Chapter 8: Connections

"Why am I doing this again?" She wonders as she makes her way down the road, hands stuffed into her pockets. It's the weekend, and yet she's still making her way to school. However, there is a purpose. An annoying one, yes, but a purpose that that. She sighs as she looks up at the sky, taking in the gray clouds that are making their way across it. It does not look like it's going to rain, which is a shame because she loves when it does, but there's still the looming possibility. "Why did Yuji give her my number anyways?" She grumbles upon seeing the very building whose only good use is a place for sun bathing. With a grunt, she makes her way through the gate and officially onto the campus.

Earlier that morning Yujiro's cousin, Momoi Satsuki, had called her house of all places. She didn't have to ask how the girl got her number, the answer being given to her without pause or before she could even get the question onto her tongue. Tatsumaki had been planning on lazing the day away after a good jog, perhaps play a few video games or something while she was at it. However, she had been asked to go to the school and try to get Aomine to go to some sort of game- to watch some old friends play or something like that. But the question even now is: Why her?

"Why me?" Tatsumaki remembers asking rather clearly, as it was only about half an hour ago that Momoi had called. "Why don't you get him to go. Aren't you guys childhood friends or something?"

"We are," Momoi agreed, "But I did try. He claimed that he was sick, and since I'm already here it's not like I can go back to him and drag him here".

"Oh?"

"No. I'm the manager. I have to take notes on these other teams. Plus," fondness and a smile lingered in her voice, "I'm cheering a certain someone on and I'd rather not miss any part of the game. Besides, you guys have been hanging out for like two and a half months now. Aren't you friends?"

This had turned the Stride runner's features sour, not that Momoi could see them. A dark sigh escaped her lips, "No, we're not friends. Even though I've been trying to be this whole time. He won't tell me anything about himself though. It's just constant silence. And, I mean I don't mind it every now and then but I do like to hold a conversation every now and then. I don't know how you do it, Momoi".

The pinkette giggled, "Sounds like you two are pretty close," though she didn't explain just how that could be possible. "Try anyways, okay? Please? I'll owe you big time if you succeed".

And that is how Tatsumaki finds herself standing at the doors of the gym on her school's campus. She blinks as a drop of water hits her in the center of her head, catching her attention. Looking up, she blinks when she spots that the sky has been taken over by the stormy clouds and have begun to release their watery seeds back into the earth. "...Well," she acknowledges. Now she really wishes she could go for a run. Unfortunately, she told Momoi that she'd try to get Aomine to board a train and head over to the game currently in play. Damn her and her promises. With a sigh, she opens the doors to the gym, the darkness of the room only cut by the dim lightning outside as she closes the doors behind her to keep rain from getting in. Through the hallway that holds vending machines for drinks and food, as well as rooms for changing and the like, and straight for the actual gymnasium she goes.

She spots a figure on the stage- why there's a stage in the gym, why they don't just keep the stage in the auditorium, she doesn't know- lazily spinning a ball shadowed but none the less orange and black on a single finger. A low sigh escapes her lips as she makes her way forward, softly stepping and ignoring his whining. Something about being tired, wanting to eat bread and the like. Things she's heard him whine about before. "Huh," she announces her arrival, "She said you'd be in here. Looks like she was right".

"Hah?" The person laying there tilts his head back, letting it like his other arm dangle over the edge of the stage in order to get a look at whom is there. "Oh, it's you," the ball he had been spinning and balancing falls, bouncing a few times before merely rolling to the female's feet. "What're you doing here?" he didn't call for her. So what is she doing? Don't tell him that she's going to try and make friends with him again- she said the other day that she gave up on that- he took her at her word too.

"Momoi called me and asked if I could try and drag you to the preliminary game that's playing right now," Tatsumaki replies smoothly. Gathering up the ball into one hand, her other helps her body mount the stage, her form landing in a simple but smooth crouch. She watches as the blue haired male's eyes drag to her new position, his body however only rolls over so that he is now on his stomach, his chin in his hand.

"So now you're doing her dirty work?"

"Only because she said she'd owe me," Tatsumaki replies, "And if she's anything like Yuji, which I think she is, then having her in my debt is a good thing". She sits now on her butt, holding the ball on her lap as she sits cross legged. "So. Are you going to go?"

