A/N: Thanks to everyone who followed and favourited and reviewed! It makes me very happy. I guess there'll be more mistakes in this chapter, as my Beta reader and I had some technical issues with this particular chapter (we have no idea what magic occurred, but we couldn't go through it as usual), and we apologise for that.
Enjoy!
When I dance, I escape the present and become one with my soul. – Normani Kordei
Once you have a commitment, you need the discipline and hard work to get you there. – Haile Gebrselassie
This is part of what a family is about, not just love. It's knowing that your family will be there watching out for you. Nothing else will give you that. Not money. Not fame. Not work. ― Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie
Love is a fire. But whether it is going to warm your hearth or burn down your house, you can never tell. ― Joan Crawford
It is an ironic habit of human beings to run faster when they have lost their way. ― Rollo May
This connection we have isn't going away, it's only getting stronger. Because the more I spend time with her, the closer I want to be. ― Simone Elkeles, Perfect Chemistry
I've never dropped anyone I believed in. – Marilyn Monroe
"Ayaaaaa! Do something about it! I can't stand on that leg properly!" Taiga complained the next morning.
He'd somehow managed to get home with Aya's help. After he'd taken a shower, she'd ordered him to cool his right calf with ice and then she'd applied some ointment. It'd worked like a magic spell, and he'd gone to bed without feeling the pain… But the morning was hell!
"Of course you can't! It hurts! That's what damaged muscles do!" She shouted across the apartment. "Cool it down again, I'll be right there! I just need to finish this homework!"
"How long is that?"
"10 minutes!"
Urgh. He slumped onto a couch and turned the TV on.
When she was done with gently massaging the ointment into his skin, she wiped her hands. "I'll bandage it up in 10 minutes. You're not leaving home today and you'll bandage it up tomorrow before you leave. Don't even think about practising during the next week. Understood?"
"Yeah." He grumbled in an unimpressed manner. "Are you staying home today, or are you going out?"
"I'm planning on meeting Senri in the gym. We decided to have some additional practise." She was looking forward to dancing. "But I'll stay if you want me to."
"Nah." He waved his hand. "Just go." He didn't want to limit her in any way and he knew that dancing was her life and joy. She loved basketball, yes, but she could never in her life abandon dancing. And after she had told him all about the Touou's match, he could understand the need for a distraction.
######
"Aomine-kuuun!" Satsuki found him in the park near their homes.
He groaned in annoyance. "What?"
She ran to him with a delighted expression. The dogs didn't even bother greeting her and continued in their tug-of-war with a piece of an old rope Daiki had discovered in their garage. "I've just got my hands on the final league schedule!" She waved the paper in front of his face.
"You mean you snuffled it from your mom." He corrected her mockingly. As far as he knew, Satsuki's mother worked in some high-up position in the school system, where she had an access to these schedules and all other info about schools within their prefecture.
"Don't call it that! I simply borrowed it, made a copy, and returned it to her."
He raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't comment on it further. "So? What weaklings are we up against in two weeks?"
Satsuki's pink eyes stared at him intensely for a moment and then she handed him the schedule. It was just as Midorima had guessed.
"Our first opponent in the final league is Tetsu-kun and Taiga-kun."
"Senri! What's up?" Aya arrived at the dancing gym at 5 AM on Monday.
"Yo! You don't have morning practises on Mondays right?" He asked just to be sure.
"Well, no…" She got suspicious. "But, we practised yesterday. Don't tell me you want extra practises? And isn't Miki coming back anytime soon?"
"Her cast is coming off in a week and then there'll be rehabs and all that. I want to, no, I need to train now. With you." He insisted.
The usually calm and relaxed Senri was insisting on extra practises and over-practises. The past two weeks she'd been staying in the gym for hours after the club members had left, well except the one practise she'd missed. And they were practising not just Latin dances but also ballet, gymnastics and other styles… She loved dancing, so she didn't mind, but this…
"What is going on?" She narrowed her eyes at him.
"I want to try acrobatic dancing. You've trained it before right? You could teach me."
Her eyes widened. The last summer training camp had been focused on acrobatic dancing and gymnastic stunts along with Ballroom. Almost everyone loved it, for its difficulty and playfulness. That's why; she decided to repeat the programme with different lectors and adding some street dancing into the mix again. She'd practised it before, because from ballet and Latin dances, combined with her personality and willingness to try whatever, Aya naturally got to try out acro. But teaching it wasn't easy, and she wasn't sure she fully trusted Senri in this. Whenever she was learning new pair stunts, she'd always done than with either Raymond or Taiga, no one else.
"Then do a front aerial. Now. Then I might try teaching you." She said with a hard gaze.
Senri smirked. He wasn't the best dancer out there, he didn't know all the stunts and he'd need to learn a lot more, but he knew a front aerial. Aya wasn't the only one trying everything she possibly could.
With an initial jump to gain momentum, he performed a flawless front aerial, gracefully landing on his feet, as if he were doing it his whole life – he indeed was. Despite his job as an accountant, he'd never forgotten to train everything he knew regularly.
She clapped. "Good! For an elder."
"I'm 28 not 80, Robin." He returned the jab, showing his Shiranui's nature.
Aya shook her head and chuckled. "Why do you want to learn that anyways? Why now? Why with me? I'm not sure I'll fully trust you."
"And why not? You're here. And I saw some videos the other day… I know most of the individual stunts, but I've never tried to do this with a partner. Maybe… Maybe I could enter competitions again. If I'm not good enough in Latin, though I paradoxically teach it… Maybe I could win something in this."
She bit her thumb nail. This sounded like fun. Lots of hard work, arguments and bruises, but fun nonetheless. They could teach Latin and afterwards switch to acro. The final league was happening on Friday and Saturday, in 12 days… And she felt she was focusing too much on basketball lately, though it was making her happy... Change of pace, huh? "You are aware I can't compete with you, right? Given the age gap."
"I want to compete with Miki, once she completely recovers. But I need to train myself."
"And her? Is she going to agree to this?"
"I don't see a reason why not. She used to do gymnastics before."
"Hmph, fine then. Wanna start right now?" She asked and eyed her sports' clothes she'd brought just in case.
His face lit up into a happy grin. "I'll drive you to school." He offered.
"Not needed. I don't want weird rumours spreading again." She grabbed the bag and headed to the changing room.
######
Aya ran into the school as the bell announcing the first class rang. She didn't change her shoes; there wasn't any time for that. With long strides and taking three steps at the time she made it into the classroom five second before Suzuki-sensei.
"Don't run in the hallways, Kagami-san." He reminded her with a smile. "And change your shoes."
She smiled sheepishly as she pulled out the English textbook. "I'm sorry, sensei. I'll change them during the first break."
