Flower's Thorn

Like a Cat

  "Go! Go, go, go!" I hissed while pushing Aoimine and Momoi down the hall.

  "Wha- But why? Toge-" Momoi was trying to plant her feet firmly onto the ground but was failing because I was stronger.

  "Just go!" I was trying to rush them out of the building, knowing what would happen if we didn't get out in time. Aoimine sighed through his nose before leaning back, towering over me. "No! No, no, no!" He began to put more weight on me, making me have to hold him up instead of pushing him forward.

  "Tell us why you're rushing then." Aoimine let more of his body become dead weight as he relaxed his muscles.

  "You damn whale!" I angrily shouted while trying to keep from collapsing onto the floor.

  "Togecchi!" I heard a voice cry out in the distance. "Togecchi!" Looking over in horror, I saw Ryo running right for me. The blond crashed into me, yanking me up and making Aomine fall on his ass because I'd been supporting most of his weight.

  "Noooo!" I yelled while trying to push Ryo's face away from me as he was a crying and blubbering mess. He was still in his uniform and covered in sweat, smelling just like he looked.

  "Togecchi! I knew you loved me!" He wailed like an idiot. "You actually cheered me oooon!" Ryo was bawling with tears of joy while I was fighting his hold on me.

  "I just wanted you to beat that other bastard! It's not that deep!" I could feel my cheeks turning pink with embarrassment.

  "Aw, it's so cute when siblings get along." Momoi put her hands together while smiling.

  "Not helping!" I shot her a look. Thinking Aomine would step in at any second now since Ryo had made him fall, I was shocked to see he was actually gone. He had somehow left without any of us noticing, and I realized I was on my own against the clingy blond and bubbly pink-haired girl. "Oh, come on!"

  "Call me brother, and I can die happy." Ryo sniffled as his face was being squished against my hand.

  "Shouldn't you be exhausted? Where the fuck did this energy come from?" I growled, managing to pry one of his hands off of me.

  "You underestimate the power of your cheering, Togecchi. You should do it more often!"

  "No!"

~

  "I've been thinking....you really are a lot like a cat."

  "Hm?" I looked up from my fries to look at Momoi as she sat across from me. She held her milkshake in both hands while having her hands covered by her sleeves against the cold.

  "You're like a cat." She repeated before taking a sip of her drink. "You start out really distant and mean, swatting and hissing. But you're actually just hiding how nice and cuddly you are." Momoi smiled as I just stared at her. I didn't say anything at first but pointed at her with a fry when I finally spoke.

  "You're really weird." She pouted at my words, and I dipped my fry into ketchup.

  "Yeah, well, you say how much you don't like Ki-chan but the truth is you like how much he cares about you and even cheered him on. Could probably hear you on the other side of the court over everyone else." She popped off, and my ears burned.

  "Huh?!"

  "You used to call me Oppai and other mean names but made me cute bentos."

  "That's not-"

  "Or maybe I should point out how you used to literally swat at Dai-chan and now make kissy faces at him." Momoi was still pouting as she drank her smoothie through the long straw.