Vicious || Aomine D.

Twenty

Then again, if she'd looked more like him, would he have wanted to stay? If he'd seen himself in her, would it have been enough to make him reconsider?

"Come with me for a second, will you?" her mother asked jerking her head toward the staircase.

Riyo nodded and followed her mother into her old bedroom. Everything was exactly as she'd left it. The posters of various NBA players were plastered on her walls. She had gotten them as gifts from Aomine and even though she had never been obsessed with them like he had been, she hadn't had the heart to toss them or let him know she didn't love them.

What Riyo missed the most about her own room, though, was her reading corner by the window with sheer white curtains and twinkle lights that reminded her of the stars. It was the most comfortable spot in the house.

Even Iverson's old chew toys lay in a discarded pile in the corner with his old bed he'd grown out of years ago. She made a mental note to take a few toys with her when she left.

"What happened?"

Riyo tilted her head and shot her mother a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"

"With Daiki. Something happened."

Riyo deflated as she took a seat on the bed. She couldn't lie to her mother. The woman had supernatural instincts when it came to her children. She would see right through her.

"We had a... falling out."

Her mother waited patiently for Riyo to continue but when she didn't she prompted, "Over what...?"

"Basketball."

"I see."

"Do you?" It was a dare Riyo regretted the second the words slipped out. Her mother's eyes narrowed at her disapprovingly before softening when she noticed the small grimace on her daughter's face.

"I still remember the day you first met him," she said with a serene smile gracing her lips. "Your father had picked you up from daycare and you two were walking home when you saw him trying to throw a kids' basketball through a small hoop in the yard. You were almost two hours late for dinner and I was worried sick about you two. And when you finally came home you wouldn't stop talking about the boy with navy blue hair who could throw the ball in the hoop a million times in a row." She waved her arms in the air as an imitation of young Riyo.

"And then you insisted we get a set like that for you too." The wistful expression on her mother's face morphed into a mischievous grin. "I still think you were angling to get a reason to invite him over." She winked and let out a light-hearted laugh.

"Ever since then whenever we needed to keep you entertained we'd send you out back with a ball and you'd be happily throwing it around for hours on end. And whenever Daiki came over, you'd just light up and the two of you would run off to play together."

Riyo's memories of their first encounters had turned a little fuzzy but she still remembered how she felt around him. How she admired him more than anyone else in the world, kind of like her younger siblings did right now. She used to think that he was the coolest person she was ever going to meet and back in the day she had done everything she could to be more like him.

Riyo had stolen his hoodies to copy his style, which had made for some jealous girls in middle school. When Aomine had caught them sneering at her, he'd shot them such dirty looks that they'd backed off. She had started talking like him until Satsuki had called her out on it and made her see just how ridiculous it was, and how little she had actually sounded like him. Riyo had talked like a bond villain mixed with a fairytale princess. But most importantly, she had taught herself to shoot hoops as accurately as she could. So much so, that she had surpassed him in accuracy. Surpassed most kids their age, in fact.

"A few years later you found that poor puppy." Riyo's mother shook her head like she was still in disbelief.

Riyo and Aomine had found Iverson one day as a young pup. He'd been all muddy and scared. They'd used a chicken leg Aomine had forgotten in his backpack to lure him in. When they'd brought him home, Riyo's mother had freaked.

"And you almost made us take him to the shelter!"

"If not for your father, I would have."

At least Riyo's father had given her Iverson if nothing else in her entire life. Her mother's reminiscent expression sobered.

"Are you happy?"

The question was simple enough. And yet, there was no easy way to answer it.

"Happy's overrated," Riyo stated.

The sharp look in Riyo's mother's brown eyes would've been enough to make grown men shudder but not her daughter. She'd seen it a few too many times in her life to let it affect her.

"Do you still love him?" her mother asked bluntly making Riyo's eyes widen and her mouth fall open. It prompted a knowing smile from her mother.

"I--"

"Don't even try to deny it, sweetie."

"Of course, I do. He's the center of my universe," Riyo changed gears, sarcasm seeping into her voice.

Her mother ignored her quip. "The boy loves you."

"No, he doesn't. Why would you say that?" Riyo asked, raising a brow.

"Because he's here every Sunday having dinner with us even though you're hiding on the other side of town." Riyo winced. "He'll come by early to play mock basketball with Seiji and the twins in the backyard with your old playset, and stay long enough to help with the dishes. It's not our delightful company he keeps coming back for." Riyo's mother gave her a pointed look. "I think he comes by to feel closer to you."

Riyo was shocked enough, that had she been standing she might've very well been knocked on her butt. She could never have guessed that Aomine would take the time to play with her siblings as well as to do the dishes. In all the years she'd known him, he'd done the dishes maybe twice. He was the kind of guy who'd show up to dinner at the last minute if not late, take a seat, stuff his face, and leave with barely a goodbye, maybe even a 'thank you' on a good day.

"Look, sweetie, you don't owe him your forgiveness," Riyo's mother said. "You need to do what's best for you. Even if that means forgiving him just to move on without him. Sometimes it's okay to walk away. As long as you're not running or hiding."

If only Riyo knew what that was...

"Here," Riyo's mother walked over to her desk and picked up an envelope she then handed to Riyo. "Daiki left it for you."

Miyoshi Riyo was written on it in Aomine's familiar, sloppy handwriting. Her heart skipped a beat of its own accord and she scolded herself for it.

"I think you should hear him out because you were friends for a long time, and he's trying. But whatever you decide to do, I'm here for you. Always."

Riyo knew her mother would keep her word and support her no matter what.

Like he should have.