Disclaimer: Kuroko's Basketball, known as Kuroko no Basuke and officially translated as The Basketball which Kuroko Plays, is written and illustrated by Tadatoshi Fujimaki. The only thing I actually own are OCs and my short story ideas. 8D

Author's Note: If you see grammar mistakes, I apologize. Grammar is like a ninja. I never notice them.

The wind pushed her body. She was wearing a white hoodie and a black skirt with black leggings and brown boots. Her hair was black, her bangs cover her forehead and her other hair fell out of the hood, falling on her chest. Her eyes were in the color of magenta.

She got up on the bridge railings and balanced herself on it as she stood facing the road with her back in the direction of the river. She faced that way because she wanted to see if anyone would panic if they saw her up there and then get into a crash. The more she waited, the more she really wanted to see them crush. The cars continued to keep on going.

'So, I'm not worth it,' she thought bitterly. She bit her lower lip and her right foot slowly moved back.

"HEY!"

The girl turned her head to the right and saw a male figure at the far end of the bridge entrance. It was a tall guy with dark blue hair and tanned skin. He was running with all his might. And he looked angry. She grinned at his expression because this was what she wanted. Planning on jumping off the bridge the moment he would get closer, this guy could see her fall and remember her forever. That was what she wanted. Yes. That was all she wanted. To see someone who would care about someone like her. She waited for him as she stayed balance on her left foot.

But he was very fast like the wind and it took her by surprise. Realizing he was just a few yards away now, she bent her knee and jumped backwards. Her head dropped pass the railings level and she looked up because she wanted to see how his expression was like. His big hand reached out within a blink and took a hold of her left wrist.

Slamming against the bride railings, she hit her face on the bars and whined. "Oww…" she rubbed her face with her right hand. It was a shocking pain and her teeth almost felt numb.

"Grrr…" the blue haired guy frowned. He easily pulled her up and she stared at him, even more stunned. Luckily she wasn't struggling so he grabbed around her body and got her over the railings. He set her down on her feet and frowned. She was a lot shorter than he thought.

He felt warm when he pulled her. She looked up at him while he was rubbing the back of his head. He looked like he did not know what else do to next and that made her a smile. He looked at her with annoyance when he noticed that calm face of hers. He was simply annoyed since he saved someone like her because she was acting like everything was fine and that she only was testing him out.

"Aomine-kun!"

The girl blinked and tilted her head to look pass the big guy. She saw two guys running their way. The shorter guy had lighter blue hair and the taller guy, who was running ahead of the shorter one, had darker red hair. She hid her smile and looked back at the guy who saved her life. They both did not say a word and the silence started to feel awkward.

"Are you okay?" the dark red headed guy panted, looking up and down at the girl. He saw prints on her face, but she shook her head.

"…I'm fine," she replied.

Aomine turned to walk around them. "Okay, let's go before Akashi gets edgy," he said. His pace was fast too. "Kagami, don't leave Tetsu behind now."

The dark red haired guy, Kagami, glared. "Wait, what about this girl?" he gestured.

"She looks fine," Aomine looked back. He didn't care. He already did the saving.

She looked at the guys back and forth. Kagami and Aomine were glaring at each other and she folded her arms to her chest. Kuroko finally reached to them and panted a bit. "Are you alright?" Kuroko asked her with a tone of concern.

The girl looked at him and nodded. "Yeah…" she said.

"Is something wrong?" Kagami asked her. Aomine stopped walking and looked back at his friends impatiently. "Why did you want to kill yourself? I literally had a heart attack when you actually jumped!"

"I…" she lowered her eyes, hesitant.

"She just wanted attention," Aomine narrowed his eyes. "Forget about her and let's go already."

Kuroko looked at him, "Aomine-kun, that was not a nice thing to say."

"Huh," Aomine looked away, leaning forward to the railings and gazed at the horizon.

