A/N: Thanks to everyone who followed, favourited and reviewed! It makes me very happy :)
Here's the new chapter. Enjoy! :)
Whether it's right or wrong, fight for what you believe in. ― Simone Elkeles, Perfect Chemistry
Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you. – Princess Diana
Love is like the wind, you can't see it but you can feel it. ― Nicholas Sparks, A Walk to Remember
Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own. ― Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land
You fall in love with the little things about someone, like the sound of their laughter and the way their smile forms. — The Weeknd
"So... he really did nothing to you?" Taiga asked for the nth time during their breakfast on Monday.
"Urgh! When I say we did nothing of the sort, we did nothing of the sort. What the hell are you thinking about, eh?" She threw her arms into the air; she was starting to get seriously pissed off.
"But you were sleeping when I got home. I couldn't talk with you then." He pouted and stuffed his cheeks with food.
"Tch, sister-complex." She grumbled, using Aomine's new nickname for her brother. The tanned ace was starting to rub off on her. "Never thought you'd be the one to fuss about this…" She switched to French because she missed the language and because Taiga's pronunciation and accent were totally off as he hadn't used the language as often as her. She found his struggle funny, and it was the only reason for not strangling him.
"I just worry! I bet he did use the situation when you were vulnerable." He responded to her language change automatically. But she didn't scowl as usual. Oh no…
'Shut up and let me hug you.' Aomine's voice sounded in her head, when she remembered their long late-night hugging session. She blushed slightly. Forgetting his hot, muscular body hiding her from her demons was impossible. It was totally not Taiga, though built-wise they were similar. "Errr…"
Taiga's eyes widened. "I'm killing him!"
"Hey! He did nothing you wouldn't do!" She bristled. Maybe except touching the scar, but… He was exceptionally nice. "So stop it! Seriously! I'm warning you Taiga."
"Keh…" He frowned and glared at his sister; he really didn't like Aomine. Why the hell did I get him involved? Fuck.
"We had this argument over Tatsuya, but that was your friend and you yielded in the end. Aomine has nothing to do with you – except that he beat your ass – so seriously. Stop arguing with me. We're not dating, or anything."
"Yet." He scowled in displease.
"Yet…" She echoed. "And not any time soon. I wanna talk with father first."
"Hah?! Have you gone mad?"
She sighed. "No, I just… I wanna try it one last time."
"What's with the change of attitude?"
"I talked with Daisuke-san. And I kinda… I can't hate our old man, so uh…"
Taiga sighed too, and pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn't hate the man either… "I'll go with you then."
"God no! You're the good child, remember? He's never yelled at you. You shouldn't get involved."
"And if he hits you again?"
Aya just shrugged. "Then I'll be done with him for good. Not like you can hit him back." She gave him a crooked smile.
His brows furrowed in thought. "Will you sell your share of the company then?"
"I'll definitely be thinking about it. Maybe quitting the job would do the job too. Once I cut the strings there, I'll be free from that uptown princess shit."
"You know… If you need the leverage… I don't mind selling my third with you. Not that I could ever manage any of the work you do for him… and anyways, I've never even cared about what's going on with that behemoth or what it's worth."
"Oh, dear. Just so you know, it's worth a few hundred million… But whatever, that would mean our father's leading power would go down by two thirds… It wouldn't be 'his' company anymore. I don't know if we should do that. It's just not fair…"
"Shit! He was an advisor, and now it's… in only 10 years?! Fuck" His eyes almost bulged out, when he heard the sum. He had no idea. And he was actually glad he wasn't the one with the responsibility like Aya.
She laughed at the reaction. "You know… I thought you had an idea… All those idiotic parties ain't for peasants." She sneered.
They both hated those occasions when they had to act like the perfect and sophisticated, yet spoiled and conceited children, all the while they'd rather play basket, climb trees, or do whatever, except congratulating other rich idiots on getting the fortune. Needless to say, they had caused a ruckus on such a party once or twice; no one had ever found them out.
Taiga sneered too and shrugged. "Well if he won't listen to a reason… Maybe crashing on his butt might help." He grumbled; he used to talk big too, before Aomine crushed him, injury or not, he realised that big words would get him nowhere, and if he wanted to win against the tanned ace, he'd have to train till he was puking blood and possibly even more. He wasn't going to lose again. Maybe their father needed some eye-opener like that too.
"How did this conversation turn into 'how to have an upper hand against father'?" She shook her head in wonder. That Taiga would be willing to go to such lengths… She hoped she'd never have to use that lever.
"Does it even matter?" He switched back to Japanese, as he couldn't listen to his own messed up accent.
Aya raised an eyebrow. "Giving up on the language practise?"
"No. We can continue later, but my first test today is from modern Japanese and then English. I have quite a jumble of languages in my head as it is, don't need to add to it."
"If you say so." She shrugged.
######
Daiki let out a long sigh as he handed the last paper of the day to a teacher. He stretched out his legs, kicking Aya's chair in the process, and rested his head on his folded arms. The tests on Monday were more difficult than he'd expected. He was tired. Two days to go… He thought desperately and sighed again, closing his eyes. Thinking really required a lot of energy.
"So?" Aya turned around to look at him. "Think you passed?"
"Tch." He clicked his tongue and cracked open one eye to look at her. "Who do you take me for?"
She chuckled. "Glad to hear that."
He kept staring at her. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. There must be something… He thought.
They didn't really talk, because of the tests. The redhead behaved so casually, as if the weekend had never happened, as if she'd never shown him her weaknesses. And despite the fact that it actually disappointed him a bit, he behaved the same.
The sleepover-study-project-nightmare weekend had been strangely magical. It'd been so long since they'd opened up to somebody… They'd gotten to know each other much better; Daiki still hadn't figured out where that consoling spirit of his had come from or where it had disappeared once the morning had come. And maybe it was better if he didn't know, because it made him feel strange, as if he didn't know himself, which was scary and disturbing.