Aomine pauses, however there is no need for him to hesitate in answering. "Why should I? I've already beaten them before. There's no point in going to watch". Not only that, but he's certain that the game will have been decided rather soon. At the same time, right now it's anyone's game. Never the less he looks over to the girl, taking in her casual attire with a lazy eye. She dresses herself in simple shorts that allow her long legs to breath and a shirt that clings to her abdomen but is loose around the bust, its short sleeves simple yet loose. Not surprisingly, a pair of sneakers rest on her feet.

"That's a shame," The girl intones with a sigh. The sound of the rain pattering on the metallic roof above her head makes her grin slightly. "Well, my job here is done," she did try after all. It wasn't asked that she'd try hard though. With that in mind, she stands, placing the ball onto the small of his back before leaping her way off of the stage and making for the door. "See you later, Aomine," she waves, eyes bright and a grin on her face. A jog in the rain is possible now; just what the doctor ordered. She makes her way down the hallway and out the doors, the water from above greeting her warmly, making her skin wet and her hair damp.

Or, that's what would be happening if it weren't for the fact that someone called out to her.

"Wait," Aomine stopped her before she could go very far, the image of her leaving the building nothing but an unattained dream, "You don't look like you have plans. Stay here".

This confuses her. Blinking, the white haired girl turns, "Why?"

"Because I told you to," he utters low in his throat, "You are going to obey me, right?" The sight of her turning around and sighing makes him smirk. Maybe he can find some sort of amusement until he finds the energy- or lack there of- to take a nap.

Tatsumaki releases a second sigh, this one much longer than the first, "Of course I will," she allows, "But I'm still curious as to why you want me here. I can't very well play you at basketball, now can I? We both know it's not my sport to play at. And otherwise we'll just be laying here like we normally do on the roof. You're obviously bored, but me being here isn't going to fix that".

"Nah," Aomine disagrees, sitting up and turning to catch the ball before it can go rolling off again, "There's something that we can do".

"Oh?"

"Yea. Play me in a game of basket-"

"You weren't listening, were you?"

"You didn't let me finish," the tall bronzed teen grunts as he leaps down from the stage, landing lazily and bouncing the globe up and down in a rhythm that he is far too used to. "Play me. For each shot you get, I'll answer a question about myself. For each shot, you answer a question of mine". This should make things interesting certainly. The girl can't play to save her life.

Tatsumaki catches the ball with ease, the rubber still feeling odd on her fingers despite the times she's played with him before. The game which held two bets from before was not the last one they had played. Mock games were issued upon Aomine's boredom through out the time the two have known one another. All of which ended up in her loss. If only he would run against her in stride. Then he'd see just what she can truly do. Alas, she hasn't been able to convince him to run against her in stride just yet. What she doesn't understand is why the moment she decides to give up on getting him to be her friend, he does this. Playing this kind of game is exactly something new born friends would do in order to get to know one another quickly. "I thought you didn't want to be my friend," she voices her thoughts, a brow risen far into her bangs, "You don't make sense". She twirls the ball in her hands, fiddling with the black lines that trace the outside of the globe, and then attempts to spin the ball on her finger much like her counterpart can so well. She doesn't succeed the first two times, but the third time she has it spinning like a pro. This makes her grin to the ball, proud that it decided to be co-operative.

Aomine pauses, but then looks to the side as though to avoid her gaze. Which he knows that's what he's doing but honestly he doesn't care. "I never said this was to become friends, idiot".

"Yea, but this is what people who just became friends do. And don't say it's because I'm your slave and a master should know about their slaves. Because that's bull," Tatsumaki throws back, pushing the ball into spinning longer on her up right finger. For some odd reason doing just that is more fun than it looked. "If that was the case you could just order me to tell you everything about myself and give me nothing in return. But you're suggesting that we do this instead. Just admit it, you wanna be my friend".

"Shut up and play," Aomine demands, a sigh escaping his lips. "So what if I wanna be your friend? You're deserving of it at least," he admits finally falling to the truth. His lips twitch into a deep frown. When she gets like this she's just like Satsuki. It's annoying. Tch. Why does he like to be around annoying girls anyways? "Start dribbling already".

Tatsumaki is silent, surprised to say the least, that she actually got him to give in on something. The last time she got him to cave was the basketball game that put her into the basic position she's in now. And then she grins, the ball falling from her finger and bouncing proudly in the air off of the floor like she so desires to do. "You mean...We're friends?" she dribbles, falling into a stance she has adopted over the times she's played- and lost- against him. "I won't play until you say 'yes'," she grins. However, she knows the answer. She made a friend! Finally!

