Thank you to everyone who's reading this story! I have received a number of encouraging reviews and PM's from so many of you and I can't express how happy it makes me that you enjoy reading my fanfic! ^~^
Sorry, this chapter took WAY longer to finish than I wanted but I hope you enjoy this next installment! \ (^o^) /
Also happy (late) mother's day to me mum! Love ya and here's the next chapter you've been bugging me to finish ^~^'
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Chapter 19: Basketball is My Therapy
I arrived back to class late but the teacher didn't look twice at my note. Plus she didn't get mad at me like she had done so before when I showed up after the bell or slept in class. She simply smiled and told me to take my seat, so I now knew she was trying to kiss ass.
I rolled my eyes as I sat down, trying to ignore the other students. Since I had my little page over the intercom, the amount of stares was maximized now; there was no way any of them were actually paying attention to the lesson. After a bit, my stomach growled and I realized that I hadn't gotten to eat lunch.
"Ugh," I groaned under my breath placing my head on my hands. I spent the rest of my classes swimming in hunger pains and stares. When the end of school bell rang I hurriedly ran to my locker to chow down my lunch.
I had just found a bag of shrimp chips in the bottom of my locker when some girls a few lockers down from mine started giggling.
"What is it?" I heard a girl ask her friend and I peeked around the door of my locker. There was a group of three girls from my class gathered around in a circle looking at something. "That's so adorable!" she exclaimed.
"I know right, Ayami's so lucky!" the shorter girl said just as Shiori walked in to join their group.
"What about Aya?" Shiori asked them.
"It's so sweet!" the girl said holding what looked like a piece of paper. She looked at it with a smile then handed it to Shiori. Shiori looked at the paper, which I now assumed was a photograph, and began blushing wildly.
"What ya lookin at?" I asked leaning over Shiori's shoulder.
"Oh Aya!" Shiori said sounding slightly nervous. I looked down at the photo in her hands and my eyes grew wide. It was a picture from the Christmas party, a very well timed photograph, of Tamaki and I under the mistletoe, his lips resting lightly on my cheek.
"When?! How?! Why?!" I exclaimed, blush covering my face from ear to ear, before snatching up the picture. I stared at it intently. It was of surprisingly good quality, for the quickness in which it had to have been taken, and it was edited with sparkles all around. 'I bet the culprit responsible is a member of the host club,' I thought scowling.
"Somebody's been distributing these all over campus," the first girl said pulling more photos out of her bag. I looked at them and my jaw dropped. They wear all taken from different directions, getting various angles from which to see my now most embarrassing moment of all time, and each was edited, some with sparkles, others with flowers.
"Hand them over!" I commanded angrily but she took all the pictures back faster than I could keep hold of them. She smiled and stuck her tongue out at me.
"No~" she sang and I got slightly irritated.
"Seriously, I need to destroy them from existence," I said reaching for them again but she threw them into her locker and spun the lock.
"No way, these are mine!" She denied, her expression like she was going to bite my head off for even threatening.
"Will you at least tell me who you got them from?" I asked with a sneer. She bit her lip and looked at the girl standing next to her.
"We were told not to tell you," her friend answered. They didn't look like they were gonna tell me and I began to turn away when Shiori spoke up.
"I think, perhaps, Aya really just wants to get some for herself," Shiori said with a smile, "You know since the pictures are so cute." I stared, one eyebrow raised, at Shiori but she just looked up at me and smiled. "Isn't that right?"
"Oh really?" the girl said excitedly.
"Uh... yeeaaaah," I lied.
"Well, if that's the case, it was Renge," her friend said with a large smile. 'No way, that obvious lie worked?!' I thought in disbelief.
"Thanks so much!" Shiori said happily then she turned to me. "Let's go check it out."
"Uh okay, yeah, thanks guys," I said to the girls from my class, waving slightly as Shiori and I headed back to my locker.
"See," Shiori said and I glanced over at her, "now that's how you get people to tell you what you wanna know. You don't always have to be so punch happy you know." I rolled my eyes.
"That only works when you do it." I shrugged and Shiori giggled. I opened my bag of shrimp chips that I still had in my hands and offered some to Shiori. She took a small handful with a smile.
We each nibbled on the salty snack for a bit when suddenly- "Ayami, we need to talk!" someone called loudly through the hallway. I turned around, only to see Tamaki walking towards us fast paced with a stern look on his face.
"No we don't," I called back shoving a chip into my mouth and faced my locker.
"Yes we do," he said stopping next to me. *Munch-munch-munch* I chewed then swallowed as I scowled at him. Shiori looked between me and Tamaki a few times, looking uncomfortable.
"I think I'm gonna head home now, see you later Aya," she said with a smile and she scurried away.
After she left I sighed, then grabbed my book-bag out of my locker and slammed the door shut. "I don't want to talk to you," I stated blatantly walking around him but he stepped in my way.
"Ayami," he said softer than his previous tone, "I wanted to apologize." I looked up at him doubtful.
"Oh really?" I asked, scrutinizing him. He nodded. I continued eating my chips.
"Before, I-" he stopped suddenly like he wasn't sure what to say. Then he took a breath before he went on calmly, "I didn't mean to upset you."
"Yeah well you did," I said spiteful as I walked towards the only escape route I could find; a door leading outside. He looked a little sad as I stepped around him.
