Disclaimer: I don't own 'Kuroko no Basuke', only my OC (Aiko)

Lucky Days

He had always thought she was one of those people who were not particularly anything. Only, and to his great displeasure, he turned out to be wrong.

Aiko had only ever continued to rise above his expectations of her, from the very first day they met. In middle school, her association with Ryota Kise had resulted in her associating herself with him; something which had only continued when they ended up attending the same high school. Shintaro Midorima had never been particularly happy about that. Especially on days like today.

Their routine was to walk home together after school.

"Shintaro!"

He wished their routine where something else.

"Shintaro, I'm dying."

"No you're not." He sighed.

"Yes I am. It's so hot, I think I'm melting!"

Aiko trudged into his sight. Though she was of average height, her stoop and thin build made her seem so much shorter. While one hand hung limply by, the other was pushing away the lank, blue-black veil of her shoulder-length hair. From the angle, he couldn't clearly see her face.

"If I were to die right here, right now, would you just leave my body on the road?" she wondered absently.

"Stop asking stupid questions."

"But would you?"

"Yes." Midorima confirmed, not hesitating.

Aiko cast a glance up at him, fixing him with the wide-eyed stare of her dark blue eyes. A slow smile crept across her lips.

"I suppose it is a bit hot to bury a body today." She conceded cheerfully.

He sniffed irritably, turning his attention to the street ahead.

After that, Aiko was content to let silence settle. She was far to weary from the heat of that day to bother him with any more nonsense, and also sensed that pushing Midorima any further would be most unwise. Instead of conversation, it was the sound of Aiko's school bag dragging along the ground that filled the quiet of the still air.

Aiko couldn't help but keep her eyes cast to the ground, only occasionally glancing around at her surroundings and Midorima. There was nothing odd about the street they walked, other than a small park to her right, and a basketball court. Which, when considered, gave her an idea.

"Shintaro, can we take a break?" Aiko asked sweetly. "Please?"

"Where?" he inquired, intending for the question to be rhetorical.

Instead of just saying it, Aiko grabbed his wrist and began to pull him towards the nearby court. When Midorima didn't resist, Aiko assumed that the heat of the summer sun must have been getting to him too.

"Here." She said, gesturing to the fenced basketball court.

Midorima scoffed at her, before pointing to the gate. "They're locked. Whatever you're thinking of doing, it's not going to work-"

But it was too late.

Aiko had thrown her school bag over the top, and already begun scaling the fence.

Her sneakers were thin enough that they fit into the diamond wire of the fencing, and it seemed she had practise with climbing, as it took her seconds to reach the top. Midorima noted, rather absently, that her uniform's skirt was a little too short to hide anything.

One leg on each side, Aiko smiled down at him.

"Coming?" she teased. "Or don't you have the guts to play against me?"

"You would never win." He pointed out calmly.

Aiko swung her remaining leg over. "Prove it."

Irritated, by more than just the heat, Midorima shrugged off his bag. Just as Aiko jumped to the ground, he swung it over. The timing was perfect, as ever, and she easily caught it before it hit the asphalt.

Without hesitating, Aiko took a few steps away, before setting both their bags down. As she unzipped Midorima's – knowing that there was a basketball inside – the thud of him landing on the ground behind her resounded dully.

She peered closer, scooping the ball out of the way without any qualms for her nosiness.

"Is that pink bunny toy your sister's?" Aiko wondered, marvelling the odds of finding such a thing inside Midorima's schoolbag.

"It's my lucky item." He corrected her impassively.

"Cute."

Midorima ignored her and instead picked up his basketball. "What are you going to do with this?"

"We. What are we going to do with this," Aiko corrected, "And I'll tell you; I'm sick of walking, so we're going to play a game of 'Elimination', and if I win, you have to carry me the rest of the way home."

"'Elimination'?"

"You know; where you take turns shooting the ball into the hoop, and the first one to miss loses. In this case, the winner actually wins something."

"I'm not interested in a stupid game when it's clear I'll win."

"Or not. Maybe it's my lucky day." Aiko retorted.

He scoffed at the idea; he knew for certain whose lucky day it was, and it wasn't hers.

Still insistent, for no other reason that it almost seemed pointless to turn back now, Aiko continued, "Come on, Shintaro! I'm sick of walking and it's just one game! Or are you scared?"

