Vicious || Aomine D.

Five

[ She isn't here! ]
_____

Riyo had fallen into a routine of starting her day by taking Iverson for a quick walk down the street, and then breakfast with Kagami. Breakfast that Kagami, who was a surprisingly talented cook, made for them. Afterward, the two would walk to school where they inevitably parted ways.

Riyo had no intention of being more of a bother to Kagami or Kuroko than she already was.  They had their own friends and activities that she wasn't a part of and it felt inconsiderate to intrude. Besides, in the past few months, Riyo had gotten quite used to her own company and enjoyed staying to herself.

About to take a bite out of an apple, Riyo froze, the apple halfway to her mouth, as her phone lit up with a new notification on the kitchen table. Her eyes skimmed the text on the screen and for a moment, she went unnaturally still. It would be the first game she missed.

Back when Riyo had started at Touou, still clinging to what they had been, she had marked all of Aomine's upcoming games into her calendar and planned on going. And she had actually gone to the few first ones, though she had mostly stayed out of sight and stuck to the corners of the room. After moving out, she hadn't been able to bring herself to delete them. And now the notification was glaring at her through the screen like a blaring reminder of her past. A heavy weight settled on her chest.

"What's wrong Miyo-chan?" Kagami asked. His eyebrows drew together and he studied her carefully.

"Nothing." The lie rolled easily off her tongue. Too easily.

"You're lying!" Kagami exclaimed pointing at her face.

She blinked at him in surprise. "Huh?"

"You get this-- this small crease between your brows whenever you lie!"

"Oh. I hadn't realized." 

Riyo hadn't even thought that Kagami was paying attention.

"So, tell me. What's wrong?" he urged.

She sighed and pushed the rice around her plate. "You don't wanna know."

"I wouldn't ask if I didn't."

"Hm." She relented and showed him the calendar on her phone.

"Eh? A Touou game?"

"Aomine's first game that I won't be attending," she explained and completely gave up on her meal pushing it toward the redhead.

He had gotten into the habit of eating whatever she wouldn't. Kagami might just be insatiable. Good thing too, since no food would go to waste.

He frowned at the plate before pushing it back in front of Riyo. "You should eat, Miyo-chan."

"I'm not hungry. You can have it."

Riyo left the table to gather her things for school. When had Kagami started paying attention to her eating? And her lies? Why was he picking up on it when her own family hadn't? Iverson's amber eyes tracked her movements as she haphazardly threw textbooks and notebooks into her bag.

Would Aomine have noticed? When they'd been kids, she had been a worse liar. She wanted to believe that he would've been able to tell. Would've cared enough to say something about it too, but after what had happened she wasn't sure.

You just follow us around like a lost little puppy trying to get our attention.

Anger flared hot in Riyo's veins and she threw the bag from her bed to the floor, spilling its contents. She wanted to scream. And then to cry. She did neither. Instead, she collected her things, took a few minutes to pet Iverson and whisper in his ear about all the ways she wanted to exact her revenge on Aomine. Though in her heart, she knew she never wanted to hurt him.