A/N: Thanks to everyone who followed and favourited and reviewed! I'm repeating myself (and I will), but it makes me really happy!
42 followers! That's worth celebrating. (Regards to those who understand the meaning of '42') :)
Enjoy! :)
Strong people don't put others down... They lift them up. – Michael P. Watson
The level of our success is limited only by our imagination and no act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted. – Aesop
A man who has never made a woman angry is a failure in life. – Christopher Morley
I just want to show off my scar proudly and not be afraid of it. – Carly Simon
A happy woman is one who has no cares at all; a cheerful woman is one who has cares but doesn't let them get her down. – Beverly Sills
It is a wise father that knows his own child. – William Shakespeare
Kiku came to school earlier than before. When she opened her shoe locker, several papers fell out. Her heart sank and she bit her lower lip.
Not again... She was fighting tears.
She was well aware that she was not the prettiest being on earth. She was clumsy. She was stuttering... She knew there were always those who found her annoying, ugly, unworthy... But it hurt. It hurt so damn much to be reminded of it every single day.
If only they left her alone... She was fine alone.
She didn't want to read it, and yet. The words written on the papers screamed out at her.
'Ugly-duckling.'
'Just go away. You are so annoying.'
'Stop trying.'
Stop trying what?... She crumpled the papers and threw them away.
Kiku was dragging her feet to the class, where she had to finish a homework she hadn't done at home. School wasn't a place she enjoyed. Ever since middle school, she was always picked on. Always alone. She had expected it would be the same in high-school.
When Aya had started talking to her, it'd surprised her. The beautiful and confident girl, talking to an ugly-duckling like her, it was unbelievable. But Aya didn't seem to have any ulterior motives, she'd never said or done anything to hurt her, or to show her how unworthy she was. If anything, Aya was trying to support her when she faltered, catch her when she fell.
Even the boys from the basketball club were trying to talk to her thanks to Aya. And Kiku was not as alone as before. Those notes would not disturb her. She wouldn't tell anyone about it.
Friendship was a new concept to Kiku, she didn't want to screw it up.
It was raining all morning and the basketball club was forced to stay indoors for the entire morning practise.
"Y-you don't like r-rainy weather?" Kiku asked, when Aya sighed after watching the rain outside.
"Not really. I just feel like having a huge cocoa and a good book and do nothing at all. Or I want to go out there and enjoy it."
"I-i-i don't want to preach, but... Isn't it a good recipe to catch a n-nasty cold?"
"Probably, but it has never stopped me from going out without an umbrella." Aya shrugged. She could feel Aomine's gaze burning a hole in her back and she was doing everything she could to ignore it. The sudden attention from him was something Aya didn't expect or want. What happened? She wondered. Then she shrugged off the weird feeling and focused on Kiku again. "Do you think it's going to rain during the weekend?"
The short-haired girl made an I-have-no-idea face. "Did you want to g-go somewhere?" She asked in a quiet, but hopeful voice. Some girls in the class looked her way, then turned back and whispered something. Kiku turned her eyes down and tried to hide herself behind her fringe. She knew they were talking about her, even if she couldn't hear it.
"I was thinking about some sightseeing, maybe going to the ocean." Aya was thinking out loud, acting oblivious, but she noticed this small, silent exchange.
"I-i-it's still April, so the water is rather cold." Kiku muttered, not looking up from her desk.
Hmmm... "I don't want to go swimming yet." Aya chuckled. "How was your club anyways? You haven't talked about it."
"O-o-okay. We cook and bake. It's calm and warm and n-nice." Kiku's chocolate brown eyes sparkled in joy. She loved baking the most. If there was something to make her happy it was a good book and a tasty cake. Or a combination of both. Soon, their conversation turned into exchanging recipes. Aya was asking a lot about Japanese food, because she was more used to western food and she seriously wanted to learn more; mostly because she was running out of bento was happy to offer her help.
"You can even make a chocolate cake?!" Kano asked way too loudly after overhearing a bit of the girls' conversation.
