Work Text:
Hearts under the Net
"Those who are late will be punished by life itself"- M. Gorbatschow
1st Quarter: The Waiting Heart
"We, the basketball team, will participate in this year's national tournament to become the best team in Japan!"
On a Monday morning, right before the eight o'clock assembly, their vow echoed in a clear and confident shout of commitment from the rooftop of Seirin Gakuen for the whole studentbody to hear.
Kiyoshi Teppei, Izuki Shun, Koganei Shinji, Mitobe Rinnosuke...and Hyuuga Junpei.
Seriousness and determination radiated from his voice; and his daring oath gripped Aida Riko's heart like a fresh breeze: "Don't underestimate us. We'll do it! If we don't, I'll confess my feelings buck naked!" She smiled to herself and decided she would hold him responsible for these words! But Riko would also do her best as a coach to help the new team win and make their promise come true.
...
She believed in his courage, then, her heart floating in that fresh breeze his words had elicited. So she waited.
"I'm in. Let's see you guys do it."
It was spring and their first year in highschool.
...
Riko sighed deeply and slipped on her cardigan and shoes as she hurried through the Aida Gym, that was her home. She knew she was late for training with the team; but it couldn't be helped. To make up for it, she would just triple their regimen with a smile if she caught her boys goofing off while the coach was being absent!
"Ne, Riko-tan...I forgot there's that new client coming for rehabilitation starting next week, but Papa's schedule's already full like that," her father's aloof voice rang through the hall when she passed by, "So...could you take care of that one for me?"
"Yey, yes. I know. I got it," she replied in a dismissing mumble on her way out. "Useless dad...don't be so irresponsible in the first place, then," Riko pouted, not really meaning it; she liked aiding the customers recover and improve themselves, but still it meant spending less time with the Seirin basketball club, a time she truely enjoyed.
However, even though it was still winter her father's business was running better than usually around this time of year. Winter Cup had just ended with an inspiring blast for Seirin, Rakuzan and everyone else participating and watching and, basketball aside, there were also a couple of other sports that took a break during the cold season for the athletes to rest and to recover from sports injuries. Thus, as a personal trainer and former basketball national player, Aida Kagetora had more clients frequenting his facility than he could wish for.
Therefore Riko, too, was spending more time taking up the slack at the Aida Gym than whipping her team of 'basuke-bakas' into shape right now; it was a family business after all, and she intended to one day inherit the place after graduating from school next year and absolving an apprenticeship as sports physician then. So, naturally, she started her ambitious career as a stand-in for her doting, perverted idiot of a father whenever necessary.
"You have to be kidding me..."
The street lamps were already turned on when Riko stepped outside into the snowy evening drizzle. Usually Hyuuga would be waiting for her if they went training late at the school's gym during weekends, two umbrellas ready if the weather was nasty like this.
But if his neighbour and classmate was running as late as tonight Riko couldn't expect him to still be there, right?
Besides, she would make him go through hell if he was, instead of performing his training menu, anyways. So Seirin's captain should know better than to skip training for her. She didn't want him, or any other member of the basketball club for that matter, to rest on their team's laurels!
Yet, still...
It would have been nice not to run through the streets alone and without cover in this weather. It would have been nice to see his serious face with molten snow dripping from his fogged up glasses while holding the umbrella out to her, regardless. And it would have been nice to know he cared for her more than he cared for the sport they all loved, even if he never said so.
"You guys better be training seriously!"
Riko gritted her teeth, gripped the hem of her cardigan tighter and hurried on.
...
Then the incident during the match against Kirisaki Dai Ichi happened; Kiyoshi's knee was destroyed by that repulsive creep Hanamiya's scheming...and so were Seirin's chances of winning the tournament that year. With their strong inside and center, no, the very soul of the young team ripped from their bleeding hearts they didn't stand a chance against the remaining opponents.
Riko shouldn't have overheard it, but she did.
And she almost wept for her friend's cruel fate, too. It was so very heartbreaking to witness the strong and tall 'Iron Heart' Kiyoshi cry so desperately.
There at Kiyoshi's sick bed Hyuuga promised to wait for his teammate until he recovered, so they could take the championship together. He was a good captain, after all.
So, Riko let that loss slide and didn't say anything. The vow they made in spring on the rooftop was technically broken, but for Kiyoshi's sake she pretended it was just postponed for another year. It was a valid reason, and Hyuga was also being a true friend here.
Riko was a strict coach and any other time she would have called him on his words without mercy; but she was neither really heartless nor tasteless. It wouldn't have been fair to make him confess in the nude after everything that had happened to their dear friend and teammate.
She surely had the patience to wait for another year.
...
And so she did wait.
Although, she wouldn't have minded, if he had stood true to his words and mustered up the courage nontheless... However, his passionate confession never came; neither to her, nor to any other girl.
It was winter and their second year in highschool was around the corner.
...
A weekend full of training with the basketball team flew by fast; and Riko made sure they weren't getting lightheaded with the trophy throning on their shelves. Luckily, at Seirin Gakuen sports clubs were allowed to use the gym during holidays and weekends so she could drill them to her heart's content.
For during her last year in highschool she intended for Seirin to be able to maintain the title, no matter what!
