A/N: Thanks to everyone who followed and favourited and reviewed! It makes me very happy.
I'm not sure if I can manage to keep up with the updates as I'm entering the final year of a university plus I have a part-time... You know, master theses and all. However, I have 8 more chapters ready so I should be able to update regularly till Christmas.
This chapter is kind of a leap of faith, and I hope I managed to keep everyone in character and that you'll like it... Enough of rambling, Enjoy! :)
The snake will always bite back. – Jake Roberts
Martial arts are not about fighting; it's about building character. – Bo Bennett
There's a part of martial arts where we need humility and respect. – Eddie Alvarez
Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring. – Marilyn Monroe
Twins have a special bond. They feel safer with each other than with their peers. – Jeanne Phillips
The finest steel has to go through the hottest fire. – Richard M. Nixon
My best friend is the man who in wishing me well wishes it for my sake. – Aristotle
Two days without practises were a blessing for Aya. Especially after the training camp where she'd barely gotten any rest. She could sleep a bit longer and focus on work throughout the whole afternoons. Sleeping longer, could however, turn out to be dangerous…
Aya sprang up on her bed. What time is it?! She remembered turning her alarm clock off, but after that… She groped around her to find her phone.
"TAIGA?!" She called out to him, but no one answered. "SHIT! Of course he went to his morning practise!"
She finally lit the screen to see it was already 9:30. She had missed almost two full classes and would miss another until she'd get to school.
Like a spitfire, she flew towards the bathroom to wash herself and get dressed. In her rush, she forgot to tie her ribbon, which was a part of the girls' uniform. She loosely hung it under her collar and she was already putting on her shoes, grabbing her bag and shutting the door. The ribbon was forgotten.
She sprinted into their classroom two seconds before Irihata-sensei walked in for the English lesson. And she didn't hear the teacher shouting at her to not run in the hallways.
"Someone's in a rush." Aomine snickered. At first he'd thought she was skipping, but it wasn't like her and judging by her totally messy hair, barely buttoned shirt (he would never oppose to Aya's first two buttons undone) and a necklace boldly displayed on her neck – which he hadn't noticed before and which was forbidden in Touou – he concluded she had overslept. Kagami wouldn't make a mistake to wear jewelry when it was against the rules, at least not visibly.
"Oh, shut up." She growled quietly, still grumpy from her abrupt wake-up and loosely braided her hair without a tie. She didn't bring that either. Tch...
The lesson started and Irihata-sensei was calling her out to translate, read, fill in, or explain the grammar, more than usual. The class was aware of a certain hostility the teacher had towards Aya, and they knew it was mostly because the girl was better in English than the teacher. Aya scored 100 each time they had a quiz or small test, so Irihata-sensei was trying to humiliate her whenever she had a chance. Without success...
And Aya was bearing with it only because she didn't want to unnecessarily provoke the teacher. Disputes like that were never good for a student, Aya understood as much. Therefore, whatever Irihata-sensei came up with, as long as it was within the English class, Aya passed with flying colours and sometimes the teacher made an idiot out of herself. That was enough for Aya to shrug it off.
"Kagami-san." She stopped near Aomine's desk, while they were doing dialogues.
Both, Aomine and Aya looked up at her. They were doing what she had told them and Aomine was actually trying. After their little date-not-date he was paying attention whenever Aya decided to teach him some English. And after the training camp, he seemed a bit more interested in what she was saying. Or maybe he was just staring at her again...
"Yes?" Aya asked warily. She didn't like the teacher either.
"Would you mind covering your cleavage, it must be disturbing for Aomine-san and tie your ribbon." She said bitterly.
Aya looked down. Crap. She hadn't noticed! The necklace!
"And that," Irihata-sensei grabbed the ring hanging on the chain and yanked it off of Aya's neck before the girl could react. It required more strength than Irihata had originally thought. The chain was thick, boyish, just as the ring that was hanging on it. So a boyfriend, huh? She threw it on Aya's desk mockingly. "is forbidden. Keep that in mind." She added and returned to the teacher's desk in the front.
Aya hissed in pain as the clasp broke and dug into her skin. With her movement, the teacher almost yanked Aya off the chair. She was staring at the teacher in shocked silence.
The class went eerily quiet. No one knew what to say.
The usual process should be: 1. tell the student they broke the rules, 2. ask them to take their jewelry off, 3. if they cooperate, warn them and let them off the hook, 4. if not, confiscate the piece, and punish them with a detention…
Not this.
Aya quickly buttoned up her shirt and tied the ribbon, to not cause a scene, but oh how she wanted to give the teacher a piece of her mind.
Well, Aomine didn't seem to have a problem with causing a scene.
"What the fuck was the meaning of that?!" He growled at the teacher.
"Pardon me, Aomine-san?" She turned on her heel towards him. She disliked this boy too. Why the hell did she have to use honorifics when it came to those stupid children? They didn't deserve it. None of them.
Don't! Aya thought.
"What the fuck was the meaning of that?!" He repeated threateningly. He hated this kind of unjust behaviour; mostly when it involved people close to him. And as the manager, his partner, and Satsuki's friend, Kagami was close to him. "It was unnecessary! Why'd you do that?"
"I'm the head of the disciplinary committee. I decide what is necessary, Aomine-san." She said icily.
"You –"
Aya stomped on his foot and he winced. It hurt like hell.