"Well now…" He took attendance and then proceeded with the lesson. They had to finish the chapter they'd been studying. The review test was right around a corner, so Suzuki-sensei didn't give them any assignments or any pair assignments or tasks. But he hadn't told them about the tests yet, it was the responsibility of their homeroom teacher, Ueda-sensei, and besides, they should've already known.
"How's Taiga?" Kano asked immediately after the teacher had left. "Daiki told me the match had been amazing! But that it'd seemed like he'd overexerted."
Aomine looked at Kano, reacting to the name, but he quickly understood they weren't talking about him. Maybe I should listen more to their chitchats in the changing room… He though, as he had no idea who they were talking about, but he had a vague feeling he should've. Then again, if he wanted to know, he'd need to attend practises more often.
"He pulled a muscle in his right calf. He should be functional in couple of days and completely fine by the match… if he does as I told him." She said with a frown indicating she doubted her brother. "…Anyways. Daiki was there? I didn't see him!"
"He went with Airi-chan, and they mingled with Shuutoku's players in the spectators' area. Takao somehow arranged it." He shrugged; he didn't know Takao that much.
"So a date huh?" Aya smiled. "Good for them. How was the celebration anyways? Sorry I didn't come with you, but…"
"You wanted to support your brother! That's understandable! And well… It wasn't much of a party. We ate, talked, bickered, joked and went home. It wasn't much different from the usual practise atmosphere."
"Right, just that you were playing around with your food, which ended up scattered all over the table, on the coach's shirt and Kiku's t-shirt." Ishii added with unimpressed expression, leisurely checking his nails.
"That's not… and I did a good thing. Kiku ended up wearing Wakamatsu's spare t-shirt." He defended himself with a pout. It wasn't like Wakamatsu talked about his crush on Kiku, but his teammates would have to be blind to not notice. They were teasing the big blonde to no ends, but only if Kiku wasn't around, if she was, they just made subtle jokes. And Kano in particular had an eye for detecting crushes.
"What?" Aya turned to Kiku. "Really? Did you get accompanied home too?"
Kiku gave a small nod. She was unbelievably happy about it; she liked Wakamatsu, but… but… He's just being nice. She wasn't courageous enough to confess or anything, and with her scars… She was afraid. I'm fine with just this. It's not like I could wish for more anyways.
"Hmmm…" Aya hummed, feeling the girl's struggle. Kiku wasn't one to talk about her feelings much, and she respected that, but she was surprised that Satsuki hadn't called her about such interesting news!
Kano's eyes widened in surprise. He knew about Wakamatsu's crush, but Kiku was too shy and he wasn't sure if she liked the blonde or if she was scared of him. "You like Wa –" He started loudly, but Aya's hand slapped across his face, not at all gently, sealing his lips shut.
"Hush!" Maybe I shouldn't have asked now… "Not so loud and not in the classroom, baka."
With tears in his eyes caused by the impact, he rubbed his violated face. "But that's…"
Aya raised an eyebrow and gave him one of her pointed glares.
He gave up. "Haaaaai, I'm sorry." Then his eyes travelled to Aomine who was, by now, half-sleeping on his desk, uninterested in the world… "Wait! Does that mean Aomine stayed with you yesterday? We left you two behind…"
"Do you really need to test your luck?" Ishii asked his friend with an amused expression on his face. "And didn't you promise to go change your shoes?" He asked Aya with a smile, glancing at her shoes, giving her an opportunity to avoid Kano's question.
"Urgh… Haaaai, I'm going."
Aomine cracked open one eye to look at her departing figure. He wasn't sure how to behave around her now, so he was glad when Kano kept her occupied.
######
"Why are you skipping classes this time? Hm?" Aya bent over Aomine's seemingly sleeping figure. She decided to help Sakurai to look for him during the lunch break.
Surprisingly, he found his refuge in the gym's second floor. It was the least probable place for him to hide at. Usually the senpais used the gym to eat lunches together, or play some mini games. Aya knew, but she usually ate lunch with Kiku, Kano and Ishii, or some other girls when she felt like it. And sometimes they joined as well. But today, the gym wasn't used at all.
He opened his sleepy eyes to look at her. Why did she always have to find him? She was even better than Satsuki when it came to sniffing him out. Thankfully, it was a rare occurrence; the redhead usually didn't bother.
He didn't feel like talking with her now. "What do you want?"
She blinked at his rash tone. What's up with him now? "I don't want anything." She replied in the same tone. "Sakurai-kun was looking for you, to give you this."
"Oh." He stared at two bento boxes she was carrying and one was indeed wrapped in the cloth Sakurai used.
"Oh." She parroted. "If you ask him to make you lunches, you should at least come and take it. The poor guy was looking for you everywhere."
Oh. He'd forgotten he told Sakurai to bring him a lunch that day. His stomach rumbled. "Give it here." He reached for the bento, but Aya pulled it from his reach and raised an eyebrow at him.
He clicked his tongue in annoyance and frowned at her. "I'm starving."
She sighed, she wanted to be mean to him but considering his mood, and the last match, she couldn't bring herself to. And so she handed him the lunch box. "Would it kill you to say 'please' or 'thank you'?"
Aomine wasn't listening. He was already stuffing his cheeks with rice. With a sigh she sat next to him and started to eat her own lunch. He was quicker in wolfing down his food, so he leaned against the wall and stared into nowhere. So the next match is against Kagami's brother… And Tetsu…
When she noticed a sideways glace he gave her, she raised an eyebrow at him. "What? Want me to leave?" She asked rather defensively.
"Huh?" He blinked at her in confusion; in fact he didn't mind her presence.
"You're unusually prickly. What's eating you up?"
"Nothin'."
She shrugged and finished her lunch. "You do know that we have the mid-terms on Thursday, right? And therefore no practises on Tuesday and Wednesday, so we can study…"
He tilted his head to a side, but his eyes were blank. No spark of remembrance. He wouldn't attend those practises anyways.
"Aomine! Katsunori posted it into our team's group chat on Saturday evening!"
He was still giving her the blank look.
Aya facepalmed. "Urgh, seriously?! Are you seriously ignoring the chat that much?!"
Instead of an answer, he shrugged. He didn't care about the group chat in the slightest.
She let out a sigh. "If you want to play in the final league you need to pass the tests. Or otherwise you'll be stuck up in remedial classes." Her eyes widened, Oh god! If we have the tests than… Taiga!
He raised an eyebrow at her suddenly terrified expression. "What?"
She shook her head as if she could shake out the worry she felt for Taiga. Her brother hadn't been studying regularly, and everything he'd done was under her strict supervision. And he sucked at kanji in particular. "Nothin'. I'll need to call Taiga's coach, apparently." She mumbled. "Anyways… You need to study."
