A/N: Thanks to everyone who followed, favourited and reviewed! It makes me very happy. :)
Here's another, slightly shorter chapter this time.
Enjoy!
Never try to outstubborn a cat. ― Robert A. Heinlein, Time Enough for Love
I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. ― Maya Angelou
Arrogance is a creature. It does not have senses. It has only a sharp tongue and the pointing finger. ― Toba Beta
Her courage was her crown, and she wore it like a Queen. ― Atticus
All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost. – J. R. R. Tolkien
"What's that?" Katsunori eyed the tabby meowing in a crate, and a couple of other things Aya had carried with her.
"I'm delivering Dorian to Yosen's team and they'll deliver him to his new home." She shrugged. "Haven't I told you?"
He sighed and pulled at his fringe with an exasperated expression. Aya was the last one to arrive and everyone had been waiting for her. Now he knew what the cause of her delay had been. "You'll be the death of me one day. Get in, we're leaving."
"Sure." She chuckled and hopped into the bus. As there were fewer boys than usual she took an entire double seat in front of Aomine and placed the kitty next to her.
"Meooow." Dorian cried anxiously again. He didn't like being contained it the cage. And Taiga wasn't there, he was stressed and not sure what was going on.
Aomine's head appeared next to her and he stared at the crate. "You sure you won't let him out? He'll keep at this desperate meowing…" And he wanted to really see the kitty too.
Aya turned her head to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "Will you stick him back into that thing then?"
"Ah…" Only then he noticed numerous fresh scratches and cuts on her forearms. She must've struggled with the kitty for quite a while. "Why not? Might be fun." He smirked.
She sighed; she couldn't listen to that constant and desperate meowing either. It made her feel as if she was torturing the cat. "Fine then." She opened the door and Dorian rushed out like possessed, immediately trying to climb the seat and get as far from that container as possible.
Aomine quickly grabbed it by the skin on its neck and pulled it away from the seat, before it could destroy the fabric. "Hey there." He stared at the meowing tabby, which was trying to get away from his grasp. "Y' ain't going anywhere." He muttered and sat back to his seat, waiting for the cat to calm down a bit, only then he let it go. The mismatched eyes fascinated him to no ends.
Aya kneeled on her seat and turned toward the bluenette. "I thought you were a 100% dog person." She noted. She didn't understand Aomine's calming magic. But Dorian seemed to be fine now, curiously walking on Aomine's thighs and checking out everything around him.
He smirked. That was the usual assumption after people got to meet his two overgrown pups. "Cats are fun too."
"What do you have here? I want to see~" Imayoshi walked towards the two and watched the tabby. But when he tried to touch it, the cat hissed on him, the fur on its neck prickling and it stuck out its claws.
"Tch." Aomine scowled at the kitty, which just stuck its sharp claws through his pants and into his thighs. He grabbed Dorian and lifted him up, to get rid of the painful claws.
Aya laughed at the scene. "Animals sense foul personalities for miles, captain~" She hummed.
The captain's eyes narrowed at the manager and he smiled slyly. "Well, I guess I was never a cat person."
After everyone got to see the tabby and the courageous ones got to pet it too, it found itself comfortable on Aomine's lap, where it fell asleep. Jealous, Aya moved to the seat next to Aomine and stared at the kitty accusingly.
"How come he's sleeping on you?" She asked with a slight pout.
Aomine raised an eyebrow at her. "Jealous, Sweetheart?" He teased her. "Y' know, I ain't the one who stuck him into that cell. Or maybe I'm just more comfortable than you."
She rolled her eyes and scratched the sleeping Dorian behind his ears. "Well it's not a dog. I had to transport him somehow. And if we want Suzume to take care of him from now on, we should provide those basic things she'll need."
"It must've been a struggle." He pointed at her scratched arms. "Getting him into that thing."
"You can't imagine. Hopefully, it should heal in a couple of days. But I wonder how Tatsuya will manage to get him to Akita…" She sighed. "Maybe I'll make a one-day detour after the Interhigh myself."
######
The bus stopped at a stadium where the Interhigh would take place. Dorian was still soundly sleeping on Aomine's lap, and sometime during the ride Aya fell asleep too.
"Hey." Aomine shook her shoulder to wake her up. "We need to go."
"Mhm." She mumbled and rubbed her sleepy eyes. "What?"
"Give me that crate." He said quietly. She blinked at him, not getting what he wanted to do with it. Her brain was still half-asleep. Noticing her confusion he rolled his eyes. "For the cat."
"Oh, right." She smoothly got up and leaned over the seats in front of them. "You sure he won't wake up?"
He grinned at her. "Let's hope not. I don't wish to meet with his claws."
"He won't like you after this." She noted.
Aomine just shrugged and carefully placed the kitty into the crate. He closed the door soundlessly and they put the crate back on Aya's seat.
"And that's how it's done, Sweetheart." He told her with a smug grin.
"Good job." She smirked and ruffled his hair as if he was a dog. And this time she really meant it like that.
