's sister. That's all. At the same time, they don't know anything about our improvements."
"You are finely walking between the two teams."
"With the business in my life, I have to know something like that. In the end, I want Daiki to win. With a genuine smile on his face, if possible."
"A smirk would be more likely." He pointed out. He couldn't imagine the ace smiling happily. Gross.
She snorted and rolled her eyes. At least the game started, so she could focus on something else.
In the first few minutes, Seirin was in trouble. Josei was double teaming Taiga, quite roughly, and it messed up the pace of the entire Seirin team. Taiga was getting frustrated and furious, because he couldn't move freely, and he ended up holding the ball for too long. Josei also stopped Kuroko a few times – with fouls, but they stopped him.
There was a short pause when the ball got out of bounds and it seemed that Kiyoshi was encouraging everyone, patting Taiga's head.
"His game sense is dull." Aya hummed.
"He hasn't played for some time, it was to be expected. But watch him. He'll get back on track in no time."
"Hmmm~"
The game moved to the inside and Kiyoshi was getting the most balls now. Taiga was still double teamed, which gave his other teammates advantage as one of them was completely free. At first, Kiyoshi wanted to go for a simple hook shoot; the moment his opponent reacted and jumped, Kiyoshi changed the shot to a pass, and allowed Hyuuga to score three points instead.
Then Kiyoshi went for a hook shoot again. His opponent suddenly wasn't sure and hesitated. Was it a shot, was it a pass? But Kiyoshi landed sooner, passed by him and scored.
"He's quite unpredictable…"
"Slow…" Sakurai said with eyes wide open. "His timing for releasing the ball from his hands… Isn't it abnormally slow?"
Imayoshi smiled. Happy he could explain something. "Kiyoshi is an odd-ball center that possesses the pass sense of a point guard. Even though he is a center, he can pass as well as dribble and shoot on a high level. And the defence has to move by predicting those moves. With Kiyoshi it's sort of like playing a rock-paper-scissors match. Plus, holding the basketball like a handball with his huge hands, he can change his choices at the timing normal players would've released the ball. Hmmm… so rather than being unpredictable, it's meaningless to predict. He has the right of postponement; he can change his play after seeing his opponents react."
Because of Kiyoshi's show off technical skills, and avoiding head on confrontation, the Josei's center tried to go through and score by brute force. Too bad. Kiyoshi slammed the ball away.
"A-ah~ And as a center he's plainly strong." Aya added.
"Yep." Imayoshi smirked. "Winter cup suddenly seems much more appealing."
Kuroko passed to Taiga, and the redhead finally got a chance to show off his skills.
"I'm gonna smash that dooooown!" He roared, letting out his frustration.
"Oh boy." Aya facepalmed. "He's too hot headed today."
"Wha – ?! So high!"
"Too high." Aya muttered the moment before Taiga's forehead hit the hoop with a wonderful 'bang' sound filling the gym.
"Ah… is that even possible?" Sakurai wondered. He'd never seen anyone headbutting the hop.
"Only for idiots." She sighed and turned her back towards the court. The first quarter ended with Seirin ten points in the lead.
The rest of the match was totally ruled by Seirin. It didn't even look like a match between Tokyo's no.3 and no.6 teams. It looked like Seirin completely changed by switching one player.
"Tides changed."
"So strong…" Sakurai hummed, he was surprised and a bit intimidated by the 'new' Seirin.
"It was to be expected. Kiyoshi's return is a huge advantage for them. It's not a simple increase in firepower; the instability of their team is completely gone. Especially rebounds. Now, Seirin's inside is a threat rather than a weakness. If there's a strong center, you can get rebounds. If you can get rebounds, the teammates shoot without hesitation. And as a result it goes in well…. And what on earth is up with you, Aya-chan?" Imayoshi asked when he saw how restless the redhead was. She was tapping her foot, or just moving around, and she was totally not listening to a word he'd just said. She probably knew all that, but still… Disrespectful…
Without answering she pointed at Taiga, persistently double teamed the whole game. "I can't stand it." She said through gritted teeth. "It's like a wire. A wire. I'm killing him after this match."
Imayoshi chuckled. "Twins are surely amusing."
She glared at him. "Shut up."