"Wait!" He said following me outside. "Please let's talk about this. I feel bad about making you upset, I promise I'll never do it again!" I huffed sarcastically but kept walking on the path.
"Don't make promises you can't keep," I stated flatly eating the last handful of chips, "I *crunch* hate *crunch* liers."
"REALLY, I mean it!" He persisted staying right along behind me.
"Aren't you supposed to be at club right now?" I asked trying to change the subject but he didn't seem fazed. I rolled my eyes again and stopped, putting one hand on my hip. He was caught off guard by my abrupt stop and almost ran into me.
"Look," I sighed as I shoved the empty chip bag into his chest; he took took it without question. "I didn't like you before," I continued, "and that hasn't changed. I still don't like you and I don't want to have anything to do with you."
"But," he said determined, "I want to get to know you better. Maybe once we get to know one another you'll find you might really like me."
"I highly doubt that. I don't want you to get to know me and I don't want to get to know you." I stated my irritation growing.
"But we're family?" Tamaki said sounding a bit confused and I had reached a boiling point.
"Just cause we have the same stupid father doesn't make us family!" I shouted at him. He froze, shocked and a bit surprised. He didn't respond right away and a few nearby students turned towards us at my sudden outburst. I blushed and tilted my head down biting my lip. 'I hadn't intended to let this part of me show in front of him. Why does this guy get under my skin so easily?' I thought to myself just as Tamaki spoke up again.
"If," he paused and I looked back up at him, he was staring down at the empty bag-o-chips. "If this is about your other older brother, I-" Tamaki started but I cut him off again.
"Wait! What do you know about any of that?" I asked and he looked like he regretted saying anything.
"Well, I just thought-" he tried to explain a frown on his face.
"What would you know?! We only met each other a few months ago and we've hardly ever talked since then! If you knew anything at all about me, then you'd know I'd rather be left alone and you should keep your bratty nose out of my business!" I was really mad now and shouting as loud as my voice would let me; I didn't care who heard.
"But-" he began once more but I was done; I had reached my limit.
"For god's sake, just leave me alone!" I yelled at him then I ran away.
"Ah, Ayami!" he called after me but I didn't stop.
I didn't care where I was headed. I continued to run until I was out of the gardens. I ducked behind the a large building and cut through a small wooded area. I don't know when I started crying but I could feel the coolness of the wind on my wet cheeks.
'Why?!' I screamed in my head, 'Why is Tamaki trying so hard to replace Yoshiro? It's not right! Why doesn't he just leave me alone? If he's gonna be like this I don't think I can stand living with him.'
The tears in my eyes were making everything blurry and I tripped over a tree root that I hadn't seen. Catching myself on the trunk of the tree I kept myself from falling. I stayed leaning there for a bit, trying to regain my composure. Crying wasn't making me feel any better, I knew that I had to get this rage out of my system somehow. I needed a good fight but it's not like there were any random thugs around here I could beat up, not to mention doing it without drawing attention to myself would be impossible.
I was only sniffling now and my eyes were dry, so I wiped my tears away and stood up straight, then I walked away from the tree at a slightly quicken pace. I did not want to stay there where anyone could find me looking all upset, especially Tamaki. I walked a little ways and came around to the front of a large building that was empty. I went inside then stood still, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. Now that I wan't crying anymore, I could see what was in front of me and could hardly believe my eyes.
The screech of sneakers on the slick wood floor.
'A basketball court?' I thought in disbelief staring out at the shiny surface traced with black lines. The lights were off and the room pretty dark but it was definitely a basketball court. Looking around a bit, I found the sports equipment storage room. I tried the door and found it unlocked.
'Lucky~,' I thought to myself pleased as I searched a bit and found a cart of basketballs. I picked up a ball and suddenly I was being bombarded by memories.
Players shuffling about the court. So many moving bodies but there was only one player in particular I cared about. The one wearing the number 23 jersey.
"Kick his ass, Yoshiro!" my mom yelled beside me though her shout was nothing compared to the cheering from the rest of the crowd.
Smiling, I walked out of the storage room pulling the cart of balls with me. I left the cart on the sidelines and found myself walking into the middle of this open space with no one around me but the ghosts of a memory in my mind.
Yoshiro would dodge a player from the other team with ease and steal the ball. Yoshiro then passed the ball to his team mate and ran down the court, his blonde ponytail flowing behind him.
I started dribbling the ball in my hands. Next thing I knew I was making my way down the court. Faster and faster. I reached the two point line and took position to shoot.
Yoshiro would get the ball again and-
I shoot and the ball slipped through the hoop with ease.
"SCORE!" The shouting climaxed just as the buzzer would sound; our team had won the game. Team mates patting his back, my mother jumping up and down in her seat.
"That's my son!" she shouted with glee.
"That's my big brother!" I would try to shout just as loud but my childish voice wouldn't let me. Yoshiro grabbed the game ball and skipped over to us his ponytail bouncing with every step. He gave my mom a high five then he turned to me.
"Hey little sis!" he'd said with a big smile. Then he wrapped me up into a strong hug.
"Ew! You're all sweaty!" I complained with a laugh. He laughed with me.
"Here," he said handing me the ball, "because it seems that I win every game you come to see. You're my lucky charm!" I giggled as he picked me up and twirled me around.