Kiku jumped in fright, because she hadn't seen it coming. The girls in the front laughed and Kiku blushed in embarrassment. She suddenly got up and headed out.
"Eh? What happened?" Kano asked, turning to Aya. Kiku's reaction surprised him and hurt him a little bit.
"Kiku is very shy. I suggest you don't speak so loudly around her, mainly when she doesn't expect you to. You just scared her."
"Oh... I should apologise then... Right?" He thought they were over this...
"You can try and see." Aya suggested.
"Why do you even talk with her, Aya-chan?" One of the girls from the front, mingled into their conversation. "I mean, you are so much better."
Aya knew that Kiku was kind of ostracized, but she had no idea the girls from their own class would speak like this and in front of the others. It was shocking, because Kiku had done nothing at all to deserve this sort of attention. "I don't think I get where you are going with this..."
"You are pretty, smart, cheerful. Why would you hang out with that, that... with her." The girl spat out, not able to find a suitable insult. "It's obvious she is using you."
Aya fought back an eye-roll, making enemies within her class wasn't smart. Although, those two girls weren't to Aya tastes. She'd talked with them, assumed they weren't a friend material for her and then she sort of tolerated them.
"Thanks for the compliment, but I believe I can decide who I want to spend my time with by myself." She had a feeling of déjà vu. It had been more private before though. "And to clarify, I don't feel better than Kiku... Just because I'm different than her, doesn't necessarily mean I'm better."
"Someone wants to look good~" The other girl snickered, trying to provoke the redhead. It got on the girl's nerves that Aya kept her calm.
"You certainly do look amazing right now." She retorted. The girls' faces twisted into an ugly grimace, which made Aya smirk. "Really. You should look into a mirror."
They huffed and turned around. They original idea was to befriend Kagami Aya, because she seemed always cheerful and she knew her way around; they had hoped it would be beneficial for them. But obviously, Aya wasn't a goody-two-shoes all the time.
Kano whistled. "That one was good, Aya-chan!" He held up his hand to high five with the redhead.
"Thank you!" She chuckled and high-fived with him. She only hoped she didn't make the situation worse for Kiku.
All the guys from the club were watching their manager in awe. She'd shown some of her protectiveness the previous day, when she'd actually scolded Yamaoka-senpai. That in itself had been unbelievably gutsy of her. And now, shutting up those two without any verbal insult... Even Aomine had to admit that what Aya had just done wasn't easy. It was damn cool.
The little girl was standing behind the door, overhearing everything. She never left too far, because she only needed a few moments to calm down her sudden fear. It was hard to process the idea of someone standing up for her. It felt unearthly. It had never happened before. Not to her. Tears of relief and happiness stung in her eyes. She covered her face, refusing to let them out and crouched down with her back against the wall. With steady breathing she eventually calmed down. Students who passed by didn't notice her much and she was glad for that. Then, when she was ready to return and act as if nothing had ever happened, she got up, and returned to the classroom.
######
After the Japanese class, Aya almost blew up, when she saw Aomine's assignment that was due next Monday.
"What is the meaning of this?" She asked him in a calm voice, but her eyes were throwing daggers.
"Wha'? I've done it, haven't I?" He asked nonchalantly, knowing very well he was making her unbelievably angry at the same time.
"But it's not correct! I mean, why is it all written in katakana?" Not that it was hard to understand the easiness of using only one alphabet and no kanji, but it was so not correct. Mainly because this was the modern Japanese class and their task was to write an essay.
"What's wrong with katakana? It's simple and easy to understand." And he simply liked the angularity of the syllables.
Aya took the papers and quickly read through it. Then she circled four words and slapped the paper against his desk. "Only these words are supposed to be written in katakana. Everything else should be in hiragana and kanji." She said exasperatedly. At least I hope so. "Rewrite it."
He looked back at her and yawned. "No."
Oh, for fuck's sake... If they weren't in the class she'd probably throw something at him. "Yes! As partners we are evaluated together – most of the time – I don't want a bad mark because of your laziness."
"Then you redo it." He shrugged and observed her reaction.