Grumbling something about witches, he got up and followed after her to the exit.
They left everything in the bus and went for an opening ceremony into the huge stadium. Other teams from all over the country were slowly gathering there as well. Aya was keeping an eye on the passers-by to notice someone familiar; Kise or Atsushi or maybe Seijuurou, whom she hadn't seen for a couple of years. But so far there was no one familiar.
Satsuki and Imayoshi were giving them a quick description of how the ceremony would proceed and what was expected of them and so on. Aya and all those who hadn't been to the Interhigh (or any other tournament of this scale) before were listening carefully.
When suddenly…
"Booby-Aya-chaaan!"
Aya whipped around, recognizing that voice very well. All she could see was a smudge of something small leaping at her. She had barely enough time to brace herself for the impact as the tiny girl launched herself at her full weight, diving her face in between Aya's breasts. To keep them both from falling backwards, Aya had to spin around, lifting Hero and making a 360° turn before settling her back on her feet.
"Woah!" She glared down at the short girl in scolding. "What was that for, Hero? And the name is 'Aya'."
"I missed ya!" She said, still not willing to let go.
"It's been only a bit over two weeks." Aya gently hit her knuckles against Hero's head. "Now if you could let go."
With a dissatisfied grunt she took a step back. "It was comfortable there." She pouted and then a broad grin settled on her face. "I'm glad I found ya! Everyone is so fuckin' tall here, what are they fed?! I wanna try that too!"
Aya raised an eyebrow at Hero, who looked around; finally noticing Aya's team.
"Oh, hey there! I'm Hironaka Sumire, the manager of Yosen." She waved them, craning her neck to see their faces. Then she zoomed on Satsuki. "Melon-chan!" She said without thinking.
Satsuki blushed in embarrassment and crossed her arms over her chest, as if she could hide it. Aya had warned her, but this exceeded all expectations.
Aya groaned in exasperation and slapped the back of Hero's head. The girl was either in a particularly good mood, or being around so many boys every day was probably taking its toll on the already rude Hero.
"Hero!" She frowned at her. "That's just mean."
"What? It's true! And I mean it as a compliment! A compliment!" She nodded seriously.
Some of the boys blushed, while Aomine cackled at the little phenomenon in front of them. "The pipsqueak sure knows what's good."
"What did ya say?! Ya, ya…" She couldn't find a suitable insult or nickname for the tall tanned boy that quickly. But then… "… Ya spray-tan!"
"HAH?!" Aomine sure hadn't expected the pipsqueak to argue back.
Aya had to laugh at that. Satsuki was chuckling too, just like the majority of the team. Katsunori was staring at the tiny girl with perplexed and tired eyes. He was so glad his managers were relatively polite and normal girls.
"Hey, hey. That's enough." Aya said to stop the glaring going on between Hero and Aomine. She quickly introduced Satsuki, so the girls wouldn't be strangers anymore.
"How're you holding up?" Satsuki asked curiously. Yosen seemed to be a team which was hard to handle.
Hero sighed and looked at both girls. "What do I say? The cookie monster is constantly makin' fun of me, and I still can't read yer boy, Booby-chan, but other than that…" She shrugged. "I'm quite satisfied there. But the coach can be scary." She shuddered at a memory when she'd been introduced to the Araki-sensei's shinai.
"Tatsuya ain't my boy. And I seriously hope you're not nicknaming him that or I'll be really annoyed." Aya corrected Hero with an eye-roll. "I've told you it'll take lots of time to learn that. And I can imagine Araki-sensei is scary, especially if you're running your mouth like that all the time."
"They don't take me seriously otherwise." She grumbled. Being that short pipsqueak among the titans… she needed to get their attention somehow. And this proved to be working quite well.
Satsuki chuckled. "I can imagine that. Be it not for Aya-chan, the boys wouldn't listen to me much either."
"That's not true!" Several guys protested at the same time.
Satsuki glanced at them over her shoulder. "Maybe, but you're certainly more tamed with the two of us there."
Her voice trailed off as a huge shadow loomed over them. "Hironaka-chan, so here you are." The entire Yosen team came to fetch their missing manager, with their captain in the lead. "You disappeared in the crowd."
"Because she is so small we couldn't see her." Atsushi added from behind the captain, munching on his Umaibo. "Oh, hello, Mine-chin, Sa-chin, Aya-chin." He stared at the three familiar faces with a slight interest.
They nodded to the giant and everyone stared at the huge boys in Yosen's team with a certain worry in their eyes. Everyone except Aomine; he'd gladly measure his skills against the height.
"What did ya say, ya purple cookie-monster?!"
"Ha?!" He glared at the girl. "You said something? I can't hear you up here."
"Then come down to my level! And I'll show ya!" She fumed.
"Eh? Why should I?"
"I'm gonna kill them one day." Masako growled and weighed her shinai against her shoulder.
"Like coach, like team. Long time no see, Masa-chan." Katsunori said with a half-smirk, knowing how much she hated the nickname. "How are you doing?"
