Chapter Text
Soft-spoken, reserved, and well-mannered as you are, it was natural for you to lay low at school. No one knew much about you, but neither were you a target for harassment or bullying. You were simply existing. You weren't a fan of attention, and you would rather keep to yourself and your small, selected group of friends. One of your friends, Satsuki Momoi- cheerful, kind, and motherly- was one of these friends. She had a best friend other than you, Aomine Daiki- tall, tanned-skinned, skilled, arrogant, but lazy- who she grew up with. Surprisingly, you had only grew up often spending with the former and not the latter. You only knew of Aomine, but never spent time with him alone. Most often than not, Momoi was simply acting as the common friend between you and Aomine. Other than that, he was popular at school, always at the center of attention.
Today, time seemed to pass by at a snail's pace. You sit in Tōō Academy's library, silently reading assigned readings for your classes and writing notes. Studying was a bore and a chore, yet your quiet perseverance drove you to continue. Slowly but surely, you finished what you needed to do. Once your studying was finished, you sigh and pack up your things. Slinging your school bag on your left shoulder, you walk outside the doors of the library, taking in the peaceful scenery as not many students were left at school around this time. Before you could take another step, Momoi's voice calls out your name. You turn toward the direction of her call, seeing her pace towards you hurriedly with a tense expression.
"Momoi? What's wrong?" You ask, concerned.
"You need to help me!" Momoi grumbles and whines as she clings onto your right arm.
"It's stupid Dai-chan again! He keeps skipping practice and it's getting on my nerves. I can't stand him! And, I'm so tired of having to be the one to always get him to come to practice, it's so annoying!" She shakes you.
"Aomine again, huh? I'm so sorry," You look at her sympathetically as she shakes you.
"I can't do this anymore! Please, do something about it," Your best friend pleads as she holds onto your arm tighter.
"Me? I'm not that close to him, Satsuki. What makes you think he'll listen to me?" You ask her genuinely as you gently squeeze her hand that's wrapped around your arm.
"Yes, but.. you knew him for a long time too! We all basically grew up together! He doesn't want to listen to me anymore because I'm the one who keeps nagging him. You have to start talking to him too!"
You sigh, conflicted about the situation. But, being a good friend to Momoi, you agree to get Aomine to go to practice.
"Where is he, Satsuki?"
"He's probably on the school roof again," Momoi sighs.
"Alright, I got it."
You walk to the school roof, thinking of ways to possibly get him to practice. If you had to talk to him, it was always when Momoi was there. There was never an instance where you approached him and where he approached you, so it still felt like you were about to go talk to a stranger. It was not as if you and Aomine hated each other- it's just a little bit awkward. Sighing, you gently open the door to the school roof with a creaking sound, stepping in to examine the surroundings.
Huh, he isn't here?
You walk into the area further, wondering where he could possibly be.
"Why the hell are you here?"
You hear Aomine's voice drawl out. You could tell he had just been sleeping from how groggy his voice sounded.
"Why do you think I'm here?" You cautiously speak, the slight annoyance showing through just a little on behalf of the trouble he puts Momoi through.
"Oh. It's you," Aomine yawns, sounding disinterested. "Hm. I don't know. Maybe you want to see the clouds or something," He sarcastically bites back with a frown, rolling his eyes.
You knew Aomine was rude, but not this rude. You didn't know exactly what to expect for the moment you talk to him the first time. But, boy, he was already getting on your nerves.
"The cloud I am looking at is skipping practice right now," you reply as you pretend to look at the clear, blue sky.
Aomine jumps down from the elevated part of the roof, then looks down at you. You peer right back at him, noticing the evident height difference and his overpowering presence.
"Oh really?" his voice dripping with sarcasm and contempt.
You stay silent, still staring into his eyes with quiet resolve.
"Just do yourself a favor and leave me alone. Dealing with you and the team is a real pain in the neck."
"Why not?" You ask.
Aomine's neutral expression falters and is replaced with a slightly angry one. "I'm guessing Satsuki told you to come up here?"
"Yes, she did."
Aomine scoffs at your comment, running his fingers through his hair in annoyance. "Let me tell you something," he says as he takes one step towards you, towering over you in attempt to intimidate you. "The only one who can beat me is me, so I don't need to practice," arrogance lacing his words. "So, piss off."
You clench your fist, patience running thin, but refusing to back down.
"One day, You'll find someone who'll give you a challenge."
Aomine lets out a sharp scoff before intensifying his glare. "You sound like Satsuki. I don't need to hear it from you too, alright? No one can beat me anyway, and it doesn't matter if I practice or not."
"Humble much?" You sarcastically reply.
Aomine's scowl deepens, "I'm just calling it out as it is," he quips with overflowing pride. "Clearly, you don't seem to believe me, but I don't care what you think. See the difference in our skill for yourself."
"Then, go to practice," You quip back.
"You're a persistent little thing, aren't you?" Aomine's voice is condescending as he talks to you.