A vein popped on her forehead, and it seemed as if her reddish eyes caught fire. Despite that, she didn't yell at him. She took a deep breath, which was probably the only thing keeping him from getting strangled. "No. It's your essay."
She's holding out well... "It's too much work. We won't fail because of this, chill out."
That was it. Aya narrowed her eyes at him dangerously. "You know what?" With a lightning-fast move she snatched his essay and crumpled it into a ball.
"Oi! What are you doing?!" He reached forward to save his work. It was a miracle in itself that he had done as much as actually writing the essay. And his fiery partner had just destroyed it.
Aya kept it from his reach and smiled at him. "If you don't want to fail, you will rewrite it. Or, we will both fail and get a detention. With luck, they won't cut your scholarship."
Now it was him, who was angry. "You witch." He hissed. Yup, she was pissed off and she knew exactly what to use against him. The scholarship was the only thing why he did at least some of his homework. If he wanted to keep it, he couldn't fail. And he had to keep it. His parents weren't rich enough to afford Touou without his scholarship. For Aomine it meant he had to try just enough to pass. And this essay was an important one. Fuck...
Her smile only widened and she threw the crumpled paper back at him. "Good luck with rewriting. You still have time until Monday." She got up, and exited the classroom to go to practise.
Aya's phone rang on Saturday's early afternoon.
"Who's that?" She asked Taiga, who was writing his own homework (for the first time since the school had started and under her supervision) and had her phone near him.
"Unknown number." He said and gave her a curious glance, because this was her personal phone. Unknown callers were very rare.
"Let's see." She got up from her comfortable place on the couch between cushions and took the phone.
"Hello. Kagami Aya here." She introduced herself and walked towards a balcony. It was still cloudy, but at least the sun showed itself from time to time. It was nice.
"Oh. You sound good over the phone." A familiar husky voice greeted her. He sounded different, but she'd know that voice anywhere.
"Why do you bother me during the weekend, Aomine? And where the hell did you get my number?" She asked and he could picture her rolling her eyes.
He chuckled. "Satsuki."
"Of course." She sighed. "So. What's up?" She sat down on a chair and rested her feet against the railing.
"I wanna play basketball." He demanded.
"And?"
"Play with me."
"What makes you think that I would want to see your face during the weekend?"
"The fact that you still didn't hang up?" The moment he said it, he feared she would do exactly that. But he had to say it to provoke her.
That one got her. Aomine:1, Aya:0. Well said, Aomine Daiki. She thought and smirked to herself. "Fine. Meet me at the school gate in one hour. Don't be late." She said and hung up. She pressed the phone against her lips and thought about what she'd just gotten herself into... Well... it might be interesting...
"Who was it?" Taiga asked when she returned back with an amused smile.
"Aomine. He wants to meet up."
"What?" Taiga blinked at his sister in disbelief. "Don't you like... hate him, or something?"
"He annoys me, yes, but I don't hate him Tai." She leaned over his shoulder to take a crisp from his bowl.
"Oi! That's mine!" With a huff, he covered his snacks from her. "What does he want anyways?"
Taiga heard about Aomine from the generation of miracles. He didn't know much about how good the guy was in basketball, or what his story was, but he did know the little things that pissed off his sister. It was rare that she spoke about someone that vividly before and Taiga was definitely not going to point it out.
"Probably something homework related." She shrugged. A story about the essay was well known by Taiga and she decided not to mention basketball, or her brother would definitely tag along and Aomine was not an opponent Taiga should face right now.
Aya headed towards her room to change, taking off her worn-out t-shirt along the way. Taiga was used to seeing her in underwear, but he couldn't help an eye-roll. "Don't forget to change that worn-out bra too."
"Don't worry, Tai. I will!" She shouted from her room.
Clothes were the last thing she was worried about. If Aomine wanted to play basketball, old comfy jeans and a black tank-top worn under her brother's red and black checkered shirt with rolled up sleeves would be more than enough. She grabbed her bag and just in case she took Modern Japanese and English textbooks. She would go over it while on the train.
She said her goodbyes, which didn't go without some more bickering over the shirt and snacks.
