A/N: Thank to everyone who followed favourited and reviewed! And thank you all for sticking with me. I know that I'm taking a long time with new chapters nowadays.
Enjoy!
True twins share womb chemistry and endure many fateful slings and arrows together. The fabled connection between twins is true in my case. – Gregory Benford
To be successful you have to be selfish, or else you never achieve. And once you get to your highest level, then you have to be unselfish. Stay reachable. Stay in touch. Don't isolate. – Michael Jordan
When you form a team, why do you try to form a team? Because teamwork builds trust and trust builds speed. – Russel Honore
But I believe in true love, you know? I don't believe that everybody gets to keep their eyes or not get sick or whatever, but everybody should have true love, and it should last at least as long as your life does. ― John Green, The Fault in Our Stars
"So, so, how were the matches?"
"Hm?" Aya raised her head assuming the question was aimed at her as she was the only one in the classroom so far, finishing her homework.
"Morning," Ishii greeted her, rolling his eyes at Kano's lack of manners.
"Yeah, sorry. Morning!" Kano parroted, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly as he took over Kiku's seat (next to Aya).
"Morning, you're early," the redhead smiled at them.
"I needed to get away from home; I couldn't be imprisoned inside any longer."
"And he dragged me from my bed. Literally." Ishii complained.
"You look neat for being dragged out of bed." She laughed, it sounded like something Kano would do.
"Don't tease me so early in the morning, Aya-chan." He grumbled with a blush.
"Anyways, I was surprised I didn't see you yesterday, what happened? I thought at least Daiki would want to see Kuroko's match."
"Don't even start." Kano sighed heavily. "We have an epidemic at home. Fever, cough and greenish-yellow snots. Urgh, disgusting. Mom, Daiki, Aki and Kenta have fallen victims to some germ Kenta brought home from the kindergarten. We couldn't make it. Shima and I were taking care of them, while dad went to work and this one came to help with cooking." [A/N: Kano's family – CH21]
"And you're fine?" She looked at both of them. Maybe it was no big deal, but Kano made it sound serious.
Ishii sighed like an old man who'd seen everything in the world. "I'm already immune to their germs."
Kano made a 'that's how it always is face'; "it's a norm that those four are sick at the same time. Then again when the rest of us get sick, they're always fine. I wonder if it's about different blood types or what. Either way, in my home, we take turns being sick." He shrugged, and then his expression turned cheerful, "so, so. Tell us about the matches, I'm dying from curiosity, how was it?"
"Hmmm…" She put a finger on her lip, thinking how to best describe all the matches she'd seen over the weekend. "On Saturday… The match between Seirin and Senshinkan was a bit boring. It was a good match, but the seniors of Seirin managed to win it without using Kuroko and Taiga. They won by 17 points. I don't think you missed out too much by not attending that match. And Kirisaki Daiichi completely threw the match with Shuutoku, the regulars didn't play and Hanamiya was not even on the bench. And yesterday was… amazing. Seirin versus Shuutoku ended with a draw at the end, but the entire match had the whole stadium sitting on the edge of its seats, as Satsuki said we didn't want that match to end at all. It was spectacular."
Kano's eyes were sparkling; he'd love to feel an atmosphere like that. "Oooh, do you have a recording? I know it won't be as good, buuuut…"
"Sure, I believe we will watch it all together eventually. Katsu wants to watch it too."
"How much has Seirin improved? What about Shuutoku, any new plays, strategies, techniques?" Ishii asked curiously. He wanted to know the details, minute by minute if possible.
"Sure…" She was fine explaining it to the boys; though she was sure she'd have to do it one more time at the club meeting they'd have in the afternoon. Maybe they didn't have a practise on Mondays, but Katsunori wanted a team meeting, to announce something, probably the schedule of their practise matches Satsuki had finalized.
"Match of endurance, huh? Boring." Daiki drawled when he came in, overhearing a bit of the conversation. He'd heard it all from Kise and Satsuki.
"Interesting, you mean?" Aya smirked at him.
"Boring and predictable," he put his bag on his desk, "just like Midorima."
"Then, would you win against him?" Kano asked curiously, vacating Kiku's seat when she walked in.
"Naturally." Daiki didn't doubt it. Midorima's style was orthodox and quite predictable. They'd never played one-on-one against each other, because their positions and styles were just too different and they weren't close friends at all, but Daiki was positive he'd win it in that scenario. Maybe he wouldn't stop Midorima's shots like Taiga, but he would definitely outscore him during a match.
"Kiku-chan, are you coming with us to watch the match today?" Ishii asked her to get her involved in their discussion.
Kiku blinked at them, "if it's okay, I think I could." It was so natural to accept their invitations now.
"Great!" Kano grinned widely, "Wakamatsu-senpai is coming too."
"And everyone else." Aya reminded him to save Kiku from their teasing.
######
Riko and Hyuuga were surprised when they got called in to the headmaster's office. The club's supervisor and Taiga were already there.
"What's going on?" Riko asked, closing the door behind them. She looked at Taiga, but the redhead wouldn't meet her eyes.
The headmaster pointed at the seats and waited until the two sat down. When they were all sitting he cleared his throat. "Kagami-kun requested to be a part of our student exchange program in order to, ehm, polish his basketball skills under the lead of his former teacher. You, Aida-san, Hyuuga-kun are responsible for the club, its progress and success. I need your honest answer if Kagami-kun's request is reasonable."
At that moment Riko wanted to strangle the redhead for not coming to her with the request first. She was their coach, dammit! They exchanged glances with Hyuuga, and they knew they were on the same page here.
Riko cleared her throat, sending a short nasty glare at Taiga. You're dead, punk. "It can benefit the team in the upcoming competitions. I'm their coach, but I'm still a student myself, so I think his request is reasonable."
"That is, if we win today's match." Hyuuga added promptly.
"Mmmm," Riko shook her head. She didn't want to condition Taiga's option to go. "It will be beneficial regardless of the outcome of today's match. But if we win, it'll be necessary that he gets the training that will improve his skills."
"Mmmm…" The headmaster rubbed his chin. So far their young basketball team, which only existed for two years, was doing fairly well. Last year they got into the top four in the Kanto tournament, this year they nearly got into the Interhigh, and once they cleared today's match they'd be in the Winter cup. From the reports Riko was regularly handing him, he could see improvements and progress of the club. They had the results and they were on almost equal footing with schools like Shuutoku, Touou, Seiho and Senshinkan, even without a proper coach or a serious budget. Maybe I should start looking for a real coach… … and raise the funding a bit… "All right, if you win today's match I'll make the arrangements, if you lose, come see me regardless tomorrow, Kagami-kun. You're dismissed."