Besides, the ambitious coach had cut her boys enough slack between Christmas and New Year's as a present for winning the Winter Cup, she figured. So they were right back at full throttle once the holidays were over.
Come Sunday evening it was still snowing. Riko had therefore refrained from making the team run outside so they wouldn't catch a cold. She had set up another exhibition match with Kaijo for the following Saturday and thus she had to be careful that her top players were in good shape. But the temperature was still too warm for the flakes to settle; and it dampened her mood a bit.
"Maybe I really should cut these..." Riko listlessly mumbled to herself when she came home and swept her dripping wet hair off her forehead. "There's no need for the charm anymore when we already won the cup weeks ago, right?"
Somehow she had been postponing going to the hairdresser even after the Winter Cup as if within the continued growth of her tresses lay another, different charm that might ignite a spark of...what, exactly?
Hope? Passion? Courage, maybe?
Now, that she thought about it, she felt stupid and naive. When it was decided in her head, that she would give her all so Seirin could win their second consecutive championship, had she not prepared her heart that she herself would make sure Hyuuga wouldn't have to be true to his vow? If he had really wanted to confess he surely would have done so by now, regardless of his promise; moreover, the Winter Cup trophy should have given him enough confidence and courage to draw from to do the deed.
Captain and coach might have casually acted or seemed like a couple to outsiders at some point, but frankly they had never been one. Nor would they probably ever be.
Realizing this, Riko had stopped waiting and hoping for something that would likely never come. And yet, here she had hesitated another two weeks to make the cut.
2nd Quarter: The Flustered Heart
The truth was, despite acting tough and confident bordering on bossy as a coach around the team, Aida Riko was a very self-conscious girl. She was also very observant due to her upbringing in an improvement- and success-oriented environment at her father's facility, and thus quite aware of her shortcomings. It didn't help that the boys constantly and sometimes even unintentionally reminded her of these things:
Firstly, she had a rather tomboyish appearance since her curves had not developed as much as she had hoped;
secondly, her personality appeared too strong to be cute, she'd rather get angry when she was hurt than play frail and her sweetest smile instilled fear in the hearts of her teammates instead of even remotely romantic feelings;
thirdly, she couldn't cook at all, regardless of how hard she tried or how great her efforts were, she was clumsy enough to injure herself when she did and apparently the food she fabricated was not quite edible;
and ultimately she didn't have a boyfriend, never had, and seemingly she even lacked the attractiveness to be regarded as a girl and to spike any boy's interest.
Riko knew very well she was nothing like the girls the guys generally were drooling over. But still it hurt when she was slapped in the face by another bold reminder and she often wished her teammates were more considerate of her feelings instead of blatantly staring at Momoi's huge chest or replying like frightened kittens as if Riko was some drill instructor at military academy or openly prefering Mitobe's and Kagami's food over hers or telling her in her face she was single...
Only once during the past two years her good points had been acknowledged.
Once.
And that once happened last summer during their first match against Touou when Kagami told her: "What are you talking about? This isn't like you. You make practice menues, you scout, you give us instructions on the bench, and even massage and tape us. If anything, you do too much."
She felt a bit flattered because of this kind of praise, even if 'Bakagami' was just stating the obvious truth; these were Riko's qualities as a coach.
...
But the slightest approving words of her qualities as a girl, much less a woman, she had yet to hear...from any of the lot.
Summer had been a dream that culminated in a successful Winter Cup for Seirin's basketball team, whereas the winter of her second year in highschool was dragging on as if it tried to extend into her final year.
But for how long?
...
That Monday afternoon in late January Riko sauntered back home with a skip to her stride. The snow started to settle and her head felt light and fresh in the cool air after finally renewing her pixie cut.
Unlike her perverted idiot father who mourned the loss of her outgrown strands as if someone had died, none of the 'basuke-bakas' had twigged on to her new haircut during practice, even though they had eyed her warily when she sported such a good mood. So she gave them just a light punishment and otherwise pretended not to care for their lack of observational skills and sensitivity for the rest of the training.
There were more important things to tend to; and Riko was determined to move on.
"At least they could have said it suited me or something..." she slightly pouted nontheless, "Hyuuga-kun, you idiot...Kiyoshi, too. Of the other oafs I can't expect anything, anyways, but at least you two should have noticed..."
Once she was home, Riko changed her school uniform for a more casual, sporty outfit and headed for the gym. Her father's new client was about to arrive and the reknowned personal trainer's daughter intended to be just as professional as if he had taken on the job himself. It was the first time he placed the whole responsibility for a customer in her instead of just allowing her to assist him; it was an essential step in her carreer and she didn't want to disappoint or discredit the reputation of the Aida Gym. Maybe she should leave as good an impression as she possibly could.
But her father had not seemed particularly enthused when he casually informed her of the task.
"Oh, that one's a request from an old aquaintance of mine and I still owe him, so I couldn't say no. He's sending over a student of his or some such who's recuperating from an ellbow injury; boy's got some talent for basketball and he wants him back on the team real quick, he said...right up your alley, isn't it?"
And with that goofy smile plastered on his face, which she was most embarrassed of, Aida Kagetora pushed the work into her arms and left for his other customers: "I'll leave the details for the rehab program to my Riko-tan, then. Make Papa proud!"