The girl felt uncomfortable now. People like Aomine were mean people. "…So what if I did want a little attention," she hissed, her eyes gluing onto Aomine. "Then you should not have saved me, asshole."

Aomine snapped. He turned his eyes to her. She suddenly moved toward the railings, but Kagami grabbed her quickly and pulled her back. "Whoa, whoa!" Kagami cried with a sweat drop on his face. "Relax! Forget about what that bastard said! Don't do it!"

Kuroko nodded. She seemed frustrated, but stopped struggling in Kagami's grip. "Please don't kill yourself," Kuroko said.

She listened to his soothing voice and her face lightened up a bit. "I…" she looked away.

Letting her go, Kagami went to face her. "If there's something wrong, we can help," Kagami told her. He wondered what she could have been through to want to take her own life. He actually never crossed a suicidal person either, but he wanted to at least comfort them. Because life was not al that bad.

Kuroko felt the same. "Yes, we will help you, miss," he nodded slowly. "Right, Aomine-kun?" Kuroko didn't even look at him.

Aomine sighed and said nothing.

The hooded girl stared at them and wondered if they were truly cared for a stranger like her. With her hand becoming a gentle fist, she opened up and said, "I was just… lonely."

"Eh, that's it?" Aomine questioned, looking at her haughtily.

Kagami rubbed his face and shook his head at the insensitive tanned guy.

"Aomine-kun…" Kuroko slowly turned and looked at his friend.

"We're heading to practice," Aomine said, turning to look at the girl. "You can come and watch us. If you want to play… well, good luck, because we're all strong. Heh."

She looked at him, surprised once again. She thought he was the mean type, but here he was offering her to join them. "…What practice?" she wanted to know first. If it didn't interest her then she would reject his offer coldly to get back at him.

"Basketball," he grinned. He was proud to say it. Then he saw more light in her eyes and she seemed very eager. "With that face of yours, does that mean you want to come?"

The girl nodded timidly and glanced to the other two guys. Kagami nodded, "I don't mind."

Kuroko smiled kindly, "Momoi is always the only the female… She'll be happy to have you there."

"…Ah… thank you," the girl smiled happier.

Kagami realized something and scratched his face with a smile. "I'm Kagami Taiga," he introduced himself.

"Kuroko Tetsuya," the lighter blue haired guy said with a blank stare.

She nodded, glanced to the tanned guy. "Aomine Daiki," he told her.

"What's yours?" Kagami asked with the same smile.

The girl looked at the three of them. "…My name is Candy."

"What?" Aomine looked at her with disbeliefs. "That has to be a lie. What mother in the world would name her daughter like that?" Kagami felt the same, but tried to look respectful. Kuroko only blinked with no words. The girl just stood there, staring at them quietly. Aomine noticed his friends were not commenting about it, so he demanded, "Come on, girl, tell us your real name."

"It's going to be the name you guys will call me from now on," she nodded to herself. "It's my nickname my mom gave me."

"Alright then," Kuroko nodded. He had no problem with it. Aomine sighed and Kuroko said, "Let's hurry. Akashi might be there already." He turned and walked first, passing Aomine.

"He was late LAST TIME," Kagami frowned, following by his side.

Aomine started to walk too and tried to forget about the girl. She walked behind the group and said nothing. "I totally think Akashi should have stayed home," Aomine thought out loud. "He looked a bit sick yesterday, right?"

"I thought so too," Kuroko nodded, glancing back to him.

Kagami was a bit shocked. "I didn't notice that," he honestly said. He tried to recall it for a moment. "He seemed fine."

"He has such a poker face," Aomine grinned.

Candy was quiet, staring at their backs as they walked across the bridge.

After they had crossed the bridge, they continued walking on the sidewalk. They came to a red light and waited. Kuroko faced Candy curiously, "Do you live near here, Candy-san?"

She looked back to the bridge and shrugged when she turned to Kuroko. "Sure," she replied. "I… live alone."

