A/N: Thanks everyone who followed and favourited! And thank you for all the wonderful reviews! It makes me very happy :)
Here's another chapter. Enjoy! :)
A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself. – Jim Morrison
Love is a strange dark magic. ― Atticus
Dance is that delicacy of life radiating every particle of our existence with happiness. ― Shah Asad Rizvi
True love doesn't need proof. The eyes told what heart felt. ― Toba Beta, My Ancestor Was an Ancient Astronaut
A dog reflects the family life. Whoever saw a frisky dog in a gloomy family, or a sad dog in a happy one? Snarling people have snarling dogs, dangerous people have dangerous ones. ― Arthur Conan Doyle, The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes
Have you ever noticed how parents can go from the most wonderful people in the world to totally embarrassing in three seconds? ― Rick Riordan, The Red Pyramid
"Aya-chan! Wait for uus!"
She stopped and turned to see Ishii and Kano running after her. It'd been some time since she went to school with the boys. And she was surprisingly glad they spotted her, because her mind was anxiously racing about how to face Aomine after Taiga had spilled the beans. Kano's usual rambling and casual conversation could make her forget about Aomine for a while, at least.
"Haaa…" Kano bent forward to catch a breath after their short sprint. "Are you feeling better now?"
She smiled at the two. "Yeah, I'm feeling fine now. I must've eaten something bad on Sunday evening. Sorry for worrying you, guys."
"As long as you're fine." Ishii shrugged.
Wait… Ishii's here… "Aren't you supposed to walk to school with your girlfriend?" Aya asked in confusion.
"Aaah… about that…" He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "We had an argument… I guess…"
"You guess?" She raised an eyebrow at him.
"No one knows what really happened." Kano shrugged. "Even with combined forces, we haven't figured it out."
If she'd been confused before, now she was completely lost. "Combined forces? Hold on… What's up?"
"Shouhei, Ryuu and I can't understand her reaction at all. I mean–"
"Urgh… Shut it you big mouth." Ishii groaned with a blush. He didn't want to burden their manager with something as stupid as was the argument with his girlfriend.
"I might help?" Aya offered with a shrug. "I'm a girl after, might at least understand a bit of it?"
"It's really my problem, Aya-chan. Don't worry about it. I'll need to rethink whether it's even worth it…"
"All right then. But if you think I could help, ask me anytime, 'kay?"
"You're great." He praised her with a smile. "Seriously." He added after the incredulous look she'd shot him. "And I'll keep that in mind."
"Glad to hear that." She smiled at him too. Ishii was a nice guy, she wished him only luck. "Soooo… what about Daiki and Airi-chan? Are they still dating?"
"Urgh!" Kano made a face. "They are so sweet it gives me cavities! And he won't shut up about her! Can you imagine it? I have to listen about my younger brother's love life on daily basis, while I have nothing of the sort! And do you know what the worst part was? She came over to study yesterday, and they seriously kicked me out of my own room?! I mean… What the hell?!" He ranted adding a lot of gestures and grimaces, which made Aya laugh.
"It's a shared room after all. I guess it can't be helped?" She said, sounding almost apologetic.
"Hey! Who's side are you on?"
"On the side of love~ As always." She teased.
"Oh?" Kano raised an eyebrow. A teasing sparkle settled in his eyes and it made Aya shudder. "And which side are you on when it comes to Mr. Ace? The side of love too?"
"That's… Well… Hey! We're not a thing, okay?! So stop the teasing."
"Yet." The boys said in unison and exchanged a knowing look.
"Hey!"
######
Aya walked into the classroom with the boys, terrified of facing Aomine. Just like the other time, but this time... This time it wasn't her decision to share that. Taiga'd made it for her and she didn't like it. Aomine was staring at her with unreadable expression and she wasn't sure what to think of it. Not that she had the time to dissect it.
"Aya-chaaaan!" Satsuki ran into their classroom like a tornado. "Are you okay enough to be here? Don't you need another day off? How are you feeling?"
"Ugh…" Aya rolled her eyes. "I'm fine Satsuki. I just ate something bad. I'm fine now." She accentuated the reason for Satsuki, so the pinkette would understand that the 'passed-out in the changing room' was to stay in the changing room.
"Yeah, I know, but did you get home okay? Is Taiga-kun okay, did he eat the same thing, or…"
Aya grabbed the pinkette's cheeks and her look at her. "I. Am. Fine."
Satsuki pouted. "Oh. Uhm… Sorry? I was just worried, okay?"
"I know, and I'm kinda happy, but don't overdo it. I'm not used to it, 'kay?"
"Mhm."
"Girls. I'd like to start the lesson." A teacher spoke up from behind them.
"We're sorry. Satsuki was already on her way back, right?"
"Ah, sure! Sorry!"
######
"Uhm…" After half a day of avoiding eye contact with Aomine, she couldn't do it anymore. They were on a cleaning duty and stuck alone in the classroom, while everyone else went for either club activities or home. "Look–"
"Hmph. I take it he told you…" He didn't let her finish. "Thought y' wouldn't speak to me for a couple of days."
"I don't need your pity, 'kay? That's all."
He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. He really had no idea how to treat her at the given situation, but pity was the last on his list. Kagami Aya wasn't a pitiable being in the slightest, she was a resourceful and tough fighter worth of awe, not pity. But apparently he had to make himself clear, or she'd not get it. She's so dense sometimes.
"Tch, I'm not pitying you, stupid. Nothin' to pity there." He grumbled. I can't even start to relate to that… But… I'm kinda admiring you… Then scratched his cheek in embarrassment and averted his eyes "So… We good?"
She blinked at him and an amused smile appeared on her face. Huh, 'f course he wouldn't. "We good." She chuckled and sighed. "Taiga really told you. But… I'm surprised you two didn't try to kill each other."
Aomine shrugged. "There was no reason to… Yet…"
######
"Mom?" Daiki peeked into the kitchen when his mother was preparing dinner. It was quite unusual that she was at home and that they'd have a family dinner, but he was actually happy about it.
"Yes?" She asked and turned around to smile at him.
"Uuuhm…" He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly and sat on a chair at the dining table. "Can I talk to you?"
"About Kagami-chan?" She asked knowingly, and grinned like a little girl.
He rolled his eyes at that. His mother could be unbearable once she had something that interested her. And she could always see through him. "Tch, I bet dad told y' everything." He grumbled in annoyance.
"Not really." She said with a shrug and burning curiosity. "He told me about Kagami-chan's mom, but that's that."
Daiki would bet his parents were pulling his leg once again. He wanted to get up and leave, but he needed to know if she was willing to help him out with the sleepover thing or not. To find that out, he needed to begrudgingly explain the situation, just like he'd done before with his dad. Urgh, so embarrassing. He thought, but explained the situation nevertheless.
Her eyes sparkled in excitement when Daiki finished explaining; she'd really had to bite her tongue not to interrupt him. "Count me in! Just get her here on Friday, and I'll keep her here till Sunday."
He shuddered. "Don't lock her in or something creepy like that."
"In the worst case scenario…" She joked, but seeing Daiki's panicked expression she laughed and waved her hand. "Don't worry. I'm looking forward to meeting her, and I don't need to add another trauma on her list. Hmm… I think I might take a vacation on Friday and Saturday… Hmmm… What should I cook…" She started mumbling and turned back to the stove.
Daiki blinked at her, this went rather smoothly. His mother truly was his number one ally, and it surprised him how much both of his parents wanted to meet Kagami. He didn't really get it; as if they weren't busy enough…
"I'll take dogs out and be back for the dinner." He said, but Michiko wasn't listening to him anymore, so with a shrug he got up and went to get the dogs and leashes. Now... let's think of a way to invite her over on Friday…
As Imayoshi had promised, he came to pick up Aya and Aomine, and fetch Satsuki on their way to the club room. Tada and Wakamatsu were waiting for them there. It'd been some time since he last visited the first years' floor and classrooms. Some of the other students greeted him; being a part of the student council, he was quite widely known around the school.