I smiled slightly at the memory then looked at the cart of basket balls. 'Stress relief,' I thought my grin growing wider. "Not quite the same rush as a good fight but it will do." I spoke into the darkness as I placed the ball back on the cart.
After snooping around a bit, I found the locker room. Inside were a bunch of clean gym uniforms. "Borrowing" one, I changed and put my hair up in a ponytail, tying Momo's ribbon on my wrist. Then I headed back out to the court, grabbed another ball, and headed up and down the court, my mind trying to work out my emotions.
Running.
'Ugh, How did he even find out about Yoshiro? I never told him, not really, I only mentioned him once so why would Tamaki care or remember that.' I thought as I shuffled along. Then I took a shooting stance and focused on the net. Shoot. The ball flew through the air hit the backboard and fell through the hoop.
'The only people I told about Yoshiro for real were Mori and Haruhi, but neither of them would have told him, would they?'
Another ball.
'Well, knowing how Mori hardly ever talks, and he didn't even let Honey come to the conversation we had about Yoshiro, tells me that it probably wasn't him.' I ran down to the half court line and turning around and ran back to the three point line again. 'Haruhi I told everything to in strict confidence so I don't think she would have told him about it.'
Lining up the shot.
'If not them then who else?'
Shooting. *Swish* through the net once more.
'My father?' I pondered stopping to take a breath. 'No, I'm not sure what he knows, if he even knows about my past at all.' I gathered up all the balls I had thrown and placed them back on the cart. I then took the cart with me to the two point line to do some drills.
I threw a ball. It hit the backboard and fell through the net.
A second ball, toss, through the net with ease.
A third ball, a fourth, and on it went, ball after ball trailing through the hoop one after the other.
I grabbed the last ball on the cart and decided to go for a dunk. I stepped backwards until I was behind the mid-court line then I planted my feet firmly to get a good grip on the floor. I imagined a group of five basketball players standing in my way and grinned. I hunched my shoulders and bit then rushed forwards. I dodged the random, invisible players on the court, dribbling the ball and switching it between my left and right hand. My shoes squeaked as I sped to the bottom of the net. I jumped high as I could, closing the distance between me and the hoop.
There was a loud *thunk* sound as my hands hit the edge of the metal rim and a following *swoosh* as the ball dropped through the net.
I dangled from the hoop a second before letting go, but my legs gave way when they hit the ground and I fell to the floor. I basically landed on my butt and fell back on my elbows. My breathing was heavy; I had worked up a sweat and was a bit tired. I laid all the way down on the cool wood floor and stayed there catching my breath for a second. Then suddenly the lights flew on. Caught off guard, I winced and put my arm up to block the blinding beams of light.
'Probably a gym teacher or the basketball team getting ready to start practice,' I thought sitting up quickly, blinking to adjust my sight. I looked at the figure in the door way squinting to see who it was. To my surprise, there stood Mori with his hand still on the light switch watching me with a small amount of surprise on his face.
"Mori?" I stated a bit confused. I blushed and stood to my feet quickly but still trying to act casual. "What are you doing here?" I asked trying not to look embarrassed as I crossed my arms. "Aren't you supposed to be in club right now?"
"We're taking a day off from club," Mori explained as he began walking towards me.
"Is that so?" I said unsure what to make of that. As he walked towards me he picked up one of the many strewn basket balls. He looked it over then glanced between me and the hoop.
"How did you do that?" he asked curiously turning his gaze back to me.
"What?" I asked in confusion.
"That... just now." he clarified, motioning towards the basketball hoop.
"Oh you mean a dunk?" I asked and he nodded. "uh well..." I said picking up another basketball and dribbling it while walking towards the mid court line. "It helps for me to get a running start cause I'm not too tall; unlike you. For you, a slam dunk would probably be a cinch." I gestured at him with a nod of the head and he returned it with an understanding nod back.
"That's very impressive," he stated in slight amazement, I smiled a slight grin.
"Wanna give it a shot?" I asked challenging him. He looked at me a bit shocked but didn't say anything. "Or are you chicken?" I started to ask, but before I finished he began shrugging out of his uniform jacket.
He walked toward a bench against the wall, after placing the ball down he quickly removed his uniform blazer. I watched, surprised, as he loosened and removed his tie then rolled up his shirt sleeves. He placed his blazer and tie on the bench then picked up the ball again. He untucked his shirt then as walking out to meet me on the court.
'I have to admit he looks kinda attractive, having dressed down a bit, well he is a host so he supposed to be attractive but...' I stopped my thoughts and shook my head to rid myself of them. 'What's up with me? Focus!'
"Okay, do you want me to demo it for you or-" I started but once more he started acting on his own before I finished my question. He dribbled the ball with his right hand then switched it between the right and left a couple times. "Hmm, now this is getting interesting," I said smiling at him as I placed my ball under my arm. Mori looked at me quizzically but I just grinned. "Go ahead show me what ya got." He nodded and proceeded to dribble the ball again.
He looked up to the hoop ahead of him then started making his way down the court, his speed increasing as he went. His long legs had him to the bottom of the net in no time. He jumped with ease his hands made contact with the cold metal rim as the ball dropped through the net.
*Whoo* I whistled and clapped my hands as he faced me looking somewhat pleased with himself.
"Not bad dude but," I said grinning wide as I dribbled my ball, "Let's see how well you do against an opponent." I tossed my ball towards him and he caught it. I got ready to sprint forwards but paused, waiting for him to get into a ready stance. "You say when to go," I said I could feel the grin growing on my lips. He nodded and dribbled the ball a few times then looked up at me.
