A/N: Thanks to everyone who followed, favourited and reviewed! It makes me very happy.
I'm updating a bit ahead of the schedule, because I officially finished university today! And I'm really happy, excited, and all the stress is leaving my system, so I wanted to give you a new chapter :)
Enjoy!
I don't care about whose DNA has recombined with whose. When everything goes to hell, the people who stand by you without flinching – they are your family. ― Jim Butcher, Proven Guilty
And then I felt sad because I realized that once people are broken in certain ways, they can't ever be fixed, and this is something nobody ever tells you when you are young and it never fails to surprise you as you grow older as you see the people in your life break one by one. You wonder when your turn is going to be, or if it's already happened. ― Douglas Coupland, Life After God
Sometimes we fall, sometimes we stumble, but we can't stay down. We can't allow life to beat us down. Everything happens for a reason, and it builds character in us, and it tells us what we are about and how strong we really are when we didn't think we could be that strong. – Gail Devers
There will be a few times in your life when all your instincts will tell you to do something, something that defies logic, upsets your plans, and may seem crazy to others. When that happens, you do it. Listen to your instincts and ignore everything else. Ignore logic, ignore the odds, ignore the complications, and just go for it. ― Judith McNaught, Remember When
I don't want to be somebody's crush. If somebody likes me, I want them to like the real me, not what they think I am. ― Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Even as kids reach adolescence, they need more than ever for us to watch over them. Adolescence is not about letting go. It's about hanging on during a very bumpy ride. – Ron Taffel
You find out who your real friends are when you're involved in a scandal. – Elizabeth Taylor
She'd almost overslept on the train and missed her stop, but thankfully a lady sitting next to her woke her up. She frantically picked up all her stuff and ran off the train, ramming right into Taiga, who steadied her.
"Whoah. How did you know which wagon was I in?" She asked looking up at him.
"Dunno." He shrugged. "Twin intuition?" He stretched his arm to take her bags.
She handed it to him. "That's some crazy stuff. How's your leg?"
"It's getting much better. But I think I still need that one week." He admitted begrudgingly. "So? Where do we go from here? I haven't been there in years, and we always drove there…"
Aya shrugged. "I have no idea either. I've never had to use public transportation to get there… We need to find someone who'll know the way. I know where we are going; I just don't know how to get there…"
"Then let's go look for someone like that. We'll find our way. Eventually…"
######
"So its 6 miles from here, right?" Aya asked a bus driver.
He made an apologetic grimace "Yes. I'm sorry miss, but I don't go further than this village. The road is a serpentine, too narrow for my bus."
"Oh, it's fine. We'll walk if it's necessary." She smiled and exited.
"You can try asking someone in the village to give you a ride?" The driver tried. He felt kind of sorry for the two teenagers, who came all the way from a big city to visit their grandparents.
"Thanks for the advice! Have a nice day." She waved him as he departed.
"What now?" Taiga asked. "We can walk, but I'll need to retape my legs then."
"EEEEEEEH?! KAGAMI TWINS?! IT'S REALLY YOU?!"
"HUH?!" They turned after the voice in a perfect sync.
They were blinking at a boy around their age. He had slightly longer black hair tied up in a bun and his pitch black eyes, now wide in shock, were staring right at them. He'd almost fell off his bike when he'd spotted the twins he'd used to wander in the surrounding forests and climb trees with.
"And you are?" Taiga asked staring down at the shorter boy.
"Keiji! Aiba Keiji! Don't tell me you don't remember me!"
Taiga tilted his head to a side. He had no clue.
"…Kei…chan?" Aya asked reluctantly. "It's you?" Gosh he's changed a lot… I haven't seen him in years.
The boy nodded frantically. "Yeah! So you do remember! How long has it been? Eight years? Ah, I'm so glad you remembered! You've come here to visit Taichi-ojiisan and Hanae-obaachan? Do you need a ride?"
"Oi, oi, oi." Aya raised both of her arms to stop the flood of questions. "Slow down, take a breath."
"Kei?" Taiga was still blinking at the boy, not recognising him at all. "Doesn't ring a bell."
"That's sad, Tai." Keiji sighed. "You still afraid to climb trees?"
"Of course not." He bristled up and then a light bulb flashed in his head. Kei… The boy who'd always teased him because of his fear to climb trees, or rather, the fear to climb down once he'd gotten up. But he'd always had his hair super short. "Oh… It's you! You've let your hair grow!"
Keiji smiled and nodded. "Glad you remembered too, Tai. Well if you're not scared anymore, why don't we check out the tree house? I guess it needs some repairs and all. Let's mend it together."
"Eh? We can do that?" Aya asked. "I mean… Grandpa always helped us with it. I know near nothing about carpentry."
Keiji smirked and tapped on his chest. "But I do! Taichi-ojiisan took me in as an apprentice!"
"What?! Isn't he too old for that?" Taiga's eyes almost bulged out.
"If he heard you right now he'd make you run around the house for couple of hours." Keiji chuckled. "Anyways, we should get going before it gets dark. I'll go get the car and I'll drive you there."
"You drive?" Aya asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Nah, it's a village, you learn how to drive the car as soon as you can reach the pedals." He shrugged and got on his bike. "I'll be back in 6 minutes!"
"Seriously?" Taiga stared at the departing figure. "So he can drive too?"
"I guess we're not the only ones breaking the rules."
"In California you can get a driver's license when you're 16."
"Which we're not… Yet." She reminded him. "To think we'd meet someone familiar like that…"
"Wait… You didn't meet him before? You used to come here more often."
"Just once a year… and only for a couple of days. Last time I was here in November. After I'd quit competing and all. I think I didn't go to the village at all."
"How did you get here even? If you don't remember the way?"
"Grandpa came to get me to Hanamaki and I wasn't paying attention during the ride… But to think that he is grandpa's apprentice. I can't believe he took one. He swore that if his sons didn't want to take the family torch he wouldn't teach anyone and Kagami's carpentry would die with him."
"I'm kinda curious. You think we can mend the tree house?"
"I hope so. I love it after all."
A car stopped near them. "Get in." Keiji smiled at the two.
It took them around fifteen minutes to get to their grandparents house. The road was twisting and turning like a snake, so Keiji had to drive slowly. When they arrived and got out Aya immediately kicked off her shoes and let her feet touch the grass. She spun around with wide spread arms and a delighted smile on her face.
"I love the green colour of this place." She laughed. Even the air tasted differently here. My once a year oasis.
Taiga had to look around a bit. He'd forgotten how surprisingly big the open space and meadow surrounding the house was. There was an outside basketball court, a gym, and two smaller two-storey houses provided for sports clubs which often came here for training camps. And yet, the place was in the middle of nowhere, with no internet connection and barely any phone signal.
The door slid open and Hanae stepped out of the house, two Newfoundland dogs bolting forward to check out the newcomers.
"WAH!" Taiga immediately jumped back into the car, slamming the door shut.