He walked into the classroom 1-3, some students were doing their chores, Aya and Kiku were discussing something over the English textbook and Aomine was dozing off on his desk. He was quite surprised to actually see Aomine there at all. Even though they agreed to have this 'summer training camp planning' discussion with Aomine present, he hadn't thought the ace would really stay. Aya-chan sure is a magician.
"Hello~" He smiled at them and occupied Sakurai's empty chair. "Can we go?"
"Hey, captain." Aya greeted him with a smile too. "Give us a sec to finish this part," she pointed at the textbook, "and we'll go."
"Kiku-chan has to come too, of course." He added.
Kiku turned her wide brown eyes at the captain. "W-w-why? Am I n-n-needed?" She stuttered and bit the inside of her cheek. She still wasn't used to the sly captain of the basketball club.
"Well I have a favour to ask of you. I think Aya-chan would come to the same conclusion as me, so I'm taking my chances to invite you without a previous discussion." He winked at Aya, and he knew she got the message.
"Uuuhm…" Kiku blushed and looked away. "I-if you say so."
"Why don't you just tell her what you want, instead of pulling her leg, Imayoshi?" Aomine grumbled from behind the girls with a crack-opened eye.
Kiku jolted in surprise. Was Aomine trying to help her in a way? Just what on earth was happening?
"Oh, and there I thought you were sleeping, Aomine~" Imayoshi smirked. "But I guess you're a light sleeper."
"Tch, none of your business." He rubbed his eyes and pulled himself to a normal sitting position. "Let's go so we're done with this. I want to go home."
Aya looked at him and sighed. "Well I guess you can come over, Kiku. We can finish this at my place and then have a dinner. Is that okay?"
"I-I guess." She nodded. "But I need to make a call; I was supposed to help out at Akiya's today." She made an apologetic grimace as she shoved the textbook into her bag and fished for the phone.
Aya blinked at her. She was aware that Kiku was helping out at Akiya's orphanage, but it was usually over weekend, or because of some special event. And Kiku hadn't said anything in advance, as she'd usually done. "Did something happen with Kai-chan?" She asked, knowing about the little boy Kiku took special care of.
"Ah well… No, not really. I just promised to stop by."
"Then we can finish this in the library, I won't hold you up more than necessary. If you made a promise, it should be kept." Aya winked at her. "Just let him know you'll be a little late, 'kay?"
"Right on it!" Kiku chuckled and left the classroom, already dialling the number to the orphanage.
"So. Who's Kai-chan?" Imayoshi asked curiously. Besides the fact that the small shy girl stopped by the gym from time to time, or delivered something to Wakamatsu, he knew near nothing about her.
"I've never met him, but if I'm paying enough attention to what Kiku says, he's a sweet but a bit problematic four year old boy, from the Akiya's orphanage." She shrugged. "And Kiku visits him and the other kids weekly to hang out with them. I believe you can keep it to yourself though, captain. Given the bullying incident Kiku had, we don't need to give the bullies another reason to start again, right?" She said with a hinge of warning in her voice.
"Gee', Aya-chan, I'm the best secret keeper far and wide~ though it surprises me, I must admit. Does Wakamatsu know?"
"How should I know? As far as I'm informed those two are not a thing."
"I thought so. He is too dense. That's why I want her to come for the summer camp with us." He said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully staring at the door where Kiku disappeared. "Maybe –"
"Stop right there, captain." Aya halted him. "You're not plotting anything, I hope, because I'm not getting involved in this."
"I thought you were all for those two being a thing."
"I still am, but Kiku has her own pace of dealing with this and I'm not pushing her into anything. Of course I'd be glad if they were a thing and if she came to the camp; any help in the kitchen is a blessing, but I won't force her. And neither will you."
Imayoshi was observing her with a scrutinizing look. He wanted to know what was going on with Kiku, he wanted to know everything he could about the girl, but Aya wasn't the one to give him anything. He could read that in her expression. He sighed and gave up, for now. "Hai, hai~ then let's give them enough space."
Aya narrowed her eyes at him. "Right."
Kiku returned and blinked at the two, who suddenly seemed to be in a war zone. "I-is everything o-okay?" She asked carefully.
"Yeah, sure." Aya smiled at her. "Everything all right with Kai-chan?"
"Mhm, fine."
"Great, then let's go." She said, got up and grabbed her bag, ready to go to the club room. Imayoshi took the lead, Kiku followed right behind him, and Aya and Aomine walked at the tail.
'What was that about?' Aomine raised an eyebrow at her when he caught her gaze as they walked out of the classroom. He had no idea about Kiku visiting an orphanage, or her doing anything of the sort. Some time ago, he'd learned that there was more to the little girl than just her fears, and he could somewhat understand why Aya liked her. He just never had the chance or mood to get to know her more.
Aya smirked and raised an eyebrow back at him. 'Curious now?'
He rolled his eyes. 'Will you tell me?'
'Maybe later, Honey-bun.' She winked at him, because she knew he could feel the nickname there.
He sighed, and–
"What's up, Aomine-kun?" Satsuki asked him curiously when she joined their little group. "Something bothering you?"
Great timing, as always. He thought desperately. "Nothing."
Satsuki gave him a knowing look and aligned her step with Kiku. "I heard you mastered splits! That's great!"
"Ah…" Kiku blushed. Why was Satsuki so openly praising her about something like mastering splits? And in front of Aomine and Imayoshi. Humiliating. "It's still not perfect."
"Good enough, that Umaki-sensei shut up about it." Aya said to join Satsuki's praise, and change the topic, as she could see Kiku reddening up. "But what about you? No problems on the gymnastics front?"
"Not that I know of." Satsuki smiled. "I'm actually pretty good at that."
"It's expectable, Momoi-san." Imayoshi joined in with a smirk. "You did ballet too, didn't you?"
"What?" Aya asked abruptly. "You did ballet? Why haven't you told me?"
"I told you I danced a bit before… And I was no good, so I quit quickly, and it wasn't important anyways." She said apologetically and shrugged. The conversation never turned that way, so there was no reason for her to mention it. It was long gone anyways.
A pink haired little girl in the Shiranui's ballet class… Aya was staring at Satsuki with renewed interest. She couldn't quite grasp this. Could it be possible, that they'd really met before… No way… But… Even Taiga thought she was familiar… It would make sense… Though the name isn't right… No. That's not possible.
"Aya-chan?" Satsuki peeped, feeling antsy and anxious under such a scrutinizing gaze.
"Nah." The redhead shook her head. "Forget it; I'm probably imagining something…"
"Uhm… you sure?"
"Dunno… Depends…"
"On what?"
"Where did you take the ballet lessons?" Aya asked, just in case.
"Oh… I-I don't really remember. Mom always drove me there… and it's been 10 years ago… I really don't remember the place, or the people."
Not possible. "Hmmm… Okay. I was just curious." She said but she bit her thumb nail in deep thoughts.
Aomine was baffled by the fact that the pinkette had done ballet, or that she hadn't talked about this with the former world champion in dancing. And he couldn't really understand Satsuki's reasoning. She wasn't secretive, and she wasn't a liar, and yet… And there he thought he knew everything about the bubbly pink haired girl. Apparently not…
Nothing of this escaped Imayoshi's careful eyes and he smirked. So there were things they didn't know about one another, and he was really pleased by the confusion he'd caused with his innocent remark. Though he was sure they'd figure it out and resolve it in no time.
The atmosphere was a bit strange as they arrived at the club room, where Tada and Wakamatsu were already waiting for them.