Today is a good day.

The male of the two of them rolls his navy colored orbs, and does not bother to answer her. Why does he want to be her friend? Because yes, he realizes that he does want her as a companion. She'll still be his slave, but friendship is certainly on his list of things he wants at the moment. Let it be known that Aomine Daiki is not a stupid man- never has been- he's just lazy. And really not all that social but whatever. He knows what he wants, he knows when he wants it, and he knows- for the most part- why. The girl dribbling the ball in a way that's pathetic despite the number of games they've played, put simply, is like him. He realizes this, he's realized it from the beginning. However, it's more than that. He cannot put it to words, but something about her makes him calm...Kind of like Tetsu back in middle school but different at the same time.

Whatever.

"Yea yea yea," Aomine waves off her award winning grin and the shining of her eyes, "Just play already".

And thus the game begins. It takes little time for the superior player to take the ball, but to his surprise the girl is ready to retaliate. Keh. She has been learning. Even if only little by little. The first shot obviously is his, giving him the question of when her birthday is. She answers with June 25th. They continue. Twists and turns, different directions in which the ball goes. More often than not, it is Aomine taking and making shots with ease, throwing the ball with such skill that it leaves his opponent in the dust. However, where as others would have given up out of frustration or exhaustion, the white haired girl continues to go even as her shirt is drenched and her fingers slick with sweat. Aomine cannot help but admit that the girl is determined if nothing else to get information of of him. And with her speed and agility, she has been learning and adapting on how to counter each of his different moves or combinations. How to block when he does certain street moves even which are harder to predict compared to the by-the-book plays he's given. Hearing her curse and snap is actually enough to make him chuckle here and there.

Even more amusing is the absolute glee she seems to feel each and every time she makes a basket, dancing in one place after catching the ball before it can get away from her and her green eyes bright. A beaming grin always replaces the concentrated scowl on her lips as she asks him questions. When is his birthday, what is his favorite food, his favorite color. She even asks him if he'd ever grow out of liking big boobs. Hell no to that, obviously. And then the moment the ball is taken to her, she returns to scowling, cursing and snapping for him to 'give back the ball damn it!'. Watching her flounder and heave through the motions so unfamiliar to her yet as simple as breathing to him is kind of sad but funny at the same time. It's a good thing she went and decided to do Satsuki's dirty work. Then again, he'll have to thank Satsuki at some point for sending her to him. Otherwise he would have napped the day away in all his boredom- just like any other day. The change up is nice, he'll admit though only to himself.

Tensai Tatsumaki ain't so bad, he guesses.

Days pass after that one. The day that finally Tatsumaki got what she wanted. A friend who understood her view point. Nothing has changed, though, surprisingly enough. The conversations they have are still short and simple, their time spent mostly napping or complaining about various things. Hiding from Satsuki and Yuji. And, surprisingly enough, him teaching her how to better play his sport she'll stop whining like a baby- according to him. Calmness, just like spring, is something the two have come to share and prefer from one another. She in turn has begun to teach him various little tricks that could help him in a pinch. Such as when attempting a rather tricky street ball shot or perhaps to make up a new kind of move that no one has ever seen before. She would take movements that helped her learn to handle gimmicks, and teach them to him, coaxing him to try to twist his body in different angles. And, when they found out that he actually is not all that flexible, helping him fix that issue.

A give and take sort of relationship the two have come to have over the passed few weeks. Tatsumaki couldn't be happier at the moment. All she wanted was someone who understands the pain of being strong. What she got instead was not only that, but someone she can honestly say she trusts.

"I have to go," she announces one day. The beginning of spring has passed, bringing forth the rainy season much to her delight. Afterwords would come summer, but not quite yet. She had only come up to the roof to hand him the money she owed him from a few weeks back- from when they just sat in a park and ate ice cream.

Aomine's brows furrow, his lips turning down into a frown, "Where are you going?" Not to practice, he knows that much. Why would she? His hand closes around the yen offered to him, stuffing the money into his pocket for the time being as his eyes remain on her person in full. It's not normal for her to just up and leave. His body is stiff, though Tatsumaki cannot fathom why. He must be in a certain mood or something, she deduces.

