Chapter 2: Destiny
Against the priestess's wishes, time was moving forward.
A couple weeks had passed since she befriended the highly extroverted, Satsuki Momoi. Ever since that first day, Momoi had promptly claimed Kagome's neighboring desk and took it upon herself to pry the priestess out of her reserved bubble. While the efforts were flattering and, begrudgingly, appreciated, Kagome couldn't let herself open up so easily. If the well was to finally open again, she would leave the modern era, forever. She couldn't do that to someone as kind as Momoi.
"Kagome?" A waving hand suddenly obstructed her view of the board. "Hellooo, earth to Kagome." Momoi stood next to the priestess's desk, bag already around her shoulders. It took a moment for Kagome to process the fact that school was now over and that she was staring blankly at the cleared board. A small sweat drop beaded down her forehead.
'Damn, my senses are getting weak. First the guy at Maji Burger now this... I'll have to meditate when I get home.'
"What're you still doing here, Momoi?" Kagome asked as they walked out of the classroom. It was unusual for Momoi to be here still, with her duty as the basketball club's manager she was usually off as soon as the bell rang. A smile stretched across the girl's face.
"I was wondering if you would help with a few manager duties today," Momoi said. "We have a game coming up and I could use your extra hands!" Momoi's eyes sparkled hopefully as she leaned towards Kagome.
As Kagome opened her mouth to decline, Momoi hit her with a powerful puppy eyed stare. Images of Moe flowers and sparkles flew in Kagome's imagination as she looked at her classmate.
'She's… so cute!' Kagome screamed in her head, her ability to break down from such childish tendencies terribly weak. 'It's no wonder Shippo got so much candy out of me.' Breaking her eyes away from Momoi, Kagome looked at the time and sighed. All things considered, she had generally avoided Momoi after school. Polite rejections to visit local cafes or catch a movie piled in the back of her mind… She could push back her meditation just this once.
"Sure, but I can't stay too long. I promised I would help Jii-san with chores tonight," Kagome conceded. A squeal of delight erupted from Momoi as she grabbed the priestess's hand leading towards the gym.
She was going to make Kagome be her friend, damn it!
-00-
Momoi wasn't kidding about how much work had to be done in preparation for their upcoming game. As they worked around the empty stage, small conversations passed between peaceful quiet. It was nice, surprisingly. Kagome kept busy helping Momoi organize uniforms, print out rosters, and a million other small things. The thick binder simply labeled "Data" that sat next to Momoi's pile of uniforms suggested the girl's dedication outside of practice. Who knew being a basketball manager was so much work?
"Hey, Momoi… You were a manager in middle school, right? Didn't you know a team called the Generation of…" Kagome trailed off as she wracked her brain to remember the full name, but Momoi took it in stride even with her apparent look of surprise.
"I was the manager of Teiko's basketball team, the Generation of Miracles. I'm surprised you've never heard of them! They're pretty well known around Tokyo." Momoi said, folding the final uniform.
"I've never been up to date with sports, so I hadn't really heard of them until recently," Kagome laughed a little nervously, her time in the Feudal Era had simply taken all attention from the going ons of her era. The pink haired manager giggled.
"I suppose it's time you meet one of them then!" Momoi said as she placed the uniforms into two separate piles. Voices rang through the relatively empty gym, the players were coming in to start practice.
"Sakurai, that Ahomine better show up for practice today, you promised last time," growled a tall, blond male.
He pinned a rather terrifying glare on a meek, brown haired player. Sakurai let out a string of apologies as he scooted away from the blond. Another player, black hair and glasses, said something that she couldn't hear to the blond that earned an indignant scoff. As they shuffled into the locker room, Kagome noticed in the corner of her eye the visible drop of Momoi's smile. A few minutes later, the team reentered sans 'that Ahomine' and began warm ups without him.
"That idiot!" Momoi cried indignantly, her face turning a distinct shade of red. "He's skipping practice again." With a slam of her clipboard, she jumped off the stage and stalked off. With their manager leaving so loudly, the team finally noticed Kagome standing on the stage by herself. Feeling many pairs of eyes on her, Kagome hastily followed after the fuming manager.
It didn't take long for Kagome to find Momoi, who was grumbling as she fidgeted with her phone. She was finally catching up to the irate manager when a sudden turn caught her by surprise.
"Momoi, wait," Kagome called and quickly followed as the girl stomped through the roof entrance door. As they approached, she recognized the sleeping boy slouched against the wall from the first day of school.
"Dai-chan, what the hell!" Momoi shrieked at the sleeping Aomine. A single blue eye regarded her and quickly closed again as he shifted one of his long legs to stretch out.
"Go away, Satsuki, I'm tryna nap here."
"Yeah right, you should be at practice, idiot!" Momoi swung her leg at Aomine, who swiftly rolled away from it. The movement caught Kagome by surprise, the only human she had known to move that fast was Miroku. Momoi brought her other leg up in a fierce kick that landed. "You have a team that relies on you!"
"Ow, what the hell!" Aomine grumbled rubbing the spot on his back where the kick landed. "You know that I don't need to bother with practice. So long as I can play when they need me in games."
"You can at least show up, you know, like a decent teammate," Momoi crossed her arms in a huff. Aomine regarded his childhood friend with a bored look and a yawn. The look of frustration on Momoi's face was clear as day. Kagome walked to stand next to the manager for support. 'What a jerk..' she thought.
"Who are you?" Kagome was brought out of her reverie by a pair of dark blue eyes staring into hers.
"H-Higurashi, Kagome Higurashi," she supplied almost at a loss for words. A slight shiver tickled down her spine as Aomine's eyes traveled up and down her form.
"Eh, not my type." Aomine lamented with a sigh. There were no girls as stunning or heavily endowed as his beloved Horikita Mai.
'What. The. Hell!'
He had the audacity to say such a thing so casually to her face! She was not about to let a stranger wound her pride in such a way.
"Listen here, buddy, I'm not here to impress you," Kagome poked an indignant finger into his chest. "Why not, instead of being a complete and utter prick, you listen to Momoi and go to practice!" Her face was burning with rage as she pinned him with a glare, one that deepend when he suddenly smirked at her. God, this guy pissed her off!
Momoi could only watch the interaction with fascination. In the few weeks she had known Kagome, the girl had never shown such a display of anger, or even any powerful emotion like that before. 'Kagome's scary,' Momoi thought with a bead of sweat on her temple. Yet, her childhood friend was taking everything in stride. The intense sheen Aomine's eyes took as Kagome told him off caught Momoi by surprise.
Kagome was a flame, and Aomine was obliging kindling as he took the petite girl in. Her cerulean eyes glowed like a hot flame, only a fool would look away. Those were the eyes of a fighter, sharp and alive. A sensation deep within his stomach twisted as he flashed a cocky smirk. He was loving this.
"I like your fire, Kitty Cat," Aomine flicked Kagome's forehead lightly, his smirk widening as her face turned a deeper shade of red. Before she could open her mouth to make another remark, Aomine walked off leaving the girls on the roof.
"You're friends with that prick?!" Kagome exclaimed. Momoi sighed.
"Well, we've been friends since we were little," Momoi said, a strange look shadowing her usually happy face. "He hasn't always been this way."
The girls made their way back to the entrance of the gym.
A/N: And there he is! Please leave a review/comment/musing? I'd appreciate it :3