She squirmed slightly under his intense stare. With all her might she was fighting off a mortifying blush, successfully, so far. But it wasn't easy to act all fine and composed. Not after that weekend and not with her mom's anniversary just a couple of days away. There were so many different and contradictory emotions swirling inside of her that she felt like exploding and she had no idea what to do with it. Longing, sadness, remorse mixing up with excitement, love and something giddy she couldn't describe… It wasn't the usual melancholy she'd gotten used to during the years. And it was all Aomine's fault. (And hers too.)
"What?" She asked.
"Nothin'." He answered lazily, but he didn't avert his eyes.
"If you say so." She said with a shrug and chuckled. She'd said the very same thing to Taiga just a few hours earlier. It amazed her how the same meaning could be delivered by such a different words and sounds.
"What's so funny?" His eyebrow quirked upwards in a slight scowl; for some unknown reason, he sure didn't like the idea that she was laughing at him.
"Nah, I was just comparing the languages… and how different the sentence sounds." She smiled.
He didn't respond to that, and this time he averted his eyes to stare out of the window.
Kano and Kiku started to flood Aya with questions about their English test and whether their answers had been right or wrong. And her attention got diverted off of him. She didn't mind it.
######
"Meow!"
"Ah.." Taiga turned towards bushes in a park close to Seirin. He always passed around this place. "Hi there." He hummed and approached the bushes to greet a little tabby cat he'd discovered a few weeks ago when he hadn't wanted to be in the gym.
He didn't mind cats. And when this little fellow had jumped onto his chest while he'd been brooding under a tree in the park, they'd become friends quickly, and he'd started bringing food for the kitty too. Whenever he'd pass the park, the kitty would come and greet him.
Just like now, by gently rubbing its head against Taiga's outstretched arm. It meowed again, demanding more affection and maybe something to eat.
When he observed the kitty closely, he noticed scratches and wounds, and it was walking strangely. He frowned at that. Sure, he knew that strays got into fights, but… He didn't like this.
"Big cats bully you, eh?" He mumbled and scratched the kitty behind its ears. It purred in response, leaning against his hand.
Aya will kill me if I bring it home… He thought. It didn't even have a name. But… I can't just leave it here like that…
After a serious inner war and weighting all pros and cons of bringing the stray cat home, he let out a deep sigh and tilted his head. "I guess you'll sleep in a proper bed tonight." He said to the kitty and lifted it from the ground, all the while checking where the nearest vet had his office. "Er… Let's just hope Aya won't find you right away."
######
"Urgh! I can't get him out of my head! Dammit!" Aya groaned in exasperation and pressed her forehead against a cool glass of the table.
"Oh?" Kiku raised an eyebrow and ate another spoon of her ice-cream. "He did something, after all…"
"Yes! No! I don't know… It's just… Urgh! It's almost mom's anniversary, and here I am, fretting over a guy! Unbelievable! Urgh!" She let out another strangled sound. This wasn't like her.
"You played it well… I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary today. Except, maybe… Aomine-san was a bit… disappointed? I'm not sure though, I've got no idea about his expressions and I can't really observe him; he is still scary. You sure have an unbelievable self-control, Aya. But you're cute; I didn't know you could be like this too…"
"Huh?"
"Ah, you know… A girl in love, what do I say? It's cute. But… Do you really want to torture yourself that much?"
"You're doing the same thing, so don't lecture me." She took a deep breath and the raging fire in her eyes calmed down. The Interhigh was right around the corner, with that she wouldn't have much time to fret over Aomine and she would leave soon after.
"Well, Wakamatsu-senpai doesn't know me as well as Aomine-san knows you… and about the anniversary… Don't you think your mom would've been happy to see you happy and in love?"
"After the whole whore stuff, certainly… She would've been delighted." Aya mumbled venomously.
"Ah… S-sorry." Kiku looked at her hands, feeling bad for her straightforwardness. Maybe mentioning Aya's mom wasn't the wisest.
"Ah!" The redhead looked at her with a hinge of panic and remorse in her eyes. "Sorry. It wasn't aimed at you."
"Y-y-yeah… I still…"
"You know, you did shut me up pretty well the other day. Where is that Kiku hidden?"
A small blush creeped onto Kiku's cheeks and she looked away. "Dunno. Sometimes she appears to tease you, but it's still…" She mumbled.
Aya laughed and finally zoomed on her own ice-cream already half-melted. She didn't have much of an appetite. "You'd better not turn into Hero later on. I'm afraid you have that personality hidden somewhere deep within."
She hoped not… "I'm actually curious about that girl."
"You'll get to meet her in the summer."
"You sure recover quickly. You were whining about Aomine-san a second ago."
"Urgh! Did you have to bring it up again?!"
######
"Tadaima!" Aya shouted to greet her brother, who was supposed to be at home sooner than her. "How did the exams go?"
"Ah! Okaeri'!" He flashed to the guest room and placed the kitty there. They didn't use the room, it wasn't neighbouring with Aya's bedroom and the girl never checked up that room anyways, so it should be safe. It didn't have windows, except the one on the ceiling, which was basically the rooftop of the building, that meant no curtains for the cat to destroy and it still had some natural light.
"Meow." The kitty looked at him questioningly.
"Stay here and stay quiet." He whispered frantically and shut the door.
When he stumbled to the living room Aya just entered it too. She raised an eyebrow at him. He was behaving suspiciously. "What? Did I interrupt your jerking off session, or something?" She asked teasingly, quickly glancing at his crotch, checking if she wasn't, by a chance, right.
"WHA-?! No! What are you… AYA!" He shouted at her, blushing in mortification and trying to hide his face in his hands. He'd die of embarrassment if his sister ever walked in on him. And then he'd find a way to get back at her, but… He didn't even want to imagine such a scenario.
She started laughing at his red face. "My dear innocent brother."