"Ah, Kiku-san! I didn't know you'd come!" Wakamatsu almost flipped his chair over, as he stood up to greet the small girl.
Kiku blushed and half hid behind Aya. She still wasn't used to Wakamatsu-senpai's loudness, but she was kind of happy to receive a special treatment from the big boy; though it was embarrassing at the same time. "Hello." She said timidly.
"Hello to you too, Wakamatsu~" Imayoshi teased with a smirk.
"Oh! Captain! Hey!" He blabbered out blushing in embarrassment and scratched his neck sheepishly. He was definitely not good at being subtle, so he rather avoided looking at Shun, who must've been secretly laughing at his behaviour. But he couldn't really help it! Kiku-chan was so damn cute! Too bad, she'd probably never like someone as loud as him.
"Hey. Good to see you so lively, senpai." Aya smiled at him with a teasing sparkle in her reddish eyes. "We should get on with the camp planning, Kiku and I need to go over the English homework and Kiku has a further engagement today."
"Engagement?" Tada raised an eyebrow at Aya's choice of words, noticing that Wakamatsu paled a bit after hearing it.
"N-n-no! N-Not literally!" Kiku protested immediately and her cheeks flared up. "See what you're doing, Aya!" She bristled up, earning curious glances from everyone, except Satsuki, who'd seen this change of attitude couple of times.
Aya chuckled. "I do. And I'm quite enjoying it too." She winked at Kiku.
Realising than she'd just raised her voice because of some teasing, she covered her mouth. "S-sorry…"
"Oh please!" Aya ruffled her hair. "It's kind of refreshing to see you speak up like that. Right boys?" She looked at the boys, who nodded in agreement, still baffled by Kiku's little outburst. "Besides, you tease me too, you know."
Kiku pouted a bit, fighting off her blush and shook her head. "You're unbelievable."
"Well, thank you!" She bowed and laughed, Satsuki's ballet past was forgotten for the time being. "Okay, so do you have any ideas for the summer training camp? And I want to hear some actual plans, not vague ideas." She said and sat down next to Tada, everyone else followed her example.
"Shouldn't we wait for coach?" Wakamatsu asked.
"Katsu is fine with whatever we come up with, as long as we stay within the country for a reasonable price." She shrugged. "Other than that, our hands are free."
"Okay, so far we have the date." Imayoshi joined in, his attitude changing into a serious one. "20th to 27th August. So a full week of practising. We could go to either, mountains or ocean, but we've been to ocean the last time, so we should go to mountains this year." He summed up and then turned his eyes to Aya. "You said you had something in mind, Aya-chan, so we're kind of relying on that."
She smirked at that. "You got used to the managers quickly indeed, Imayoshi-taichou~" He raised an eyebrow at her. Everyone was expecting her proposal and she was quite enjoying the anticipation in the air. Even Aomine seemed to be a bit interested. "Okay, enough with the teasing. The thing is, my grandparents own a… facility, let's say, for training purposes in the mountains around Hanamaki. For a very crude orientation, it's near the mount Hayachine. Relatively… Anyways, there is a gym, an outside court, plenty of space for running, great food, great elders and they often host high school sport clubs during their training camps. To keep their minds young, as they say. The price is quite reasonable too. Maybe you'll help around a bit, but it shouldn't be anything major. What do you say?"
Imayoshi, Wakamatsu and Tada exchanged glances. It sounded good and they didn't have to deal with it. "It sounds good, but is the term free?"
"Weeell… That's the thing why I wanted Aomine here." She said and looked at him. "He doesn't have to come per se, but I think I can provide enough motivation…"
"He? What is it, Sweetheart?" Aomine asked with a raised eyebrow. He'd attend the summer training camp anyways, just to be close to her, but if she could provide some additional motivation than that…
"Oh Honey-bun, you won't believe it." She smirked at him. "There is enough lodging for two full high-school clubs. Sooo… I talked with the coach and the manager of the Yosen's basketball team. They agree to have a joined training camp with us, if we want. They've been going to my grandparents for training camps for the past five years, and this year they're willing to adjust the timing so we can be there together."
Satsuki was smiling smugly. She'd been informed beforehand, and the expressions on the boys' faces were priceless. Especially Dai-chan's.
"Woah… That's…" Imayoshi rubbed his chin. He'd never considered the option to have a joined training camp with another school. And Yosen was… They were probably the best team specialised in defence in the whole country. It could be a huge opportunity for them… Well, they'd be giving out valuable information too, but it was probably worth it.
"Awesome!" Wakamatsu's eyes were sparkling in anticipation already. Practising with a team as strong as Yosen was challenging. He wanted to do it.
Aomine rubbed his face and blinked at Aya. A training camp with Murasakibara and Aya's ex… Well… That's interesting enough. He thought and couldn't fight back a dangerous smirk settling on his face. Forcing Murasakibara to run around… Checking out the Tatsuya-dude… The idea was already stuck in his head, and he was actually looking forward to it. One of the few people he could go all out against. He stared at the redhead with a mixture of admiration and excitement. Aya knew exactly what kind of challenge he needed.
She was grinning at him. 'I knew you'd like it.' She conveyed wordlessly.
He shook his head. 'Unbelievable.'
Tada just smirked as he observed the other three boys.
"So? You agree with this?" She asked. "Just so we can hand out the documents for your parents to sign, buy train or plane tickets – whichever will be cheaper, and so on… Satsuki and I will take care of it."
"I guess there is nothing to object, Aya-chan. I'm pleasantly surprised." Imayoshi said and bowed his head in respect. "You two are great help, really." He hadn't expected this to go so smoothly. But seeing Aomine, and the others so excited, he couldn't possibly object. And he was feeling excited himself.
"We wouldn't be here otherwise." Satsuki smiled and handed him the first draft of the training camp program, involving the logistics.
"Uhm… And why am I here?" Kiku peeped.
"That's another thing we thought about. Yosen has about 33 members, including their coach and manager it is 35 people, we now have 27 guys, two girls and the coach. That's 30 people. All together it's 65." She counted and let that sink in. "I don't want to underestimate my grandma's cooking skills, but I think she'll need any help in the kitchen she can get. Satsuki's out of the question – sorry dear – and even with me and Hero and Kei-chan – if he can cook – I don't think it's enough. Sure, Tatsuya and Arai-kun could help too, but I want them practising. Maybe I could persuade Taiga to come too, but so far I have no idea if he'd be willing to… I just need someone reliable, and you were the first on my mind." She looked at Kiku with a plea. "I'd like you to come with us."
The little girl was blinking at her in disbelief. "Really?"
Aya nodded seriously. "Really."
"But I… I'm not in your club, and I just… so many people… I can't… I mean… So many people might… That's… M-m-my…" scars… she bit her tongue before she'd blabbered it out in her confusion. She was panicking.
Aya leaned over the table to grab Kiku's palms. "Look." She waited for Kiku to really look at her. "I'm not forcing you. Think about it, talk about it with your parents and your brother. I'd really like to have you there, but it's your choice to make. I can only promise, that there's nothing bad going to happen to you. If anything, Hero would take you under her protective wing and I think our guys would protect you without a question too, and I'll be there… Eventually. Okay?" She was staring at Kiku intensely. She understood the girl's fears, but she also knew that those fears needed to be faced.
Kiku shut her eyes, took a deep breath, when she opened her eyes again, it seemed she was already decided. Despite that, she said: "I'll think about it. I'll tell you by Friday, 'kay?"
"Sure." She smiled and let go of Kiku's hands. "Well now. Everything's decided, if you excuse us, I need to finish the study session with Kiku."
######
"I want to go." Kiku said as they were leaving the library.