######
For the first time in his life Aomine arrived somewhere 10 minutes earlier than the said time. He was leaning against the school gate and wondering whether the redhead would show up, or not. It would be tragically funny if she had played him.
Aya wasn't rushing, but she arrived a few minutes earlier as well. When she saw Aomine frowning, lost in some deep thoughts and hypnotizing a basketball spinning on his forefinger, she smirked. It was refreshing to see him wearing casual, comfortable clothes instead of the school uniform.
She used the chance to scare him, because he wasn't paying attention.
"Yo. You're here earlier than I've expected."
"!" The ball almost fell out of his hands, but he managed to catch it. "Do you seriously want to kill me, woman?"
Aya laughed. "If that means I'd work on school assignments alone... than maybe..." She shrugged and snatched the ball from him.
"Tch." Talk about a pleasant partner...
"Come on." She opened the gate and slipped in.
"Eh? Is the school open during weekends?"
"There's a dormitory inside. Of course it's open. Someone is there 24/7." She said as if it weren't news to Aomine.
He vaguely knew there was some dormitory, but he had no idea it was within the school campus. He never cared. And even though the boys had probably talked about it in the changing room, he had never listened properly.
Without another word, he followed her. It was a good opportunity to see her in casual clothes. He thought she was more of a serious type who wouldn't wear something like a men's shirt, but he was obviously mistaken. Then again, he asked her to come to play basketball = get sweaty, of course she'd wear comfortable clothes like him.
Suddenly she threw the ball back to him to tie her hair up.
With some difficulty he caught it (he was too preoccupied by staring at her butt to react in time).
It was unusual for her to have her hair down at school or practises, because it was simply too long already and too difficult to manage. But whenever she was at home, she either had it down, or only loosely tied.
Aomine couldn't deny that he would love to drive his fingers through the thick, long mane Aya had. But her ponytail or braid were nice too.
He spotted an old man, he'd never noticed before, sweeping the path leading towards the gyms and the outside courts.
Aya waved him with her free hand. "Hello, Tsuchiya-san! How are you doing?" She greeted him familiarly and finally managed to finish her ponytail.
"Aya-chan! Practising even during weekends?" He asked tilting his head to scan Aomine.
"Yeah. This one is not from my neighbourhood, so it was easier to meet at school. Is it okay if we use the outside court? It should be dry enough already."
Satisfied with Aomine, the old man nodded. "Ah, youth." He mused. "Sure. Be careful, and –"
"Leave before eight." Aya filled in. "Don't worry. I'll come to say goodbye."
"Okay. Have fun." He saluted to them and continued with his work.
"Who was that?" Aomine asked when they were out of the old man's earshot.
"Eh? You don't know?" She turned to him in surprise. "That was our janitor, Tsuchiya-san. He changes shifts with another one, I guess his name was Aoyama, but I don't see that one here as often."
His eyebrow shot up in disbelief. "You know the school janitors by their names?"
"Yeah. What's wrong with that? It can be handy."
Aomine shook his head as they entered the outside basketball court. "I don't even remember my teammates' names, let alone school staff." He commented under his breath.
"That is sad. Wasn't your belief something like 'Anyone who likes basketball can't be a bad guy'?" Aya said, imitating his husky voice with a hinge of arrogance. And she failed miserably.
"Oi! How d' you...!" Then he stopped to think for a moment. "...Satsuki... She is so dead. What else did she tell ya?!"
Aya smirked foxily. "Who knows? I'm not telling."
"Tch." He shook his head and threw the ball to Aya. "First offence is yours. Do you want a head start?"
Instead of answering, she asked: "How much are you going to test my temper?"
Aomine smirked and took a defensive stance. He was a type that usually needed to run warm, before he really got into a game, but this time, he wanted to take it easy. Running over Aya wasn't his intention and he was aware of the strength difference. So he bent his knees and stood in a relaxed position, ready to react to whatever move she'd try to pull.
"You know," she said, while dribbling the ball just millimetres out of his reach. "If you take me too lightly I might slip past you."