######
It wasn't just Aya. Taiga's whole team could feel his frustration and feeling of utter uselessness reaching its limits. He ever forgot about Touou's other players observing them.
"Oi, Kagami!" Izuki tried to get his attention.
"It's useless. This fool can't hear anything anymore."
Kiyoshi snorted. "It's not too bad to be somewhat hot-headed."
"He's too much…!"
Koganei pointed at Aya with his cat-like smile. "Aya-chan seems to be totally restless too."
Kuroko sighed and took off his wristband. He caught it between his fingers and shot it into Taiga's face mercilessly.
"Kuroko! You bastard! What was that for?!" Taiga bellowed at the ghostly guy, who had a completely blank expression on his face.
"Get over it already."
"HAAAH?!"
"Thanks to you drawing the opponents defence, it's easier for us to attack and as a result we're leading the match. There's no reason for you to be grumpy." Kuroko explained monotonously.
"Urgh!"
"Also, remember them?" He pointed towards Aya, at Imayoshi and Sakurai.
"Eh? So, she wasn't joking?"
"So in short, the contents of the match will be passed on to Aomine-kun."
"Aya would do that too."
"Are you so sure?"
Taiga narrowed his eyes at his sister. He could totally feel that his frustration was getting to her, and hers to him. Right now, they'd better be separated or they served as an emotional amplifier for the other. She must've been frustrated from watching him being frustrated. And she hated it.
"Anyways, they're here, and you have an opportunity. So, once your head cooled down, make a declaration of war, please."
"Keh! That's not something you do when you're calm." Taiga huffed. "Don't worry, I'll slam it down."
Kiyoshi was smiling at the exchange. "They're a pretty nice duo."
"Aww, so cute."
"They're not a couple!"
"Ah, right."
"… but Kuroko... Was it necessary to remind him of Touou? And Aomine. He's about to explode now." Hyuuga pointed out staring at Taiga, who was stomping to his spot. The flames around him were almost visible.
"…maybe you're right."
Nevertheless, they passed the ball to Taiga. He was the best suited hot-headed player to make any sort of war declaration. Taiga could always put the pedal to the metal when necessary. And they all harboured sour feelings towards Touou.
Josei was keeping up with their original strategy and two of them were immediately marking Taiga.
The redhead blinked as soon as they closed in on him. Their defence was different. They no longer have the willpower they had in the first half. They're just following their original plan. Can't be helped with such a big point gap… But… If it was Kuroko, he wouldn't give up this easily.
He smirked at them, "y' know, no matter how many of you are here, it's impossible." It was easy to pass them. Their movements were so dull and tired by now. "Defence without any spirit can't stop me!"
"Good! He passed them!" Riko grinned.
But Josei's center marked him right away. "No way in hell! The match isn't over yet! Don't think you've won!"
"Don't!" the opponent's teammates warned him.
"Heh, I'm relieved there's someone like you. Like it should be. But sorry… The winner," Taiga crouched to jump, "IS US!"
Without realising it, Taiga jumped a lane up. From the free throw line. Everyone was staring with wide eyes and open mouths. Wondering if Taiga would even make the dunk. It was impossible for a high schooler to jump that high and that far. That was a stunt worthy of the NBA, not a high school qualifier.
His team shook it off first. "DO IT!" They encouraged him.
There was no proof. No proof at all. But they all felt it. The entire generation of miracles. They all sensed it. The geniuses that appear once in a decade. And the only ones that could counter such overwhelming talent 1-on-1 were the generation of miracles alone.
Players who are on the same level as them didn't exist, and even if they did appear, that would be in a very distant future… That's how it was supposed to be.
But they all sensed it. They all heard the sound of a gate; gate leading to a place only geniuses can enter, being forced open.
Aya was grinning proudly. She felt it too. Taiga was her twin after all.
"And the gate opens~" She hummed. "You took your sweet time, little brother~"
Taiga managed to dunk. To score the last points of the match. With an impossible jump. But it put him off balance, and he bounced off the hoop falling on his behind.
"Urgh!"
"You're flipping over quite often today, Kagami-kun." Kuroko pulled him up to his feet.
"Shut up." He was grinning. They won, doubling Josei's score.
He looked up at his sister. She showed him thumbs up and a wide, happy smile.