"Then your parents…?" Kagami wanted to ask, but trailed off. Candy blinked up at the dark red headed guy. She said nothing. "Don't you have someone living with you though?" he questioned.

She didn't say and remained quiet as her eyes wandered around their surroundings. Aomine yawned, "Green light, guys."

The four of them crossed the street and made their way down a small hill. Kagami glanced back, seeing Candy remained walking behind all of them. Then he whispered to Kuroko, "She must have been really lonely." Kuroko blinked up at Kagami and nodded in agreement.

With nothing more to say, they shortly arrive to a street basketball court. It was emptied with only four other taller men. Candy stared at them as she walked around the tall black-wired fence with the three guys she was with. In the center of the court, there was a blond haired guy with pretty eyelashes. Though the guy with the green hair and glasses had pretty eyelashes as well, but his face was emotionless than the blonde. The tallest guy had purple hair and she could tell his personality right away with his bored expression. The fourth guy had red hair. He was shorter than them, but seeing him talking to them, she thought maybe he was some kind of leader. And he had a basketball in under his left arm too.

Aomine looked around with confusion. When his group met up with the others in the middle of the court, he asked, "Where's Satsuki?"

"She called in sick," Midorima replied. Candy noticed a frog button in his left hand and the tapes around his fingers. She gave him a weird look, but no one was paying attention.

"What, how?" Kagami inquired, slowly looking over to Akashi suspiciously.

"She blamed me for passing on the flu onto her," Akashi smirked. He was not bothered by it either. He was just glad he was feeling better now.

Kuroko was worried, "I hope she is doing fine…"

Kise smiled and blinked at the new girl. "…Hi," he greeted.

"Who are you?" Murasakibara stared tiredly at her. "Who brought her here?"

"This is Candy," Aomine said with his eyes squinted.

Murasakibara licked his lips, "Sounds yummy." She backed away when his eyes stared hungrily at her.

"He's just kidding," Akashi told her. "I'm Akashi Seijuurou."

She nodded, "Hello, Akashi."

The redhead glanced to the others. Midorima inquired, "Why is she here?"

"His name's Midorima Shintarou," Kise chuckled, ignoring Midorima's question. "And I'm Kise Ryouta. Pleasure to meet you, Candy."

"Same here," she slightly bowed.

"And he's Murasakibara Atsuki," Akashi introduced.

The purple haired guy yawned. Blinking a couple of times, he questioned, "So… why is she here again?"

Candy now felt like she was bothering them. "She said she was lonely," Kuroko explained. "Is it alright if she watches us from the sidelines?" he was mostly asking Akashi, their leader.

Akashi wasn't worried by it and replied, "It's fine." He looked at Candy for a moment and she pretended she didn't know by talking to Kuroko. Akashi turned away and took the basketball and threw it in the air. "Let's begin our practice game."

As the guys got into position, Candy walked backwards and eventually leaned back on the fence. She watched Akashi telling the guys what to do. She actually wasn't listening because she was daydreaming. Blinking, her eyes stared at them. Akashi was a bit to the side as the rest of the guys were in the center and were ready for a game.

It was Kise, Kagami, and Kuroko against Aomine, Murasakibara, and Midorima.

'I wonder why they need to train for,' she thought to herself. They must really love basketball since they seemed they wanted to improve themselves. Coming back to life, her eyes widen as Aomine easily took the ball from Kagami.

"Come on, Kagami!" Aomine grinned, dashing with the ball. He had already got himself a dunk and the ball bounced away. He looked back with a snicker. "Don't treat this practice game like it's something casual. You're such a bore."

Kagami grunted, "Shut up. We're just getting started. And I always do this seriously!"

Candy was now paying attention. She watched Kise move and noticed he made a perfect copy of Aomine's dunk. The look in Kise's eyes changed too. She watched Midorima shoot from afar and his high arch amazed her. She watched Kuroko's tap, passing it over to Kagami and the two worked really well together. Candy was even more amazed because Murasakibara sure can block with his height.