"I'll be fine."
"What was your score in the last math test?"
"Uh… 12?"
"Out of 100. Congratulations. Real awesome." She snorted sarcastically. "And English?"
He frowned in thought. If he remembered correctly, the last English test score he'd gotten was the best he'd ever had… "45."
"Well now… You need to be above 50 points in each subject to avoid remedial classes." She cleared for him. "You've gotten better in English, that's good, but you need to study more than one evening before these tests."
He let out a heavy sigh. He so hated this kind of conversation. "I'll pass. Don't fret over it."
Aya bit her thumb nail and stared at him and then she focused on her foot. She was thinking.
With an interest in his eyes he was staring at her. Sometime during their conversation she turned towards him, she was sitting on her left foot, her right leg was bent and she was leaning against it. It was a totally ungirly position, but it somehow fitted the redhead. And the shorts under her skirt again… He sighed inwardly. His eyes roamed up her figure, but before he could focus on her boobs, where the shirt was tighter – he only noticed now, as they'd changed for the summer uniforms just recently – she spoke up again.
"If you're gonna be fine…" She said carefully. "Let's make a bet."
"Oh?" He looked at her face, just to see the familiar challenging smirk. "Now that sounds interesting, Sweetheart. What do you have in mind?"
"If you score above 50 in each subject and above 60 in English, I'll make your lunches for… How long would be enough to bribe you?"
"Until summer break." He said. The bet seemed interesting. Aya's cooking was awesome; he wouldn't mind eating it instead of Sakurai's.
"Okay." She nodded. "If you score above 50 in all subjects, less than 60 but more than 50 in English, I'll make those lunches only for the two following weeks."
"Fair enough." He nodded. "And if I fail?"
"If you fail, be it just one subject, no lunches and you'll come to the dancing club with me. Plus… you'll be stuck in remedial classes."
"WHAT?! NO!" His eyes almost bulged out and he backed a few steps away from her. Aomine Daiki attending a dancing club… Hell no.
"Pass the tests, Honey-bun, and you don't have to worry 'bout dancing."
"Tch." He was frowning at her. Kagami's cooking vs. possibility to go to the dancing club… It wouldn't be a bet if there was nothing challenging… "Fine." He grunted in agreement.
"Ohooo! Great!" She smiled brightly and held up her hands to high-five with him.
He smirked and slapped her palms with more force than necessary. It stung him as hell too. She winced, but she didn't make a sound.
A vein popped on her forehead. "Don't try that again. I'm starting to hope you'll fail, so I can get back you in dancing."
"Dream on, Sweetheart." He decided to pass those tests even if it'd kill him.
"Oh, I will." She said with a smirk. "But I'm ready to help you with English if you need." She shrugged.
He so wanted to refuse, but if he considered his options: 1. ask for help, 2. don't ask for help, fail and dance… Kagami:1, me:0, again. "This afternoon in the library?" He asked.
She shook her head, mildly disappointed. "I can't today, sorry."
"Why?"
"I have an individual practise with Senri." She explained, though she didn't have to. "I hope he won't break my neck in the process…" She mumbled under her nose.
Just what are you practising?! "…Tomorrow morning in the library then. In the time of morning practise."
"Sounds good…" She said in a tentative tone and raised an eyebrow at him expectantly.
"Tch… Please." He almost choked on the word, but he said it. Kagami: 2, me: 0… Tche! He'd forgotten all about the upcoming match against his former shadow. She truly had a talent to distract his thoughts.
######
"Aya!" Taiga barged into the dancing gym with a terrified expression, not caring about the practise going on there.
"GAH!" Senri let out a strangled shout, and his concentration broke.
He was just trying to get a hang of one arm planche. He was holding Aya above his head with just his left arm holding her right forearm. It took an unbelievable strength, concentration and balance to not drop her. She was supporting herself too, but Senri was the most important pillar. And now, he startled, and she was falling.
"KYAH!" Aya screamed as she suddenly fell on the hard wooden floor. Only because it'd happened before, she managed to soften the fall by her forearms, not falling on straightened arms – she'd already known what that could cause.
She was immediately up on her feet, shaking off the impact and glaring viciously at Taiga. "What the hell?! You know what we're practising!"
He took a step back. "Sooorrryyyyy! I didn't know you were doing those stunts!"
She turned at Senri and jabbed a finger into his chest. "And why'd you let go?! You're supposed to hold me up!"
"I'm sorry." He apologised too. "I got startled."
"Urgh." She groaned and shook her head. She could already see the bruises she'd have. Taiga'd startled her too, so even if it was her taking the fall, she shouldn't get that angry. "So?" She asked with hands on her hips. "What's up Tai?"
"Mid-term tests!" He shrieked desperately.
"Then study!" She worried for him, but heck was she annoyed.
"That's it! The coach is having a studying session at her house! They're gonna torture me! Please help meee!"
"Oh?" She chuckled. "Good for you. They'll help you."
"I'll be away for two nights! Two whole nights! Ain't you worried?!"
Aya shrugged. "I'll go through English with you tonight then. Other than that, I'll rely on your senpais. And pray they won't kill you." She loved her brother, but studying with him was near impossible.
"You traitor." He growled.
"Hai, hai. I'll call Riko to give her some tips on how to handle you." She smirked evilly.
"Ayaaaaa!"
Aya laughed. Then she narrowed her eyes in thought and stared at him. "I know your legs are injured but... You've taped them right?"
Taiga blinked at her in confusion. "Yeah, why?"
"Let's show Senri how it's done properly."
"Huh?" His eyes widened, but he had no time to think as his sister leaped at him and his only choice was to catch her. Automatically, after seeing their figure, he knew what to do.
The twins' movement was so smooth when they performed the perfect one arm planche that Senri's mouth opened in awe.
"Have you gained on weight?" Taiga asked his sister with a mocking smirk as he rocked her up and down in the air. He turned around and walked towards Senri.
"Oh, don't go there, dear brother." She warned him. "And I haven't! I have more daily exercise than you!"
"How the hell?" Senri asked, baffled by Taiga's ability. Sure, the youngster had the muscle to do something like this easily, but… But… He made it look way too easy!
Taiga shrugged and let her down. "Dunno. We trained?" The acrobatic stunts were the most interesting and fun part of dancing, at least for Taiga. So if he had to dance Latin and Standard dances with her, he demanded her to learn acro with him…
"And that's how it's supposed to look." Aya nodded in satisfaction, it was indeed a different feeling when she could do that with someone she fully trusted. "Let's get to it again, Senri. Taiga, you'll be taking videos!"