"I know." Aya nodded with a smile. "And I think you should, not just because we need help in the kitchen though…"
A rosy hue settled on Kiku's cheeks. "You really are terrible."
"Nah, I think I just know you already. And I think Wakamatsu-senpai would be delighted to have you there too." She wasn't blind and Wakamatsu was far from subtle; those two were obviously into each other (at least for her), but as long as Kiku thought it was 'impossible', it probably was. And so she decided not to push them, but at the same time, she'd find any occasion the two could spend time together.
"I wonder about that… I can barely lead a normal conversation with him. Without stuttering, I mean. And that probably makes him think it's somewhat his fault, while it's not! It's just my stupid problem…" She threw her arms up in frustration.
"You're not stuttering now." Aya shrugged. "Once you'll be used to him enough, it'll go away. Besides… Today you barked at me in front of them, it's getting better already."
"Maybe you're right…"
"Ne, I'm going to have lunch with the others." Aya said as she handed Aomine a bento, like the usual when she was at school. "We're gonna go through the English which should appear on the exams. Wanna join us?"
He shook his head no. "I'll pass. I want to take a nap upstairs." In other words, he wanted to eat the lunch on the rooftop and read his magazines. It looked that it would rain in the afternoon, so he wanted to enjoy the sunrays like a cat and he had no interest in a group study sessions. The others didn't have to know his academic levels. Plus he still hadn't asked Aya to come over on Friday and he needed to come up with a plan how to do it.
She nodded. She knew it was pointless persuading him, but she had to ask anyways. "Well, fine, but you sure you don't need help with studying? We won't have much time for it while writing the paper–"
"I'm not that stupid, okay?!" He snapped at her.
She blinked at him in surprise; she sure hadn't expected such a fiery reaction to her mild, considerate and casual question. She didn't doubt his cramming skills; she just thought that understanding the exams' problems wouldn't hurt him. "Gee', no one said you're stupid, Honey-bun. But do whatever you want." She said and left with the others, shaking her head in disbelief.
Daiki just stared after them. Fuck… He swore inwardly and left the classroom too. He'd just missed a chance she'd given him to invite her over… Because of his inflated ego. I might as well be that stupid…
######
"Oi, Kagami!" He caught up with her near the shoe lockers after school. She'd already changed her shoes and was about to leave.
She sighed. "Aya." She corrected him. Why the hell he was still using her family name, while she asked him otherwise was beyond her.
He blinked at her momentarily not getting it, and then he smirked and opened his shoe locker to take out and change his shoes too. "Yeah, sure. That too, Sweetheart."
She groaned in exasperation. "So? What do you want?" She asked curtly; she was still slightly angry for his previous reaction even though it wasn't that strange of him. Because he was bent down tying his shoelaces, she couldn't see how his teasing smirk disappeared instantly.
When he straightened up and put away his indoor shoes, he was frowning thoughtfully. "Well… That's…" He had no idea how to word his request the way it wouldn't sound weird. He made sure no one was near to hear him, but still… This was awkward.
"That's…?" She raised an eyebrow questioningly. What the hell is going on?
"Uhm… well…" He scratched the back of his neck, inwardly cursing himself for creating this awkward situation. "About studying… I…" He was looking everywhere, but Aya, because the piercing look of her reddish eyes was almost unbearable. "Tch…" He clicked his tongue in annoyance. Since when did she weaken him like this? Normally he'd just ask… But he wasn't good at lying or saying half-truths and all the wild ideas kept poking in his head, making it impossible to act composed. He hoped that Bakagami, who got him into this, was sneezing like crazy about now.
"Want my help with studying?" She guessed. "Or do you want to say sorry for being rude earlier? If it's the latter save your breath, I don't really care."
"Uh… That's good… But that's not… Uhm…" He took a breath to continue in this little torture he prepared for himself, but Aya cupped his cheeks and forced him to look at her. It always surprised him, though he probably should get used to it; she was doing it quite often when she wanted his full attention.
"Do you want my help with studying?" She repeated. This kind of uncertainty and stuttering was getting on her nerves. Since when could Aomine be this… strange?
She was staring at him as if she was trying to read his mind, and he was wondering if she actually could. Under her steady gaze his cheeks heated up, he could feel it and he wasn't pleased by it. He opened his mouth to answer, but he wasn't sure he could make up a reasonable sentence, so he shut it and nodded. And then he frowned at her deeply.
For a moment she was considering giving him another peck on the face; he was so cute, but she decided against it. Trying out her luck with Aomine wasn't wise, she didn't know all of his buttons and mood changing switches and she wasn't sure she dared to test them now. With a sigh and a kind smile she let go of his face.
"Okay." She said and turned to leave the building, heading towards the front gate.
"Huh?" He blinked at her in disbelief and quickly followed to align his step with her.
"Okay, I'll help you!" She rolled her eyes and laughed. "What made it so difficult to ask anyways, huh? You didn't have such a problem before, Honey-bun."
Bakagami's request… "Urgh…" He rolled his eyes trying to hide his blush with his hand. "You're a terrible woman, you know it?!"
"Pretty much." She was grinning at him. "So? Tomorrow after school?"
"Why not today too?" Now when, he knew she was okay with helping him (spending time with him), he didn't get how on earth he could've acted so pathetic. Tch… Get it together, idiot.
"That bad, huh?" She chuckled. "I can't. I have a practise with Senri and then the rest of the club today." She said and saluted to Tsuchiya-san sweeping the pavement.
"Tomorrow it is then."
"In the library, like the last time?"
"Tch. I don't want to stay after school on Friday." He protested.
"Hmph…" He had a point… She didn't want to stay in school either. "My place is fine too." She suggested.
"Mine's closer."
Aya grabbed his elbow and forced him to turn to her. "What is this about?" Something didn't feel quite right.
This time, he managed to keep his composure as he stared back at her confidently. "Being practical." He said levelly and his voice sounded a bit deeper.
Oh, how she loved that sound. She kept staring at him, trying to figure out what was off. And then she just couldn't avert her eyes. Those deep blue eyes of his caught her and didn't let go, they were drowning her, challenging her. She didn't think he could change his attitude this quickly. She was searching for any indication of his mood shift, but she could only assume it'd been something she'd done or said. Her eyes roamed his face, stopping at his lips for a moment too long to ignore. They were at the school gate, a really bad place for something to happen. This is dangerous… She thought and bit the inside of her cheek.
"Being practical, might be dangerous." She let go of his elbow and turned her back to him to take the road home. And that it required a hell lot of self-control…
"I'm taking the odds."
She paused mid-step and smirked, but she didn't turn to look at him. Given the situation, she didn't trust her self-control and she didn't dare testing it. It'll go away till tomorrow… Following a heat of the moment wouldn't have been smart, she knew. Yet, she couldn't leave out a small provocation.
"Be careful with that, Aomine Daiki."
He smirked at her back, feeling victorious, but his heart was beating like crazy. It took him quite some self-restrain not to force a kiss, or go after her, but he knew he shouldn't. Damn, those reddish eyes of hers could drive him mad and burn him alive. She was the girl that could make him feel undefeated, yet weak at the same time, and she didn't even have to touch him. He didn't get it, but he loved it. Fuck. He thought desperately, when he felt the blood rush to his crotch. He took a deep breath to calm down, but it wasn't that simple.
######
"Again!" Aya demanded for the 20th time after the official practise.
"Ossu!" Senri wiped the sweat off his forehead and prepared himself for a part of a choreography he kept messing up.
It was a part where they spun around and he had to allow Aya to basically sit on the ground for a second. When they got there, he was supposed to catch both of her hands and pull her up strongly enough to give her a momentum to jump up and stand on his shoulders, all the while turning into a position that was manageable for her. Then she'd jump down into his arms and he needed to catch her and spin them while she'd perform a crazy sequence of turns in his arms, before he'd put her back on her feet. The problem was he couldn't get a good grip on her hands while in the motion. During the first couple of tries, she slipped from his grip and either fell back or tumbled into him.