'…What is this feeling?' she asked herself. She felt something slightly burning in her chest. They were all so amazing, running in the wind and passing the ball like pros. She smiled while they continued playing. 'I wonder how Akashi plays like.'

The clouds made the sky a little dark. Akashi lifted his head up and stared at grayness. Taking the whistle around this neck, he blew on it. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him. "It looks like it might rain soon," Akashi told them. "Do you guys want to continue?"

Midorima pushed his glasses up. "I TOLD you it was going to rain," he only said with a frown.

"Eh, we played in the rain before," Murasakibara shrugged. He could care less.

"Yeah, let's continue," Kise beamed, raising a hand to the redhead. He still wanted to keep playing with Kuroko as much as he can.

Kuroko looked over to Candy and she just smiled. Kagami noticed them and said, "I guess it really doesn't matter."

"Good," Aomine grinned. "Let's just finish this."

Candy giggled, "Oh, we're all going to get sick." The guys looked at her. She fixed her hood more over her head and was ready for it. Whether Akashi or Midorima was right or not, it was best to be prepared.

The practice game continued. The sky darkened quite fast. Candy held out her right hand and felt a raindrop on her palm. Walking forward, she looked up and felt one dropped on her left eyelid. The raindrops slowly rained down. Captivated by the raindrops, she was no longer watching them anymore. The rain grew heavier all the while.

"CANDY!" Kagami shouted, alarmed.

"Where?!" Murasakibara's voice said.

She quickly lowered her eyes away from the sky and saw the basketball coming at her at a fast pace. 'That's gonna hurt,' she nervously thought. She did not know what she was doing, but she was just standing and spacing out, horrified.

In a split second, Aomine had ran to her and stomped on his left foot. He used his left hand to smack the ball back toward the court. When the ball flew over the other guys, Aomine lost his grip on the wet ground thus slipping and twirled a bit. While trying to gain his balance with his right foot, he bumped into her with his chest slamming into her face. Her hood fell off. She held in her cry as the two of them were knocked back to the wired fence and slipped on the ground together.

"Aomine-kun, Candy," Kuroko walked over to them first.

"Ow, ow… ow…" Candy's back ached. Even her face, once again, was hurt.

Aomine's hands had hit the wired fence first and they landed pretty hard. He looked down at her, whose legs were between his legs. Holding in his pained moan, he asked, "You okay?"

She started to laugh by the pain and touched his right arm. He blinked at her as the guys surrounded them. "I'm… haha… fine," she smiled, slowly looking up at him. He saved her again, but they both ended up getting hurt instead. It almost made her wish he had not done that. She did not know what else to think of it, but she felt something toward him now.

Her touch on his arm left him silent. Her dry black hair that was under the hood was now getting damp by the rain. She looked up at him again and blinked. Kuroko called his name and Aomine moved away from her to get up. He wobbled a bit and rubbed his hands. "Geez… Tetsu, I think your passing skills just got better," Aomine grinned with one eye close.

"I'm sorry, Candy," Kuroko kneeled down to her. She stared at his unhappy eyes. "Are you hurt? I heard you moaning."

"I said I was fine," she told him with a smile.

Kise smirked, wondering if she was. "You don't have to force yourself," he said.

"Yeah," Kagami said, lowering his body down to her.

She looked at two of them with a simple nod.

At the same time Kagami was helping her up, Midorima looked up at the sky. The rain started to let up already and he looked at the others. "Should we continue?" he inquired.

Murasakibara tiredly glanced to the redhead. Akashi checked the time on his watch. "It's too early to stop, but…" he looked to the girl. Again, she avoided him and rubbed the pain on her back. "It's fine. You guys are allowed to be free for the rest of the day."

"Yeaahhhh," Murasakibara raised a pumped fist. But he did not sound that excited.