The students left, leaving the headmaster discussing the request and further details with the supervisor.
"Ouch!" Taiga winced when Riko slapped the back of his head. "What was that for?"
"Are you an idiot?!" Hyuuga scolded him. "You come to us first, moron!" He hit him on the same spot as Riko.
"Well, sorry… I didn't want to bother you right before the match. I just wanted to know if the option was real. Who knew he'd call you in right away?"
"So?" Riko looked up at him, "you have a teacher in America?"
"Yeah," he admitted sheepishly. "She called me the other day, saying there were things she'd like to teach me."
"Who is she?"
"Alexandra Garcia, she used to play in the WNBA, but due to an illness she was forced to retire. So, she's been teaching the kids on the streets now. And I think she still helps as assistant coach in her former university team."
"Mmm," Riko was determined to look the woman up, "why though?" She was trying her best to coach the team properly, her father was helping her, but deep down, she had a feeling she was not good enough for talented players like Taiga, or Kiyoshi.
"Erm…" Taiga wasn't sure how to explain it. He liked practising with everybody but… "I need to get better on my own. I need to gain what I lack compared to Aomine. And no offence, I don't think you can teach me that." He answered honestly. "Just, can you keep it to yourselves for now? In case I'm not allowed to go?"
Hyuuga and Riko exchanged glances and nodded. "Fine." No point in adding stress to everyone before the match. Hyuuga himself felt stressed enough and the idea of Taiga leaving…
######
"You're not okay with it." Riko hummed during lunch. Hyuuga, Kiyoshi and she gathered in the school's garden to eat lunch together and explain the situation to Kiyoshi as he was also leading the club in a way.
"What if it completely disrupts the team? After all, his potential is similar to Aomine's." Hyuuga was frowning, it was bothering him; Taiga growing stronger somewhere else, without their supervision, without the team. There were too many 'what ifs'.
"I think you're worrying unnecessarily." Kiyoshi smiled, munching on his bread. "Kagami is a good kid; I don't really know Aomine, but I think Kagami is trying to do it for the team."
"And for himself." Hyuuga muttered. "He can be pretty arrogant too…"
Kiyoshi shrugged. "He is not wrong though, we all need to get better individually. Besides, the team changes every year. We can't get stuck in one place, or it'll be our end."
"I still don't like the idea."
"Relax, relax." Kiyoshi patted his back, using a bit too much force. "First we need to win today. Then we can start worrying about the Winter cup. Let's have fun~"
"Yeah…"
######
Imayoshi sighed seeing the practise matches schedule. "Really, why Josei?" He was glancing between the coach and the two managers after he went over the list of schools. The majority of those schools had inferior teams and Touou wouldn't benefit much. The only interesting teams were Seiho and Shuutoku – he wondered how the girls pulled the strings to get those two schools to agree.
Satsuki shrugged. "They are already out of the competition and preparing for the Kanto tournament after the winter break. They accept any practise match offers coming their way, besides, they are not that weak."
The captain frowned. "Seirin almost doubled their score. It's a waste of time for us."
"Their first year center is good though." Wakamatsu rubbed his chin looking at the Josei's team stats. Their center had similar physique as him and was only in his first year, which meant he could only improve. The rest of the team didn't interest Wakamatsu all that much. "I'd like to test him and keep an eye on him. Even if we triple or quadruple their score I think I'd like to give it a go."
"Hmmm…" Imayoshi glanced over the stats again. Wakamatsu rarely stated his opinions calmly. And he was a vice-captain and their only reliable center. "If we play more than one match, it could benefit Oyama-kun too…"
Aya smirked. "It could. Practise matches are for practising after all. And Imayoshi-senpai, there are other guys besides the regulars, who could get some chance to play some matches against other schools, test their skills, improve…"
"Right, of course."
"I'll only entertain them for one match." Daiki yawned using the paper as a fan.
"No one expects more than that from you, don't worry." Katsunori told him promptly, and Daiki wasn't sure if the coach was making fun of him. "But you will show up. All right, Aomine?"
He tilted his head staring back at the coach. What was the point of specifying it? "Huh? Why so serious? Aya," he pointed his thumb at her, "will drag me there anyways."
Aya raised an eyebrow at him. It was interesting hearing him use her name once in a while.
"Oh… you're not gonna be here." He smirked, seeing his chance to let it slip.
Katsunori sighed and squeezed his temples; the ace was a pain in the ass without Aya in the picture. "That does not change the fact that you will drag your ass there."
"Or?"
The coach glared at him with a deadly look in his eyes. "You don't want to mess with me kid." It was a bother to force obedience, but sometimes he needed to use the fact that he was the coach and the teacher.
The meeting dragged on longer than they expected. After the necessary discussions, some of the guys left home or to their part-time jobs and the usual core of the team headed to the stadium to catch good seats for the last game of the qualifiers.
"Ah, Kiku-chan!" Kano waved at the little girl reading a book, while patiently waiting for them by the bike racks. "We're leaving!"
"O-okay!" She quickly walked towards the group, tripping over her own feet just when she was about to reach them.
Wakamatsu's strong arm shot out to stabilise her. It already looked like it was his reflex around Kiku. "Are you okay?"
"Uuuh, yeah, thanks!" She blushed and bowed swiftly.
Wakamatsu rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, while the guys around them were snickering. The two were an official couple, but in front of the others they acted so shy and awkward it was hard to believe that they'd actually kissed.
"Move your legs." Imayoshi ordered; his patience for any shenanigans ran out a long time ago.
"Do they do anything?" Daiki asked Aya curiously as the group naturally organised into smaller groups and pairs and Satsuki was for once walking along Kano and Sakurai. "They act so weird."
"Uuuhm… I don't really know."
"She did ask you stuff, right?"
"Yeah, but whether it was actually useful, I don't know. They're both pretty shy when it comes down to being intimate, but as long as they're okay with it, I'm happy. They can date for months, years without doing anything… Maybe it's us who are a weird exception." She glanced at him curiously. "Why do you care?"
He blushed and looked away. "Tch, it gets on my nerves."
She laughed. In other words, Daiki cared and was curious about Wakamatsu's relationship.
"What?" He snapped at her.
"Nothing. I'm glad you're getting more involved."
He sighed, scratching his head. "Tch, I'm not." He grumbled.
######
"How good to have you here Aya-chan," Imayoshi grinned when they entered the stadium. Both teams were already warming up. "It would be a pain trying to capture and drag him here."
"Think you could, capt'n?" Daiki raised an eyebrow at him.
"Naturally, I always have a plan. Maybe we'll need it on Saturday, to get you to Josei."