"Ready?" he seemed to be asking it in a question. I licked my lips and nodded. "Alright... go." Then he took a few strides in my direction and I bolted down the court and was in front of him in seconds. He was surprised at how fast I shrank the distance between us he tried to block me from getting the ball by pivoting in-place and putting his back to me. I did a fake to the left then dashed around on his right before he could react. I stole the ball and started down the court. Mori chased after me and was right on my tail so instead of stopping at the two point line, and giving him a chance to block me, I headed towards the hoop to make a dunk.
Mori though wasn't just right on my tail, he had caught up to me. He slipped in front of me so suddenly that for a split second his height caught me of gaurd. I looked up at the net just behind his head and had an idea. Using all my leg power I could muster, I jumped straight into the air, and with that, him and I were not only eye to eye but soon my head was higher than his. Keeping my left arm between his body and mine, I made hook shot over his head with my right arm. Mori looked over his shoulder to watch the ball, giving me a perfect view of my shot.
The ball bounced off the metal rim then dropped through the hoop just as my feet hit the floor boards. I fell back on my butt and looked up at Mori who appeared to be in awe. He turned back to look at me and the expression on his face was priceless. He looked like a shocked giraffe, I burst out laughing.
"How's that for skill?!" I said in-between laughs.
Mori was slightly out of breath and opened his mouth to say something when I heard someone speak from the door.
"Sugoi! (Amazing!)" I looked over my shoulder to see Haruhi, the rest of host club along with her. Honey was the one who had spoke.
Haruhi looked like she was both shocked and worried. Tamaki stood to the left her. He was just staring at me speechless, eyes wide, with the empty bag of shrimp chips still in his hands. Kyoya was farthest back in the group, watching me with a small amount of interest set in his brow, and the twins and Honey where on the other side of Haruhi, their mouths gaping in amazement. Then the twins and Honey began clapping.
"SUGOI! (AMAZING!)" Honey praised me again, the others nodded in agreement. I rolled my eyes.
"Stop it," I said standing up and blushing. "It's not that impressive. How long have you guys been standing there?"
"Um," Haruhi answered, "Since you two started your little one-on-one." I blushed a bit then began picking up the strewn balls from around the room and placing them back on the cart.
I was reaching for the last ball when somebody else picked it up. I stood up straight to come face to face with an expectant Tamaki. He gave me his most princely smile but I returned it with a grimace. He pouted slightly and looked down at the basketball in his hands then his lips formed a softer grin. I raised one eyebrow at him, confused, and crossed my arms, waiting.
"Ayami," he said my name with the same strangely warm tone I had heard in my father's voice before. I blinked surprised but kept my face otherwise blank.
"Yes?" I asked, impatiently tapping my foot. When he didn't continue right away I took the ball from him then I realized that he was still holding the empty bag of shrimp chips. "Why..." I asked pointing at it, "Why do you still have that?" He looked down at his hands then blushed.
"I... uh," he stuttered out seeming somewhat embarrassed. "I just wanted to keep it." He finished and that combined with the look his face was hilarious to me. I burst out laughing he seemed a bit shocked at first then smiled and chuckled slightly with me. I fake-coughed then to quickly recovered my composure and placed the ball back on the cart.
"Well whatever, weirdo. I'm gonna head home and hit the showers, see ya!" I gave him a simple salute wave and began heading towards the lockers to change.
"Wait!" He shouted urgently, reaching towards me to stop me from leaving, and I turned to face him. He closed his eyes for a short moment and took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm sorry. . . You're right," Tamaki admitted looking up at me. "Just because we're related by blood, it doesn't mean we're family." I raised my eyebrows in shock.
'Did he just really admit to that?' I thought looking him over eyes wide. 'Wow, this is a feeling I haven't had in a while, winning an argument, and with Tamaki... just, wow!'
"Heh," I laughed slightly. "Did I just hear that correctly?" I asked pretending to clean out my ears, "Did you just admit that I was right and you, oh fabulous Prince Tamaki, were wrong?" He looked a bit irritated but nodded his head. "Well I'm glad that's settled." I huffed heading for the locker rooms once more, patting him on the shoulder as I passed him. "Laters," I started to say but I was cut off.
"But-" he shouted loudly, catching me off guard and making me jump. I looked back at him a little confused. "But I'd like to try!" He stated, his face very serious. "I'd like to try to be you family!"
'That word again, family...what is this guy's deal with that word? Why is he so obsessed with it?' I furrowed my eyebrows and sighed.
"Oh, so sorry, we're not taking applications at this time," I replied sarcastically trying to walk away again.
"I'm serious!" he said following after me.
"So am I. Bug off." I retorted through my teeth as I walked towards my escape. I tried to make my way past the group, who happened to be standing between me and the locker rooms, but the twins stepped in my way. I gave them a look of irritation. "Look guys, he's so scatterbrained he's still holding the trash I shoved at him earlier."
We all took a second to glanced at Tamaki with the empty chip bag in his hands. Tamaki looked a bit embarrassed. I turned back around to face Hikaru and Kaoru.
"I don't know why you're even here cause you're so not gonna force me to like that guy," I added, pointing my thumb at Tamaki behind me.
