A/N: This first chapter is a bit M-rated; mentions of kinks and pornography. The rest is rated T, though, so skip a few lines if you get uncomfortable!

Also, trigger warning. Attempted assault in this chapter as well. Starts and ends with the short inclusion of a third, minor character.

Enjoy!

Chapter 1:

Whirlwind

Kaya knew people were afraid of him. It was only reasonable. His height was intimidating, true, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. His voice was deep and grumbly, and his aura practically reeked of arrogance and indifference.

But Aomine Daiki was also really, really hot.

It was one of the first things she noticed upon entering the school. Not the first, though, as he was absent the first few days she had begun her school life at Touou High. She took note of him on the third day, when he finally deigned to show up. It wasn't difficult, considering she was seated literally beside him.

It was fifteen minutes into the start of the day. The class had just finished homeroom and were being introduced to a new math topic, when the door was slid open with enough force to make her flinch. The moment everyone registered the hulking presence in the doorway, they stilled. The class was thick with tense silence.

Kaya, too, had gone still. But it wasn't because of fear like the others. No, she was infatuated.

"Aomine Daiki," sighed the teacher. "Why are you late this time?"

Aomine yawned loudly. "Overslept."

"Hm. Take your seat, and at least try to look like you're working."

"Ha. Sure."

Aomine rolled his eyes as he stalked towards his seat. To Kaya's utter glee, he was heading in her direction. She pointedly ignored the sympathetic looks thrown her way.

She kept her head down as he sat next to her, partially hoping he'd look her way or ask who she was. When he placed his head on his desk and immediately began snoring, though, she pouted in disappointment. Boring, she thought, returning to her work sadly.

As such, she was oblivious to the pair of blue eyes that gave her a once-over.

She tried to talk to him during lunch. Since Kaya had transferred halfway into the year, all the friendship circles were formed, perfectly rounded and without room for an interloper. The only interactions she received with the others were those that focused too much on her body and not enough on her eyes. Being curvy sucked sometimes.

But Kaya, won't you be a hypocrite if you talk to Aomine because of that? No, voice-in-her-head-which-sounded-a-lot-like-internet-trolls, no it wouldn't.

True, she was attracted to Aomine (um, who wouldn't be? God, look at that bod) but that wasn't the entirety of her interest in him. He radiated strength and confidence, and drew Kaya's curiosity like a moth to a flame.

…Which was why she was on the top floor of the building, right by the door to the rooftop. Aomine had bolted out of class almost the second the bell went off, and Kaya immediately went after him. Even though she left soon after he did, she saw neither hide nor hair of him throughout the halls. She finally settled for asking around and – with no small amount of bewilderment – some students revealed where he usually went during breaks. After running a hand through her hair and smoothing out her clothes, Kaya deemed herself decent and stepped onto the rooftop.

She was greeted with nothing.

Sure, it was a beautiful day, with blue skies and fluffy white clouds, but it was severely lacking a certain blue-haired male. Kaya clicked her tongue in irritation and was about to turn back, when suddenly the door creaked open behind her.

She whirled around, expecting to see Aomine's tall figure. Instead, she was met with an average-sized boy who seemed to have a hard time looking away from her chest.

Kaya cleared her throat pointedly. "Can I help you?" she asked sharply, a hand on her hip.

The boy raised his head, taking his sweet time. "Why, yes, you can," he answered, smirking.

She almost gagged on his sheer sliminess. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"My name is Yano. As for what I want?" His smirk grew as he leaned forward, his face mere inches away from hers. "It's you."

Kaya was forced to step back, lest she touch lips with the human garbage can invading her personal space. She scowled as her back met a blockade, effectively trapping her between a rock and a hard place. "That's a shame. Because I'm not a thing, so you can't have me," she spat.

"Please," he scoffed. "Look at you – you're practically asking for it."

Kaya stared at him flatly. "You're kidding me, right? I'm literally wearing the school uniform." Hell, the skirt was almost brushing against her knees – which said a lot considering the current fashion trend. Then again, a lot of girls here were rather flat, so they got away with skimpy clothing. It was a damn shame Kaya was part-Australian, because she was saddled with extra lumps of fat that somehow made her more attractive?

"Aw, you're so uptight. I bet I could loosen you up."

Wow. Not only was this Yano character hard on the eyes, he was developmentally difficult, too. It seemed words weren't going to work on him. Kaya sighed. Sorry, dad, she grieved silently, but I have no choice.

Kaya forced her body to relax, as if to welcome him. Surprised, it took him a moment to react. When it registered, the idiot smirked victoriously and leapt at her…straight into her thrusted fist.

He shot back, winded. "What the hell?!" he screamed, clutching his stomach.

"My response to your advances?" Kaya stared at him coolly. "No. Get lost."

"You bitch," he hissed, and Kaya almost rolled her eyes at the predictability of his line. This was probably a bad move, as she could actually see him get angrier at the action. So she should have been expecting him to lunge at her.

