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Kagami wakes slowly to the buzzing of a cell phone and something off about the smell of his room. His body feels heavy, as if it doesn’t belong to him, but years of ingrained habit has his arm reaching for the noise even as his half-asleep mind tries to figure out the incongruity.
He is halfway through reading the new text on the phone before he finally realises that there might be a problem.
Aomine,
I have no expectations of you following any kind of advice that will result in your betterment. But no matter how contrary I know you are, I urge you not to ignore this.
Do not be mistaken, I am not doing this out of any sense of comradery. However, the chances of Shuutoku coming up against Touou soon in the tournament are high.
Thus, out of nothing more than a sense of fairness. I am telling you that-
Kagami gives up after that, the hand holding the phone sliding off the bed while he lays his other arm over his eyes because it’s way too early for what seems to be one of Midorima’s lectures. It is at this point that Kagami finally wakes up enough to realise three things. First, the message had been addressed to Aomine. Second, this isn’t his room. Third, the arm he’d slung over his eyes is suspiciously browner than his actual skin colour.
‘There are a lot of possible reasons for this’ is what Kagami might have tried to say to himself, except he knows whose phone this is. Whose room this is. Whose arm this is.
Out of options and not quite willing to accept the situation just yet, Kagami scoops up the phone and reopens the message.
I am telling you that OhaAsa notes a record low level of luck for Virgo and Leo today. I expect nothing more from you than idiocy but it will be in your best interest to heed this warning. Virgo’s lucky item for today is-
Kagami is too fed up to read the rest; he lets himself be amused for a moment at the fact that Aomine had named Midorima ‘Busybody’ in his contacts, then gets off the bed. He can’t deny reality forever.
Kagami has been in Aomine’s house often enough that he doesn’t have much problem with rustling up a non-stinking pair of boxers, and then he’s in the bathroom where matters are shown to be exactly as he had feared.
There is really no way of getting around the fact that staring right back at him in the bathroom mirror is Aomine’s confused face, just as looking down affords Kagami a completely unimpeded view of Aomine’s naked body.
“This is so fucked up,” Kagami says to Aomine’s dumbfounded face. He pinches his cheek, hard; in the mirror, Aomine does the same. Small pinpricks of pain radiate from his cheek, and yet it still doesn’t seem quite real. This kind of thing just doesn’t happen. Kagami steps into the shower and resolves not to think about it.
There is a beam of sunlight pointing right down on his face and slicing through his eyelids, recalling Aomine back from the land of sleep. This is how he knows he’s not in his own bed; not when he’s worked so hard to angle his bed precisely so he gets no sun whatsoever near his pillow no matter the time of day. Aomine rolls off the bed far enough to land on the floor, which is blessedly free of piercing rays of light, then finally opens his eyes.
He’s treated to the disorientating view of Kagami’s bedroom. He checks Kagami’s phone charging on the bedside table and confirms that it is indeed a Friday, which means he should not be here – he never stays over at Kagami’s unless it’s a weekend. But more worrying than that is the view of the arm that had groped for the phone. That is not his arm. Aomine sits up in a hurry, ignoring the unfamiliar thump of something bumping against his chest as he rushes for the bathroom.
The bathroom mirror reveals that it’s not his body at all, Kagami Taiga’s dumb face staring back at him and Kagami’s dumb necklace the culprit of the unfamiliar presence against his chest. Aomine does not panic, because Aomine never panics, which means he definitely isn’t panicking right now. Instead, he grabs the nearest set of clothes – a crumpled set of Seirin uniform lying half out of the laundry basket – and lets the grumbling of Kagami’s stomach lead him to the kitchen. Food will make everything better.
Or it would, but opening the fridge only reveals a dazzling array of ingredients that should not belong in any high school boy’s house – none of which can be eaten without any cooking involved. Aomine groans pitifully, dumps a piece of bread into the toaster, and goes through Kagami’s phone while he waits.
Besides the old messages from Aomine himself about their regular weekend dates, there is a new one from Tetsu reminding Kagami that it’s his turn to look after Nigou today, and, strangely enough, one from Midorima of all people.
Kagami,
OhaAsa records a never-before-seen amount of bad luck for Leo and Virgo today. Prove that you are not the idiot I fear you to be and heed this warning.
Do not think that I am doing this out of any concept of friendship or comradery. I simply do not accept Seirin being unable to face us at your best with the tournament coming up.
