A/N: Thanks to everyone who followed and favourited and reviewed, it makes me very happy! I was quite anxious about the last two chapters, so it was nice to hear from you!
This chapter is calm and relaxed one I suppose. I had fun writing it.
Enjoy!
Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it. – Michael Jordan
Everyone knows that if you've got a brother, you're going to fight. – Liam Gallagher
To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring - it was peace. – Milan Kundera
A quarrel between friends, when made up, adds a new tie to friendship. – Saint Francis de Sales
Learn to bet on yourself and have confidence in your own decisions. No one knows your business better than you. – Leah Busque
He would make a lovely corpse. – Charles Dickens
"Mornin'." Taiga yawned and rubbed his stomach when he finally crawled out of bed.
"Mornin' sunshine." She smiled at him and sipped from her steaming coffee.
Taiga poured himself a glass of orange juice and slumped onto the chair next to her. "Urgh… Where do you get the energy? You came home past midnight."
"Coffee?" She pointed at her mug and chuckled. "I've been up since six. I have to finish this report and then we can do whatever."
"Of course it's coffee… How were the goukon and the party?" Taiga asked curiously, switching back to Japanese. Yesterday they had been both tired, and she had told him to sleep. And he'd obliged.
"Very good, actually." She smiled and looked at him. "I've met two boys who have a band, so when you feel like playing with someone you can. You wouldn't believe that Kise dragged Aomine there. I was like 'What the hell?!' when I spotted him, but surprisingly, it turned out well. Both of them went to the party with me, so it was fun. I mean… I knew a lot of people there, but it felt nice to have friends, who aren't a part of the circus. And that said, Kise's copying skills are no fun, really. He learned to dance decently in one evening. Oh, and I show-danced with Hikaru at the beginning and we're invited over to Hiroto on Wednesday. For dinner. He wants us to meet his wife." She shortened the entire story because the report was staring at her from the screen. She wanted to get it done.
Taiga blinked at the speed of her speech, but he was already used to that. "So he still supervises the bar? I thought he had something of his own by now." Taiga decided not to poke into the Aomine topic when his sister had barely brushed it.
"It basically is his bar. He's the soul of the place and uncle Kyou stops by very sporadically. And we only own the building, not the business..." She shrugged. "So can you come home sooner on Wednesday then?"
"I suppose." He shrugged. "But we have very intensive practises now, since our first opponent in preliminaries is some two meters tall guy from Senegal. We actually practised yesterday too."
"Oh? Why haven't you told me?"
"Last week was kinda crazy, don't you think?"
The dreams, the argument, and the entire ruckus… Yeah, she was glad Taiga spared her another worry. "True. Thanks. So… it'll be you against the tall guy, right?"
"More or less. I don't remember ever playing against anyone that tall. Did we?"
"Hmmm… I don't think so. Or at least you didn't have to take them head on. But you have 11 more days to practise, right?"
"Yep, and the coach is trying to kill us." He complained and yawned again. Every cell in his body hurt, because the coach made him work harder since he had skipped one morning practise.
"So you don't feel like playing basketball today?"
"You want to?" He asked, surprised. Secretly he hoped for a day off, spent watching movies and eating.
"I was thinking about it. Last week I kinda neglected my boys, so I've thought about calling them out today. You know… Ishii, Kano and Naito, who live nearby, I'm sure I've mentioned them. If you join us and if we could get another player…"
"…we could play some three on three." He finished Aya's sentence. Playing with Touou's guys wouldn't be that bad… They weren't Aomine, and they weren't regulars, but why not give it a try? Even if he wanted to play against Aomine, he should primarily focus on his current opponent-to-be, not on some guy he'd never met.
"You up for it?" She asked.
"I need to stretch my muscles anyways, so why not?"
"Awesome. I'll send them a message." She was already holding her phone and typing the message. "And who will be the sixth player? Want me to call Kise?"
"Urgh no." He groaned. "Not the blonde. Haven't you had enough of him yesterday?"
She laughed. "Then who? Does someone from your club live nearby?"
"Hmmm…" He squinted at her thinking deeply. "Ah! Kuroko does!"
"Then call him. I want to meet him again."
"Yeah, yeah. Just give me time to wake up."
"What are you talking about? It's 10:30 already!"
He rolled his eyes and headed to the bathroom. Dealing with Kuroko would have to wait.
######
After eating and finishing the report – with joined forces and some bickering - Taiga and Aya reached the nearby park. They could hear a ball hitting concrete before they could see who was playing there.
"Haven't you said there are three boys coming?" Taiga asked when they could see the court. And there were seven people.
"Oh? Those kiddos are cute… I wonder if they are Kano's siblings." She said and looked the kids up and down. "Hey guys!" Aya waved at them.
"Hello!" Ishii and Naito greeted her in unison, while Kano was talking with the kids about something.