"Heeeey!" Aya squatted down to greet them. "Long time no see, Yui, Ai." She smiled at them as she ruffled they thick fur trying to avoid their drooling kisses. She loved animals, except snails, cockroaches, caterpillars and mantises – she couldn't handle those, but other than that…
"Aya! Taiga! You're finally here! I was starting to worry." Hanae came to the trio. "Thanks for fetching them Kei-chan." She smiled at the boy.
"What are you doing in the car, Taiga?" Taichi shuffled right after his wife, he was slightly bent forward, as his back was already damaged from decades of working as a carpenter. "You haven't shown your face for years, and now you're hiding in the car?! What's up with that?!"
"He's scared of dogs." Aya looked at Taichi and grabbed the collars of the two dogs which were wagging their tails happily. "We were chased by some aggressive dogs few years back… Taiga was the only one who got bitten and he's been afraid of dogs ever since." She sighed. "Okay, brother. I'm holding them, you can come out."
Taiga gave her a doubtful look. There was no way Aya would be able to hold those two giants if they decided to chase him around.
Taichi sighed and took a hold of Yui. "I'm holding her. She won't eat you. Come out, so we can see you."
After a few more moments, when Taiga considered all of his options, he swallowed his fear and got out. "Why two?!" He asked accusingly.
"You are afraid of dogs?" Taichi stared at the boy in disbelief. Taiga was huge. He hadn't expected his grandson to grow as much as his sons did. Actually, he had no idea where the gene for their height came from. "You're huge!"
"Well thank you." He stared down at the man, not approaching anyone who held a dog.
"Oh come on." Hanae stepped forward and engulfed Taiga in a hug. "I haven't seen my cute grandson in years. How rude of you. Just like your father… Never showing his face around…" She complained.
"Sorry…" Taiga muttered and hugged the small woman with grey hair, who loved both of them so much. "I just don't travel as much as Aya does."
"So I have to close them up?" Taichi looked at the dogs dejectedly.
"Yes please!" Taiga answered immediately wiggling out of Hanae's grip.
"Tcs, tcs, tcs." He shook his head and started walking towards a huge dogs' shelter he'd built with Keiji in the beginning of the spring. "They are just pups, I can't believe you're scared of that…." He was grumbling all the way. "Aya, let her go!"
"Haaai!" She let go of Ai's collar, Taichi whistled and the dog obediently followed. It might have been an overgrown pup, but it knew its master well.
Taiga let out a relieved sigh. "Those are no pups." He muttered.
Keiji started laughing at that. "They are gentle giants; you have really nothing to be afraid of. Ah well, I need to go home for a dinner, Hanae-obaachan." He saluted to the older lady and got into the car.
"Be careful on your way home." She waved him. She looked at her grandchildren and placed her hands on their backs. "Come on in, the dinners ready. We have a lot to talk about."
######
Aomine was staring at his phone on the Saturday's evening. Not seeing the redhead for almost the entire week was strange. He missed her. There was no one he could stare at during classes and no one to bicker with about stupidities. He wanted to know how she was doing, where she was right now, if she missed him too (at least a bit).
Oh fuck it… He thought and typed a message. 'How you doin', Sweetheart?' It took him several more minutes until he finally found the courage and hit the 'send' button.
When she didn't reply immediately he was dejected, but he hadn't really expected otherwise. He waited for another half an hour and then he got up to take the dogs out. It was pointless to overthink this.
In two hours, when he was laying in his bed and staring at the ceiling, his phone chimed announcing an incoming message.
When he saw it was from Aya he grinned at the phone like an idiot. He'd have never thought a message from a girl would make him this happy.
'Never better. You? Miss me already, Honey-bun? I have a terrible signal here but Yui and Ai wanted to say hi.'
And there was a picture attached; a selfie of Aya resting against a furry neck of a huge black Newfoundland. The dog was staring into the camera too and another dog was crawled over them, drooling on Aya's shoulder in its sleep.
He chuckled at the sight.
He leaned over his bed and took a picture of Shiro and Kurome curled up on the floor of his room.
'Not really. I have two pretty ladies accompanying me.' He typed back and attached the picture of his sleeping dogs.
'Should I be jealous?' She teased him with another message.
'Are you?'
'Maybe.'
And he had no idea what to reply. Kagami: 1, me: 0, again…
In several minutes another message from Aya came. 'I need to go, the dogs' shelter is the only place with good enough signal so… See you on Tuesday morning practise. Good night, Honey-bun.'
'' night, Sweetheart.'
"So you really are alone here?" Taichi asked for the third time.
Aya sighed in exasperation. "Yes. Father is in L.A." She was playing with the food on her plate. She didn't like this topic.
"And that guy who was your guardian, the driver? Eerr…"
"Seth." Taiga offered the name and gulped down half of the second portion of breakfast.
"Yeah, him. What happened to him? Isn't he here with you? I mean… You came alone last time and you weren't really in the mood to talk much, buuut…" He rubbed his chin and stared at Aya. He'd remembered when he'd met her at the Hanamaki station; she'd looked like a wreck and they'd thought someone had died. It'd taken couple of days until she'd finally talked with them announcing she'd quit dancing and that had been the reason for her sour mood, but of course they knew she'd been keeping a lot of things from them. Ever since that visit, Haruka had never picked up whenever they'd called him, and Kyou hadn't known much either. They'd been worried and wondering just what was going on.
Aya averted her eyes; she didn't want to talk about this. She didn't want to admit that Seth was long gone and that it'd been her fault.
"Father kicked him out." Taiga shrugged.
"What?! Why?" Hanae asked in disbelief. "He was such a sweet guy! He could do about anything and he was a good guardian, he cared for you…" Her voice trailed off. "Certainly more than our stupid son." She muttered dryly.
Taiga looked at Aya, and when she turned away, he knew… She'd never talked about this with them, because she didn't want them to know. She didn't want them to know because she felt ashamed, because she blamed herself, because she didn't want their grandparents to think badly of their father, of her. But Taiga didn't have such barriers. They were the parents of their father, they ought to know. They were probably the only ones who could help them out after all. Heck this was the first place she ran to when everything went south.
Both elders were waiting for his answer, so he braced himself. She so won't talk to me after this…
"Ah, but Seth punched our father, when he'd called Aya a whore and hit her." He said calmly, staring at his sister. "So father fired him. Kicked him out."
Aya abruptly got up. The chair screeched against the floor. "That's enough, Taiga." She shot him a glare.
"HE DID WHAT?!" Taichi and Hanae asked almost in unison and turned to look at Aya. No wonders she'd been so distressed the last time.
"I'll be outside." She said and left, slamming a sliding door, not caring about her half-eaten breakfast.
All three of them stared after her.
