A/N: Thanks to everyone who followed, favourited and reviewed! It makes me really happy.
Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
Quarterfinals part II. - Hotel room meetings
Playing with fire doesn't necessarily get you burned. ― Simone Elkeles, Perfect Chemistry
I realise it's going to happen. This girl of my dreams, this girl who is more like me than anyone I've ever met, wants to kiss me. ― Simone Elkeles, Perfect Chemistry
Life would be tragic if it weren't funny. – Stephen Hawking
We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the game. – Randy Pausch
Two things you will never have to chase: True friends & true love. ― Mandy Hale
"And where have you been kidnapped to for this long?" Katsunori asked his god daughter when she finally graced them with her presence; with a slight blush on her cheeks, sparkling eyes and dishevelled hair but no swollen lips – that was a good thing, right? "You know what… I don't want to know."
"Hey!" She defended herself immediately. "Taiga held me up! Am I not allowed to have a good fight with my brother once in a while?!"
"And what was the hot topic this time?" He raised an eyebrow, not really believing this excuse, though it was highly possible too.
"Kouta, what else?" She shrugged. "We'll live with him for three weeks you know."
He turned his eyes towards the heavens. "I'll pray for you."
Aya laughed at that. "Well anyways! Congratulations to you all! It was an unbelievable match!"
"Yeah!" Kano joined her immediately. "I was on the edge of my seat the entire time! You were awesome!"
"Urgh, not you too…" Imayoshi grunted, glancing at the huge loud vice-captain. The exasperation on Imayoshi's face was priceless.
"I bet you panicked there, eh?" She teased him.
"I'd like to apologise to Aomine for that, but… He vanished. Haven't you seen him?~" He asked slyly, not believing her excuse either.
"Might have." She shrugged. "Somewhere in the leaving mass… too many people to chase after him."
Tada chuckled quietly. "She's good at this, captain." He whispered to Imayoshi.
"I hope he won't be scarce till tomorrow… We should discuss the semi final strategy in the evening." The captain frowned.
Her eyebrow shot up. "Discussing a strategy with him? Does he ever listen?"
Tada coughed and laughed at her comment. "Good point."
"Well, we already know that our opponent will be Onita high. I suggest we have a lunch, rest and we can discuss it before dinner. Or, you rest… Satsuki and I will go and watch Yosen's and Rakuzan's quarterfinals."
"Honestly," Satsuki patted her pen against her clipboard, "I don't think we have to… We've seen all the matches till now. We know that Rakuzan and Yosen will win and proceed into semi-finals. The match we need to see will be the semi-final one… Didn't you want to finish the book anyways?" She glanced at Aya with a smile.
"Are you tempting me to ditch my responsibilities?"
"No, but you could rest one afternoon too. And I'll go find Aomine-kun." She'd been postponing this talk long enough.
"All right." She nodded in agreement.
The lunch was very tense. Kise and Aomine skipped it and the room was filled with heavy silence. Kaijo was gloomy, processing their loss, all the while knowing they had to play another two matches to determine their actual rank among the other schools participating in the quarterfinals. Kise was probably not going to play in any of them; he was way too drained and overworked, barely able to stand and Kasamatsu didn't want to risk a serious injury.
And while Touou wanted to discuss the match minute by minute, they respected their opponents and decided to do so after lunch invading the captain's room. The match was something they'd remember for quite some time as the spectacular performance.
The free afternoon was a well earned rest for Aya. She took her reader and headed outside, where the hotel had a big swing where she could relax and finish the book. Once she was done with that, she remained at her well hidden spot she could see quite a lot from and she enjoyed doing nothing.
Aomine walked out and headed in the direction of a convenience store, probably to buy some lunch. Instead of calling out to him, she observed him. The slight worry she'd had before only intensified as she saw him stretching his back and arms, it obviously hurt as he'd let his muscles to stiffen without doing the proper stretches he should've done. His gait was truly off, she hadn't imagined it before, but she couldn't surely say whether it was only a muscle pain or overstrained joints. She hoped for the first option.
I'll have to see him in the evening… She decided. Before she could leave to join Satsuki, Hero discovered her and the two spent some time going over Yosen's match.
Satsuki dragged Aomine to their evening meeting after dinner, this time it took place in Katsunori's room. The teenagers flooded it taking all the free space the room offered. She tried to convey to Aya that she had talked with him about her parents and their past friendship by couple of meaningful glances; it was useless as the two didn't have such a strong bond yet and Aomine didn't let any of that show. Dai-chan was more than okay with the divorce and all, but the only thing he minded was that Satsuki kept it to herself for so long as if he wasn't trusted enough and he didn't like the idea. He had told her so and it made Satsuki feel guilty: she had a file on him and his behavioural patterns as well as all his data, she talked with his mother often (all the which he knew about) and it took her years to tell him about her parents. What an idiot I am… she thought with a sigh and distributed data about their next opponent to everyone. Except Dai-chan, who refused it as per usual.
"Aya-chan." She caught the redhead's elbow when she was about to leave. They were the only ones left in Katsunori's room.
She blinked at the pinkette in surprise. "Yes?" There was a lot on her mind and the entire meeting went above her head. She didn't want to admit it.
"Uhm…" Satsuki fidgeted. "I talked with Aomine-kun…"
Katsunori rolled his eyes. "Should I leave my room?" He asked.
"How mean you can be… We're leaving, don't worry, Katsu." Aya shook her head and pulled Satsuki out and down the hallway to her room. They sat on the bed and Dorian jumped into Aya's lap demanding cuddles and affection. "So? What happened?"
And Satsuki told her.
"I think I disappointed him… I'm such an idiot, I should've told him sooner. Much sooner…" She was playing with the ends of her pink hair. "He isn't exactly angry, but I'm worried. And I can't really go and pester him about his condition now. He'd send me to hell…"
That she could understand but… "What do you mean by 'his condition'?"
She sighed. "I bet you've noticed he's walking rhythm is slightly off, you can see that like I can if not better. He didn't do his stretches I'm certain of it, and well… I don't think he should play any other matches. Just like Ki-chan… They both overdid it today. But he won't listen if I talk to him."
"Can you tell if it's serious?"
"Not really. I didn't ask. If it's only a muscle pain, then it's not so bad, but if it's knees… maybe left elbow… He really shouldn't test his luck further in the competition."
"Well, he isn't needed for the full match tomorrow. But Rakuzan… You can't just tell him 'sit out'. He won't take it."
"I know. Could you uhm… speak to him? He might listen to you…"
Aya sighed. This was peculiar situation. "I guess, but Satsuki, I'll tell him where he stands, I won't tell him to sit out and if he asks me, I'll do what I can to let him play. From a sportsman's point of view, I understand the desire to play more than anything." Especially if it's Aomine who wants to play…
Satsuki frowned. "You've competed with injuries too?"
Aya shrugged. "Sometimes we do stupid things in order to win."
"Please don't let him do anything too stupid, Aya-chan. He's my dear friend, I don't want to see him hurt." She said with a timid smile. There was still a back door, she could always go to the coach and persuade him to force Aomine to sit out. She knew the risks involved in doing that – if discovered – she'd probably cause a huge dispute, but… If it meant she'd keep him safe, she'd do it, even if she had to go behind Aya-chan's back.
"I'll do what I can." The redhead reassured her with a smile.
"Thank you." Satsuki smiled and got up to leave. "Oh, I've seen Mukkun playing with Himuro-kun on the courts. They sure practise vigorously."
Damn it! She swore inwardly. "Yeah, I know."
######
"Melon-chan!" Hero's voice reached her the moment she stepped out of Aya's room. "I was lookin' for ya!"
"Hironaka-chan." She turned around with a forced smile. The small girl wasn't exactly to her liking, especially because of the nickname.
"Oh, drop the fake courtesy. I know ya don't like me. Yet."
"Yet?"
"Well, yeah. Ya don't like what ya don't know. So… Let's chat. I wanna know ya." Hero said with eyes sparkling in curiosity and excitement; there was no mal intention. "And how'd ya grew those." She stared at Satsuki's boobs with deep appreciation, almost worshipping.
The pinkette eek-ed, knowing she wouldn't escape this little girl. She couldn't outrun the girl, she knew that much, injury or not, Hero used to run miles and race like hell itself was at her heels. Yeah, Satsuki had done her research regarding the new and only manager of Yosen.
"I guess I have no choice." She gave in under the unwavering stare of Hero.
"No, ya don't." Hero giggled. "And about Booby-chan and Aomine… I wanna know what's goin' on. Booby-chan didn't tell me a thin', but ya might…" Seeing the distrust and unwillingness in those pink eyes, she added, "if ya wanna hear some Yosen's internal stuff 'bout the Poker face."
Bribery! Satsuki thought and a slightly vile smile settled on her pretty face. Aya-chan taught her well, very well indeed… But I'll have to filter a lot, or I'm really dead.
