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"Sheesh, Satsuki, you’re so annoying," Aomine complained, as Momoi dragged him towards the Teikou school entrance. "It’s frigging Saturday, and you’re dragging me into a school of all places.”
"We’re already late!" Momoi snapped back, as she panted while trying to pull him to go faster. "And it’s so rude considering that I’m the one who arranged this meeting.”
"So?" drawled Aomine. "They’re all just a bunch of dumbasses anyway."
Momoi finally managed to pull him until they were right in front of the Teikou security guard by the entrance. The guard looked at them with a bored and irritated expression.
"State your business," he sighed.
"We’re just here to meet a few friends!" Momoi tittered perkily, batting her eyelashes and flicking her hair.
The guard didn’t bat an eyelid.
He yawned, and then drawled, “No outsiders allowed in the school on weekends.”
Momoi pouted, and then leaned over the desk. She clasped her hands in front of her, and whined, “Pleease? I know my friends are already in there, so it would be so lovely of you if you could just let us in.”
The guard just yawned again, extending it even more. “They all had urgent business. Unlike both of you.” He looked at them from the corner of his eye. “Now leave.” Momoi felt her eyebrow twitch.
Aomine, who had been watching all of this with a scowl, decided to step in. He shunted Momoi to the side easily, and then slammed his hand on the guard’s table. The guard jumped, looking alert for the first time.
"Look here, buddy, my friend here just dragged me all the way here out of bed on a frigging Saturday. And I just know that if we don’t do what she wants today, she’s just gonna just keep trying next weekend, and then the next, and then the next! Do you get the picture now?” He glared even harder at the guard. “So are you gonna do this favour for us or not?”
The guard just blinked at Aomine’s feral face.
"Haah?" Aomine leaned in even further.
"O-okay, okay! You’re free to go in," the guard hurried to stammer.
Aomine smirked broadly in front of the guard’s face, and then leaned back. Turning to frown at Momoi, he grabbed her wrist, and pulled her with him into the school grounds while saying, “Now come on, sheesh…”
Momoi skipped happily as she followed him into the grounds.
When they both arrived outside the Teikou gym, it was to see more people than they anticipated. And most of them were looking at them with annoyed expressions.
"Finally, Aomine!" Kagami frowned at him. "Hurry up already, I need to take Kuroko back to Seirin for practice, and coach doesn’t want me to let him out of my sight."
"It’s not our fault! The damn security guard just wouldn’t let us in," Aomine growled at him.
Next to Kagami, Kuroko blinked in response. “Is that so? I could enter without any difficulties.”
”You could,” Kagami muttered.
Himuro, who was standing near Kagami, smiled and said, “It was very easy for Atsushi and I to enter too. He just looked at Atsushi, and then allowed us in.”
"Well, if he hadn’t allowed us in, I would have left because it would be too troublesome to argue," Murasakibara agreed, as he licked an ice lolly. "Ah, sorry, Sacchin," he added to Momoi, who just smiled good-naturedly back at him.
Takao, who was just a little behind Kagami and Kuroko, laughed cheerfully, and then slung an arm around Midorima next to him, while saying, “Shin-chan here just annoyed the guy into letting us in. What was it you said, Shin-chan?” He turned to grin cheekily at the boy. “Something about how he was being idiotic?”
Midorima sniffed, and pushed up his spectacles. “I merely stated that he was acting like a fool because Oha Asa declared that Cancers should not be denied entry-“
"Okay, okay, Midorimacchi, we get it," Kise interjected quickly. "He was idiotic by horoscope logic." He turned to Aomine and Momoi. "Anyway, I’m so happy you both are here, Aominecchi, Momoicchi! I want to show you some of my fan gifts-"
"Quit wasting time, Kise!" Kasamatsu whacked Kise’s head, and Kise yelped. "You’ve been annoying everyone here all this while with your stupid gifts. We have to catch the train back to Kanagawa, so just get this over with quickly."
"Kasamatsu-san makes a good point."
Akashi’s calm and clear voice resonated over the crowd and everyone fell silent to listen. “I am sure that Atsushi and Himuro-san would have to leave soon, too. I personally would have to catch a train back to Kyoto by the next hour,” he added.