Taichi sighed and looked at him. "Taiga, what exactly happened?" He asked levelly. He was a proud father of two boys, sure, he knew it was different than parenting a girl, but he believed that a father's role was to protect his children no matter what. And he believed his sons learned that well… I made a mistake somewhere apparently…
"Well… You probably know how Seth came into our family, right?"
"Ah, he was employed to be your driver and accompany Aya to her competitions, right?" Hanae asked to verify her knowledge.
"Not quite." Taiga said with a crooked smile. "But we can say it was like that."
Taichi frowned at him. "I don't like when you're lying."
"I'm not. It's just… Seth had a history he didn't want others to know, I'm just respecting his wish. But it was Aya who took him in, not our father."
Taichi squeezed the bridge of his nose. "So what's the story behind the punch? I bet Haruka deserved it."
"Well… Father's been out of reach ever since mom died. At first, we were trying about anything to get his attention, but we soon learned it was near impossible. Seth came along and so we continued to live along trying not to cause troubles, to be the best. We believed that maybe… maybe he'd notice. But we were relying more on Seth, really. And well, Aya had her dancing partner and she was dating Tatsuya, I don't know if she told you or not." From their expressions he read that no, Aya hadn't said a thing, but they didn't interrupt him.
"Well yeah, she was dating our best friend. I didn't like it, we argued, but nah… It passed. Anyways… Soon, rumours about Aya sleeping with her partner appeared. Since the last spring, I think, and then someone took a picture of her making out with Tatsuya on a beach and sent it to a local press… Of course they twisted it, dug out other pictures from basketball games and whatnot, ripping it out of context and making it look as if she'd had at least four boyfriends at the same time. Calling her a 'whore'." He spat out in disgust. "It went viral. Can you imagine what mayhem it was? Father lost some contracts because of that, nothing serious, but you know him... Everyone in school went crazy, leaving leaflets on her locker, even at our house. It was terrible. For both of us, I guess. And the worst thing was, that father believed it. He never really talked with Aya. He never tried to protect her from it. It was Seth shielding her; he got into trouble for that too. Her relationship fell apart; father didn't even look her way, only a few people stayed by her side…" He scoffed at that. "But you know… My sister is a fighter. Despite that she went on and organized the summer training camp, only half of the invited people came. She trained like crazy and won several more competitions and the championships. I bet she did it to strengthen her position, to prove that she could remain standing no matter what… It was the best performance she'd ever done. And then she quit."
"Why exactly?"
"Raymond was searching for another partner, he couldn't stand the rumours and all the crap, and she saw through him. So she left first, to keep her dignity."
"Right… If he left her, the whore stuff would just burst into flames again." Hanae said staring at her hands. It was the first time she was really hearing what was going on in their family and she felt horrified. Aya had never talked about it.
"And father went crazy after hearing that." Taiga said which made the two look at him again. "After the incident, he believed that dancing was the only thing Aya was good for and she went on and quit without his permission. He yelled at her so much. God, I didn't dare to go there." He admitted. "Maybe I should have. Because… You know Aya. She was quiet and listening to everything he had to say, but the moment he'd mention mom, and how ashamed she must've been that the daughter she'd given up her life for had become a worthless whore, she spat something back, I don't really know what, but knowing her I can imagine it was something venomous. And then he slapped her, which made Seth loose his nerve and punch him back. And that was when father threw him out under some threat."
"I'm surprised it took Seth that long." Taichi was rubbing his chin. "If I were there I'd pummel Haruka to the ground much sooner." He growled.
"Well, Seth wanted to stay with us, so he had to control himself. But seeing Aya getting slapped, or maybe the words that father said… it was probably too much. I… I don't know what I'd do. He is still our father…" He bit his lower lip and stared at his hands. He wasn't sure he could protect Aya from him, because somewhere deep down he still loved and respected the man and he knew Aya did too. It was the only parent they had left, though he sure didn't behave like one at all.
"Does she have a boyfriend now?" Hanae asked softly.
Taiga chuckled. "No. Though there is someone she's desperately circling around, but… I guess it's hard to for her to trust someone after all that crap. She doesn't want to burn him, my guess."
"I'm killing Haruka when he shows his face here." Taichi growled.
"Dear," Hanae scolded him lovingly. "He lost Keiko. The grief he's still feeling… It's–"
"It's been eight years! That's not an excuse to give up on his children! They are here! Alive!" Taichi shouted angrily. "Why didn't Aya tell us a thing?!" He felt like bursting from anger he suddenly felt. He loved his children, even if they didn't show their faces for years, but… But now he wasn't so sure anymore.
"She probably didn't want us to worry." Hanae guessed.
"I'm not that virtuous." Aya's voice came from the other side of the sliding door. She stayed there to listen to Taiga's version of everything. After all, he could've seen it differently. "I was scared. I didn't want you to hate me. I thought…" She was close to tears and she desperately wanted a cigarette; but it was another thing she didn't want them to know about. "I'm sorry." She said and her voice sounded strange to her own ears.
Hanae's motherly instinct made her fly to the door and she hugged Aya tightly, hiding the girl's face in her shoulder. "You have nothing to apologise for. I'm sorry we didn't notice." She hugged her even tighter and fought back her own tears.
That hug made Aya's tears to overflow but she didn't let out a sound. She held onto her grandma as if the hug could mend everything. "I'm sorry." She whimpered and she wasn't sure what for or who to she was apologising anymore.
Taiga gritted his teeth and looked away, noticing that Taichi did the same. He hated seeing his sister cry, because it wasn't in Aya's nature to break down. She might've been over it, or she might've claimed it, but the regrets remained within her. He'd missed Seth too, but it must've been thousand times harder for Aya, as she'd been the reason he'd had to leave to god knows where.
After a while Aya took a raspy breath and pushed Hanae away. "I… I'll go run into the woods for a while. I need to clear my head, so we can repair the tree house, 'kay?" She asked with a smile and eyes red from crying.
"Take the dogs with you." Taichi said. The surrounding forests were his refuge too, he understood.
"Yes." She nodded, ran towards the dogs' shelter and then, followed by the dogs, she disappeared in the forest.
######
"Mornin'!" Keiji arrived to his sensei's house. "What happened?" He asked the three of them when he saw the long faces. "Where's Aya-chan?"
Taichi coughed and blinked at the boy. "Took you long enough." He scolded him grumpily.
"Uhm…"
"She went for a run." Taiga answered, knowing that the boy was probably scared to repeat the question.
"Alone?" He blinked at Taiga.
"With the dogs."
"You're not with her?"
Taiga rolled his eyes and pointed at his taped leg. "I can't. Anyways…" He got up and crossed the meadow to find their tree house, closely followed by the two. He had to double take when he found it. "Wow…" He breathed out. He'd forgotten how it looked.
The tree house wasn't just some childish small refuge up in a tree. It was a legit house, attached between three sturdy old trees with wide trunks and strong roots. There were several ropes hanging down, not reaching low enough for them to get it and no ladder.