Hero saw the spark of interest and determination in Satsuki's eyes and she smiled daringly. "Up to ya, Pinky-pie." She decided to drop the previous nickname, as it might've been (like Booby-chan pointed out) a bit rude and offensive despite her good intentions and changed it for something less… wonderful.
Hearing that and sensing the olive branch, Satsuki waved her hand and turned to leave. "Follow me." She said and headed towards her room. She could also go over today's match to see and test just how much had Hero learned in the short time period she'd had and whether she was a possible future threat or not. She wouldn't let this opportunity pass her by.
######
Aya remained laying on the bed and staring into the ceiling for a couple of minutes after Satsuki had left. She sorted out her thoughts. Lots of things had happened since the morning, and she wasn't sure how Aomine would react to another deep talk they needed to have. Then she sighed, there was no way she could plan it out beforehand. She got up and walked down the hallway to Aomine's room. She knocked and walked in.
"Hey, guys." She greeted them, taking in the mess in the room. "Do you know where Daiki is?"
They stared at her in panic for a moment, realising the mess. The redhead surprised them and they weren't used to seeing her with loose hair cascading to her waist. She looked stunning and it was hard not to appreciate the sight.
"Ah… uhm…" Kano broke the silent surprise first. "In the shower…"
She sighed and sat on the edge of the only vacant bed – Aomine's of course. "Then I guess I'll wait."
"Is something wrong?" Naito asked with his brows furrowed.
"Nah, nothing to worry about, I just need to talk with him."
"Uhm… so that we know… Are you two dating or not?" Ishii asked straightforwardly.
"Unfortunately, no." She answered truthfully. "I need to sort out some things first, and then… It'll be up to him to decide, more or less..."
Naito's dark grey eyes stared right at her. "There's a lot of things you aren't telling us, isn't there?" He asked seriously and the atmosphere got heavier.
She appreciated the boy for who he was; quiet but funny, slightly lazy but unbelievably observant and intelligent. She didn't want to lie to them. A half smile formed on her lips and she nodded. "There is."
"We will figure it out eventually." It was a promise.
"Oi, Shouhei…" Kano warned him quietly, he didn't like this atmosphere. It was like two swordsmen evaluating each other before striking.
"Without a doubt you will… and I hope you won't hate me then. For not trusting you enough… and everything else."
"There's no way we'd hate you!" Kano protested loudly.
"You can never know." She shrugged when the bathroom door opened and Aomine walked into the room with a cloud of steam. Half-naked.
He blinked at Aya in surprise; he sure hadn't expected her to be idly sitting on his bed. "Long time no see, Sweetheart." The words rolled off his tongue slowly and he smirked when he noticed how she stared at his bare tanned torso. "Do you need something?"
She noted the hidden innuendo in those words. For dear lords, why is he doing this to me? She thought desperately, unable to take her eyes off of his perfect abs for a moment. Then she remembered how worried Satsuki was and she locked the surge of desire away.
Her eyes travelled up his torso until she met his eyes. "To talk with you."
A sight escaped him, he had an idea what this was about. "Satsuki?" He grabbed his t-shirt and pulled it over his head, wincing slightly as his muscles protested.
"Partly. But I'm not blind either and you out of all people should know it already." She looked at him meaningfully. 'I know you're hurting.'
"Tch… how inconvenient." He muttered. "Come on, I want banana milk." He pointed towards the door and snatched his wallet from his night table.
She followed after him, half believing it was just an excuse to get out of the room, but he truly headed towards the staircase and down to the cafeteria's vending machine. "Banana milk. Really?"
"What?!" He grumbled over his shoulder slightly embarrassed. "I like it."
Aya chuckled and before he could open his wallet to fish out the necessary change, she dug in her back pocket and threw the coins in. "For the mango juice from the other day." She said with a smile and pushed the button for banana milk.
"Heh, I keep forgetting that you're the rich princess." He teased and leaned forward to take out his drink.
She rolled her eyes with a groan. "Shut up." She threw in more coins to get a coffee.
"Why? It's not a bad thing."
"Well… it has its perks, I admit. But it usually creates a barrier between me and the others. And I hate that. I'm not a unicorn."
"No barrier here." With a motion of his hand he pointed at the space between them.
"I'm glad for that." She shrugged and they both opened their beverages.
"So? What kind of speech are you supposed to give me?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
"That's –"
"Good job, Daiki." Akashi's voice was carried towards them through the hallway and the boy emerged from behind a corner. "You stood your ground well. Ryouta exceeded even my expectations in this match." He approached them, glaring down at Aya. "…though it was not without a price."
Daiki's posture tensed a bit and he instinctively took a step forward to half shield Aya. "Yeah." He nodded curtly.
A cold smile settled on Akashi's lips. "But you should be careful too. Overstretched strings tend to snap. Would you not agree, Aya?" The warning sounded ominous.
"I don't see what your point is, Seijuurou." She answered levelly.
"I see everything. I can predict your movement. Why are you so tense, Daiki? And did you hurt your feet again, Aya? Is that why are you not dancing these days?" He chuckled. "I am always right, after all."
"That's none of your business." Aomine growled at the captain.
The mismatched eyes snapped at him like a whiplash. "Watch your tone when speaking to me, Daiki. If you decide to play in the finals, I will have to make you kneel in front of me."
The tanned ace sneered. "Let's see you try."
"Just like Atsushi." He laughed. "Oh, I like that determination and how it changes into fear."
"What?" Aya asked in surprise. "What did you do to Atsushi?" Hot white anger bubbled in her veins. She felt a strange need to protect the giant like a little brother.
"Nothing, I simply showed a misbehaving dog its place." The tone which he used made a chill ran down their spines. "And I recommend you to watch your actions too, Aya. You would not scrape up for the second time. I am not the friend you used to have." He shifted his weight in sign he was about to leave.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't underestimate me. But I'm taking the warning into consideration. One thing though, Seijuurou."
"Yes?" He raised an eyebrow curiously.
"If you hurt my brother, I'll destroy you." She said icily, and honestly, she meant the threat seriously. It surprised her too, she had no idea she'd threaten Seijuurou, ever.
"…keep the dog on the leash then and do not allow him to stick his nose into my business."
Her lips curled upwards and a low growl rumbled in her chest. "You're not worth his compassion. Don't worry. I'll keep him on the leash in the summer, but the Winter cup…"
"He will never be strong enough."
"He will. I promise you that, Akashi." She said dead serious and this time, it was Akashi who felt the chills. She didn't use his name. "Let's go." She pulled Aomine's elbow to leave first, she wouldn't give Akashi the satisfaction.
######
"I'm starting to hate him." She groaned when she slammed the door of her room behind her.
"What the hell was the meaning of that?! Why is he threatening you?"
"I don't know!" She threw her arms in a desperate gesture. "I really don't. Whether he means it, or whether it's just big talk... But I sure as hell won't let him have his way."
"How did you even become friends?"
She shrugged. "Dancing camp, Akashi's father has always been savage, what do I tell you… And then… similar backgrounds. You know, dead mothers, demanding fathers, money and power… The world is a small place. But that… That is not the boy who was forced to learn to dance with me and who stepped on my feet so much. I don't know what he's become but it creeps me out. Dammit!" She swore and had to fight the urge to smoke.
He made a grimace. "Tch. Suddenly, I'm glad I don't know him all that well…"
"But you do respect him, don't you?"
"He is an awesome player. A perfect point guard, I give him that much. Was a good leader too… It's the first time I've heard him actually threaten someone like that." There was a question she wanted to ask, so he took the initiative. "And no, I have no idea what happened between him and Murasakibara."
Aya pinched the bridge of her nose, took a deep breath and then exhaled sharply. "Whatever. I didn't want to talk about Akashi but you."
He grunted and slumped onto her bed, some part of him hoped she'd forget and it wouldn't come to this. Whatever… He rudely sprawled on his back annexing the entire bed and observed the ceiling. "I'm listening."
"You're hurt, right?"
"Because Akashi said it?"
"No, because your walking rhythm is off and I bet your didn't do your stretches–"
"I don't need that." He retorted.
She sighed; he could be annoying. "Look, if you tell me what's wrong I might help. I'm not your enemy, I want you to play against Akashi and make him eat his words, but I don't want to see you injured. Don't you get it?" She said and rather sat on the chair. "The last thing anyone wants is you ending up with a serious injury; especially if it's knees."
"This is Satsuki's doing, isn't it?" He pried in suspicion. Was he so bad at hiding that his entire body was hurting?
"No, I would've gone to fetch you myself. Even without her knowing, so… It has nothing to do with Satsuki. And if Kise's hurt… All the more reasons to check up on you too, you did the same crazy things he did."