Tatsumaki smiles, "I've been asked by a friend of mine to help her with her team at her school. Apparently there's a few of them that don't know the meaning of endurance...Or something like that. She wasn't really clear about it really, but I haven't seen her since middle school so I would like to see her".

The man with navy eyes feels his body loosen a little bit, pleased to have an answer. Although he is rather annoyed that she decided to up and tell him last minute. They were supposed to be working on her three point shots today after everyone went home. And before then, while they were waiting, she was going to help him stretch more. It does irk him that she up and waited until the last minute to tell him about it. She could have texted him while she was skipping English- he did attend that class after all, although he slept for the most part- or while he was foregoing science- as she had opted to attend that event herself.

Wait.

They don't have one another's cell phone numbers.

"I'll see you tomorrow Aomine. Try to stay out of trouble, okay?" she snickers at her little joke, and makes to head back down to the ground floor where she'll leave the school, head to the train station, and hopefully meet up with a certain someone at their school.

"Oi".

But she stops when a hand grasps her shoulder, gaining her attention. Though she finds herself rather surprised that the close proximity that he stands to her. She hadn't expected him to stand so close. "What's up?"

"Give me your phone number," he demands, pulling forth a phone from his pocket with his free hand. Flipping it open and making his way to the settings area with a push of some buttons, he glances at her. "You can email me when you're done doing whatever with your friend".

"...Sure, but I don't really know when we'll be done," she allows, pulling forth a sleek white phone from her her skirt's pocket and fiddling with a few buttons. Holding forth her technology to his own, she watches as data is transferred within a few seconds, oddly noting that back in the day it would have taken longer to do just that. But she cares not.

"Don't care," he states, shoving his phone back into his pocket and flopping onto his back on the concrete as though it were grass. He sighs and closes his eyes, "Just email me when you're done".

Tatsumaki doesn't see the point in doing that, but even so she nods her head and allows herself to voice an, "Alright. See ya," before turning around and leaving for real this time. She waves over her shoulder, not bothering with any other sort of departing gesture, closing the door to the roof behind her. Down the stairs she goes, taking the railing instead of the actual steps, through the halls and down more steps via railing due to laziness.

Her journey to the train station is not very eventful. Just filled with her walking, passing various people on the way, weaving around those that get into her path and shifting to the side to stay out of the way of others. Her mind is permitted to wander, recalling the past number of weeks that have come and have been left behind in the end. School had started out normal for her. She was a normal student with no special skills and only a friendly personality that she knew drew people to her. She slept in class often and didn't really take notes despite being in one of the front-most rows, getting her in trouble with her teachers time after time. However, it was through those classmates and their borrowed records of their lessons that allowed her to pass sudden tests and quizzes that the teachers thought they could keep her from knowing about. It was also those classmates that unknowingly allowed her to cheat during tests when she couldn't figure out a question, their guard lowered around her before hand, and warned her of a teacher when they were in particularly bad moods. It wasn't until later that she met Aomine, forced to partner up with him for a history project that never actually got done. That had actually hit her grade hard for the class, she later found out, but through the perfected skill of cheating and homework copying, she has managed to bring it back up to a fairly average level. Nothing too high nor low, just the right spot for her to not be noticed as anything intellectually special. Which- to be honest- she's not. All her skills, those that make her extraordinary, lay within her physical ability rather than her mental one.

Meeting Aomine is probably what made her life more exciting, though she knew not at the time that it would be. However, after meeting him, Yuji decided to again pull her to the school's Stride team in an attempt to make it better. She did not get into the school through sports, but instead her carefully maintained grades. Her physical ability just so happens to be a surprise plus for the school. Having two monsters for two very popular spots on their team makes the school seem more important to onlookers apparently. Never the less, after meeting Aomine she had up and decided to- after beating the entire regular string in a race- join the team. She couldn't just stay away after feeling the thrill of running again for the first time in a while. And then she had done a little research on Aomine Daiki. She at the time only just recognized the name, it having come from Yuji a few times hen they talked about something that wasn't Stride related. She had known that his cousin was manager of the basketball team, and good friends with the ace of the Generation of Miracles. But she wanted to know more; he seemed interesting. Upon watching the videos of his games, and how his personality degraded to the point where he started to actually like crushing his opponents, she found herself drawn to an urge. The urge to make a friend out of him. He understands how she feels about her position as a strong athlete, unbeatable by any other person. As none of her friends, not Yuji nor the very one she is on her way to visit now, understood how she felt all she wanted was a friend out of someone like her.