"Tch. Railing is rotting." Taichi muttered. "And we need to check the floor, the deck and the roof. And that looks like a bird's nest." He pointed at a bunch of springs.
"We can mend all that today, but the more important question…" Keiji said thoughtfully. "How are we supposed to get up?"
"There was a way…" Taichi looked at Taiga expectantly.
"Wha-?! I don't know! I haven't been here in years!"
The old man sighed. "I guess we'll have to wait for Aya. She'll now…"
"We can prepare the new wood in a meanwhile, right?" Keiji asked happily. He loved working with wood and seeing results of his work afterwards. He hadn't been studying under Taichi-ojiisan for that long, but he'd already learned a whole lot about carpentry.
"Yeah. I have the sketch and the detailed plan of the house somewhere. Let's go."
"Uhmm… I've never done anything like that." Taiga stared at his grandpa with wide eyes.
"It's about time you learned." He barked.
######
"Haaaa." She breathed out when she reached a top of one hill. "Beautiful." The view was spectacular up there. She sat on the ground and leaned against one of the trees. The dogs were huffing with their tongues out form the taxing run. Thankfully it wasn't hot enough for them to overheat. They rested their heads on top of Aya's thighs and demanded some scratching.
"Hai, hai. You are awesome." She praised them with a smile. "But you drool so much, ew."
When Taiga had told the story to their grandparents a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Even before she'd heard their reaction… She felt bad for crying; she was supposed to be over it, to be levelled up with it, just like she'd told Kouta… And yet, there she'd been; crying in her grandma's arms.
I'm so lucky to have them…She thought and closed her eyes.
There'd been so many people shaming her, badmouthing her, looking down on her. Then there'd been a few of those who had her back despite all that. And then those she was too afraid to tell the whole truth to, because she feared losing them. Like her team, for once.
Suddenly she smirked. So that's why you didn't want to meet Tatsuya, eh, Suzume? I can't blame you, but it wasn't entirely Tatsuya's fault. He freaked out and ran away, but…
And she believed that Katsunori had figured it out already, or that Taiga had told him. Her team didn't know anything yet. They should know she was a world champion, but if they knew they'd inevitably come across all that bullshit. And then everything might go to hell all over again.
Aomine's face popped up in her head. For him to write a message, he'd been probably worried. She'd gone away right after telling him he'd fucked up. Who wouldn't worry? And then she thought about everything Taiga had said… Was she circling around him because she was afraid of burning him? Or herself? Was she scared her father could threaten Aomine? Wasn't she just afraid of getting rejected because she'd royally fucked up then?
Thinking about it all, she made a decision. Fuck the half truths. It should all burn to ashes before I get too attached to him.
"We're going." She got up and headed down the hill.
When the dogs wanted to stray towards the house she whistled and continued running down to the village. There was one internet café she'd noticed the previous day.
"Hey." She walked in, drenched in sweat, followed by the two giant dogs. "Uhm, is it okay if I don't have a leash?"
"Welcome." A young waitress stared at the dogs for a moment. "Are those Kagami-ojiisan's, Yui and Ai?" She asked with a smile.
"Ah, yeah. I'm Kagami Aya, his granddaughter." It was a small village; she figured that everyone knew everyone here.
"Oh, I finally get to see you. You look like you've just ran a marathon! You ran all the way down here?"
"…Yeah." If she'd told her she'd ran several more miles in the forests, the girl would freak out and make it into some heroic story. "I need to do some last minute work I forgot about."
"Sure, sure. Feel free to use whichever computer you want. I'll bring water for Yui and Ai. Would you like to order something?"
"Black coffee. A big one please."
"Would you like it with honey too?"
Aya frowned at the girl. "Honey? With a coffee?"
The girl blushed. "Ah well… The forest honey from your grandpa's bees is the best. And it really brings out the coffee's flavour."
She blinked at her. "Okay. Sure. I'll give it a go. Thanks."
And then she sat down to one of the computers and tuned out her surroundings. Searching for all the dirt that had been thrown at her wasn't easy, but she'd decided.
She found the articles quickly. She remembered all the headlines that were there: 'World champion's dirty secrets' or 'Kagami Aya's lucky guys' or 'A driver or a lover?', and the best one 'Disinherited princess?' And there were some more. None of them contained any relevant information; they were all assumptions, nonsense, lies. Sure, if she'd been more careful, maybe none of it would've ever happened.
She took a sip from the coffee which appeared on her table. It was surprisingly good and she smiled at the waitress. "It's really good. Thank you."
"I'm happy you like it, Aya-chan." She replied with a smile and bowed slightly.
She turned her eyes back to the screen. Now… How should I send it?
After a moment of thought she opened her mail. Maybe she was doing a royal stupidity, but it was bound to get out from somewhere, sooner or later.
To: Aomine Daiki
From: Kagami Aya
Subject: I fucked up more than you…
Hey,
I'm done with half truths. I guess you should know, why exactly I asked you not to share those 'prank photos'. Read the articles attached – your English should be good enough to understand it. It's what most people think about me. Well, make your own opinion.
If it's all to go to hell, it should go sooner… I'm sorry.
I'm sending it to Satsuki and Kiku as well.
-Aya.
She hit the send button. Then she opened another mail and sent all the articles to the girls, and Katsunori. Just in case he hadn't known yet: 'I'm not sure if you know, but that's what was written about me last summer, sorry for not telling you sooner. I hope my baggage won't cause you any problems as a teacher. I'll tell it to everyone in the club eventually, but I can't… Not yet Katsu.'
She smiled sadly at the screen, logged out from everywhere and turned the computer off. She leaned back against the chair and cracked her fingers. She finished her coffee and feeling much lighter than before she got up, paid and left. It was about time she got back to help with repairing the tree house. I bet they don't remember the way up.
######
It was raining all day in Tokyo and Aomine was spending his day watching movies and chilling at home with his parents.
A mail popped up at a side of his screen. Eh?
He was surprised to see a mail from Aya. Why is she apologising? He read it twice before opening the first article, which's title made him frown deeply.
######
"I'm back!" She called out to the three men walking in circles under a tree and staring at the tree house. Everything for the repairs was ready and set.
"Where the hell were you for so long?!" Taiga scolded her immediately. He was starting to seriously worry.
"I went here and there." She shrugged and smiled. All the morning's distress was gone without a trace. She forced it into the back of her mind. "Anyways, what are you meditating about?"
"How did we use to go up?" Keiji asked almost whiningly.
"I knew it." She laughed and walked around the middle tree. She stared at it, until she could see tiny cuts in the trunk serving as tiny supports for arms and legs. "You think the ropes are good to go?"
"If not you'll hit your ass." Taiga teased her.
She rolled her eyes. "Can I borrow your gloves?" She asked Keiji.
"Ah, sure." He handed them to her.
"Thanks." She said and approached the tree. "Watch and learn, dear boys~"
Taiga took out his phone, he was so going to record this.