"Go to hell." He barked at her, but his expression was far from angry or annoyed. More like 'I really don't know how to act, but I've been offended' face.
"Will too." She hummed. "So what's up? You're acting… weird."
"Ahaha… It's nothing, really."
"You failed the tests?"
He scowled. "'f course not. I had the rolling pencil."
She rolled her eyes. "Student of the century."
"Sandwiches?" Aomine raised an eyebrow at that. He was already used to proper bentos with everything. And today, Aya presented him a couple of sandwiches. Not that he didn't like it; he just didn't expect it.
"Don't want it?" She asked with an annoyed undertone and reached to retreat the lunch she'd given him.
"Tch." He stretched his arm to keep it safely out of her reach. "It's mine." He grumbled.
They were on the rooftop, sitting on the ground and leaning against the fence. If she wanted to reach his lunch, she'd have to get up and walk around him, or crawl all over him. Normally, she'd probably crawl over him without hesitation; however, today he expected neither of those. Aya didn't seem to be in the teasing mood.
She twitched as if she indeed wanted to lean over him to get it, but then she drew her arm back. "Then don't complain." She sighed. "It wasn't my idea."
He looked at her, demanding a further explanation.
Maybe she shouldn't have gone to the rooftop with Aomine alone, but despite her turmoil of emotions, it was easier to be around him than the others. With him, she didn't have to force a smile and act as if everything was okay. Because he knew. Kiku was fine too, but the others wanted to go play basketball and it inevitably meant she couldn't sit in the corner and eat quietly. And that calm and almost bored mood which Aomine had right now was soothing her. It was right about what she needed. After another flood of strange dreams, which were half nightmares, half happy memories… she felt rather melancholic and empty again. So it's still there, huh… I thought it was gone already.
She sighed again and stared at her feet. "I couldn't sleep and when I finally fell asleep… Well, Taiga let me oversleep, and when I got up he'd already prepared breakfast and my lunch. As I didn't have enough time to prepare anything better, I took Taiga's idea and quickly made your share."
He narrowed his eyes at her. "You made this, right?" He waved the paper bag in the air. He sure didn't want to get poisoned by her brother. And maybe he hoped to lure out a small smile…
"Hey!" She bumped into his shoulder in a weak protest, which earned her a low chuckle from the ace. "Taiga'd never make your lunch. Over his dead body." She rolled her eyes. "…but he's acting weird…" She bit her thumb nail in deep thought.
"Isn't it because of the anniversary thing?" He asked and fished out the first sandwich, ensured that it was safe to eat and that she wouldn't snatch it from him anymore. His mom hadn't had any time to prepare him anything.
"Anniversary, huh?" She mumbled and shook her head. "I don't think so. He isn't affected by it as much; I'm the weird one with nightmares, most of the time… It's like… He's hiding something from me. I just can't get it out of him."
"Heh… A girl then?" He guessed, trying to redirect her thoughts and maybe brighten up her mood a bit.
"Nah. I teased him with that and the reaction was the usual. It's something different… I'm usually the one who's up first and in charge of breakfast… Well whatever. I'll figure it out eventually."
"Maybe he is trying to distract you…"
"Huh… are you actually fond of Taiga?" She raised an eyebrow at him.
"Tche, as if. Just sharin' ideas." He bristled. Hmmm… the sandwiches are tasty. He took the third one out and swallowed it in three bites.
"By the way, what's up with Satsuki? I haven't seen her or heard from her since last Friday. I seriously thought she'd want to go somewhere yesterday."
He shrugged. "Haven't seen her either. Can't complain though. The silence is priceless."
She hummed quietly, giving no particular answer to his comment. You're no fun today, Aya… She thought and sighed again. She didn't have the energy to fight the suffocating void. Her sleep had been poor and the dreams had tired her even more than if she hadn't slept at all. Just two more days of misery… She closed her eyes and leaned her head against Aomine's shoulder, as if she could steal a bit of his carelessness for herself by the physical contact. And suddenly, she didn't feel like drowning anymore.
For a split second he froze. It surprised him. Then he realised that yes, something had changed between them during the weekend. The redhead trusted him, and he finally got to see that yes, she could be no fun too, or rather, she could tease him hollowly. And surprisingly, he didn't mind it. He breathed out and continued eating his lunch; silently enjoying her closeness and pleasant summer breeze.
######
Aya arrived home sooner than her brother. She made sure of it. Satsuki could wait one more day, but Taiga's behaviour suggested he had done something she wouldn't like. Snooping around his room was pointless, she'd known about everything he had there… but the rest of the apartment…
The first room she checked was the library, or the office. It was the only room which had been locked during the time when the apartment had been rented to a family. Hundreds of books were framing almost the entire room and a huge desk in the middle of it. They didn't use the room much nowadays, though they had to get rid of the dust collecting there once in a while.
But there was nothing unusual. So she moved to the 'parents' bedroom opposite Taiga's room. It was a smaller room with a double bed, an empty roll-door wardrobe and two night tables. She didn't like that room. It reminded her all too much about the happy times spent with both of their parents. The emptiness of that room was suffocating. And she left it very quickly.
And the guest room was a bit creepy; an L-shaped room with a bed half-hidden behind the bend of the room. It had only a little of natural light coming from the roof window and it was equally empty. Or it was supposed to be empty.
Before she opened the door, she heard a crashing sound. It almost scared the crap out of her. What the hell? But curiosity won over fear (and the lack of knowledge of horror movies), and she yanked the door opened.
The first thing greeting her was a terrible stench. For a moment she really considered an option of a decaying corpse laying there somewhere… But then…
"Meow!" A small tabby kitty stuck its head out from under the bed.
"Kyah!" She startled and jumped backwards, and the kitty hid under the bed; its eyes glowing faintly, reflecting the light. When her heart rate calmed down, she started to laugh. "He's an idiot! Leaving a kitty which wasn't taught to use a litter box alone…"
Lured out by Aya's voice and its natural curiosity, the kitty crawled from under the bed and hesitantly approached the girl.