"Cool," Kise smiled, stretching. "I have a date tonight so I should shower early."

Kagami and Kuorko looked at Akashi, both wondering if it was truly fine for today or not. Midorima pulled his glasses away from his face and wiped on them with his shirt. It was all wet now. He should have objected to playing in the rain, but he thought it was a good challenge. "Then I'll take my leave," he said, putting his glasses back on with his eyes closed.

Akashi turned his body to the left. "It was nice to meet you, Candy," he said and walked away.

She called, "Me too!" Midorima nodded to her and walked with Akashi. "See you guys."

While Midorima and Akashi were walking out of the court, the other guys stayed for a bit. Midorima glanced to Akashi and inquired, "Is something wrong with her, Akashi?"

"Why do you ask?"

"You were looking at her in particular," Midorima remembered.

Akashi was not smiling. But it was not an ill feeling. "Candy… is a bit strange," he told him. He was not sure how to put it yet. "That is all."

Midorima did not feel he should push for answers since he was not too interested and they eventually parted ways at the corner.

Back at the basketball court, Kise waved, "I'm off then!"

The others waved, but Murasakibara followed him. "Let's go shopping," Murasakibara grabbed his arm.

"I'm not paying, you hear me?" Kise frowned at him.

"But I'm out of cash," Murasakibara whined, tugging on his arm.

Kuroko looked around the court and saw the basketball across from them. "Oh, it's Aomine-kun's turn to keep the ball at his place," he said as he pointed.

"Right," Aomine realized.

Kagami rubbed the back of his neck, watching Aomine jogging over to the basketball. "I mind as well head home and shower too," he said.

"You have a date too?" Candy curiously questioned.

"No, of course not," Kagami slightly blushed. She beamed at his red face. He didn't know why, but he was getting nervous. Maybe because she was a girl. "O-Okay! I'll see you guys tomorrow!" He quickly walked off.

Kuroko blinked, "See you later, Candy." She nodded and Kuroko went after Kagami.

Candy watched them leave and her heart sunk from staring at their backs. Aomine came back with the ball and looked at the guys. "They all left without me?" he sighed in disappointment.

"Then go after them," she gestured with her arm as if she opened a curtain.

"I don't care anymore," he frowned. She giggled and she looked at the basketball. He grinned, "You want to play with it?" She nodded, still staring at the ball. He handed it close to her. "Take it then. I still have some time. I'll wait here." He felt he was surprisingly kind to this new girl. Good thing Momoi wasn't here today to see it.

Candy gladly took the ball and looked up at him. "…You're not going to play with me?" she asked.

"You want to play against me?" he questioned, snickering at her.

"It's lonely to play alone," she put the ball to her pouting lips. He stared at her short nails that were on the ball. "And it doesn't have to be against you, right?"

He shrugged, "Fine." She smiled at him. There was a silence and it felt awkward. Humming, she walked around him and begun dribbling it slowly. He watched her head to the left hoop and folded his arms to his chest.

Candy stood a little after the middle line and bounced the ball. She held the ball up like Midorima, but with her right arm, and she pushed the ball into the air toward the hoop. The ball was leaning more to the left side of the high hoop. 'Oh, it's going to miss,' she felt embarrassed. Why did she have to suggest this?

Aomine dashed on the court. He leaped with his feet lifting into the air behind him and he reached for the ball with his right hand. With a firm grip on the ball, he threw it into the hoop harshly and it made it in loudly. He landed on his feet and wiped a raindrop on his chin with his arm. The ball rolled away. He grinned over his shoulder and she was clapping her hands.

"Awesome," she smiled brightly. "…But you know, I think Kise looks better copying you."

He gave her a grim face. "Really?"

Nodding and giggling, she added, "You still look cool in your own way. Kise's just… different." He looked away and was a little pissed, but he chuckled after. Candy walked to him, ruefully giggling, "You mad?"