Leo’s lucky item for today is-
The toast springs up just then and Aomine tucks the phone into the pocket of the uniform trousers as he shoves the bread into his mouth. He can’t quite believe that Midorima would bother anyone else besides the Generation of Miracles with his stupid astrology blather; but then, Seirin did beat Shuutoku. Aomine understands better than anyone the need to face Seirin at their best.
It feels weird having to be careful with Kagami’s body; it’s certainly not something he’s ever given thought to before. But it’s not like trying to decide what to do when he’s in Kagami’s body is something he’s ever thought about before either.
Still, it’s not something he can just pretend isn’t happening. It feels out of place to be in here in a way Aomine’s never had to face before. They may be the same height, but Kagami feels different; the way his body moves, the play of muscles beneath the skin – and it’s not all due the weight difference either.
“This is like a dream or something,” Aomine says to the empty room. The silence absorbs his words in a way that is frankly creepy. He’s never been in Kagami’s place by himself before. It doesn’t matter that he’s Kagami right now and Kagami stays in this apartment by himself all the time. Aomine doesn’t belong here.
“I’m not running away,” he says out loud deliberately, grabbing Kagami’s school bag out of habit as he leaves. Aomine tries a light run once he’s outside; it doesn’t make the situation any more comfortable, but the soothing motions are familiar – much more familiar than the undeniable weight of the necklace bouncing against his chest with every move.
Shower done, Kagami thunders down the stairs with Aomine’s bag thrown over one shoulder and dressed in a freshly laundered uniform; still trying not to think about anything. It is not until he sees Aomine’s mum’s aghast face at the bottom of the stairs that Kagami realises that maybe he should have thought about things a little after all.
“Daiki,” she says hesitantly, “you’re ready for school? Already? Satsuki-chan isn’t even here yet.” She cranes her head up, as if expecting Momoi to pop up from behind him and explain this defiance of the laws of nature any minute.
Kagami, not knowing what else to do, shrugs. He tries to look uncaring and not like he is actually Kagami pretending to be her son. It’s a credit to how well Kagami knows Aomine’s expressions – or maybe just sheer luck – that all she does is sigh and turn away. Kagami feels a bit bad about it, but he’s not sure trying to explain himself would go over any better.
Draping Aomine’s bag on the back of a chair, Kagami sits down at the table and digs in to Aomine’s mum’s wonderful cooking. It’s twice as awkward as usual without Aomine there as a buffer, but right now he is Aomine. It doesn’t help that Aomine’s dad is also sending him suspicious looks and Kagami is kind of sorry he didn’t just stay in bed. It’d probably be more in-character for Aomine.
But Kagami has a plan. A plan that is eight parts getting out of the house before Momoi arrives and makes things even more complicated – because she will definitely realise he’s not actually Aomine – and two parts finding his own body, and hopefully Aomine inside it. He’d sent a text to his own phone with Aomine’s after the shower, but has yet to get a reply. Which would be worrying if Kagami didn’t know how hard it can be to get a hold of the guy sometimes. It doesn’t mean it isn’t Aomine in his body.
Across the table, Aomine’s dad coughs uncomfortably, then asks, “How’s school been?”
Kagami hurriedly shoves a large clump of rice into his mouth and shrugs.
“How’s basketball?”
“Have you been getting along with Satsuki-chan?”
Kagami stares desperately at his pickles, then tries shrugging one more time. He doesn’t need to look up to know that Aomine’s mum is also staring at him from where she’d poked her head of the kitchen. This is getting dangerous.
Draining his bowl of soup, Kagami spits out a garbled goodbye as he dashes out the front door. It’s a pity having to leave so early; even with the uncomfortable atmosphere, it’s nice eating together with family around a generous breakfast table – and Aomine’s mum’s food is really good. But he can’t forget that it’s Aomine’s family, not his. And while usually that’s okay, with Aomine there inviting him to join them, there’s only him today.
Anyway, the plan comes first.
It’s only after Aomine reaches the front gate of Seirin High that he realises it might not have been such a good idea. More precisely, he is greeted by at the gate by someone Aomine has never seen before in his life, leaving him cursing himself for going to school in the first place and scrambling for a greeting Kagami might make to a peer. “Yo.”
“Morning! About that English worksheet you were talking about yesterday…” the stranger says, scratching ruefully at his buzz cut as he sinks into a long monologue while Aomine does his best to nod in the right places. Salvation comes in the form of Buzz Cut’s vibrating phone and the one-sided conversation thankfully comes to an end. “Oh crap, look at the time. I gotta go see my homeroom teacher first; I’ll see you soon at morning practice!”