"Hey, little one, you gave me a fright there." She tried to sound as consoling as she could and stretched her arm out. It was the kitty's choice to come to her.
And as her scent was vaguely similar to Taiga's, the kitty meowed and nudged Aya's hand. Its front left paw was bandaged and it had some scabs. She could understand Taiga's thought processes. The kitty was cute, tabby grey and it had mismatched eyes, one yellow, one crystal blue. She patted its back gently.
"Meow."
Aya chuckled. The little one was winning her heart already. But we can't keep you…
She looked around. Taiga had bought a litter box and all… but he'd forgotten to check if the kitty knew how to use it, plus it was placed really close to its food. Of course the kitty relieved itself somewhere else. Hence the terrible smell in the room.
With a sigh, she looked at the small creature. "I wouldn't want to have a toilet in the kitchen either… Let's see what we can do about this, huh?"
######
Taiga was held up in school. The guys wanted to play some basketball after another round of tests. It was stupid really, he needed to head home. This time, Aya didn't have any plans he'd know of and… But once he got dragged into the game, he forgot all about it.
So when he arrived at home and found Aya playing with the tabby in the living room he froze on the spot. "Uhm…"
"Hey, Tai. Look what I found." She raised an eyebrow at him and waved a ball made out of an old tattered sock tied to a wooden stick by a shoelace in front of the tabby. The kitty immediately started attacking the bouncy makeshift toy.
The immediate shock was washed away by a genuine surprise. He'd expect an argument and not this. Ah... you hid it for 24 hours only… "Uhm… You're not angry?"
She sighed, still observing the playful kitty. "Well… except that it scared the shit out of me today, pooped on the bed in the guest room, destroyed the paper lamp and scratched the mattress… in a single day, because I don't believe it was here longer than that… I probably wouldn't leave a wounded animal out there either." She shrugged. "But we can't keep it Taiga."
He sighed and slumped onto the couch. "Why?"
"Because I'm leaving for the Interhigh next Monday and your training camp starts on Sunday… And because we're leaving Japan in about two weeks and we won't be back for a month. You can't leave it alone in the apartment for that long, it'd be cruel. And no, I'm not taking a cat on a trip 'round the world."
"But look at it."
"You didn't name it?"
"Why name it if we can't keep it?" He shrugged.
"So you knew..."
"Yeah…" He grumbled staring at his feet. "It's just… I don't like the idea of taking it back to the park. Look at him, they're bullying him."
"So him…" She smiled and rubbed the kitty's fur again. "You're too kind for your own good, you know?"
"Ha?! What are you saying I ain't –"
"Yeah, yeah." She waved her hand. No matter how much he protested and refused to admit it, he was kind. And strangely so was Aomine. "So what now? We have a cat that needs litter training, and we're leaving in five days…"
"Can't Katsu take him?"
"Uhm… he is leaving for the Interhigh with us."
"Then Hiroto?"
"Allergic to cats… And Senri and Hikaru are out of the question too. Aomine has three huge dogs and Satsuki doesn't like cats that much. Kiku won't be allowed and I'm not gonna nag the rest of my team. You found it, you deal with it."
His brows furrowed in thought. Then he blinked. "Suzume?" He suggested suddenly, knowing the girl's love for cats. He didn't want to hand the kitty to just anyone, and he definitely wasn't going to throw it out again.
"Do you want to send him via post office, or something?"
"No… but… Isn't Yosen in the Interhigh too?" He asked expectantly.
She blinked at him in disbelief. So she was dealing with his problem in the end anyways. "You aren't implying that I take the cat with me and then throw it at Tatsuya to hand it over?"
"…"
"So you are dumping your problem on me…" She sighed again. But the idea wasn't so bad actually. Suzume loved cats, used to have one before it'd gotten pregnant and Suzume's mother had drowned it. Though it was questionable if she'd be allowed to have a pet in the house with the sweetshop… "Call her, and try to resolve it with her, and her grandparents. Maybe she'll take him."
"Yes! You're the best!" He jumped up and ran back to the hallway to retrieve his bag and get his phone. When he returned, he leaned down to where Aya was still entertaining the tabby; "I love you!" he said and kissed her cheek.
"Gee'… so much affection for delivering a cat… I hope Suzu will give this a go, otherwise you have a problem to deal with."
"She will give it a go." He nodded, 98% sure this would work. "Oh, and... what do we name it?"
"Won't you let Suzu name it herself?"
"I need to sell this idea…"
Aya lifted the kitty off the ground and stared at it intensely. "I'm seeing Dorian Gray here."
"Huh…" He shrugged, not knowing where the name came from, but he couldn't care less. "Why not? So Dorian..."
"It was a tabby cat." With this announcement, she greeted Aomine by the school gate where they ran into each other the next morning.
"Hah?!" This was the last third day of tests, his brain wasn't functioning right anymore.
"Taiga brought home a tabby tomcat; tried to hide it from me." She sighed and yawned. "Maybe I should've acted as if I haven't found it…"
"So a cat?"
"Yeah." She nodded, and quickly searched for a picture she'd taken for Suzume. "See? It's really cute. Though it kept me awake almost the entire night..." She grumbled at the end.
He leaned down to see it better, and then looked at Aya. "What are you gonna do with it?"
"Well, we can't keep it. I'll deal with it during the Interhigh, hopefully. A friend agreed to take it in, but the logistics will be a problem… Oh, we have a practise in the afternoon, as we have just four and a half days until the first match… Are you coming?"
He raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you?" He hadn't expected her to attend any possible practises that week.
She shrugged. "What else to do?" Brooding and melancholy never helped anyone, and Taiga will go home to be with the cat… I hope.
"I'll pass. I wanna sleep."