Sighing and rolling her eyes Riko hoped for the best and prepared for the worst, as she went to greet the client with the most friendly smile she could muster right now...
"Hmm... What's this?" the lazy drawl instantly made her expression freeze and her body followed suit as she incredulously stared at the tall person stepping into the hall. "Coach told me to go to his friend Aida-san's facility for rehabilitation... And yet, if this isn't Seirin's female coach. Is Tetsu here, too, then?"
"A-...Aomine?!" Riko exclaimed as if she had seen a ghost. And maybe she had.
But it was real. Aomine Daiki, Touou's ace scorer and member of Teiko's famous Generation of Miracles, was right there standing in front of her and looking at her with these menacing, yet utterly bored eyes.
"Doesn't seem like he's here, after all," he murmured and shifted his gaze through the otherwise deserted court of the gym while lowering his sports bag to the ground with his good arm. "Then...where's Aida Kagetora-san? So I can get over with this troublesome hassle..."
"Uh...actually, my father left your rehabilitation program completely in my care...so, uh...I guess, we haven't been introduced properly, yet. I'm Aida Riko. Looking forward to working with you, Aomine-kun." It was still a shock to her, but Riko tried to quickly gather her bearings by switching into professional mode. Be this whole situation as weird as it might, it was a job after all; and if she could whip her whole team into shape as a hobby, she might be able to handle this one guy, who was one year her junior, as well. "Tche. Whatever." Even if his ego was larger than the gym was spacy.
"Alright," Riko turned serious after taking a deep breath, "start by taking your shirt off." She just had to establish her position once again and they could get to business...
For an instant Aomine blinked in much less of a surprised reaction than any of her teammates had shown so far; he was nontheless caught a bit off guard like she hoped he would. Then suddenly a smug grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Ah...So you've got some guts, Aida Riko." An almost amused glint flashed in his dark blue eyes when he looked down at her much smaller form as if she was the hungry panther's next prey. "I get it now. You're quite the perverted girl, aren't you? Wanting to see me naked..."
"It's not like that! Idiot!" she exclaimed heatedly, while she felt the redness creep into her head until she thought her ears were sizzling off and her heart exploding. At least, she would be dead then instead of embarrassing herself even more in front of him.
"Well, I don't really mind that you're a pervert." Aomine shrugged and started undressing his tshirt with a bit of an effort due to the bandaged ellbow. "Fujoshi are more fun than your average prude girl anyways..." he grinned.
"I said, it's not like that," Riko vehemently denied but barely refrained herself from hitting him like she would have done with her idiot bunch at Seirin. The two of them weren't teammates or friends or anything like that, after all. Probably the bright blush wouldn't leave her burning cheeks for a while, though.
"I...I just need to assess your physical status before I can get your training menu done... is all," she quietly defended her methods while scanning his tanned physique. And gulped audibly at what she observed. Surely, she had been amazed when she had had her first good look at Kakami's figures and she had expected nothing less of a member of the Generation of Miracles, let Kuroko aside... But this agility beast here before her unbelieving eyes exceeded even Seirin's ace's current stats and Riko couldn't even put a finger near the limit of his growing potential. Aomine's presence was overwhelming and outright scary.
She couldn't help gaping.
Of course, Riko clearly saw the damage and the strain Aomine had put on his still growing body with his extreme play style, too. However, she was simply stunned breathless and wondered how her boys had managed to stop him at all, how Kagami and Kuroko had seemed to be on par with him during their second encounter with Touou...
She deemed her team incredibly lucky for winning; and she deemed herself also incredibly lucky for gathering all this precious data now. This would certainly prove useful next time Seirin faced Touou in a match!
"-...oi, Fujoshi...won't you stop drooling any time soon, so I can get this troublesome rehab done and over with?" his bored, yet smug voice then interrupted her train of thoughts and finally pulled her attention completely back to reality when he clicked his long fingers in front of her face. "Are you even listening?"
Instantly the heat and the blush returned with new intensity to her face. "I'm not a pervert, so don't call me that," Riko pouted and glowered at him, then added belatedly: "And I'm not drooling. Don't be so full of yourself, idiot!"
Just to be sure she brushed over her mouth, though, when she turned to leave the room. "Now, go get changed...we'll do some light aqua gymnastics for now so you don't put any more strain on your joints. Nothing's so serious it's beyond repair yet, but... With the damage you've done to your body already it's not just your ellbow, that's endangered; and we have to adjust your training menu to that fact so you can recover smoothly," she tried to regain her composure by coming to a profound conclusion to her thorough analysis.
"Hmmm...whatever," Aomine lazily trailed after her to the pool area. "Do I get to see you in a cute bikini, too, Fujoshi, or am I the only one to undress here?"
This time Riko did whack his uninjured arm angrily from embarrassment. "I'm not a pervert, pervert!"
...
Somehow, this was way worse than her silly father claiming she had wanted to marry him as a child in front of her team during training camp last summer...
But Riko also had a vague feeling that this long winter of her second hishschool year would be getting quite stormy in the end. Maybe, her last year might start differently than expected.