"I'm cool," he waved his hand to shrug it off.

Candy was happy that he carried her shot and scored for her. She was happy he saved her. A guy like him really existed and she wished people were a little like him. Standing by his side, she looked up at him and held her hands behind her back. "Thanks, Aomine," she smiled from the bottom of her heart. "I think… I can finally move on now."

He glanced over to her with a smirke. Her eyes seemed peaceful. "Ha, good," he said, turning his eyes away. It was good to hear. He does not want to go and save her if she tried to kill herself again.

There was a moment of silence. Not awkward this time. Candy stretched her arms and back. "I guess it's about time for me to go," she said. He glanced at her quietly. Putting her hands in her jacket's pocket, she childishly tilted her head to him. "Goodbye, Aomine."

She walked backwards, waiting for him to say anything before she really leaves. "If you ever want to play again, me and my friends will be around here," he told her, gesturing around the court.

"Okay," she nodded.

He found himself staring at her eyes and when she faced away, walking off, he couldn't feel a smile on his face. Before she was not even out of sight, he looked away and walked toward the ball in the corner. He took his time and was just thinking to himself. He tuned the sound out of his head too. Bending down to pick up the ball, he paused.

Candy was just standing behind the wired fences in front of him, her left hand poking through them. He stood up straight with the basketball under his arm. She smiled, "I, uh…"

He blinked, wondering what else she wanted to say. Though she was smiling, her eyes were a little different. It had an odd feeling he didn't like. "Afraid to leave me alone?" he smirked.

Playing along, she teased, "You're a big boy now. I'm not afraid at all… not… one bit."

Aomine was a little confused why she said that slowly. He felt like she was afraid. Not sure what was going through her mind, he touched her fingers on the fence. Her fingers flinched and she giggled uneasily. "I guess we should walk home together?" he suggested, making a bothered face.

"No, I'll be fine," she quickly told him. "From now on… I'll be fine."

He actually did want to walk her home, but if that was what she said then he shouldn't force it. His fingers slide off her fingers, touching her nails last. She smiled one more time and walked away without looking back. Aomine still had an odd feeling and stared at her back. He continued to watch her leave, heading back to the bridge. The moment when it looked like she just began walking on it, he turned around and headed to the exit of the court causally.

From where he exited, he couldn't see here from where he was. 'Just one more look,' he thought, walking to the corner. By the time he stopped at the corner, he no longer see her on the bridge. He paused in his thoughts. 'She could have just ran across it. Yeah… It's not like she would jump right after I looked away.' He had no idea why he had thought that. Dropping the basketball, he listened to his heart and hurried toward the bridge.

Upon the bridge, Aomine ran across it. He saw no sign of her when he reached to the top. Panting for some reason, he leaned back on the railings and took a moment to catch his breath. Staring at sky, he tried to figure out where she could have gone. Thinking and thinking again, he moved around and put his arms on the railings, leaning forward. The moment he looked down, he saw her figure down on the riverbank. She was standing there with her hands in pockets, staring at the waters. How in the world did she get down there so fast?

"CANDY!" he shouted. She looked up at him and he could not tell what her expression on her face was. "What are you doing down there?!" He saw a faint smile on her face. Or at least, he thought he did. For some reason, he feared she might walk into the water to drown herself or something. He glared and shouted, "Stay right there! I'll come down!" Rushing to the end of the bridge, he prayed she would stay put.

On the riverbank, Candy stared at the river with a cool face. She sniffed the air and let out a sigh. Blinking, she looked at the ground and smiled. She then heard someone sliding on the grass and she glanced back. Aomine was running down the hill and sliding a bit. Before he could call out her name, she started to disappear from her feet first.

'What in the world?' he stared in disbeliefs.

The moment he reached to the bottom of the hill, only her head was visible now. He felt like there was no time so he ran toward her. Mentally telling herself to smile, she looked away and her eyes fixed on the river one more time. 'If I was still alive… I would have fallen in love with you, Aomine.' Those were her final thoughts.