Aomine mumbles a vague reply and takes the opportunity to slink into the school. An extensive stroll that involves him ducking out of sight whenever someone comes along and skulking along what are, hopefully, the least used paths leads him eventually to the roof. Aomine lies down, deeply regretting coming here after all.
“Didn’t want Kagami whining at me later on for making him miss school or getting him in trouble,” Aomine says to the fluffy clouds above him as he puts his hands behind his head. It doesn’t sound like a good excuse even to himself. Not when he actually is making Kagami miss school and getting him in trouble by being on the roof.
Aomine grunts, flicking the necklace so it pools on the ground near his shoulder instead of resting on his chest. It doesn’t help. Out of ideas, Aomine plucks Kagami’s phone out of his trousers to find that there are three unread messages waiting. The most recent one is from Kuroko, asking why he’s not at practice when Kawahara – apparently Buzz Cut – had met him just earlier and warning him that Coach is on the rampage for not answering her message. Sure enough, the next message is from ‘Coach’, and is a very ominous threat about how Kagami had better be actually dying if he’s going to skip practice. But it’s the final message that catches his attention.
Oi,
This better be you Aomine. Stay in the house, I’m coming over.
Kagami
It’s sent from his own phone, so Aomine decides to interpret that as Kagami being in his body. It’s kind of a relief that he’s not alone in this. He’s given up wondering about how it happened; using his brains has never gotten Aomine anywhere before and he doesn’t think it’s going to help in this situation either. But it makes sense that if he’s inside Kagami then Kagami should be inside him.
Aomine checks the time of the message; it was sent a while ago, but also after he’d left Kagami’s place. He texts back lazily:
At Seirin. Don’t worry, I’m keeping a low profile. Try to stay out of Satsuki’s way if you don’t want her to find out.
Unable to think of anything else to say, Aomine hits send. Looking at the inbox, Aomine wonders vaguely whether he should call Imayoshi or something. Imayoshi seems like the kind of guy who would know exactly what to do if he wakes up in someone else’s body. He would probably have the problem fixed before school starts. But that would depend on whether Aomine can make him believe him, and whether Aomine can even remember his number in the first place. Kagami’s phone definitely isn’t going to have it.
Giving up on the idea, Aomine tucks the phone back into his pocket. Kagami will come, that’s enough. It might not solve anything – it probably won’t solve anything when Kagami is as good at using his head as Aomine is – but he’ll be here.
Aomine slides his arm back behind his head and settles down for a nap. Not much else to do right now.
Now that he’s here, Kagami finds himself loitering at the entrance of the station near Aomine’s house, unable to move forward. He’s tried to talk himself into going and finding his body, visions of the chaos Aomine might be causing right now dancing across his eyes; but at the same time he is paralysed by the possibility that Aomine isn’t in his body after all. What if a stranger is in there? A stranger that wouldn’t believe him if he tries to explain himself? Or even worse, what if there’s no one in his body at all and he’s just lying there in his apartment – what if his body is dead? And where would he even start looking for Aomine in such a situation, Kagami has no idea, but he really doesn’t want to think about it.
He gropes at his chest fruitlessly for a moment before he remembers that he doesn’t have the ring – there’s no reason why Aomine would have a ring, Aomine doesn’t wear anything around his neck. Almost unconsciously, Kagami takes out the phone and is scrolling through the contacts before he realises that Aomine wouldn’t have Himuro’s contact details either. Kagami stares down at the screen, trying not to feel so helpless, trying to recall what Himuro’s number is, because surely Himuro would know what to do. If anyone can fix this, it’s Himuro. But he can’t remember.
The buzzing of Aomine’s phone pulls Kagami back to the present, and he finds himself looking down at a new message from ‘Bakagami’. He bathes in the overpowering sense of relief for a moment, safe in the knowledge that it is Aomine in his body and everything is okay, then he grits his teeth to keep from swearing and sends a very snippy message back because what the hell is Aomine doing at Seirin?
Because the world loves to kick him while he’s down, it is exactly at this moment that Momoi’s scolding “Dai-chan!!” resonates from behind him. Kagami thinks about pretending he’s someone else, how likely that is to succeed, then sighs and turns around.
“Dai-chan, what happened?! Aunty said you left early,” Momoi says, devastated. “Are you okay? Did something happen with Kagamin?”