"Huh, interesting…" He hummed, glancing at the court. "Hmm…"
"What's wrong?" Satsuki asked him curiously following his line of sight. Daiki still had a better feel for the atmosphere on the court than her.
"Nothin', I'm not interested in the match, but it's just that…" He was staring at Seirin's players. "They're awfully bloodthirsty today."
Aya could feel it too. And seeing their stiff and tense warm up… "Not good. That's not good at all."
Taiga looked up at her the moment she focused her attention on him. He saluted her, feeling better, as if Aya's sheer presence allowed him to move more freely, more efficiently. We'll win. He mouthed.
"Don't you dare lose here." She hummed and gave him thumbs up. Taiga nodded and ran back to his team. "Hyuuga seems off today; too bad I can't go down there to snap them out of it. Ah, gee'…" She rolled her eyes when there was some obviously unpleasant exchange between Hanamiya and Kiyoshi, Hyuuga, Taiga and Kuroko.
Imayoshi chuckled observing it from afar. "They're falling right into his game." He sat down delighted to watch what kind of play Hanamiya prepared for today.
Aya shuddered opening her mouth–
"You're being disgusting with that grin…" Tada muttered; as he, Susa, Daiki and Aya were probably the only ones brave enough to say something like that to the captain. Everyone else feared retribution. And Daiki often didn't bother to comment.
"Hm?" Imayoshi gave him a look that would make the majority of people run away and hide.
Tada didn't even flinch; he just checked his nails and sat down. But the team went eerily silent.
Aya laughed and patted Imayoshi's shoulder. "He is Shiranui's protégé, Imayoshi-senpai..."
It sank in and Imayoshi turned back to the court. Shiranui's… that explains a lot…
"Aa-ah…" She and Daiki slumped to the seat above Imayoshi. "As much as I believe in Taiga, he can be a hot-headed idiot when it comes to someone threatening his friends. I just hope nothing happens to him."
######
Kirisaki Daiichi was observing Seirin like a predator. Hanamiya couldn't help but grin when Riko taped Kiyoshi's knee. Kiyoshi's injury had been his work, and he was accordingly proud about it. The only thing that annoyed him was the fact that Kiyoshi was there and playing. Well, let's make it his last match…
Kazuya's chewing gum popped, bringing Hanamiya back to reality. One would think that he had enough of chewing gums during matches after almost choking, but… "They're so annoying it's making me dizzy." He complained, pulling the sticky substance from his nose.
"Seriously, I feel bad for them." Furuhashi hummed, staring at his opponents with his dead-fish eyes. "The more they try, the more tragic the outcome awaits them."
Hanamiya was smirking, what a wonderful team he raised.
######
Tip off was won by Kiyoshi and the ball found its way to Kuroko immediately. As he grabbed the ball, Aomine's eyes widened. Huh? Tetsu grabbed the ball?!
"Right off the bat." Aya muttered, narrowing her eyes in focus. She'd seen the vanishing drive a couple of times already, she had an idea how it worked, but she wasn't sure and she wanted to figure it out.
Kuroko passed his opponent without trouble or hesitation and threw the ball towards the hoop, where Kiyoshi was already awaiting it. The first points were scored by Seirin's alley-oop.
So this is what Satsuki 's been nagging me with… "Hah!" Daiki laughed seeing the development. Those guys were truly amusing.
Imayoshi laughed too. "One way or another, they're always so flashy!" He complimented Seirin's team. "They're coming at it in top gear right from the start. Not to mention their firepower is one of the best in the region. What're you gonna do, Hanamiya-kun~?
"Whose side are you on here, taichou?" Tada asked, resting his head against his palm. The game caught his full attention right from the start.
"Honestly? I want to see Hanamiya's face as he loses to someone like Kiyoshi, who was injured by him. Not many players come back to play with him for the second time."
"He can't turn all prodigies into garbage…" He mused.
Kirisaki Daiichi's attack was filled with rough screens, which would normally be labelled as fouls if noticed by the referees. Furuhashi missed his three pointer and when Taiga wanted to steal it for his team, Kazuya stomped on his foot, pinning him to the ground. If that wasn't enough, when catching the ball Kazuya swung his elbow outward, trying to hit Taiga in the face.
Aya clenched her fists. It was just the beginning of the match and she already wanted to go down there and punch them all for trying to hurt Taiga. Then she shook her head. Calm down. Don't amplify Taiga's anger…
Next target was Hyuuga, who didn't have Taiga's reflexes and if Kiyoshi wasn't there to stop Furuhashi, Hyuuga would probably get his nose and glasses broken in a so-called accident.
Using their dirty tactics, Kirisaki Daichi was in the lead after two minutes. It was just one point, but Seirin was distressed and highly affected by the foul play. Trying to go for the next rebound, Taiga got elbowed into his stomach harshly. He bent forward in pain, while Kazuya scored.
"Oh shit," Aya leaned forward, "don't, don't, don't do that, idiot…" She prayed, but she knew where Taiga was coming from.
"What?" Daiki raised an eyebrow at her then followed her intense stare back to Taiga. The redhead was already in full swing to punch Kazuya in the face. Good punch…
"TAIGA, STOP!" She jumped up, yelling at him to snap him out of it. If he started a fight on the court he could be taken out of the game for good. Shouts of Taiga's teammates were heard all the way up. And then there was Kuroko, who calmly grabbed Taiga's ankles and made him hit the ground head first. She let out a relieved sigh when she sat back down. "Kuroko's a lifesaver… I would've punched him for his stupidity."
"You're not the only one." Imayoshi chuckled observing the actions by the Seirin's bench.
Aya followed his sight and laughed when Riko hit Taiga on top of his head. "Ah, Riko's my kin then." The Seirin's formation after the short break, however, surprised her. "Why the hell is he the only one on the inside?" She asked with a worried frown, when Kiyoshi stayed all alone inside the three point line, where the game was the roughest.
It was really hard to watch. Kiyoshi was on the receiving end of all the fouls, hits and punches. But he was still managing to score. They thought the first points Kiyoshi got were a fluke, then he got more and more. It was impressive.
"Amazing…" Satsuki couldn't take her eyes off the game, no matter how horrible it looked; she was serious, observing everything Seirin did.
"Kiyoshi is holding down the inside by himself on offence and defence." Imayoshi was impressed by the younger boy too. He wondered if Wakamatsu would be able to handle something like that or not and judging by the centre's focus and awed expression, there was a lot of room for Wakamatsu to grow.
Even Daiki was fairly amazed by the displayed skills and spirit. "Eeh? Not bad."
