Chapter Text
There were not an abundance of things that would make Aomine double-take. Some would argue that the occurrences that made him single-take were not overwhelming either. After the glance that served as a greeting to his long-time friend, Aomine had to look up once more to take in the expression on Momoi's face. It wasn't a particularly dangerous expression, and Aomine thanked whatever luck that he may have mooched off of Midorima that it wasn't. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her eyes were slightly narrowed, her mouth drawn in a line that wasn't quite a frown.
While not incredibly curious, Aomine felt quietly obligated to take the plunge and find out what was occupying Momoi's mind. She would tell him eventually anyway and he might as well soften whatever annoyance may come by being "courteous" and asking.
"What?"
Her eyes focused on him and the line of her mouth scrunched to one side. "I got the roster of the schools that will be competing this year."
Aomine looked down to the paper she clutched, raising an eyebrow. "Did someone drop out or something? Think they'd be inspired after the show Tetsu and Seirin put on last year."
Fixing him with a bemused, cool look, Momoi turned the paper around and brandished it in his face. "Exactly. There's a new team this year--one I've never heard of."
She grumbled as he skimmed over the list, eyes landing on the marked school. "I don't even think they had a basketball club before this year."
Aomine peered over the sheet, his eyes re-dulled as the excitement passed. "Yeah? If they're new then they shouldn't be a problem."
Momoi sighed and her eyebrows finally lifted from their concerned state, her expression sheepish enough to communicate that she knew that. "That's true, but I still want to check them out. Touou doesn't need any surprises this year."
Sighing, Aomine leaned back and resumed the arduous task of decidedly not studying. "Fine, fine. Just let me know."
Hino, huh? At least it wasn't too far away.
It turned out that Momoi's intelligence expedition wasn't too far in the future. Later that week found Aomine strolling past the gates of Hino High School and certainly not missing his own basketball practice. For real. He wasn't always enthusiastic about it, but he now actually showed up for practice.
Aomine peered down as Momoi slowed slightly. She looked around the cluster of buildings they were approaching and Aomine sighed through his nose as he realized what she was doing.
"You have no idea where we're going, huh."
She didn't even look guilty, simply shrugging. "I couldn't find a map online. Their basketball club doesn't even have a page yet. I was hoping there would be a map here."
Before he could make a retort back--could finally get something back from all the times she'd called him unprepared--a student from Hino jogged past their path, arms full of papers.
That by itself wouldn't've interrupted Aomine, but as soon as the student sped past them he came right back, retracing himself perfectly, walking backwards. There was a beat of silence before the student muttered a quick, "ohmygod," under his breath and walked up to them.
Momoi, able to push past the weirdness without skipping a beat, smiled at the student. "Hello, sorry, we're visiting from Touou. Could you direct us to your gymnasium, please?"
The student's eyes shined and he seemed to bite back words before nodding and making an eager sound. "Yeah! I'm actually heading there so I can show you the way personally."
With a hop and a half-turn, the student nodded forward and started walking. He looked over his shoulder and varied his walking speed, as if he was caught between wanting to be an efficient guide and wanting to make conversation. Though the guy was helping them out, Aomine couldn't help but want to see him walk into a wall. Nothing against him personally, it'd just be funny. The guy had that type of presence, you know?
Not even stumbling, it looked like the student would continue walking without incident. His friendly smile kept twitching like it wanted to grow into something more. A certain degree of hospitality could be appreciated but this was a little...excessive.
"So what are you here for? Checking out the basketball club, right?"
Momoi blinked and shared a look with Aomine. He supposed it wasn't too surprising. Aomine wasn't exactly a nobody and if the guy leading them was even a moderate basketball fan it wouldn't be absurd for him to recognize Touou's ace.
Momoi nodded. "Ah, yes, we are."
Not waiting for or demanding any elaboration, the student chuckled and pushed open the gym doors.
"Good thing you ran into its captain, then. I'm Wakahisa Tsuyoshi, by the way."