"Kise's hurt, huh?" He ran his fingers through his short hair, thinking when the blonde might've injured himself and then he blinked. "Oh… When the ball circled and almost bounced out of the hoop in the fourth quarter?"
She raised an eyebrow at that. "You even remember the exact moment?"
He shrugged. He remembered the whole match, second by second… "He stepped weirdly and barely managed to throw it. I was surprised he didn't miss completely."
Is he trying to distract me? "Okay, so… Is it only a muscle pain, or do your knees hurt?" She asked.
He turned his head to a side to look at her and sighed. "I don't really know. I guess a muscle pain only, but it's a funny feeling… Like… Uhm… you want to stretch your knees but you can't stretch them enough? And stairs are hell…" Explanations weren't his forte.
She stared at him for a moment, she could relate to what he described. "It's not that bad then. You just overexerted yourself." Thank god. "But you should really reconsider if you play tomorrow."
"Onita might cause problems if I don't." He muttered. He had seen one of their matches; Touou would probably manage without him too, but not without some struggle. And he truly wanted to play against Akashi; he needed to make sure they passed the semi-finals.
"Try not to play for more than ten minutes then. You need to rest as much as you can now."
He nodded thoughtfully. "That should work."
"And the elbow?" She glanced at his left arm.
"Huh?" He raised it and flexed his forearm. "Seems fine to me." He said, though it felt just as weird as his knees. "So? What can you actually do with it?" He asked half-mockingly.
"I'm actually quite good at sport's massages." She shrugged nonchalantly. "You are in need of one, since you're too good to do your stretches apparently. It eases the pain and strain."
"Huh?" He was dumbfounded.
"A massage." She rolled her eyes. "Do I need to spell it?"
"Uhm… no… but…"
Her eyebrow shot up and she smirked. "You mind me touching you?"
"No!" He exclaimed way too quickly. When he realised it he blushed furiously, hiding his face with his palm. "Er… Well…"
Aya chuckled. "You've never had a massage, is that it?"
"…that too…" He mumbled, but he wasn't sure his heart would survive her hands all over him. And even if it did, this would be super awkward for him as he wasn't sure he wouldn't get a hard on at some point. Not that he would tell her that.
"It's not as pleasant as you might think and it might actually hurt a bit too. But I guarantee it will help. And I'll try not to torture you as you have a match to play tomorrow, just enough to relieve the stress."
He was considering his options and he definitely didn't want the coach to notice anything. If Aya and Satsuki had noticed, it was only a matter of time until Harasawa would too. And then again… Aya touching him… How often was there an offer like this?
"Have you done it before?" He asked suspiciously.
"Doubting me? Don't worry, I actually have credentials for it – I don't know why I decided to take those courses, but I thought it might come in handy at some point. Taiga and Ray were my guinea pigs back then. And if they aren't crippled and my brother doesn't complain anymore… It's safe to trust me with this."
"A witch of many spells?" He teased her.
She chuckled at his choice of words. "Oh, you don't wanna know, Honey-bun. Come on, off the bed."
He crawled into a sitting position and frowned in thought. "What am I supposed to do exactly?"
"You? Nothing much. But… I'd need you to undress into your underwear." It was actually harder to demand than she had thought and she bit her lower lip. Dammit! Don't you get all excited, stupid! You see them in the changing room all the time… But she quickly continued with the further explanation of what exactly was she about to do to him, hiding her own embarrassment. Clearing that no, he wouldn't be idly sprawled on the soft bed, where she could barely reach the spots she needed to and which didn't provide enough support. And since they had no proper table, they'd have to use the floor. She also offered him to choose if he wanted to use one of the essential oils she brought with her – and which served as pain and strain relievers, or not.
When he knew what was going to happen to him, it was much easier to agree. He wasn't sure about the oil stuff, as it would totally dirty the t-shirt and shorts he had, but oh whatever… His roommates could go and envy him, or wonder what had happened to him. He wasn't sure he'd tell them anyways, but Naito seemed to notice about everything. There was a simple problem however…
"One catch though…" He noted, and the more he thought about it, the more his cheeks heated up. The hell, he could tell her that…
"What is it?" She asked, looking up at him from a blanket she just spread on the ground.
"…Weeelll… A-about… the underwear part…" He thought he'd die of mortification and he bet the problem was written all over his face.
"Oh…" She blushed too, mirroring his expression. "…You…" She took a breath to calm down and cleared her throat. "You going commando?" She blurted out to confirm her suspicion.
No way could he look her in the eye after that direct question. "Mhm…" He hummed, staring anywhere but her, trying to calm down his stupid heart. "But to my defence!" He blurted out quickly, glancing at her carefully. "I had no idea you'd pull me out of the room!"
She raised her hands in 'I-don't-care' gesture. "Whatever. Roll up the shorts then…" She said still blushing.
"Right..." He could go back to his room to take it, but she wasn't thinking about that and he didn't want the boys to know what was going on or there'd be a line in front of Aya's room and he hated the idea.
She got up to find a hair tie, turning her back to him. She had to hide the giddy smile, which settled on her face. It was his fault for being so damn cute. But she had to compartmentalise if she was supposed to do a proper work with this. That meant trying not to think it was Daiki under her hands. She whipped around tying her hair into a loose braid. He was already shirtless once again.
"Oh well then… Let's get started…" She nodded, ignoring his initial discomfort. If she wanted him to be okay and relaxed, she shouldn't give out uneasy or restless and definitely not desirous waves either.
She started with his legs, as those were the main problem. After a few tight knots in his calves she worked through, he figured it wasn't as pleasant as he'd originally imagined. But she definitely knew what she was doing. And she had more strength in her arms then he'd expected.
She worked her way to his back, where she appreciated the musculature and the smooth, darker skin. The purpose she had prevented her from enjoying this, but in the back of her mind she was storing the feeling of his skin under her fingers into her memory. There was a spot, which made him groan in pain as she pressed it, but she knew how to get rid of it properly. Then, for a better distribution of her strength, she straddled him.
"What are you doing?" He turned his head, trying to look at her over his shoulder.
"I don't want to slip and accidentally hurt you so bear with it for a moment, please."
He gritted his teeth at the matter-of-factly response. The calm silence settled over them again. The fact that she slipped into her 'working' mode, he didn't really mind. He knew he shouldn't be enjoying it, but that was not possible, when Kagami Aya, the girl he loved and so wanted was straddling him. He was facing the floor, but whatever… Her hands running up and down his back were pleasant, even though they caused him pain whenever they discovered some knot – or whatever, she had explained but he was only half listening to the physiological crap. As long as it worked, he didn't care what she did to him. Her hands are getting calloused… He thought with a frown; the side effect of playing basketball with them. Still, the situation was getting dangerous for him, even if she wasn't taking it in hot and steamy way; he couldn't help himself, not really. Aya touching him was all he could think about.
"Talk to me." He said with a slightly deeper voice.
"Huh?" She blinked at the back of his head. "What about?"
"Anything. Distract me…"
"Why do I– Oh." She was inwardly cursing herself; she was the one who had had a boyfriend, she should've known better. "Any preference for the topic?"
"Uuuh… the book you read? Tell me about it."
And so she did, though the book did have a sexual underplay, it definitely wasn't a pleasant and enjoyable one. It actually killed the mood pretty efficiently. And he was glad to have chosen the topic as it saved him from an utmost mortification of his life.
When she allowed him to sit up and worked on his arms, and elbows some more, it was much better. He could observe her focused expression and the small crease forming on her forehead as she was immersed in her activity.
He glanced at her taped feet and remembered what Akashi had said before. The taping itself was not unusual for her, but there was something underneath, a bandage or a cloth, he wasn't sure. And she truly didn't dance these days. He frowned at that, not that he fully knew her schedules.
"So…" He started to break off the silence once again. "Are your feet really hurt?"
"Huh?" She blinked at the taping and chuckled. "Not really, just a couple of torn bloody blisters. I assumed I wouldn't have time to practise here, so I spent the weekend practising nonstop in a pair of new shoes. It doesn't hurt per se, I'm used to it."
"Can I see?" He asked curiously.
"No. It'd creep you out." She said curtly, not meeting his eyes.
Taking care of her feet was a daily routine of hers. There were no deformations and she took proper care of the skin too, but blisters and calloused skin were unavoidable, broken nails too sometimes. A bloodied area beneath the peeled-off skin was plainly disgusting and she definitely wouldn't show that to Daiki. Not in a million years.
They went silent again. It was a cosy silence, pleasant. They both simply enjoyed the presence of the other.
It lured a small smile on her lips and she thought back to what she'd discussed with Kise the other day. But was Daiki really that into her? It would be funny if she was imagining it all. But was she? He was the one who hugged her first, who managed her nightmares, who was there... Love, or friendship? There wasn't a clear line, not really.
"Ne?" She asked and let go of his arm.