"Ah! Aya-chan! Hello!" He waved her back. "These are my siblings… Sorry," he scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "They insisted on coming to watch."
"He was forced to babysit…" Naito commented dryly.
"It's fine. If you feel like it, you can play too." She said to the four younger kids: three boys and one girl. "I'm Kagami Aya, and this is my brother Taiga." She introduced them both. "Would you introduce yourselves?"
The youngest of them all, who couldn't be older than four fidgeted and looked up at Aya and Taiga with his wide green eyes.
"Ah! Uhm…. Kenta! An'… uuuhhh…." The little boy who barely reached Aya's thigh was staring at his opened palm, counting his fingers. He frowned in concentration. And then counted again… "Thish ol'!" He said after couple of seconds showing Aya his little fingers sticking out.
"Three?" She asked.
Kenta was nodding furiously. "Yesh! Kenta ish thee' yeash ol'."
His childish speech was so cute. It was a bit hard to understand, but it reminded Aya of her little cousins, who had their speech fumbles too. "You are a big boy already." Aya patted his head and the little boy smiled in bliss. Nee-chan was nice.
"Uuuuhm… I'm Aki. And I'm seven." The girl with pigtails continued and grinned at Aya, showing off her missing front tooth. "Nice to meet you! Oni-chan talks about you a lot; he probably likes you, Aya-nee-chan." She said with a mischief in her eyes and winked at Aya.
"Akiiii!" Kano groaned with red cheeks and wanted to disappear. Why the hell did he have to take them all out?!
"I'm Shima and I'm nine." The boy said unimpressed by the banter between his oldest brother and younger sister. He was short, wore glasses and looked overly serious. He reminded Aya of Naito more than of Kano. "I don't like sports, but I'm here to see if he can really play, or if he is just making it all up."
"Oi you little!" Hideki threatened him with a glare. Shima's personality was hard to handle, but the kid was super smart, sometimes helping him with high-school homework. Hideki had no idea from who Shima inherited that.
Aya chuckled. "Okay little smarty-pants. I believe your older brother will show you what he's made of."
Shima's nose wrinkled in the cutest way. "I don't know, Kagami-san. He is usually all talks." He said gravely.
"Well he sure won't beat me." Taiga said and his fierce reddish eyes stared at the shorter and leaner boy. It was their first meeting, but thanks to Aya, he felt like he had met the boy some time ago.
"Oho?" Kano's eyebrow went up. "Someone talks big?"
Aya chuckled, she knew Taiga would fit into this small group well. Talking about little kids… She mused.
"And you are?" Aya turned at the last boy she didn't know. He was standing at the side, not impressed by the others much. He was probably only a year or two younger, because he was almost as tall as Naito.
"I'm Daiki. Hide-nii started to play basket because of me." He said in an almost unemotional voice. "Do you want me to state my age too, miss?"
Hmmmm…Daiki, you say? Aya was observing this boy, who seemed sad for some reason. "If you don't mind."
"I'll be fourteen in two weeks."
Aya took a mental note. Throwing a party for this quite sad and distant boy wouldn't be a bad idea. "So you are in the second year of a junior-high then, right? Are you a part of the basketball club?"
"Sort of… I'm no good." He fumbled with his sleeve, and looked down.
"You can still join us today, if you feel like it!" She said enthusiastically and patted his shoulder. "I'm sure we will need to switch players once in a while. And you can learn a lot by watching as well."
He blinked at the redhead and smiled for himself. Maybe he would.
"Now, where is Kuroko-kun?" She asked and turned to Taiga, who was meanwhile shaking hands with the three Touou players. It was his task to contact Kuroko-kun.
"I'm here, Kagami-san." Kuroko's voice came from behind her. "Hello."
"Eeek!" Aya jumped and spun around. "Don't scare me like that!" She scolded him and then she smiled. "Hello. Long time no see."
"Long time no see. Thank you for inviting me today." He spoke politely as ever, and Aya liked his calm demeanour – this was someone who could handle her brother in a different way than her.
"Thank you for coming!"
Kuroko was looking at her with this unreadable expression, which gave her goosebumps. He was certainly thinking about something, but she couldn't even guess what it might have been. Usually she was pretty accurate when it came to reading people, but Kuroko-kun…
Anyways… "Guys, this is our sixth player for today. Kuroko Tetsuya-kun, from Seirin's team."
"Eh? There was someone standing there?" Ishii asked and blinked at Kuroko. "Sorry! I haven't noticed you. I'm Ishii Ryuu. And these are Naito Shouhei and Kano Hideki." Another round of introductions.
Naito was staring at Kuroko with a perplexed expression. The blue haired, ghostly boy with no presence was making him feel uncomfortable.