The moment she said it, she made a step to the right, to which Aomine reacted; he just didn't expect her to immediately change direction to the left. Her legs crossed, which should destabilize her, but it didn't. She spun around and made it past him. He caught up, but she was fast on her feet. Her movements were so smooth, he didn't notice the exact moment when she jumped to a fade away and made a shot. But he was called a 'monster' for a reason. He leaped up too and with his height, it was easy to tap the ball so that it missed.
His jaw would hit the ground if only he hadn't bit the inner side of his cheek. What the hell...?
The surprise she saw in his eyes was priceless. "See? Told ya." She smirked.
He smirked back at her and tilted his head cockily. "Not that you actually made it." ...but it scared me for a second there. I guess I can't take it that easy. He thought, thankful for his reflexes and skills.
"I know that. And so what?" She walked toward the ball lying under the basket and picked it up. "If I had run away every time when someone better than me showed up... I'd get nowhere. It's better if I can't win." It wasn't that she could win, or overpower him; he was still a very muscular boy, much taller and much heavier. But if she could cause him some trouble, she was satisfied.
"Hn." He threw his jacket over Aya's bag and caught the ball she threw to him. He couldn't take it easy after that. Her eyes were shining with something he couldn't quite decipher, and he wasn't sure he liked it.
This time, it was his offence and he wasn't willing to let Aya steal from him. With his tricky street ball, he had a good advantage, and he made a shot almost effortlessly.
He soon learnt that the moment he jumped, Aya had no chance of stopping him even if she had an unbelievable spring in her legs. But with her hand covering his vision, she made him miss several times. Otherwise, he was the absolute winner.
What surprised him was that Aya wasn't disheartened by losing continuously, on the contrary, she would always ask for 'one more time'. She was slowly getting used to his rhythm and he still couldn't read hers. It was a mixture of street ball, orthodox basketball and something he didn't know and thus, couldn't react to it. With that something, she managed to get past him and she even managed some shots. Another detail that surprised him was her left-handedness. He knew she could write with both hands, it wasn't a secret. Still... Usually his opponents weren't as good when it came to left-handed ball handling, so it usually gave him another advantage - not this time.
He seemed to be miscalculating a lot when it came to Aya.
And then another attack came, when after half an hour of running around, Aya took off her shirt, revealing her shoulders and cleavage. The black tank-top wasn't showing much; just enough to occupy his mind and distract him. That was playing dirty.
He forgot himself staring when Aya's voice snapped him out of it. "Seeing something you like?" His own words from before were thrown back at him.
And in a similar way he answered. "Maybe... D-cup?" He asked teasingly, obviously checking her out - no reason to try to hide it now.
"Maybe." She smirked and teased him: "Try not to get a hard-on."
He blushed slightly, which didn't escape her attention, but he managed to find a sharp comment. "I'd need more than that, Sweetheart."
A humorous spark glittered in her orbs and her smirk widened. "Oh. Nicknames now, Honey-bun?"
"What did you call me?!" Really. Kagami Aya was truly a piece of work.
She laughed. "Come on. Let's play some more." She threw him the ball, aiming at his face.
It almost hit him, so he forced himself to focus on the game again.
After another two hours, he was wondering if she'd been gifted a bottomless source of energy and if that something he couldn't read, could in reality be dancing. Mixing up basketball and dancing sounded too surreal in his head, so he decided not to ask.
When they were done, he leaned against the fence and gulped down his water. His t-shirt was drenched in sweat and he started to feel the temperature dropping as the evening approached. Aya was sitting to his right on a patch of grass drinking water and looking somewhere into the distance.
He noticed a scar on her left shoulder almost immediately as she'd sat down. It was pretty thick; it must have been caused by some serious wound. Some might have considered it hideous, but to Aomine, it only made him interested. His eyes were tracing over it, but he couldn't find the courage to ask and Aya probably wouldn't want to talk about it. So he just stared and wondered.
Aya was watching the setting sun and fluffy clouds passing by in the distance. She was relatively tired, because with Aomine as her opponent she went all out. And even then, she lost spectacularly. When it came to basketball, Aya had never seen such a potential. He was amazing, and there was still a room for him to grow. If the others were terrified, she was mesmerised.