3rd Quarter: The Doupting Heart
"This guy...!"
When Riko emerged from the locker room in her favourite red sports tankini she spotted Aomine already floating lazily about the pool. She was still a bit annoyed and flustered but she had decided to deal with it and focus on her job instead of getting distracted by his irritating personality. After spending three days in a row with Aomine she could even sympathize with Kagami for his desire to fight the conceited 'ganguro' whenever they met.
Especially when he wore that peculiar glance, which was a mixture of unbearable boredom, abysmal disappointment and imbattable superiority, he was giving her now she had to suppress the urge to punch him again. He could be really insuffrable...
He didn't want to be here, so much had been made obvious right from day one, and neither did she. But they had negotiated his rehabilitation and Riko had at least succeeded in persuading him into coming back and doing the special exercises she assigned to him.
So far, so good...
She had to compromise, though, and so she had agreed on wearing swimwear, too, whenever they were using the pool. That he insisted on such ridiculous terms made Riko even more self-aware than she already was, however. And now he was giving her that look!
"You have to be kidding me," Aomine sighed and flopped backwards into the water with a light splash. "Come on, cut me some slack, Fujoshi...where's your real bikini? This thing is almost as bad as a gradeschooler's swimsuit. Not cute at all!"
That really stung.
Somehow, the way he said it so rudely to her face combined with that disappointed gaze hurt way more than Hyuuga's meaningful silence and averted eyes or Momoi openly pointing out their difference in cup size.
"Well, excuse me for not suiting your taste in women. If you wanted to stare at huge chests you should have gone back to that manager of yours! You insisted on the swimwear, not me. Idiot!" Riko pouted and crossed her arms in an attempt to fight back the tears. No, she would not cry in front of this conceited jerk.
"Hmm...that's not what I said," he said and lazily waded towards the pool edge, where she stood, and looked straight upward at her. "Look... While it's true they're not as big as I like them best, your boobs do have a good shape and fit the curves of your hips and waist. But you don't appreciate them the way they deserve. You're hiding behind a top with a neckline that can't even be called one and the sporty design and fabric are tying off and covering almost everything there is. It's such a shame..." Aomine sighed and pointed at her. "You should rather go for a sexy triangular bikini or something cute like a frilled bandeau that enhances your curves instead of that sore excuse of sportswear, you know."
This guy...!
Riko was left speechless. More than she had been hurt by his bluntness, she felt exposed and flustered now. She just didn't know how to handle comments like these yet...
That said, he lifted himself out of the water in one swift movement, even if he couldn't use his injured arm to push himself off the edge, and glared down at her. "I'm going home. And if I don't see something decent on you by tomorrow I won't come back!" he stated and headed for the locker room.
"A...Aomine!" Riko flabbergastedly called after him. "Wait a sec...what...but we haven't started today's training yet... Come back here! Aomine!"
But he was gone.
"That jerk."
She huffed exasperately and propped her fists to her hips. "Honestly...how do they deal with this insuffrable idiot at Touou every day?" Riko muttered to herself and shook her head.
She had not told her team yet that she was trying to help such a strong rival of Seirin recuperate; and while Seirn's coach was mulling over Kaijo's stats for the upcoming match again that evening she pondered if she ever would or if it was the better choice to keep it a secret from her boys. Still, she felt a bit uneasy about the whole situation and did not come to a conclusion that truely satisfied her.
With a pained expression Riko's gaze whimsically wandered off to that offending shopping bag sitting on her desk for the nth time and she sighed. There was no way of turning back now; her father counted on her and she could finally prove herself capable of the job. She would see through this whole ordeal until the very end.
...
Speaking of her father... Riko vividly remembered how he made such a fuss at the training camp in summer, that she wanted to creep in a hole and die.
Aida Kagetora seriously went so far as to pull out a gun, pointed it at her terrified teammates and exclaimed: "First I have a question for you. Step forward if you saw Riko-tan naked yesterday." No wonder she hadn't found a boyfriend yet, even if she was already in her second year in highschool. "Come forward now and I'll kill you painlessly with a single headshot! Listen up! I'm the only one who can see Riko-tan naked."
It made her so mad and embarrassed, she threw a basketball at his head then. "No, you can't!"
...
Briefly she wondered how her doting idiot of a father would react if he knew of the thing she had gone out of her way to buy.
Maybe he would really resort to killing in order to 'protect her chastity' or something stupid like that. Probably not. He'd still make an even worse fuss.
And this time there was only one potential culprit he would direct his death threats at. But maybe this one wouldn't cower in fear before him unlike everyone else.
Was this the calm before the terrible storm she was anticipating? And should she run for cover or brave this storm instead? If only Riko knew whether the dawning tempest brought even more arctic air with it or heralded the beginning of a new spring...
...
"There we go! That's more like it."
Riko was more than uncomfortable in her brand new bikini and so very self-conscious but it didn't matter as long as Aomine was there doing his training like she wanted him to. She could always distract from her own awkwardness and embarrassment for a while by focussing on the task at hand.