######
"I think I'll stay with them a bit longer." Aya said to her two teammates. "You can go ahead. I believe everyone is expecting a report."
"You sure Aomine isn't expecting you?"
"I don't think so. He had other things to do."
"If you say so. Let's go Sakurai."
"Yes." They were walking at a fast pace. The team rarely stayed over practice on Friday. "Seirin was amazing. They might earn the winter cup participation without trouble." He pointed out, genuinely excited with Seirin's development and growth.
Imayoshi laughed. "What're you blabbering about?"
"Hm?"
"The real monsters are just starting to come out. The storm will arrive very soon." He said ominously.
######
The other three teams advancing were: Shuutoku, Senshinkan and Kirisaki Daiichi. As expected. There were three matches ahead of them. Three days, filled with competitions. They were excited.
Aya was waiting for them outside. She immediately jumped at Taiga and hugged him. "Congratz'. That lane up!"
"WHA–?! Get off me!" He protested, but deep down, he was very happy she was still there, and not running off to Aomine.
"I've told you, you had it in you." She ignored his protests and kissed his cheek. "Welcome among prodigies." She told him in French. She didn't want to be disrespectful towards his teammates.
"Huh?! What're ya sayin'? I fell on my butt."
She laughed. "You'll get it soon enough as the matches progress." Then she turned to Riko, "so who're you facing tomorrow?"
"Senshinkan."
"Urgh." The guys grumbled unanimously.
"What?"
"We lost to them twice already."
"Then you'll finally get your payback!" She said cheerfully. "Isn't it nice to show off in front of those who beat you?"
"YEAH! We'll definitely win!"
They headed towards a burger restaurant to celebrate their first win. And Aya was happy to join. She was chatting with Riko and catching up with the guys. She liked this team and the friendly atmosphere. It was like her little group of basketball idiots in her class.
"Kagami-kun?"
"Hm?" He turned to Kuroko, absent-mindedly. He was thinking about Aya's words. He still didn't feel like a prodigy, or anything of the sort. There was so much he was still lacking.
"Later, can you make time for me? I want to show you something."
"Ah, sure… would it be a problem if Aya sticks around? Maybe she'll go to Aomine, but…"
"I don't mind."
"Good."
######
"Aren't you going to Aomine?" Taiga asked her when she was following him and Kuroko to the closest basketball court.
"Later. I'm too curious about this." She smiled. "If you don't mind?" She glanced at Kuroko.
"Not at all."
Kuroko set his stuff on the ground and pulled a ball out of his bag.
"Okay, so? What do you want me to do?" Taiga asked, throwing his bag to Aya. She caught it with an eye roll.
"Can you be my practise partner for my new drive?"
"…?! Hey, hey, what do you mean? It's not ready yet?" They had a match tomorrow, and the day after and the day after. If it wasn't ready…
"It's pretty much done. I'm asking for the final touches for the anti-human practise."
"Oh, I see." Taiga smirked. "Bring it on."
Aya was blinking at them. "Anti-human practise? What are you talking about?"
"I can try it with you too, if you want."
"O-okay." She nodded curiously.
Taiga was in a defensive stance, and Kuroko was dribbling.
He's keeping the ball? Aya observed them like a hawk.
Then Kuroko crouched a little and passed Taiga quickly. The latter couldn't do anything. It was as if Kuroko vanished into the thin air.
Taiga blinked. Amazing. There're a few conditions to be met, but as long as he does it. It's an invincible drive! "Uuuhm…." The ball was bouncing in front of Taiga. Kuroko had lost it in the process.
"Oops."
"What did you mean by 'Pretty much done?!' You've lost the ball!"
"That was a failure. I lost the ball."
"That's what I just said!" Taiga caught a ball shaking his head. "Hm?!" The ball was worn down. It barely had any friction; it was smooth all around. It used to happen, when one played outside on concrete a lot, but to wear a ball like this since the summer camp… He… taiga stared at Kuroko, who was expecting a pass from him.
"Oh, looks like it's time to change this one too. What a waste." He sighed. "I wish I could practise in a gym more often, it's the sixth ball already."
"WHAT?!" The twins asked in stunned unison.
"Incredible…" Aya hummed.
