Vicious || Aomine D.

Fifteen

[ You're winning ]
_____

There was an empty feeling in the pit of Riyo's stomach as she and the Seirin team walked in through the arena's massive doors. The place was bustling with people. It was the Interhigh quarter-finals. Aomine and Kise would go head to head.

Turned out that Aida had chosen the location for their training camp with the Interhigh in mind and once it had been time to go home, she had reminded them of the game between Kaijou and Touou. Aida was a smart coach and this was undoubtedly a scouting mission. It wasn't far-fetched to think that Seirin might have to play against either team in the Winter Cup. Even with Kagami's newfound jumping power and the ghost-drive Kuroko was working on, it wouldn't hurt to try and gain any advantages they could.

Though the others were focused on gauging the players, studying team tactics, and their development, Riyo was struggling with the sinking feeling that no matter who won tonight, it wouldn't be pretty. Aomine and Kise had been close ever since Kise had joined the team at Teiko. They'd been rivals and teammates pushing each other to work harder and be better. Now that they were pure beasts on the court... there would definitely be carnage.

Kise had always challenged Aomine and been driven to beat him, though, he'd never managed. He would bring his all tonight, and Riyo wondered if it would be enough. She shifted on her feet and twisted the hem of her shirt between idle fingers.

There was a tug somewhere deep, urging her to find her former best friend. To encourage him. To show him support... She shoved it down.

Another urge was whispering in her ear to sneak into the Kaijou locker room to wish Kise luck and to reassure him that he could beat the former Teiko ace. She'd say 'the bigger they are, the harder they fall' or something along those lines in her pep talk and he'd laugh at the cliché.

Riyo didn't try to find either of them.

"Who do you think will win, Kuroko-kun?" Kagami asked as they took their seats in the stands, occupying two rows.

"I don't know. This is the first time I'm seeing two starters from the Generation of Miracles play against each other," the bluenette replied.

"You don't think Kise-kun can do it Tetsu?" Riyo asked inadvertently drawing attention to herself. She'd stayed silent since they'd decided to come and watch.

He shrugged. "They've both grown and evolved. It's hard to estimate who's the strongest and how that will show in the game with their teams. Kise-kun might have a stronger will to win."

It was true. Though she wondered if Aomine's desire not to lose, would rank higher.

And about their skills... Tetsuya was right. It was near impossible to be able to tell how they'd honed their skills and what new tricks they'd learned.

Momoi could've done it.

The small voice in Riyo's head sneered.

She's worth keeping around and you're not.

She shook her head to get rid of the thoughts. Momoi had been her friend, not her rival. Still, the comparison haunted Riyo as she spotted a familiar head of pink hair down on the court.

***

"I've been looking forward to playing against him for a long time. He's one of the few guys I can crush as hard as I can."

Aomine's words from earlier that day rang in Momoi's head as she stood near the sidelines of the court. Her fingers were cold as she tapped them against her thigh. Dread coiled in her stomach at the upcoming game. As the former manager for both Kise and Aomine, she was worried.