"Let's play already!" Taiga complained and threw his jacket away. It was already warm enough and he wouldn't need it at all. All this chitchatting was just a waste of time.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll play with Taiga and Kuroko-kun. The three of you will play together, then we can switch. We play half-court. The first team scoring seven baskets wins. No matter how you shoot, one basket equals to one point. We are all friends, so please don't foul, but if it happens, you have to call it out on your own."
"Yosh!"
"Little ones." She turned towards kids. Daiki frowned at being called a 'little one', but with his three younger siblings he was at disadvantage. "It would be awesome if you could count baskets for us."
"I will do it, Kagami-san." Shima agreed and adjusted his glasses. He didn't bring his notebook for nothing.
"Thank you, Shima. And please call me Aya, because it's confusing when my brother is around. For both of us."
"Uuh..." He blushed slightly, because being called by his name and then being asked by such a pretty and older girl to do the same, was so unusual. "O-okay."
"Shima-nii is bluuushing!" Aki sang and waltzed around him. "Shima-nii is bluuushing!"
"Oh, shut up!" He lashed at her, but Aki dodged it with a childish laugh.
"Shima-nii is slow!~"
"Aki-nee-tan?" Little Kenta tilted his head to the side in questioningly, because he didn't understand what was going on.
"Now, now the two of you." Daiki intervened and pulled them apart before they could start a real fight. He dragged them to the side court and sat them to his sides. He was strategically sitting in between them and Kenta was sitting on his lap.
"Whash ish thish?" The little one asked and turned his big green eyes to his big brother and pointed at the ball. Daiki sighed, but started explaining the rules in a language the kid would understand.
"The first ball is yours." She threw it to Ishii, who was a leader of the team Touou.
From the sideline, he passed it over to Naito and the game started.
Aya was guarding Naito, Taiga went for Ishii who was the biggest of the trio and Kano ended up facing Kuroko. At first it seemed like it was only Taiga and Aya playing. The boys knew what Aya-chan could do, so Naito was aware of her little streetball tricks, and Ishii was getting used to Taiga.
Taiga was playing aggressively and he wasn't relying on the other two much. He was the main scoring force of their team. Aya didn't seem to mind, and would pass him anytime she had a chance. But when she couldn't do it was Kuroko's turn. And Kano, who was facing him, couldn't keep an eye on him. Facing Kuroko was more like losing the sight of him whenever there was a chance. For the three Touou guys it was the first time they were facing an opponent like that. Someone they couldn't see or predict. And there was no Momoi-chan's data to study.
In no time the game was 5-3 for Aya's team.
The ball was passed to Taiga, and he was trying to reach the basket. Ishii was blocking his way and making it difficult for him to jump. Ishii's defence was good, and Taiga couldn't seem to find the way around it, but he didn't want to pass either.
"Oi, Taiga!" Aya reminded him that he wasn't playing alone and she could handle both, Kano and Naito, if the situation asked for it.
Instead of passing, Taiga faked left and then jumped right. But to his surprise Ishii read the movement and tried to stop him.
"Ouch." Ishii grunted when he fell on the concrete as they collided.
"Sorry." Taiga apologised immediately and offered him help. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fi –"
"Kagami-kun you –"
"You should have passed there, stupid! Kuroko and I were both waiting for it." Aya scolded him, interrupting Kuroko and Ishii in the process. Taiga's stubbornness pissed her off.
"I apologised, okay?! I wanted to find a way around him on my own." He argued back.
The pressure from preliminaries was getting to him. They expected him to take on the Senegal guy; he knew they were talking about teamwork, but he could feel the underlining that it was his job. True, he wanted to take that guy on. It was supposed to be his first official match ever. He was looking forward to that match, and at the same time he felt that the pause he had had in basketball didn't benefit him at all. And the past week of craziness…
"Do that when you play one-on-one!" She was frowning at him. "It's three of us now, Tai."
"Ishii-kun is very good at guarding you, Kagami-kun. You should pay attention to your surroundings." Kuroko said calmly.
"Why are you –?! Nothin' happened. He's fine and I apologised! Stop making a ruckus, both of you!"
Aya sighed; he was getting hot headed and provoking him anymore wouldn't be good. "We are not makinga ruckus." She said, trying to suppress her urge to smack him. "But we want you to… oh fuck it. You just lost us a ball, because you are a big friggin' idiot! Of course I'm pissed off!"
Kano coughed. "Aya-chan… The kids." He reminded her and pointed at the Daiki who was covering the ears of the youngest one. Shima was staring at the girl with his mouth wide and Aki, well Aki was admiring the redhead.
"Sorry."
"Sorry."
The twins apologised in unison, staring at the ground.
"Why ish A-ya-tan shayin' shorry?" Kenta asked and turned to Daiki, who began to explain the reasons to him.
"No harm done." Ishii chuckled. "But you don't lose your temper often. What's up?"
"I do, I just hide it well." She chuckled. "With Taiga around though..."
"So it was you being bitchy about losing a point, not about a lack of teamplay." Taiga complained.