Aya was worried. Maybe they were enemies, but Kiyoshi's knee was a weakness. A weakness known by Hanamiya. It was too dangerous. She wouldn't have allowed it. But truth to be told, she understood. By the looks of it, Kiyoshi had argued with Riko to get this outcome. And based on the story Taiga had told her the previous day… Kiyoshi was protecting his team; by keeping them away from the roughest game, he was keeping them relatively safe from injuries. He was protecting her brother, so she shouldn't complain about it.
Taiga was worried too. She could feel it. Calm down. Don't make it harder for him to focus. She was trying to clear her mind, make it blank.
But it didn't really matter; Taiga was too preoccupied to notice her emotions. He charged forward, determined to score, to take the pressure off Kiyoshi. Kazuya wasn't letting him get around and Taiga ended up colliding with him. To make it worse, Kazuya fell on his butt, exaggerating the impact and getting Taiga marked with a foul.
"He's really an idiot." Aya sighed.
"Hyuuga-senpai isn't making any of his shots; I think Kagami-kun is feeling more pressure because of that too." Sakurai mused, not apologising for once, which was a refreshing occasion that usually happened during games. "But I wonder why he is so worked up, Hyuuga-senpai, I mean."
"He wants to score so desperately, that he can't…" Tada said, crossing his legs. "It happens. Let's just hope he'll get over it soon, or they'll lose."
"And that's why he's blocked." Aya pointed out. "He knows they'll lose without him. And that there's no one to switch him out. Plus he's the captain."
"Being a part of a team can be frightening."
"It's even worse when it's only a two person team."
"Speaking from experience?" Imayoshi teased.
Aya shrugged, turning her attention back to the game.
######
"Ah, you're on the verge of becoming trash." Hanamiya uttered to Kiyoshi as the latter was running past him to get into his position. But Kiyoshi completely ignored the provocation; he didn't even look at Hanamiya.
Hanamiya hated being ignored. "I'm so sick of this." He muttered, watching Kiyoshi trying to shake off Furuhashi and Matsumoto. "If you wanna die so badly, die." He made eye contact with the two and gave them a signal. The two would know what to do.
And indeed, he watched as Matsumoto tripped Kiyoshi's foot. Kiyoshi, in an attempt to keep balance, stepped forward, which tripped Furuhashi who was already in a shooting motion. It was a play, a scenario Hanamiya's players knew to play very well. Furuhashi fell backwards full weight, with his elbow out, aiming at Kiyoshi's head.
The trick hadn't quite worked on Aomine, but their opponent right now wasn't Aomine.
Kiyoshi landed on his back, and Furuhashi landed on top of him, hitting Kiyoshi's forehead with his elbow.
Referee immediately blew a whistle to stop the game.
Kiyoshi wasn't moving.
######
Aya gasped, covering her mouth. "No." This was the outcome of the play they'd tried with Daiki before. Get up, please move… She was forcing Kiyoshi with her mind. Feeling how terrified Taiga got, her heart clenched too.
"Fuck…" Daiki swore realising this was what he'd avoided. They're messed up.
"DAMMIT?! CAN'T THEY PLAY NORMALLY FOR ONCE?!" Wakamatsu roared in anger.
Kiku jumped in fright from Wakamatsu's reaction. But he was rightfully angry. This game was terrifying to watch. She hated bullies, she hated seeing Seirin being pushed and punched like this. And now their center was down. It didn't matter she didn't know the guy personally, this wasn't right. "H-he'll be fine, r-right, Aya?" She peeped, glancing at Aya.
"Tch," Aya clicked her tongue and got up. "KIYOSHI! GET UP! YOU HAVE TO GET UP!" She yelled on top of her lungs, using one hand to amplify her voice, the other hand was by her side curled in a fist. All Seirin members were her friends, important people to her and she was sensitive to things like this. "Dammit!" It was just the first quarter.
Daiki blinked at her in surprise. Her hand curled in a fist was shaking and she was biting her thumb nail. He reached out and hid her fist in his palm to calm her down. "He will be fine." He assured her, noticing that Kiyoshi stirred down there. The guy had a goal, if his resolve and nickname 'Iron heart' stood for something; Daiki knew he'd get up and finish the game.
"How d' you know?" She turned to him, her eyes filled with worry and fear. It made him a bit jealous too.
"Look," he cocked his chin towards the court, "he's already getting up."
Her eyes widened and with a relieved sigh she slumped back to her seat. "Thank god," she breathed out and intertwined her fingers with Daiki, who didn't let go of her hand. She squeezed his hand, thankful for his presence. "I'm not sure I can watch this…"
Daiki squeezed her hand back, his pang of jealousy forgotten. 'I'm here with you.'
"Eh?" Imayoshi looked over his shoulder at the two, taking notice of their intertwined fingers. "Were you this worried when we played against them?"
"Yes! Of course I was. They tried the same thing on Daiki." She snapped at him. "They were terrible that time, but they've gotten worse." Or maybe we were just that stronger…
"And you have a twin down there that is getting fouled?"
"Mhm, I feel him." She tugged at her necklace. "And I didn't know Hanamiya back then…" And we don't have the back-story of Seirin. I thought my heart would stop when they tackled Daiki.
"It will get better now; Hanamiya will be out of it for a bit. His plan failed, Kiyoshi's still in the game. And the referees will be more observant." Imayoshi grinned. "The number of fouls will decrease for a while, so Seirin should get the lead in the second quarter." He loved seeing Hanamiya fail.
######
The second quarter ended and the mid-game break began. They were allowed to go and take the break in their changing rooms. Seirin was in the lead by five points. Hanamiya was furious. He hated when things didn't go as he planned. Kiyoshi played the entire second quarter, they were under scrutiny even if they persuaded referees it was only an accident.
Seirin was slowly pulling ahead. He hated it.
Stomping towards the benches he bumped into someone. "Tch! Move!"
"…please wait a bit." Kuroko spoke up politely. He was angry at Hanamiya, but he was also curious. "Why do you fight using such dirty tricks? Even if you win, is it fun?"
Hanamiya made a pained expression. He's had enough. "There's no way I'd be enjoying it. But if I don't go this far, how am I supposed to beat all those powerful schools including the ones with the generation of miracles?! I made a promise. No matter what, I've got to win the winter cup and…" Then he rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue at Kuroko, who seemed to be buying all that crap. "Kiddin'." He grimaced. "There's no such thing, dumbass. They say 'the misfortune of others tastes like honey'. Don't get me wrong, goodie-two-shoes; I don't particularly want to win. I just want to see the people who dedicated their youth to basketball by working hard and enduring harsh practises to grind their teeth with disappointment as they lose. Is it fun?" He grinned evilly. "Yeah, it is!"
Kuroko almost took a step back as Hanamiya leaned closer to him.
