[ I'll owe you a favor ]
_____
He had no right.
Aomine had no right to be angry with her. No right to get offended by who Riyo chose to live with. She was still simmering from yesterday and had been irritable all day. She'd woken up at dawn and taken Iverson out for a long walk. The cool morning air, the golden shimmer of the sun, and the birds singing their first notes of the day hadn't lifted her spirits. Even Iverson had given her a wide berth, mostly ignoring her and focusing his attention instead on sniffing the different scents that undoubtedly floated in the streets.
When they'd returned, Riyo had called the person she'd missed out on talking to at the arena. And now she was waiting for Kise in front of a small convenience store. Riyo glanced at her lock screen, where a picture of Iverson, soaking wet after a swim, and the time 6:20 pm stared back at her... He was running late.
Riyo was contemplating calling him to ask if he'd forgotten or had to cancel when a head of green hair caught her attention. Midorima stalked toward the store with his gaze glued to the ground. He didn't seem to notice her and walked right past.
"It's kind of rude to just walk by without at least nodding at the people you recognize, you know, Shin-chan," Riyo crooned.
His back stiffened before he turned to face her. There was something different about him. His razor-sharp gaze was dulled somehow. And he seemed tense like he was on edge.
"There's a new... technique I've been trying to perfect. I was running through different scenarios of it in my head," he explained, hesitating for a second.
Of course. Basketball.
"I wasn't ignoring you, Miyoshi."
"Sure, sure." Riyo waved a hand and he shot her his I-mean-it look. "Well, I guess it's not so hard to believe that you and the other monsters would walk around with your heads on the court. You used to do it all the time at Teiko."
"Hmph."
"Is this play really bothering you that much?" Riyo asked, folding her arms over her chest.
His reply was a curt, "Yes."
An older lady crossed the street with her large, gray dog, by the looks of it a Great Dane. He was almost bigger than his owner. Yet, so well-mannered he didn't attempt to pull his leash once. If he had, the lady probably couldn't have done anything to stop him. Riyo wished Iverson would've still had the strength and energy to try and pull her around like he'd used to a few dozen times whenever he'd gotten excited.
She rubbed the back of her neck before half-mindedly offering, "Would like some help with it?"
"Help with what?" Kise interjected.
Riyo hadn't noticed him arrive. He was wearing his typical grey suit but his hair was more in place than usual and he was wearing some makeup. He must've had a modeling gig.
"Nothing," Midorima replied.
"It's good that you invited Midorimacchi too," Kise said to Riyo. A brilliant smile lit up his face and his golden eyes were so sincere that her heart ached for the past. "Now we can all catch up."
He was about to throw an arm over Midorima's shoulder but the green-haired boy dodged him before shooting Kise a death glare. Riyo had to bite down her smile.
"Actually, I didn't," Riyo admitted.
"I'm going to get soup," Midorima stated before striding into the store they were standing in front of.
"Eh?"
Kise was left staring after him. "What's with him?"
"He's already preparing for the Winter Cup," Riyo said glancing at the 6'5" shooting guard searching the shelf for canned soup. The top parts of it anyway. Riyo's gaze caught on the red label on the bottom shelf. "I think he's a little stressed."
"Midorimacchi? Stressed?" Kise repeated following her line of sight. "What's he looking for?"
Riyo didn't reply. Instead, she followed Midorima into the store with Kise on her heel. In front of the shelf, she crouched down and picked up a can of red bean soup. She handed it to the boy who was watching her patiently from behind his glasses.
"Do you want anything from here?" Riyo asked Kise who was trailing behind her like a very tall golden retriever.
"Maybe they have some Nerunerunerune candy..." The blonde left to go scour the shelves.
Had Kise spent time with Murasakibara lately? Or was this some sort of a weird manifestation?
"I'll wait outside, Kise-kun!" Riyo called and marched outside without waiting for a reply.
She wanted to talk to him somewhere a little more private. Maybe a street court... She knew of one nearby they could walk to. Fortunately, it wasn't the one near her house where she'd spent hours upon hours with Aomine. There was little chance she'd ever want to step foot in there again.
3 years ago
It was getting so dark it was hard to make out the basket. The lights for the court had been busted for weeks and the sun had set ages ago but Riyo didn't ever want to leave.
"From how far can you make the shot?" Daiki asked.
"In the dark?"
"Yeah.
Seeing her opportunity, Riyo smirked. "How far do you think, Dai-chan?"
"Half-court?"
"Are you serious?" she scoffed.
He had seen her shoot from half-court before. Since then, she'd gained some muscle and could do it from even further away. Though apparently, her best friend had little faith in her abilities.
"Think you'll miss?" he teased, mistaking her comment for self-doubt. "We could make it into a different kind of a game..." There was a dangerous gleam in his eye. "Try to sink it from half-court and if you miss you'll owe me a favor. I can ask for whatever I want, whenever I want and you'll have to do that one thing for me."
Riyo's heart fluttered at the possibilities. "And if I get it?"
"I'll owe you a favor," Aomine promised.
She tapped a finger on her chin, thinking. In daylight, it would've been done deal. Not a chance she could miss. But in the dark... Riyo squinted her eyes to make out the rim. It was fifty-fifty between luck and muscle memory.
"It's a deal, Dai-chan," she agreed.
He passed her the ball and they walked to the half-court line together. They almost went right past it because neither of them noticed it without intently studying the ground.
A gentle night breeze fluttered through her hair as Riyo took her position. She could feel Daiki's eyes on her the entire time. The feeling was so intense that she blushed, suddenly grateful it was too dark for him to notice. She had to focus on her breathing for a second.
Riyo bounced the ball once. Then she jumped, every muscle in her body was straining, already exhausted from the hours she and Daiki had spent playing and practicing.
Now.
She released the ball.
Long seconds passed until they heard a quiet chink as the ball touched the rim and the swoosh of the net as it finally fell in.
...
...
...
"I did it!" Riyo exclaimed, a victorious grin spreading across her face. She even did a little victory dance around Aomine, bumping him with her hip once or twice so that he decided to ruffle her hair to get her to stop.
"Yes, you did. Riyo-chan," Aomine said. He tried to sound serious but a hint of amusement shone through.
"Quit messing with my hair!"
"Is that you calling in your favor?"
"Here," Midorima shoved a paper bag full of groceries and candy into Riyo's lap.
Dumbfoundedly, she blinked at him. "What?"
He shrugged and averted his gaze. "It's for you." He pushed his glasses up higher before turning to leave. "I'll see you at the Winter Cup," he said as a goodbye and walked away.
Riyo gaped at his retreating back. Then flicked her gaze to the bag she was holding. The small carton of banana milk on the top almost made her want to throw the whole thing away. Banana milk was one of Aomine's dirty little secrets. He loved them but usually only had them when he was alone. Sometimes, he'd shared some with Riyo, though.
She kept the bag.
In his weird way, Midorima seemed to care.
Kise appeared through the store door his mouth full as he asked between bites, "So what... did you... wanna talk about, Miyocchi?"
_____
[ AN ]
Hi!
I'm so sorry. I had a sort of a brain fart the other day. This version here is along the lines I was going to write in the first place but apparently, I craved violence and something totally different came out. Still, I wanted to post them and did and then yesterday ended up unpublishing them.
Sorry, for the confusion and posting several versions of the same chapters, I know it can get frustrating and make the story harder to follow. I'll try to refrain from doing that but if I get the feeling something isn't working or feels like it doesn't quite fit with the story (like it did in this case) I will go back and change it.
All in all, I hope you're enjoying the story and I'm happy you're here. Thank you for being patient with me.
All the best!
x Jen