"Yes! Teamplay too, but… Urgh, whatever. Let's continue."
She just hates to lose... Taiga mused inwardly.
Ishii threw the ball in. This time they had Aya – Naito matchup. Usually she would play by the rules, or with minor streetball moves when she was with her team, but she wanted to get that point, and after all, she was happy to be with her friends. She danced her way around Naito and scored.
"What was that?" Naito asked with a perplexed expression. He couldn't read her steps at all. It was like she suddenly changed her entire set of movements.
"Dancing." She smirked at him.
"Dancing? That's… interesting." He mused and threw in to Kano.
They hadn't really seen Kuroko in action and so they wanted to try this. To their disappointment, it wasn't much of a showdown. In the moment of Kano's carelessness, Kuroko tapped the ball and it was already in Taiga's hands, who dunked without a second thought. When it came to jumping height, Taiga was at a huge advantage against everyone else.
Match won by team Aya.
"When did it –?" Kano stared at it in disbelief. "I want to change marks! I can't see him!" He complained.
"See? All talks, no action." Shima commented. "It's not like Kuroko-san is invisible."
"Ha? Then come out and try it, smarty-ass!" Kano huffed.
Daiki was carefully observing Kuroko the entire time. He purposefully wasn't tracking the ball – to not lose sight of the blue-haired boy. This style intrigued him. The variety of passes Kuroko had, the way he kept his cool no matter what. Maybe if I tried it… He knew he was a failure when it came to basketball and his brother started with it only to make him feel better, but Hideki was improving every day, while Daiki was stuck at the same place. But if he could learn this style…
"Actually…" He spoke up. "I would like to try it, Hide-nii."
"Eh? You wanna swap with me?"
Daiki nodded. "If I can."
"Sure. Guys, be nice to him." Hideki said and took little Kenta.
"Ooooo." Kenta's little eyes were shining. Dai-nii was his favourite sibling, and he was going out there to play. "Dai-nii, ish aweshome!"
"I'm not that good." He said humbly as he jumped several times to quickly warm up.
"Don't worry 'bout it Daiki..." Aya hesitated for a moment, before she called his name. Aomine's face flashed in her mind. But she couldn't imagine addressing Aomine as 'Daiki'. Just the idea felt strange, intimate even. She buried the thoughts and smiled at the boy. "We are all learning and improving here, but most importantly, we are here to have fun. So relax."
At first, Kuroko managed to escape from Daiki, because he wasn't a good replacement for Kano. Team Aya was winning quicker than before. But then… Daiki tap-passed to Ishii, who dunked before Taiga could react.
"That was…" Kuroko tilted his head and observed the younger boy.
Daiki scratched his cheek. "It's a misdirection you use right? I've never thought I could use it in basketball, until I saw you play." He shrugged and then added: "I used to be hooked up on magic tricks…"
"…" Kuroko just nodded. It was the first time he faced someone, who was trying to copy him, or who played in a similar style as him.
They played several more games, until Kuroko's effectiveness wore off. Then he was discussing the tricks with Daiki. Having someone who was interested in his plays was new to Kuroko. And he was actually very happy to help a younger player who struggled just like him. Naito joined the two boys. As a point guard, he could learn a lot from a passing specialist after all. They were on opposing teams, but Naito didn't think he would get to play in an official match any time soon.
Aya made a great impression on Aki, who immediately declared her as her older sister, and Taiga played some more with Ishii, who was a decent opponent. Then he formed some sort of friendships with Kano and Naito, with promise to be able to hang out and play with them if he got tired of Aya.
When they were parting ways, Kuroko was staring at Aya.
"What is it?" She asked when a chill ran down her spine. Kuroko was observing her the whole day.
"I've received a video from Kise-kun, is it real, Kagami-san?" He asked, because it was stuck in his mind the entire day. He knew Kagami-san was good at handling dorks like Kagami-kun and Aomine-kun, but that she would make Aomine-kun dance…
"What video?" She asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes. Random photos and videos of her about which she didn't know, freaked the hell out of her, since the mayhem one picture had caused back in America. She was well aware that the party was a huge risk, and if someone wanted, they could discredit her by one picture taken out of the context…
"Oh. He didn't send it to you." Kuroko said, but his eyes were still as unreadable as ever.
"What video?!" She asked again, resisting the panic slowly rising in her and the urge to shake the ghostly boy. Even though… If it was Kise, she had an idea of what it might have been.
"No. It's nothing. Don't worry about it." He said after some thought. No, he didn't cover Kise-kun's back; he just decided it was better this way.
"What video, Kuroko?" Taiga asked, knowing how freaked out his sister probably was. "Just say it."
Kuroko looked at both and sighed. "Kise-kun took a video of Kagami-san dancing with Aomine-kun. And I'm not sure if it's real or if he made it up somehow…"
"He is dead." Aya growled. "He is so dead."