"Your seniors were a masterpiece last year. Hahah... I don't know if you're being full of yourself for winning the first half, but I'd be disappointed if you thought it was the end of it. From this point on," Hanamiya turned to leave, "you're all going to be grinding your teeth."
######
"FUCK! THOSE DAMN BASTARDS?!" – was followed by a crashing sound.
Aya froze in front of the Seirin's changing room with her hand on the handle. Ah, Taiga lost it…
"Stop taking out your anger on objects!" Hyuuga scolded him.
"OUCH!" And perhaps hit him too.
"BUT THEY ARE SO IRRITATING!" Someone else complained loudly. Aya couldn't tell who, by the voice.
Maybe she shouldn't interfere. But she wanted to make sure they were okay. She really needed to check on them. She decided to knock.
"Yeah?" Riko opened the door slightly. "Ah, Aya!"
"Can I come in, or will I be a bother?"
"You're worried, right?"
"You need to ask?"
Riko stepped away from the door, letting Aya in.
"Tai-" She immediately turned to her brother, who was sitting next to Kuroko with his back to her.
"SHUT UP! HOW CAN YOU BE SO DAMN CALM, HUH?!" He snapped at Kuroko, for whatever the boy had told him.
And immediately, Taiga startled. Aya glanced at Kuroko… She never thought Kuroko could ever be oozing so much fury. It was scarier than kicking benches and yelling. Even she had a sudden urge to back off from the usually calm and placid boy. She snorted and shook her head, patting Taiga's shoulder. "It's not the first time you are targeted and punched during a match, Tai."
"Keh! But I can't punch them back now!"
"And you don't have Tatsuya as a backup?" She raised an eyebrow.
His fury escaped like air from a popped balloon. "Eh, I… Shut up. It's not that…" This time, Aya turned from an amplifier to a pacifier. He took a deep breath, maybe she was right.
She laughed, ruffling his hair affectionately. "I'd give them edifying smacking too."
"Don't get close to Hanamiya today. He's pissed off." He warned her seriously, knowing his sister too well. "And… We're not losing this game."
"I won't. Don't worry." She said persuasively.
Taiga raised an eyebrow. He saw that Aomine was there with her, but Aya sometimes…
She sighed in defeat. "I promise. Just win the game."
Taiga nodded. He accepted that.
"Now, show me where you're bruising."
######
Daiki went to the bathroom while he was waiting for Aya to deal with her 'business' in Seirin's changing room.
"The ace of the generation of miracles, Aomine Daiki, watching our match..."
"Oh," he glanced at Hanamiya, "it's you." He drawled aloofly. He couldn't care less about this trashy guy.
"As usual, you have no manners. Show me some respect."
"Why?" He really didn't want to have this pissing talk with the bastard. "I only played with you once or twice. And as usual, you're having a cheap match."
"Cheap? Hahaha, don't give me that. It's just a bait to lure them in and trap them."
"Hmmm… I don't get it, but you'll lose this match."
"Huh?!" Hanamiya glared at Daiki and stopped the water. "To a team that formed last year and couldn't do a thing to you guys? You're really looking down on us. Actually, can you tell me how we're going to lose?"
You lost to us too… "Hm, it's not whether I'm looking down on you or not. There's no reason." He wasn't going to get himself provoked. "It's just that you made Tetsu angry. It's just that." He zipped his fly and moved to the sink to wash his hands.
Hanamiya clicked his tongue and headed to the door. "Ah, that Kagami girl, is she here?"
The way Hanamiya's face darkened when he mentioned Aya made Daiki uneasy. "Why'd you care?" She sure can make enemies… He'd like to punch Hanamiya just in case, one edifying punch… But if found out, he could be really taken off all the matches ahead.
"We can still easily break her little brother~"
He snorted. "Who's looking down on whom?" He stopped by Hanamiya at the door, towering over him. "By the way, are your team's injuries all healed?"
Hanamiya's face twisted in anger.
"Don't bite what you can't chew, senpai, those two are tougher than you think." He said icily, glaring at Kirisaki Daiichi's captain for a moment and then he left.
He went around the corner and shook the bad feeling off him like a dog. He really didn't like Hanamiya.
"Keh, you're seriously here…"
"Hm," he blinked when Taiga emerged from another corner. How many people would he meet in the bathroom? "Where's Aya?" He asked, knowing she went to check up on Taiga.
"Out. Smoking, probably."
"Huh?"
Taiga raised an eyebrow. "You know that she smokes sometimes, right? It's her way to keep her nerves in check."
"…never really seen her."
That didn't surprise him. "I hate it." He shrugged, determined to walk away, but then he frowned and looked Daiki in the eyes. "…she promised, but she's my sister, I know her too well." He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Keep her away from Hanamiya."
######
"So you really are here…" Daiki found her by an outside ashtray with a half-burnt cigarette. It was a secluded, quiet place with no people around. He coughed when he entered the smoke and tried to disperse it by waving his arm.
Her surprised expression was quickly replaced by an apologetic, even ashamed one. "Sorry?"
"Your brother ratted you out."
"You knew anyways…"
He shrugged. It wasn't healthy, he was sure she knew and under the circumstances he wasn't going to scold her. "Why?"
"I worry and I don't want to affect Taiga's game. Taiga hasn't fully learnt how to shut me out yet." She sighed and snuffed the cigarette, not finishing it. "We need to go back, right?"
"Wait," he grabbed her elbow and turned her towards him. He didn't want to know how their bond worked; he wouldn't understand it, but…
"Hm?" She blinked at him.
He leaned down and kissed her deeply, ignoring the bad aftertaste of tobacco. She protested the first second but then gave in, kissing him back. Her hands wandered around his neck and into his hair, pulling him closer. She wanted to be closer, feel his body against hers. She needed him. He responded by hugging her tightly around her waist and pulled her against his chest.
"We really need to go." She huffed when they parted to get some air.
"Feeling better?" He asked with a smile. There was no other way in which he could help with relieving her stress but this method seemed to be working. If only for a short while, he wanted to be there for her.
"Ah," she blushed and bit her lip. Daiki's kind smile was a lady-killer. But she was truly feeling better, her mood turned more positive. "Mmm… sorry for the foul taste."
He pecked her lips again. "I'm not gonna get used to it, but once in a while, I can handle it."
"Thank you." She smiled kindly.
######
"Ah, love birds are back~" Imayoshi teased Aya and Daiki when they returned a bit late. "You missed Kuroko-kun's action."
"You mean the alley-oop with Taiga, where Taiga used him as a pommel horse to jump higher?"
Imayoshi's eyes widened as he stared at her. The twins could be terrifying.
"Eeeh?!" Aya laughed. "Did I guess it right?"