"I need to study!" He whined. He hated studying, but he had a bonfire under his ass right now. He'd have to sit by the books if he wanted to play in the final league.
Aya rolled her eyes. "It's called effective studying. You'll have two days, and help of your entire team. I have to help Aomine, do three reports for father, be here and study! Don't whine. You can help us for this one day."
Taiga pouted but slumped to the ground and picked out his phone to record their tries. That way, it was easier to analyse and point out any mistakes they did.
His hands grabbed her waist and his lips crashed with hers, stealing her breath away. Kissing her felt so natural. Their lips moved in a frantic, hungry rhythm. She bit at his lower lip and her red eyes were shining with love and lust. He let out a heavy breath. She smiled mischievously and pulled him down for another kiss.
His hands were roaming up her waist, gently touching her soft skin. He teased the small scar she had there.
She had to stand on her tiptoes to reach him, so she held onto his shoulders for a support. Her mouth travelled down his neck, leaving a trail of kisses all the way to his collar bone. Oh, how he wanted to do the same. To kiss her all over. But it was uncomfortable for him to be bent down. Compared to him, she was short.
He let out a low grunt as he lifted her up, her legs instinctively wrapping around his waist. Her touches were sending electricity through his entire body. For a moment he stared into those gorgeous reddish eyes, completely devoured by the fire in them. But now he could finally kiss her neck all he wanted, and he didn't hesitate to do so. She tilted her head to give him a better access and let out a soft moan.
Daiki's eyes snapped open.
What the hell? He had no idea where the dream had come from, but damn, Aya was so... Those burning red eyes of hers... Why did I wake up? He thought desperately. He didn't really see her naked or anything, but he could almost feel the touches on his skin. That's how vivid it'd been.
He sat up and stared at his erection.
Shiro raised her head to look at her master with her intelligent black eyes.
"Get out, Shiro." He ordered her. It was strange having a dog observing you. The Samoyed got up and left, but she had almost a scolding look on her usually smiling dog face.
He took a deep breath. He needed to either calm down, or finish what the dream had started. And waiting to calm down was not an option, considering he'd have to meet Kagami in less than two hours.
######
Aomine came to the library, surprisingly, on time. Aya wasn't there yet, and for a moment he felt relief. He wasn't quite sure how to face her. The dream stirred him up so much that his dirty magazines just hadn't felt right. So he got off thinking about her. He didn't feel guilty, just strange.
Aya arrived within the next 15 minutes. She looked dishevelled, but strangely happy. Her thick, long and currently wet mane was left down, drenching the shoulders of her shirt. The top three buttons of her shirt were unbuttoned, showing the necklace and a part of her cleavage and her ribbon was loosely hanging under the collar.
Is she trying to kill me? He thought as his eyes naturally zoomed on her boobs. The worst thing was that they were there alone.
"Hey."
"Hey. Sorry I'm late. I got held up by Senri." She rambled out. "He kept asking me for repetitions and I lost the track of time." Her morning practise overstretched and she needed to wash her hair afterwards.
Repetitions? With Senri? That stung, but he refused to show it. "Someone had a steamy morning?" He asked with a raised eyebrow and a mocking smirk. All to hide his burning jealousy.
She gasped and covered her mouth. "Oh god, no! That came out so wrong! It's Senri for god's sake!" She exclaimed as if that explained everything. "We have morning practises! I'm trying to teach him some acro, so he can enter competitions with his fiancée once she recovers. Currently I'm trying to teach him a one arm planche." She was feeling so frantic and it reflected in her fast speaking.
He blinked at her. He had no idea what she was saying after 'we have morning practises'. But he should've guessed that. Because of the stupid dream he was now what? Jealous? Get a grip, idiot. He scolded himself inwardly. You aren't dating or anything.
"I have no idea what that is."
She opened her mouth to explain, but he didn't give her a chance.
"Calm down." He rumbled. "So you're late, no big deal."
"…Right." She let out a long sigh and slumped to the chair opposite him. "Sorry." She gave him a half-smile. She hadn't slept a minute, had a morning practise, got her period and had to run to school. "It's just… Everything is happening so fast, that I have 0 time to sit and rest… which doesn't concern you in any way~"
There was something almost vulnerable in her eyes that morning. Since when was she so open with him? First the dream, then the boobs and now this? What have I done? This is torture! And they weren't even studying yet.
He cleared his throat. "We still have more than an hour." He got up and when she gave him a questioning look he asked "Want something from the vending machine? I feel like having a juice." And a minute to calm down.
She stared at him for a moment. He knew he was acting strange, but so was she. And as he'd expected she didn't pry. "Yes please. I'm desperate for a black coffee."
He nodded and turned on his heel. "Button up your shirt." He added over his shoulder.
When he closed the door, he could hear a short, muffled 'Crap! Not again!'. He couldn't help a smirk.
######
By the end of their study session, Aya regained her usual composure. Aomine's relaxed and not caring attitude helped her to calm down herself. That one hour of studying was rather calm, and the time was passing almost lazily. She felt like an idiot for her morning franticness. What the hell had happened to make me so hectic anyways?
They managed to go through half of the semester's work. She nodded approvingly. "Not perfect, but you should handle English quite fine. Tomorrow morning I'll bring some tests from last year, 'kay?"
He blinked at her. "Are we doing this tomorrow too?"
"We've only managed to go through half of it. And I believe you'll go through the other four subjects on your own, or with Satsuki."
"Tch."
She had to smile at it. Despite his hate of studying, he wasn't stupid and he could learn pretty quickly, if there was the right incentive. His grades were terrible, because he simply didn't care and considered studying boring. Well, it bores me too… But I need to have the results. She wondered if he ever realised that if he'd spent one hour of studying every day, he could've had results similar to hers.
"If you don't wanna dance, you'll do it." She smirked. "Anyways, we should get going. Classes are starting in a minute."
######
"Come here dear." Daiki could hear his mother's whispering voice from behind the door to his room he'd left ajar. "Come, quick."
A vein popped on his forehead, but he ignored it.
"What is it?" Daisuke asked curiously.
"Look…" She whispered and pointed towards Daiki sitting by the books.
"Hooooly crap!" He whistled. "Who do you think is this impostor?"
"I have no idea. We should be careful." She giggled quietly.
"Indeed."
"Would you two stop?! I'm trying to study here?!" Daiki turned on his chair and barked at his parents hiding behind the door, observing him as if he was some rare species.
"That's serious." Daisuke rumbled and gave Michiko a curt nod.
"Ha?!" His parents could be so embarrassing at times!
Then Daisuke nudged the door open and stared at his son with worry in his blue eyes. "Did something happen to you? Did you get hit on your head, or something?"
"What?! No! I need to pass the midterms!"