"So it is real." Kuroko said in disbelief. Aomine-kun dancing. He chuckled, it was so surreal.
"Yes!" She exclaimed desperately, already plotting Kise's demise.
"Show me! Kuroko, show me!" Taiga shook his friend. This was hilarious, and he could finally get to see Aomine instead of only hearing his sister's complains.
"Don't, Kuroko-kun. Don't you dare show him." Aya looked at him threateningly. "Not now, not in school. Not ever."
Kuroko observed her for a moment, and then he nodded. "As you wish."
"Kurokoooo! You are my friend, right? She won't harm you. I promise. Show me!"
"Watch it, and I will share a video of you dancing with 7 year old Nana with your entire club."
"What?! When did you take it?"
"The competition practise!" She said proudly. "And I have it stored on several sources, so even if you delete it from my phone…" She had a devilish smirk on her lips.
"I'd like to see that." Kuroko said, hiding a chuckle.
Aya fished out her phone to look for the video.
"AYAAAAA?!" Taiga roared and jumped after the phone. Unsuccessfully.
Aya managed to throw it to Kuroko. "That one! I'll fend him off, so hurry!"
Kuroko caught it and stared at it with amusement. So that was the Kagami-kun no one knew...
"That's not fair! I wanna see that video!"
"Which one?" She laughed as she was holding Taiga's wrists and wrestling him off of Kuroko. She was aware that he could overpower her without even trying, and he was being cautious not to hurt her. It was still funny.
"The Aomine one! No, both!"
"Kagami-san doesn't want that, so I won't show you and you won't get past my password." Kuroko said calmly. "Though I believe she will show you this one. It's cute."
"YOU TWOOO!"
######
Michiko was watching the dancing video again, this time with her husband, sitting on a couch and drinking tea. The dogs were curled up on the floor. Finally, they both had Sunday free and could enjoy it together. "So what do you think, Anata? Are they dating?"
"I don't think so…" He shook his head. "But he can't deny he has a crush on her."
"You think she has a crush too?"
"You are a woman, you tell me." Daisuke frowned. "I can't guess it from her expression."
"My opinion is biased, because it's our son." Michiko whined. "I think there is no reason for her to dislike him."
"I would state several… like grumpiness, rudeness, dirty magazines, and you know all the teenage drama."
"Anata. Don't make it sound easy. He is going through some harsh period of life."
"How can being talented be harsh?" He rolled his eyes. "He should be glad for it."
Michiko sighed. This was one thing her husband wouldn't understand. At least he didn't pester Daiki with it, and let him be as she had told him. "Never mind… Do you think Satsuki-chan saw it?"
"Saw what?" Daiki's voice rumbled from behind their backs.
"Daiki!" Michiko dropped the phone and then awkwardly hid it behind her back, like a child who broke something and got caught red handed. She felt guilty.
"Good morning, sleeping beauty!" Daisuke greeted him casually, behaving much better than his wife, but even he couldn't hide his sheepish smile.
"Saw what?" He repeated his question. Maaan, it sucked to wake up from a sweet afternoon nap, roll down the stairs and catch his parents gossiping about something. Most likely him…
"Nothing, Honey!" Michiko laughed. "Did you sleep well?"
Daiki's eyes narrowed viciously at them. But he knew them, and so… Whatever. "Fine. What's for breakfast?"
"Breakfast? It's way past lunch already."
"Hai, hai, whatever."
######
After their banter, Taiga, Aya and Kuroko went to Maji burger to eat dinner. Neither of the twins felt like cooking, and a little walk would cool them off. They talked about upcoming preliminaries and Kano Daiki's possibilities. Kuroko had some expectations of the boy, and concluded that if he managed to learn his style, they would be in trouble once he enters high school.
When they were full, or after Taiga inhaled 20 burgers, they took a slow walk around several shops in the area.
"KIKU! SATSUKI!" Aya shouted, when she spotted two familiar figures coming out from a chocolate shop on their way.
They both stopped and turned around. The moment Satsuki spotted Kuroko, she ran up to them. "TEEEETSU-KUUUN!" She jumped at him in a suffocating hug. "It's been so long!"
"Eeeeh?!" Taiga stared at the pinkette. "Whaat's the matter of this?!"
"But what. Tetsu-kun is my boyfriend!" She claimed immediately, even though it wasn't true.
"SAY WHAT?!" Taiga's eyes almost bulged out, when zooming in on Satsuki's breasts and then her cute face. That was not possible. Such a cute girl and she was dating Kuroko out of all people?
Aya jabbed his ribs. "Don't stare, it's rude."
"H-hello." Kiku spoke up quietly and looked up at the loud redheaded boy. He looked similar to Aya, so he must have been her twin, but he was almost as intimidating as Aomine-san. At least when his red eyes focused on her.
"And you are?" He asked curtly, which only earned him another rib-punch from Aya.