We saw it on the screen downstairs…Daiki thought, but smirked at Aya's teasing.
"I never want to have twins." Imayoshi muttered when he turned back to the game.
"With your personality, you probably won't even find a wife." Tada jabbed emotionlessly.
"You're the one to talk." He snapped back.
"Huh, they're switching Matsumoto for… what was the dude's name again?" She glanced at Satsuki.
"Seto Kentarou. He didn't play against us or in the other matches. Strength-wise, he is weaker than Matsumoto, so I wonder what he can do…"
"Well, he must be good at something if he's getting switched in now." She'd seen this formation from Kirisaki Daiichi several months ago, but she didn't remember it that well.
"I wonder…" Satsuki bit her lip, observing the plays.
Hanamiya managed to steal from Izuki; one of his fast passes that hadn't been stolen before in the game.
"Huh…" Aya bit her thumb nail. It was strange. And when Izuki got the ball stolen again, and again… "Something's not right."
"Since that guy came in, Hanamiya's steals have increased dramatically." Sakurai muttered.
"Ah!" It hit her suddenly. Now she remembered. "Is this their spider web in its best form?"
"Spider web?" Daiki raised an eyebrow at her.
"Eh… I don't know what to call it. I've seen it in one of their games I went to watch. They started with the rough play, and then Seto came in and Hanamiya was suddenly stealing all the balls. Can those two really read the patterns that well?"
"Mmm…" Imayoshi hummed, appreciating the steals, "I don't know about Seto. But Hanamiya's a genius."
"Eh?!" Wakamatsu turned to them, "he is one of the uncrowned kings, of course he is–"
"Wrong. It's not like that. I'm talking about his brain. He's insanely smart."
"Huh?!"
"We were in the same middle school and he was always at the top in exams without studying. His IQ tests were well over 160, although I don't know the exact result." He leaned forward, "Seirin's style is a team basketball with pass work as their base, and it's pretty high-level too. In other words, if it's high-level, it means it's extremely efficient. Everyone observes the floor balance and takes the most optimum route. But now, that's the trap. Hanamiya knows, remembers and reads all their attack patterns and steals the ball." He chuckled, that strategy pleased him, unlike the fouls before. "Especially that no.5 –"
"Izuki-senpai." Aya filled in.
"Yeah, him. He's a really good point guard with composed judgement and precise passes thanks to his eagle eye. He doesn't stand out, but he's backing Seirin from the shadows." He pushed his glasses higher. "However, that precision is the ideal prey for Hanamiya."
Seirin was really getting all the balls stolen from them. Hanamiya wasn't giving them any chance to pass the ball.
Imayoshi was truly pleased. "So the rough play in the first half was merely a preparation for this… if you can crush them with rough play that's all good. Even if you can't, if they get angry and hot-headed, their attacks become simple and easy to read." He smirked. "As expected; what a wicked scenario."
"You shouldn't be the one to label someone wicked, captain." Tada hummed, voicing thoughts of at least half of the team, Aomine included.
Aya was frowning, she didn't like this game, but when she detached her emotions... "Kouta would appreciate the scenario too. Not the punches in the first half, but this… Heh… It's wickedly amazing, the more they struggle, the worse it gets. And Hyuuga hasn't scored once…"
"Hmph," Daiki huffed, seeing that by the end of the third quarter, Kirisaki Daiichi pulled ahead by almost 15 points. Seirin got weak once the possibility to pass was taken from them.
"What?" Aya nudged him with her elbow.
"If they don't figure something out, they'll lose..." He sighed. He wondered if Seirin could cut this 'spider web'. So far they looked like entangled, slowly dying bugs.
"Can they get out of this trap or not?"
"Ah… Kuroko's coming out." Imayoshi grinned, curious about Seirin's solution.
"Hmmm…" Daiki drawled and rested his jaw on his knuckles. With a frown he was watching the game. If Kuroko came out, they had a plan, or at least Kuroko had a plan…
Aya glanced at him and smiled to herself. It was nice seeing Daiki interested in a game. "Huh?!" She blinked. Izuki wanted to pass to Hyuuga, Hanamiya immediately read the pass and appeared in the trajectory to steal the ball, but then there was Kuroko a second sooner than Hanamiya. He stole the ball from his own teammates and passed it to Taiga who was under the hoop, but not paying attention to them at all.
Nevertheless, Taiga grabbed the ball and scored.
"What was that?!" Wakamatsu was blinking in surprise too.
Naito rubbed his chin deep in thought. "It felt different. It wasn't the usual comfy game they have." He didn't mean to state his opinion, but it slipped. This match was valuable to watch for him, and the other first years, who came.
"Taiga didn't expect to get that ball." Aya nodded.
"Well," Imayoshi was glad he could explain another thing to the first years, "till now, Kuroko's relay passes were all about team play. Even the trick plays that are totally unanticipated for by their opponent… for the alleys it's just an attack pattern solidified by practise. But the pass right now seems to be completely out of their usual attack pattern. Kuroko's teammates didn't know about his pass." He chuckled. "In short, Kuroko independently changed the course of the pass on his own." This was delightful. Those guys were one surprise after another. "Even for Hanamiya, it's impossible to read a pass that even your opponent's teammates don't see coming."
"Eeeeh?!"
"But then… How in the world do you receive such a pass?!" Kano asked, stealing the question from Wakamatsu. "How did he do it?" He turned to Aya, hoping for some 'twin insight'.
It was surprising when Daiki answered instead. "He just did." He shrugged nonchalantly, but a part of him was feeling unbearably empty when he saw that play and another similar one that followed. "They're guessing. Thinking something like 'Tetsu might give a pass here'. When you practise with him every day, you start to understand how Tetsu thinks. What you need isn't logic. It's trust." It was a panging feeling he was determined to ignore.
Satsuki glanced at him with a sad expression. And when Aya caught her eyes, the girls silently nodded. They both had an idea of what was going on inside Daiki's head. That no matter what he said or did, he missed the team he'd had with Tetsu. He missed the bonds with his teammates and the trust that came with it. Touou wasn't like this. Hanamiya's spider web wouldn't work on them, they didn't have patterns, and they didn't rely on teamwork. They were a strong team. But they weren't truly connected.
With a quiet sigh Aya turned back to the game, enjoying the spectacle Kuroko prepared in the last quarter. Seirin was pulling back and scoring. The unexpected passes were amazing and all of his teammates were catching them somehow.
"They'll need more than that…" Satsuki pointed out. It was six minutes until the end and Hyuuga missed again. Kiyoshi's state worried her too. He was slowly losing his edge and moving differently, as if trying to avoid using his taped knee. She could've been wrong, but to her keen eyes Kiyoshi didn't seem to be 'fully healed'. She knew Aya wouldn't confirm or deny it even if the redhead knew.