She glared at him. "I see you haven't changed in the slightest. Stick the nickname up your arse, Katsunori."
He shrugged. "You've never won against me, have you?"
"My team will win."
"We'll see about that."
Aya nudged Hero and pointed at the coaches. "Nice vibe, don't you think?"
"Mhm. Masa-chan…" She chuckled quietly, her banter with Atsushi long forgotten – it was a norm after all.
"I'd say so too." Tatsuya joined the girls' conversation. So far he hadn't had his chance to say hi to Aya.
"Hm?" She turned her head to look at him over her shoulder. "Oh, hey! Couldn't see you through Liu-kun." She turned around and hugged him quickly in a greeting. "Thanks for the help with math."
"Anytime, Robin. I take you passed just fine?" He asked and scanned the boys from Touou. Part of them was preoccupied with meeting the Yosen's team and all the introductions, part of them was chatting amongst themselves… But he was looking for someone specific. And then he caught a really stormy glare from a tanned boy taller and better built than him. The guy was more Aya's type than him, he knew that much. The aura of self confidence and arrogance; it made him curious, although the glare was really hostile. And it made a chill ran down his spine. Aomine Daiki, I take it… I wonder if they're dating or not… Hmm… Judging by his glare, probably not… Yet… He thought and smiled at the boy. Then he looked back at the redhead.
"'f course." She grinned smugly.
"See that?" Sumire nudged Satsuki and pointed at the two. "I'm tellin' ya! Her boy!"
"Would you stop it?!" They both snapped at Hero.
Aya looked up at Tatsuya. "Glad we agree on that." Then she noticed something partly hidden by Tatsuya's collar and she narrowed her eyes. Then she looked at Hero. "My boy, you say? Really?"
She reached up, hooked her finger under Tatsuya's collar and pulled it down, revealing a deep coloured hickie just under his collar bone.
"What a nice colour. Yesterday?" She asked with a smirk.
Tatsuya took a step back a bit startled and a bit embarrassed by Aya's cunning action. She'd never left a mark on him (at least not on such visible place); it'd been their deal to not leave marks.
"Eeeeh?!" Hero pointed a finger at him. "WHAT?! WHEN?! H-HOW?!" She squealed, getting everyone's attention and directing it at Tatsuya.
"Eeeeeh?!" Fukui pointed his finger at him too, copying Hero. "When the hell have you managed that?! Month! You've been at Yosen for just a month!"
He scratched the back of his neck, but he didn't blush. He managed to keep his unwavering poker face. "Heh, I guess I got lucky. Could we stop making a scene out of it?" He shrugged and shot a short annoyed glare at Aya. Why the hell could the girl see through him so much?
"Thou are embarrassing thyself." Liu said to Fukui and Hero in his dull, almost grave voice. He rarely spoke up, and Fukui had to suddenly fight the urge to laugh at Liu's old-fashioned ways, which were taught to him by none other than Fukui himself.
It quickly got the attention of the others and Fukui had to mime to the Touou's team to not ruin his prank. If it weren't for Imayoshi, who quickly caught up on what the boy was trying to gesture and convey, someone would've definitely told Liu his choice of words was rather pathetic and really outdated.
"H-h-how is that…?!" Hero was still staring at the bruise with wide eyes, a blush slowly creeping onto her cheeks. She understood that it couldn't have been Aya's job, but somehow… She believed those two were strangely close, maybe because Aya hadn't had enough time to really properly explain it to her. So… Gods, I was really stupid… She thought. And then imagined what must've happened to Tatsuya to get that… She had no idea – she'd never had a boyfriend or any experience on that front.
Tatsuya smirked at that. Oh, he would so tease the girl for this. "You mean you don't know how those are made, senpai?" He asked smugly, leaning down to be on Hero's eye-level and looked at her.
She glowed deep red instantly and jumped away from him as if he burned her. "G-go to hell, Poker face!" She shouted at him and hid behind Aya. She hated to admit that this brat, younger than her, had much more experience than she could even imagine.
"Well," Aya laughed, "if you were watching his 'poker face' carefully, you could see three to four stages: surprise turning into embarrassment turning into annoyance turning into mischief, or teasing."
"What?!" Hero stuck her head out to stare at Tatsuya. Her own embarrassment forgotten and her curiosity fuelled. "How the hell can ya decipher it, Booby-chan?! What were the signs? I swear he had that damn poker face the entire time!"
At least the nickname gets shorter… "Aya." She reminded her with slight irritation in her voice again.
"Yeah, yeah, I know, Booby-chan… So?" The little girl was getting rather impatient.
Aya glanced at Tatsuya, with a poker face of her own. She knew he couldn't read it and she wanted to tease him a bit. Leaning down to Hero's ear she kept staring at Tatsuya the entire time. Yep, he's getting antsy… She thought. "It's in the eyes. Look him in the eyes if you wanna learn to read him." She whispered to Hero. Then she straightened up. "It took me years to learn the patterns, though…" She shook her head and smiled.