"Try to move your arm a bit more now... Don't avoid it but ease into the motion instead," she instructed him and guided his movements into the next exercise, "There...just as far as you still feel comfortable. It's no good if you're forcing it and worsen your injury. Rehabilitation is a slow process after all..." For now he was being a fairly decent sport and she just hoped this mood of his would last a while longer. Still, Aomine could decide to bail out of today's program anytime on a whim if he was bored enough. And that was the gamble with him; she just never knew.
Indulging him and getting that new bikini which she would normally never dare to even try on in a shop had payed off quite a bit, though. Apparently he approved of her bold choice of showing more femininity and came back as promised.
"Oi, Fujoshi..." he drawled just when she thought everything was going smoothly.
"For the last time, I'm not a pervert. And I have a name," Riko snapped with flushing cheeks and slapped him on the shoulder.
But he just grinned lazily and waved dismissively. "Hmm, whatever... As I was thinking. Next time we should do this at a public pool where they have a water slide and a diving tower. That might be more fun, don't you think?"
She sighed and facepalmed. "Aomine-kun, we're not doing this for fun. No one ever said, it'd be fun. Rehabilitation is just like that: tedious and boring and necessary. If you want to ever fully recover just bear with it until the end. And you want to play basketball again, right?" Riko chided and looked up at him pointedly. "You agreed to do this properly if I hold my end of the bargain, so don't you dare back out now!"
Aomine's gaze sharpened, his grin was gone in an instant; and just from that little facial shift Riko could sense a fraction of the challenging pressure his opponents had to face in a match. "Who said I would?" Suddenly the water splashing around their bodies seemed a little colder to her.
There was a menace in his eyes that made her heart quiver, but she didn't dare shy away or avert her eyes because her steely stubborness knew he would loose any kind of respect for his current instructor once she gave in. And Riko couldn't have that.
So she sustained in scary silence waiting for an explosion that never came in the end. They finally continued the exercises; however an awkwardly icy quietness reigned between them until he up and left the pool and gym without ever saying goodbye or turning back.
Riko was more than annoyed and equally frightened, even though she was fairly certain he wouldn't hurt a girl. Still she pondered on how to appease Aomine so he would be pliant enough for progress in their schedule.
"I really might need a change of plan," she concluded.
The change came sooner than she had anticipated and it was different from what she had imagined, too.
It was Aomine who had called her out to meet up close to the street courts, so maybe he wanted to stand on the court again and play this time. She would go but she intended on turning him down; it was way too early to handle a ball again and she didn't want him to worsen his injury.
However, as soon as she arrived Aomine dragged her off into another direction and it wasn't until they were somewhere at the shopping district that he answered her protests and questions with a simple: "I need new shoes and you're coming along, Fujoshi."
That said he ushered a once again baffled Riko into a sports shop and towards the section with the basketball gear. She was aware of some data about him having kind of a shoe collection but she was a bit surprised how seriously he considered the choices and took his time to compare, put on and have a look and practically window shop his footwear; Aomine even led an awkward discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of each pair he tried with his female company.
In the end he agreed with himself on buying all three fitting pairs while Riko stood there shaking her head on his behaviour.
After that they strolled along the passage some more and he dragged her into some or other store only to make her try on things he picked out for her and after that he made sneering comments on the ridiculousness of it. Mostly Riko felt embarrassed but sometimes she was tempted to laugh along because it was ridiculous. And, strangely, it was fun.
Then there was that light blue dress.
Aomine had gone into that cool, in-style store and pulled out an absolutely cute and feminine piece of clothes, held it against her form and decided: "This one is cute. You're getting this. Try it on just to be sure, but you're totally getting this, Fujoshi! Can't have you walking next to me wearing these baggy things of an eyesore. Didn't I tell you to be more sexy?!"
Any complaints were shushed imperatively with a half-lidded glare and before Riko knew it she was standing in the cubicle changed into the dress and staring at the reflection in the mirror.
The thing was, it really was cute with straps turning into ribbons, a favourable cleavage to her bust size and three layers that hugged her form in a way never seen on her before. It seemed as if a stranger was gazing back at her. The sporty Riko had vanished and she felt strange and self-conscious and different like she had with the new bikini; it was almost as if she was just as bared when he regarded her with a long scrutinizing stare.
"That's more sexy; like I said, you're buying this," the younger one finally nodded.
Flustered Riko stomped back into the cubicle. "I decide how I spend my money!" she protested but soon she found herself standing at the counter emptying her purse for a bag with a new dress. With reddened cheeks and confusion buzzing in her mind she stumbled next to him through the streets. This whole situation was so bizarre.
And who would have thought Aida Riko would ever be out shopping with Aomine Daiki!
She hadn't even done that with Hyuuga even though they were neighbours, teammates and classmates.
'Is this how a date might feel like?' she thought at some point when despite the cold and cloudy weather Aomine insisted on icecream and got a popsicle to share for her, too. But she instantly dismissed that notion. Whatever this was she was doing with Touou's ace here, it couldn't be a date. Neither had said so and they certainly weren't interested.
Then why did it somehow, inwardly, seem like it was?
If Riko had had any experience in that field she might feel differently about this incident. But for now they were spending the afternoon together, casually strolling through the streets with him picking clothes for her, sharing a double popsicle and joking about her sexiness.