Gasping, Kaya instinctively recoiled, only to be reminded of the cold, hard wall behind her. She ducked to the side instead, barely dodging the figure barrelling towards in favour of stumbling onto rough gravel.

She yelped as a hand yanked on her hair, pulling her up slightly. Her body half-turned, all she could see was Yano's smug face as he cocked his fist back, ready to send her head spinning.

And then he appeared.

"Uh-uh," tutted a deep voice. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Yano flinched and whirled towards the source of the voice, his hold on Kaya making her echo his actions. "Who the hell—?" Yano stopped mid-sentence, his irritation melting into shock. "Aomine Daiki."

Kaya's eyes widened.

There he was. Lounging on the top of small compartment that led to the stairwell was Aomine, brow arched as he watched them through his camera-phone.

"Here I was, enjoying my nap, when suddenly this happens," he drawled, cool eyes flicking over to them.

Kaya squirmed under his gaze, but stopped short with a gasp when pain prickled at her scalp.

"What's it to you, Aomine?" growled Yano, his grip tightening. "And stop filming!"

Aomine looked like he was contemplating, but to Kaya's relief, he said, "No. This is my territory. Piss off. Oh, and leave the girl," he added. "Unless you wanna add assault to the list?"

"Tch." Growling, Yano relinquished his death-like hold on her with a violent thrust. Kaya managed to save her face from stinging scrapes by landing on the palms of her hands. "You can have her. Dumb slut is too uptight, anyway."

"That doesn't even make sense," Kaya muttered as she pulled herself up. But Yano was already gone. Sighing, she leaned against the wall and massaged her sore head. Can't believe he got me like that. To be fair, though, if things had played out uninterrupted, she might have come out on top. She wasn't her parents' daughter for nothing. Still…

Kaya gazed upwards, half-expecting Aomine to have returned to his nap. When she saw he was staring at her, though, she felt her face heat up. "Um, thanks," she said smoothly.

"Name."

"Sorry?"

"What's your name?"

"Oh." Kaya tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear. "Ishikawa Kaya. Can I ask why you were filming us?"

Aomine tossed his phone in the air and caught it agilely. "Felt like it. Why? You want it as evidence?"

"No, not really," she replied, frowning. "The most he's gonna is a suspension, and that won't change much. If anything, he'll be more aggressive and violent…" Which wouldn't be too bad, actually. He'd do something more drastic and get punished way more severely. But it wouldn't be enough to actually impede him, since repercussions for minors were pitifully lenient.

"So you're gonna let him get away with it?" Derision practically dripped from Aomine's voice.

"Of course not. I'm gonna beat him up later."

"…What?"

Kaya simply smiled.

Aomine looked as if he wanted to ask for an explanation but before he could, the bell rang, signalling the end of lunch. The sound was faint, but Kaya still flinched. They were going to be late!

Kaya rushed to the door, ready to run down the stairs if need be. Just as she was about to step foot down the staircase, she looked back at Aomine. He hadn't moved an inch.

"You're not going to class?" she asked, frowning.

"S'if. I need my sleep."

She tilted her head to the side. "Isn't sleeping reserved for the night?"

"I'm busy at night."

"Doing what?"

Aomine smirked suggestively. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Kaya glanced between the door and the lazy teen above her. Slowly, she closed the door and stepped away from it. She beamed at Aomine. "Sure!"

What the hell? A frown quickly replaced the smirk on Daiki's face as he watched the girl climb up the ladder and towards him. "Do you know who I am?" he asked, a singular eyebrow raised.

"Mm-hm. Aomine Daiki. You're in my class," she added brightly. "So, what do you do at night that keeps you so occupied?"

Daiki's frown deepened. "I watch shit."

Ishikawa's nose wrinkled in disgust. "Sounds gross."

"Not like that," he grumbled, recoiling at the imagery. "I watch basketball games and shows and porn." He glanced at her sharply to gauge her reaction. It wasn't true, the last bit. He enjoyed ogling bikini models as much as any other straight guy, but he wasn't obsessed with porn like some of the others. Daiki just wanted this girl to leave, ASAP.

Instead of looking at him as if he were a bug – that happened way too often – the girl's face brightened. "Really?" she asked. "What do you like to watch? Personally, I'm into Porn Club or animated ones from time to time."

Daiki stared. And stared. Were all girls actually like this? No, no, Satsuki hated it whenever he read his magazines in front of her. What the hell was up with this girl? Even though it was a little hot…

"I, uh, like normal shit," he offered.

Ishikawa had the gall to look surprised. "I didn't pin you as the type…"

Daiki was curious despite himself. "What are you into, then?" he asked, somewhat warily.

She grinned and began listing off her kinks, checking them off with her fingers as she did so. "I like more wild stuff. Threesomes, group, et cetera… Not to wild, though! None of that bondage or – ugh – golden showers. Seriously, though, who…?"