So she approached Aomine on the subject. The outcome was obvious. But she has always been a rather persistent person, refusing to give up until she realizes that there truly is no way for her to get what she wants. Her constant asking him to be her friend was not the way to go, and ended up getting her stuck in the very deal she's still in to this day. However, perhaps it was the bet that got her what she wanted in the end. Being Aomine's slave meant she got to be closer to him. Perhaps not as a friend, at first, but after some time she seemed to have accepted her in a sense. Though she does wonder why there was a sudden change to begin with.

But even so, she's happy and honestly doesn't care for why he suddenly up and changed his mind. It worked out for the both of them in the end after all, that's all that matters.

Tatsumaki looks up at the large building in front of her, curious. Getting onto the grounds of this particular school was actually pretty easy, though then again it would appear that like at her school the gym and anything sports related is a separate building from the educational building. The campus is smaller than her own school's though. And her friend never mentioned anything about there being a Stride team here. Or perhaps she avoided mentioning it due to Tatsumaki's own issues with it?

That's certainly possible.

"Knock knock! Riku-chan! Are you in here?!" she calls, opening up the doors of the gym building, only to be greeted by the very gymnasium first. Different from her school again. The sight of boys running around the polished floor, their shoes squeaking every now and then as they turn and pass or shoot the ball, stops upon her call. The ball that had been thrown bounces off the rim of the basket, nearly hitting someone in the head only to miss and hit the floor instead. Curious, she tilts her head and smiles, offering a small apology to the strangers. "Ahh, sorry about that! I'm looking for Riku. Is she here?"

However, before one of them, a tall black haired man with glasses and a stern but curious face, can step forward and demand what she is doing in their gym a voice answers for her. "Down here, Tatsumaki-chan," this brings the tall teen's eyes down, allowing her to spot the light haired girl she had been looking for.

"Ah! Riku~!" She greets happily, more than just a little pleased to see the elder female. Though Riku is older than her by a year, the two of them had hit it off well- though honestly Tatsumaki doesn't remember how exactly they met, just that they got along fairly quickly. "It's been so long! Sorry I couldn't visit last year. How are you?".

However instead of answering her, Riku merely struggles to breathe as the stronger and younger teen crushes their frames together in her absent minded joy. Until she is done suffocating, she says nothing. "It's good to see you too," she allows once she's caught her breath, a smile on her lips, "You've gotten even taller. What are you, six foot one?" Just seeing some of her arms and legs shows her that her stats are still far off the charts- Riku holds back a terrified shiver, realizing that this means.

"That I am," Tatsumaki allows with a grin, "And judging by the look in your eyes, you got better at reading people's 'stats', didn't you?"

Pleased with the compliment, Riku smirks and crosses her arms over her bust confidently, "I may have". And then the smile settles into a smaller one, "But really, thanks for coming all this way. I'm sure the train ride was a bit long".

"Think nothing of it," Tatsumaki allows, "Come. Tell me again why you asked me to come here?" As she speaks, her eyes roam over the team of basketball players before her. She realizes that this is the very team that Momoi wanted her to try and get Aomine to watch a while back. Which means that they must have some sort of potential. However, when her eyes land onto a light blue pair, she cannot help but ponder and wonder if she's seen him around before. He stares her down, fearless of her superior height as he is actually fairly short for a basketball player.

Aida Riko pauses before admitting, "Well, you see, I was wondering if you could give us some advice. I'm looking to up the boys' training again but I can't seem to think of anything other than laps around the gym to help with their endurance. That little guy there," she points to the boy with blue hair and eyes, "Needs the training the most though they could all use it. I know that since you run in Stride, that you're pretty much an expert on endurance".

Tatsumaki pauses herself, pondering. Should she? Eventually, if their potential proves true, they're bound to go against Aomine at InterHigh whose preliminaries have already started. The last thing she wants to do is go around her newest friend's back and give help to the enemy. However Riku is also her friend and to just up and refuse wouldn't be quite fair either. At the same time, it's not like Riku is asking for the secrets of Touou's training methods. No, she's just asking for a little help with endurance training. That can't hurt, right?