The last time-out taken by Seirin confirmed it for her.
"AAAARGH! SO ANNOYING!" Hyuuga's booming voice carried all the way up to them. "WE'RE TELLING YOU TO LEAVE THE REST TO US! JUST SHUT UP AND WITHDRAW OBEDIENTLY! DO YOU THINK WE'LL BREAK OUR PROMISE?!"
Sakurai shrunk to his seat under the yelling, which didn't have much effect on Seirin's team anymore.
Aya laughed. "He can be amazing. Can't imagine you getting that emotional, Imayoshi-senpai."
"Urgh, humiliating."
"Yeah, yeah, nice. But he hasn't made a single shot today." Wakamatsu grumbled. "He's in the slump when they need him the most. Sakurai, what do you think?"
"Ah, well. His shoulders are stiff; he's putting too much emotion into it. With exception of geniuses like Midorima-kun, 3-pointers require delicate touch so basically it's a matter of chance. No matter how good the shooter is, sometimes it won't go in at all."
"Then that's pretty ba–"
"However, my dear friend," Tada joined the discussion. "On the other hand, once it starts going in, it won't stop. He's that kind of a shooter. Impressive, if he's on top of his game."
"Here it goes." Aya nudged them when Hyuuga finally got his chance again right after the game resumed. She could see the difference in his posture as well. She wondered what the team had discussed during the time-out, despite the obvious withdrawal of Kiyoshi.
"This is…" Sakurai blinked in awe.
Wakamatsu glanced at him. "Wha', another miss?"
"It's the opposite…"
"It's perfect." Tada and Sakurai said in unison, equally pleased by the shot.
"There's no way it will miss." Sakurai added.
With Hyuuga back in the game, Seirin made a comeback. With him scoring from the outside, the inside came back to life even without Kiyoshi. And once they got it rolling, it was difficult to stop them. Hanamiya's rough play didn't break them; his spider web was torn and dealt with; did he have something else up his sleeve, or was Kirisaki Daiichi done for?
Maybe Hanamiya had taunted Aomine by saying he might try to crush Taiga, but Taiga wasn't his biggest problem during this match. It was Kiyoshi, who didn't break, and then it was mainly Kuroko's 'fault' that Hanamiya was in a pinch at the end. For once Hanamiya didn't have a clear plan to solve his problem. Full of anger and hatred, he tried to hit Kuroko in the face once he caught a ball, but Kuroko instinctively dodged.
"Now what?" Aya tilted her head, staring at Hanamiya. She hated him, but she pitied him for a moment. His game was falling apart like a house of cards.
Hanamiya held the ball for a second, then something seemed to snap and he passed by Kuroko, heading towards the basket. He shook off the Seirin's defence and pulled out his teardrop shot. He'd done it before too when facing Touou, all he had left was to play fairly. And as a player, Hanamiya was one of the uncrowned kings, just like Kiyoshi. He wasn't worse when it came to skills.
Daiki snorted, "he can still pull that off…"
In the last minute, with his teardrop he pulled one point ahead. And whatever he said to Kuroko, it made the phantom use his ignite pass to Taiga, through almost the whole court. After Taiga scored, Seirin managed to score three more times and the match ended with the score 79-70 for Seirin.
They struggled, but in the end, their victory was well deserved.
"Yes!" Aya clenched her fist in delight. Taiga won! Everyone from Seirin looked so happy; she couldn't help feeling happy too. They were officially in the Winter cup.
"Heh, good for them." Daiki smirked, but a small part of him felt happy about Kuroko's victory.
The teams bowed, shook hands, which was incredibly tense with those two teams, and moved to leave the court. Spectators started to slowly depart too.
"Ah, are we gonna watch Shuutoku's game?" Satsuki asked expectantly.
"No way." Daiki protested, "he's not going to lose. Tch, they're all taking their time. I'm sick of waiting…"
"Hm?" Aya glanced at him curiously, already on her feet, collecting her stuff.
"Nothin'." He shook his head.
"'kay, I'm going." She blurted out and nimbly stepped to the alley. "See you later!"
"Oi! Wait!" His arm shot out to catch the redhead but he only grasped air. He knew where she was running to. "Tch. Damn that woman…" He grumbled and rubbed the back of his neck in annoyance. With a sigh he looked at Satsuki.
"You're still gonna go after her." Tada grinned at him. "We'll see Momoi-san home, right?"
"Mhm, okay." Satsuki agreed and with that, Daiki was completely free to chase after Aya. She chuckled and shook her head. "I never thought I'd see him chase after someone."
"Maybe you should take an example." Tada winked at her, making her blush.
I already do… She thought.
Imayoshi, Wakamatsu and Susa discreetly rolled their eyes at his flirting. They should probably tell Satsuki the truth before she fell for this idiot instead of Kuroko.
"Let's go."
######
"Oh," Aya stopped when Hanamiya and his team appeared in front of her.
"You again?" Hanamiya had enough for the day. He was resigned and ready to drop into his bed. "What? Say it."
She blinked at him. "Say what?"
"How much do you enjoy our loss? How cheap was the game?"
"He snapped." Someone from his team murmured.
"It was cheap and I enjoyed that Seirin won. I'd have enjoyed it even more if you'd had a clean match."
"Keh. I hate you."
"Same here. But you'd feel better if you lost with a clean slate after a clean game where you really played your ass off, and not just plotted and tried to injure the others." She shrugged. Her anger was gone, she was happy, she wanted to see Taiga and squeeze the life out of him in a bear hug. She could be a tiny bit nice to these guys. "Who knows, maybe if you played the whole match in the way you did in the last minute you'd win. Your team's not inferior in skills, not really."
"Here you are." Daiki popped up behind her, giving Hanamiya a warning glare. But it wasn't necessary, with his whole team, the guy continued to walk away.
"I thought you'd go with Satsuki."
"She went with the guys. Let's go, if you wanna see him before they leave."
"Not like I won't see him at home." She chuckled. "Ah, Hanamiya!"
"Hm?"
"The misfortune of others' might taste like honey, but then don't forget Karma. She's a bitch. But a fair one."
"…"
"Did you give him a pep talk just now?" He asked incredulously when Hanamiya and his team disappeared.
Aya grinned. "He lost in his own game. That misfortune does taste like honey, to us. And besides… they lost, I didn't need to be mean; he'd expect that, the curses, the anger and it'd calm him down. I'd be the only one pissed off in the end. But being nice to him, I think it only makes him feel worse."
"Reverse psychology?"
"Whatever." She shrugged. "But maybe something in him will shift in the end… somehow…"
"Do you really believe it?"