"How do I know if you're just barking without any bite?" You question him.
Aomine smirks at your challenge. "Fine, since you're dying to see me in action," he gestures the air quotations. "Just know you're going to witness a murder."
You internally sigh from his tone. Was he always this rude and cocky? How can Momoi still be friends with this guy?
You follow Aomine to the gym, taking twice as many steps as him as his longer legs took bigger strides.
"Look at you, struggling to keep up," Aomine smirks.
You stay silent as the both of you reach the gym.
It was an unfamiliar sight for you; student-athletes training hard, sweating, and yelling. The noise was overwhelming, yet somehow welcome. Aomine steps into the gym nonchalant and lazy. You cautiously trail behind him, worried about the unfamiliar surroundings.
"Well, I'll be damned," a player with black hair and glasses approached Aomine. "You actually showed this time."
"Imayoshi," Aomine glares at him.
"Dropping the honorifics as always," Imayoshi speaks, completely unbothered. He leans to his right to see you behind Aomine. "Who's this?"
"Satsuki's assistant. Don't worry, she's not a nuisance," Aomine turns to glare at you, to which you glare back. Aomine walks off to change into his sports clothes, while you were left standing.
Assistant? You internally grumble to yourself. What a weird excuse to make.
"Sorry about that. That's just how he is." Imayoshi addressed you.
"I figured. I'm just surprised how Satsuki keeps up with him."
Imayoshi smiles, then leads you to the bleachers to sit.
You place your bag onto the floor before taking your seat. The coach of the team calls the Tōō basketball team together. The boys scurry to the direction they were called. Unsure of what they were discussing, you merely pick up on the context clues when a blonde-haired player yelled at Aomine, then later hushed by their annoyed coach. After a short discussion amongst themselves, they dispersed to prepare for a practice game.
You look around for Momoi, finding that she was on the other side of the court, next to the coach. Momoi sees you and waves at you happily. She mouths a 'thank you,' as her eyes point to Aomine who is currently in position.
Before you knew it, the practice game started. One moment, Aomine was standing lazily and uninterested on the court. Then, in a blink of an eye he zipped across the gym, scoring like it's nothing. It was breathtaking. How could he be so fast, agile, and wild, yet be so nonchalant and effortless while doing it? Even with your untrained eye, you could see how easily he overpowers the rest.
Your eyes were wide with awe, and your body leaned in slightly at the edge of your seat. You knew nothing about basketball, but all you wanted to do was watch him play. He's amazing, you think to yourself. You almost feel grateful he's giving you this opportunity to watch him play.
Your thoughts of admiration were interrupted by the sound of shrieking girls at the entrance of the gym. They were screaming Aomine's name and cheering for him.
"Kyaaah! Go, Aomine-kun!"
"You're so hot!"
Aomine hears this in the middle of the practice and he cringes, clearly annoyed at the sudden appearance. He rolls his eyes and scoffs at the unwanted attention, effectively ignoring the girls at the entrance. Yet, somehow the fact that he's ignoring them, eggs them on even more to scream and yell at him.
Suddenly, you felt so aware of the difference in status between you and him. There's nothing more to this than just him proving he doesn't need to go to practice. You straighten your posture and go back to a neutral expression. It caught you off-guard that you were suddenly intrigued and curious about him, but you quickly brush off that feeling because of how those girls in the gym are screaming.
At the end of the practice, you check the time and realize you needed to leave. Silently, you take your things and take your exit, hopefully unnoticed.
"You."
You stop in your tracks, turning around.
"Looks like I've proven my point enough," Aomine arrogantly proclaims.
You frown slightly at him, somewhat upset that he's proven you right but also partly because you probably won't see him play again.
Aomine wears a smug expression as he studies your face.
"Whoever said teamwork makes the dream work is spewing some bullshit, honestly." Aomine shrugs his shoulders. "Clearly, the only one who can beat me is me, 'cause this isn't real basketball. It's a bloodbath."
"But, you do love basketball, don't you?"
Aomine was taken aback. Your words unintentionally struck a nerve when you asked him. Of course, he knows you didn't know him very well, so you wouldn't have known how sensitive that topic is for him.
For once, he stayed silent, only responding with a deep glare on his face.
"I can tell you do, despite how unbothered you are," you tease him slightly.
"Excuse me?" Aomine's tone is slightly defensive.
"But.." you cut him off and he stays silent.
"Regardless, I hope you find real basketball to play, and that you compete with someone just as amazing as you are," you speak with a hint of genuineness. "Playing basketball isn't fulfilling when there's no challenge anyway, right?" You smile slightly as you take your leave.
Aomine stood there as you left the gym, taking in the words you parted him with. He smirks to himself as he looks down at the ball in his hands. Perhaps, you two do agree on something. For once, he didn't mind hearing that he might find a rival worthy of his play. That moment, he didn't realize it yet, but he was getting just as curious about you too.