"We know," they said together. I rolled my eyes and started to walk around them only to come face to face with a sad looking Honey. Haruhi stood a few steps behind him with a similar expression to Honey's on her face.
"Not you too," I moaned. "Seriously, I don't even know why you guys hang around Tamaki in the first place." Honey's and the others expressions were unchanged. I sighed and shook my head before continuing, "Listen it's just not gonna happen there's no way I'm gonna change my mind."
"Fine!" Tamaki shouted suddenly. I jumped, startled, and turned back to see him just as he was removing his coat jacket.
"What are you doing?" I asked confused. He loosened and removed his tie then began rolling up his sleeves.
"Changing your mind," he stated a very serious look set in his brow.
"Huh?" I said.
"We'll have a Basketball Battle!" He exclaimed pointing at me dramatically.
"What?" I asked confused.
"You and I will play a game of one on one basket ball. If I win, I get a chance to prove to you that I can be a amazing big brother." He explained as he prepared to dish it out on the court. I looked him over, crossing my arms. 'He seems so... well I can't think of any exact word really... determined, strong, manly? Very... honest? Would that be the right word? Whatever,' I shook my head, abandoning my thoughts.
"And if I win?" I asked. Tamaki looked as though he hadn't thought that part through. "How about..." I paused thinking then grinned slightly, "You completely drop the trying to be my brother thing and leave me alone?" His jaw stiffened but he nodded in acceptance reluctantly. A smiled stretched across my lips and I snickered a bit. 'He's making this almost too simple for me.'
"Well then," I said picking up a ball a smug grin plastered on my face, "If you're really so dumb as to think you can beat me at literally the only thing I've been doing in my free time for the past two years, then this should be an easy win for me. You're on! I accept the terms."
"Aya, I don't know if-" Haruhi started but I ignored her.
"One on one, first to 21 points wins the game," I said to Tamaki, "Also this is gonna be your one and only chance, no rematches."
"Understood!" He agreed clenching his fists a fiery light in his eyes, also ignoring Haruhi's previous interjection. "Kyoya will keep the score and the rest of you can cheer me on," Tamaki said pointing to the club.
"When did I get pulled into this?" Kyoya asked sounding bothered as he got placed in the referee spot with a whistle. Then Tamaki forced the others to stand next to Kyoya on the sidelines with pom-poms. 'Where did they find the pom-poms?'
"Oi-oi," (Hey-hey) Haruhi stated looking down at the pom-poms in her hands, "Isn't this a bit much."
"Make sure you cheer loud for ~Daddy!" Tamaki said grinning strangely. I rolled my eyes as I sat on the floor to do some stretches.
"Go! Go! Aya! GO!" Honey cheered waving the pom-poms about with a giggle.
"Ah," Mori agreed clapping his hands.
"Go Ayami! You can do it!" the twins added together.
"Hey! You're all supposed to be cheering for me! I'm your king!" Tamaki complained.
"Eh? But we don't want to," the twins teased and Tamaki growled at them. I snickered a bit then stood up, getting ready for the match to begin.
I walked to the middle of the court and Tamaki stood in front of me. I looked up at him, even though he wasn't that much taller than me for some reason today he seemed taller.
"Get ready to loose," I said brimming with pride.
"I will win." Tamaki stated still just as resolute as he was before. His certainty was almost believable.
"Not likely," I mumbled in reply with a half-laugh but he just seemed to get more determined at my comment.
"Alright," Kyoya sighed, bringing a ball to the middle of the court, "First to 21 points wins; three fouls or violations and you automatically loose. Ready?" I nodded and so did Tamaki. *Piiiiii~* Kyoya blew the whistle and threw the ball in the air between us. I jumped and reached the ball before Tamaki even knew what was going on. I quickly ran around him dribbling my way down the court. I made it to the two point line with no one to block me and I took the shot. The ball flew through the air then fell through the hoop and Kyoya blew the whistle again. "Two points, Ayami." he announced rather monotone.
"Woohoo! Way to go Aya!" Honey and the twins cheered as Mori and Haruhi (who had ditched her pom-poms) clapped. I sniffed and flicked my nose as Kyoya wrote down my score. Then I turned around to grin at a dumbstruck Tamaki who hadn't moved an inch from the starting position.
"I-" he stuttered then shook his head to regain his composure, "I just wasn't ready yet." I rolled my eyes and picked up the ball and tossed it to him. He almost dropped it and looked at me confused.
"I scored it's your ball," I explained as I took my place on my half of the court again.
"Oh," he said nodding, his serious expression returning. Kyoya blew the whistle for the next round. Tamaki tried to go to the left but I blocked him. Then he held the ball closer to his body and took two steps to the right.
"Violation!" I shouted, pointing at him and Kyoya blew the whistle.
"Violation, traveling." Kyoya stated giving Tamaki a mark.
"What?!" Tamaki yelled irritated. "What do you mean?!"
"My ball," I said clapping my hands once and waited for him to pass it. Tamaki pouted as he lightly tossed it to me.
We took our places again and the whistle blew once more. This time Tamaki was more prepared for my trying to dodge him and he blocked me from heading to the right. So I did a 180 so that my back was to him and I dribbled the ball around him to the left. I zoomed down the court, he tried to keep up with me but I made it to the three point line and decided to take the shot. I lined it up a bit more carefully this time and tossed the ball.