She could picture any girl with him, any curvy and mature and cute and sultry girl that would love to be eaten up by a guy like him, tall and confidently brazen and handsome.
But she, Riko, didn't fit the image; and she was very aware of that. That didn't mean she couldn't imagine that a date with someone she liked could happen this way; just as casual, just as leisurely, just as fun. She would have liked that, maybe...
She was pulled out of her musings when a cold droplet hit her nose. A glance to the sky showed heavy black clouds that used to be loomingly gray. Within moments it started pouring. And it really poured torrents.
Even though Aomine rushed with his breathtaking speed and Riko only could follow behind they were soaking wet before they could reach any refuge. Out of breath and shivering they huddled beneath an awning of a shop but the cold breeze splashed sprays of rain sidewards. Riko literally squealed when the chilly wetness hit her. This place was no shelter at all; and a mutual glance told them they had reached the same conclusion.
"My place is around the block. Let's go!" Aomine simply said, grabbed Riko's wrist with his big warm hand this time and started. She was dragged behind him, struggling in vain to keep pace with the agility beast, the bag with her dress flapping against her thigh and the so very cold rain soaking through her hair and clothes and everywhere. Still she noticed how pale and frail her small hand seemed compared to his tanned one.
Yet he didn't even let go when they were suddenly there, got rid of their dripping wet shoes at the entrance area and went straight to what Riko soon found out was Aomine's room.
"Wait here", he murmured, then went to get a towel.
So Riko had time to take this place in and file the data. Hard rain knocked at the window front which made the room light and airy. There were NBA posters on two of the walls, the bed was large and the sheets were a wild mess, she found well used basketballs lying about as much as some openly strewn magazines with beach babes and big-boobed beauties. So these were two of his most prominent hobbies: balls and women.
And then there was that wall of neatly stacked basketball shoe cartons that would have made any shoe-obsessed lady shrink in insignificance...
Riko blankly stared; awed, amazed, dazed.
Then a towel dropped over her head. "Mom says, you should stay over dinner," Aomine murmured as he walked past her with a towel of his own draped around his neck to get a shirt from the drawer, whereas he apparently had already changed into different tracksuit trousers.
"I don't want to impose, but thanks for having me," she answered quietly and blinked at the incredible data his body told her. She should have been accustomed to half naked boys by now but inwardly she was just as conscious as every other girl of their peer group in the presence of said half naked boys; Riko just didn't show it and focussed at the task at hand.
Right now there was no task, however; they weren't training and she was just a guest at his house, moreover a teenage girl at a boy's room. This made it all the more awkward.
Anything might happen, or nothing at all.
The rain kept pouring.
4th Quarter: The Stolen Heart
When Riko awoke she felt as if she was within the eye of the tornado.
Her world was twisted and distorted in a fast swirl around her and she could do nothing but stare as everything unfolded in a blur. And this tropical tornado would soon grab her from within her dreams and hurl her along and drop her at a whole new horizon.
...
Everything cascaded into her mind once she was alone; and she was torn with doubts and confusion and disbelief.
So what had happened to Riko in the past six weeks after the rainy evening at the Aomine's?
Daiki's parents had been delightful and pleasant; they had chatted with Riko while their son had been digging in rather quietly. They had told of Momoi visiting often and the nice change of pace Riko presented as a fresh face in Daiki's borrowed clothes. A chiding "Mom!" and a glare had betrayed some of his awkwardness, though, and Riko had laughed nervously.
His Touou singlet indeed felt strange to wear as Seirin's coach and it was as large as a dress; all of her clothes had been dripping wet and yet she didn't dare undress her panties and was very aware of her bare breasts beneath his borrowed clothes.
His parents didn't seem to notice, though. They were surprisingly nice people, too.
The rain didn't let up that night; trains and subways were cancelled due to deluges so Aomine made her call her dad. "I'll be staying with my friend," she had said without ever knowing if Aomine was anyway near being a friend to her; the heat rose to her cheeks and ears but apparently her doting idiot father could be persuaded.
So after a night full of wakefullness on this Saturday morning Riko woke to a foreign room and a foreign bed, Aomine's opulently soft bed as she realized, clad in Aomine's Touou singlet and lying next to his handsome form.
Her heart stopped.
And once her mind caught up to it, it thundered on pumping heat to her face. Even though nothing had happened, nothing at all, and they just lacked a spare room so she had to bunk with him. But still!
Then he stirred and slowly awoke; and Riko wanted to die in a hole before he noticed her. But she couldn't leave: one of his bare, tanned arms was draped over her waist. So she could only watch him rise from the soft cushions and sheets in his morning glory to sleepily lean over her.
If he intended something or just wanted to get off of the bed, it didn't matter. For Riko now acted fast and flustered; her hands flung up and clasped over his mouth while she rapidly gushed: "Wait, wait, wait! We can't do that, you can't do that! I haven't done anything of that yet; and I'm not womanly at all, and my breasts are too small, and you're from Touou and I have no sexappeal and-...and shouldn't you be doing that with Momoi-san?"
Aomine blinked in surprise while Riko realized what she had said and became beet red. Beneath her palm he could feel him grin, then he pulled down her hands and held both wrists in one of his big and long-fingered hands. She tried to wiggle free but in vain.