Taiga made a face. If it was the truth, Kuroko was just as obsessed with basketball as Aya was with dancing. How many shoes could she wear down during one season? 10, 12, more? He didn't even know, but it was an unbelievably lot. "Aliens! You should shake hands!"
"Hm?" Aya and Kuroko blinked at him.
"Nah, never mind."
"Give him a proper ball." She ordered Taiga and shoved him the bag she was holding. "I want to be his practise partner now."
"Ah, thanks." Kuroko nodded when he received a new ball from Taiga. It should work properly now, but Aya standing loosely opposite him made him feel somewhat uneasy.
Thankfully, the move worked just fine. And it left Aya standing there speechless. But as soon as she turned to him, Kuroko could see cogs in her head spinning. She was analysing his drive. And he was suddenly convinced he didn't want to test it on her the second time. There was something about her… she shouldn't be able to see him. Satsuki surely told Aomine about it, but that was what he wanted. This was a move to get past Aomine. But Aya seemed more dangerous than Satsuki.
"Amazing. Can I see it again?" She asked.
"Uuuhm." Kuroko took a step back.
"Stop it with that ravenous look. You're scary." Taiga scolded her.
"Huh? What ravenous look?"
"The one you have! You look like you want to devour your opponent with all their techniques and skills. And it looks like you really can."
"Hmmmm… really? I'm scary?"
"Yes!"
"Sorry, sorry." She chuckled and waved her hand. "I didn't mean to put you off, Kuroko-kun. It's not like I could learn your technique from seeing it twice or thrice. That's impossible."
"Right…"
######
Daiki got out of the shower and was rubbing his hair dry. Imayoshi's report certainly didn't interest him, but Satsuki dragged him there. He only went because he hoped to see Aya before heading to the dog shelter. Well, he'd expected she wouldn't be there.
He was disappointed; he'd hoped to get a kiss before going to work.
His phone rang. He picked it up from the desk to see that it was his lovely woman calling him.
"Yeah?"
"Come out."
"What?"
"Come out of the house. I want to see you."
"Be right there." He hung up, his heart hammering joyfully in his chest. She came to see him! He was excited. He grabbed a hoodie and threw it over his shoulders. He didn't need to catch a cold.
"Where are you going?" His dad asked from the living room where they were watching a movie.
"Out for a minute. I'll be right back."
"If it's Aya-chan you can call her in, you know."
"I don't think she'd call me out if she wanted to come in and have tea."
"Sweet as always." Michiko chuckled. "Greet her for us too. And make sure she gets to the station safely." She wouldn't mind the girl in, but she appreciated the tactfulness. Having guests this late was troublesome.
He shut the door on a whining Kurome, who wanted to greet her favourite guest.
When he spotted her, almost shyly waiting at the end of their pavement, his heart melted. She was so cute with that hastily braided hair at the side of her head. She was wearing light jeans and black leather jacket, keeping her hands stuck in the warmth of her pockets. "Hey." He greeted her and immediately hugged her. He couldn't help it. It was like she had a 'HUG ME' sign above her head.
She smiled and nuzzled against his chest. Right after shower he smelled wonderfully. "I had to see you. Sorry, I missed the report."
"You went with Seirin, right?"
"Yeah, I wanted to be with them for a bit. I really like them all."
"How'd you even get here?" As far as he knew, Derek was away. And it was late. He hoped she had taken a taxi at least.
"Eerm… You don't need to know." She said, twisting in his hug.
He pulled away and stared down at her with a raised eyebrow. "What? You broke some law to get here or somethin'?" He asked jokingly.
"Well…" She pointed her thumb at a car half-parked on the pavement higher up the street. "I s'pose that counts as breaking the law…"
His mouth hung open for a moment. She drove a car here? He didn't even know what to say.
"Please, don't rat me out."
He shook his head. "I didn't see anything… So… you can drive?" Damn, I should've known... they do have that Karasu-car…
She had an apologetic expression on her face. "I have a license too."
"Not Japanese I believe."
"Nope…"
"Hope they won't stop you."
"I'll play a dumb foreigner. I'm quite good at it."
"Not here, and not with your 100% Japanese name…"
"You'd be surprised, Darlin'."