By this time, Aya had understood Aomine's problem more than anyone could guess. No one in the current Touou's basketball club was his equal. His talent and abilities were simply too great. There was no challenge, and so, he saw training as something pointless. Why would he need to train, if there was no one to try to overcome? Maybe Taiga... Not yet, but... Taiga was still far from being able to take Aomine on, but she saw a possibility there. A possibility she wanted to bet on.
"Do you have the keys from the changing room?" Aomine asked and broke her train of thoughts.
"Huh? ... Yeah. Why?"
"I want to take a shower and change before I catch a cold."
"Oh." Only then she noticed it got colder. "Good idea." She got up and headed towards the changing rooms. She had a change of clothes stored there too.
She unlocked the door for him and then headed to the next door. His eyes were still tracking the scar and this time Aya noticed. Her eyes widened, and she immediately covered it with her hand. Shit! She thought. How could I forget?! In an instant, she vanished in the girls' changing room, leaving Aomine even more confused.
He shook his head and went in. It was strange to be there alone. The room smelled of sweat, old socks and some old car air freshener which didn't serve its purpose anymore. He took his clothes off and went for a quick shower.
When she slammed the door behind her, she leaned against it and slid down. How could she forget all about that scar? It wasn't something she wanted to show to the others. Not because she was ashamed, or embarrassed about it; she just didn't want to be questioned. She was careful during the P.E. classes, so that no one would notice. And there she went and forgot all about it when playing basketball with Aomine? Why did she relax around him to such an extent? She knew why. He reminded her of Taiga at times. Also, he wasn't a type of person who would judge.
And what was more surprising... Aomine hadn't questioned it. His gaze had told her, he'd been wondering about it, but he hadn't asked. She took a deep breath. Now, after realising that Aomine'd probably assumed it was something she wouldn't want to talk about, she felt calmer. This small consideration he showed made her feel safer around him. And she suddenly trusted him a little bit more.
So he isn't just an arrogant bastard... But you knew that before too, eh? She picked herself up, took a quick shower and went out.
Aomine had already been waiting for her.
"Sorry for overreacting." She said with her eyes turned to the ground. Her expression was clearly saying that she didn't want to be questioned.
"No big deal." He shrugged. "I haven't seen anything."
Eh? She looked up at him. Her reddish eyes were diving into his dark blue ones, fishing for reasons why he would say that. She couldn't find anything, but it calmed her down even more. "Thanks." She muttered and broke off the intense eye contact.
After locking the door, she turned to him again. "Is there something else you wanted to do except basketball?"
"Something dirty, maybe." He said suggestively.
"Good luck with that." She chuckled and it made him smile too; a small smile which went unnoticed by her.
His remark accomplished the mission. Aya was smiling again.
"Well..." He started, but he wasn't a type to ask for help.
"Anyways." She interrupted him. "How's the essay going?"
"In progress."
"Are you really rewriting it?" She asked incredulously.
"Tch. You completely destroyed it, y' know." He huffed angrily.
"Oh. My bad."
"That's all you say?!"
"Sorry?" She smiled at him sheepishly. Yes, she realised that she had gone overboard. It was rare that he did his work, and there she'd been, stomping over his efforts. But gods had he pissed her off with the essay.
"I'll accept your apology only if you go over the newest version."
"Oh?" In other words, you want my help, but you don't want to ask for it straightforwardly. Stubborn mule. "Sure. Right here, or is a café okay with you?"
There was a small café near the school. Satsuki'd dragged him there against his will several times and he'd always complained, but this time he didn't particularly mind, if it meant getting Aya's help. "Fine by me." He shrugged. "But I'm not paying for ya." He added.
Aya chuckled. "No one asked you to, gentleman-san."
He rolled his eyes and followed her. They said goodbyes to Tsuchiya-san and headed to the café. Aya ordered a black coffee and a chocolate cake, while Aomine was good with tea.
"So..." She said after the first sip from her coffee. "Show me the essay."