"He means he is sorry for disrespecting you, Irihata-sensei." Aya said politely and bowed her head, but there was a dangerous undertone in her voice and her eyes were burning with anger and hurt. Choke with it, stupid bitch.
"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow. "Very good." It felt awesome when she heard those words from Aya. But that rebellious glare… "Please, continue with your task."
"Tche, why did you do that? It fuckin' hurt." Aomine hissed at her the moment she looked at him, holding the necklace in her hands.
At least she didn't confiscate it. "I don't need you to protect me, and you sure as hell won't argue with that…" She glanced over her shoulder, knowing that the woman had an unbelievably good hearing, "sensei," she spat out as an insult, "because of me. It's not worth it. She could make you repeat the year."
"And I sure as hell don't need your consent to do whatever I want." He glared at her.
"Yes, when it involves me!" She hissed.
"Tch."
Lightning was flying between them as they glared at each other.
"What is that anyways?" He eyed the boyish chain and ring. "Token from a boyfriend?"
"Memento of friendship, there are three of these actually. And it's none of your business." She retorted.
Yeah right… because you would wear a boys' necklace and ring just for 'friendship'. He thought and wanted to bark something back when he noticed a red stain forming on her white shirt. His eyes widened.
"What?!" Thank gods the bell rang and the teacher left. She couldn't go on with this quiet argument anymore.
"Your neck is bleeding." He said and suddenly, all the anger at Aya was replaced by anger at the teacher and worry. His fists clenched.
Aya blinked and touched the stinging skin on her neck. It hurt, but she didn't want to give Irihata the satisfaction of showing her pain.
When she looked at her fingers there really was blood; nothing serious, probably just a scratch from when the broken clasp pierced her skin. Oh, fuck that bitch. She thundered inwardly.
"Y-you should go to the infirmary." Kiku advised. She was scared of the teacher and the way she had treated Aya-san, yet she didn't have the courage to do anything.
"It's just a scratch, nothing serious. Don't worry." She smiled at Kiku to assure her that she was fine. "But I should probably have it cleaned. I wear that necklace all the time, but I don't remember the last time I properly cleaned it… Can I ask your help, Kiku?"
"Huh?" The girl blinked at the redhead, not quite getting what was going on.
"I don't want to bother the nurse, so could you look at it here?" Honestly, she was scared to death by hospitals and infirmaries and such. She couldn't handle going there and she wouldn't admit it out loud. "If you don't mind..."
"Uh, oh, sure. I c-can."
######
"Did you try to hang yourself?" Taiga asked, when they passed each other in the bathroom door. Aya was going to take a shower, so she didn't bother wearing her clothes; she was waltzing around in her underwear with her hair tied up.
"You'd wish that, eh?" She teased back.
"Though I can't imagine the position you've had to have to get the mark on the back of your neck…" He mused for a moment, but then his expression got serious. "What happened? Really..."
"I'm not liked by our English teacher. And I overslept and forgot to hide the necklace." She shrugged. "She decided it was a good idea to yank it off my neck in front of the entire classroom."
"WHAT?! And you didn't punch her?"
"It's a teacher, Taiga. Even if I am fiery and don't fear arguments, we are here on our own. Fifteen year old brats... Realise our position…That teacher is a venomous snake, I don't wish to take that on... And cause problems to Katsu."
"So you'll go along till the graduation ceremony?"
"Probably… And then I'll break her nose…" Aya's smirk turned evil for a moment.
He sighed. She was right. They were fifteen year old brats with only the name to back them up. So of course there were situations when they needed to lower their heads and go with the flow. "Why do you even wear that thing? After all that Tatsuya drama?"
"Because! It's important for me! And besides…" She pulled at Taiga's own necklace he was wearing. "You wear that thing too..."
He gave up with a low grunt. The ring and chain were as important for him as they were for his sister. The proof of the trio's friendship, siblinghood… He couldn't bring himself to throw it away or stop wearing it. As long as he and Tatsuya didn't resolve things, he wouldn't stop wearing it. As long as there was hope that Tatsuya would remain his friend and brother, he would keep the ring.
"Does Katsunori know?" He asked.
She gave him an I-have-no-idea-I-haven't-told-him look. "I bet the whole school knows. Words travel fast."
"What are we gonna do today?" Taiga asked on Saturday morning, while munching his breakfast. Aya's neck looked a bit better, but she still had a bruise there.
She sighed silently. Those two days in school were unecessary. She was sitting on a couch, with her back to him, reading financial reports on her tablet. She stayed up all night working and now she was checking some last details. Because of that, she'd had her breakfast before Taiga got up.
"What's on your mind?" She asked, but truthfully, the only thing she wanted was to get some sleep.
"We could play some basketball, eat outside and finish the day watching movies?" He proposed with a shrug.
Aya yawned and put the tablet aside. "I'll take a thirty minute nap, and we can do that. And tomorrow we will go through the training plan for the dance club and then I have a date with Kiku-chan. 's that okay with you?"
"Urgh. Do I have to?" He whined. "You said it was only for those two weeks."
"Senri is down with a cold now, so yes. We're gonna lead the club for another week... or two." She explained. Then she sighed. "You promised. And the pay is nice."
"But only on Tuesdays." That was their deal. He helped only on his free days.
"Sure, don't worry. You're enjoying it anyways." She smiled at him encouragingly. "Now, if you excuse me for a while..." She snuggled into the cushions on the couch and was out in two seconds. Aya didn't get much sleep and she never knew when her next chance to take a nap would be, so she had a habit to sleep on a moment's notice. It was like a switch in her head.