"I probably don't want to know." He said with a sigh. "But damn… I'd love to take a ride in that." He stared at the car lovingly. It was a sports car, compact with smooth lines. It was obviously fast. Not like their two family cars…
She chuckled. "I'd take you right now, but I doubt your father would support it."
"Tche. Right…" Although his father gave him a few driving lessons at an airport, he certainly wouldn't let him get into real traffic yet. "I want a license already too. Unfair!" He pouted.
"In a few years, we can get it here together." She grinned.
"Fine. But gods protect you if you get it ahead of me again."
"I promise I won't."
He leaned down to kiss her as if to seal their promise.
"I doubt you just wanted to see my face." He chuckled when he pulled away.
"Hm?" She blinked at him in surprise. That was her reason to come. "I did, really. Is that hard to believe?"
"Stealing daddy's car just to see me… hmmm… I think I like that."
"I borrowed it." She huffed, but it was super hard to resist his stare. She wanted to jump him.
He laughed at her cute pout. "Of course you did."
"I guess you're not coming to watch the match tomorrow?"
"No. Senshinkan is not worth it. Besides, I have work to do."
She smiled softly; she'd have to get used to the fact he now had a job too. "Taiga and Kuroko-kun won't be playing anyways. I was thinking of skipping this one too, but… I already promised I'd be there."
"Are you free after the match then?" He asked expectantly. Maybe they had been together the past weekend, but date a week was a good thing. He wanted to keep it that way, especially when she was planning a tour round world…
"Errr…" she scratched the back of her neck. "Depends…"
"On what?"
If I tell you there is a party at Hiroto's where I want to go and I agreed to go with Hikaru, you'll get annoyed… and if I ask you to come with me a day ahead you'll freak out and come up with a thousand different plans and I really want to go there. But I don't want to hurt you so… "Nah, I'll call you when the match ends. Don't plan anything, 'kay?"
He narrowed his eyes. She certainly had a plan in her mind. "Should I worry?" He asked carefully.
"No." She said without hesitation. But I'll have to tell him what to wear somehow… She looked at the car and unconsciously took a step towards it. The longer she stayed, the bigger chance he'd get the party plans out of her.
"Going already?" He noticed her sudden unease, but decided not to ponder, though he was already worried about her date idea.
"I sneaked out. It's a matter of time until Taiga wakes up and finds out." It was silly to borrow Haruka's car in the middle of the night. But it gave her the feeling of an adventure and she liked it. And she really wanted to see Daiki. Thankfully, Taiga was long asleep when she sneaked out, or he wouldn't let her take the car without a proper license.
Daiki nodded. But there was one more thing he needed to make sure about.
"Ne… did he really? A lane up?" He asked, catching her hand and pulling her back to him. He couldn't stop thinking about it and he didn't believe Imayoshi. It was not possible. He couldn't jump like that. But… If Taiga could pull out a lane up at the end of a match… Could he hope for even better performance from the redhead?
"Mhm." She nodded. "Yeah, he jumped it. And also headbutted the hoop once."
Headbutted the hoop?! Heeeeh, interesting. A dangerous grin split his face. "Really~ Heh, so Imayoshi was right."
"Huh? What did he say?"
"It's just the beginning of the storm. The real monsters are crawling out, Sweetheart."
"If you're labelling yourself like that…" She mirrored his grin. Yes, she was excited too. Taiga's growth was only the beginning. "The gate has opened."
"The gate has opened indeed… But can he step in?"
"We'll see that soon enough."
A/N: And we finally move to the winter cup qualification. I hope no one was too OOC here...
Let me know if I should write about Seirin's matches to the detail, or not. Maybe the match with Kirisaki Daichi, and definitely the one with Touou... But I'm not so sure about the rest. Thank you for feedback!
I'm not sure when the next chapter will be done. I'd love to give you some schedule, but I can't right now. (I haven't even started the next chapter) :(
Aaand I'm slowly going through the whole story, because I might be forgetting some details. Don't worry I'm not changing anything plotwise, I'm just trying to correct mistakes / sentence structure / some words and such. If anyone is willing to help, PM me please - but I don't have any hopes. This story is a monster after all. :)
Let me know what you think and remember, reviews are appreciated, but never necessary.
S.