“Why did your thought process go there!?” Kagami couldn’t help ask, even though she’s not strictly wrong.
“Well, I couldn’t think of any other reason why you’re up so early and out of the house already.” Momoi bites her lip.
Kagami stares at her for one terrible, helpless second, the confession slipping from his lips unbidden, “You’re kinda right. Uh, kind of right.”
Momoi blinks, stares, then takes in a deep breath. “KAGAMIN???”
Kagami stares around them wildly, one hand waving madly in front of her face as if it will somehow make her declaration unhappen, and it’s not until he’s sure that no one’s looking their way does he turn back to her. “Not so loud! How did you know it’s me?”
Momoi, who had waited patiently for Kagami’s little pantomime to finish, sighs dramatically. “No one else speaks that way, Kagamin. I know you’ve been told this already, but that’s not how you be polite in Japanese; it just sounds weird. Also you keep grabbing at your chest,” she points out. That’s Kagamin’s habit when he’s worried, touching his ring. Dai-chan doesn’t do that.”
“Oh,” Kagami says, scrubbing a hand through his hair.
“So it really is you, Kagamin.” Momoi looks at him doubtfully. “How did this happen? Why are you suddenly Dai-chan? What did you guys do?”
“Why does it always have to come down to one of us doing something?” Kagami says exasperated, dropping down heavily onto a nearby bench.
“Kagamin,” Momoi says as she sits down lightly besides him, “you’re in Dai-chan’s body. What am I supposed to think? People don’t just randomly switch bodies.” Her face suddenly pales. “Where’s Dai-chan?”
“At Seirin.” Kagami scowls, then adds, “In my body.”
Momoi sighs in relief, then makes a face. “What is he thinking? I hope he doesn’t get in trouble!”
“Me too,” Kagami says mournfully.
“What will you do now?” Momoi asks.
“Go to Seirin, I guess.” Kagami sighs. “I don’t know what else to do. It’s not like there’s someone I can just go to to get this fixed.”
“You’re right,” Momoi says, suddenly looking determined. She bounces up, looming over him despite the lack of height difference even with Kagami sitting down. “There’s no point sitting around. I don’t know how to fix this, but I can at least help make the right excuses. You go find Dai-chan.”
“Sorry about this.” Kagami lowers his head.
“It’s okay; you two will just owe me.” Momoi smiles.
“Yeah, we owe you.” Kagami stands up as well, seeing her off as Momoi walks towards the turnstiles. “I mean it. Thank you!”
Momoi turns back, still smiling, then disappears inside the station. Kagami watches her go for a moment, then forcibly drags his hand away from his unadorned chest and heads off himself.
Aomine wakes up for the second time that day, disappointingly still in Kagami’s body. It’d have been nice if it was all a dream. But the grumbling of his stomach informs him that it is very much reality, and also that he’s had nothing to eat all morning except a piece of bread.
Spurred by his hunger, Aomine sneaks off the roof only to find that it’s lunchtime at Seirin right now. Not a good time for him to be out and about if he wants to stay unseen. Out of ideas, Aomine finds himself lurking around the gym, which is blessedly free of people – even the basketball club – while he checks Kagami’s phone. There are two new messages from Kagami full of swearing and admonitions for him to describe where he is and not to move from there. There are also half a dozen messages from people Aomine guesses to be Seirin’s basketball club – though none of them are from Kuroko.
He’s just finished sending Kagami a message about being in the gym when a sharp bark breaks out, and Aomine finds himself looking down at a familiar looking dog. He crouches down without even thinking about it, holding out a hand for the dog to sniff. “You know I almost forget Tetsu has a dog sometimes? Those dicks never bring you around.”
Nigou wuffs happily as if in agreement, licking first at Aomine’s hand and then jumping up for his face. Aomine laughs, running both hands through Nigou’s soft fur. He stands up as Nigou breaks away for the corner of the gym, pawing at the cart of basketballs left out in the open.
Aomine grins, strolling up to the cart. “How can anyone not like you? Kagami’s just a wimp.”
He grabs a ball, bouncing it against the ground once, twice, then against the wall while Nigou bounds after it with a happy grin.
“Aomine-kun?”
The ball leaves his hand with way too much force, crashing into the wall with a loud bang that forces Nigou away, whimpering. Aomine follows the ball’s path as it bounces past him, watching as it rolls up against a pair of feet standing at the entrance of the gym. “Tetsu!”