Taiga just shook his head. "The ability to sleep whenever, wherever..." He mused quietly.
Normally he would come up with some prank to remind her that falling asleep at places was dangerous, but Aya seemed really tired and he didn't want to risk facing the consequences of waking up a demon.
For the next half an hour at least...
######
Daiki had planned to have an absolutely lazy weekend: just lying around the house, resting, reading magazines, watching movies, going out with their dogs... He didn't want to think about any unnecessary stuff. Like Kagami being a world champion... Or Kagami in general...
His entire plan got shattered when his father pulled him out of the bed at 5:30 AM.
"What's your problem?" He asked sleepily, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "I've taken the dogs out already..."
Daisuke sat on a chair in his son's room, slightly annoyed by the reaction, but he couldn't really blame him. "There is an event organized by the police station. We are having martial arts training the entire weekend and we are allowed to take our children. You are going." He announced; he hadn't had a chance to talk with Daiki beforehand and so he had already signed him in.
"Urgh. Can't you take your other child?" Daiki grumbled.
"What nonsense are you spouting? You are my only son."
"Then make another... I wanna sleep." He slumped back into his mattress, and closed his eyes.
Daisuke rolled his eyes. What a problematic teenager his son had become. "You should learn everything you can, while you are young. Who knows, maybe you will save a girl of your life once-"
"She can save herself." Daiki mumbled half-asleep, not knowing what he was saying.
"Oh?" A teasing smirk appeared on Daisuke's face. His son finally crushing on someone. Well, he and his wife had been making theories, but this was the first time his son's tongue slipped. "Mom did mention you were acting strange these days..."
Huh?... What's he talking about? His sleeping brain was just slowly starting to work.
"So what's the lady's name?"
WHAT?! He immediately sprang up, blinking away the last shreds of the sleepy haze. "There is no... It's nothing!"
"Hmmm... It didn't sound like nothing. 'She can save herself.'" Daisuke imitated the sleepy voice of his son; it was a scarily accurate imitation.
Daiki buried his face in his palms and let out an embarrassed groan. What was his father's problem so early in the morning? "Urgh. Just leave it, will ya?!"
"No. Not until I have the name. But seeing you are awake... You might as well come with me." He got up and headed out of Daiki's room. "Get ready. You have 10 minutes. We'll talk in the car."
"Fuck!" He rubbed his face with his palms aggressively. He wanted to find some way out, but... Fuck! ... was the only thought that popped up in his head. This weekend would be so damn long and exhausting.
He dragged his feet out of his room, gobbled up his breakfast, almost got run over by their three big dogs, saluted to his mom and got into the car. His bag with training gear was resting on his thighs, and he was regretting that his father couldn't be some sort of an office rat rather than a policeman (former soldier to top it).
"Don't make a face like you are about to die."
"Y' dragged me out of bed at 5; I might as well die from lack of sleep."
Daisuke rolled his eyes and started driving. "5:30, that's not that soon, princess... You went out with dogs before that. So, who's this lady who can save herself?" He asked, after half-ignoring his son's annoyed comment.
"No one." Daiki sad curtly and looked out of the window. For a moment he considered taking out his headphones and listening to music, but his father would probably find some way to get back at him later on.
"The name, Daiki. Or I'll ask mom to investigate." He threatened in gravely voice.
"Ha?! That's playing dirty!" The sheer idea of his mother getting hooked on finding out a secret was scaring the shit out of him.
The last thing he wanted were his overly curious parents sticking their noses into his strange relationship with Kagami. Daiki didn't know what it was, or what he wanted it to be. He only knew that Kagami Aya was an enigma. Respect deserving enigma, who made him feel the way he'd never felt before. And she was damn hot.
"The name~"
"Urgh... But you'll leave me be for the rest of the weekend."
And that was the moment Daisuke knew he won. "I can only promise I won't tease you and keep mom out of this as long as I can, my son. Other than that..."
Daiki was still frowning at him threateningly, but then he nodded. "Fair enough... Kagami Aya. And I ain't crushing on her. Y' hear me?"
"No one ever said you were crushing on someone." He smirked, knowing very well how it felt to be young. And in love...
Daiki groaned in annoyance and turned away from his father, refusing to talk anymore.
######
"Aominecchi! I've missed that frown of yours so much!"
When Kise's overly cheerful voice reached him after exiting the car, he rolled his eyes, and braced himself for a bear hug the blonde would give him. Because he knew a hug was coming, though Kise was the last person he wanted to see or get hugged by.
"Let go, or I'll punch you." Aomine growled, when Kise rammed into him full force and tried to squeeze his soul out.
"Oya? Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed?" Kise asked with a smile on his face, but let go. He acted as if there never was any dispute. "You can try to punch me all you want once this training starts."
"Right... What are you doing here anyways? Aren't you in Kanagawa?" I didn't need to see your face.
"You didn't want to see me at all!" Kise accused him in a whiny voice.
"That's pretty accurate. We're not friends." Another lie.
"How mean! We are friends Aominecchi! I've never thought that you would be so cold towards me one day. Reminds me of the Ice-queen-chan, but she at least came to cheer me up after the match..." His voice trailed off when he thought back to Aya.
"Huh? You don't seem bothered about the loss anymore. Getting used to it?" Aomine teased, observing Kise by the corner of his eye as they were walking towards the dojo's entrance. There was no bitterness reflecting in Kise's eyes. It seemed Kise was already over it, or he played it well.