"You really are a Fujoshi, aren't you?" he chuckled and fully loomed over her smaller form.
"But now that you speak of it I should set something straight," Aomine said earnestly, "even the thought of Satsuki and I is hilarious; she's but like a little sister who likes to pester me. Besides she is into Tetsu if you didn't notice."
"And while you do have too small boobs to be my type, I can't deny that you lying in my bed beneath me wearing only my singlet is kind of hot," he pondered with a hooded gaze at her cleavage and her breasts perking up from beneath the thin fabric. His free hand dared to slightly graze the curves of her breast, midriff and hip.
"And why not start doing stuff today? A Fujoshi in bed might be fun and a good cure to morning wood; besides I know you've been ogling me ever since", he confidently added.
Riko hitched a breath and opened her mouth to retort something witty or something chiding or-...well, she forgot what it was, that she wanted to say.
Because before long she could remember nothing but kissing gently and kissing passionately and kissing longingly and his body aligning with hers and holding fast onto his strong bare back and his long fingers grazing over her barely clad skin.
And there was her hurricane that swept her away.
Tired of waiting and without a second thought she let herself go beneath the imploring yet careful nimble fingers of their rival's ace. And nimble they were; in a way she didn't deem possible he touched her, made her loose herself in the feels and then took all she had to give in return. And her name on his lips for the first time was pure bliss.
Riko stayed until Sunday, mostly in bed, and returned to the Aida Gym in a daze and the new dress, which was dry now. The other clothes were in the bag. She felt a bit varus but also contented in a twisted way.
However as soon as she was alone in her room, reality slowly seeped in and she rolled back and forth on her bed in blushing embarrassment and awkwardness. What in the world had possessed her there?
She would have thought to do any of the deeds done with the boyfriend she had imagined in her dreams and save herself for that man only. And yet she had lain with the panther and noncommittedly given herself to the particular kind of ladykiller and wild beast that was Aomine Daiki.
He had been good to her, had made her feel good; but she didn't know where she was at, if he wouldn't go to the next girl once she left his house. He seemed so mature in that field, so experienced and casual. And Riko didn't even know what she wanted from him.
However she couldn't resist him anymore. There often were thoughts of what had been done, especially if they were training at the pool, where he was wearing only one layer of cloth beneath the surface of the water while she felt his gaze on her new bikini...or what lay beyond? The exercises were done in silence mostly and with as few body and eye contact as possible, but afterwards she would tag along when Aomine strolled home. She wouldn't deny him when they were at his room, and it did her good to feel desirable and a woman.
His parents only knew her as his rehabilitation coach, but they seemed to label her as their son's friend, too; and they behaved accordingly when she stayed for dinner. Her team and her dad knew nothing.
But after Momoi had suddenly turned up and tried to boss Aomine around while rubbing in Riko's face how bigger breasts she had, Seirin's coach wasn't so sure about this whole situation anymore. Moreover, Momoi didn't seem like a sister to him and more of an envious girlfriend instead, she thought. Maybe Aomine was just fooling around.
Riko's self-consciousness started to go haywire again until she was enraged enough to one day shout at him: "Stop playing with me, Daiki-kun! I won't be your sex kitten anymore and I don't want to see your face again until you take this, us, seriously."
She had stormed out of the house, still clad in only his singlet and her sneakers, and went straight home where she cried harder than she had in a very long time. Finally she realized, during the time they spent together - the time they became so physically close - she had fallen out of love and fallen again; this time for a younger man from a different team.
And this team was Seirin's next opponent in an exhibition match. Of course Aomine was still benched because of his injury, but Riko didn't look his way anyways, or else she might lose it once her heart acted up and hurt even more. So she forcefully focussed on her team and tried to make up for all her clandestine shenannigans during all these weeks.
...
Then suddenly one thunderstorming day he stood in the door of the Aida gym, tall and with confident determination in his dark blue eyes. Riko was on the court with her father gathering balls, when he strode in and stopped in front of her father.
"Aida-san, I, Aomine Daiki, challenge you over your daughter. Ten balls, and if I can get even one in I want Riko to become my girlfriend," he stated and you didn't need to be versed in basketball to understand he was so dedicated to it he had already dove into the Zone.
Riko's heart skipped a beat and she held her breath.
Was this really happening? And what was the idiot saying? He was still injured!
But the thought of him risking everything, his basketball career, her father's wrath, for being with her made her heart flutter in her chest. Then she looked at her father, the former national player Aida Kagetora, who answered Aomine's brazen glare with one of his own.
"Very well, Aomine-kun. You have some guts, I give you that. But I won't let you have my beloved Riko-tan so easily," he pointed at Aomine and said fiercly, "Prepare to die!"
A hell of a match unfolded between the two and Riko hardly dared to blink or she might miss anything. Even though Aomine was favouring his injured ellbow he gave his all; she could see it.
But her father wasn't going easy on him either; five balls, six balls, seven and eight went in without the Touou player scoring the basket that would make her his.
Then the ninth ball went in and it was all or nothing.
Be his girlfriend or lose him forever.
But Riko wanted him, unconditionally and absolutely. It was her decision! So she drew a breath and shouted: "Daiki-kun! Don't you dare lose to my old man or I'll make your remaining rehab hell! Get it in already!"