He rummaged through his bag and fished out two papers. He handed it to Aya and waited for her evaluation.
There were some kanji missing and written in really tiny katakana below the vacant spots. Aya smiled at it. He truly put a lot of effort into it this time.
"Do I always need to destroy your sloppy work, for you to actually try?" She was shaking her head in disbelief.
"Hn." He huffed and sipped from his tea.
She took out a pencil and filled in the blank spaces, all except two. "I don't know these kanji either." She admitted. "You should probably ask Satsuki or your parents. Or leave it like this."
"Right. Japanese is not your best subject."
"Oh, would you stop always reminding me about it? I know!"
He shrugged, watching her. "It's fun to see you annoyed."
"Oh, so your life's purpose now is to annoy me?"
He smirked arrogantly. "Not that you mind."
"Careful, Honey-bun. You are playing with a fire here." She said teasingly and then shook her head. Flirting with Aomine wasn't the wisest idea. She didn't want to burn him. "Did you do your English homework?"
Aomine got the message. What a strange woman. He thought. "No. English is too bothersome."
"Do you know some other languages beside Japanese then?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. Knowing other languages was vital knowledge for Aya, something she had to study since she was a child. She liked the possibilities it offered and doors it opened.
"Maybe."
When he didn't explain she probed further. "Would you mind telling me, or is it a secret?"
He frowned. Did Satsuki not tell that to Aya? And what exactly did Aya know about him anyways?
With a sigh he answered. "Thai, but only spoken. My grandma is from southern Thailand, so..." He hated learning overly complicated alphabets. Japanese and Roman were more than enough in his opinion.
Oh, so that's why the tanned skin. "That's awesome really."
"So I don't need to learn English then, right?" He asked hopefully.
"It doesn't work like this. English is a global language, knowing it can help you a lot. And it's not like I know only two languages and that's it."
His eyes narrowed at her, asking her 'what?!'.
"Spanish, French, Russian." She named out, "and bits of other languages here and there."
"That's insane."
"No. That's helpful."
"Why?"
"It's helpful." Her reasons were her own and besides, he wasn't actually asking for them.
"Tch." He couldn't believe it. Five languages... that was insane. The more he found out about Aya the more intimidating she was and that amazed him at the same time. He didn't want to lose. "Teach me then." He demanded.
She couldn't believe what she'd just heard. "What?"
"English. Teach me." He repeated.
"It'll be my honour, Honey-bun." She smirked and pulled out the textbook.
"And stop with that nickname." He growled in annoyance.
######
"Why are you grinning like an idiot?" Taiga asked when she came home in time for dinner. "Something good happened?"
"I won't get a terrible mark on the essay and he actually asked me to help him with English. I'd say it was a successful day."
"And what happened to your black tank-top?" His eyebrow quirked up; he didn't usually notice what his sister wore, but when she stole his clothes, he remembered it well.
"We actually played some basketball." She shrugged. "So I changed at school. You know I have some spare tank-tops in the changing room."
"Hmph. You could've told me that, you know." Taiga pouted. He'd spend his entire day doing homework, while his sister went out to play. It was so unfair.
"I couldn't have told you something I hadn't known, right? And you had homework to do anyway."
"Unfair." He slumped to a chair, and let her serve dinner. He was the one who had prepared it, but he was pouting, so he refused to serve it.
After a couple of silent minutes, he asked: "So... How good is he?"
"Hm?" Aya looked at him.
"How good is Aomine?"
"At the moment... You don't stand a chance."
"WHAT?!" He almost choked at his food. And Aya said it in such a calm voice.
"Don't 'what' me. I scored only twice or thrice against him in over two hours of playing. And you know that my shooting rate is decent enough; even against taller guys."
"That good, huh?" Taiga was fired up. He wanted to hurry up and face Aomine. He knew that as long as Aya didn't suggest a showdown between the two, it was impossible for him to win. But if she didn't completely refuse the idea, he had a chance. 'At the moment'... He had to get stronger. He wanted to win no matter what.