"To impress Kagami-chan?" Michiko giggled, partially hidden behind her husband's back.
A very quick blush passed Daiki's face and he hesitated for a moment. Why was he studying indeed? The bet could've been broken… "To get her lunches!" He exclaimed and his voice jumped.
"Mine are not good enough?" She asked him with a teasing, but slightly dejected expression.
"It's the question of amount, not taste, mom." He said more calmly now.
"He needs to eat a lot to keep that muscle, Michi." His father said with a nod. "And lunches from Kagami-chan must be worth studying… If it was Satsuki's offer though…"
Daiki's face twisted into a terrified grimace. "I'd gladly fail in everything."
They both laughed. "We'll leave you to your studies then." Michiko said with a motherly smile. "I'll bring you some tea and onigiri later, 'kay?"
"Ossu."
"That was terrible!" Kano whined after the last test had ended. "I hope I didn't fail in math."
"I hope so too." Ishii said. "If I spent two days teaching you in vain…"
Aya turned to look at Aomine. He looked like he'd just lost his soul. "So?"
He looked up at her and smirked cockily. "I'm looking forward to your lunches, Sweetheart."
"Hmph. We'll see about that when we receive the results tomorrow."
"Oi, oi!" Kano turned to the duo. "Is there some bet going on?!"
"If he passes everything I'll make him lunches. And if he fails, he'll have to suffer the remedial classes." She shrugged and gave Aomine a short sideways glance; she didn't need to bring up the dancing part.
"Are you doing this to get Sakurai off the hook?" Ishii asked with a knowing smile.
"Sakurai-kun should eat those two lunches himself." She said with a nod.
"Eh! You didn't have to do that, Aya-san! I'm sorry to worry you! I'm sorry!" Sakurai gave her a strange half bow as he was sitting.
"It's fine. Don't apologise. I make lunches for my gluttonous brother. It's not a big deal to make one more." She waved her hand at it.
"Are we going to play some basket in the afternoon?" Kano proposed with a happy grin. Tests were over, they could practise again!
"I can't today. Sorry." Aya send him an apologetic smile. "We are practising tomorrow and on Saturday you'll get plenty of practise."
The next day, Aomine was blinking at his test results in disbelief. His English result was 73! And almost all other tests were above 60 points. He passed everything with flying colours – well, in his merit.
"Oh?" Aya leaned over his shoulder during a break. When he hadn't said anything after receiving the test, she started to worry. "Seems like I'll be making one more lunch from now on." She smiled contently and ruffled his hair out of habit. She'd always done this to Taiga when he succeeded in something.
Oh… His hair is softer than it looks… "Good job." She praised him cheerfully.
"Stop it!" He protested and shoved her hand away. But in reality, he didn't mind it.
"Hai, hai." She laughed and turned to the rest of the club and Kiku, who was by now also a part of the team. "So? Everyone passed?"
"Noooohooooo!" Kano cried out with tears in his eyes. "Whyyyyyy?!"
"What did you fail at?"
"History! I focused on math so much that…. Nooooo!"
Ishii facepalmed. So his dear friend passed in his worst subject, math, and failed in the subject he didn't mind.
"I won't see the match against Kuroko-kun and Taiga! That's so unfair!"
"I'll get you the recording of it, don't worry." Aya patted his shoulder in sympathy. "Maybe I'll find some way for you to attend despite the remedial classes. Hm?"
"Really?! Ah… But that's not… Urgh." He was such an idiot. Even Aomine had passed!
######
"Are you going to practise?" Aya asked Aomine when they were tiding up their class. For some reason he was helping her and she had no idea what had happened for he'd never done that before.
"No. Why?"
"Just askin'. We still haven't dealt with Kise." She shrugged. She'd almost forgotten the prank they wanted to do in the mess of responsibilities and tests, but she'd seen his face in some magazine the previous day… "Do we still want to prank him?"
"Oh." His eyes widened, he'd forgotten. "I'll call Aiko-san."
She nodded. "That sounds good. Inform me about it then."
He nodded curtly and wiped off the blackboard. He needed to do something to occupy himself, or he'd end up daydreaming about Kagami the way he shouldn't have. I'm terrible… He thought.
######
"Tadaima!" Aya returned late and dead tired after the entire week. And there she had another reports awaiting her on the table.
"Okaerinasai!" Taiga greeted her in a cheerful and happy voice. "I've passed all the tests! I'm 90th out of all 308 students!"
"Ohoooo." Her mood improved immediately. "Congratulations! You did a great job!"
He smiled widely and tilted his head so she could pat it. It was an automatic gesture, something she'd done ever since they were kids, and she'd never tease him for it. Well… most of the time.
With a wide grin of her own she ruffled through his thick hair. "I've passed everything too. Was English your best score?"
Taiga paled.
"What?"
"No. I got 98 for Japanese language." He said gravely.
"WHAT?!" She shouted in surprise. That was Taiga's worst subject. Even she scored only 89 in Japanese language, and her brother got almost a full mark?! "How in the world?!"
"All I did was roll a pencil."
She stared at him as if he'd gone mad. "You what?!"
"No listen… Kuroko lent me a rolling pencil, made by Midorima. He called it a 'Last resort', Yushimatenjin[S2], or something… a rolling-dice-like pencil… I chose my answers based on that." He said with a conspiratorial nod. "But now I feel like I owe the bastard."
She blinked at her brother. "A rolling pencil?" Her tone indicated she didn't believe it in the slightest.
"I've got 98." He reminded her grimly. She knew how useless he was when it came to kanji – heck he couldn't even read the textbook properly.
"Just who the hell is Midorima?!"
Aya's phone rang on the Saturday's morning. "What's up Riko?"
"Hey. Uhm… Don't you know where Kagami-kun went? He was supposed to watch our pool drills, but he hasn't shown up at all."
"He left in the morning to go to the practise." She said suspiciously. Where the hell did he go then? He didn't lie to Aya, he couldn't, but if he hadn't shown up for practise it meant he either changed his mind midway, or something had happened.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. I'm sure you have a practise of your own."
No, if something had happened I would've felt it… But what if… "No that's fine. Thanks for calling me. I'll go look for him; my boys can practise without me too."
"Oh no, you don't have to. I'm sure he'll show up. Or not… He kept whining all the time yesterday that he wanted to practise, and why did he have to watch and…" Riko sounded almost apologising.
"Yeah, I know him. I'll deliver him to you when I find him." She said in an icy voice, which made Riko shiver, and hung up.
######
After another failed attempt at shooting a three pointer, Taiga frowned at the hoop. This wasn't his style, but dunking was out of the question. Even this simple shooting hurt. Not as much as the previous day, but it hurt.