Atsushi was looking around him at all the different people flowing past him, talking, introducing, and sometimes staring at him in respect and even fear. Aya-chin, Hiro-chin (or Chibi-chin) and Muro-chin were chatting and Aya-chin didn't have anything for him or so he assumed. He munched on another bite of his third Umaibo. He didn't feel like doing the introductions or socialising. His snacks were better, and what was the point in getting to know his opponents personally? He'd crush them all anyways. By just standing below his hoop. It was more than enough. But he was still watching everyone rather lazily and right now, he didn't like the way Mine-chin stared at Muro-chin. There was something predatory and dangerous in that stare. And it actually made him a little bit curious. Maybe he could greet the former teammate at least. Not that they were close friends, but Mine-chin was one of the few who actually stirred some sort of respect in the giant; though they had never really played against each other.
He approached the tanned boy, who was too preoccupied with glaring to notice him. "Why are you staring at Muro-chin like that?" He asked.
Aomine blinked and averted his attention to Murasakibara. "Y' wouldn't get it."
"Hmmm… Maybe not." He shrugged. "But I'm curious."
"Tch. I don't like the guy."
Atsushi stared at him for a couple of seconds. No, he couldn't get Mine-chin's hostility towards his currently best friend, and he probably wouldn't get it even if properly explained. But he disliked people on first sight too, lots of times, so he couldn't really judge. Then he shrugged.
"Do you have something sweet?" He asked, just in case. Aomine had rarely given him a treat for free, ever. But… One could never know…
"Hah?!"
He sighed. Mine-chin was dumb. "Sweets. Do you have some?" He drawled again.
"Do I look like a walking patisserie?" Aomine's eyebrow shot up as to intensify his biting question.
The plea for them to fill the gym was announced. They needed to separate and go in as teams when being called out according to a certain schedule, no one really knew. So they needed to stay focused and wait for their turn. All 78 best high-school teams of the entire country gathered in the huge hallway and even though the space was big, it was crammed by all the teenagers.
"We'll be next." Satsuki announced and nudged everyone to move closer to the entrance.
"How do you know?" Aya asked; she was ready to leave them and head for the spectators' area. As the second manager, she wasn't supposed to line up with the boys.
"I got the schedule." She winked at the redhead conspiratorially.
Aya chuckled and shook her head. "All right. Let's move then."
"Tch. Satsuki and her sticky fingers…" Aomine grumbled quietly. He didn't want to move around much. Bumping into old acquaintances wasn't something he'd enjoy. He stared around just to avoid the exuberant blonde. In case he spotted him first. So far it was good. Yosen's team hid them well, and even though Murasakibara was hardly a person one could overlook in a crowd, the blonde didn't seem to be anywhere close enough.
"It's certainly good to know the schedule in advance, Honey-bun. It's to our advantage."
"I wonder about that…" He muttered and glanced around again.
She could always pick up those tiny nuances. And Daiki was certainly behaving strangely. "Who are you trying to avoid?" She asked and stared at him.
He sighed. "Someone unbearable."
"Model-kun, I assume."
As if she had just jinxed it. "Aominecchi! Ayacchi! Momocchi!" Kise's bright voice echoed through the hall.
"Ki-chan!" Satsuki called out and waved him back.
The blonde was enthusiastically waving them and trying to go over to them, but soon he got pacified by Kasamatsu.
"I don't know him." Aomine said and didn't even look at the blonde. The nicknames were ridiculous!
Aya laughed. "You know what? I need to go that way to the spectators' area anyways… I'll give him your greetings."
"Don't –" He reached out to stop her from going to Kise, but she was way too nimble. Don't y' dare… He wanted to say, but she was already gone, skilfully mingling with the crowd and disappearing from his sight.
######
Of course Aomine couldn't avoid Kise in the end. They met again at the hotel check in. It seemed that Kaijo, Touou and Yosen shared the same hotel, which was in a walking distance from the stadium. Hero, Satsuki, the captains and all three coaches went to deal with the check in, leaving the boys to wait.
"Aominecchi! Murasakibaracchi!" He stormed to the two teams, already familiar with one another. "Long time no see! Why did you ignore me in the hall, Aominecchi!" He whined. "It was Ayacchi who popped up to say hello!"
Aomine rolled his eyes; at least Kise wasn't in the 'bear hug' mode. "Could you be even more annoying?"
"Kise-chin." Atsushi nodded and started to look for something in his bag. He was sure he had it somewhere there. "Ah… Here." He fished out a small package of chocolates. "Happy birthday, Kise-chin. They are handmade chocolates from a shop down the street from my school. The lady said it had less sugar and was apparently healthier, but…" He drawled and handed over the small gift he'd bought. He knew it was considerably late, but what of it. They lived in different parts of the country now.
"Eeeeeh?!" Kise stared at the gifted. "Thank youuuu, Murasakibaracchi! You're the best!" He quickly hugged the giant (who didn't really appreciate the affection) and almost started crying. Murasakibaracchi giving him a gift… He knew that the giant could be kind if he so wanted, but he'd never expected him to bring a gift – and chocolates to top it – when they'd become basically rivals. He was touched.