She kicked off her shoes to feel the trunk better. The taping was sufficient enough. Then she grabbed onto one of the cuts and pulled herself up. It took some time until she found all of the supports and got on a same level with one of the ropes. She was about 4 meters above the ground and holding onto the tree like a leech.
"Tell me she's not gonna do what I think she's gonna do…" Keiji mutter.
"Oh, hell she is." Taiga smirked and held his phone up.
Aya took a deep breath and stared at one of the ropes. She prayed that a branch holding it wouldn't break under her weight or that the rope won't tear. She counted to three and jumped to catch it. "Gah!" She let out a grunt when she grabbed the rope and swayed above the ground.
"Whoah! You've really done it!" Keiji clapped.
"I'm not there yet." She groaned. When she stopped swaying she pulled herself up and climbed. Her muscles were hurting already as it took her more time than usual but she made it.
"And she didn't even use her legs for a support!"
"Stop admiring her, Keiji. No girlfriends during the apprenticeship." Taichi growled at the boy.
"Hai." He peeped.
"Do you think the planks are gonna hold?" She asked Taichi when she was about to jump over the railing and onto the deck of the tree house.
"I don't really know. No one's been up there in six years."
"Thank you." She muttered ironically under her nose and swayed again to gain a momentum. She flew over the frail railing and landed in a roll; trying to spread her weight among several planks at the same time. She held her breath, waiting for a moment when she'd hear a cracking sound, fall through and break her neck.
When nothing broke, she slowly crawled to a rope ladder they had there. She checked it and it looked fine enough.
"I guess it should hold! But maybe we should rethink the system of getting up here! I thought my heart wouldn't survive the adrenaline!" She shouted and threw them the ladder.
"A real secret base." Taichi shook his head with a smirk. "Keiji, you go first and set all the ropes, karabiners and harnesses we'll need. This is going to be an adrenaline rush."
"Hai." He saluted and started climbing.
Everything was set within minutes and the work could finally start. Taichi was glad that he had two squirrels not afraid of heights, ready to climb whenever necessary even without a safety harness. Taiga would sometimes document all the daredevil stunts those two were doing in order to help out and because they were enjoying it.
######
It took Aomine few hours to read and really understand the meaning and the context of all the articles. And he stared at it in disbelief and shock. He took a deep breath and closed the laptop. A picture of Aya kissing Tatsuya was burned into his mind, he was jealous, but at the same time he felt sick. Who the hell would stick their noses into someone's love life like that? Who the hell would write so much dirt about a teenage girl?
Maybe he hadn't known Aya that long, but he sure as hell knew her well enough to not believe any of that nonsense. Of course she'd kiss her boyfriend. Though he had no idea about the other guys, but from the pictures alone he couldn't really say. And because he had pictures from the prank, he knew how easily it could've been misunderstood.
He ignored a call from Satsuki.
He needed more answers than that. He got up, took a waterproof jacked, announced his leave and ran out to the only place he knew could provide him with some answers.
His feet led him into Hiroto's bar. The guard, whose name he didn't remember let him in without any check. Something in Aomine's expression made him step back from the teenager's path.
Aomine felt so out of place in his cargo pants and a waterproof jacket, but he couldn't care less. Due to a heavy rain and relatively early afternoon, the bar was near empty. And then he spotted a familiar figure. Two familiar figures, to be precise. And he blinked at the two men in surprise. Water was dripping from Katsunori's hair and it was obvious he'd just gotten there. His drenched blazer was hanging over his chair – in order to dry up.
"Ah, Aomine-kun." Hiroto greeted him and Katsunori, sitting there with a glass of pure whisky, snapped his head in Aomine's direction. "Long time no see." He said in a friendly tone, but the atmosphere was serious.
Katsunori sighed. "Why am I not even surprised you know this place?" He asked and downed the whisky. "Give me one more. I can't believe that Aya would..." He shook his head.
"So you didn't know about it?" Aomine asked with wide eyes and stared at a glass of whisky Hiroto put in front of him. "Uhm…" He stared at it reluctantly; he'd never had any alcohol before.
"Not quite." The coach said and raised his glass. "Oh come on, don't play all virtuous now." He added when he noticed Aomine's hesitation regarding the whisky. "Just give him some water to drink it down." He nodded to Hiroto.
He raised an eyebrow at his friend. "It's on you Katsu."
"Hai, hai."
To hell with it. Aomine thought and downed the whisky with his coach. It'd been the first time he saw Harasawa so distressed. "Geh…" He let out when the alcohol burned its way down his throat. He grabbed the water and downed it. Nope, he didn't like whisky at all.
"Do you think there is something true about it?" Katsunori asked Hiroto, desperately wishing it'd been all one big lie.
"Of course not. I'm surprised you're even considering it." Hiroto rolled his eyes. "Don't you know her at all? Well… Tatsuya maybe, but he was her boyfriend. It'd be strange if they did nothing. And anyways… The driver? What the hell? Seth was more like their father than Haruka, if you ask me."
"You knew him?!" Katsunori spat out with wide eyes. "And you call yourself a friend…"
"Ah… Sorry, Katsu. I truly believed you knew. I thought at least Taiga told you… Aya wouldn't, definitely not."
"So? Who was he?" That one article disturbed him the most, because Seth had been an adult.
Hiroto took a deep breath. "Look, I don't know all the details, but Robin used to drop by every once in a while, either because of competitions or the anniversary... He'd always accompany her as her guardian. The guy was great really. Aya looked up to him. I think he appeared after Keiko's death and I don't know where did he come from but he was a good person. And then… Two years ago was the one and only time when he got drunk here. They stayed at the back room and Aya wouldn't leave his side. She said she couldn't. I thought it was strange and I stayed here with her if there was any problem… Katsu… I've never seen a guy cry that much in his sleep."
"What?"
"I don't know the context, but from what I saw and what I heard him whimper, I think the guy lost his entire family. A wife and two kids…"
"Aya and Taiga were substitutes…" Katsunori breathed out. "And he could understand their loss too…"
Hiroto shrugged in agreement. "And he substituted an empty place Haruka had left."
"But Haruka isn't dead."
"Isn't he really?" Hiroto chuckled dryly. "I don't remember him picking up any calls or replying to any e-mails. He'd forbidden the twins to come to my wedding. He's not there Katsu, ever since Keiko's death he hasn't been. Those two are on their own. He basically left them to fend for themselves while he tends to his business."
Katsunori rubbed his face and groaned… "Then where is that guy?"
"Seth?" Hiroto asked.
"Yeah. If they were substitutes for his lost children… Why would he leave them?"
"My guess is that Haruka believed the articles. And with that… Would you leave a guy like that guarding your kids? Not so much, right?"
"Of course." He was shaking his head. "But do you really think Haruka believed the crap?" 'I've been called 'a whore' before. By my father...' She'd told him once.
"I don't think he knows his children anymore." Hiroto sighed. "So yes. I think he believed the articles."