Aya and the coach told me to rest, but I can't just sit around doing nothing. My legs are getting better anyway…Urgh… If Aya knew, I'd be a dead guy. He shivered.
He shot again and winced. "Ouch."
"Hey! You're Kagami Taiga?"
"Huh?" He turned around to see a tanned boy with navy blue hair picking up his strayed ball. The boy had an unbelievably annoying smirk on his face.
"Be my opponent, I'm challenging you!" The bluenette demanded.
"…Hah?" Taiga frowned deeply. "And who the hell are you?! I hate people challenging me out of the blue, when they don't even tell me their name." He bristled. The last thing he needed at the moment was some match. I have a bad feeling he might be…
"Who cares what you feel! Well… I'll tell you my name." When he stared at the redhead closely, he could see the resemblance between him and Aya. "I'm Aomine Daiki."
I knew it! He started laughing. "I should've guessed so. That attitude… So? What do y' want?" He asked with a hand on his hip. Aya'd talked about Aomine so much that he felt like he knew the guy, or at least he was prepared to face the arrogance.
"What are you laughing at?"
Taiga just shook his head and took control over his laughing fit. "So?"
So he can be pretty arrogant too… Though I like that determination in his eyes Aomine thought with a smirk. "I want to test you. Don't worry, I don't think you can win against me, because no one can be stronger than me. I'm not looking for that nonexistent person. I just want to know how much you can entertain me." Be at least as good as the girl… He hoped; because Kagami'd said she usually lost against her brother, and she could entertain him a little, or was it him entertaining her? He wasn't sure anymore.
"Huh?!" A vein popped on his forehead. … So she is dealing with this? She likes this?! What the hell? Taiga thought, hating Aomine instantly and for a moment admiring his sister, because he felt like punching this prick. "Kise and Midorima… The generation of miracles is sure full of arrogant idiots, who annoy the hell out me… But you are a league of your own. Bring it on then!"
So provocation works. Aomine smirked victoriously and started to dribble the ball in a leisure pace. He's injured, huh? No need to be serious.
Taiga tried to stop him, but Aomine was way too fast. He passed him with a spin move to the right, and dunked without any effort. Taiga hadn't even tried to jump. The motion was so quick and smooth, he couldn't possibly react. Aomine raised an eyebrow at his pathetic performance and threw him a ball.
What a terrible pass. Taiga thought. Aya'd said Aomine'd been a streetball player, but Taiga couldn't quite see it. So he is making fun of me. The redhead bristled and tried to dribble past Aomine, using several fakes. He managed to pass by Aomine but it felt as if the latter had let him. He leapt up using his less damaged left leg, but it wasn't quite the jump he imagined. Shit. Too low. He swore inwardly, when Aomine slapped the ball away, before he could release it.
The bluenette yawned, this was boring. He hadn't thought the injury would limit Kagami that much. Nonetheless, their little one-sided game continued for around 6 minutes.
"That weak, huh?" Aomine was looking down at panting Taiga. Or have I gotten better again? "Did you really manage to defeat Midorima?" He asked mockingly.
"You..!"
"Yeah right… Tetsu was there too." He said, sounding almost dejected. "How disappointing. He's a shadow. Shadows are the strongest when there's a strong light. With you as a light, he's weak too."
Taiga's legs were shaking and hurting like hell. He could barely keep standing in a defensive stance, let alone keep up with Aomine. And those reflexes and instincts Aomine had… And I haven't seen a proper streetball yet…
He passed Taiga as if he wasn't even there. "Your light's too dim, Kagami Taiga." He said as he landed in another layup, dunking took too much effort for him at the moment.
A vein popped on Taiga's forehead. "Too dim huh… I heard you enjoyed the marble cake I made the other day." He said mockingly.
Aomine froze on the spot and slowly turned to face Taiga. Oh yeah, this is her brother indeed. Eating that cake had been a mistake… He opened his mouth to retort, when…
"WHAT THE HELL?!" The voice, all too familiar to both, made shivers run down their spines, all their banters forgotten. They were caught doing something, they shouldn't have been doing.
"BAKAGAMI TAIGA!" Aya was furious. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE? I AIN'T TREATING YOUR GODDAMN LEGS FOR YOU TO… TO…" In an instant a shoe was flying Taiga's way. He was too shocked by her sudden appearance that he didn't dodge. Her sandal hit him straight into his face.
"OI! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" He bristled up, his mouth working before his brain. She looked like a goddess of wrath, which was extremely dangerous and he immediately swallowed all the protests he might've had.
"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?! YOU DARE TO ASK?!" She shouted her lungs out. "You tell me! What the hell do you not understand when I tell you 'don't play for a week!' HUH?!"
Aomine was staring at the two in a quiet amusement, snickering under his nose. The language switches between English and Japanese were hilarious. But he'd never seen the redhead so furious. Just like Kagami, he didn't dare to move a muscle – in hope she could possibly ignore him, because he didn't want that fury turned against him. But hell, she was amazing.
Crap… Taiga instinctively took a step back, because his sister was freaking scary when she was furious like this. He realised he was screwed and he was wary of a possible second shoe flying his way. "I… Uh…" Oh, he had so many arguments and retorts in his head but… But he knew that Aya'd been worried for him. That worry was the source of her fury. He felt guilty.
Rage was seeping from her figure as she stood there with hands on her hips. Compared to Taiga, she was small, but right now she looked like she was much bigger than the boy.
"Just what were you thinking playing a stupid one-on-one with Aomine?! Out of all people! For fucks sake, Taiga?! Are you deaf when I talk to you?!"
"Ah… uhm… Sorry?" He peeped guiltily. "I wasn't thinking?" He tried.
She groaned in exasperation. And there I was, worrying for this idiot. "Of course you weren't!"
Her eyes narrowed into slits. The second shoe came off and Taiga shrunk into himself a bit, wanting to catch the shoe, but not sure whether he should.
But Aya suddenly made a 90° turn and in a lightning fast move she sent the shoe towards Aomine.
"Whoa!" He caught the improvised weapon millimetres from his nose thanks to a sheer instinct. The girl had an incredible aim and speed. He blinked at the shoe than at her face. She was terrifying, but she was also funny. He bit the inside of his cheek not to start laughing. "Careful with that, Sweetheart." He said teasingly.
The mocking smirk he had annoyed her to no ends at the moment. "And you?!" She ignored his comment, and regretted not having more legs to supply her with more throwing weapons. "What the hell are you doing here?! Challenging him? When you know he's injured?! What did you want to prove, huh?! How awesome you are facing an injured idiot?!" She needed to stop to take a breath.