The massage was done, he realised. She wiped her oily hands into her t-shirt and folded them over her laps. She didn't look at him. There was something she probably wanted to ask but for some reason she was hesitating.
"Hm?" He prompted her, and his heart almost skipped a beat. Kagami Aya was hesitating… Unreal. And then he remembered the talk she'd had with Kise.
"Um… Why…" She fiddled her fingers. "Why did you … hug me today?" It was on her mind the entire afternoon.
He was taken aback by the question. Why did he do it indeed? He wasn't sure. After that match he was… feeling vulnerable, incomplete in a way and dead exhausted. But… None of that explained his actions. He simply… needed to feel her close.
"I guess… I…" He chewed on his lip, not daring to look at her and not sure what to say. Fuck this… "I needed it." Honesty was probably the best choice; he was a bad liar after all.
She blinked at him, meeting his stormy eyes. His skin tone couldn't really hide his blush. She didn't have Daiki as someone who was… cuddly… It surprised her.
Judging by her expression he wasn't sure if she was annoyed or not. Back then she'd laughed and it looked like she didn't mind but… "I wasn't thinking clearly… I just… you said hugs were okay, but… errr…"
"Don't." She covered his lips with her fingers, shutting him up. "Don't you dare apologise."
His eyes widened at the intimacy of that soft butterfly touch. He didn't dare to move a muscle, let alone speak.
"If…" She continued, keeping her hand steadily at place. She could feel his breath tickling against the tips of her fingers. "… If it was Satsuki there and not me… would you…" Would you hug her like that too? She didn't have the guts to finish the question, yet she wanted to know the answer.
He blinked at the redhead. Was she jealous? So she had insecurities like anyone else. He could almost read the question in those reddish orbs. Under the artificial lights of the room, her eyes looked more brown than the usual fiery red/reddish colour he knew. The colour shift was interesting in its own way.
A barely audible chuckle rumbled in his chest. "…no…" His lips moved against her fingers. "If it had been Satsuki… or anyone else… I would've run in the opposite direction…" He said truthfully. A gentle smile graced his lips even though he felt embarrassed by saying that out loud. It was basically a confession, as if he said: 'I don't want to hug anyone else but you.'
For a moment she kept staring at him and a relieved sigh escaped her as a smile tilted the corners of her lips upwards. Without thinking she rested her forehead against his and closed her eyes. Deep down, she didn't want to wait the entire summer holiday till she'd finally be able to be that close for real. Without the need to hide it.
I'm an idiot! Jealous of Satsuki? What a terrible friend I am… She thought.
She was damn close. Daiki's heart jumped into his throat. Because it was the first, or maybe the second time, she had approached him. So far it was usually him pushing his luck and acting on an impulse. Now it seemed, the tables turned.
He encircled her fingers with his, pulling her hand away from his lips. Her eyes opened and she pulled away a bit, just enough for her eyes to actually see him. There was not a hinge of refusal or control. All he could see was desire and something so very gentle and soft.
Suddenly, he felt lost, like a child that wandered too far from his parents. The only thing he could do was follow his gut feeling. No one had ever prepared him for this situation. He hadn't expected it any time soon after all. And it was real.
He glanced at her lips and a breath caught in his throat. How could people survive through their first kiss? The anticipation was killing him.
The air seemed to crackle around them. Oh, fuck this. She thought as she leaned closer to erase the space separating their lips.
Their noses brushed –
KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK
"Ayacchi!"
They both startled, bumping their heads and then quickly jumping away from one another. This was awkward. They were blushing terribly, fully aware of the situation and those few millimetres, milliseconds which had prevented them from kissing.
And then, there was the interruption. Still knocking on the door demanding attention.
Aya rubbed her hit forehead and when their wide, freaked out eyes of roe deer met she started laughing. "Well, that went smoothly." She commented, licking her lips in disappointment. But it lightened the atmosphere.
Daiki rubbed his hit eyebrow too, hiding his face in his palm. "I'm killing him." He growled dangerously, knowing there probably wouldn't be another chance like this to finally settle things with Aya: a.k.a., kissing her and finally getting her to date him, anytime soon.
"Not here, please. Getting rid of blood is no fun." She shook her head, biting back her laughter. "Let's see what he wants."
"Tch. Ignore him." At least he could recover quickly.
"Yes, yes! I hear you!" She pulled the door open almost violently. "No need to tear down the door, Model-kun."
His golden orbs blinked at her, taking in her appearance: simple t-shirt, short shorts, hasty braid, slightly flushed cheeks and burning eyes. Oh, how those eyes burned with love, desire and annoyance. He was speechless.
"What's up? Who's dying?" She asked him, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms when the model didn't seem willing to talk.
"Ah… um… Did I interrupt something?"
She gave him a frustrated look and moved aside, letting him into the room. "Better get in before Katsunori comes to see what's up. And you'd better keep your voice at least a bit down." Who knows, maybe you did a good thing…
"Oh, right, sorry." He muttered and slipped around her into the room, where he was greeted with a very hostile glare of two stormy eyes of his best friend: currently half naked with his tanned skin glistering from oil and apparently very angry. "Aominecchi…" He breathed out. "I guess I'll go." He blurted out and turned around. Aomine was literally the last person on the planet he wanted to see or interrupt. However, in his abrupt turn his foot protested. He hissed in pain and bumped into Aya full weight.
Unable to balance out Kise's 189 centimetres and full 77 kilograms, she fell backwards, basically cushioning the blonde's landing. His knee pinched a skin at the inner side of her thigh against the floor making her yelp sharply. He hit his forehead against her shoulder and they became a tangled mess.
After a few seconds of shocked silence…
"You're fucking kidding me." She groaned underneath the blonde. The vocabulary was the last thing she cared about.
The blonde gasped, crawling off of her. "I'm so, so, so sorry, Ayacchi! I didn't mean to...!" He held his hands in defensive gesture in front of him. "You too, Aominecchi. I didn't mean to interrupt. Oh god! I'm so sorry! I should go."
"Okay, okay, okay." Aya hushed him. "Shut it. I get it. Give me a minute to collect myself, okay? You were like a battering ram." She clicked her tongue staring at the deep purple bruise quickly forming on the spot Kise unintentionally abused with his knee.
"Oh my god! Did I do that?!" He exclaimed in panicky voice, staring at the big bruise with wide eyes.
"Congratulations, genius." Aomine bit sharply, staring at the bruise with worry in his eyes.
Kise snapped his eyes at the bluenette angrily. He'd just lost to him. "Go to hell. I wasn't talking to you."
Aya rolled her eyes glaring at both of them. "Stop it. Both of you. If you wanna argue do it elsewhere."
"Yes…" They muttered in unison.
"Is that gonna be okay, Ayacchi?"
"Eventually. Some minor blood vessel must've been broken." She observed the slightly swelling bruise with a frown for a moment. It hurt like a bitch. Then she shrugged and looked at Kise who was close to hyperventilating. "Guess I've had worse."
"I'm really, really sorry. I just…" He looked into the ground guiltily. "I need your help."
"You wouldn't be the kiss stopper otherwise, would you?" She mocked him with a raised eyebrow.
Daiki turned away from the blonde, who was now staring at his two friends. "So you didn't… you weren't…" He stammered and then he smirked. "Well, I see you didn't win everything, Aominecchi." He said viciously. It was petty, but he enjoyed this misfortune he'd unintentionally caused.
"You –" Daiki growled, his muscle tensing.
Aya glancing at the two quickly jumped between them, facing Aomine. "Hey!"
Daiki blinked at her, she just barely stopped him from punching the blonde; she had probably no idea. That comment enraged him to no ends. The best friend or not…
"I get you two had a very… heated and eventful match. But stop it. Please." All the previous mood went down the drain and she was actually scared, that if the two decided to have a real all out fight, she wouldn't be able to stop them on her own. They both did jiu jitsu after all. A chill ran down her spine.
Noticing the fear in her eyes Daiki buckled back. He didn't want to scare her. He was angry, infuriated, disappointed, but he didn't want her to be scared of him for something as impulsive as breaking Kise's nose. But oh how he would've enjoyed that.
'Thank you.' Her eyes told him and she exhaled in relief.
Then she turned towards Kise, who was rubbing his sore forehead – Ayacchi sure had hard shoulders. "What do you need me to help you with?"
"I don't want him to know." He glanced at Daiki and pouted.
"Well, I ain't leaving you here alone with her." Aomine grumbled. It was a stalemate situation.
"They'll be the death of mine one day." She muttered under her breath, reaching her hands towards the heavens in a praying gesture. Then she looked back at their confused faces and turned to Kise. "Daiki isn't leaving. I need the oil to sink into his skin as much as possible. So either you need my help or you don't." Her eyes narrowed at his left foot. "And judging by your inability to keep balance earlier…"
Kise chewed on his lower lip glaring at his foot. "Teach me how to tape it properly."