The dark-haired teen felt a light blush colour his cheeks as the girl continued, going into vivid detail about the horrors she had witnessed online. Part of him tuned her out lest his nose start bleeding. He took the time to look over her instead.

Her face was easy on the eyes, that was for sure. Her black hair brushed the middle of her back loosely, while the front was cut into neat bangs which framed her round face and brought out her dark eyes. Ishikawa's body was nothing to sniff at either. Her boobs were nowhere near Satsuki's, but were far from flat. She actually had an ass, though, so there was that. Her arms and legs even looked toned.

"…and don't even get me started on the daddy-kink—"

"Oi," cut in Daiki. "Do you play any sports?"

"Hm?" Ishikawa blinked at the non-sequitur. "Um, not really. Why? Do you?"

Daiki bared his teeth in a humourless grin. "You could say something like that."

"Something like that."

A surprised snort wiped the dark look off his face, eliciting a grin from its perpetrator. Her grin only widened when he scowled.

"In all seriousness though, what do you play?" she asked. "It has to be something you do often, because your body puts any athlete to shame," she said casually, as if she was simply commenting on the weather.

The compliment gave him pause. While his body was indeed equally lean and muscular, as per any serious basketball player, the only comments he received about it were for purely professional reasons. It threw him off. "Uh. Basketball," he grunted. "I play basketball."

"Ah, yes." Ishikawa nodded sagely. "The one with the balls and baskets."

Daiki was starting to realise this girl had no filter.

"Why do you hate school so much?" she asked suddenly. "You don't care about your grades?"

He sneered. "I'm going to be a professional basketball player. Why do I need to write essays or analyse poetry? Who cares about integrating and differentiating 'logs' or how caves are formed? It's all useless to me."

"Hm…" Ishikawa rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "I agree for the most part, but a good part of math involves calculating angles and distances, so that could be pretty useful for you. History is important, because we learn from our past mistakes." She paused. "Or should, anyway. The USA has issues. And it's always nice to read between the lines of texts – you get to appreciate things more."

Daiki flopped back down, eyes hooded. "You sound just like the teachers. I don't care about all that."

She huffed. "Knowledge is power, Aomine-ku—"

"Don't call me that." Unbidden recollections of what Satsuki had told him in middle school surfaced in his mind.

"Oh. Okay. Anyway, Daiki-san, there are more important things besides basketball."

Daiki almost choked on his spit. No one outside of his family used his first name, let alone some chick he had only met today. But then he registered the rest of her sentence. "What's that, then?"

"Love."

What? Daiki flipped over to shoot her an incredulous stare. "What?"

Ishikawa responded with another one of those carefree smiles he was starting to associate her with. "Intelligence is sexy," she said.

"That's stupid."

She pouted. What is she – twelve? "You're stupid," she mumbled, sulking. Definitely twelve.

Daiki twitched, his fists clenching automatically. He really should hit her – that would finally get rid of her. Honestly, Daiki wondered why he was talking to her in the first place. She was far too nosy for her own good, and was a serious blabbermouth.

But…it was sorta, kinda nice. It had been a while since he actually held a conversation with someone who didn't look at him like he was an annoying bug or a towering monster. (Not that he minded the latter too much.) Besides, hurting her would feel a lot like hurting a baby, or a brain-dead puppy. He was also slightly wary of her punches – rightly so, if that greasy dude had anything to say about it.

Daiki unclenched his fists. "If school is so important, why aren't you in class right now?"

"I'd rather talk to you," she said, and Daiki felt as if he had entered an alternate dimension. "…And I hate Geography class." She sighed. "It's okay, though. I'll be out of your hair next period."

He probably should have said something – should have reassured her that she wasn't as annoying as she assumed she was. But it didn't matter. Once she was gone, he could finally get some shut-eye and just not think for a while…

When Daiki woke up, the sun was definitely lower than before. He shivered as a particularly cold draft crept by, forcing him sit up to get his body warmed up a little.

Touou's basketball ace rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "Damn, that was a nice nap," he muttered through a yawn. It was the first time in ages that he actually slept soundly, free from ghosts of his past and present.

Though he did sleep better during the day than the night, this time was different. But why?

Daiki mulled over the possible causes as he rose, stretching. That was when he noticed the object on the ground. He hopped down onto the rooftop and, upon closer inspection, discovered it was a smartphone. He whistled low, impressed. It wasn't every day that he saw one of those, especially when almost everyone in town like himself still used flip-phones.

There was really only one person who owned the device. Once Daiki pressed the button on the bottom, his suspicions were confirmed. There on the home screen was a photo of Ishikawa and what looked like her (albeit grumpy) cat. And then it clicked.

She was what was different today. (That, and the fact he had only had a small carton of banana milk, not a large one, but he highly doubted that was it.) It had been a while since he had talked to someone for the sake of talking. Everyone else seemed to just scold or order him around.

Daiki pocketed the phone, the gears in his mind awhirl. He had a plan.