Vicious || Aomine D.

Four

[ Allen Iverson? ]
_____

Aomine filled Momoi in on what had happened with Riyo. He'd walked straight to Momoi's place after their argument. The pinkette stared at him slack-jawed by the end of his tale.

"Tch. I knew it." Aomine huffed out a puff of air. "She hates me. I'm past redemption."

"Ahomine!" Momoi grumbled and kicked his foot.

"Ow!"

"Get it through your thick skull that Riyo-chan does not hate you!"

He glared at her. "And what the hell do you know?"

She let loose a wicked grin. "The two of you."

Momoi kept insisting that he could fix things, that he could somehow rebuild what had been broken. But as recent events showed, she was wrong. And yet, he was the fool who accepted the flicker of hope she was offering. The hope that even after everything, there was still a chance...

***

Riyo showed up at school late, again. She had played with the idea of not going at all after the dinner with Aomine. Last night, she had cried herself to sleep next to Ivar. The dog had licked her face and tried to comfort her but he'd only made her miss Aomine more.

She had played what had happened outside over and over again in her head and wondered if she'd made a mistake. Then she'd vividly remembered why she decided never to let anyone close enough hurt her again. Even with the good memories she still held close to her heart... They weren't worth the pain. If she had to go through it again, she would not survive.

Maybe she hadn't survived the first time either.

When Riyo entered the classroom, she felt his presence like a shadow looming over her. There was no escape.

Maybe I should apply for a transfer? she thought.

The more she turned the idea around in her head, the better it sounded. And before she could talk herself out of it, a plan started to form.

At lunch, it was time to put it in motion. She called an old friend.

"Hey, Tetsu!" Riyo greeted. "Could you do me a favor?"

"Miyoshi-san, what is it that you need?"

"I want to transfer to Seirin."

"Huh?"

"Is there any chance you could say something in my favor? To help speed up the process. Any favors you could call in?" She was hoping for a quick change.

"Is that what you want?" Kuroko asked with a hint of concern lacing his tone.

Riyo moved the food around on her plate with a chopstick, weighing her options. She let out a small sigh before stuffing a small bite of fried rice in her mouth.

"Are you still there?"

"I'm here," she said. "And yes. It is. Please."

"Alright."

After her last class, when Riyo left school, Momoi was waiting for her outside the school gates. Without saying a word, the pinkette fell into step next to her and for a good few minutes, they just walked silently. 

"What do you want, Suki-chan?" Riyo asked when the silence became too unnerving. She adjusted the bag on her shoulder.

"To talk."

Riyo snorted. "I've been hearing that a lot lately."

"And I haven't heard anything from you. I miss you. Aomine isn't the only friend you've ghosted."