Midorima turned and faced her at last. "If I win, you have to do something for me."

"Cross my heart, hope to die." She added. Even after so long, he still couldn't be exactly sure if she were lying or not.

"I hope." He muttered.

Aiko opened her mouth to insult him in turn, only he ignored her. Instead, he faced one the hoops of the court, and even from where he stood – which was a ridiculous distance away – he lifted his hands, and took a shot.

"Show-off." Aiko grumbled, as the basketball fell through the net.

He said nothing, and so she simply moved around him and went to retrieve the ball. While he waited, Midorima, who had already discarded his school jacket, also found the need to roll up the sleeves of the white button-up worn underneath. Unspoken and unacknowledged was the envy he felt in regards to Aiko's t-shirt; certainly, the girl's uniform seemed to be more ideal for warmer weather. Not that she made it out to seem so.

"Get over here." Aiko called out, before taking her shot.

Her form was not perfect, yet still above average. Midorima would attribute this to two facts; the first, that she had spent far too much time in the company of the Generation of Miracles, and the second being that she liked to imitate the way he would shoot.

When she scored, Aiko passed the ball back to him, all the while beaming.

He caught it, took a single step, and then threw the ball without hesitation. It landed straight through the hoop, another predictably perfect shot.

"Aren't you going to go get it?" Aiko wondered when he didn't move at all.

He stared at her, devoid of any and all emotion.

Understanding, Aiko simply muttered a curse, before marching across the court to pick the ball up herself.

"This is unfair." She moaned.

"Don't complain, or I'll leave you here."

Aiko took her shot. It hovered on the edge of the ring, yet fell in regardless.

"And leave a poor, defenceless girl alone?" Aiko teased, "How cruel."

She knew the dangers of testing him. Given that he had left the protective tape on around his fingers, she knew he wasn't taking this seriously – or seriously enough to warrant real effort – and so it was quite likely he would leave her. In fact, it was puzzling that he didn't.

They continued to alternate turns for a while longer. Each time, Aiko grew more and more annoyed as she ended up running around to catch the ball after every shot. The heat was becoming unbearable, but she knew she only had to throw him off his game to win. Winning sounded very nice.

Aiko tried to make Midorima miss by throwing casual statements at him, most insulting, and some leaning towards the more perverted side of her personality. He remained unfazed by it all, accepting them regardless. If ever he was to insult her in turn, it would after his shot.

It was ten minutes in, and Aiko's turn.

She stood in line with the hoop, ball poised and knees bent in preparation for the jump. In those few seconds before she did, Aiko glanced around at Midorima.

He was smiling.

Then Aiko jumped – or at least, tried to. Her foot slipped as she was landing, jerking sideways, while the basketball was thrown forward but nowhere near the goal. She landed hard on the hot ground.

"Ow! Shit!" she exclaimed.

Whether it was by the heat, or the faint curve of Midorima's lips, it didn't change the fact that Aiko had lost.

She wasn't certain, but she thought he might have sighed.

"Idiot," he told her, "The only thing that you got out of this was pain."

As he spoke, Midorima also walked around her, before crouching in front of her. Though she scowled at him, Aiko was thankful he was blocking out the sun from her eyes.

"Are you hurt?" he asked monotonously.

"Shut up. I hate you."

"Since when?"

"Since now. You made me muck up!"

Midorima frowned, clearly unimpressed. Aiko went on to explain, "I saw you smile – it's very distracting."

"You imagined it." He dismissed her quickly.

"No I didn't-"

"Regardless, I win, and you have to do something for me."

Aiko crossed her arms and sat up. It seemed she wasn't hurt by her fall, although she would never admit it if she was. "Fine." She snapped.

Midorima remained crouching; he wanted to see her reaction. "I want you answer this question truthfully," she cringed, and he ignored it, "and without avoiding it."

"Okay."

"Do you like me?"

Aiko froze. Her limbs stiffened imperceptibly, and she almost literally couldn't move. All she could manage to say was, "Um…"

Midorima remained unchanged. If he were apprehensive, she wouldn't know, and neither would she be able to tell how he felt about her answer.

"Yes."

"Good."

Good? That could mean anything.

Aiko swallowed the lump in her throat. "What do you mean 'good'?"