*Thunk* it hit the back board, *bong* bounced off the rim, then *swish* fell through the net.
"Yes!" I cheered under my breath with a fist pump as the whistle blew again.
"Three points, Ayami," Kyoya called sounding somewhat bored. 'At this rate I'll win the game in ten shots,' I thought with a smile.
"Here," I said tossing the ball to Tamaki again.
"I won't loose!" he said still very determined for the fact that he was loosing. Kyoya blew the whistle once more and the next thing I knew Tamaki was running away from me, traveling again. Then he suddenly threw the ball into his own hoop.
"Violation, traveling. Ayami get's two points," Kyoya said with a sigh, hardly even bothering to blow the whistle.
"What are you talking about?!" Tamaki shouted, "I just scored! How did Ayami get the points?" Kyoya ignored his shouting as I rolled my eyes and rushed up to Tamaki.
"What on Earth are you doing?!" I yelled at him and he looked at me shocked. "Do you even know how to play Basketball?" I asked irritated and he shook his head no. "Do you even know the rules?!" I shouted and he shrank back away from me. "Geez!" I complained in English, throwing my hand on my forehead. After a bit I sighed and picked up the ball and stuck it under my arm. "Time-out," I said to Kyoya giving him the "T" signal with my hands. He nodded in response then I turned back to Tamaki.
"What are you doing?" he asked confused.
"I'm not going to beat a person's ass without them even knowing how to freakin' play the game." I grumbled Tamaki looked a little bit touched. "It's no fun winning against stupid people." I said and Tamaki acted like I had just pierced his ego with that blow but I continued without a pause. "Look, here are the basic rules," I said starting the explanation. "That over there is my hoop," I said pointing across the court, "you get points when the ball goes through my hoop. This hoop here," I pointed at the one above us. "Is yours I get points when the ball goes through it. Kinda like goals in soccer, simple enough, right?" He nodded so I continued.
"This whole time you've been getting violations for traveling. Traveling is when you take more than one and a half steps without dribbling the ball." He looked like he was totally lost, I sighed. "Dribbling is this." I said and I bounced the ball on the ground with my hand a few times. "Here now you try," I said tossing him the ball.
"Oh okay," he said and bounced the ball himself a few times.
"Good," I said with a nod. "Now toss me the ball." He did as I asked. "If your holding the ball and not dribbling, you can keep one foot on the ground and move the other, that's called pivoting, see." I demonstrated for him. "But if you move your pivot foot that's also considered traveling. Okay?"
"Okay," He said.
"Now you see this line here?" I asked pointing to the free throw line. He nodded. "This is the free throw line, shots made from here are worth one point." He nodded and I walked to the two point line. "This is the two point line, shots made from here are worth two points, and this-" I said skipping way out to the three point line, "is the three point line, shots made from here are worth three points. Get it?" He nodded.
"It's goes without saying that there's no pushing, hitting, or grabbing the other player, okay? That's really all you need to know for this game. I doubt you're going to have many other problems."
"Alright, I've got this!" he said confidently.
"Sure you do," I replied sarcastically. "My ball. Time-in!" I called loudly and Kyoya nodded and blew the whistle to start off the game.
Mori's point of view:
Watching Ayami as she explained the game-play was a bit interesting and enjoyable. I hadn't played the game much myself but I knew the basic rules, and I suspect Tamaki knew them too; while she explained the different point lines I thought I saw him grin for a moment.
"Aya is a nice person," Honey said I looked down to see him smiling up at me. "You know since she likes playing fair, well, sort of fair anyway."
"Yeah," I said looking back to court where the two siblings were talking. The family resemblance wasn't very present or noticeable so it's no wonder we all missed it but it sill a bit shocking even now.
"Time-in!" Aya called abruptly and the game restarted.
Ayami made another three pointer then stole the ball from Tamaki and made another. Her pride in her skills was undeniable, her constant grin told everyone that, but as the game went on it seemed to be taking it's toll on her. Her breathing was heavy and her movements were looking more and more forced. She swayed after making a two pointer and I almost ran on to the court but she regained her footing and continued playing.
"Ayami doesn't look too good," Honey commented and Haruhi nodded in agreement with a worried look on her face.
"But she's very athletic, so she should be fine," Haruhi said but it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself aswell. "In all honesty, I'm more worried about Tamaki." she added after a bit, and we all took a second to look at Tamaki who was also breathing heavy.
"Yeah the Boss isn't looking so hot either," Hikaru said.
"I guess sports isn't his strong suit." Kaoru added.
"That's true but..." Haruhi paused watching the game. "Aya will give him a chance to score here in a bit," Haruhi stated suddenly and we all looked at her.
"What makes you think that?" Kaoru asked.
"It's true, Aya won't let him win." Haruhi added flatly, "but Aya isn't a cruel person. She tries but doesn't do a very good job of hiding her true self. She may be proud and talk tough, like she won't give him a chance, but she's also kindhearted, too kind to let him loose with absolutely nothing."
"I see, but what makes you so sure she won't just win outright?" Hikaru questioned her.
"Aya and I have know each other since middle school. I have a pretty good idea of what her character's like." She said looking at him. "During a fight, I once saw Aya leave an opening for the opponent to get a single punch in before she beat his ass senseless." Haruhi mumbled.
"Isn't that like false hope?" the twins asked in unison but Haruhi continued without answering.
