Vicious || Aomine D.

Thirty-Three

[ Just shut up ]
_____

During the second half of the game, Kirisaki quickly subbed in a player, who from the looks of it, had been fast asleep on the bench the entire time.

"What's happening?" Riyo asked when a third pass from Izuki was stolen and Kirisaki scored again through a quick attack.

Izuki was better than that. It wasn't just unusual that so many of his passes were stolen, it was unheard of. That's when Imayoshi explained exactly how smart Hanamiya truly was. He was a genius, recalling an entire game after seeing it once and then using that to analyze a team's movements.

For the first half of the game, Kirisaki had been weaving a web and now Seirin was trapped. Every pass was intercepted by a team of two, reading their movements, Hanamiya and Seto, the player who'd been dozing off for the first half of the game. From rough plays and injuries to quick offensive plays from intercepted passes. Hanamiya was a dangerous opponent.

Riyo's hands balled into fists. She refused to believe even for a second that Seirin wouldn't come out of this and win the match. They would. They had to.

"Don't worry," Aomine said, playing with the hem of her shirt, twisting the fabric between his fingers. "Seirin won't lose."

She turned to look at him. "How can you be so sure? They haven't scored since that dunk at the beginning of this quarter?"

The corners of his mouth tipped upward. "They made Tetsu angry."

Aomine's confidence in Tetsuya settled something in Riyo. It was like the old times before the Kiseki no Sedai had grown into their talents. A feeling of comfort and calm washed over her. Seirin would win. There was no doubt about it.

After the break things changed. Tetsuya started interfering with passes, redirecting them, and allowing them to get past Hanamiya and Seto. The first changed pass took Riyo by surprise. It wasn't rehearsed or planned, and from the audience it looked like everyone but Tetsuya was surprised by it.

"H-How did he catch that?" Sakurai asked, uncertainty clear in his voice.

"When you play with him every day, you start to understand how Tetsu thinks," Aomine said. "It's not about knowing where he's gonna pass, it's about trust."

Riyo placed a hand over his and laced their fingers together. She missed them. Even though she'd gotten Aomine back, she still missed the rest of them and how they were when they were all together. It seemed so long ago now. And Riyo wondered if it was even possible to get some of the easiness between them back anymore.

A collective gasp had Riyo's attention back on the court. Her heart dropped to her stomach.

No. No. No.

Kiyoshi Teppei. The team's protector, Riyo's friend. He was attacked again by Kirisaki's dirty plays. He paused for too long, and when he jogged back for the start, he was limping.

Riyo tried to jump to her feet but Aomine held her in place.

"You can't go running down there. The ref will kick you out." He spoke softly to her, trying to calm her down.

Riyo's heart was racing. She was angry and frustrated and worried about her friend. She couldn't just sit back and watch. She had to do something. Had to help somehow.

"He's fine." A whistle was blown signaling Seirin's timeout. "And seems like the coach is gonna swap him out. He'll be okay."

Aomine's lips brushed against her ear, distracting her, and making her anger melt away. She leaned into him, his solid chest and his warmth that wrapped around her like a blanket.