"It was Kurokocchi after all." He shrugged. "And Kagamicchi is not that bad. Maybe you should be wary at least a little bit."
He snorted. "What nonsense are you spouting? No one can beat me, but me. Kagami or not, I will win."
"I wonder about that. Ice-queen-chan..." Right, Aominecchi can't know... "I mean, Ayacchi, his sister, is really something. I wouldn't dare to provoke her too much."
Ayacchi? When did she earn this guy's respect? Aomine thought and sighed; he'll have to cope with Kise for the two whole days. "Tell me about it. She is a manager at Touou–"
"Eeeeeh?!" He noticed her Touou uniform, but he would've never guessed that she was in the basketball team, or that she knew Aominecchi. "So that's why she knew so much about basketball! I thought she was there just to support her brother. Wait... she didn't know me! How come, she didn't know me? Momocchi must have told her about all of us, no?"
"Beats me. I have no idea; never talked with her more than necessary..." It wasn't completely true, but he didn't need the blonde to take initiative and make a complete mess of his strange relationship with Kagami.
"What a shame! She is fun to be around, and she seems to know her business well." After the middle school dispute, Aomine had been no fun anymore, and Kise felt truly sad about it, because if anyone from the team had been close to being his best friend, it would've been Aominecchi. And now, he was so bitter and grumpy about everything. But to think that he would avoid Ayacchi because she was a little bit challenging... What a shame.
"Shut up already, and start changing. We don't have the whole day." He grumbled, already half dressed in his judogi.
"Hai, hai." Kise shook his head. Since when was Aomine serious about martial arts?
Aomine was quick to change, and not everyone in here had judogis, which in itself was strange. Urgh... kids of policemen...
"Eh? When did you get a blue belt, Aominecchi? How come I wasn't your uke?" With his work piling up, and commuting to school daily, Kise barely had any time to stop by jiu-jitsu practises and even if he did, Aominecchi was usually not there anyways.
"Tch. I don't really remember. March? Father kept nagging and lashing at me, until I took the exam."
"Unfair. I wanted to do my exams at the same time as you. Now I feel like I've lost again." Kise pouted and tied his green belt around his hips.
"You have that belt to keep your judogi on, not to show off or compete with someone, Ryouta. This is not a competition." A deep voice of Kise's father rumbled behind his back and Kise immediately felt apologetic. His father was right, but maaan...
"Sorry. I know." He said, and lowered his head.
"Hello, Daiki, it's been a long time."
"Hello. How have you been?" He bowed his head slightly and got up to go into dojo. Kise would catch up with him later.
If there was anyone in this room Aomine respected it was this man. Yes, his father and Kise too, but Kise's father... Despite being a head shorter than Aomine and Kise, there was no way they could best him when it came to jiu-jitsu. No matter what they'd do, Kise's father would be already a step ahead. And despite that, he was always willing to explain the technique or help when needed. Aomine couldn't understand it and so he admired it.
"Same old stories... How 'bout you, young man? Your father's been worried, you know? And Ryouta kept unusually quiet about basketball for some time too. Somethin' happened?"
"Not really. It's nothin'. Why this event anyways? I mean... Dad works me to the ground pretty fine..."
"And why are we here?" The man asked with a raised eyebrow and a humorous spark in his golden eyes. "Ryouta might attend school in Kanagawa, but we haven't moved. I still work with your father at the same precinct. Not the same team, though."
"I thought you were transferred..." Daiki muttered, when they joined his father and some other policemen, he vaguely recognised.
He greeted them all, and bowed to them respectfully according to their technical levels in jiu-jitsu. This was the only place where he paid respect to anyone, because he would get grounded otherwise, literally, but also because it somewhat fitted this place. When they started talking about their work, he looked around, not interested in their talks.
There were some other kids, mostly around his age. Some fragile looking flat girls without judogis who seemed to be at this sort of a training for the first time in their lives. There was no way he wanted to end up paired with them. If he was supposed to train to the bone, he wanted to really train, not to keep worrying about hurting princesses.
When Kise tried to get to Aomine, four girls, probably daughters of someone in the dojo, stopped him and demanded his autograph. He dreaded the fathers' reactions. Please help... He sent a desperate look to Aomine.
"Oi! This is not a date, but jiu-jitsu practise. Stop being a bother." Daiki rumbled at the girls. Not to save Kise, nope. He just wanted to spar with someone already. And with his copying ability, Kise was a formidable opponent.
The girls paled under Aomine's hard gaze and retreated to a safe corner of the dojo.
"Thanks." Kise mumbled. "I hoped I'd have some peace here at least."
"I didn't do it for you, stupid."
"Meanie!"
Aomine rolled his eyes. "Come on, we need to line up."
######
After the entire day of practising, Aomine and Kise were laying on the floor exhausted and bruised, but satisfied. Rotating and changing sparring partners all the time, facing skilled policemen; it was difficult and taxing. Even with his copying skills, Kise wasn't that good when it came to martial arts. Simply because everyone was different and he needed to adjust his movements, steps and strength according to the person he was facing. Only copying moves wasn't enough here.
"We are staying the night here, right?" Kise asked, staring at the ceiling.
" ' s'pose. It's a weekend-long event."
"We are gonna die tomorrow. I feel like a pudding now."
"What?"