Katsunori stared at his glass, wondering about it too. Haruka was his best friend, or had been, he wasn't sure anymore. The man had silenced himself and never reached out, never answered any of his calls, or mails regarding his own children. Just what happened to that cheerful idiot? I can't believe that Keiko's death would do that… If so, then he is really pathetic.
After a moment of silence, Hiroto sighed again, refilling Katsunori's empty glass. "I was just wondering… How much is Aya holding in? ...Because… I've never heard her complain, or seen her cry or anything… Have you?"
"No. The last time I saw her cry was on Keiko's funeral. She's tough. Always been."
That Katsunori's remark made him snicker. "It's your assumption, but… Don't you think she's tough just because no one is giving her an opportunity to be frail? We all expect her to handle everything, to cope with the pressure, to be the best… Me included. I guess it comes with her status." He frowned at it. "She doesn't really have a choice. Perhaps never had." His voice was sad. He'd never really thought about it that way.
Hiroto noticed Aomine's frown after hearing all that and so he leaned the bottle of whisky to Aomine too, offering a refill. It must've been a lot of new information for Aomine to process and level up with. A girl he was in love with had a baggage like that and he'd bet that Aomine had no idea how exactly had Keiko died yet. But… The boy shook his head no and Hiroto smiled at him. It was a wise decision.
"I've never really thought about it." Katsunori voiced everyone's thoughts. "I just assumed that the personality and toughness comes with being a Kagami. But how can we help if she won't say a thing?"
That made Aomine snort. "Why would she?" Both adults snapped their heads at him with curious stares. "Er… I mean…" Suddenly he felt self-conscious and realised the age difference. But he'd already spoken up. "From what you're saying I get that her own father has given up on her. Why would she trust you?" No, he couldn't imagine his father suddenly turning his back on him.
"True." Hiroto agreed, rubbing his goatee. "She doesn't think she can rely on anyone."
All three of them stayed quiet for a few minutes; thinking about the entire situation. They all loved Aya in different ways and none of them wanted her to feel down. If only they had known sooner… But then again, what could they do? It'd already happened. She'd already hit the rock bottom and scraped back up on her own. They could only try to understand and be there for her, would she decide to trust them.
"But why send it now, to only four people?" Katsunori asked yet again, turning the whisky in his glass before downing it.
"She's tired." Aomine said quietly. He could probably never fully understand what she'd been through, or how much she was holding in, but he could understand that one. "Of lies and half-truths. I guess she wants to trust someone again… to be accepted with everything…" He said, slowly realising that maybe that was what he'd wanted too. To reach out and to be accepted… With his scars and flaws and everything…
Katsunori stared at the teenager, for a moment forgetting all about the student-teacher nonsense. Aomine was close to Aya in ways the others could only dream of. And the boy was far from stupid. "Yeah, and you know that, because for whatever reasons she tells you stuff. So? Can you accept that?" He asked bitingly.
Aomine blinked at the venomous tone the coach had used. He shrugged. "It's all lies anyways, isn't it? It already happened, there's nothing to change. And besides… Maybe I don't know her well, but I know that she isn't that kind of a person."
"You can be surprisingly wise." Hiroto chuckled, cutting off whatever Katsunori wanted to spout. He could guess that his friend felt left out and uninformed, and maybe he was slightly jealous that Aomine knew things which he, as their godfather, didn't. "Reminds me of Taiga."
"What?!" Aomine bristled immediately. "We ain't similar at all!"
He laughed. "But that's good. That's good. You have a good influence on her."
I have a good influence? What is he talking about? I've hurt her too… He opened his mouth to retort, but instead he blushed and averted his eyes. She certainly was a good influence on him, he'd never thought it could work the other way around too.
"Ne?" Hiroto frowned; there was something missing. He'd expect Aya to come here for a drink and a cigarette after doing something like that. But she hadn't… "Where is she even?"
"Akita and then she went to her grandparents…" Katsunori's voice trailed off.
Of course! Hiroto laughed. "The oasis. I guess that something there must've triggered her enough to share that. And if she's there… She'll be fine." His phone chimed. He checked the message and laughed again. "Talk about the daredevil. They are repairing the tree house and Taiga must've discovered a spot with a good enough signal."
"The tree house?"
"Oh, don't tell me you don't remember! We could never get up without Robin's help. And we were always expecting a moment when she'd fall down, ready to catch her."
"You shouldn't have reminded me." Katsunori paled from a sudden worry.
"What are you talking about?" Aomine asked curiously.
Hiroto grinned at the boy. "You'll faint after seeing this." He winked at Katsunori and turned the phone so that they could see the video of Aya climbing up a tree like a squirrel. Aomine's jaw almost hit the ground and Katsunori averted his eyes the moment Aya jumped to grab the rope.
"Good that the little Tiger knows what to document~"
"For fucks sake, that girl will be a death of mine one day."
"And you claim you don't want to have children~"
"No… I don't. Those two shorten my lifespan enough."
"Who's that?" Aomine asked pointing at Keiji.
"Huh?" Hiroto blinked at the bluenette and then went through the video again. "That's probably Kei-chan. From the neighbouring village. Hm… I wouldn't have guessed that Taichi-ojii would take up an apprentice."
"He isn't an apprentice." Katsunori grumbled.
"Look at his gear. He must be! I'm so interrogating Robin when she comes back."
Aomine was frowning at the boy.
"Ohoo?" Hiroto grinned mischievously. "Are you jealous?"
"Wha-?! No! No way!" He spluttered.
Katsunori groaned in exasperation – alcohol getting to him. "Fuck no." He scoffed sarcastically and then sighed. "What did I do to deserve this?!"
"Ha?!" Aomine blinked at the serious coach, suddenly not being so serious. It was probably the first time he'd heard the man swear.
"As if the articles weren't enough… You need to be into her."
Aomine was dumbly blinking at Katsunori, his mind was kind of blank, as there was a hell lot for him to process and he had no idea how to react. Discussing his crush with the coach = super awkward and uncomfortable.
Hiroto chuckled, deciding to help the teenager. "It's not that bad Katsu."
"No, I mean... I don't really care, they are good influence on each other, it's just…" His grey eyes stared at Aomine. "What do you even think about Robin anyways?" He asked, a bit curious, because he'd never really talked with Aomine properly. And with alcohol loosening up his tongue, he didn't mind talking like this with his team's ace.
"Uhm…"
"Just say whatever's on your mind, Aomine-kun." Hiroto encouraged him. "The age is not important now."
A blush settled on his face. "I think she's amazing." He said truthfully. There was no one to lie to anyways. "A busybody at times, but… I can't really imagine the club without her."
"Even though you show up only once in a while?"
"If she wasn't there I'd show up much less…" This time it was Hiroto who filled Aomine's whisky glass again. "And oi! It's you who said I don't have to come to practises."