"Okay. But we need to go over tomorrow's presentation; just to be sure we know which part is whose."
He wanted to retort that they knew it already and it was a waste of time and energy, but something in her eyes stopped him. He couldn't say what exactly it was. He sighed and scratched the back of his neck.
"I'll wait for you after practise then."
######
"Satsuki, hey." Aya greeted her at the practise. "How did the tests go?"
"Ah, Aya-chan. Hi." She greeted the redhead with a smile, but she couldn't quite look her in the eye. Ki-chan had told her to talk with Aya-chan as soon as possible… It wasn't that easy. "It was okay, I guess."
She narrowed her eyes, not at all pleased by this dodgy behaviour. "Look, if it's about tomorrow's anniversary, keep the sentiment for yourself. I ain't jumping out of a window or anythin'." She said in a quiet voice, but her tone was harsh.
Satsuki's eyes widened in shock, she had no idea what Aya was talking about. "I'm not… Wait what? Anniversary of… Oh…" Her mom… She blinked at the sudden realisation. She had no idea!
"Wait…" Now it was Aya's turn to be surprised. "You didn't know?"
"No! I swear I had no idea!" She blurted out truthfully. "I just… I just knew your mom died… But…"
The redhead pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head, feeling bad about her overreaction. She'd swear that Satsuki knew about everything already… "I'm sorry. I'm kinda… weird these days… Sorry…"
"Yeah… sure… no problem." Satsuki stuttered out and stared at Aya, suddenly not that anxious around her. But she certainly couldn't drop the 'hey, we'd been friends before you left to America' bomb on her. It wasn't walking on eggshells, right? It was being considerate… Or so she thought.
"Right… Uhm, about the Interhigh, you dealt with everything on your own?" Aya asked to break the sudden odd atmosphere.
She played with the hem of her skirt sheepishly. "Yeah, I didn't want to bother you. I thought you had enough to deal with, considering that you stayed over at Aomine-kun's. You could've told me that, you know." The pinkette pouted.
"How…?"
"Michiko-san…"
Of course… Aya thought and rolled her eyes. "I had no idea about it. So I couldn't have told you in advance. And we're not dating, so there's nothing to deal with. I have enough as it is…"
"Hmmm… so what about the Interhigh?" She asked to change the topic. Of course Aya had some questions.
The final tournament was taking place out of Tokyo and it was easier to go and stay in a hotel there than travel everyday, which might cause some absences or problems; mainly when not all the members would participate. It took place during summer holidays after all, and some of the club members were leaving abroad with their families, or they didn't want to participate; it left the club with only the regulars, the usual bench warmers and some scarce additional substitutes. And Aomine would be obliged to attend that way – nowhere for him to run, theoretically.
"It's taking place in Chiba prefecture, right? Somewhere near a beach, right?"
"Yeah, in –"
"That's not important. Uhm… In the hotel you booked, are animals allowed there?"
Satsuki blinked at the redhead. "Uuuuuhm… I don't remember? Why?"
Aya sighed, and quickly described the situation she had with the tabby. Inwardly, she was cursing Taiga for dropping this problem on her, but at the same time she had an 'I owe you', which she could use whenever.
"Awwww! It's so cute!" Satsuki squealed when she saw a picture of the tabby. "I'll check it out, and let you know, 'kay? And if animals are not allowed, I'll persuade them to make an exception! I'm good at that."
Aya chuckled. "I don't doubt that. So, do you think we can win it?" She asked and stared at the boys getting their warm up.
"If Aomine-kun plays in the final matches, most likely… Though I'm worried too. I have no idea what would happen if they face each other. Ki-chan, Muk-kun and Akashi-kun… Ki-chan mostly, we're in the same bracket with him and we will inevitably face them." She got her hands on the Interhigh matchup list sooner than everyone else. Usually the matchups were handed out during the opening ceremony and the matches started a day after that.
"That's sure gonna be an interesting match." Aya smiled a bit slyly. Honestly, she couldn't imagine Kise winning, but she knew the blonde would be one hell of a tough opponent, especially if Aomine underestimated him. She couldn't know that for sure, but that was her gut feeling.
"You're looking forward to it!" The pinkette sounded almost accusatory.
"Aren't you? Finally some matches in sight Aomine can enjoy… Which means it will be a spectacle."
Satsuki giggled and shook her head. "You really do like him, eh?"
This time, Aya didn't try to deny it. She just shrugged and chuckled too. "Can't help it."
"Come on, Robin. Let's dance together." Keiko outstretched her hand to invite her daughter for a little ballet performance on stage of an old theatre.
"Eeeeh? I can dance with mama?" Little Aya blinked in surprise. It was the theatre her mother used to perform in, and it was right after the very last performance.
"Of course. It's the last chance to be on this stage, Lil' Robin. We're leaving tomorrow." She smiled.
"Taiga too!" She grabbed her brother and despite his protests – he didn't like being watched – even though the auditorium was empty, only their father was sitting there and watching them with a kind smile on his face.
The kids put on their pointes with a learned ease. Taiga hated it, it hurt, but he couldn't really oppose his sister, and basketball was not something he enjoyed – too many huge people and he could never get the ball. And he loved when their mom was happy and smiling.
Their little performance wasn't choreographed or planned. Keiko put on a music she knew the kids would manage and she danced alongside them. She wasn't correcting them, it was the last performance after all and she loved seeing how clumsy they still were. Taiga mostly. However, her daughter already possessed a talent which scared her at times. She wasn't sure she'd be able to handle the rapid growth and Aya's changing interests. But she let none of that show. Every time Aya glanced at her, she smiled encouragingly.
When the music stopped, they all bowed and Haruka clapped and whistled loudly; something unheard of on a ballet performance.
"Oh, dear. You shouldn't do that."
"Why not?" He asked with a goofy grin. "I ain't disturbing anyone and my beloved kids had their first performance on such a huge stage!"