"Oi, oi. Cool down. You'll have your chance in the Interhigh. I suggest you train your ass off until then."
Taiga smirked. "You bet."
When she laid into her bed, she felt that this was a really good day. She finally got to play basketball with her team's ace. She got to see a side of Aomine that was usually hidden beneath his arrogant exterior. It was only slight, but it was there. He wasn't an arrogant bastard all the time. And she got to eat dinner with Taiga.
What a good day.
######
"Daiki! Where have you been?" His mother greeted him from the kitchen.
"Out." He answered lazily and put down his bag and the basketball.
"You played basketball?" His father asked from the table.
"Yeah. I wanted to beat someone... It didn't go as I had planned though." He shrugged.
His parents exchanged curious glances. Their son actually said a whole sentence. Finally. They thought in unison.
"Tough opponent?" He asked with a teasing smile.
Daiki slipped onto his chair. "You can't imagine."
"You lost?" Michiko asked hopefully.
"Wha'?! No. No way! ... I don't lose." He blurted out. But I might as well have. He sighed inwardly.
"Would you introduce this new friend of yours to us?" His father asked. "I'd love to see the person who can trouble you this much."
"I ain't troubled. Leave it." He barked.
When a dog's head appeared in between his legs from under the table, giving him a good fright, he almost flipped over. "What are y' doing here, Shiro?!" How he could overlook the big white fluffy fur ball under the table was beyond him.
His father laughed. "She was waiting for you the whole day."
"So troublesome." He sighed and scratched her neck. "I'll take you out after dinner, 'kay?" It almost looked as if the dog smiled widely and she wagged her tail furiously.
"She loves you the most." His father teased him, and Daiki rolled his eyes.
After dinner he took Shiro and their other two dogs for a walk, which turned into a run. When he got home, he hopped into a bath and then fell asleep almost immediately. He was drained and happy.
######
"Could it be that the 'new friend' might be a girl?" Daisuke asked his wife, when they were lying in bed. It'd been on his mind ever since Daiki'd entered the kitchen with an unusually content grin.
"You think there is a girl willing to play basketball with our son? No... That there is a girl besides Satsuki-chan who would put up with him?" Michiko asked curiously.
"Why not? Maybe there is."
"Well... he did mention a classmate, who is bold and annoys him and is also a manager of the basketball team."
"Pretty good recipe to fall in love, don't you think?"
"Hmmm... I've always thought he'd end up with Satsuki-chan." She mused.
"Eh? Really?" Daisuke blinked in surprise and looked at his wife. "I've never thought that. Not once... I mean, she is a nice girl and all, but I think Daiki needs someone tougher than that. Someone more challenging."
True. Now when Daisuke mentioned it, she had to think about it too. Daiki'd never shown any sign of romantic interest towards Satsuki. He did complain that she'd dragged him to practises and that she'd annoyed him, but... "He rarely speaks about this new manager. Or he ignores my questions. Heck I don't even know her name."
"See? I'd say it is a crush."
"I'll have to ask Satsuki." She bit her nail, already plotting something.
"Leave him be, Michiko. He is a teenager shouldering quite a lot of pressure. He doesn't need you to pry into his school life... or love life." Daisuke said unimpressed. If he'd known his wife would get into an investigative mode, he would have never started this conversation. Teasing Daiki was one thing, but going behind his back to investigate...
"But he is my baby boy! I have the right to know."
"Urgh. Seriously. Don't do it."
"Why?"
"You do know how he is when you seriously piss him off, right? Do you want him to ignore you completely?"
"Fine, fine... I'll leave it... For now! But find out the name, Honey." Michiko was really a piece of work, but that was why he'd married her.
Daisuke chuckled. "It might take some time."
A/N: That's it for now. They basically had a date. I realized this tiny detail after re-reading the chapter; just keep in mind that those two didn't call it a date, nor do they realize it - for the time being. We got to see a bit of Aomine's family...
I hope I didn't overdo it.
/sentence structure, grammar minor wording changed on 4.4.2021/
Let me know what you think and remember, reviews are appreciated, but never necessary.
S.