Aomine glanced perplexed at her, then a grin spread on his lips; he nodded. "
My Riko-tan..." Kagetora slumped and whined, but he still fought just as hard while Aomine tried to land that last ball with renewed determination and the confidence of Riko choosing him.
Overtime: The Late Heart
The cherry blossoms were already falling and blanketting the ground with thousands of beautifully pale petals;
spring had arrived early this year.
It was their final year and Seirin's basketball team was eager to maintain their titles. Soon it would be time for the annual announcement ritual of their club.
"Don't underestimate us. We'll do it! If we don't, I'll confess my feelings buck naked!" he had shouted on his initiation day, and he remembered it now with a faint smile.
Today, on this particular Saturday, he would muster up the courage to follow through with what he had set in motion back then. He carefully plucked one of the cherry blossoms, smelled its faint, sweet scent and let it be carried away by the breeze; he had a bouqet of different meaning, anyways.
...
Then he made his way home and texted Riko beforehand. However, he saw her already standing at the entrance of her house clad in a long coat but with bare legs in sneakers when he approached. So maybe she was as eager, too, and she had read between the lines of his text and therefore her early appearance was already an answer to what he had to tell her.
He held the flowers, thornless white roses and gardenias, higher and his step quickened.
But the first things out of her mouth were a distraught: "You bloody idiot!"
Her brows knotted in bewilderment and she shook her head, when he wanted to speak.
"You bloody idiot," she repeated and flapped her hands against her sides. "Hyuuga-kun, why only now? I've been waiting for you to grow some balls and ask me out for two damn long years, and now that I'm done waiting you come around with these...flowers and...and-...what?"
She shook her head again, but Riko was at a loss of words.
He blinked, didn't understand. "But you are here now, like I texted you and-..."
"I'm here because I'm waiting for my date to pick me up," she underlined and Junpei smiled faintly, rubbed the back of his head and murmured: "Yes, well...that's exactly what-..."
"No, Hyuuga-kun," she interrupted him, "you're too late. I have a boyfriend already; he even has father's blessing after he challenged him in basketball. And I love him, I really do now."
It was as if a bucket full of icy water had been tipped out over his head and numbly he croaked a faint: "...who?"
Then again, it could only have been Teppei; they had always been so close.
To make a bad story worse there came Touou's agility ace strolling leisurely up the street. Just the person to see him fail at a love confession! But maybe he would just pass by without saying anything...
"Oi, Riko. And Four-Eyes!" Aomine apparently couldn't leave them alone like Junpei had hoped.
Like in clutch-time he cursed inwardly and snarled back: "Ahomine. Why don't you just go, you stupid ganguro? Don't you see you're interrupting something here?"
"Am I now?" the provoking player even stopped and stood, a basketball spinning on his fingertip. "Riko, is that true?" he addressed her so rudely without any honorific that it enraged Junpei even more.
But she sighed and shot a glare at him as if it was him instead of Aomine who got in the way. "No, we're done here. So let's go," she brusquely said and Junpei saw her blush a little.
"Wait, wait!" Aomine interrupted and grabbed her ellbow. "Show me first. Did you wear it like you promised?"
Riko went even more red in the face. "Later, okay?"
And now Junpei didn't understand anything anymore; he frowned and looked from one to the other. Should he intervene? Aomine sure was some kind of perv.
And where the hell was Teppei?
"I need to see now. Come on, Fujoshi!" the Touou player insisted and finally Riko sighed exasperatedly and relented: "Okay, okay...so, yeah, I swore to wear it to our date, and so I do." When she slowly and reluctantly opened her coat and Aomine elicited a "Sweet!" at last Junpei saw it!
He thought his eyes might bulge out and fall through his glasses when he stared at his usually sporty and tomboyishly dressed coach. She still was wearing sports wear. But the most outrageous fact was, that it was Touou's black and red singlet she was wearing as a mini dress; and the number flaunting beneath her breasts was Aomine's five.
"That's so sexy," Aomine said and slung his arm around Riko's waist to pull her close.
"Daiki!" she embarrassedly and blushing murmured. But she didn't reject him.
Junpei was flabberghasted and shocked; the bouquet fell to the floor with a dull 'thud'. "Don't tell me-..." he stammered, while he felt as dizzy as if he would be fainting soon.
"I told you, Hyuuga-kun," Riko quietly said and huddled again in her coat that hid the traitorous singlet-cum-dress, "I've been waiting for my boyfriend to take me on our date. Sooo...we'll be going now, Daiki and I."
Awkward.
He was speechless. He felt betrayed and heartbroken and whatever miserable emotion else there was; he couldn't believe what was happening here. Junpei could have had Riko if he had mustered up earlier...and now of all people he had lost her to Aomine?!
What was wrong with this world?
"Nontheless good night, Hyuuga-kun," she meekly greeted while the Touou player ushered her away. "See you on court, four eyes!" Aomine grinned triumphantly.
...
And only when they long had left and he was still standing there in front of his house the first tears fell like the cherry petals had - quietly, gently and in mourning of another lost spring.
The last spring in highschool.
Game End