"Oh!" Aya blinked at the exchange. "Right! Wait!" She put down the cat, the desperately meowing cat in the crate, and started to rummage through her bag too.
"What?!" Kise's eyes widened in surprise even more. "Not you too, Ayacchi! That's too much…"
"Oh, stop with the theatrics." She rolled her eyes and fished out a small envelope. "I don't know you well enough to be overly creative but… Here you go."
He took it from her and very cautiously opened the gift. He truly didn't know what to expect from Ayacchi. When he finally saw it, he gasped. "Eeeeh?!" He blinked at her, at the gift, and then in a lightning fast movement he pulled her into a bear hug. "Thank you! It's awesome!"
She blinked, unable to react that quickly. She really hadn't expected Kise to be as impulsive as to hug her, but it so fitted the blonde at the same time. "Uhm… You're welcome." She half asked half said.
He let her go, but remained staring at her. "Really! 12 lessons worth dancing class whenever I choose to come?! That's… that's awesome!"
"I thought you did enjoy it that time… I just didn't know it was this much?" She raised an eyebrow at him and chuckled. "And there I thought it was a really lame gift."
"Lame?! Gosh no! I'll know something Aikocchi doesn't! And it's even plus one too!"
Nothing to beat the siblings' rivalry. She mused and chuckled. "It's plus one in case you find a girlfriend till then. Or someone willing to learn with you."
"But I can practise with you too, if I want, right?"
She shrugged. "Well, yeah. If you want…"
"You don't know what you're getting yourself into, man." Tatsuya mingled into the conversation at the same time Aya answered Kise. The blonde was a model, he picked up that much, and he had the same unwavering confidence as Atsushi. As he stared at the group, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Aya had a skill to pick out and befriend all the amazing talents, but also amazing people in general, and he knew she wasn't doing it on purpose, but… Birds of a feather…
Kise turned to the boy interrupting Ayacchi and looked him up and down with an unreadable expression. The boy standing in front of him wearing the Yosen's sports' uniform definitely had an air of self-confidence and even slight arrogance around him. Half of his face was hidden behind his long fringe and he had a perfect poker face. Yet, there was something eerily similar to Kise in that boy.
"The ex-boyfriend, I guess." Kise nodded levelly, and when Tatsuya didn't flinch and merely smiled at the blonde, he was sure about his 'guess'. "Kise Ryouta." He introduced himself curtly and offered a handshake.
Tatsuya accepted the gesture. "Himuro Tatsuya. Nice to meet you." He said, noticing that Kise switched from friendly to very cautious. No, they couldn't possibly become friends. "I didn't think a model would play basketball."
"It's a passion of mine." The blonde shrugged. "And why shouldn't I want to learn from Ayacchi?"
"Ayacchi?" He blinked and glanced at Aya, but she was as unreadable as she could be. "Well… Have you ever seen her dance or practise? She's like a… uhm… she can be very demanding."
"Like a monster. You wanted to say?" She asked him with a raised eyebrow and amusement in her reddish eyes. She wasn't offended by it anymore; it just surprised her a bit. Tatsuya didn't usually falter like that.
All three of the generation of miracles were staring at the former couple. They could feel the rising tension between them as the topic of dancing came up. And they were really curious how Tatsuya would answer now.
"No, that's not... Actually… More like a demon from the depths of hell really." He scratched the back of his neck and averted his gaze. He couldn't withstand her stare.
To everyone's surprise she laughed. "That's personal experience talking. And I bet Ray and Tai would agree with you. But don't worry 'bout the Model-kun. I've already taught him something and he's a quick learner." She said with a bright grin. "And he already has a demonic older sister. I can't possibly be much worse."
Kise laughed at that. "Aikocchi would 100% agree right now; except the 'quick learner' praise." Then he turned to Aominecchi, who was surprisingly quiet. "And where is my gift?" He stretched an empty palm towards his, probably, best friend.
"Hah?" He frowned at the blonde. "You got your gift already. Stop nagging."
"Eh? Really?" Aya blinked at the bluenette. She hadn't known anything about that, and she wondered what the gift might've been.
"He gets really annoying if I forget, like a kid really." He grumbled.
"That's mean!" Kise whined.
"Hmmm… Will I get a birthday gift too then?" Aya asked jokingly.
"Tch." He scratched the back of his neck and fought a blush. "Maybe…" He had no idea what would Aya like to get as a gift… God, what am I getting myself into?
"Of course you will!" Kise jumped in enthusiastically. He loved gift shopping for anyone. As he moved he bumped into crouched Atsushi. "What are you doing down there, Murasakibaracchi?"
"The kitty is nice." He said and stared at the Dorian in the crate. "Though scared…"
"Well, sorry." Aya said apologetically. "I had to transport it somehow."
Tatsuya sighed. "The one we'll be transporting?"
"Eh? We will?" Atsushi blinked and looked up at the two.