Katsunori shrugged. "I thought it was pointless to force you. You seemed you'd decline my offer if I insisted on your participation on practises."
"Tch… That's probably true…"
He raised an eyebrow at his ace. "See? Well I thought Aya could handle you that's why I invited her too. …though I never would've thought you'd fall for her."
"…" Aomine was blinking at the coach, speechless. So basically, he was the reason she came to Touou? Suddenly, the whisky didn't look like a bad idea. He drank the shot in one go.
Hiroto stared at it with a chuckle. "So what do you like about her?" He asked, happy that his club was half-empty and he could pay his full attention to these two. They were almost cute.
Boobs and ass – were the first things Daiki thought about. He couldn't possibly say that to them. And it wasn't just that. He liked the way she smiled, the way she wasn't scared of him, the way she bickered with him… He liked her courageous nature and 'take no shit' attitude. And he also liked her blush and vulnerability, she'd showed him once or twice and he'd had no idea what to do then. He wanted to figure that out. To figure her out. And it was only now that he was actually realising all this.
"…Everything? I guess?" He said hesitantly. "I don't get it myself, okay?!"
"Ooooh… So the first love?" Hiroto teased and refilled Aomine's glass once more.
Aomine glared at him, but he couldn't hide the blush. He was starting to feel the effects of the liquor, but he downed the third glass as well. His father was so going to kill him in the evening.
"Don't tease him too much, Hiroto." Katsunori grumbled at his friend. "We've all been through that awkward realisation and crap."
"Hai, hai~ I'm not being mean. It's just cute."
Katsunori sighed and shook his head. "Just think about what you really want, don't push her too much."
"Tch… Why 're you all telling me that?!" Aomine grumbled staring at the empty glass.
"We just don't want to see her broken-hearted." Hiroto smiled at him. "Not that she'd tell us anyways… but you know. We care."
"I do too, ya know?"
Katsunori raised an eyebrow at him. "So have you started with the history assignment?" He provoked. He'd reminded Aya about it and she'd said they still had time, but it was only two more weeks and Keiko's death anniversary was just around the corner as well. He doubted Aya would focus on school given the circumstances.
"Huh?" Aomine blinked at him.
"Don't tell me you don't remember."
"We had something like that?"
Katsunori rolled his eyes with a grunt. "Seriously? How the hell did you even pass the midterms?!"
"We had a bet." He shrugged. "And I don't lose."
Hiroto burst out laughing. "Aya's unbelievable!"
"Whatever, you do realise you two need to write a paper? And present it on 15th July, right?"
The teenager scratched the back of his neck. "If you say so."
"Listen. You should start working on it, even without Aya. She'll help you, but I don't think she'll be in the mood to work on a school project."
"Yeah, yeah. I'll give it a look." He waved his hand, history was probably the only subject that interested him and so he could imagine working on the project on his own too. "Ne?" He asked curiously. "How did you become the ace?"
"You want to know about that?"
Aomine shrugged. The whisky loosened everyone's tongue. "Yeah, why not?"
######
"Haaaa~ We're finally done!" Aya said happily and spread on the deck of their tree house. The deep orange colours of the sunset were giving everything a warm feeling. Her legs were hanging over the edge and she was sweetly tired. The work made her forget the turmoil of emotions she'd felt, but now when they were done, it was all coming back to her. And she wondered if she'd done the right thing.
"Yeah." Taiga joined her, sticking his legs through the railing gaps too.
"It hadn't changed at all."
They always liked being on the deck of their tree house and then going in to sleep in nets hanging inside. Thankfully, the inside of the house was in a good shape. It was one big space with six sleeping nets hanging from the beams. The sliding door made one entire wall of the house, letting in a lot of sun and natural light when opened. They had a small library and couple of games inside.
"Only a few books were eaten by rodents." Taiga chuckled.
"We'll replace them."
"Aya! Tai!" Keiji called out to them from the ground below.
She sat up and looked over the railing. "What's up?"
"I need to go home now! See you tomorrow! We should lacquer it properly, so the wood won't start rotting again."
"Sure! See you tomorrow!" She waved him goodbye and slumped back to her previous position.
She stared at the trees thinking of what was going on in Tokyo about now. She was curious of Aomine's reaction to the articles and she feared it at the same time. But she didn't want to deceive him anymore. If he'd believe it, then there was no point in trying to trust him again.
"What's bothering you?" Taiga asked. He knew her the best after all.
"Maybe I've done something stupid…"
He sighed. Nothing new… "I'm listening."
And so she told him. At first she was thinking she'd say it to her entire team, but they barely knew about the championships let alone her little scandal. She'd had to admit that the boys were slowly noticing things and figuring it out, but…
"You did what?!" He snapped at her when she was done. "And what do you mean that Katsunori didn't know?! Why the hell haven't you told him sooner?! I thought you did."
"Ah well…" She shrugged. "It would trouble him, right? He told me not to cause him troubles. And those bullying letters… I didn't want to add to it."
"Ayaaa… He's our family, stupid. It's not like he'd shove you away for something you haven't done."
"Family, huh?" She half-smiled bitterly. "It's not like it means much."
"True. We have rather a patchwork one… but still…"
"Aomine's so gonna hate me now…"
"If so, then he is an idiot. You'll see on Tuesday." He scratched his head. "Well, I don't really like him, but I guess he's a better match for you than Tatsuya… And… It hurts my pride now, because he really did behave like a jerk during the match, but he isn't a bad person. Arrogant, yes, but…"
"You're good at reading people too, eh?"
He shrugged. "I had good teachers."
She chuckled softly. "Yeah, you did… So you think it's gonna be okay? I'm not sure how I'd handle learning something like that."
"He might need some time to process it, but I don't think he'll hate you." He said simply. "So? Are we staying the night up here?"
"Sure. But I need to take a shower first."
"Don't jump from here."He teased.
She rolled her eyes and climbed down the ladder. "I'll bring some blankets; I think it's going to be a bit chilly during the night."
"I'll help you, I'm going too!"
######
Daisuke sighed and stared at his half-drunk son, who somehow managed to stumble home, completely soaked from the rain.
"I guess I'm not going to ask who filled your glass, or I'd have to go and deal with it as a policeman, which I don't want to." He said and shook his head. "Go take a shower and we'll talk."
"Hai, hai." He said and pushed the dogs away to get up the stairs and to his room. The world was spinning and the ground beneath his legs seemed to be weaving constantly, making it slightly difficult to keep balance. He felt strangely mellow, yet he could remember everything.
A lukewarm shower sobered him up a bit and made the world stop spinning. Or maybe he convinced himself it wasn't. Or maybe it was the 'talk' he had to have with his dad that made him anxious and pushed out some effects of the alcohol. The thoughts of everything he'd learned about Aya were buzzing in his head. With a sigh he leaned his forehead against the cold tiles and let the water trickle down his back. What was he supposed to do know that he knew? How should he behave?