"What?!"
"Every video I found doesn't show it wholly. I can't copy it. And I need to play tomorrow. So… Teach me how to tape it."
She was dumbfounded. "… I need to see it first."
He made a vague gesture with his hand towards his foot. "Suit yourself."
"You take off your slipper and the sock yourself." She commanded. "I'm your friend, not a maid. Don't forget that."
"Ah… Sorry." He grumbled, feeling a dam of his emotions opening up. "I'm just… It was all my fault." He mumbled, ignoring Aominecchi the best he could. The treacherous tears were stinging in his eyes again and he lowered his head, letting his fringe to cover his eyes so Ayacchi wouldn't notice. "My fault… and no one… not one of them said a thing. No one blames me! Can you… I don't… It's all my fault!" He leaned forward, took off his slipper and threw it against the wall near the door.
The violent gesture made her lean back from him. But then she sighed in compassion and rested her hand on top of his head. "Would it help if they blamed you?"
"No…" He sniffled a bit, keeping his head hung down. "I'm pathetic."
She wasn't sure what she could tell him. There wasn't much, not really. "You'll win next time." She said with a kind smile, switching into a big sister mode. "Let's see the disloyal, devilish foot that causes you troubles, 'kay?"
Her voice was warm and soothing, he chuckled and nodded.
When he took off the sock and rolled up his long pants to reveal his left ankle she gasped. The ankle was swollen and bruised, so was his foot. When she gently touched it, he winced.
"How can you even consider playing on that?" She asked.
"I have to."
"No." She ran her fingers all over his foot, pressing some points, luring some yelps of pain. "I'm surprised you can step on it."
"It's not broken."
"That's not necessarily true…" She shook her head and got up. "I'll need some ice for that. You two." She glanced at them in warning. "Don't fight," she ordered them. But when she reached the door, she whipped around. "You know what? Don't move and don't talk until I'm back. Understood?" She asked firmly and waited for both of them to nod. "Good."
When the door closed, Daiki shifted so he could peek at Kise's foot. "Tch." He curled his lips in distaste. So this was the price for the perfect copy? Fuck!
"She said not to move." Kise muttered.
"I'm –"
"Don't." Kise growled. "You didn't touch my foot, so don't. I know it wasn't your intention. It wasn't mine either." He chuckled desperately. "Guess that was the price for copying you. And I would gladly pay it again."
The blonde was hurt by Aomine's words, by his inability to win. But… Rivalry and friendship were balancing on the tip of a knife and he was actually curious which one would prevail in the end. He already knew which one he'd chose.
"Tch." Daiki was frowning deeply. Just how much turbulent could one day be for him? He really didn't dream of Kise getting hurt like this. He didn't dream of being that close to kissing the girl he loved. He didn't dream of this whole weird situation. Yet, here he was. All that's missing is the ex… He thought bitterly.
######
"Uhm… So where do you think he is?" Kano asked everyone in the room, when Aomine hadn't returned for a good hour. "This is way to long for 'buying banana milk'."
"Where do you think?" Naito raised his eyes from the book he was reading. "With Aya of course. Hopefully, talking. Preferably for them, making out."
A horrified expression settled on Kano's face. "What? No!"
"Sorry Hideki, you might idolise the girl, but they are in love. And they're human." He said in a bored voice, stating the facts. "Of course they want to make out! I'm surprised they're keeping in check in front of everyone else. But I'm glad for that. I certainly don't wish to be a witness."
"Why don't we go and check then?"
Ishii rolled his eyes. "Seriously, don't. One of them will kill you if," he shot a meaningful look to Naito, "they're at something. But I doubt that. Aomine did tire himself out too much to handle any action –"
"I think you're underestimating his stamina given the case." Naito interrupted again.
"And you will shut your mouth momentarily." He shook his head still looking at poor Kano, who was way too innocent for his own good. "I'm sure they are talking –"
"With their tongues tangled." No, Naito couldn't keep his mouth shut, which only led to Ishii grabbing a slipper and throwing it at him. "Oh… You missed." The boy stared at the shoe 15 centimetres from his head lazily, then he looked at Ishii smirked. But the second shoe was already flying his way, this time finding its mark. "Urgh." He groaned as his nose started bleeding again.
"Huh." Ishii stared at his hand. "I'm nowhere near Aomine's level, but I might get good at this." He praised himself.
"Not even close." Covering his nose, Naito headed to the bathroom.
He clapped his hands. "Okay, now with the interruption gone –"
"I can hear you!"
The key from the bathroom door was snatched, the door was closed and Ishii locked Naito in with a content smile on his face. "Finally gone." A bang on the door. "Let's turn the light off, shall we? Or will you be silent for a moment?" Nothing, Naito hated a complete darkness, he feared it and so the threat worked.
"You're savage." Kano muttered, staring at his best friend with wide eyes. Ishii had this kind of nature when truly pissed off, and well, Naito had it coming.
"Someone needs to keep you two in check, right?"
"Yeah… But you're scaring Sakurai." He pointed a finger at their profoundly terrified and surprised (but more terrified) roommate.
"Oh, Sorry Sakurai-kun. Can you deal with us?"
"Ah… Sorry." The boy blinked retreating further away on his bed. "I haven't seen or heard anything." His voice trembled slightly. "Sorry."
"See? You broke him again?" Kano commented in rather Naito-like style and laughter was heard from the bathroom.
Ishii glared at his childhood friend and smiled pleasantly. But it was a scary smile of a "good" man handing candy to children while luring them into his car to kidnap them. Naito and Kano feared this smile for their dear lives, because once that came out, they usually had to run for their lives.
"Okay, Sakurai… Now listen." Kano turned to him grimly. "When I tell you, run for your dear life and don't look back. You hear me?"
"Urgh! For dear lords, don't listen to the idiot!" Ishii groaned. "I have no reason to hurt you. I'll kill only the two of them."
"Uhm... Sorry… but that's not a very good idea, considering Aya-chan is their friend?" Sakurai peeped carefully. When Ishii glared at him, he raised his arms in defensive gesture. "I'm sorry. Sorry! Please forgive my rudeness, Ishii-san."
" –san?" All three of them burst out laughing; the initial quarrel forgotten.
"Sakurai, seriously, no need to overdo it with honorifics."
"Can you let me out?" Naito demanded.
"No."
"Coach might come for a patrol you know?"
"There's still enough time. A good half an hour at least." Ishii said contently. "Oh but… If Aomine isn't here when the coach patrols… what are we gonna do?"
"Uhm… stuff his bed with clothes or something and claim he's sleeping?" Kano said almost immediately. "Daiki did it when I sneaked out to buy snacks few weeks back… Mom bought it."
"That's actually a good idea."
"Yeah, I'm surprised it came from you!" The voice from the bathroom echoed.
"Turn off the light."
######
"Where's Kise?" Kasamatsu asked his roommates when he saw Kise's bed vacant. He went away only to buy some snacks for everyone and now the blonde was gone.
Moriyama shrugged. "I don't know."
Captain's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "He bribed you, didn't he?"
"Might have." The boy shrugged smoothly. "Still not saying."
######
Aya returned carrying a pack of ice and a clean towel. "You moved." She pointed an accusatory finger at Aomine. "But I'm glad you aren't fighting." She smiled at them. Kneeling down, she wrapped the ice around Kise's terribly looking ankle.
"What did you mean by 'not necessarily true'?" Kise asked. He was a bit creeped out by that answer. He couldn't afford a broken bone.
"Did you cool it right after the match?"
"Uh… no. I was too tired." He mumbled.
"Well… A foot and ankle are an incredibly complex mechanism, Model-kun. There are 26 bones, 33 joints, 107 ligaments and 19 muscles. It might be a minor sprain and the swelling might subside in a few hours, or you might've damaged it much more severely. I don't see what happened inside. While I think that nothing's broken, there might be a small crack somewhere or there might be ligament damage."
He paled and gulped. "How do you know all that?"
"I'm a dancer, but more than that, I'm an idiot. I've had cracks in at least 8 of those 26 bones already in each foot. Broken toes couple of times… So… I kinda did my research." She chuckled at his horrified expression. "It'll cool off, I'll use a swell relieving ointment and I'll tape it for you. You can watch and copy. There should be nothing broken. But," she stared right into his eyes seriously, "you need to promise me you won't play and you'll visit a doctor immediately when you get home."
The frown on his face was deep. It was the first time she'd seen the model to frown like that. "…Fine…" He agreed through his gritted teeth. "Promise."
She sighed in relief. "If I see you wearing your jersey, I'm telling Kasamatsu-senpai."
"I mean it! I swear! I promise!"
She grinned. "That sounded much more convincing."
After a couple of minutes spent in silence, she took off the ice. The swelling was receding a bit, which was good news. She found the ointment she wanted and she started to gently rub it into Kise's ankle and foot.