"This is Ohno Kiku, my friend and classmate. And this," she pointed at Satsuki, "is Momoi Satsuki, the first manager of Touou's basketball team."
"Hmmm…" Taiga was still staring at Satsuki. He scratched his chin in deep thoughts. "Sorry, but don't we know each other? You seem eerily familiar."
"Eerily?" Satsuki raised an eyebrow at this. "And you must be Kagami Taiga, right?"
"Ussu." He nodded. "I can't deny being her brother."
"You truly can't." She mused at the way these two resembled each other. Too much and yet not too much. Aya was a pretty girl, and he was actually a handsome guy, with features as they should have had, but they still had that something, which made it clear they were siblings.
"Oh, and this is Kuroko Tetsuya." Aya pointed at Kuroko, so Kiku would know.
"Hiii. I-I-I'm sorry! I d-din't notice you." She bowed deeply in apology. A long bag she was carrying and was taller than two meters, almost hit Taiga in the head. He barely avoided it.
"Be careful with that thing." He grumbled.
"S-sorry!" She bowed again, almost hitting him again, but this time he caught it with his hand.
"What is it anyways? Stick? Why would you carry something so big?" He asked curiously.
"That's… Eeeehm…"
"Yeah, what is it Kiku-chan?!" Satsuki asked too. She's been trying to figure it out the whole time they were together, but she wasn't successful.
"Isn't it daikyuu for Kyudo?" Kuroko asked. From his quick observation, he noticed Kiku's tips of fingers were hardened, but not all of them, so it couldn't be a guitar. Plus the 'stick', was familiar to him; when he was learning about different kinds of people, he had visited Kyudo club as well, and he remembered that they used this type of yumibukuros – the cloth bag to carry the bow – the shape and length fitted, so…
"H-h-how do you know?" She breathed out. Did Aya-san tell him something?
"You do archery?!" Satsuki asked at the same time. "Why haven't you told us anything!"
Kiku blushed and looked away… "I-I-I'm not good at s-sports so…"
Aya was smiling at it. She knew. For quite some time, she'd been aware of Kiku's free-time activity; though she'd never seen her do it, nor had she ever visited her place. Kiku didn't feel like showing her yet, and so she was patiently waiting for the little girl to hatch out of her shell.
Taiga was staring at this interaction. His sister sure got protective when it came to this little girl, and now he understood why. He would protect Kiku as well. She looked way too fragile and kind. She deserved to be protected. But he also realized that the girl was scared of him, for some reason, and so, he rather kept his mouth shut.
"I-I'm sorry." She said quietly. "I just…" Yes, she knew she could talk to them anytime. Be it the bullying she'd faced in middle school, which left her scarred – mentally and physically, be it her interests or fears… She had told Aya about the archery, but Satsuki-san… Kiku wasn't so sure or confident around the pinkette. She wanted to talk more with Aya. About everything. But lately, Aya seemed to be facing her own demons. Demons about which Kiku probably had no idea, and for the first time she noticed that Aya might have been still struggling sometimes too. It made her look so much more human…
"You didn't think it was important, right?" Aya ruffled her short hair and smiled. She was pretending she had no idea either, because if Satsuki found out she was left out she'd pout. They didn't need that right now. "Well, would you show me sometimes? Or teach me?"
Kiku blinked at her. "I'm not that good."
"Oh come on. How long have you been doing it?"
"Since I remember." Kiku shrugged. When she learned to walk she learned to take care of bows. It was the privilege of those born into a family owning a dojo.
"Then you must be excellent. At least for me, who's never shot from a bow, only a crossbow, but that was a long time ago."
"I'd like to try it too." Kuroko joined their conversation, making Aya jump in fright again.
"Shit." Her hand went over her heart. "I'm so sorry, Kuroko-kun, when I'm not looking at you, I just keep forgetting you."
Kuroko shrugged. "It's normal; don't worry about it, Kagami-san. I'm not offended or anything."
"Aya." She corrected him. "Call him Kagami-kun all you want, but please call me Aya. Or Aya-san, or whatever. The only one to still call me 'Kagami' is Aomine and it's freakin' annoying."
Kuroko stared at her. Does she like Aomine-kun? But it would be rude to ask... "You do use family names with others too."
"To some extent I do. It's polite, right?"
"So I shouldn't be polite?"
She sighed in exasperation. "I don't mean it like that. Just call me Aya, please."
He nodded, but his eyes were as unreadable as ever. "As you wish, Aya-san."
"Thank you!"
"So what now?" Satsuki asked. "Are we going home, or do we hang out?" Honestly, she was glad to see her Tetsu-kun, but she wanted to go home and interrogate Dai-chan about the goukon.
Aya yawned. The last night was getting to her. "I s'pose I want to go home and relax a bit. Is that okay?"