"If it's okay, then yes. But maybe I'll go to Akita myself." She thought out loud. "I have a strange feeling, so… yeah… maybe I should go up there on my own."
"We don't mind her." Atsushi carefully stuck his finger into the crate, rubbing the tabby's fur carefully and barely managed to avoid the sharp claws.
"Him." Aya corrected him. "The name is Dorian."
"Do-chin." Atsushi nodded. The name was too complicated for him to pronounce so he didn't even bother.
The kitty was slowly trying to investigate the long finger that didn't seem that dangerous anymore. He kept meowing at it. And then he suddenly hissed and curled up in the very back of the crate. He quieted down, hiding in his corner.
A chill ran down Aya's spine and the pressure seemed to crackle in the air. Atsushi got up with his shoulders suddenly tense. He had an idea who could've had such an impact on the cat. Smile on Kise's face faded, his eyes widened and he wanted to take a step back, but forced himself to stay where he was. Even Aomine tensed. If he was relaxed before, now he was in his frowning, almost ready to fight mode. And Tatsuya actually did take two steps back.
She turned around curiously, wanting to see who caused such a reaction. And she found herself looking at the red eyes of none other than Akashi Seijuurou. Well, his left eye seemed to be more orange than red, but she couldn't remember if it'd always been like that or not. She had a feeling that no, the eyes had been the same colour in the past, but she wasn't sure about it.
"Daiki. Atsushi. Ryouta. What a coincidence. Good to see you here." Akashi greeted them in a very cold voice. Then he shifted his gaze to Aya. "Kagami Aya. It has been some time."
"Seijuurou." She answered in the same manner and smiled slightly. Her stomach was tight, but she wouldn't budge under his hostile stare. Something was definitely wrong with the boy. "Some years indeed."
"And your name is?" He looked at Tatsuya.
Tatsuya's throat dried and he didn't understand why a boy younger than him had such an intimidating aura surrounding him. He knew he couldn't take another step back or remain quiet. He wasn't that weak and he knew his poker face was without a single crack.
"Himuro Tatsuya. Not an active player at the moment." He answered with a tighter voice than usual.
"I asked your name only. You answer to the question. Anything else is forbidden."
"…" He remained quiet afterwards, but he had to fight the urge of his jaw to hit the ground. He didn't realise that the very fact that Akashi acknowledged his presence was a small success.
Aya blinked at him. "You've changed. What happened to you?" She asked calmly to divert Akashi's attention back to her. Aomine glanced at her in the smallest of warnings; she was walking on a very thin ice, but she ignored it.
The intensity of that intimidating stare was unbearable. It'd been some months since she last had to face something like that. I'm softening up apparently… She thought.
"I have not changed, Aya. Winning is and always will be everything. Only winners are validated and losers are denied. I have never lost and hence I am and have always been right and true." He said, staring down at her. "It is you who have changed. You have become a loser by decision. You are nothing. Your own father cannot look at you. We do not stand on the same ground anymore and you have no right to look me in the eyes. Know your place, Kagami Aya, remember where it is."
"Oi!" Daiki glared at Akashi with renewed hostility. He respected the former captain for his skills, but this was over any line out there. Akashi's hard gaze turning on him wasn't pleasant, but he wouldn't budge, he believed he'd win if it was basketball. "Wh–"
Aya's strong grip on his wrist choked out the words he wanted to say. She didn't look at him.
Everyone in their vicinity went silent. Staring at the redhead. Her team knew that Yamaoka got punched quite well for a comment similar to that one.
The words Akashi had told her cut deep. He wasn't wrong but he wasn't right either. Bile was rising to her throat and she gulped it down. Winning is everything? He has no idea what's important anymore… She decided to remain calm, because Akashi had a really worrisome and unstable look deep in his eyes. She couldn't predict him.
"I'm not going to sit or crawl at your feet, Seijuurou." It was unbelievable how a person could change in years. This was not the boy she remembered. This was not a friend anymore, this was an enemy now. "But you may be right... I'm nobody, and yet, here I am; standing on the very same tiles as you. I was never good at knowing my place. But didn't you know that already?" She stared back at him confidently; a clash of two unforgiving wildfires. In fact, they had never stood on the same ground, metaphorically speaking. But she wasn't the one to rub it into his face, though she so wanted to.
Her reddish eyes, similar to his own were glaring at him, daring him to look down on her more viciously. Kagami Aya wasn't one to give up easily, to be intimidated easily, he knew. But she quit, she was a loser. She didn't deserve the respect, and yet… He couldn't help it. Even if he suppressed lots of his childhood memories, some voice inside was whispering to him that this girl wasn't just a loser he believed her to be. And a jello landing on his father's suit flashed in his mind.
"You really don't have any self-preservation instinct." A distant ghost of a smile touched his lips. "I must say… that courage of yours, Aya, however stupid, is actually admirable."
She chuckled. "It saved me couple of times, I must agree." The tension between them eased up slightly.