He shook his head. No point in overthinking… He got out and slipped into his sleeping clothes. It was long past sunset.
When he walked into his room, both of his parents were sitting on his bed with crossed legs and all three dogs were crawled over one another in Shiro's bed. He shivered and paled. The chair was the only vacant spot for him to occupy, so he sat there and turned to his parents. This was going to be one long talk…
"We're listening." Daisuke said.
Daiki shrugged. "I have nothing to say."
Daisuke frowned at him. "We're your parents. And I think we ought to know. I'm not going to ground you or anything, I just want to know what had happened and where have you been."
He sighed and ran his fingers through his wet hair. "I didn't want to drink, at first, 'kay? But it was too much info for me to handle just like that."
"Info about what?"
"Aya…"
"You've been drinking because of a girl?!" Michiko asked in disbelief. She didn't like that.
"It's usually about women." Daisuke chuckled, poking his wife with his elbow. The last thing Daiki needed was them yelling at him. "So? We're listening… What was too much to handle?"
"I'm not sure I should talk about it." He said reluctantly. Those weren't the things he could share just like that, but maybe talking with his parents and putting everything into words would help him sort it out and process it.
"We are a policeman and a nurse… Keeping secrets is part of our job. And there aren't many things we haven't seen in our lives. So…"
He bit his lower lip, but then he decided. He knew he could trust his parents. Aomine's reproduction of the story was shortened a lot, though he said all the important things. Showing the articles to his parents would be pointless as they understood even less English than him. When he was speaking, he kept staring at his feet; he didn't want to see their reactions. How long has it been since he'd talked with them like this? He couldn't remember, but now he felt grateful for having them there.
"Oh god…" Michiko gasped and covered her mouth in the process. "I had no idea… We knew she was a world champion, but that…"
"So you ended up drinking with your coach and her godfather… Interesting turn of events." Daisuke chuckled. "I'd appreciate you won't do it again."
"Anata!" Michiko elbowed him. "How can you be so calm about it? The girl… She's… I'm sad. I haven't thought she was this… complicated. I really want to meet her now."
"He's our son. We raised him well, and besides… Simple women are no fun." He chuckled and kissed his wife's forehead. "Wouldn't you agree?"
"Ah…" She frowned at him.
"Ew… Do that in your bedroom." Daiki made a face. "What are you talking about anyways?"
"Let's say your mom wasn't an easy catch either." He shrugged; there were things his son hadn't known yet. "So?"
"?"
"What now? Are you going to keep your hands off and run away?"
"I'm not a coward."
"I know, but that has nothing to do with it. Once it blows up, because it will… Can you withstand it then? Will you have her back then? I'm not sure if she's realising it, but she's giving you a back door, a chance to turn and leave. While you're still 'just friends'."
Daiki frowned. He knew about it. "It's all just 'what if' questions… I don't really know what she thinks of me…"
"She trusts you enough to share that… You think it means nothing?"
"Tch…" He sighed desperately. Everyone was hinting that she might like him too, but… That 'friends' stuff was quite misleading. Why did I have to say it?
"Well…" Daisuke smiled at him. "Sleep on it. And then think about it. I guess that Aya-chan is much more nervous and anxious than you now. She won't push you into anything, so take your time to figure it all out. And I don't want to see you drunk any time soon, got it?"
"Hai, hai…" He muttered and stared at his parents as they left his room. Suddenly, he felt dead tired.
######
A night in the middle of a forest was surprisingly full of sounds and life. They were swaying in the sleeping nets, curled up in the blankets and listening to the breeze gently caressing branches of the surrounding trees. An owl hooted somewhere. All the sounds could've been eerie and scary, but the two knew them well already. They'd spend their childhood summers here, or in the French countryside with their mother's parents and they loved it.
"Tai? Are you asleep?" Aya asked quietly.
"No…"
"I miss him… Seth…" She muttered. "What do you think happened with him?"
"Me too." He sighed and stared at the ceiling. "I guess he went back to his former job, what else was there for him?"
"You think he went back to being a mercenary?" She shivered. "I don't want to think that he might be dead and we don't even know… And it'd be all my fault… Again."
"It's not. You know it's not. He can be as well working as a taxi driver somewhere. Or as someone else's driver and bodyguard, or what…" He mused out loud.
"I don't like the idea of that…" She grumbled. "But if it meant he was safe I wouldn't mind… I'm just… I'm sorry. You loved him too and because of me he's gone."
"He's gone because of our father, not you. And really. Stop thinking it's your fault. You're being kinda selfish." He rolled his eyes. "I did my share of stupidities too, you know? And he was the one helping me out of it…"
"Gambling basket?"
"How do you…?!"
She laughed. "Oh dear… Just because I was not at home doesn't mean I don't know what you were doing. And I guess you need to try it out once more."
"They'll kill me for real this time."
"They won't, because you'll win."
"You believe in me way too much. I couldn't even beat Aomine."
"You will do that too, eventually." She said with certainty in her voice.
"Because I'm your brother?"
"No. Because you can do it. You have the potential, you just need to pull it out and work with it. That's all."
"You're coming with me. Now." Satsuki ordered Aomine the first thing in the morning.
"Tch. What have I done?" He asked sleepily and yawned.
"You didn't answer any of my calls yesterday! What was that about?!" She shouted into his ear.
He covered his ringing ear and pulled away from her. Long sigh escaped him. They weren't even at school yet. "Why should I? You were freaking out, like usual."
"If it were Aya-chan calling you'd pick up!" She complained.
"That'd be a different story."
"So? Where've you been anyways?! Your mom told me you'd stormed out in the afternoon…"
"I went to talk with Amane Hiroto. If anyone was to give me answers it was him." He shrugged.
"Oh… So you know him personally?" Hiroto was, after all, a former member of the national team as well. "I called Aya-chan too, but she was unavailable…" She switched the topic rather quickly.
"She's in the middle of nowhere, from what they'd told me. She has no signal."
"Hmmm…." Then she blinked at him in surprise. "Th–"ey?
"But don't you go discussing this with your so called friends in your classroom." He interrupted whatever she was about to ask. "If you don't want to drown her again…"
Satsuki pouted. "I'm not stupid, Aomine-kun." She said angrily. "I know when to keep my mouth shut. And besides… Kiku-chan knows too. I can discuss it with her."
"So she told Ohno?"
"Yeah. And you should try to behave better to the girl. She's our friend too."
He rolled his eyes. "Hai, hai."
"So? What're you gonna do now?"
He groaned in exasperation. "Tch. Why is everyone asking me that?!"
Satsuki chuckled. "Dunno… Because you obviously like her?"
"Go to hell, Satsuki." He growled at her.
A/N: I hope I didn't overdo it (as usual). No Aomine-Aya interaction, but I like this chapter, the next one might be a bit more enjoyable though. ;)
Let me know what you think but remember, reviews are appreciated, but never necessary.
-S.