"Ne?" He asked curiously. "You said you broke your toes and all… Was it like… over practising? Or…?"
"Ah, well… Sometimes. I broke the big toe doing a pirouette as well as kicking a metal chair – to my defence it looked light enough… Broken pinky toe is not even considered an issue… Then I had a horse stomp on my foot twice in a row, quite a vicious animal that one was. Or just… you know coincidences."
"A horse?"
"A horse." She nodded surreptitiously. "Not mine. Akashi's… The animal apparently never liked me."
"He has a horse?!" Kise shouted in surprise.
"Yeah."
"And you?"
"Eh… In France, I guess…" She admitted grumpily, not wanting to think about the beautiful soul she saw only once in a while. "It was uncle's idea seven years ago… And I'm a neglecting owner."
"Ah… rich folks…" Kise laughed almost madly.
"Sorry?" She shrugged.
Her phone rang.
"Who is it?" She asked Daiki, who was the closest to the small table and the phone.
"Uh… Suzume – person."
She glanced at her hands covered with the ointment and dirty. "Pick it up! And put her on the speaker."
He did as he was told, placing the phone on the ground close to Aya. She opened her mouth to greet the girl, but she didn't get that far as the voice on the other end filled the room immediately.
"You wouldn't believe this shit! Urgh! I won't be here on Sunday! My dear mother overheard me talking with grandma about you coming over to deliver the cat. Haha. You can't imagine the scene! We are leaving tomorrow morning by car. CAR! And guess who's driving?! Huh? She is! I've never been so furious and frightened in my life!" A sound of something slamming could've been heard. "Fuck! I hate her Aya!" Another hit-slam echoed through wherever Suzume was at.
The boys were flabbergasted by the outburst without any greetings. The words just spilled out of the other girl's mouth like an avalanche of uncontrolled emotions.
Aya was blinking at the phone, her palms frozen on Kise's foot. "Whoah, there. Love, cool off. It's the first time I heard you use the words shit, and fuck."
"Oh, stop it. How could you get it?! Your mother's been six feet under for years!"
"Yes. that's right." Aya agreed icily.
"…Dammit… I'm sorry." The girl swore guiltily and apologised. "It's just so unfair! She sees you two as the bad influence! Like it was the two of you who forced me to have a boyfriend, who forced me to take in the cat, who forced me to pick up volley…"
"Hah… with all due respect to your mother… You started volley before you met us. And I had no idea about Tooru-senpai for a good three months, not even about your crush. And the cat well… Taiga might've been persuasive." She smiled at the end. "I don't mind telling her that myself."
"Urgh." It was audible that the girl sat on the ground; apparently she had her speaker on too. "It's just… I'm so, so sorry! I wanted to see you both so much! And now it's–"
"You'll see us in the camp, no worries–"
"I bet you re-routed your planned trip to France because of me, and now it'll take longer and you'll have less time to be with your grandparents and cousins and all… the two babies you've send me… Dammit! Why do I even have to listen to her? Why does father?! I don't get it, Aya! And that woman drowned Marshmallow…" The girl's emotions were all over the place, changing, shifting.
"Shhhh… It's gonna be all right. I'll gladly meet with Saeru-san and Naoto-san. Taiga too. We'll make sure that Dorian is in their hands. You just take care of yourself, 'kay? You need to go with her now, so you can get rid of that stigma."
"Heh… yeah… I can't believe they got her to officially give me up and disinherit me. I thought the damn family of hers would eat me alive, limb by limb." The voice was bitter. "Wait… am I… on the speaker too?"
"Well yeah…"
"Damn. I bet someone else is in the room with you then, right?" The girl chuckled hysterically. "I guess I didn't give you the space to warn me…"
"It's just Daiki and Kise – the Model-kun. It's fine. If it was Tatsuya I would've warned you. Sorry, I didn't want you to close up again."
There was a moment of dead silence, until the girl took a deep breath. "Sorry guys. I'm… soon to be Moriyama Suzume, the idiot's best friend. And no worries, I'm usually not this crazy, but… Well… She's my cushion and lightning rod. If anyone else said that about Robin's mom… well… they'd be dead."
"Hey." Both boys greeted her. "This is a bit awkward…" Kise noted, "but, uhm, is there a possibility we'd actually meet sometime? You know… so we can connect the… that… with a person?"
Suzume laughed heartily. "I really hope not. I'm embarrassed by my outburst now. I guess you're the Model-kun? Kise Ryouta-kun, right?" The girl changed her behaviour almost immediately.
"Yeah." The blonde nodded, that was one interesting person on the other end. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you." She chuckled. "I guess I won't hear much from Aomine then… But so you know, boy… If you hurt Robin, you'll answer to me."
"Hey!" Aya bristled and Daiki shot her a very curious look. "That's enough, Suzu."
"Hai, hai… So…"
"We won't see each other on Sunday." Aya said and chills ran down her spine again. Why was she so restless whenever she thought about Suzume? If it was some sort of a premonition she hoped it would disappear quickly.
"I have a bad feeling about this." Suzume muttered, ignoring the boys once again. It was easy to imagine Aya was alone when they were talking over the phone.
"What do you mean?"
"It's not the book related… But… mother… she doesn't like when someone disagrees, or when she has to step down. Giving me up, giving the custody to father and grandparents only, by allowing me to take father's family name… While they are not divorcing… Something just doesn't bode well. Like I told you, the calm before the storm…"
Aya paled. There it was again, as if they had a string connecting them in weird ways. "She did make a scene, didn't she? I bet it wasn't quiet." She tried to joke it away.
"Just how long do you think we know each other? I see through you, Robin. You're feeling uneasy too, aren't you?"
She bit her lip. Yes, Suzume saw right through her whenever the girl wanted. "…it'll be alright."
"You want it to be alright."
Suzume was right. She was worried beyond herself, because after hearing all that rant, she felt like there was a heavy ominous cloud hanging in the air. And she wouldn't lie… "… Yeah… I want it to be alright, and so it will. I want you to be safe and finally happy and annoy me to no end. That's what I want."
"But you don't really believe it, for one reason or another… Well, never mind. I know you'll worry even if tell you not to, and I'll worry even if you tell me not to. We won't figure it out, until something happens. Then we'll know, like 'ah, that was it'."
"I guess." Aya shrugged, it made sense. "When are you leaving?"
"10 AM. Three or four hours by car. I'm taking headphones and a book."
"Let me know when you get to Sendai, 'kay?"
Suzume snorted. "Yes, mom. I'll let you know. Oh, and… about the camp… the competition at the end?"
That question made Aya feel a bit better. "What about it? Oh…" If Suzume could see through Aya, it went the other way too. "No, no, no. I'm not helping you."
"Ayaaa! There's no way, no way, we can come up with a good choreography on our own. We're not dancers! Come on! He's a basketball freak and I'm a volleyball freak. That quest is impossible for us to achieve."
"I want you to try, Love."
"I'll pester you till you give in."
"You're free to try."
"We have no chance to win anything…"
"I can forfeit if you ask me to."
"Oh, don't you dare! If the best one steps down just to make us, normal mundanes, happy and give us a chance to win, who are we supposed to chase after then, huh? And besides, Love," she giggled contently, "you have one disadvantage now."
Aya raised an eyebrow at that. "Which is?" Good that Suzume was finding distractions from her peculiar situation.
"You don't have your sexy half-russian by your side anymore."
That made Aya burst out laughing. "That was a good one." She wiped the corners of her eyes. "Don't tell me you find him sexy… out of all the words you could've used."
"Well yeah, but he's too short and too combustible. But sexy nonetheless. I can appreciate that much. And he could lead you without much trouble. Don't forget that. You have a disadvantage." She concluded definitively.
"We'll see about that."
"True, true. Suzume! Where the hell have you disappeared to! I was worried when I didn't find you in the room! And here you are! Hiding in the gym!" Another voice appeared on the other side. "Ah, Yomi! Chill, I needed to hit some, without breaking your window again, and talk to Robin… Rob–Ah! Aya-chan! Hey! I hope she didn't pester you too much!"
"Hey! Don't worry. I'm the lightning rod, remember?"
"Yeah, because I'm just the loser. Hey! That's not true! Aya just gets some things better. Mhm! So I'm an unreliable younger sister then, eh? Okay, come on! Play against me! You can't play volley one-on-one, stupid. Then serve! I'll receive them all!"
"Okay, lovers, have your quarrel, but I need to go and treat the guys." Aya mixed in the girls' little argument.
"Ah! The Interhigh! Good luck! I hope yo – Okay! Bye bye, Aya. Sorry again. See you in the camp. And sorry for freaking you out guys. It was –" The call was ended.
Aya was blinking at the phone for a moment, sorting out everything the boys just witnessed. "Okay… So…" It was a mess.