This time, he managed to pull her up correctly, but holding up a person standing on his shoulders like that hurt. Aya's entire weight was resting on her feet, pressing Senri into the ground. She was aware, and she needed to bounce up as she jumped, so she could fold her body in a way it was easier for Senri to catch. Honestly, she didn't want to end up flat on the ground. Again.
Senri grunted as she did it, his knees locking and the entire body stiffening for a moment, which was a mistake. He barely caught her, but spinning her around was out of the question, he was off the rhythm already and the arm supporting Aya's back slipped.
"Tch." She managed to spin around and land on her forearms.
"Sorry." He shook his head, starting to feel bad about himself.
"Again." She said. She was getting a bit impatient and demanding with Senri, she knew, but… After that heated moment with Aomine, at least she considered it as a heated moment, she needed to let out all the excess energy she had. And dancing was the best way to vent it out. "You can't stiffen like that. I know I'm not that light, but you should be like a spring… Going in sync with me. I know you can feel when I'm about to bounce up, if you follow my movement, it'll be easier on your joints than going against me, and you won't freeze for that moment."
"I get it… In my head." He grumbled. "But my body seems to be more content with going against you."
"One more time, please. And then we can dance whatever you want. I don't care, I'll follow."
He scratched his head at the thought. He should go home, but… "Fine. I'll try to be like a spring."
One more try turned into three more, and the last one was actually successful. After spinning her around mid air, while she performed several figures, he let her stand on the ground again. Carried around by the music they continued the choreography until the song finished.
Aya blinked at him in surprise. It felt as if Senri stopped thinking and just let the music and muscle memory lead him. It was perfect. "Yay! You did it!" She squealed and jumped around his neck, giving him a sisterly hug. She was ecstatic about this success.
"We did. I wouldn't've managed without your guidance, Aya-sensei." He teased and wiggled out of her hug.
"Oh, you." She nudged his ribs. "Well… at least we know that you should be banned from thinking while dancing."
"Very funny. But it's not the choreography you'll do with Kouta, is it?" He was referring to the competition she'd promised to attend as Kouta's partner. But that was a competition in Latin dances not acro… Somehow, he wouldn't have been surprised if Aya'd assigned them for some acro competition too, and knowing his brother, he knew Kouta wouldn't decline it.
She shrugged. "Nah… Probably not, but it is one of the options."
"Oh… So there is an acro competition too? Ah, the videos we took on Tuesday with Taiga?"
"Yes and yes. I sent it to Kouta, to pick one he thinks we can pull off. But I guess we'll have to adjust it anyways. Kouta is different from both of you, so I'm interested in how we'd manage."
"You'll win like the usual. Kouta's better than me, after all." He said and went to drink. All three brothers danced, but he took the longest of them to learn. His body needed more tries and more time to learn and remember something; while Kouta was the most natural of them. In combination with Aya's immense skills and fiery spirit, they could very well win with minimum joined practise. They could even become an ideal dancing pair, but that was unlikely to happen.
"True, but we're not practising together… Ah… No reason to worry over it. Let's dance some more. Your pick." Her eyes were sparkling in anticipation.
"You're way too energetic today. Did something happen?"
"Nothing much." She shrugged with a perfect poker face. Senri wasn't a person she'd discuss Aomine with. But she was sure she'd give a call to either Suzume, or Alex, possibly Kouta, but she wasn't sure she needed the pervert's ideas to get stuck in her head.
"If you say so... Cha-cha and jive, and then we're done for the day. Got it?"
"Yes, sir! And one quickstep please."
"Aya!"
"So you're going over to Aomine-san's place?" Kiku asked with a half-smirk.
"Because we need to write the history paper and study. Don't get any weird ideas." Aya said with an eye roll and pulled a t-shirt over her head. They were the last ones left in the changing room after P.E. and Kiku didn't shy away from changing in front of Aya anymore.
"Mhm. That's why you have the change of clothes?" She eyed Aya's short jeans and grey t-shirt with black elbow-length sleeves.
"What?! I just don't want to be stuck in the uniform till the evening. That's all… And you say I'm terrible…" She muttered the last sentence.
"Yeah, sure. By the way, did something happen? He kinda keeps staring at you the whole day, and you seem to actually like it…"
"I have no idea what's going through his head, but trust me, I'm not enjoying it. This is not good at all." Too dangerous.
Kiku gave her a sideways glance and sighed. "Honestly? Aren't you just forcing yourself to keep your hands off him too?"
Aya gave her a scandalised look, or she tried to, but then she chuckled and folded her uniform. "Maybe, but it's for his own good. He doesn't know what he's getting himself into."
Kiku shrugged. "Oh, I think he knows it quite well, Sweetheart." She teased her.
The reddish eyes suddenly stared at her without a speck of humour. "No, no he doesn't." Aya shook her head, flashes of the last night's nightmare appearing in her head.
"Ah. S-sorry." Kiku bit her lip and looked at her feet. "I didn't want to remind of you of anything bad. I'm sorry."
She sighed and ruffled Kiku's hair; she didn't want the little girl to feel bad for teasing her. "It's fine. Don't worry 'bout it, 'kay?"
Kiku nodded. "We should go…"
"Yeah. I bet Aomine's waiting for us."
They grabbed their bags and left the changing room. Aomine was indeed leaning against the wall several steps from the door.
"What took you so damn long?" He grumbled immediately, not really pleased by Kiku's presence, as he wanted to be with Aya. He knew it was petty, but he couldn't help himself.
"Well you know… Girls' talk, Honey-bun." Aya said with a smirk. "Besides, it's you who needs a help with studying, so I don't want to hear any complaints."
He raised an eyebrow at her. "Mhmm… I don't recall you've ever asked what the topic of the history assignment is."
No. She couldn't really retort anything to that. They could choose the topic themselves, and Aomine had started writing it on his own, so he must've chosen something… but… "Well, I hope you'll enlighten me about that." She smiled apologetically.
Kiku blinked at Aya in surprise. For the redhead to not know... She peeked at the two and they looked good together. Aomine-san still had his ever present frown and he smirked at Aya, but he had an unusually soft look in his eyes. After the day of staring, Kiku expected to see some wolfish desire, but he seemed to had cooled off somehow. She felt like a third wheel, and she didn't want to be in a way.
"Uhm… I-I-I'm gonna fetch my bike and go, Aya." She peeped, stuttering because of Aomine's presence.
"Yeah sure. You're not going with Wakamatsu-senpai today?" It wasn't a norm yet, but sometimes Wakamatsu would cycle to school just to accompany Kiku home. 'By chance' of course.
"Eh? Uuuhm, n-no. I saw Tada-senpai dragging him away before the P.E. I-I think it was something about studying…" She chuckled remembering the two friends bickering over some poets they were supposed to study.
"Oh. Right. Then, be careful about falling into muddy puddles from the yesterday's storm."
"Hey! I don't fall off the bike." She protested, but Aya just raised an eyebrow after hearing that. "…Usually…" She added begrudgingly.
"Yup. Be careful."
Kiku rolled her eyes. "You have nothing to say with those bruises." She jabbed back.
"That's not –!"
"Not what?" Kiku shook her head, and then turned left. "I'm off. Have a nice weekend!"
Aya was blinking after the little girl. "Huh… I'm not sure if I'm not having a bad influence on her…"
"Definitely are." Aomine nodded gravely. "I thought she was scared of her own shadow."
"Most of the time she is… And then there are those moments when she can shut me up." She said in disbelief. Kiku's observation skills were indeed exceptional.