Oh, her words cut deep, but it wasn't like he couldn't understand. He was angry at himself, and this entire situation. Not that he would let it show. "You done, Sweetheart?" He asked curtly, spinning her shoe on his forefinger. Nope, he wasn't going to return it.
Aya opened her mouth to retort and then she closed it shut. She ran out of steam. She could have a short fuse, but she could also snap back to her usual self in no time too. And it seemed like there was nothing she could say to shake with Aomine now. The bluenette was totally enjoying her rage; she could see it in his dark eyes.
Taiga blinked at his sister and then at Aomine. Now I get it.
"Tch." She clicked her tongue. "You know what?... Just go."
"Heh. See you in the gym." He saluted and left, spinning the shoe on his finger.
She blinked at it. "Oi! The shoe!" She shouted after his departing figure.
All she could hear was Aomine's husky laughter as he waved her with it.
"I'll kill him!" She huffed and picked up the remaining shoe. It was pointless to put it on; she'd get back to Touou barefoot.
She glared at Taiga again and he shivered again. "I'm delivering you to your coach. Come on." She said icily.
He took a step to follow her. "On your hands." She ordered in a general-like voice, which he couldn't disobey.
It'd been almost funny when she shouted at someone like Aomine. And the bluenette had handled her hilariously. Taiga wondered if it hadn't been precisely because it'd been Aomine. Anyone else and heads would've been flying. No… anyone else and she wouldn't have shouted like this… He knew his sister.
Another scolding awaited him, when Riko learned what had happened. And he wasn't sure who was scarier. But at the end of the day, he knew that Aya would treat his legs again, he'd just have to endure resting until the match.
######
She walked into the gym with remnants of her previous fury still clearly visible. She didn't greet them, her presence made itself known without her having to speak up. Her eyes didn't find the person she was looking for. "Where's Aomine?" She asked curtly.
All eyes turned on her. Katsunori and Satsuki weren't there. Then she noticed a broken hoop and careful expressions on everyone's faces. "What happened?" She changed her question and sighed. The stolen shoe would have to wait.
"Aomine-kun broke the hoop… And kicked Wakamatsu-senpai into the stomach. I'm sorry." Sakurai explained the situation that had occurred when the ace showed up in the gym.
"Sakurai! Don't!" Wakamatsu scolded the kouhai with a scowl.
"He was in a bad mood, Aya-san." Imayoshi joined the explaining and cleared everything that had happened. It wasn't necessary for Aya to know that Aomine behaved like a total trash that day, but when the boys had already told her… And Aomine's excess behaviour surprised him a bit too. So far, the ace had never been physically aggressive with anyone.
While she was listening to the story, she reined in on her remaining anger. She let the steam out on Taiga mostly and all that was left was the annoyance from walking to Touou barefoot. But if she was to face Aomine now, she needed a clear head, and possibly an open mind.
"Oh?" Her eyebrow shot up. "Interesting." She muttered. Something had been off with Aomine ever since the match against Kirisaki Daiichi, but she had no idea what it could've been. She could comprehend a strange and even aggressive behaviour of a worked up athlete. But with Aomine and his skills… She had a feeling there was more to it than just some pre-match stress. Just what is going through your head?
"We don't know where he went." Imayoshi shrugged apologetically. "He took his magazine and left."
"I'll go look for him. I want my other shoe anyways." Aya said and left. She was now more worried than anything else. Maybe I should've questioned him more.
######
"Ne, captain?" Wakamatsu asked.
"Hm?"
"Do you think she's gonna be okay?" He stared at the door worriedly.
Imayoshi sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "If there is anyone going to be okay while facing Aomine in that state, it's her."
"I've never seen him behave like that before." Kano frowned. "He is snappy and prickly and arrogant, but…"
"And he stole her shoe?" Naito joined in remembering that she arrived barefoot. "How did that happen?"
"That's not important now." Ishii rolled his eyes.
"Maybe not, but I'm curious."
"Why do you think that?" Tada questioned Imayoshi's previous statement.
"Because… She has the same presence as him. If not a bit stronger… Haven't you noticed that?"
"Eh?" Various boys snapped their heads at the captain.
"I'm not completely sure why, but it's obvious. The confidence she has is the same as Aomine's except she isn't arrogant. And he respects her, for some reason. Do you think he'd respect just anyone? Even Momoi-san can't manage him the way Aya can, and she's his childhood friend. I've been wondering lately…" Or after the poker game with Kouta, who told me absolutely nothing at all… "She goes to dancing practises; we all know that, but just how good is she? If she was the same level as Aomine is in the basketball–"
"Good observation, Imayoshi-kun." Katsunori returned just to overhear the last part of their conversation. "But I'd appreciate if you stopped chitchating and started practising."
#######
She found him. He was sprawled on the ground on his rooftop. The magazine was placed on the ground next to him, closed, and he looked like he was sleeping. But she knew better.
"So? Where's my Cinderella's shoe?" She asked in a pretended annoyance to get his attention.
"Dunno." He replied with a cocky smirk. He liked her sense of humour, mainly when she was annoyed.
She sighed and sat next to him, putting her bag aside. "What happened with the team?" She asked calmly and curiously.
"Tch." He turned and leaned on his elbow to look at her. The first thing he noticed was her dirty feet. Did she really walk here barefoot? He wouldn't have guessed that. "Nothin'."
"Aomine Daiki." She said strictly, but there was a hinge of benevolence in her voice. Aomine was struggling with himself, she couldn't possibly be angry. She understood it all too well. "Why did you do that? And don't tell me it's because they nagged you to practise. It didn't seem to bother you that much before."
"I don't know okay?!" He snapped at her. Studying had occupied his mind, but… He was just so restless, annoyed, angry… He'd have to face Tetsu for god's sake! It's not like he'd asked for it! Yeah, he was the best. He didn't need or want a shadow. He was more than capable of winning on his own. But why did it feel so damn difficult to just crush the ghostly boy. And he knew he had to do it. Otherwise he wouldn't rid himself of the remaining regrets and admiration he still had towards Kuroko.
Her reddish eyes were staring at him. "Is it because we are facing Seirin? Because Taiga disappointed you? Or did something bad happen?"
"Why do you care anyways?" He was frowning at her.
"Do I need a reason to care about a friend's struggles?" She asked with an amusement in her voice.
He didn't like the sound of it. His struggles? He wasn't struggling. Or was he? "You're surprisingly calm for someone who just threw their shoe at me." He changed the topic.
She raised an eyebrow at that, seeing through his attempts. "I'm still annoyed. Thanks to you I had to walk here barefoot, but don't forget I still do have the other one at my disposal." She warned him. "But I have to admit… You're the first one who dared to do that while I was furious. I'm bowing to your wit and courage, and I don't see the reason to argue with you further."