"If Aya truly didn't want to do this, she could have simply ignored Tamaki and walked away, but she didn't. Aya wants to do this. She wants to give him a chance even though she may not know it herself or why she does, but whether she knows it or not, Aya wants him to try. She may act annoyed towards Tamaki but that's only because she's angry, not at Tamaki himself but at what he represents to her." Haruhi finished her mini speech there leaving us all pondering over what she said.
I looked back towards Aya as she scored another two pointer. Shortly, I came to the realization that what Haruhi said was very true. 'To Aya, Tamaki is the embodiment of everything she never wanted. Tamaki himself isn't her reason for disliking him, he simply represents what she's lost. Her home, her family, and even her greatest loss, the death of her brother Yoshiro. Although, Tamaki isn't just a representative of her past but her future aswell. He's the symbol of her pain to come, along with what pain she's already endured. It would be surprising if she didn't harbor some sort of feelings of hatred for Tamaki aswell as their father.'
Aya's breathing became even more labored and her face was flushed more than it should be. I was really worried now, thinking she might pass out. She then stole the ball once more and scored another two points, now Aya only needed to make one more shot to win the game. Everybody seemed to lean forwards with anticipation as the next round began. At this time Aya glanced in our direction.
Ayami's point of view:
I only needed to score another two points to win. I had noticed that the cheering seemed to grow less and less with every score so I glanced over at the other hosts. All were sitting on the benches except Kyoya who was leaning against the wall. Honey and Haruhi had the same expression of worry on their faces. The twins seemed to be bored out of their minds but were just sticking around to see the outcome or perhaps they had nothing better to do. Kyoya seemed a bit bored but calculating as he kept score. Mori was sitting down but looked tense in the shoulders like he couldn't sit comfortably. He fists were clenched as he watched, keeping his eyes trained on me. I still couldn't read his expressions too well, especially not from this distance, but for some reason I thought he looked a little bit concerned.
I turned back to look at Tamaki, who was heaving breathes and sweating like crazy. I was pretty out of breath too and light headed, this game was getting to me. It's probably not just tiresome to play but to watch one person hogging the ball is boring I'm sure. When the next round began, I let Tamaki slip past me, just barely so nobody would think I did it on purpose, and he managed to score himself two points.
"Two points for Tamaki," Kyoya said, sounding surprised that I had let him have even that much.
"Way to go TAMAKI!" Honey burst out in excitement sounding really proud for him. I looked at the hosts again as Honey cheered. The twins seemed slightly shocked. Haruhi smiled at me but both her and Mori still appeared worried. Mori was staring at me intently and when I glanced over we locked eyes for a short while. His gaze felt hot on my face and I had to look away. 'His stare is always so intense, why is that? It's like he has laser eyes.' I thought to myself shaking my head slightly.
"I'm not giving up," Tamaki breathed heavily and I looked back to him. His face was flushed and his shirt was soaked with sweat but his expression was still one of steadfast, determination. I paused, his image caught my off guard for a bit but then I turned away.
"Whatever," I mumbled panting, "I'm gonna win."
When the whistle blew, I dodged Tamaki then he tripped over his own feet and practically face-planted onto the floor. I stopped and looked over my shoulder towards him instead of going for my last shot. He looked so drained and tired.
'I really don't understand this guy.' I thought to myself catching a few breaths before turning to Kyoya. I gave him the timeout "T" signal again and he nodded in response.
Haruhi stood up and acted like she was going to run out here to check on Tamaki but Kyoya stopped her by putting his hand on her shoulder. I then looked back down at my fallen opponent as he gasped for air, still on the floor resting up on his elbows
'I'm really starting to feel dizzy now, probably from the water loss,' I thought looking down at how soaked both him and I were, us two players on the court were both sweating buckets. 'I'm surprised he's lasted this long... I have to end this game soon.' Tamaki sat up on his knees trying to catch his breath. He didn't stand up for a long while so I walked over and kneeled down beside him.
"Why are you even still trying?" I asked.
"Because," he huffed, out of breath, "I want to prove it."
"Prove what?" I asked curiously. "That you're a bigger idiot than I thought?" I laughed but he suddenly sat up straight, grabbed the collar of my shirt with both hands, and pulled me forwards so our faces were less than a foot apart. I froze, shocked, as he looked directly into my eyes. Sweat was dripping down from his drenched golden locks onto his forehead. I stared into his violet eyes, there was a strange fiery glow to them.
"I want to prove that I can be your brother, your family!" he exclaimed dead sure of himself. This statement made me pause for a second in slight awe. 'How could he harbor such resolve? He's so damn persistent, why?!' I thought in annoyance a frown on my lips, I pushed his hand off me before I spoke.
"I don't think that's ever going to happen," I stated, my voice cold and hard. I stood up and got ready to make my final shot.
"I'm going to prove it!" Tamaki shouted from behind my back.
"Just leave it alone," I warned him irritated. "Time in!" I shouted in command form at Kyoya who seemed a bit bothered by my tone but I ignored the glare he gave me. I heard what sounded like Tamaki moving behind me but I didn't care I was lining up my last shot, to finish the game and put the whole family issue to rest for good. I held the ball over my head and extended my arm thrusting the ball into the air when-
"NO!" Tamaki's voiced echoed through the gym just as the ball left my fingertips.