Kuroko narrows his eyes. “So it is you, Aomine-kun. What is going on here? Why are you in Kagami-kun’s body? What have you done?”
“I didn’t do anything.” Aomine scowls, suddenly uncomfortable in Kagami’s body again. “Maybe Midorima’s stupid OhaAsa cursed us.”
“You said ‘us’,” Kuroko notes. “Kagami-kun is in your body then?”
“Yeah.” Aomine shoves his hands into his pockets for lack of anything else to do. “He texted that he’s coming here. You’re taking this pretty well. How did you know it was me anyway?”
“I heard from Kawahara-kun that you were acting strangely this morning, and then when you missed morning practice I knew something had happened,” Kuroko says calmly, breaking eye contact to pick up the ball. “I wasn’t expecting this, however.”
“That’s it!?” Aomine stares at him disbelievingly, not even noticing Nigou pawing at his trouser leg. “That’s how you know it’s me?”
“Well.” Kuroko rubs carefully at a worn spot on the ball. “I also received a message from Momoi-san who had heard everything from Kagami-kun. And besides, when I saw you playing with Nigou, I couldn’t see Kagami-kun at all.”
Aomine laughs a little, squatting down to rub at Nigou’s head. “Well, you sure ain’t never gonna see Kagami do this. Wait a minute.” He suddenly stops. “If you heard the whole thing from Satsuki, why did you ask me in the first place?”
“I couldn’t be sure, of course; you must admit, this whole thing sounds very fantastical.” Kuroko smiles ruefully. “I would not presume to accuse Momoi-san of lying, but it’s not the kind of situation I can accept without seeing for myself.”
“Guess you have a point,” Aomine admits, trying to look belligerent. It is ruined by the gurgling of his stomach, reminding him that he still hasn’t had anything to eat.
“There is not much we can do as things are; for now, we might as wait for Kagami-kun’s arrival,” Kuroko says. “Nobody is using this gym this lunch time. Please stay here while I go and get you something to eat.”
“You’re a life-saver, Tetsu.” Aomine sighs in relief, slumping down to the floor.
“This is still Kagami-kun’s body after all, I cannot allow our Ace to go hungry,” Kuroko says firmly, throwing the ball behind him as he leaves. The ball misses the cart by a wide margin and ends up by Aomine’s feet this time.
Aomine scowls down at Kagami’s shoes. “Not like I’m doing it on purpose.” He flicks at the necklace fitfully. Beside him, Nigou whines as if in sympathy.
It is lunchtime by the time Kagami arrives at Seirin; a good thing, because it lets him mingle with the other students – Touou’s winter shirt and trousers isn’t that different from Seirin’s – with Aomine’s tie and blazer in his bag.
He checks Aomine’s phone one last time to make sure that the message does say Aomine is at the gym and notices that there has been no new messages from Touou’s shouty captain or whoever Aomine had put down as Food Supply in his contacts – Kagami has a sinking feeling it might be poor Sakurai. It looks like Momoi has managed to cover for Aomine and Kagami will no longer need to worry about ignoring them.
His walk to the gym is blessedly free of anyone who might possibly recognise Aomine and know he doesn’t belong in Seirin, but there his good luck ends, because Aomine is playing with Nigou, running his hands all over the beast, and he is doing it in Kagami’s body.
“You take my hands off that animal!” Kagami blusters as he tries to loom over the two of them without getting too close.
“How are you such a wimp.” Aomine eyes him exasperatedly, both hands not moving from their position rubbing Nigou’s belly.
Kagami splutters at him, then notices the ball by Aomine’s feet and gets a better idea. Scooping up the ball, he says, “Forget about the dog, let’s have a one-on-one. You think you can manage a Meteor Dunk?”
Aomine smirks, standing up and shooing Nigou off to the side. “I bet I can manage one better than you can manage a formless shoot.”
“You’re on,” Kagami says, trying to ignore how awkward he still feels in Aomine’s body despite having been in it for half the day.
At least Aomine seems to have the same problem. Both of their plays are laughable, even Seirin’s new first year members would be able to stop them. But playing basketball seems to help. Kagami finds himself moving more smoothly, Aomine’s hands going through the motions of dribbling the ball as if they were made for it. He doesn’t even need to think about shifting weight, sinking into a crouch on instinct alone as Aomine marks him way too close for it to not be a foul. He can smell himself, his nose grazing Aomine’s chest, but he can smell Aomine too. It’s his body, but it’s Aomine he’s facing. Half of Kagami’s attention is on how hard this is making him while the other half watches as his right hand snaps up and throws the ball lazily towards the basket. He knows unconsciously it will go in, but at the last moment, he doubts. The ball catches on his fingers as it soars towards the goal.