"Your girly best friend." Aomine nodded gravely.
"Mhm… a very dignified and kind girly best friend." She specified with a grin. "When she's off the court and not pissed off."
"…and not talking to you, Sweetheart?" He raised an eyebrow teasingly.
"…depends on the situation."
"Actually." Kise peeped up. "I kinda like her. There must some weird stuff happening to her, so it's quite understandable she needed a distraction, and the lightning rod. The other one sounded nice too."
"Yomi-chan. Suzu's childhood friend and the best rival." She cleared. She was actually happy to hear there was someone having Suzume's back in Akita. Seeing the curiosity in the boys' eyes she shrugged and explained. "In the last year of Suzume's middle school – she was in Miyagi then, they both participated in the finals of the Spring tournament – the Winter cup of volleyball basically – Suzume won."
Kise laughed. "Why am I not even surprised? I heard the rivalry there too."
"Yeah." She returned to his ankle again. The ointment was all sunken in, and she could finally tape. The Suzume's distraction worked out pretty well. "I see some pattern there." She laughed.
"Like Aominecchi and me?" He raised an eyebrow glancing at Aomine.
"Something like that." She thought to Taiga and Tatsuya, but Kise's comparison worked just as well. "Can you follow, or should I slow down?" She asked suddenly, talking with them, she forgot he wanted to 'copy' the taping.
"It's fine. I'm observing." He said, frowning in focus.
In a few moments she was done. "Free to go, Model-kun. But don't forget the promise."
"Yeah, doctor. I get it." He nodded. "So I guess I should give you the privacy now?" He teased them.
And before Aomine could retort, another knock on the door echoed in the room. It was a series of one sharp knock then pause followed by two quick knocks then another pause and a sharp knock once again.
Aya groaned recognising the pattern and she turned her eyes to heavens. He's the one we missed here… "Come in, Tatsuya!" She called out to the person on the other side of the door.
I shouldn't have thought about him… Aomine rolled his eyes at the irony of the situation.
"So you still remember…" Tatsuya's words got caught up in his throat when he saw the two aces in Aya's room. One half naked, occupying a blanket on the floor and another one sitting on the ground leaning against Aya's bed with taped ankle. He closed the door quickly. The lights were already out in the entire hotel, if someone came to check on her it would've been a huge problem.
"Of course I do. Welcome to this hospice." She joked. "What's your problem?" She asked staring at him carefully, though it was already obvious. He was supporting his right arm even when standing relaxed, droplets of sweat were glimmering on his forehead and his expression, despite the poker face, was tense with pain.
"Can I talk to you alone?" He asked, his expression never changing. There was no indication he was hurt on his face.
"No can do." She said and her curt response made both boys halt in their getting up.
There was a pause, when Tatsuya valued all pros and cons. He wasn't an active player, and Kaijo was already out of the competition, so it didn't really matter if they knew or not. "It popped…"
"As in dislocated?"
Tatsuya nodded. "Not as much and as far as before but… can you pop it back?"
"I need to put up a sign out there 'In need of pain, strain and stress relief, as well as any other issues with your moving apparatus, feel free to come in'." She grumbled irritably. "You do realise I'm no doctor and could cause more damage."
"I also know you can put it back like before and not make a ruckus at 10:30 PM. I sneaked out after Araki-sensei's check." He said impatiently. "Please. I'll owe you."
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Giving me an I-owe-you without specification… You're quite daring you know?"
"I dated you, remember?" He said in challenge. "Will you help me, or not?" Impatience was lacing his voice too. He wanted to be over with this.
"Fine. Shirt off."
"We should really go, Ayacchi." Kise said after hearing about the coaches; he hadn't realised the time. "If coaches find us here…" He glanced nervously at Aominecchi, but the bluenette didn't seem willing to budge a muscle and was idly playing with the cat.
"Don't." Surprisingly, it was Tatsuya who spoke up. "If it's only Aya and me, it'll be a bigger issue, and besides, she doesn't trust me enough to be here alone with me. If it weren't for the two of you, she probably wouldn't have let me in. Right?" He looked at her to check if his assumption was correct.
"Right, of course." She nodded. "Stay, Model-kun, and don't worry, you don't owe me anything if you keep the promise."
"Sure." The blonde nodded and moved closer to Aominecchi and the cat. The kitty came to him craving attention too.
"Okay, now. I seriously don't have the whole night and I need to re-route our trip with Taiga, so chop-chop. Shirt off."
"Do I have to?" He protested.
"If it's about the hickie I don't give a damn. Come on." She prompted him.
"Heh." Tatsuya grimaced. "I guess you'll have to help, I can't move the arm much."
Aomine's eyes narrowed at hearing this and he glared at the smooth bastard, who just asked Aya to undress him. And she actually did, without any hesitation in her movement. He was jealous and he was exhausted. So many things and emotions packed in one day were killing him.
"Uhm, you know, Aominecchi…" Kise whispered while Aya and Tatsuya discussed how the injury happened. "She can do it so efficiently, because she doesn't feel anything towards him anymore." He wasn't sure why he was trying to calm Aominecchi after that match. One thing was provoking him himself, but Tatsuya… Kise didn't like the boy much either.
"Tch. You can't know that." He grumbled quietly in response.
"I do and you heard it yesterday too. Besides, I think she told you so herself as well."
That was true. "I still hate it."
"That I believe."
Aya's surprised whistle got their attention back to Tatsuya.
"You found yourself a kitty, I see." She exclaimed staring at his back full of scabs and deep scratches. She automatically traced some of them softly. How savage…
Tatsuya rolled his eyes, finally some visible emotion the boys could understand too. "A kitty? She's a freaking Freddy Krueger." He grunted.
It made her laugh. "Well, sit down and show them too."
"Oh god…" Kise gasped and Aomine made a frightened face when he imagined what had happened to Tatsuya. "She is savage…" Kise commented.
"I agree." Aya glanced at Kise with a grimace. Then she tilted her head and stared at Tatsuya, waiting until he'd look at her. "If that's how she shows her appreciation, you must've done a spectacular job in satisfying her." She said.
"Too bad you wouldn't know." He teased, and when the only reaction was an eye roll, he sighed. "I'm actually done with her."
"A one night stand?" She hummed and ran her fingers over his shoulder, figuring out how much dislocated it actually was and how she should pop it back. She knew she had to keep her calm and triple check before attempting to fix it. The last thing she wanted was to cause more damage.
"An easy decision." He nodded. "I can't even change in front of the guys now, 'cause it's mortifying. You'd never do that."
She chuckled. "I don't have the nails to cause such a disaster, I admit…"
"Even if you had you wouldn't. You're not a stupid idiot." He shook his head. He missed her.
"And you shouldn't compare. Ah, here." She blinked when she discovered the way to pop his shoulder back. But she had to check it again just in case.
"I'm trying not to. Can you imagine the state of my sheets after that? The guy in charge of laundry gave some really freaked out face when I came to ask for new ones and brought those to have them cleaned."
"I bet they searched your room in search for a corpse about now."
He chuckled. It was quite easy to talk about this with her. She really wasn't taking any of it personally. It was bitter, but it was right. He should let it go too. "They won't find any."
"You should've called. I know some hacks how to get blood off of almost anything." She said monotonously, focused on his shoulder. "Ah… that should do it."
She found the way and he could already imagine the pain which would follow.
She squeezed his shoulder close to the neck, and grabbed his upper arm. "It'll hurt." She announced as she rested his forearm around her waist and her right leg against his hip. She needed the lever.
"I know." He nodded and gritted his teeth.
"Okay, let's hope it'll work."
"Just do it." He growled.
She took a breath, staring into his eyes. If she counted, he'd tense and it would go badly. He couldn't know the exact moment when she'd pull.
Levelling her breathing with him, she counted inwardly. One, two, three!
The shoulder made a sick popping sound and Tatsuya barely muffled his pain-filled outcry. It came out as a feral growl.
"You alive?" She asked carefully.
"Feels in place…" He said weakly. He already knew how it felt when the job was done right. And it wasn't the first time she fixed his shoulder for him.
"You will go to a hospital for a proper X-ray. Understood?"
He avoided eye contact. The hospital was not a place he wanted to visit, it meant paying money. He probably couldn't afford that and it was already fine.
"Tatsuya."
"…I'll say fine, but you know I won't. It's fine now. No need to."
Instead of arguing she grabbed the shoulder, digging her fingers into it, which made Tatsuya shrink back in pain. "You will. I'll ask Hero to drag you there."
"Traitor."
"Gladly. But I'm warning you in advance. It's your health and if you want to practise in the summer camp, I highly recommend you to have it checked by a professional and let it heal properly."
"Urgh, fine, fine, I'll go." He agreed reluctantly.
"Good." She quickly applied an ointment and found a bandage to wrap it up. "Seriously… my first aid just experienced a raid of wild raccoons…" She commented with a disappointed shake of her head.