"Pudding. You know... soft and mushy and unable to get up or do anything, because your muscles just gave up on you. Don't you feel like that too?"
"Sort of. But I'm sure I know one idiot who would get up and ask for more." Daiki mumbled and Aya's face flashed in his mind. He was sure she would do something like that.
"Eh? Who is that crazy?"
"Kagami."
"...no way."
Aomine sighed. "She won a race against me. Once. We haven't competed since." He conveniently omitted that he'd managed to play basket with her.
Kise turned his head at Aomine. His eyes were wide in disbelief. "No way... That's... No way. She won a race against you? You? Even I can't do that! How the hell could she..."
"Yeah. I can't believe it either. But she won." Why was he even telling all this to Kise? They were enemies now, right?
"The only one who can beat you is you, huh?" Kise chuckled quietly. "So that's why I got the feeling that it's no good to play around with her."
"Hm?"
"You know... She is my type, personality-wise, sort of... If it weren't for that strange feeling I would've probably asked her out already. But I guess I chickened out." And she told me I wasn't her type...
"You chickened out?" Aomine asked with a snicker. He couldn't believe it, but he didn't like it. He frowned at the ceiling. Aya was just a manager, just a classmate; she could have a boyfriend already, so why did it bother him? Just like that Senri-guy on the phone... Why was it bothering him?
Kise narrowed his eyes when he noticed that Aomine was burning a hole into the ceiling with his glare. "Would you not?" He asked.
"Why are you asking me that?"
He is avoiding the question! "Just hypothetically... Let's say that you fall in love with Ayacchi and she reciprocates... Would you dare to date her?" He could already sense that Aominecchi cared about the girl more than he'd like to admit. The sheer fact that he himself brought her up in a conversation proved Kise's theory.
"In what universe would that happen?"
"Don't avoid the question." Kise's voice sounded unusually serious and it made Aomine turn his head to look at him.
Golden orbs of a lion were staring back at him seriously; observing him. It made Kise look like a predator waiting for its prey to make a mistake. But Aomine wasn't a prey and Kise wasn't waiting for a mistake. He simply wanted to read his long lost friend; to understand him.
He sighed, but answered truthfully. "I don't know." Kise was his rival when it came to basketball, but other than that... He would even consider him a good friend. And right now, it was not about basketball.
After their major dispute he'd stopped contacting the blonde, he thought their friendship was through. Now he learned that he could still tolerate him and that he'd even missed the bastard and his two-faced personality. There wasn't another person he would talk so openly with; this little 'training camp no.2' turned out to have a good timing. And he knew that if there was anything to happen with Aya, Kise was probably the only one who could and would help him.
"You actually thought 'bout it." Kise nodded in satisfaction.
"Why was it important to you anyways?"
"Who knows?" He answered mysteriously and forced himself to get up. "We should take a shower and go to sleep."
"A voice of a reason now?" Aomine snickered, but pushed himself off the ground.
"It's refreshing sometimes." He chuckled and took his water bottle and towel. "Anyways, there is gonna be a new Horikita Mai-chan's photo book next month. It's a different company from mine, but maybe I could get you one before it officially gets out. What do you say?"
Aomine's eyes sparkled, but then he frowned at his blonde friend. "What's the catch?" He asked, knowing very well that Kise didn't do favours for free.
"Come with me to one goukon."
"No. I'm not interested in your screechy fangirls."
"Horikita Mai-chan~"
"Tch... You play dirty."
"No one said I don't. It won't kill you though."
"Fine." Aomine rumbled, already regretting his decision. "But gods protect you if I don't have the photo book before it gets out."
"'s. 's. Don't worry." Kise said with a foxy smirk. Oh this is gonna be so fun. An evil plan was already forming in his mind.
######
"I want to go out for a walk." Aya said after they finished their second movie of the evening.
Taiga looked at her with a frown. "Why? It's already dark out and you need to sleep properly too."
"I feel like having some fresh air and a mango juice from the vending machine in that park. I haven't seen it anywhere else."
With a sigh Taiga pushed himself off the couch. "Alright then. Let's go."
"Huh?" She turned her big eyes on him. "You don't have to come with me."
"I want to. Got a problem with that?!" He huffed. He worried for her, but he wouldn't tell her that openly. He knew she knew it anyways.
"Not at all. Take the ball too then."
"You wanna play more basketball?" He asked hopefully.
"I don't know yet. Maybe." She shrugged and went to put on her sneakers.
######
"Where are you two heading?" Daisuke asked the two boys from his futon. "Are you not tired enough?"
"Just want some juice, dad."
"Bring me some tea then." He requested and picked up his book again.
"'kay. Anything else?" Daiki asked Kise's father.
"No thanks. But you might want to go already, or they'll all request something."
"Right..." He nodded and quickly exited the room. Kise was waiting for him outside, already surrounded by girls. Aomine just rolled his eyes, grabbed Kise by his collar and pulled him away.
"Seriously, why won't they mind their own business?"
"Don't be jealous, Aominecchi! If you didn't frown that much, they would certainly flock around you too!" Kise said with a smile and avoided a punch that followed.
"I'm more than glad they don't."
"See, that's the attitude..."
They walked towards a small park near the dojo in comfortable silence. Aomine was in this neighbourhood for the first time, so he just followed the blonde, who seemed to know his way around. It was a quiet night, no one was out in the streets anymore except occasional dog owners. When they arrived at the park, much bigger than what Kise had said a big clock showed it was past 10 p.m. They bought drinks from the vending machine and kept walking around for a bit longer. Even though they were both exhausted, the cool night breeze felt nice.
