The Skill of Seeing Through

Summary: A sad young Momoi causes Aomine to learn a new skill. Who knew it would still make her happy till this day?

Date Originally Posted: 02-22-2014

Six years ago

Aomine saw her just as he prepared to make another shot from the freeline. Barely anyone strolled through the park this hot summer day, so her pink head stood out like a sore thumb. He guessed he could make one more basket before she arrived. He glanced back at the hoop and threw the ball. The shot found its way inside the basket fluidly. He did a fist pump and retrieved the ball. When he turned around, he saw his friend watching from the sidelines.

"Hi Satsuki!" He said as he approached her. Only then did he realize her frown and how it darkened her normally radiant face. "Satsuki, what's wrong?"

She shook her head as her fingers combed through her long peach hair. "It's nothing Dai-chan."

"Oi, if it was nothing, then you wouldn't be so sad." Aomine pouted.

Momoi sighed in defeat. She felt pretty confident that she could mask her disappointment from most, but she concluded that maybe Dai-chan did not belong with the 'most'. "Fine. I'm sad because I can't braid my hair."

Aomine stared at her for a moment. Then he slapped his forehead and rolled his eyes. "Really Satsuki? That's what's got you sad?" He would not admit that he felt a bit relieved that her sadness might be something fixable.

"It's just that everyone in our class has braids! It feels weird being the only one who can't do it!" She reasoned with him. "You know Mom can't fix my hair since she has work and Dad can't do it since he pulls my hair."

Aomine felt that she placed way too much thought into this."It's not like you need it. You're pretty the way you are." He said so easily that it made Momoi blush a bit. He realized what he said and looked away from her. Well, he needed to change the subject quickly. "I-if you want to stand out, cut it then."

"Dai-chan!" The thought of that sounded so absurd it might have been scandalous.

"Sorry." He then came with the most brilliant idea he had ever conceived. "I'll braid it for you then. I'll just go to your house before school."

"You know how to braid hair, Dai-chan?" For Momoi had thought that Aomine only had basketball in his head.

"It's hair, Satsuki." He shrugged his shoulders. "How hard can it be?"

Now

"Ow!" Momoi whined as her dad pulled through the knots of her hair.

"I'm sorry Satsuki-chan." He placed the comb down. "If you wanted someone to braid your hair, then you should have ask Daiki to do it for you."

Momoi puffed her cheeks. "It's not as if he'd get up his lazy butt just to braid my hair." She got up and picked up headband. "It's alright. I'll be late for school if I stay any longer. I'll just wear it down."

She said her goodbye to her father and left her house. Waiting by the frame of the door, Aomine gave a loud yawn. "Took you long enough, Satsuki." He complained as they walked down the empty streets.

She looked away from him in frustration. "It's not as if you made me late before, Aomine-kun."

He groaned in response. A moment later, he noticed the headband on her head. He then sniffed the air and deemed that she wore some sort of perfume. Strawberries, probably. This obviously mean one thing. "Seeing Tetsu today?"

"And what if I am?" She quickly retorted. However, something felt off. She did not seem as snappy as usual.

He sighed. "Don't tell me that you don't feel pretty for Tetsu. He knows that. So stop trying."

That last comment irked her. What right does he have to say that? What if she just wanted to feel pretty?

Before she could argue with him, she noticed he stopped. The next second, she felt his strong grasp on her wrist. She came to a halt and cursed both him and herself. How could they have a fight this early in the morning?

Expecting cold words, she felt his hands run through her hair. A tingle traveled down her spine and she twitched.

"Oi, don't move." He barked. He carefully parted her hair and placed a few bunch in between his fingers. He could not believe he spent all those hours as a kid looking up tutorials for braiding. Still, this might be able to stop that annoying mouth of hers for a while.

She felt him twist the bunches together. Unlike her father, his touch felt gentle. It must have come from all those times he braided her hair those few years ago. He did not pull too hard, yet she knew that it would be tight enough to not look sloppy. After a minute, he asked her for a hair tie. She obliged.

"There." He said as he finished. Her fingers traced the pattern and she knew already he did a great job. She could not believe he did that for her. What did he had to gain with that? She could not understand his actions at times. When she turned her attention back to him, she noticed he walked a whole block without her.

"Hey!" She complained as she ran after him. He gave her an apathetic look.

"You looked pretty pathetic earlier. I couldn't stand looking at that ugly face." He said as he continued to walk, giving her no time to rest.

She finally caught up with him, yet she could only stare. While his words may be harsh, his actions spoke louder than usual. Slowly, she felt the ends of her lips curve up. Until now, he still could read through her.

"Thanks Aomine-kun."

A/N: Please have mercy. I have not written fanfiction in a while and this is also my first KnB submission. Hope you enjoyed...