Keiko shook her head and chuckled. She really loved this big goofy basketball player. "Let's wrap it up and go home. We need to leave early."
"Mom?" Aya blinked at her.
"Yes?"
"Can't we take Pinky with us?"
Keiko giggled at the nickname. "Unfortunately not. Her mom would've been very sad if we took her with us, don't you think?"
Aya pouted. "But they'll make fun of her when I'm not there…"
"She's a strong girl too, she'll be okay." She ruffled her daughter's short hair and lifted her in her arms.
"Come on, big boy." Haruka motioned for Taiga to come to him. He'd carry him on his shoulders all the way to the car.
With a wide grin Taiga took off the shoes and ran along the stage to leap onto his father, knowing the man would catch him.
Everything shifted in a blur and they were suddenly at an airport. But Aya and Taiga were standing on one place and they couldn't move. Holding hands, they were watching their parents leave. They couldn't run after them, they were glued to a spot. Their voices were muffled, quiet, they couldn't shout. All they could feel was panic and fear; suddenly being left alone in such a huge place with so many people passing them by.
"Mom! Daddy!" They both shouted, but the couple didn't turn around to look at them. The tears welled up in their eyes. They were trying to fight the paralysis, but none of them could move a muscle.
They were being abandoned, invisible, forgotten…
"Don't leave us!" They shrieked terrified.
They both sprang up on Aya's bed with outstretched hands reaching after ghosts.
"Fuck…" Taiga muttered. He blinked at Aya, knowing he'd see tears rolling down her cheeks. "Airport?" He asked, just to be sure. He'd bet his life they'd dreamt the same stupid dream.
"…airport…" She muttered with a raspy voice. "…what the…" She was glad that Taiga was with her.
Taiga rubbed his face. He rarely had nightmares, and he didn't know if this could've been labelled as one, but he felt so… abandoned, empty. Unlike Aya, he wasn't crying. Still… He reached out and engulfed Aya in a hug. He wasn't sure if he wasn't the one who needed it more; to feel that the other person was there.
Without a word she circled her arms around Taiga's waist and hugged him back. This was not the usual nightmare she'd have. She was crying, she was sad, and it was scary too. But it was scary on a completely different level than her previous dreams. And the dream seemed to be a nice one at first. She would've handled just fine, but this time, it was Taiga who needed the hug. She knew he wasn't used to this fucked up stuff.
"It's fine." She murmured quietly and rubbed Taiga's back. "Could've been much worse."
"I know…" He sighed and let go. "We need to move, or you'll be late…"
She blinked at the clock and indeed. If she wanted to catch the last morning train which was still fine, she'd need to hurry. And she had no time to prepare Aomine's lunch. Fuck…
######
That day, she wanted to curl up in a corner and brood and grieve. It was the only one day when she allowed herself to do that. But once she was in school and with everyone she had to flash smiles and interact with everyone normally.
The presentation of the project was a performance of her lifetime. She'd never had a problem standing in front of people and presenting, or performing, but today she needed to pay extra attention to her expression and voice. Other than her inner struggle, the presentation was perfect.
Aomine handled fine too, he presented his parts monotonously and lazily, as if he was bored to death by the fact that he had to stand in front of everyone and read the important parts of their paper. Though, he rarely glanced into those papers; a detail which went unnoticed by most of the class. They were anxious about their test results and not really paying attention to the pair presenting their assignment.
When they finished, Ueda-sensei looked at them approvingly. "That's what I wanted to see the whole semester." They were the last ones, so they had the longest time to prepare and yet, they exceeded his expectations. "It's a 100."
Aomine blinked at him in surprise. He got a 100? He'd never had a 100 from anything!
Sensei raised an eyebrow at him. "I hope it wasn't only Kagami-san's work."
He glared at the teacher for this accusation. The topic was his damn idea and he did work on it quite a lot too. Though he didn't feel like arguing, it wasn't important after all.
"Of course not." Aya said, fighting the sudden spark of anger. "We wrote it together. The topic and the outline are all Aomine's work."
"Oi." Aomine grumbled. He didn't need the others to know that. He could already see Ishii's raised eyebrow, and he cursed inwardly.
The teacher smiled at that. He did notice the fact that Aomine, just like Kagami, didn't need to read it, which meant the boy must've participated on writing it. He just wanted to see the reaction, and which one of the two would argue. Truthfully, these 100 points were the easiest 100 points he'd ever given to anyone.
"Okay. You can sit." He said to the two. Then he cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Since the closing ceremony is tomorrow, and I've given you the summer homework, we won't study anything else. I'll hand out your test results." As a homeroom teacher, this was his duty too.
Aya slumped to her chair and stared out of the window. This lesson was the only reason she'd come to school. She wanted it to end, so she could leave. She barely glanced at her test results. Everything was above 90 points, only chemistry was 85 and math 82. She could live with that.
The classroom started buzzing as everyone wanted to discuss their results with the others. Kiku decided to keep Ishii and Kano busy, and grant the two some sort of a public privacy.
Aomine kicked Aya's chair to get her attention.
"Hm?" She turned around.
He pointed at his test results smugly. "I told y'."
She smirked and looked at it. Indeed, he had above 60 from everything. English was above 70 and History above 80. For Aomine, those were stellar results.
"Good job, Honey-bun." She leaned forward and ruffled his hair.
"Oi!" He grabbed her hand and forced it out of his hair. "I ain't a dog." He protested, holding her smaller palm trapped between his long fingers and the desk, in case she'd try another attack. Definitely just a precaution.
"I'm praising you. Nothin' wrong with that." She chuckled, and it actually reached her eyes a bit. She didn't try to free her hand from his grasp. His big calloused palm was strangely soothing.
"Tch." He frowned at her, but a corner of his lips twitched upwards. Then he glanced at their hands and then at her. He didn't want to let go yet, because then she'd turn around and stare out of the window again; she'd be sad again. She was watching him curiously and he had to fight off a blush.