"If nothing changes, then he truly is a despicable, bad person without a reason. I do hate him for what he did in our two matches. But until I'm sure, I give him the benefit of the doubt."
"You really are trying to look for good in people, but don't let it drain you… Not all are worth it."
"I know. And I have you to remind me of it." She smiled at him lovingly. Then she shook off the whole Hanamiya thing, grabbed his wrist and hurried towards the Seirin changing room.
They got there just when Seirin was leaving.
"Taigaaaaa!" She called out and leapt up, wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing him in a hug.
"Gah!" He almost fell on his butt under the unexpected weight ramming into him. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around her waist. Then he coughed. "You're… strang-ling me."
"Sorry, sorry." She chuckled and let go.
Taiga set her back on the ground and rubbed his offended neck. "Seriously, you're embarrassing me."
"I do not care." She smirked. "You did a great job. All of you. I'm happy you won, you deserved it."
There was a collective 'thank you' from the entire team. Then they noticed Daiki.
"What are you doing here, Aomine?" Hyuuga asked him with a certain hostility in his tone.
He raised an eyebrow. "What does it matter?"
"Ah, where's Kuroko?" Koganei asked, looking around. Their phantom was nowhere around.
"Huh? He was here a second ago…" Riko turned around and scanned the group. "Really, where is he?"
Hyuuga facepalmed and grimaced. "Why can't you guys behave for once?! Go and look for him! We'll meet at the front gate."
The guys wandered away, looking for Kuroko at every corner. Taiga, Hyuuga, Riko and Kiyoshi stayed behind with Aya and Daiki.
"He's probably at the court outside." Daiki drawled, picking his ear.
"Right, because you'd know." Taiga grumbled.
Daiki gave him an uninterested look. He didn't care if Taiga believed him or not. But he knew Kuroko well enough and he had a feeling Taiga would actually go there.
"Are you going to celebrate with your team, or are you coming home with me? I want to know if I need to cook or if I can get the noodles from the shop across the street."
Taiga glanced at Riko and the captain for an answer.
Riko shrugged. "We can stop at the Maji burger on our way. But everyone's paying their share."
He nodded. "I'll eat out. And I'd eat out or cook for myself anyways. You need to pack and go over the plan and books again, right?"
"Don't remind me." Aya sighed, "and don't worry, be with your team and enjoy the dinner, 'kay?"
Taiga nodded.
"Good boy." She ruffled his hair, laughing as he slapped her hand away. "All right, we'll be leaving. You enjoy the night."
They said goodbyes and Aya turned to leave with Daiki following right after her.
"Oi, Aomine."
"Hm?"
"Maybe you should stay over tonight."
"Eh?!" Riko was glancing from Aomine to Aya to Taiga with a blush on her face. She wondered what the relationships were.
Daiki nodded, but turned to Aya with a raised eyebrow, asking for permission. He wasn't sure if he wouldn't be just a distraction when she needed to get ready for her business trip, whatever that included.
"Sure. Stay. If you don't distract me too much," she shrugged, "I'll be happy. But we have noodles from the shop for dinner."
"Good, I'll write dad to take 'em out in my stead tonight." He quickly sent a message to his dad, and then he smirked. "So can I distract you a little?" He teased.
"Mmmm, I guess it's fine if it's a little."
"Disgusting!" Taiga called after them.
"Mmmmm," Daiki turned around, patting the empty space on the bed next to him looking for Aya. For once he didn't wake up when she got up to get ready for leaving, but in his hazy, half-sleeping state he could hear her shuffling around quietly.
"Shhhhh, you can sleep." She hummed and caressed his cheek. She was glad that Daiki eventually got used to sleeping with her in one room, in one bed. Her own sleep was calmer; she tossed and turned less, when he was around.
He caught her wrist and pulled her closer, so she had to sit on the bed. She smiled softly, drawing lines on his cheek and jawline with her thumb.
"Wh' tim' 's 't?" He asked sleepily, curling his huge body around her hips and nuzzling against her hand.
"It's 2AM, I'm leaving to catch the plane soon."
He groaned in protest and hugged her around the waist like a little kid. With his eyes closed, he relaxed for a moment, just enjoying the closeness. "Y' smell nice."
She chuckled, caressing his hair and arms. He was so cute when he was half asleep, so vulnerable. She'd love to slip back into the warm bed and snuggle. This was her motivation to deal with everything as fast as possible and get back. She traced the hickeys she'd left on him. Some were already disappearing.
Hmmm… She leaned down, kissing his neck and leaving another mark right under his collarbone.
"Mmmmhm…" He smirked. His arms circled around her back and he pulled her into the bed, imprisoning her. She squealed and laughed. "Am I supposed to let you go, now?"
"Are you awake now?" She was planting butterfly kisses all over his chest. He smelled nice too, and she loved that he was sleeping shirtless.
"And not sure I'm letting you go."
Ah, that voice… When her phone chimed, she groaned and pushed away from him. "Taxi's here."
"Taxi?"
She shrugged. "Didn't want to bother anybody."
He propped himself on his elbow and openly checked her out. She was wearing comfy clothes, but she managed to make it look elegant. "Let me know when you land safely."
"You know I will." She kissed him on his lips. "I'm gonna wake Taiga, say goodbye and I'll go. Don't kill each other in the morning please."
"Mhm. Be careful."
"I will, I love you."
"Love you too." He pulled her down for another kiss. He was already missing her.
######
"Yo." He greeted Taiga in the kitchen. "What's for breakfast?"
Taiga glared at him. He didn't like making food for Daiki, but he wouldn't leave a guest hungry. Aya would kill him for that. "You're unbelievably comfortable in someone else's house." He turned to him and took in Daiki's half-nakedness and the hickeys. "At least wear a t-shirt."
"Not like you care." He raised an eyebrow at Taiga who was shirtless himself, and with a few bruises from the match.
He rolled his eyes. "I don't. Father would kill you though."
"I'd take my chances."
Taiga snorted. "Feel free to try."
He wandered around the huge space for a moment, looking for a place to sit; he felt restless. He couldn't help but worry. Whatever she'd been preparing for seemed serious and he didn't understand it a bit.
"Aya'll be fine."
"Tch, I know."
"Then don't wander around like a lost kitten."
A/N: I honestly wanted this chapter to be shorter than it is and contain bits from Aya's 'business trip' and the onsen meeting you all know from anime/manga, but... Next time ;) I used a mixture of anime and manga for describing the match, as they slightly differed, I also excluded Kise and Kaijo, to make the descriptions less complicated, sorry to all fans of Kise.
Let me know what you think and remember, reviews are appreciated but never necessary.
S.