"Well… thank you."
She raised an eyebrow at that. "Don't thank me yet, there's still the I-owe-you."
"It's not that bad, you aren't a savage after all. Ah, do you have some painkillers?"
"I guess…" She disappeared in the bathroom for a second and returned with a small package of something she threw to him.
He caught it easily and frowned at the pills. "Advil? Really? That stuff's for cramps."
She rolled her eyes. "It's ibuprofen based painkiller in general, I don't have anything else. It works for me, and when I take it, it must be for a damn terrible pain. But if you don't want it…"
"I'll take it." He said immediately, Aya didn't take painkillers often and she didn't need it for cramps, he knew that much. So if this stuff should work… And he was allergic to paracetamol…
She looked at all three of them, for the first time noticing that Daiki was entertaining Dorian. "Okay, time to –"
The door flew open and Katsunori stood there like an angry deity. "What in the world is the meaning of this?!" He thundered, glaring at the three boys.
They all froze and stared at the angry coach. The darkness of the hallways only added to his intimidating posture.
leave… She finished inwardly.
"Get out. All three of you!" Katsunori ordered.
"Hai!" They all sprang to their feet, standing as straight as if they swallowed rulers.
"Put your t-shirts on, for god's sake." He frowned at Aomine and Tatsuya.
"Yes, sir." Daiki answered immediately, shocked by the sudden authority radiating from the shorter man. He could imagine his father there. And he knew the blonde had similar thoughts.
Katsunori noted the taped foot and the wrapped up shoulder, the only one without any obvious damage was Aomine. But it made him wonder. Aya was standing there, startled by his sudden barge in, but slowly relaxing. There was nothing she'd need to hide from him, and he was glad for that, though the bruise on her thigh worried him.
As they passed by him, one by one, they didn't dare meeting his eyes.
Tatsuya vanished in the darkness like a ghost first.
"Ah." Kise yelped when his leg almost gave out again. It felt better, but he was in a hurry and forgot to take it easy. This time, it was Aomine grabbing his elbow and straightening him up. He blinked at his friend, genuinely surprised after everything he had said during the match.
"Shut up." Aomine growled before Kise could comment his actions, and threw the blonde's arm over his shoulders.
"I haven't said anything." The blonde smiled happily. The friendship prevailed after all…
"Then turn off your mind."
"Not possible, Aominecchi."
"Go die already."
Katsunori stared after the two, half smiling at their strange friendship. The day must've been truly eventful if they could already be in one another's presence, and even helping out one another. He turned to Aya, walked in and closed the door.
She just stared at him, waiting for the scolding.
"I won't yell at you, there was nothing going on and I'm not stupid or blind." He said and sat on the chair, watching her as she put away the blanket from the ground and collected all the things she'd used in treating the boys. "I'm quite surprised all three of them came to you."
"I'm a 'witch of many spells'." She liked the way Daiki worded it.
"I'm aware of that. How's Aomine?" He asked seriously.
"Good."
"Seriously. I can see something is off with him; I'm the coach after all. And if Kise took damage… Their bodies don't match up to their talents yet, Aya. You know it as well as I do."
"He wants to play against Rakuzan no matter what, Katsu. You can't take that away from him. I mean he wants to play."
"As a former player, I completely understand. As a coach, I can't let him self-destruct." He pulled at his fringe.
"It's nothing serious. Just a muscle strain. I gave him a sport's massage to relieve it…"
"It's nothing serious yet… If he performs the same as he did today, which I bet he will… And we'll probably need him tomorrow too."
"Ten minutes tomorrow. Don't ask more of him, he needs to rest."
"That I agree on, and then?"
She opened the window wide and pulled the package of cigarettes from her jacket taking out one. It was an overly exhausting day; she really had the need for nicotine. She offered one to Katsunori and to her surprise he took it.
"I'd take the gamble." She shrugged, inhaling the fumes. "Let him play. I'll try to persuade him to tape his knees to prevent the serious damage and ease the strain. Then it'll be up to you as the coach to watch over him and pull him off the court when necessary. But let him play, please."
"I guess that could work. After all, I can relate to his desire to play against Akashi." He nodded, observing the smoke trailing out of the window. "Taiga played with pulled muscles… And he isn't seriously injured."
"You could see his injuries. I believe Daiki can't mask it better than my brother."
"First name basis already? Or finally?" He teased her with a raised eyebrow.
"Shut up… I first need to validate with father."
He raised an eyebrow at his goddaughter. "Threaten him, you mean?" He'd already submitted Taiga to interrogation, there was no way he would act as a guardian without knowing everything.
"I don't have much of a choice." She shrugged and glanced at his cigarette. "I didn't know you smoked."
Change of topic I see… "I don't."
"Yet you are."
"Indeed."
######
"So she's the Kagami…" Imayoshi said out loud to give it more credibility. "The world champion…" He added and shook his head. "I knew she was a piece of work, but this? This, I haven't expected. Those articles?... It's like…"
"Mind blowing?" Tada asked with a smile and rolled on his stomach to face the other three. "Like me being gay?"
"Nah, I knew that from the start." Imayoshi waved his hand.
Tada raised an eyebrow at him. "Really?"
"Ah, details… maybe not from the start, but… I figured it out quickly enough."
"None of that… whore crap is true, right?" Wakamatsu asked, keeping his voice surprisingly quiet. It was way past the lights-out. He was loud, but he wasn't and idiot. And they'd just heard the coach thundering at someone – no one dared to go and check it out.
"Of course not." Imayoshi shook his head. "I'd bet she and Aomine haven't even kissed yet. If the articles were true… well… We would've known~"
"Why did you make it sound lecherous?" Susa asked him with a raised eyebrow. He rarely spoke up, choosing to stay out of the spotlight and enjoying the peace that came with it. But sometimes… The captain and his friend went really overboard in his merits, and then he stepped in.
"Try to deny she is a looker then!"
"Gladly!" Tada and Wakamatsu said without hesitation.
"Urgh… the wrong sample…" He rolled his eyes. Aya wasn't his type either, but she was pretty, he'd admit that much.
"What do we do now?" Wakamatsu asked.
Imayoshi shrugged. "Nothing. It doesn't change anything. Us knowing or not, doesn't change a thing; she is still the same manager taking care of our bruises and helping us with practises. However…"
"Oh, no." Tada rolled his eyes. "Don't go there, Imayoshi. Really."
"It's something she doesn't want people to know so…"
"Seriously, Imayoshi." Susa mixed in again. "What are you gonna blackmail her with? Hanging the articles on the pinboards around the school? What are we, middle schoolers? Even you aren't that cruel."
"Oya~ I wouldn't step that low, don't worry… I was thinking only about telling Aomine…"
Tada laughed. "And what makes you think he doesn't know already?"
"Why would he?"
"Duuuh… because she likes him? They're closer than you want to believe and Aomine wouldn't respect just anyone, captain. For someone who reads people that well, you fail to see the things you don't want to. Or am I wrong?" There was something meaningful in Tada's gaze and it made the hair on the back of his neck prickle.
"The money though… Club could use some additional funding…" He muttered.
"Oh, but it does…" Susa nodded thoughtfully. "Who do you think paid for those hoops Aomine had broken? The club or him? Don't be naïve, the cut from his scholarship covered barely a quarter of the sum. And the first aid kit, the ointments and high-quality tapings… You think we could afford them from the club funds? If so, there would be no training camp possible for us."
Susa was the accountant for the club, he knew about all the money flowing into the club and flowing out of it. The Interhigh hotel fees and such were paid directly by school, but training camps, necessary equipment and jerseys were financed from the funds allocated to the club at the beginning of the year.
"What? So you knew?!" Wakamatsu pointed a finger at the senpai.
"Not everything. She came to ask me about the financing during the first week and I explained it to her. After the hoop incident, she came again, giving out the money, telling me to keep it between us." He shrugged. "So I did. I asked her how she'd gotten it and she said she was teaching dancing and it paid well and that the coach knew… I didn't really care about it more. And that she buys supplies regularly… I thought you've noticed."
"Why do I hear these things as the last?! I'm the captain, dammit!"
"You said you didn't want to be bothered by money."
"I didn't mean it that you'd keep things from me!" Seeing Imayoshi angry or annoyed was a rare sight. The four of them had the luck, and Susa-senpai with his calmness could rein in on the captain with his slightly bullying personality exceptionally well.
"I didn't keep it from you. You simply didn't ask, so I didn't tell." He replied calmly.
A/N: That's it for now. Please don't kill me! But I've always wanted Kise to be the interruption at some point so... And he'd just lost to Aomine, so a little (unintentional) payback is allowed, I think.
The next chapter will be not so idle... storm's to come.
Let me know what you think but remember, reviews are appreciated, but never necessary.
S.