"How're you holding up?" He asked, much aware that all the smiles were an obligation, not a reflection of her real mood.
"Hm?" She blinked at him and then quickly glanced around. Kiku and the boys were like a human shield covering them from the rest of the classroom. And they were preoccupied by going over their test results, and the right answers. The entire class was buzzing with numerous voices, but when she looked back at him, the voices faded away. And all she could focus on were his, strangely caring, dark eyes.
She sighed and her mask slipped off, revealing the emptiness she felt. "Could be better." Her gaze shifted on their hands resting on top of his desk. Aomine didn't seem willing to let go. It was almost like he was offering her a silent support, a comfort she needed. She wouldn't push him away. A ghost of a smile appeared on her face. Out of a simple need to be closer, she intertwined their fingers.
He didn't protest, though his heart was ready to jump out of his chest. How glad he was that she was observing their hands instead of his face, because he wasn't used to this in the slightest. You're the one who grabbed her hand first… He took a deep breath to calm down his heartbeat. Maybe he wasn't supposed to enjoy it as much, but he did. He liked the physical contact. And thanks to his childish refusal to let go, she visibly relaxed. A small, genuine smile appeared on his face. He gave her hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze.
She squeezed his hand back and lifted her gaze to look at him. The soft expression he had caught her off guard. She blinked and took a deep breath to calm down too. She really didn't want to blush.
"Uhm… I'm leaving after this class, and uh… I didn't prepare a lunch today… Sorry?"
He rolled his eyes. "It doesn't matter." He grumbled under his breath, he hadn't really expected her to bring him lunch today; besides, mom had made one for him.
She smiled softly at his reaction. He could magically brighten her mood without even trying.
"Glad to hear that."
######
"Kagami-kun." Kuroko turned around to see the redhead's test results. But Taiga had a hand over it and he kept staring out of the window. "Kagami-kun." He had to raise his voice to get his attention.
"Hm?" Taiga blinked at the shadow, and then at the test results laying on his desk. They weren't interesting in the slightest. "Oh…" He quickly ran through the papers. He had above 60 points from everything. Modern Japanese and English were above 90, because he'd used the rolling pencil on the first one and English… well, he hadn't been thinking twice about the answers.
"That's good. You don't have to attend remedial classes."
"Mhm." He mumbled.
Kuroko stared at his friend. Kagami seemed too out of it. He'd expected the ace to be smug about these results and brag about it, but this… This was Kagami he hadn't known. "Is something wrong?"
A deep sigh escaped him. "Nothing. I'm leaving after this class and I won't come to practise today."
Eh? "Why?"
"I need to go somewhere with Aya."
######
"It's crazy." Taiga mumbled as they floated on their backs in gentle waves.
"It is." She noted and bumped into his leg. She loved the ocean and its salty scent. It'd always been their safe place. Keiko loved it and so did they.
After visiting mother's empty grave and eating some quick lunch. They boarded a train to take them to the ocean. They always went to the ocean during the anniversary. It was their refuge; a place where they could feel closer to their mom than anywhere else.
Keiko's ashes had been scattered in the ocean after her funeral. It'd been her wish. She'd known she'd been dying so she'd had her last will written for a long time. And because she had family all over the world, having only one place where they could go to remember her would've been selfish – or so she'd been thinking. And knowing her restless children, she'd wanted them to be able to remember her wherever they'd be, without an obligation to visit a physical place of a cemetery. However, there were three empty graves, something her father had insisted on: one in California, one in France, and one in Japan.
"Eerie and a bit sick, don't you think?"
"Maybe." Aya shrugged staring at the sky. "But that way… wherever we go, she's with us. The ocean has always calmed me down anyways."
"Me too." He snorted good-heartily. Even before her death, the ocean had been a special place for them all.
"And maybe she'll protect you from a shark wanting to bite off your butt during surfing one day."
"Very funny." He rolled his eyes and stood up. His toes diving into the sand bellow. "You're feeling better." He pulled at her ankle so she wouldn't drift too far.
"At very last. Maybe… Maybe I can finally let go?" She looked at him by the corner of her eye and stood up as well. She was too short to reach the bottom, so she remained floating.
"That'd be nice." He hummed, hating the sudden feeling of his shirt sticking to his shoulders, while the rest of his clothes just floated freely in the water. "Aomine-effect?"
She smiled kindly. "I honestly don't know. Mixture of everyone-and-everything-effect?" She swam around him and launched herself at his back.
"Hey! Wha'cha doin'?"
"I'm getting a piggyback ride to the beach!" She exclaimed, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist – squeezing the life out of him.
He raised an eyebrow at that and a dangerous smirk appeared on his face. "As you wish." He said and without a warning he grabbed her arms tight and squatted, pulling her under the water with him. When he rose back up she was coughing and spitting.
"Y' wanna kill me?" She slapped his shoulder, but then laughed. This was exactly what she should've expected.
"And lose all the fun? Nah." He shrugged and started wading towards the beach.
On their way home, they ignored all the disapproving stares and whispers people were uttering their way, because they had their uniforms completely soaked and dirty from sand. They couldn't care less.
######
"I'm seriously tired, Katsu." Hiroto complained and yawned. He'd just returned from France and he really hadn't expected his friend to come and demand a one-on-one match.
"One more time." Katsunori muttered and wiped his forehead. It'd been some time since Keiko's anniversary got to him that much. It was the kids' fault, definitely. Seeing Aya fighting with her melancholy like that turned on some weird switch in him and made him think about the woman he didn't want to think about.
"Huh… to see you restless like this during Keiko-chan's anniversary… It's been some years… Did something happen?" He asked as he lazily dribbled the ball. He knew he'd lose, but he wouldn't give the victory to Katsunori without a proper fight. Katsunori had always been better than him, but he didn't care anymore. They were too old for childish brawls like this.