The sound of a basketball hitting concrete reached their ears.
"'s there a court?" Aomine asked suspiciously.
"Yup. I thought of playing some." Kise said, though he was sure Aominecchi wouldn't agree to it.
"Yeah, with what? I could draw you a ball if you'd like... But oh... Wait, we don't have chalk either."
Kise laughed at Aomine's sudden humorous spark. "Let's see if they'd lend us theirs."
"What kind of idiot goes playing in the middle of the night anyways?"
"Uuuh... Us?" But it made him happy that Aominecchi didn't completely turn him down.
When they neared the court, a loud voice reached them. "Would you stop doing that?!"
Kise came to a halt, recognising it.
"What?" Aomine turned to him curiously.
"That was Kagamicchi. Why don't we just observe from the sidelines, for a bit?" He suggested cheerfully and dragged Aomine to the side of the court, where he knew was a dark spot good for hiding. He passed this park quite often; he knew it well.
"Why do I feel like some creepy stalker?"
"Don't worry about it, Aominecchi! It's gonna be fine."
Right. He thought, but then something caught his eye. No way.
"Well, who'd guess that we'd run into those two." Kise mumbled to himself.
Aya was smiling, teasing her brother with movements he couldn't quite react to, even though he knew them. She was on offensive this time. They were both still, looking at each other, evaluating, guessing. The only thing moving was Aya's hand and the ball. And then she moved. She faked left, and then with a perfect spin, she changed to the right. Taiga had no chance to change his momentum, so he ended up stepping left. But he spun around just as quickly and caught up with her. She shot at the hoop, but he leaped up and knocked the ball down without much trouble.
It was very similar to what she had done when playing against Aomine.
"Seriously. Would you stop dancing around me?" Taiga huffed and wiped his face with his t-shirt.
So it is dancing, huh? Aomine thought, a deep frown appearing on his forehead. It wasn't that surprising she used something she was good at.
She smiled and picked up the ball. "Why? It doesn't seem like you have trouble following." But the truth was that her speed was nowhere near her best. She was too tired to go all out. And Taiga was holding back a lot too.
"Still. It's basketball, not dancing."
"Is it bad if I use dancing to my advantage? I mean, you didn't mind it when we were on one team."
"You didn't use it against me then." Taiga pouted. "It's not fair."
Aya laughed and threw him the ball. "What's not fair, is your height and build and those freakin' jumps."
"It is to my advantage." He smirked and shot a three pointer over Aya's head. It missed, but he was already beneath the basket and jumping to dunk it.
Haaa? Not that bad... Aomine smirked and a dangerous aura emanated from him almost instantly.
"Aye, aye." She took the ball and dribbled again.
"You still okay?" Taiga asked with concern, taking a defensive stance.
"I guess." She shrugged; her pace slowing down even more. With that Taiga knew it was about time she went to sleep.
"What are you planning for Monday practise? I want to have one more day to prepare mentally..."
"Huh?" She blinked at him and the ball rolled away from her. "Didn't you say you would go with me only on your days off?"
He scratched his cheek in embarrassment. "Well... I guess it won't kill me."
"Hmmmm... You, dancing in front of people more than is absolutely necessary out of your own free will... Teaching even... Please wake me up."
"You are up." He growled.
"Then who are you and what have you done to my twin?" She asked, chuckling.
Taiga rolled his eyes and offered his hand to her, inviting her for a dance.
A happy smile spread across her face, when she grabbed his hand and let him spin her around. It couldn't be called dancing, just fooling around, but even that looked good, when Aya was the one performing.
"I'm planning to repeat the cha-cha choreography I extended on Thursday. And then mix in some jive and another, quicker cha-cha at the end. I suppose it's only good for them to learn how to adapt to a changing pace." She explained her plans.
"Just the basic routines or do you wanna teach them some stunts?" He asked, leading her around in a cha-cha rhythm.
"I don't know yet. Probably the routines only. I'm not sure if everyone could keep up... Well... We'll go through that tomorrow."
"Okay. But I'd prefer to do something I know."
"Don't worry brother, when it's ballroom, there aren't things you don't know. And besides, you can lead me better than Senri."
That was the first time Aomine saw her dancing. Every move was smooth and elegant; and her hip movement looked incredibly hot. Her entire figure looked like it was designed to do exactly this. Even if what she was doing now was probably far from what an actual dance should look like, he couldn't take his eyes off of her. It looked magical. Now he regretted ditching that one practise she had led.
"You are drooling, Aominecchi." Kise whispered; his eyes observing the duo. He wanted to remember the steps; maybe he could use it sometimes.
"Mind your own business." He hissed back.
After a moment, she was leaning against Taiga's chest, obviously relaxed and resting and he was moving to some music only those two knew. She was slowly dozing off, too tired to move more than that. It was comfortable and warm and safe. Her brother was her safe ground. It was during times like these, when unpleasant thoughts invaded her mind.
"Ne, Tai?" She asked quietly, and the two stalkers had to stretch their ears to hear, almost falling over one another and causing ruckus.
"Hm?" He tilted his head to a side in a sign that he was listening.
"Are you angry with me?"
"Hah?!" He stopped and almost jumped away from her. "What is going on inside your head, stupid? Why would I be angry with you?"