"Heh… If I hadn't just seen it, I wouldn't have believed it…" He glanced at Aya with a question in his eyes.
"What?"
"Bruises?"
She sighed and bent her arms to show him her elbows. After the night's storm, the morning had been chillier than usual, so she'd been wearing a blazer over the shirt, covering her entire arms. He couldn't have noticed.
"Here, and then here and here," she pointed at two spots on her left thigh, "and here." She pointed at her right shoulder. "And probably one or two on the back… I'm not sure."
He frowned at her. "What were you doing?"
"Practising acro with Senri. If you're not synced well, mistakes happen." She shrugged. "It's normal; I was just spoiled by Ray and Taiga for the past years and I softened up. Once I get used to it, the bruises won't form anymore."
True, he knew from jiu-jitsu that once you'd gotten used to hits at certain places the bruises just stopped forming. But he didn't like the idea of Aya having bruises, or being so nonchalant about it.
"Girls shouldn't have bruises."
"I know. We shouldn't have scars either. Sorry for bursting your beauty concepts, Honey-bun." She shrugged but there was a sparkle of teasing in her eyes. Aya:1, Daiki:0.
"Tch. You know I didn't mean it like that."
"And how exactly did you mean it?" A corner of her mouth twitched upwards and she was fighting off a grin.
"Tch." He looked away in embarrassment and grumbled something under his nose, which sounded like awfully like 'go to hell, you witch.' Aya:2, Daiki:0.
She just laughed at it.
They walked in silence for a while and then she sighed and smiled at him kindly. "I'm fine. Really. Don't worry." She reassured him, because despite his tries to keep his demeanour, he was walking on the eggshells around her. She could feel it.
"Tch. Right, you're just covered in bruises and pass out once in a while. Really. Nothing to worry about." The hell, why do I even care?!
"That's not a norm."
He raised an eyebrow at her in disbelief. Aya's norm was everything out of it. Usually.
"Senri needs time to learn it. And I can't distrust him or it won't be good. Even if I end up with a few bruises." He was still giving her the look. "I'll be more careful next time. So… Don't worry, 'kay?"
"Who said I worry?" He smirked. Daiki:1, Aya:2.
"Hey!" She jabbed his ribs. "And you say I'm terrible." This felt like a déjà vu.
He laughed and grabbed her hand, because she knew damn well, which ribs to hit. "You are, Sweetheart. But so am I." Daiki:2, Aya:2.
No. The heated moment from yesterday was not forgotten in the slightest. His palm was big, warm, rough and callused, but not sweaty. He held her smaller palm firmly, to stop her, but it didn't hurt. Kiku might've been right about this… She probably was forcing herself to keep her hands off him, but what was she supposed to do? If her father knew, he'd have a very good leverage on her. And she couldn't allow that. She didn't even want to think about Daiki being used against her. She knew he didn't need her protection, but she didn't want to destroy him. She needed to end the cold war with her father first, even if she ended up disinherited or whatever, otherwise…
She cleared her throat and pulled her hand away. It was awkward, and he could probably see how much willpower it took her to take those few steps away and smile. Thankfully, they were at a crossroad and she used it to erase the awkwardness.
"Which way now?" She looked all around her. "I've never been to this neighbourhood."
He blinked at her and then a half-smile appeared on his face. "Turn right."
"I thought it would be left." She mused. "What's the project about anyways?"
A quicksilver… He thought, but started explaining why he chose the topic he'd done, and what was already written. It felt sour to be pushed away like that, but he saw the war going on in her eyes. It almost seemed that it hurt her to do it. So he went with the flow. He wanted to probe, but… Knowing her, she probably had damn good reasons. Reasons he didn't know and wouldn't understand. And it was the bad time of the year for her. He shouldn't be selfish… But damn…
The rest of their walk went by quickly. Aya was carefully listening to his history project talk, and she was actually amazed about how well thought out he had it. It was probably the first time, she'd heard him talk about something with such an enthusiasm, though his explanations sucked sometimes. He really does like history… They just needed to actually write the whole thing down and finish what he'd started.
When they arrived at his house, she was surprised. It was in a quiet neighbourhood, and now they were standing in front of one of the houses. It was pretty big, with a garage in the front and a basket above the garage door. A narrow trail paved by flat stones was lined with bonsai trees and led towards a small staircase and the front door, where another, the smallest of all the bonsais stood guard. Next to the garage was another small entrance – a high but narrow piece of a fence with a door. Aya assumed it was the entrance to the garden situated behind the house.
And right now a loud screams and yelps could be heard from that backyard. "Shiro! For dog god's sake come here! No! Stop!" – followed by a loud crash and then "You stupid dog!"
"Uhm…" Aya paused and gave Daiki a questioning glance. "Is that your mom?"
He seemed to pale in that moment. "Oh no." He groaned and rubbed his face desperately. "Tch. Come on." He headed towards the garden entrance.
With a shrug and insatiable curiosity, Aya followed after him. They walked into the garden, which was pretty spacious too, just to see a scene cut out of some comedy.
Daiki's mom was desperately chasing a huge, previously certainly white dog, Shiro, around the garden, while the Samoyed was obviously having lots of fun and enjoying the chase. The originally white thick and fluffy fur coat – Daiki groomed almost every day – was now damp and covered in mud – at least he hoped it was just mud and not some waste Shiro might've rolled in. A black dog, Kurome, equally dirty, was barking as if she was cheering her pack mate on to even greatest running efforts. Well, and poor Michiko, partly covered in mud too, with torn jeans and bloodied knees, was running around with a hose in her hand, trying to catch and wash her son's dog before he'd come home with Aya-chan.
No one noticed the two teenagers arriving. It was a chaos of chaos.
Not until: "Mom?! What the-?!" Daiki frowned after seeing the disaster in the garden and mother's destroyed jeans. "SHIRO!" He yelled at the dog with so much authority in the voice that the dog froze on spot where it was standing.
Michiko almost tripped over the dog and whipped around with a sheepish expression.
The Samoyed turned its head in surprise. For a moment she even looked apologetic, but then her eyes zoomed on Aya, and as disordered and excited as she was, she ignored Daiki's authority for a moment, and immediately bolted to Aya. Kurome followed the example.
When Aya saw that she put down her bag stepped away from it and prepared herself for the impact. "Oh no." She let out as the two heavy dogs jumped at her with their tails wagging furiously. Both dogs had their paws almost on her shoulders, and they were trying to reach and lick her face, while she was trying to avoid it. But their curiosity and love, and excitement rubbed off onto her in seconds and she laughed.
"Hey, hey. I'm happy to meet you too." She laughed and rubbed the muddy fur of both. Thankfully she changed out of the uniform before leaving school. "You big muddy monsters."
"Oi!" Daiki yelled at the dogs not sure if he should be: 1. glad that they liked Aya at the first sight, 2. jealous that they didn't greet him at all, 3. embarrassed that his dogs and mother were so unruly that day, 4. angry that they destroyed mom's jeans, several flower pots and were working on completely dirtying Aya's clothes too.
"They are finally at one place!" Michiko exclaimed with a desperate sigh. "Here!" She forced a hose into Daiki's hands. "You have a chance to give them a quick wash now."
"What?! Kagami will kill me!"
"Aya won't kill you!" She said through chuckles. "I'm covered in mud anyways a bit of water won't kill me."
A devious idea came to his mind, and he smirked. "If you say so, Sweetheart." He said with a dangerous undertone, ignoring his mom's curious glance after using the nickname.
"Oh no." Aya muttered again.
The first stream of cold water from the hose hit her straight into face and she growled in annoyance. Thankfully, it'd gotten warm enough throughout day. She should've expected that. But the dogs startled at the sudden cold splash and tried to get away.