"The kids." He muttered. "They fight it. She misses her, longs for her mother, I can tell, and yet… No one else noticed, she practised normally, she acted normally. What the hell is that girl made off? And I'd swear Taiga managed the same..."
The bartender chuckled and found a way past Katsunori. "It's not only the appearance you inherit from your parents, you know…"
"Dammit." He swore under his breath and spun around to catch up with Hiroto and steal the ball. He knew he could. Even though his instincts were a bit dulled. Catching up was one thing, stopping Hiroto was an entirely different story. I should play more often…
"Besides, do you really think no one else noticed? I'd bet your ace knows." He chuckled and leaped into a fade away to shoot.
"Tch." Katsunori jumped up to stop the ball but he merely tipped it with his fingers. "I'm not sure if I should be glad or worried."
"Glad. Definitely glad." He laughed and went to pick up the ball. He rolled it in his hands for a moment and then threw it to Katsunori. "You miss her too, don't you?"
"Stop it. I don't have the right to miss her." He grumbled and caught the pass.
Hiroto shook his head in exasperation. "It's okay to miss those we loved. And anyways, you've never cheated on Haruka-senpai or anything. More than that, I think you gave up that fight way too easily."
"Shut up." Katsunori growled and using several fakes he dashed past Hiroto, leaped and shot. He frowned, knowing the hasty shot would bounce out. "She never looked my way."
To his surprise Hiroto laughed. "If she had, you would've never had those two rascals getting on your nerves you know."
He had to chuckle at that. He never wanted his own children… "True."
"Meow." Dorian greeted Aya on Friday morning, while she was preparing coffee and bentos.
"Mornin' Dorian." She smiled at him and the tabby tangled around her ankles. She was feeling much better. Her usual cheerfulness was back, as if nothing bad had ever happened and she was more than grateful for that; mainly for that 8-hour dreamless sleep she'd finally gotten.
"We'll go on a trip on Monday, what do y' say?" She asked and leaned down to pat him.
He stretched and purred, seemingly accepting the name with grace.
Aya sighed. It was easy to get used to another member in the household, but the cat would be better off at Suzume's.
######
She strolled to the gym with Aomine, who yawned, but let her lure him to practise under a promise to play on-on-one with her. It'd been more fun for him as he still hadn't figured out all of her dancing inspired moves and fakes. And well… She was finally back on her usual track it seemed, and the tall ace liked that.
"Sunshine returned!" Tada-senpai smiled at her immediately, which earned him a rather scary glare from Aomine.
"Huh?" She blinked at him. "What are you talking about?"
"Aaah, nothin' at all, right, captain?" He glanced at Imayoshi chatting with Satsuki close by.
"Nothing at all, Aya-chan. We're glad you're feeling better~"
"Huh?!" Her glance was drifting from one to another and then she narrowed her eyes at Satsuki.
The pinkette twitched guiltily and half-hid behind Imayoshi. It wasn't her fault that the captain could be so scary when he wanted. She'd had no choice and they'd noticed Aya's well hidden gloomy behaviour after all.
"Aya-chan's better!" Kano strolled in and cheerfully ruffled her hair, which caused Aomine another surge of rage. "That's nice." He added completely oblivious to Aomine's dangerous aura.
"I'm sorry!" Sakurai bowed immediately, as if Kano's action had been his fault. "I'm sorry Aya-chan…"
She was flabbergasted, looking all around her. Everyone seemed to know about the anniversary, hopefully they knew only about the anniversary and not the whole drama behind it. They didn't need to say it; she could see it in their expressions. And there was no pity. Just a relief that she was back to her usual self. It's only a matter of time 'till they figure out everything.
Katsunori too, gave her an encouraging nod.
She wasn't sure what to feel, but she couldn't possibly be angry at them now. She sighed and a soft, kind smile spread onto her face. Then she shook her head; her smile changing into more of a 'what do I do with you? I still like you all' or 'I give up' expression.
"Gee'! All right! I'm back! Now go to practise! You have a match to play in three days!"
They all laughed at her antics and Imayoshi's curt command got them moving. Only Aomine and Satsuki remained standing at the sidelines. The pinkette fidgeted and decided to widen the distance between them and to not look at Aya, in case the redhead decided to bite her head off, which was not probable, but one could never know.
"Don't smile like that." Aomine grumbled to her, frowning deeply.
"Hah?!"
"Don't smile like that at them." He repeated like a pouty child, a glaring and scarily looking pouty child, to be precise. He didn't like the idea that the others got (and would get) to see this smile. The rare, kind smile he liked so much. It was supposed to be reserved for him only.
'At them', huh? "Why?" She raised an eyebrow at him and that teasing sparkle in her eyes was all too obvious.
"I don't like it."
She shrugged. "Then I won't smile like that at all."
"Tch, that's not…" He suddenly stopped himself. That's not what? "Just don't show it to them." He blurted out without thinking, his mouth working before his brain once more.
"And to you?" She asked with a teasing undertone, staring at him and trying to decipher what he meant.
He scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment and avoided eye-contact staring at the nearest hoop. "That's okay." He mumbled under his breath.
She started laughing at that. He was way too cute now. If they were dating she'd probably just squish his face and flood him with kisses. But all she could do now was laugh and watch how his face slowly changed its colour.
"What?!" He barked at her and turned to look at her. It was a mistake. She was laughing at him, yes, but those burning reddish eyes were telling him that she understood the message. It only made him half hide his face behind his hand out of embarrassment.
"Go get them." She slapped the middle of his back and pushed him towards the jogging boys.
This time, he didn't protest.
A/N: I admit this chapter might be a little filler-ish, but after the 'study-session' one I felt there needed to be something more before plunging into the Interhigh arc. I hope it wasn't boring for you and I hope I didn't overdo it. :)
The Interghigh is coming next.
Let me know what you think and remember, reviews are appreciated but never necessary.
-S.