Aomine tsks, turning away from the ball to glare at him, not even needing to watch the ball as it catches against the rim and rolls off the side. “Pathetic much?”
Kagami scowls at him, ripping off the Touou shirt so he can move unhindered in just an undershirt. “I don’t see you doing any better. You realise I can jump way higher than that, right?”
“Yeah? You think your body can last under my control?” Aomine says mockingly as he also takes his shirt off.
Kagami rolls his eyes at the double entendre and gets into a defensive position as Aomine picks up the ball. “Better than yours can last under mine.”
“Try me.”
Aomine’s been called a narcissist before, but for the first time he really gets it – Kagami is hot, and that doesn’t change when Kagami is him. They’re only cursorily playing basketball by this point, mostly because the ball is still in play between them, but Aomine is much more concerned with crowding Kagami with his body.
Kagami leans back sharply, trying to twist around Aomine, but Aomine simply follows him down until Kagami’s butt meets the ground with a thump. They’re close enough to kiss, so close Aomine can probably count the eyelashes sweeping up towards those freaky split eyebrows – if he’s the kind of weirdo who counts people’s eyelashes. The ball rolls off to the side and is head-butted by Nigou, who is ignored by both of them.
“Aomine.”
“Kagami.”
“Please don’t make out in the gym, you two.”
“Kuroko!” Kagami screeches, flinging himself back and almost kicking Aomine in the balls.
“Tetsu!” Aomine growls at the same time, glaring balefully and readjusts his trousers.
Kuroko stares at the two of them for an uncomfortable, ardour-cooling moment, then says, “When did the two of you turn back?”
Aomine blinks, looks down to confirm the fact that his chest really is as unencumbered as it should be, then turns to Kagami. Kagami looks back just as helplessly and shrugs. “When we were playing basketball?”
“No clue. But it’s all good. Problem solved!”
Kuroko sighs. “I should not have wasted my time worrying over you.” He smacks them each on the head with a wrapped hunk of bread.
Aomine immediately opens his and bites down. Playing basketball had him forgetting all about how hungry he actually is. Next to him, Kagami does the same; though he quickly shuffles around until Aomine is between him and Nigou – who bounds over enticed by the smell of fresh yakisoba bread.
Kuroko waits calmly for them to finish, squatting down and calling Nigou over so he would stop intimidating Kagami. “I don’t suppose the two of you have any better idea of how you got into this predicament now that you’re out of it.”
Aomine shrugs, and sees Kagami do the same. “Midorima’s OhaAsa curse?”
Kuroko sighs. “Since the matter is resolved somehow or other, what will you do now, Aomine-kun? Momoi-san has already informed the school that you are feeling unwell and won’t be in today.”
Aomine scratches at his head. “I dunno. Guess I’ll go back to the roof and sleep until school ends?”
“I’ll go with you,” Kagami offers. “I should probably keep a low profile today too. You probably didn’t go to any of my classes.”
Kuroko looks at them gravely. “If I leave you with a ball on the roof, can the two of you manage to not engage in any make outs on school grounds?”
“Kuroko!”
“Oh, c’mon man,” Aomine groans, falling back.
“On second thought, why don’t the two of you go back to Kagami-kun’s apartment for today?” Kuroko says as he stands up, one foot herding Nigou behind him. “I will take your turn with Nigou, Kagami-kun; the two of you just try not to get in anyone’s way.”
“Hey, good idea!” Aomine smirks, turning to Kagami. “You think you can make good on that boast to last under my control?”
Kagami splutters. “I haven’t seen you do any better!”
Suddenly a well-placed chop sinks into both of their sides. “Off school grounds please,” Kuroko says sternly. “Neither Nigou nor I wishes to listen to this.”
“Alright, alright, we’re leaving.” Aomine slings an arm around Kagami’s neck, half dragging him towards the exit. Under him, Kagami doesn’t even try to fight him off, just twists around to thank Kuroko as he says goodbye. The action presses his necklace into Aomine’s skin, the warming metal caught between Kagami’s nape and Aomine’s arm; proof that it’s where it should be. They are where they should be.