"No you're not." Aya grumbled and hugged Shiro tightly. "Aim for the dog, not me, stupid!"
"Sorry, sorry." He chuckled. "They're not see-through."
"Very funny."
Shiro was making really funny sounds, as Aya rubbed the mud out of her coat under the steady water stream. Of course the dog was trying to get away and have some fun chasing the hose, and Aya, and everyone around, but Aya was holding it firmly at place. Kurome, however, felt left out and soon she jumped on Daiki trying to play tug-of-war with the hose. It was an unexpected 'play with me' attack. They were still overgrown pups, not older than two years.
"Shit! Kurome!" He yelled at the dog, which dirtied his clothes too, and ripped the hose from his hands. As she was turning around victoriously and carrying the hose in her jaws she splashed Daiki too.
"Language young man!" Michiko warned him, but she was laughing at the entire chaos.
Aya laughed at his expression of a pure shock.
And then he stared at Kurome very, very angrily. All fun was gone. "Come here! Now!" He ordered the dog and glared at it. For a while, Kurome thought he might've been just playing, so she turned around and splashed him again, but when he didn't bug a millimetre… She bowed her head guiltily and trotted to him.
He grabbed the hose. "Very well." He said, and grabbed her collar to wash the mud from her as well.
Aya was still holding Shiro at place, but the dog wanted to go to Daiki too. "You're not going anywhere yet."
Michiko knew that this cleaning process would take a while, so she grabbed their bags (to keep it safe) and went inside to get some juice and towels for the kids.
When Daiki was done with Kurome, he was soaked and dirty too. He turned off the hose and without thinking he pulled his shirt off. He hated the feeling of cold wet clothes stuck to his back. He threw it over the porch's railing and looked back at Kurome.
"Stay!" He ordered her. "And don't move a muscle." He said in a warning tone and the dog turned its head away, not daring to look him in the eye.
"Tch… seriously…" He sighed as he approached Aya and Shiro. "And you," he glared down at Shiro, but she just stuck out her tongue and smiled at him, "bad dog!" He said, knowing it wouldn't help this late, but he needed to vent his anger. Shiro looked away, seemingly offended. She was just having fun.
Aya laughed at the dog's reaction. "You shouldn't tell a lady that she was a bad dog." She added with a chuckle, but couldn't take her eyes off of his bare torso. He is so damn hot! Thankfully, he was paying more attention to the dog.
"Really, then what is this?" He threw his hand to emphasize the destruction of their garden.
"It's not that bad." She chuckled. "And besides, it was really funny. I mean look at us!" She pointed at her soaked and dirty clothes stuck to her body and then at him.
Only then did he look her up and down. Too bad she wasn't wearing anything see-through, but damn did she look hot. Strands of hair were stuck to her cheeks and forehead. Droplets of water were slowly running down her neck and her boobs were enhanced by the soaked clothes stuck to her skin. The universe seemed to be conspiring against him. It was damn difficult to hold back, and this… She was actually blushing! Are you trying to kill me?
She bit her lower lip. And the staring contests starts again… Someone's really trying to torture me… She thought. Me… mostly. Fuck. Under that gaze of his she blushed, yet she didn't look away. It was wolfish, yet caring at the same time. She couldn't quite believe Daiki had something like that in him; it made her knees weak, and she knew… If he tried something now, she probably wouldn't push him away again. Please don't do anything…
Shiro whined and jumped at him. She was offended, yes, but she still hadn't greeted him properly. "Ugrh." The heavy dog made him take a few steps back. "Yeah, yeah, I'm glad to see you too. You uncivilised, stubborn dog."
Aya laughed, inwardly thanking the dog for interference. "See? It's not such a bad thing that they destroyed a few flower pots." She said with a shrug, forcing her stupid emotions under control. "Now, give me the hose, and wash your lovely lady properly."
He wanted to retort something, but decided otherwise. Neither of them needed a further provocation and as he'd conveniently forgotten a second ago his mother was most likely watching them from somewhere.
"We still need to give them a proper bath. I'm not letting them into the house like this." He said with a frown. This was uncalled for.
"Am I allowed to help?"
"Y' don't have a choice."
"Then let's do this." She said with a smile and they started to work on Shiro's thick double coat.
Michiko returned just as they were done with the rough wash. "I've brought you some juice and snacks."
"Thanks." They both said in unison and exchanged surprised glances.
"Daiki! Where's your t-shirt? You don't go undressing just like that." She scolded him good-heartily, not sure if his half-nakedness wasn't embarrassing for Aya-chan. But she was grinning, and Daiki knew she indeed had been watching.
Before he could retort, Aya answered. "It's fine, I see them almost every day in the practise anyways, and I have a brother so… I don't really care."
She straightened up and blinked at Daiki's mother. Due to the chaos, she hadn't had a time to look at the woman properly, or introduce, or anything. The woman was pretty, with long navy blue hair tied in a loose pony tail and the darkest black eyes Aya had ever seen. She was tanned just like Daiki and about the same height as Aya. Though she was still wearing the dirty clothes, just like the two of them…
"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Aya bowed slightly. Because of the situation she had a feeling they knew each other, but… "I'm Kagami Aya, please call me Aya. And I'm so sorry for barging in like that…" That was embarrassing, not Daiki's bare chest.
The woman laughed at that. She had a soft voice and wrinkles of laughter were visible on her face. She struck Aya as a person who smiled and laughed often. "The situation was rather unusual, Aya-chan. And I haven't introduced myself properly either." She smiled at her kindly. "I'm Aomine Michiko, Daiki's mom. And please call me Michiko, or whatever shortening of my name you'd like."
Aya smiled back at her. She liked Michiko, and she had a feeling in might've been mutual. "Thank you."
Daiki jumped in quickly, while he had a chance. "What happened here?"
"Ah…" Michiko rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly and laughed. "I took them out, because I felt like going for a walk and they seemed willing to accompany me… They were sweet, really, but then… Shiro spotted some squirrel or something…"
"Tche, mom!" He scolded her. "That's why we tell you not to take them out on your own." Then he frowned at Michiko's scratched knees and sighed. "They probably pulled you on the ground too, right?"
Michiko blushed in embarrassment and looked away. "The passers-by sure had something to laugh at."
Aya chuckled. "Don't worry about that. They'd already forgotten."
"I doubt that." Daiki smirked.
"Oh, stop it." Aya shot him a glare. "I think we should give them a bath now, so we can do some studying before the last train…"
"Eh? Aren't you staying over?" Michiko looked at her with a look of utmost confusion. "I thought that weekend-study-session is like that. Isn't it? And besides, I already have the dinner and breakfast and all in my mind. I even took vacation for the two days."
"What?" Aya's eyes widened and she stared at the woman, and then at Daiki, who pulled an I-had-no-idea-about-this face but he didn't object. "I didn't… I don't want to be a bother." If I have a nightmare…
"No, no, no. You're not a bother. Daiki hadn't brought a friend over for over a year – well, Ryouta-kun doesn't count – and he doesn't talk with us about school much! We need some insight! And he needs someone to keep him in the books! Aya-chan please!"
"Ah…" She was blinking at Michiko. She had no idea how to answer. This was sure an underhanded attack.
"Well… if it won't be a big problem for you…" Michiko pulled a sad puppy face, knowing that Aya probably wouldn't be immune; she was the mother of the boy she liked, and she relied on that.
Aya took a deep breath, she couldn't really say no without offending Michiko. And she was starting to feel that there was some plot behind this offer going on. Then she sighed. "Fine, I'll stay over."
"Yay!" Michiko almost jumped in joy, though she felt some 'but' in there somewhere.
"But…"
Yep, it's there. "But?"