"Ah, alright, Akashi-kun!" Momoi quickly opened her bag and pulled out her Teikou yearbook and a camera. Flipping through the book, she arrived at a page, and then started directing the Miracles based on the photo on it while everyone else stood back to make way for the photo. "Dai-chan, you should stand a little to the right. Akashi-kun, please move towards the left. Ah, Tetsu-kun, you can just stay right there…"
Once the six Miracles were in position in front of the Teikou gym, Momoi lifted her camera. The non-Miracles just looked at them quietly from behind her. Takao, next to Momoi, did a thumbs-up and cheekily said, “Shin-chan, make sure you smile!”
"Shut up, Takao."
Momoi giggled, and lifted her camera to her eyes.
"Hm?"
Frowning slightly, she pulled it away and said, “Akashi-kun?”
He had been looking away from the camera, towards the school entrance instead. At Momoi’s call, he turned back towards the camera.
"My apologies, please continue, Satsuki."
"Okay!"
She lifted the camera once more. As she focused her camera, she suddenly felt tears falling from her eyes. And then she started outright bawling.
"Oi, Satsuki!" Aomine yelled out. "What’s wrong?"
'I-It's just…it's been s-so l-long, and…” she tried to explain, but the rest was incoherent in her sobs. Most of the boys around her started wringing their hands, feeling nonplussed and unsure of what to do. Kasamatsu, particularly, had turned all red and started spluttering comforting sayings but no one could understand him.
Himuro, one of the most socially competent there, pulled out a napkin from his pocket and handed it to her while patting her back. Kuroko and Akashi, also more socially competent than the others, walked towards her from where they had been in front of the gym, and rubbed her shoulders. Aomine had also approached her, but was patting her like she was made of glass.
"Hey, what the hell’s going on here?"
Everyone turned towards the voice. It was a tall, black-haired boy, and he was walking towards the group around Momoi.
"N-Nijimura-senpai!" Momoi gasped. "What are you doing here?"
Nijimura stopped in front of her and then turned to smile at Akashi. “Akashi left me a message last night telling me to come here to take a photo with you all.” He clapped Akashi on the shoulder. “Sorry I didn’t reply, I was too busy working and by the time I was free, it was too late in the night. But I thought I’d come anyway.” His smile widened.
"I was under the impression you would not be coming," Akashi said quietly.
"Yeaah, but I can’t miss a photo with you idiots, right?" Nijimura turned to Aomine and flicked him on the forehead. "Stop patting Satsuki like she’s a dog. That’s not how you treat a crying girl."
"S-senpai!" Momoi wailed, and threw herself at him. Nijimura sighed and rubbed her head while she sobbed into his chest. Turning to look at Midorima, he tried to lighten the mood as he said, "Oh, Midorima, I don’t see you with a lucky item! Where is it?"
Midorima cleared his throat, and said, “It’s in my pocket.” He paused to adjust his spectacles, hiding his eyes. “It’s…a pair of scissors.”
Kagami and the Miracles paled as they heard him. Nijimura, bless him, had no idea of the situation, and continued saying, “That’s one of your more mundane lucky items! There was once that you actually brought a fake katana! That was weird.”
While the Miracles shuffled awkwardly, Kagami ventured to say, “Er…Senpai is right.” Akashi turned to look at him. He took a deep breath, and continued, “It is just a pair of scissors.” And then they both exchanged an unreadable look of understanding between them.
After a few moments of silence which were only punctuated by Momoi’s soft sobs, Kasamatsu cleared his throat and said, “Er…Kise and I need to catch a train soon, so…”
Momoi jerked up immediately from Nijimura’s chest, and then exclaimed, “Of course! I’m so sorry, Kasamatsu-san!” She picked up her camera again quickly, and then said, “Okay, everyone please get back in position, Nijimura-senpai can stand in the middle though…”
As the Miracles walked back to the front of the gym, and everyone else moved to get behind Momoi, Nijimura held out his hands and said, “Wait, wait, you can’t be thinking of just taking a picture with only the seven of us? Why don’t all of us get in the photo?”
His words were greeted with thoughtful silence.
And then Momoi said, “That’s a good idea, senpai, but there’s no one else to take the photo…” She trailed off regretfully.
Aomine took a step forward, and started stretching as he yawned, “Yeah, there is…just hang on a moment.” Thrusting his hands into his pockets, he walked off to the school entrance.
Just a few minutes later, everyone was leaning into each other as they tried to cram into the camera frame, their positions being directed by a semi-terrified security guard.
And even months after that, Momoi would shed a few tears as she looked at her new treasured photograph with all those silly basketball boys tumbling into each other. Especially when she compared it to the much older picture of the six silly basketball boys that she used to guard so preciously. She didn’t need that old photograph anymore.