[ Watch out! ]
_____
"Watch out!"
Riyo barely had enough time to duck out of the way of a stray basketball that had slipped out of Furihata's hands in the middle of their practice. The ball wooshed by her head and hit the wall behind her with a deafening clang before falling into her lap.
Had he tried to take her head off?
An eery silence fell in the gym as all eyes were on the dark-haired girl with unnaturally fast reflexes. She had had to dodge a ball or two growing up with Aomine. He had rarely slipped up but had instead been quick to anger and Riyo had always been excellent at pushing his buttons. Only Kuroko seemed unsurprised by her fast reaction.
"OI!" Hyuuga was the first to snap out of his daze and scold the first-year who had paled immensely. "You need to be more careful!"
Hyuuga's shouting seemed to help the others recover as well. Kiyoshi jogged over to Riyo to retrieve the ball.
"Miyoshi, are you alright?" he asked, his eyes filled with the warmth of an older brother. Or at least that's what Riyo thought. "The ball didn't hit you, did it?"
She shook her head. "No, I'm fine." The corners of her lips tipped upward slightly. "Thank you, Kiyoshi-san."
"I've told you to call me Teppei. Or at least drop the -san." An awkward smile appeared on his face as he scratched the back of his neck.
She had forgotten. Again. "Right. Sorry. Kiyoshi." Her expression became less rigid, and this time her eyes reflected the smile on her face.
She handed the ball back to him and Kiyoshi jogged back to the others while Hyuuga dragged poor Furihata to the bench by the back of his collar to apologize, which he did. Profusely. Reminding her a little of Sakurai and the time he'd accidentally walked into her in the hall. He had been mortified.
"Really, it's okay. You missed," Riyo told him with a small chuckle. "It's not like you meant to attempt murder, right?"
The first-year's eyes widened in horror before words started rushing out in a panic-filled haze. "Of course not! It was an accident I swear! I would never--"
She couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out of her. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine. It's basketball, it happens." She waved both of them off.
The two returned to their practice. On their way, Hyuuga shot one last glance her way. A glance she didn't know how to interpret. Not unlike the one Aida was aiming her way.
No more than ten minutes passed when another ball ended up on a trajectory that would've ended at Riyo's face. This time she caught the ball in her hands since she'd been paying attention to their practice and seen it coming. She turned the ball around, feeling the seams under her fingers.
"If you want me to leave so badly, I'll go. There's no need to throw balls at my face," she teased standing up.
Aida looked torn between wanting to laugh and planning new ways to torture the boys with neverending drills. A crease formed between Hyuuga's brows that probably wouldn't go away any time soon and Kiyoshi seemed ready to start convincing Riyo that she wouldn't have to leave. Kagami tilted his head trying to figure out what she was playing at, knowing she wasn't being serious. Kuroko, on the other hand, just nodded. It was a slight dip of his chin that everyone else missed but Riyo.
Riyo smirked and took a step away from the bench. Then she lowered herself a little before jumping and throwing the ball toward the hoop at the other end of the gym. She took the shot from outside of the court, well behind the halfway line, and from a weird angle. And yet, the ball fell through the hoop with ease.
A rush of adrenaline coursed through her veins. She hadn't lost her touch, and showing off had never felt so good.
They all turned to gawk at her.
Aida was studying her with a scowl on her face as if trying to figure out the math of how she'd been able to make that shot. The boys were wearing expressions in varying states of impressment with the first-years wide-eyed and slack-jawed, and the seniors giving her appraising and evaluating glances.
Except for Tetsuya who shared a small smile with Riyo, and Kagami who seemed to be torn between confused and slightly annoyed.
"It's been a while since I've seen you play," Kuroko said fetching another ball.
"Yeah, well. Basketball was never really my thing," Riyo replied with a shrug.
"Can you still shoot from the other end of the court?" the bluenette asked, mildly curious.
"I can try."
Riyo walked to one end of the court and stopped under the hoop. Kuroko passed her the ball and it flew perfectly into her hands. She stared down at it, briefly remembering all the times Aomine had passed her the ball like this. He'd always passed to her.
There was a slight heaviness in her chest as a wave of sadness threatened to pull her under. She forced her attention to the present by concentrating on what the leather felt like beneath her fingers.
"There's no way you can make it from there," Kagami claimed. "The only person I've ever seen make that shot is--"
"Midorima-kun," Riyo finished for him with a smirk on her face at the same time as she took her shot.
It took every ounce of strength she had in her muscles to give the shot enough air. The ball flew in a high arc across the court, everyone's eyes tracking it, it hit the rim of the hoop, tipped over, and fell in. It hit the floor with a heavy thud. It was the only sound in the room.
"I taught him everything he knows," she said, shamelessly taking credit even though Midorima's prodigy genes had more to do with his skills than she did.
The room took in a collective gasp. "HAH?!"
Questions were thrown at Riyo left and right and the entire team seemed to forget all about their practice as they swarmed around her. She answered them the best she could. Most of what she'd learned, she'd learned from Aomine or taught to herself. No, she had never played basketball in a club or at school. And when Aida asked her to host a shooting practice for the Seirin players she squirmed until they strongarmed her into saying yes.
After she and Hyuuga had convinced the players to continue, Aida pulled Riyo aside.
"You added notes to my playbook." It wasn't exactly a question but Riyo nodded anyway. The coach flashed her a brilliant smile. "You'll be our secret weapon, Miyoshi."
***
Aomine was in a sour mood for the entire week following the quarter-finals. He had intended to be civil, to ask Riyo to come home, or at least give him a chance to apologize. The stupid redhead had thrown a wrench in his plans. Kagami had gotten under his skin. Finding out that Riyo was living with the moron, had only made Aomine feel worse.
"Aomine-kun!" Satsuki called out interrupting his sulking.
He grumbled an incoherent response.
"What are you doing here? I've told you. You have to go to practice!"
She was mad again and he found it incredibly irritating. She always went on and on about attending practice and games. It was pointless. He was the best. Practicing was nothing more than a waste of time and effort. It made no difference.
"Did you know Riyo has been living with that idiot from Seirin?"
Satsuki's face blanched but only for a second. "Is that what's been bugging you this week and made you throw change at freshmen from the roof?"
Aomine didn't respond but Satsuki could read him like an open book. She stole the dirty magazine from his hands and smacked him over the head with it.
"Ow!" He shot her a murderous glare.
"Get your head out of your ass and get over it. Riyo can live with whoever she wants! It's not your business," she scolded. "She needs time."
"Have you talked to her?"
"No." She let out a heavy sigh as she rubbed her temples. "I wanted to... But I'm giving her space to get her head straight. I'm hoping she'll call when she's ready."
"Do you think she's happier without us?" ...without me?
"Of course not!" She smacked him again with the rolled-up magazine. "Don't be an idiot!"
"Stop hitting me!"
Momoi sat down beside him and he stole the magazine back just in case.
"Riyo-chan's figuring things out. She was devastated after... everything that happened. I think she needs to feel all that rage and hurt for a while."
Aomine flinched. He'd hurt her, and there was nothing he could do to take it back. He hated himself for it.
"I never meant any of the things I said," he admitted.
Satsuki sighed. "I know."
"Do you think she'll ever forgive me?"
The pinkette turned on the spot to give him a stern look. "If she doesn't, then she's as stubborn as you."
It was Aomine's turn to smack her over the head with the magazine.
"Don't be stupid," he echoed words similar to hers.