What? The first one? He blinked at her, stunned as if he just saw a ghost. He didn't know what to say. Kagami Aya could be one hell of an enigmatic puzzle.
She was staring at him, waiting for some reaction. So at the end he answered: "I don't need a pep talk."
"I'm not giving you any, am I?"
His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Then what are you doing here?"
"Talking with you. I want to know where you hid my other shoe and I want to know why you destroyed another hoop and kicked Wakamatsu-senpai. That's all."
"He pissed me off and didn't let go when I warned him. I warned him I'd kick him, you know… though they probably didn't say that to their mother-hen." He said in a rather venomous tone.
She ignored the insult. "You'd be surprised, but they did. And he pissed you off couple of times before. Why kick him now?"
"Tch." He looked away, refusing to answer further.
Aya sighed. Aomine Daiki was sure a complicated teenager. "Look, I don't –"
"Tch, I knew it was coming." He groaned in exasperation.
She slapped her palm over his mouth with a force which almost made him fall flat on his back. "If you're going to ignore me, then so be it, but don't interrupt me." She glared at him and he realised that her quiet anger was much scarier than her previous shouting.
He rolled his eyes, but nodded.
"Good… Look, I don't know what happened between Kuroko-kun and you, since you refuse to talk to me and I didn't ask Kuroko-kun… But if you were his 'light', I bet you were quite close friends. So I guess it's normal for you to behave –"
"Like a trash?" He supplied, because that's what he felt like at the moment.
She chuckled at his choice. "Well… You said it. But I've told you already, I like that streetball style of yours. And you have a new team now. Maybe you don't care about us at all, but we're here. And the boys are not that bad, you know."
Maybe she was right. Damn, Why am I so conflicted about a stupid match? Tetsu's just another opponent, nothing else. He thought and sat up. He couldn't help but stare at her. She was basically curled up, like she was protecting herself from him. Well, they were on the rooftop alone, and he'd been pissed off. That's quite a dangerous and unpredictable combination, and she was probably aware of that. So she doesn't really trust me yet. Though, it surprised him how she could go from hellishly annoyed to heavenly calm when dealing with him. Somehow, it made him respect her even more. She wasn't trying to push her opinions onto him; she was just giving him options, different points of view. And heck, she did know what she was talking about. If he managed to calm her down during their study session, now the tables turned and she was the one who had the calming effect.
"… Have you ever drifted too far away from someone?" He asked without thinking.
"Hm?" She didn't expect him to say or ask anything, not really. So his sudden question surprised her.
"Nothing. Forget it." It's her; she wouldn't drift away from people she cares about…
She smirked and looked at him. "If I drifted too far? Hmmm… After mom died, and I won the first world championship there was a time when Taiga and I seriously hated each other. It took us almost a year and one broken drunkard dosser to start talking again." Not to mention our relationship with father... She shrugged. "Sometimes it takes time to get over it, but drifting away is never a fault of just one person."
'We don't have mom anymore.' He remembered she'd told them after the party. He had a feeling the woman didn't just get up and left her children, but he couldn't be so sure… Now he knew. But a drunkard dosser?!
"Uhm… I…" He had no idea what to say. What were you supposed to say when you learnt that someone's parent had died? He certainly didn't know.
Aya laughed at his stuttering and ruffled his hair. "You're the one who asked, don't be so surprised."
"Oi!" He shoved her hand away. "But you have an exemplary relationship, no?" He blurted out.
"It wasn't always like that. But I guess that at the end of the day, the fabled twin bond is true in our case. We're no good if we're seriously fighting. Though I'm really curious what this match will cause."
Aomine frowned and looked at the passing clouds. "They won't win."
She looked at him and shrugged. "That may be true, but he'll give you some trouble at last."
"He better should."
"Ah, yeah." She blinked and pulled her bag to fish something out. "I've almost forgotten. I came here to give you something."
"Eh?" He stared at a bento she was handing him. "Why'd you...?"
"I've lost a bet, and I thought you might show up today." She shrugged. "Well anyways. I guess I should go. I want to practise with them."
I really don't understand you. He stared after her departing figure. "Your shoe is in the tree by the outside courts." He said before she could disappear down the staircase.
"Urgh. You can't be serious! You really want me to climb the tree barefoot?!" She scowled in her usual way. Like their conversation wasn't one bit serious.
He had to smirk at that. "Sorry?" He tried and a low chuckle escaped him.
######
"You've been with Aomine-kun?" Satsuki asked her the moment she rejoined everyone in the gym. "I couldn't find him anywhere!"
"Yeah. He was on the rooftop."
"Really?! That was the first place where I went and he wasn't there!" He surely sneaked around until I'd leave again… "Erm… How is he?"
"He's a bundle of prickles at the moment." She shrugged. "But he seemed better when I was leaving."
The pinkette sighed desperately. "I think… it's because of the next match. Aomine-kun and Kuroko-kun… They never quite resolved their dispute. No, that's not right. They did, but… But… I think that some part of Aomine-kun still regrets how it turned out…"
"I think so too. But he's an idiot." Aya said. Satsuki's eyes snapped at her, just to see her smile. "He'll get over it, I believe."
"You believe in Dai-chan more than I do." Satsuki said with a mild disappointment in herself.
"We're similar. And if I overcame the shit in my life, so will he. Well… More or less… Some skeletons keep resting in the closet anyways."
"I wanna be you when I grow up." Satsuki exclaimed with a bubbly chuckle. She really liked the redhead.
"Careful what you wish for, my dear. You're awesome too, you know?"
"Oh? Exchange of flattery?" Satsuki smacked her lips and smiled. "Like in what am I awesome?"
"Hmmm…" Aya touched her lower lip in thought. "Your researches, intuition, friendliness and persistence."
"Persistence?"
"Yeah. You might doubt Aomine, but you aren't giving up on him."
"You wouldn't give up on Taiga-kun either."
"No. I wouldn't. But I would've punched him couple of times already."
For a moment the girls stared at each other in a mutual understanding and then they burst out laughing. They both had dorks for brothers, blood related or not.
######
In the evening her phone chimed. A message from Aomine was delivered.
'Aiko-san says to meet her tomorrow at three at Maji burger. Don't be late.'
Pranking Kise... Well, that's gonna be fun.
'Don't worry. I'll be there.'
She replied.
[S2]„Man proposes, God disposes"
A/N: After re-reading this I have a feeling there is a lot of things packed up into one chapter. Going from slight smut, through tests and argument and practises... I've tried to keep Taiga's first encounter with Aomine the way it is manga and give some justice to his trashy behaviour. I hope I didn't overdo it.
Let me know what you think but remember, reviews are appreciated but never necessary.
-S.