His eyes narrowed at the Touou insignia on her t-shirt. "Touou I see." He muttered under his breath and looked at Daiki, scanning his expression, which had turned from the usual scowl into something protective, dangerous even; maybe anger that Aya had held him back. But Akashi couldn't be more grateful. An all our brawl with Aomine wouldn't have been safe for him in the slightest, no matter what respect the bluenette had towards him. Tamed dogs could bite too, after all.
Then he looked at the trio. "Only four of us made it here. What a shame. I thought Shintarou and Tetsuya were better than that." He sighed. "Maybe we should not play in the upcoming matches."
"Akashicchi!" Kise almost squealed. "Why?"
"It will be no fun. Or have you softened up, Ryouta?"
"Ah… No. I just want to play."
"You have softened up… Then play. But I am the absolute winner of this competition. Regardless of me participating in the matches or not."
Aomine cackled. It was a very rough laughter shaking his ribcage. "I wanna see that, Akashi."
Akashi opened his mouth to retort, but –
"Who are ya?" Hero bounced at their side, finally done with all the registration and getting the rooms' keys and all. She had no idea what was going on, or who was the newest arrival. She, however, heard the last part and she frowned at that. Just who is this egomaniac?
Akashi flinched slightly at the question. Something inside him budged and stirred violently. He had to suppress it before it could get out. He feared the weird presence, because it smelled of a 'loser', and he couldn't allow it to take over him. He bit the side of his tongue, drawing blood. It calmed down. It took only a split second but he noticed Aya's challenging stare turning into curiosity.
"Where did you come from? Children should not get separated from their parents." He glared at Sumire, she wasn't worth his answers. Not after the storm she had caused in his soul.
"Wh–" She wanted to get back at him, insult him. He had no right to act like that. But that cold, intimidating and scary glare knocked the air out of her lungs. She'd never faced anyone like that. The pressure of the boy's very presence made her knees give way.
"Woah." Aya's arms shot forward and grabbed Hero under her armpits, so she wouldn't sit on her butt in fear under Akashi's intense degrading stare. "You should go back to your team, Seijuurou." She said. "I don't need Hero to pass out because of the pressure."
"I am absolute. And all should bow in front of me. That is the reaction of a peasant. She is a natural loser I presume."
"Aka-chin." Atsushi drawled, speaking up for the first time; not sure why he was trying to oppose the former captain. It was stupid really. But seeing the yapping midget in that state… "They are waiting for you." He pointed his chin at the waiting Rakuzan team.
A dreadful smile graced Akashi's lips. "I will remember that, Atsushi." He said, piercing the giant with his glare. His control over his former team was slipping away from his grasp.
A chill ran down Atsushi's spine. Go to hell Hiro-chin… He thought. I'm not helping you again.
Rakuzan disappeared behind a corner and the pressure was lifted. The room buzzed with "What the hell was that?", and "Who the hell was it?" and "Does Aya know him?" and so many other comments. Dorian meowed again, but now he came to appreciate the crate a bit more. It had protected him from whatever predator that was out there.
"Can you stand?" Aya asked Hero with concern.
The shocked girl nodded and Aya released her grip. "What the fuck…?" Hero took a shaky breath. "I couldn't fuckin' breathe…"
Aya stared at the corner and shuddered like a dog; shaking off the bad feeling. "Who the hell was that? 'cause it's not the Seijuurou I remember…"
"You knew him before Ayacchi?" Kise asked, shaking off the sour feeling too. He wasn't scared of the former captain per se, but he felt really uncomfortable.
"Yeah. But the last time I saw him was three years ago. What the hell happened? He turned from a natural leader into a ruthless dictator. Urgh…" She shuddered again.
"You sure have guts facing him off like that, Robin." Tatsuya cleared his throat. He really didn't want to meet the guy ever again.
She rolled her eyes. "And you've met me just today, right?"
"Akashi-kun was here?" Satsuki popped up along the others.
"Yeah. You'll get to see him in the hotel eventually." Aomine rumbled and shook his head to quickly forget the much tensed meeting.
"Er, right." She swallowed nervously. Ever since Akashi had changed so much she feared him. "And you must be Himuro Tatsuya-kun, right?"
"That's right. Nice to meet you, uhm?"
"Oh, I haven't introduced myself earlier! Sorry, sorry." She laughed lightly. "I'm Momoi Satsuki. The first manager of Touou. And I bet this dork hasn't introduced properly either." She sighed and pointed at Aomine. "He's Aomine Daiki."
"I figured out that much." Tatsuya said with a nod. "Nice to meet you, Satsuki-chan."
"Tch. Go to hell, Satsuki." The tanned ace grumbled at his childhood friend.
"It's that attitude that means people don't like you! That rudeness!" And that's how Satsuki's lecture started.
"Why do ya scold him like that, Melon-chan?" Hero looked at her perplexed. "If the guy is an idiot he is an idiot. Lecturin' them is wastin' ya breath. I bet ya don't have yer boy, eh?"
"Wha', wha', wha', what?!" Satsuki stared at the little girl, blushing terribly. But then her magenta eyes narrowed. "You don't have one either, Hiro-chan! Judging by your previous reaction!" She accused her.