"Because... Every fucking decision of mine that backfired ended up hurting you. Probably even more than me..."
"You really are an idiot, huh?" He shook his head. Then he grabbed her waist and threw her over his shoulder.
Aya squealed. "What are you doing?! Let me down!"
He just chuckled, and adjusted his hold, so he wouldn't drop her despite her fighting. "We are going home; you need to sleep, because you are having some very stupid thoughts. If I were angry with you, you would fuckin' know about it, dear sister. And when we are at it, you have all rights to be angry with me too."
"Why would I?" She stopped fighting his grip, it was pointless.
"Many reasons? Like Tatsuya –"
"Okay, okay, okaaaay! I get it! Stop! I don't want to go over every little injustice that happened between us."
"Good you understand. We could go over it for a couple of weeks actually." Taiga chuckled.
"Would you let me down now?" She demanded.
"Nope. You are getting carried home, so shut up and sleep. You haven't had a proper sleep ever since the school started."
"Urgh." She groaned in annoyance. "If you draw a dick on my face, I'm gonna fuckin' kill you tomorrow."
"Language, Robin." He said jokingly, picked up the ball and calmly walked in the direction of their home.
Aomine and Kise were staring at the court, unable to fully comprehend what they had just witnessed.
"Did they just..." Aomine started, but he wasn't sure what to say about it.
"Go from basketball, to dancing, to arguing, to drawing dicks on faces?" Kise summed up. "I guess they did."
"The hell?" He got up, and started walking in the direction of the dojo. "She is even crazier than I've thought."
"What's 'robin' anyways?" Kise mused. "But doesn't that make you interested in what were they talking about? It has certainly piqued my interest."
"Nickname..." Aomine answered and got a surprised glance from Kise. He shook his head and continued. "Maybe... What was that about, anyways? I mean... I don't know whether I'd hug a sister if I had one."
"It's not that strange, Aominecchi. You just can't relate to it. My sisters tend to have hugging moods too. Not to mention those two are twins. Their relationship is probably much closer." When Aomine didn't say anything more, Kise added, "You know, the people who seem to be strong are usually those, who struggle the most. You are a good example of that too."
"Huh?" Aomine looked at him perplexed. What nonsense is he spouting? He didn't understand where Kise was going. "You have some strange thoughts too."
"Kiku!" Aya waved at the girl when she entered their hang-out spot – a small, cosy bookstore, named 'Arami's books'. The owner, Arami Ken, had a good sense of humour and Kiku was his regular customer. They could chat there without being interrupted, while drinking coffee and eating biscuits.
"Hello." She looked up from a book she was currently reading. "Are you sure it wasn't a problem for you to come?"
"What are you saying? 'f course not."
"I just…" The girl looked at her hands. She couldn't wrap her mind around the concept of having friends. She wanted them, friends, but suddenly having them after years of solitude, was something hard to believe. Better get used to it...
"Just what?" Aya tilted her head and stared at the girl. "Thought you are not good enough?"
Kiku bit her lower lip and didn't look at the redhead.
Aya reached over and gently touched Kiku's hands. "I don't give a damn about your scars. And if anyone ever dares to tell you that you are not worth something, I'll personally go and punch them. You are my friend. Talk to me if you want, but I won't force you to. Okay?"
Kiku opened and closed her mouth. She didn't know what to say. Those words were so encouraging. She avoided Aya after the redhead had noticed the scars she had on her torso, even though Aya tried to calm her down. But the redhead didn't give up on her… And so, Kiku ended up helping with the training camp and finding some more friends. "B-bullying…" She whispered.
"Hmm?" Aya didn't hear.
"I-I was bullied in junior-high. The scars…" She wanted to open up, but she had a knot in her throat. She'd never talked about it with anyone. She gulped.
Aya frowned at the thought. Who on earth would go with bullying that far? "You don't have to force yourself to talk about it now, Kiku." She said comfortingly, seeing Kiku's struggle. She wasn't sure she could talk about her own problems right now either. "Just remember that you can."
Kiku nodded and a small smile appeared on her lips. "Thank you…"
"So! Now tell me! What do you think of Wakamatsu-senpai?" Aya asked cheerfully. It was obvious that Kiku kept watching him the entire practise match.
Kiku's eyes widened and her cheeks turned rosy pink. It was unbelievably cute. "I-i-i… H-he is a good person, very cheerful… And good at basketball…"
"Oh? And he doesn't have a girlfriend!"
Her cheeks turned deeper red. "I-I-I'm not…" Then she frowned at Aya. "What are you implying?"
She liked when Kiku threw away her fears and talked back to her. "Nothing." She played innocent. "Why don't you come over to watch some practises?"
"That's too embarrassing."
"But he won't notice you otherwise!" Or he will think you're not interesting... I'm shocked you haven't noticed he's interested too.
Oh we've been bumping into each other quite a lot, Aya-san. "I'm not trying to get his attention!" Kiku's voice rose, which was unusual for the timid girl, but Aya was smiling. It was nice to see how the shy and quiet girl could change in a month when she was given enough space and support.
Good. Don't be afraid to speak up your mind, Kiku. "Hmmm… You sure 'bout that?"
"Yes! And anyways, my father would kill me! I can't date someone who doesn't do something 'traditional'."
"Traditional? What do you mean?"