Everyone watched in anticipation as my ball bounced off the backboard... and back down to the court. I had missed.
I growled in annoyance making my hands into fists as turned to look at him. He was starting to stand up now.
"No, I won't leave this alone." he repeated firmly once he was standing tall, his hands balled into fists aswell. I don't know why but the look on his face and the fact that he was being so suborn to get me to change, just made me angry. My feelings started to boil over.
"Why?!" I barked back at him, clenching my teeth.
The room fell deathly silent.
Tamaki appeared shocked by the sudden change in my attitude, it appeared that I had leaped from slight annoyance to complete and utter rage in a split second.
"Is there some rule that says that we have to get along? That I have to like you?" I asked rhetorically, "Cause I sure as hell never heard of such a rule. I don't like you. I'll never like you." I was growing furious now. "In fact-" I paused picking up the basketball again.
"Aya, calm down," I heard Haruhi say, sounding like she was walking towards us but I didn't look to see.
"I hate you! You're so annoying!" I continued ignoring her.
"Ayami..." Tamaki said his voice trailing off. His expression became downcast but I was ranting now and didn't want to stop. It's like I was trying to vent out all the pressure I'd been under on him. I knew it was wrong, I knew it would probably hurt his feelings, but it's how I felt.
"Why huh?! Why you?!" I shouted throwing the ball sloppily at the hoop and missing again. "You, of all the people in the world, I ended up being related to you... Tamaki Suoh," I said his name with a tinge of disgust as I quickly grabbed up the ball again. "Tamaki freakin' Suoh!" I yelled, dribbling the ball hard on the ground as I walked towards him. "Ugh! And that's all I am now! Not Ayami, oh no, I'm Tamaki's new, younger sister. The chairman's daughter!A SUOH!"
"Aya," I heard Honey mumble sadly.
"Well you want to know what?!" I continued, I could feel my face was red-hot. "I don't want to be a Suoh! I never asked to be a Suoh!" I screamed throwing the ball full force into Tamaki's chest but he still caught it. His expression remained hurt, actually, all the host club members looked sad, like... they were pitying me. I hated it but I went on shouting anyway, it felt to good to finally release my pent up feelings.
"I never asked for any of this! I never asked to be rich! I never asked for a new family, I like the one I had before!" I realized that tears were streaming down my face and bit my lip. "I wish-" I stopped for a second, both my vision and my head were getting fuzzy. "I wish-" I repeated again trying to wipe away my tears but couldn't seem to stop them from flowing down my cheeks. "I wish I had my old life back, I wish I was poor again... *sniffle* I wish things could go back to the way they were... before I met you... Before you Suoh's ruined my life!"
"Aya?!" Haruhi stated in shock but I didn't pay her any mind.I heard Tamaki drop the basketball, it bounced across the floor.
"I hate you Souh's. I wish I'd never met you or my father! I-" and I was cut off by a pair of arms wrapping their way around me. The arms pulled me against the person's chest. I looked up in shock to see Tamaki holding me in a gentle yet strong hug. I reflexively tried get away but he continued to hold me tightly to his chest.
"I'm sorry, Ayami," he whispered softly into my ear, placing one hand on the back of my head, and I froze solid. "I'm sorry, I've hurt you, without even realizing it." He paused and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry I didn't realize it sooner, that you must be so hurt and lonely without your loved-ones near you. I understand how you feel."
I now remembered the story father had told me about his past. 'Now that I think about it, I don't recall ever hearing what happened to Tamaki's mother, the one our father actually loved. Is Tamaki separated from her like I am from my family?' This thought caught me off guard me and seemed to disarm my brain from my rage and my crying was put on pause. My head was clouded my thoughts not connecting like I wanted them too. 'No that has nothing to do with me.' I shook my head and pushed Tamaki away with one hard thrust.
"Don't act like you know me," I said angrily, "You don't know me! YOU know nothing about ME!" Tamaki stepped back with his hands up, palms out, and I realized that I had pulled back my right arm as if I was going to sock him one in the jaw. I hadn't even realized the motions until then, it was just a reflexive action to my anger. I shook my head and dropped my fist though my fingers were still tightly closed.
"Aya perhaps you should take a break. You look tired," Haruhi said, suddenly she was right beside me reaching to touch my shoulder. I waved her off and turned around quickly heading for the basketball. I wiped off the remaining tears from my face.
"Whatever," I said as I leaned over to pick up the ball. 'Whoa, I really feel dizzy now,' I thought as I stood, swaying on the way up. I tried to take another step but my feet felt like lead.
"I'm going to win this game then you're all going to leave me the hell alone." I huffed out of breath, the room seemed to be spinning. I tried to lift the ball into the air but it seemed kinda heavy and I couldn't make the shot. It dropped from my hands and I heard it bounce away.
Suddenly, I felt my knees give out and everything went black.
Oh nooooo! What will happen next?
REACTION TO REVIEWS:
I'm so not done with writing this story, I do want to try and finish it but no promises on when that'll happen. Life has been crazy busy and having writers block didn't help but I pushed through and finished this chapter. No clue when I'll get to the next one.
I have decided that I'm making it official to change Aya's sister's name from Kotomi to Tomoko and I'll be going back and updating all previous chapters eventually.
Again I'm appologizing for how long it's taken me to finish this chapter.
~Please review!~
~Thank you for reading~
~MiraCarpathia