"If it's supposed to be a proper study-sleepover, could I have a futon and sleep in one room with Daiki. It'd be more convenient, who knows when we'll be done with the project and I wouldn't want to wake you up by stumbling around the house in the middle of the night." She said with a rather daring smile, boldly using his name, which hadn't happened before, except that one time during the match against Kirisaki Daiichi.
'What are you doing?' He stared at her thunderstruck. The redhead requested it with such a straight face even he wouldn't be able to pull out.
'You have something to do with this. Let's make this torture worthwhile.' She wasn't sure how much she could convey and how much he understood. She didn't really care. To hell with it. If she was supposed to have a nightmare, she didn't want to be in an unknown house all alone.
A wide teasing smile appeared on Michiko's face, as she noticed Daiki's thunderstruck expression; as well as the quiet conversation going on between the two. Aya-chan sure is something… To actually ask me something like this… "Sure." She agreed easily. "I don't think it's a big deal. You're friends after all."
"Thanks. It's not like I'd do anything to him, despite my reputation." She winked at Michiko, signalling that she knew they knew about all that.
Daiki was staring between the two women, not sure if it they were in a war zone, or just leading a casual conversation. With his mother one couldn't be too sure, and it was similar with Aya. But there were no daggers flying, so he assumed it was the casual teasing… Still… That they spoke about him as if he wasn't even there was weird, but interesting at the same time. And the thought of Aya doing something to him was quite pleasant, actually. Tch. You'd rather not think about it.
"You're a daring girl, Aya-chan. Or you trust my son way too much. Either way, I must admit… I like that." And she meant it. As mother she was protective of her son, sure, but she'd learnt the hard way that she wasn't supposed to dictate his life; she was trying to believe in him and his own choices – as long as they didn't involve him breaking his neck.
Aya chuckled. "I wouldn't have survived in the world of competitions for that long otherwise. And honestly… I was just figuring out whether you trust him enough."
Michiko laughed good-heartily, throwing her head backwards. "She's a keeper, Daiki." She teased her son, who blushed and blabbered something that sounded way too similar to 'Go to hell'. "Okay kids! Eat the snacks, get changed into something and go bath the dogs before Daisuke gets home. We'll have dinner than. I'm sure you can lend Aya-chan some dry t-shirt, and I'll get the bath ready for you later on."
"I don't think it's wise to get changed." Aya pointed out. "We're gonna bath them, which involves more water and shampoo."
"Good point." She nodded and retreated back into the house to take a shower and disinfect the scratches and cuts on her knees. She was chuckling the entire way; she couldn't wait for Daisuke meeting Aya-chan. She was sure her husband would be intrigued by the girl too.
"So you won't do anything to me, huh, Sweetheart?" He asked teasingly, after regaining his composure. "You sure 'bout that?"
"Yes. We'll be studying anyways." She shrugged; her eyes turned serious, and despite all the heat, she seemed determined about that. "And honestly, I don't feel like sleeping in a room alone, when I'm in an unknown environment. That way I think I can get at least some minutes of sleep. I think I don't need to tell you about the nightmares, do I?"
"Your brother told me enough." He sighed and gave up. "You're unbelievable, you know that?"
Taiga, huh? "Pretty much."
"Let's go bath those two devils."
"Lead the way. I'm here for the first time."
######
When Daisuke arrived at home slightly sooner, he was greeted by an unusual sight. His son and a beautiful redheaded girl were both soaked and elbow deep in bubbles, each rubbing a dog clean, in front of their garage. Shiro and Kurome were tied, just in case one of them spotted a rodent and decided to chase it, and bubbly water was trickling down the pavement and into sewers along the road. Akari turned her head to a side in question.
Shiro noticed them first and made a strange sound she did every time she greeted a pack mate.
Daiki didn't even need to look up to know who'd come. "Okaeri'."
"Tadaima. Why is Kagami-chan giving a bath to Kurome?" He asked humorously. "Sure a way to treat the guest."
"Ah, it's fine. I volunteered." Aya got up with a smile and wiped her hands to her jeans (not that it helped much). "I'm Kagami Aya, nice to meet you." She held back the urge to offer a handshake and bowed.
Daisuke watched her with amusement. He noticed how she twitched just before she bowed. "Aomine Daisuke." He bowed too, and then offered her the handshake himself. She blinked at his hand in surprise, and then gave him a proper squeeze. "You can call me Daisuke, just so we avoid confusions, as we are all 'Aomine'." He said with a smile.
Aya was pleasantly surprised by the man's little gesture and the warmth in his icy-blue eyes. He was in his uniform, with a gun attached, but Aya wasn't particularly scared of that anymore. The man was interesting, shorter than Daiki, but he had an aura of intelligence, respect and self-confidence. Nothing aggressive though, she'd definitely trust him. He was clean shaven, with high cheek bones and sharp chin. Quite handsome actually, and she now knew, that Daiki took more after his mother.
Then she looked at the dog obediently sitting at his leg. "You must be Akari." She said and crouched down to look at the dog. "Ah, can I?" She looked up to Daisuke, before stretching her hand towards the dog. If it was a police dog… it probably had a military training and didn't like strangers.
He smiled at her wariness. "Sure. Akari doesn't bite without being ordered to."
"Good to know." She said with a smile and stretched her hand out, waiting for the dog to come to her.
Akari looked at Daisuke for permission. Then she stood up and took two steps towards Aya. Akari generally didn't like unknown people touching her. But she liked the girl's scent and her patience too. She sniffed her palm and then rested her head against it. Aya started scratching her under the chin and on the chest, and Akari enjoyed the affection. She was soon wagging her tail and laying on her back.
Daisuke whistled in surprise. "You're good with dogs, Kagami-chan. I rarely see Akari doing this."
She chuckled. "Dogs know its kind. Right?" Akari barked in agreement. "And please call me Aya."
He chuckled and sat on the ground far enough, so the other two dogs wouldn't reach him and soak him too. They wanted to greet him, he knew, but not while they were like that. He scratched Akari's stomach too. "You don't like people calling you by your family name?" He asked curiously.
"Well… I'm used to people calling me Aya. And I kind of prefer it." She shrugged, conveniently avoiding the full answer.
"As you wish then, Aya-chan." He nodded and smiled at her.
"Thank you."
"So." He cleared his throat and turned to Daiki. "What on earth happened here?"
Daiki rolled his eyes. "Mom thought that taking them out after the yesterday's storm on her own was a good idea… Of course they saw a squirrel, and of course they found a load of mud afterwards."
"Is she okay?" He asked worriedly.
"Feeling humiliated, but other than that, it's just some scratches and torn jeans. Nothing serious."
Daisuke chuckled at the idea of his wife being dragged around by the two dogs. It worried him and amused him at the same time. "I should go and check up on her."
"Mhm." Daiki nodded. "And bring me the blower." Shiro needed to be fully dry before she'd be allowed in.
"Please." Daisuke added and saluted. "I'm on it, sir." He got up and disappeared inside the house with Akari following after him.
Aya raised an eyebrow at Daiki and started to laugh. "Please." She repeated. "You really should use the magic words sometimes…"
"Hey! That's not…" He protested with a blush, feeling somewhat bad. His father hadn't scolded him, but he'd made fun of him instead. "Making fun of me like that…" He muttered.
She sat on the ground and looked at him. "Your parents are amazing. Bringing you up like this…" Then she turned her eyes to chase a cat-shaped cloud with her gaze. "You should be glad to have 'em."
He wanted to retort that they were unbearable at times... But then… "I know." He sighed. "Sometimes I forget."
She smiled at him and jumped into a crouching position again. "Let's get this done, so we can do some studying too."
A/N: The two are getting closer and closer, spiraling around... It's still a slow burn after all. I hope I didn't overdo anything.
Let me know what you think and remember, reviews are appreciated but never necessary.
S.