Midorima merely stood up, to his grand full height of six-foot five, and began walking away. He grabbed his basketball, and his schoolbag, on his way over to the fence. Aiko seriously doubted he intended to answer her; only, he did.

Midorima turned his head slightly, gazing back at her with the same, cool, green gaze as ever.

"Good," he repeated, "I like you too."

At first, Aiko didn't understand. She failed to register those words, certain that it was nothing more than a dream. She had thought Midorima didn't like anyone.

Apparently she was wrong.

Whatever it was that she might stay in reply – probably something stupid or insensitive – was lost in the jumble of her mind. Midorima was leaving just as they came, launching his bag and basketball over the fence, before beginning to climb it. He scaled it easily, flipping over the top, and landing on the other side.

Aiko was quick to follow. She scrambled to her feet, ignoring the pain in her right ankle.

"Shintaro, wait!" she ordered. "What do you mean by that?"

Her bag hit the ground on the other side, with a thud that was just as loud as her heart.

"Exactly what you think I meant." He replied, pausing on the path outside of the court and adjusting his glasses.

Aiko wiped her forehead of sweat, preparing herself for the climb. She was certain there was something wrong with her foot, due to her fall, but she didn't really care. All that mattered was getting to Midorima.

"And here I was thinking you were heartless." She grumbled, heaving her leg over the top of the fence.

Just as Aiko was beginning to climb down, her foot slipped. Thankfully, her grip remained and so she was able to free her other foot, and from there, fall; this time with the intention of landing on her feet.

For a second, she did, only then her right ankle gave in beneath her.

"Ow!"

Once again, Aiko fell to the ground.

When she looked up, and around, Midorima was walking away from her again. Her irritation grew, despite her abundance of patience. She couldn't help but be angry, albeit at herself for not realising his intentions for that game sooner.

For a while now, Midorima had known that she liked someone – it had always been quite obviously him, only she had to prompt him a little into the line of thinking. Aiko, being the stubborn, secretive person that she was, had elected to not tell him who. She wasn't and never had been fond of people knowing the intimate details of her personal life.

Fear was another thing that had stopped her confessing. She hated the idea of losing Midorima, even as a friend.

"Shintaro." Aiko whined.

He spun, neither impatiently nor patiently. "What?"

"My ankle hurts."

Unsurprisingly, he scowled, yet began to walk back towards her.

The pavement below her was hot against her legs, and so grabbed her nearby schoolbag and began to stand. Before Aiko even made to her feet, he was there, a great shadow with an ill-boding expression, to lift her up.

"You're such a pain." He muttered.

"So you don't like me after all?"

Midorima didn't answer her. "I'll carry you." He said instead.

Without waiting for her reply, knowing what it would be, he bent down. Aiko's grip on his shoulder increased as she wordlessly agreed. It took her moments to swing herself over his back, arms draping around his shoulders, legs around his waist. Midorima stood, seemingly without effort, and began to walk forwards.

"Technically, you carrying me home renders that whole 'Elimination' game pointless." Aiko pointed out.

"You wouldn't have injured yourself." He seemed to agree.

"Actually, I probably wouldn't have done anything. You probably wouldn't be carrying me, you probably wouldn't-"

"I know."

Aiko sighed, her breath ruffling his hair. "You know you make it so hard; all I wanted to say was thank you."

"Then say it. It's about time you did."

"I really, really want to hit you right now."

"Don't be stupid. I'd drop you if you did that." Midorima countered.

Still, Aiko considered how fulfilling that would be.

The words fell away, unmasking a comfortable silence. Aiko revelled in her new found seat, the throne that was his hands on her legs as he carried her piggyback home from school. It was remarkable that Midorima had gone to such lengths for her. In all her years, Aiko had never seen such compassion as she had today.

It was only then that she finally believed him.

"Aiko."

"I'm awake," she assured, "Just thinking…You know when I said it was my lucky day?"

"It isn't." Midorima asserted.

"Maybe, maybe not."

He grew irritated quickly. "What are you saying?"

Aiko recalled the look in his eyes when their hearts spilled over, the truth she had missed when in search only for his façade.

"I think it was a lucky day for us both."

Finally finished it! I hope you all enjoyed reading it, I apologise for any mistakes and if you spot any, feel free to point them out.

Reviews are welcome and always appreciated.