"I need to go home too." Kiku said and pointed at the daikyuu she carried. "Father is waiting for it. I just picked it up in a shop."
"Well then." Aya smiled. "I'm glad I've met you all, get home safely!"
######
In the late afternoon, Aomine went out with all three dogs. He ran with them for a good half an hour, then he played with them, and when he felt like it was enough he just sat on the grass and watched how clouds drifted through the sky.
Shiro had her head resting on his thigh, Kurome was laying over Shiro, and Akari was curled at his side. The malinois enjoyed days when she could be out with Daiki, because it meant she was out of duty, and could play around all she wanted.
His mind was blank and he didn't want to think of anything; definitely not about how Kagami's boobs felt against his face. Running and the dogs were helping him turn his head off, and it was one awesome feeling.
"How nice it would be, to just float around without a single care in this world…" He mumbled and stretched himself on the ground, scratching Shiro's head.
"Aomine-kuuuuun!"
"Urgh, why?" He groaned when he heard Satsuki's voice. And it had been such a peaceful afternoon.
"Aomine-kun! Hello!" The pinkette said loudly when she reached him.
The dogs didn't pay much attention to her; they just sniffed her, recognised her and then returned to their previous positions. The girl wouldn't break the peacefulness they felt when with their younger master.
"What do you need?" …to ruin my tranquil afternoon?
"Oh don't be like that, Aomine-kun." She said. "I was on my way home when I saw you. What's wrong with saying hello?"
"Where've you been?" He asked, but he wasn't really curious.
"I went out with Kiku-chan! She is such a sweet girl. We called Aya-chan too, but she said she already had plans with her brother, so she couldn't join us. But we met them on their way home anyway. They were playing basketball, and then went to eat at Maji burger." It was better not to mention Tetsu-kun…
"Hmmm…."
"You are not listening, are you?"
"I wonder what mom will make for dinner."
"Aomine-kun!" Satsuki whined and weakly punched his shoulder. "Why are you so mean to me?!"
"Am not."
"Are too!"
"Whatever. So? What do you want?" As much as she could see through him, he could see through her. He knew that this park wasn't anywhere near any route to Satsuki's home, and if she came here, it was because she knew he'd be here, or she had asked his mother.
"How was the goukon?" She asked curiously.
"Fine." He shrugged. "Not attending any in the future."
"That's all you say?" While she knew that Dai-chan didn't talk much about things he considered personal, she still expected some summary of what had happened.
She couldn't possibly interrogate Aya-chan, because Aya-chan didn't know Satsuki knew. And as long as the redhead wouldn't speak about it herself, Satsuki was left out. Ki-chan didn't tell her much either… He sent the video and told her to ask Aominecchi. Pche… Easier said than done, Ki-chan!
"Kise sure enlightened you already, so why'd you ask me?" He turned his eyes on her.
"Because! You are my friend. I want you to talk to me too."
"Tch. Then how about learning how to keep your mouth shut, when you should, and how to not stick your nose into matters that don't involve you?"
It served like a slap. But she knew she deserved it, because it was none of her business when Aomine and Aya-chan argued. Heck she still didn't know what they had argued about, but she hadn't forgotten to tell it to Kise and discuss it with Michiko…
She didn't know whether to start crying or get angry at him. At the end, she ended up doing both.
"Because you wouldn't talk with me! What am I supposed to do, when I learn everything from the others and nothing from you! Of course I worry!" She yelled at him with tears in her eyes. "You are my friend for god's sake! I care! And I want to be involved!"
"Wha-?! Oi, Satsuki." Upon seeing her tears, he freaked out. He was harsh, but it was never his intention to make her cry. He was just not happy about her ways. "I didn't mean to –"
"To what?!" She barked. "To say that? But you did!"
"Then what do you expect me to do?! I ain't some gossipy girl." He threw his arm into the air, which earned him a nasty glare from Shiro.
"Oh sorry?!" She blinked the tears away in sudden anger. "Neither is Ki-chan! But he talks to me! And he didn't tell me much!" …though Kise was much more gossipy than an average boy would be, but he also knew when to keep a secret.
"Very nice of him!"
"Hmph…" She pouted and turned away from Dai-chan. Yet, she didn't get up to leave.
"Tch." He turned the other way too.
They stayed like that for a couple of minutes. Both letting out their steam, but worried about the other too much to just get up and leave. They were friends after all.
"So?" Satsuki peeked at him with expectant eyes. "How did it go?"
"So you knew Kagami would be there?"
She shrugged and nodded. "But only from Ki-chan. Aya-chan never said a word about it."
"And that's bothering you." He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Of course Satsuki was bothered about Aya's not-enough-of-girly-friendliness, and as a result, she would pester him. Though she managed to endure it quite long.
"We are friends, so why wouldn't she talk with me?"
"She told you about her ex." He shrugged. "You're probably the only one who knows."