Aomine stopped when she just vanished. He reached out, thinking maybe it was just some kind of magic trick. "…Candy?" his face was a bit pale.

What just happened?

He stood there for a very long time, staring blankly at the river. Not being certain how long he waited, wondering if he was just imagining it all, he finally turned away and walked back up the hill. He went back to get the ball he left behind. He was lucky that it was still there. He felt bad for leaving it since the ball belonged to everyone. It was one of their treasures. He picked it up and gazed over the bridge, watching the cars driving over it.

Grunting, he walked and decided to head home. Aomine took his time returning back. He took the long way home unconsciously, simply thinking about what happened to Candy. It made no sense.

'Unless… she was already dead,' he stared at the ground. So he met a ghost. His first time meeting one and he was calmer than he thought. 'But… she felt so real.' He recalled the touch of her hand and her fingers. Everything about her was real. Her eyes and smiles. Her giggles. All of those simple things made it all so real.

He stopped walking and saw a flower shop across the street. With a long pause, he looked both ways of the street and walked toward the shop.

Time went by. Aomine was back down on the riverbank. He had white lily flowers wrapped in white strings. With the basketball ball under his left arm, he set the flowers on the ground. 'I wonder if she can tell that I'm here,' he thought, quietly staring at the river. He figured if she was a ghost, she must have died here. Either she jumped off the bridge or drowned herself on this very spot. It would probably made more sense if she jumped off because she wanted to see who would care to stop her if she did.

Just thinking about that actually made his heart sunk.

"…Did you see her too?" a sudden voice asked.

Aomine did not realize someone was behind him. He glanced back. Across from him was a young guy with quite the pretty face, Aomine's age perhaps, who was holding a bouquet of tulips in his left hand. Under his blue hoodie, his eyes were pale blue and he had silver hair with some bangs covering his right eye. "…Who?" Aomine inquired.

The hooded guy's eyes blinked. He walked pass Aomine and set his tulips next to Aomine's white lilies. "Candy," the guy told him.

Puzzled, Aomine asked, "Did you know her?"

The hooded guy stood up straight as he stared at the flowing river. "No… but she felt familiar," he said quietly. "Last year, I saw her on top of this bridge. I decided to meddle and saved her… then later I learned she was already dead." Then he glanced to the big guy. "There is a rumor that she comes here every year, attempting to jump off whether a stranger help her or not… Did you also save her?"

Aomine should feel a chill behind his back, but only pure warmth. "Yeah," he replied, lowering his eyes to the ground.

"Good to know," the guy smirked a little. He turned his body and walked away from the river. "I don't know if the rumor is true or not… about her coming every year… I just met her last year so I'm not sure."

"But you're here now," Aomine said, looking away.

The guy chuckled, "And I don't really remember which day I saved her, but I decided to visit anyway." He waved and put his hands in his pant's pocket. "Well, I guess I might see you around next year as well. See ya."

There was a heavy feeling in Aomine's chest. He didn't watch the stranger leave and only stared at the river.

"Oh, by the way."

Aomine looked back, only moving his head.

The silverhead was up in the middle of the hill. With a small smirk, he said, "Get her tulips next time. She said they were her favorites."

The wind howled under the bridge. Aomine returned his eyes to the river and let a sigh out. A sigh of slight confusion. He didn't understand why Candy would come here every year. Was it really just for attention? Was it because she couldn't move on? If only they have met earlier. He would have saved her any day.

Then he remembered her saying, "I think… I can finally move on now."

He smiled a little and leaned over his right leg a bit. The confusion was gone now. She was just simply lonely, right? He was sure of it. "Guess I will have to visit you here again next year with tulips," he said loudly, as if announcing to the whole world. He had a good feeling. And it felt so good. He was glad to have had a chance to meet her. "…Rest in peace, Candy."

*~THE END~*