Oh, crap. She didn't mean to talk about her family. But it was Aya-san, so she could, right? "Uuuhm…" She was drawing circles around her coffee mug. "My family owns a dojo. We teach Kyudo, archery… And so…"
"What?! You do Kyudo?! Why haven't you said anything!"
Kiku pouted. "You haven't told me about being a world champion either…"
"Wha-?! I… That… It wasn't important." Aya stuttered, baffled by Kiku's sudden jab.
"You didn't trust me with it!"
"Neither did you!" She jabbed back accusingly.
Kiku frowned. "Can you blame me?"
Bullying… Aya sighed. "No, not really. And it's not like I didn't trust you. I was scared you would run away."
"I wouldn't. And it is the same for me too!"
"I know. Sorry… How did you figure it out? I've only told Satsuki." She said and carefully observed her.
"Ah well… My mom is a big fan of dancing. When I told her about you, she suggested you might be the Kagami Aya, she saw in some magazine months ago. And so… I asked Satsuki-san and she confirmed it." Kiku shrugged. When she noticed Aya's narrowed eyes, she quickly added: "But she didn't rat it out!"
"Hmmm… Interesting coincidence. Does your mother dance?"
"No, she does Iaido and Kyudo. I was too clumsy to do Iaido, so they focused on teaching me Kyudo."
"Iaido, Kyudo, please explain. I'm not sure I really know what these activities are about."
Kiku smiled. This was something she was good at, and she could explain it to someone who was genuinely interested. It made her very happy. "Okay. And then you'll explain the dancing stuff to me, okay?" Aya nodded. "So… Iaido is the way of a sword. It's the art of drawing a sword. It was developed to…."
Their conversation dragged on for hours; it was interesting for both of them, as each learnt something new, and got to know the other one better. Aya was happy that Kiku was opening up, sharing her interests, not only cooking and books, and it was surprising that this little girl had something to do with martial arts. It was rare that Kiku talked about something with such a vivid spark in her eyes.
And Kiku learnt more about Aya. The redhead never ceased to amaze her, and she finally understood that she wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, but she had struggled too, and she had overcome it.
At the end, Arami-san had to remind them of his closing hours.
######
When Kise finally got home, he slumped on top of his bed. He was playing with his phone, thinking about what he had talked about with Aominecchi, and what they'd seen in the park. On the spur of the moment he dialed Satsuki's number.
"Ki-chan!" She greeted him cheerfully. "What can I do for you?"
"Long time no see, Momocchi. Or hear..." He chuckled. "I have a favour to ask."
"But of course!" By the sound of her voice he knew she switched into her investigative mode, but he couldn't care less. "What do you need?" She asked.
"I'd like to know Kagami Aya's number and e-mail address, if that's possible." He pleaded.
"Why would you need that, Ki-chan?" Suspicion laced her voice. Of course she was rooting for Aominecchi, and this whole situation looked like Kise wanted to confess to Aya or something along the lines.
"But to contact her, of course!" He explained. "If you can't, then I'll ask Kurokocchi."
He knew what bringing up Kurokocchi would do.
Satsuki squealed. "Tetsu-kun has Aya-chan's number?! How close is she with the Seirin's team? How do you even know that?"
"I do keep in contact with Kurokocchi and Midorimacchi and even with Murasakibaracchi. Unlike Aominecchi, I like to stay in contact with my friends." He huffed. "So I know."
"You are as sly as ever, Kise-kun." Satsuki switched to a more formal name, her voice serious. "What is your business with Aya-chan?"
Hmph... He smirked. Satsuki sure was one clever girl. "If I say I fell for her and want to confess, what would you do?"
"I wouldn't give you the number. And I'd ask Tetsu-kun to do the same. But I'm pretty sure you would find a way to contact her anyways."
Finally; it moved in the direction he wanted. "Is Aominecchi in love with her, then?"
"I don't know. But I'd bet my life he has a crush on her."
"And Ayacchi?"
"She didn't completely deny 'liking him' when I asked her, but she is unbelievably enigmatic."
"So... Are you rooting for them then?"
"Of course I am! If you saw how well she can handle him! Aya-chan manages to pull out old Aomine-kun at times. But I don't think he's realised that yet. So I sure as hell don't want you to meddle with them, Kise-kun." Oh, he could imagine her pouting face.
"Who said I want to come in-between? Ayacchi would surely turn me down. But I got Aominecchi to agree to attend one goukon with me. I was thinking of inviting Ayacchi too. What do you say?"
"How in the bloody hell did you manage that?!"
"What do I say? I have my ways..."
"..." Satsuki was considering his idea. She knew that Kise could be really sly if he so decided, but she could tell he wasn't lying. And if anyone could be considered Aomine's best friend, it would be Kise. "Fine, I'll send you her contact info. But Ki-chan, if you mess it up, I'll get back at you."
A/N: Well... The first part and 'date with Kiku' was added after re-reading the whole thing. I hope it's not interrupting the flow of the story. Please remember the relationship between Aya and the teacher as it will be used again later on. The rest was actually written before the training camp chapter and it evolved according to the plot.
I had this image of Aomine knowing how to fight in my head for a long time - plus if he ditches basketball practises he has to keep in shape somehow (running is not enough). And Kise... Ah well...
I'm anxious about your reactions now.
Also there is an ongoing story for Kiku, so you can check it out if you want. It's parallel to this one, and there are parts I didn't involve here.
/sentence structure, grammar minor wording changed on 8.4.2021/
Let me know what you think and remember, reviews are appreciated but never necessary.
S.