"Not true. Kiku-chan knows as well, but she didn't know about the goukon either…"
"And you called her out just to ask her that…"
"Don't say it." Satsuki stopped him before he could finish his sentence. "My intentions might not have been pure, but as I got to know Kiku more… She is amazingly kind, oh and she does kyudo! Would you imagine that?"
Never… Scaredy-cat doing kyudo… "…" Suddenly, the small girl rose up several categories in his merits.
"What? I'm reflecting on my mistakes." She said apologetically.
"…It went okay. After the chocolate shop we went to the party, where Kagami show-danced, and then we resolved the argument." He said finally, to feed Satsuki's curiosity.
Resolved you say… She got you to dance! But she couldn't possibly tell him about the video or she and Ki-chan would be dead in an instant. "So? Should I congratulate you to your first girlfriend?" She teased him.
Aomine's eyes widened at the thought. Friends… rang in his mind. But I said it… What an idiot I am… Plus there were Hikaru's words: 'Think carefully about what you want, boy.' So what did he want?
"No way. We're not dating." He said and then remembered the fall. He could feel his cheeks heated up, and so he turned away from Satsuki.
"Are you blushing?" She asked and leaned forward to see better. "So what happened? Tell me! Did you kiss? Did she turn you down?"
"WHAT?! NO!" He abruptly turned to glare at her. "Of course not! Nothing like that. Kagami wouldn't…"
"You never know, right? You could have tried." Satsuki sighed, it was cute to see Dai-chan so indecisive and confused. "But you did nothing… Meh…That's laaame…." She said disappointed.
"Lame?!" He almost choked with the word. Was he lame?
Satsuki laughed at him. "You suit each other!"
He raised an eyebrow at her. "That's not for you to decide, right?"
Satsuki looked down… "Right… Wait…" She grinned at him, already over their argument. "Since when are you not an idiot?"
"WHAT?!"
######
Aya watched the video of her and Aomine that Kuroko-kun sent her in the evening.
"You sure it's fine to be friends?" Taiga asked her from the other side of the couch. He was already over the fact that she wouldn't show it to him. At least he saw the videos Hiroto had made of her and Hikaru. And it was freakin' amazing; like usual, when it was Aya.
"Hm?" She looked up from the screen. "Mhm. It's fine."
Taiga raised an eyebrow at that. "Reeeally?"
"Yep." She nodded. "I'm too much to handle after all, and now there are prelims, and all that. I don't have time to date anybody. I liked dancing with him, it was surprisingly enjoyable to dance with someone so clumsy, but it might have been just the atmosphere of the evening."
He sighed. He knew when she was lying to herself, and right now, she was lying to herself. It was no way in hell the atmosphere of the evening when she was watching the video with those dreamy eyes. After Tatsuya, he wouldn't be surprised if she was reluctant to jump into a relationship, more so if the other party wasn't hundred percent convinced about it. And Taiga would swear that Aomine was definitely not sure what he was getting himself into, or whether he wanted it. Whatever kind of a guy he was.
Maybe being friends first wouldn't kill them…
"If you say so." He said, avoiding another possible argument. "Will you come to my matches?"
"I'm not sure. I should be there for my team. If I can I will, and I'll definitely see you in the final league."
"If we make it past the preliminaries…"
"What are you talking about? Of course you'll pass the preliminaries." She said. "What's gotten into you that you doubt yourself?" It was indeed unusual to see Taiga distressed about basketball. He was aggressive and confident all the time. He loved playing against strong opponents, so what was wrong this time?
"I might have a bad day too, all right?" He barked.
"Sheeesh, you on your period, or what?" She teased him. "Don't worry about the foul. I was only angry because I could've scored."
"I don't know…" Taiga started and stared at his palm.
"Hm?"
"I believed I could do it on my own. And I wanted to try it. Am I becoming selfish?"
"No, you are learning and growing. It's normal. Believe in yourself, dear brother. You are amazing."
Aya was a team player, but now she wondered if it wasn't better for Taiga to grow individually, and then bend it according to his team's play. He was improving rapidly. But then again, supporting him in drifting apart from his team would be plainly vicious. When the time comes, he will go his way, leave, improve and then come back stronger than ever. No need to force it. Right now, he should make a lot of friends.
######
Kise's day was awesome. He lazed around, did laundry and some homework, and watched his favourite series… Nothing could disrupt his great day. Nothing except one thing.
A text from Ayacchi was delivered in the evening:
'Video, eh? Share it with one more person and you're dead. Other than that… I wish you a good night and sweet dreams, Model-kun.'
He gulped as a chill ran down his spine. Oh shit. It got out sooner than I expected.
A/N: That's about it. Basketball's back! And we met Kano's siblings... And Kuroko has a fan!
/sentence structure, grammar minor wording changed on 24.4.2021/
Let me know what you think and remember, reviews are appreciated but never necessary.
S.