"I'm proportionally and verbally disadvantaged." She said smugly, instead of saying 'I'm a swearing midget', which she was, and which she wasn't willing to change in the slightest. She wasn't the one to pretend and act all cute and distinguished when she wasn't. So what that she was still boyfriend-less? It was better than a false pretense.
Aya burst out laughing after that. "How greatly you talk all of a sudden!"
"Oh, shut up! Don't make fun of me!"
"Yeah, yeah." Aya ruffled the girl's hair, still laughing.
"Okay!" Masako yelled out sharply and clapped. "You really need to have some order beaten into you!" She pointed the tip of her shinai at Kise, who took a step back from the possibly nasty weapon. "Genta! Put that blonde princey pants in line! He's aggravating my eyes!"
"Hey! My name is Kise Ryouta!" He protested and barely avoided a savage shinai swing aimed at his head.
"Oi, Kise!" Kasamatsu barged in, kicking Kise's butt, grabbing his collar and pulling him towards Kaijo. "Can you stay with us for one minute?! Or is it too difficult to get it through that thick skull of yours?!" He shouted at the blonde.
"But I got the gifts!" He whined, which only earned him another smack.
"That's a good captain!" Masako nodded to Kasamatsu's pacifying skills, ignoring his lobster-like blush caused by all the girls in the vicinity.
"Aren't you too harsh on the boy, Masa-chan?" Katsunori asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Shut the hell up, Katsunori. Lax approach never made champions! I want to see some order here." She frowned. "Yosen! Come take your keys and go to your rooms! I'm not tolerating any stupid behaviour here! Understood?! Especially you, Hironaka!"
"OSSU!" The huge boys rumbled like thunder.
"Yea!" Hero peeped up and got the keys ready for the boys, who lined up to take them. It was up to her to distribute it and inform everyone about their rooms and rules of the hotel.
Katsunori sighed and looked at Satsuki. "It's your job. You decided to do this by yourself."
"Haaai!" She smiled at the coach. "Everyone gather up! I'll give you the keys and further instructions."
Surprisingly, each girl had a room for herself. Satsuki wasn't fond of sharing a room with a cat, so she decided to be alone, and Aya didn't mind. Aomine ended up in one room with Sakurai, Kano, Ishii and Naito. Satsuki just hoped there wouldn't be any brawls among the boys.
"We'll discuss our first opponents over dinner, which will be at 7PM!" Satsuki announced when all the keys were handed to their temporary owners. "Other than that, behave!"
"Sure!" Aya laughed; the anticipation and excitement of the expected competition filling her veins. She loved this thrill. Even if she wasn't a competitor, she just couldn't help it. "Let the Interhigh begin then! Let's win this!" She cheered all the boys.
"Can I come and see the cat sometime?" Atsushi asked as he followed his team past the Touou's team.
She blinked at the giant and smiled encouragingly. "Sure. I'll get some snacks for you too."
"Eh? Good. Thank you Aya-chin." He actually managed to produce an honest smile. He really wanted to see the cat out of that cage.
"What cat?!" Hero almost jumped at Aya again, but Fukui just grabbed the midget's t-shirt and pulled her behind him. "Don't get separated again, Hiro-chan." He scolded her good heartily.
"Aya-chan really knows all the weird people." Imayoshi just shook his head at her antics. "And she is actually excited by this more than some of us."
"Be happy. That's the person who loves to compete and win! We couldn't have asked for better managers, captain!" Tada patted Imayoshi's shoulder and chuckled. "And people who are slightly crazy tend to be the ones with the biggest hearts."
"You included?" He raised an eyebrow and sighed. "Maybe you're right. You should've been the vice-captain, you know. You handle her better than Wakamatsu."
"We shared a few secrets as an incentive. Just in case." He shrugged, looking at the redhead.
"Oh?" Imayoshi raised an eyebrow curiously. So he did ask her something when she figured him out… "I ought to know that, don't you think?"
"Definitely not. Maybe you've already figured it out on your own, but I'm not the one telling. … and neither is she."
"Tcs, tcs, tcs. I have a team full of self-confident secretive idiots." He mused, shaking his head. "It's not easy to be the captain."
"You're speaking like an old man. Be glad Hironaka-chan didn't pay much attention to you, or you'd have some really interesting nickname on your neck by now."
"Don't even remind me." He sighed and walked towards the hallways leading to the stairs and eventually to their rooms. "I'm actually glad to share a room with you and Susa, but really… do we have to be with Wakamatsu too?"
"Kousuke is my best friend, so careful there, captain."
"Yeah, yeah. Let the Interhigh begin." He repeated Aya's words with a chuckle.
A/N: That's it for now, finally some Interhigh stuff, I hope it was good enough and that no one was too OOC. I admit I'm not sure how to write Akashi, or if it was okay, I hope so. They don't interact that much in that set up in manga or anime, so I tried. Well...
Let me know what you think and remember, review are appreciated, but never necessary.
S.