- Meh, yep, definitely updating. |Thanks for the support though. XOXO, author

" If you're going through hell, keep going."-Winston Churchill

Aomine noticed her reaction, and he paused in the middle of the game, swivelling to see who exactly she was staring at. At the sight of the friend that he once used to know, his eyes darkened, and he scowled, his entire cool appearance disappearing to form a dark threatening aura that pressurised the rest of the players on the court.

She shook her head, trying to clear of any thoughts of him. Her worst nightmare, and yet at the same time, her sweetest dream. Shifting her focus back onto the game, she realised Aomine staring at Kise with hatred showed so blatantly intense that she clicked her tongue in annoyance again. She hated when moments like this happened. She knew that after all that difficult times Kise put her through, Aomine was definitely a hundred per cent done with all of Kise's things and that his hatred for him was so deeply rooted into him that his eyes practically attempted to murder Kise in a hundred and one different ways whenever he saw Kise appear in front of the both of them.

"ÄHOMINE! BAKA!" she drew back her arm, and with great strength and speed, released the magazine that had been in her hand for the entire game. The magazine flung and cut through the air at such a great speed everyone had held their breath, waiting in silence as fear crept up their spine. She could tell through their eyes that they were afraid of her, judging and criticizing her every move, but she was done with all of that. The years she had been judged and criticized were already behind her, and she didn't really care now whether anyone judged her.

Aomine turned his attention to her, his eyebrows twitching as he saw the magazine fly like a cannon, ricocheting through the air before he was hit directly at the center of his forehead. "DON'T YOU KNOW HOW TO ACT LIKE A REAL WOMAN?! BAKA!" he shouted back, clearly annoyed at how accurate her aim was. Now, it was her turn to smirk. She stuck her tongue out at him, totally feeling that sense of victory.

" Focus on the game! Or you'll lose the bet!" she taunted him, turning Aomine's focus to the game again. She knew how irrational he could become if she hadn't tried to shift his focus away when it concerned Kise. Aomine clicked his tongue in annoyance, warning her with his eyes about Kise before tossing the magazine back to her gently.

His opponents practically shivered in fear, standing rooted to the ground, paralysed up until the last minute as they watched Aomine practically channel his anger towards them, going past every single sort of defence with a speed like a black panther, swift and smooth. He shot hoop after hoop, shaking the ground every single time he landed on the floor after each dunk. His anger had turned him into a dictator of the courts, ruling everyone with his moves.

The buzzer sounded, signalling the end of the terror. The final score was 88-0. The Tōō team walked back to the bench, perspiring but laughing evilly, discussing what dress to pick out for her to wear to the nightclub. Completely embarrassed, she tried to hide her shame by yelling at them, but they just continued to laugh at her.

"Damn idiots." she huffed, walking out of the sports hall feeling like a total moron for having to set that blasted bet with them just to get them to play diligently and seriously for once. She folded her arms, shivering at the cold wind that seemed to target her, as if it was almost hell-bent on making her freeze to death in the cold. She grumbled, upset that she had lost the bet. She had thought that they would've lost for sure. Even the greatest team would still not be able to defend the opposing team from scoring unless of course, that team was Murasakibara in his unicorn mode.

"Hey, erm... Can I talk to you for a second?" a seemingly enthusiastic voice startled her and she whirled around, only to eye a certain person that she hated and loved at the same time. An unexplainable feeling seemed to shake her will and she almost gave in. She was just that close to letting him in again.

"What do you want?" she snapped, showing her obvious unhappiness at the entire situation she was in. She didn't want anything more to do with him, even though she still did really love him, but that kind of love was buried deep in her heart and she was as sure as hell not going to dig it all up again and let herself get hurt once more.

"Uh... I just wanted to-" Kise scratched his head, hesitantly speaking as he tried to choose the most appropriate words to converse with her. She could tell that he was so obviously nervous, the scratching of the head was one of the signs that she knew, but she didn't really want to care about that. She could still remember the times he had hurt her physically and emotionally and every single time she thought about him, she could remember every single scene that engraved itself into her mind.

"Didn't I tell you to leave?! Why can't you listen?" he yelled into her ear, pulling her arm and dragging her to the side. Picking up a glass shard, he pressed it against her throat. Watching her shiver in fear, he smirked and cut a tiny line onto her throat. The blood trickled out, drop by drop, and he laughed maniacally. She stood there, watching wide-eyed as the man she loved torture her, but she couldn't help herself at all. She felt his tongue lick her neck and shivered, feeling the warmth of his tongue tingling her nervous system.

Almost losing herself in the entire moment, she was rudely awakened when she felt a sharp and tight slap across her cheek. The glass shard embedded itself into her cheek but she didn't feel the immediate pain. She smiled pathetically at him and shook off his grip, taking up her bag and walking away from him.

She still remembered that day. She still remembered how weak and disgusting she was when she went back crawling to him, craving his love and affection even if it wasn't what it seemed to be. She had lied to herself. And that was what she hated herself for. She hated for being what she hated the most. Weak and pathetic.

She could almost feel the glass shard still embedded in her cheek and she unconsciously raised her hand to touch the ugly scar that marred her cheek. The feeling of how the pain was so immense when Aomine had to tend to her cheek and remove it. The stinging sensation of the alcohol corroding her soul drop by drop.

Hatred filled her, and she looked up at Kise, glaring at him. Kise stumbled back a little, taken aback by the sudden flow of pure hatred that was channelled towards him.

"KISE! GET YOURSELF HERE NOW!" Kaijo's captain's voice suddenly erupted, breaking the awkward silence between the two past lovers. Kise laughed awkwardly, apologising quickly before running off into the sports hall. She stood there in the cold, staring at his back. Tears seemed to have found its way to her eyes, as if they were doorways, and ran down her cheeks; the cold and icy feeling it left behind chilling her heart.

"That bastard." Aomine abruptly walked up from a shadowy corner and commented with a hint of anger and annoyance mixed. His large hands gently pressed against her cheek, softly wiping away her tears. She looked up at him, flashing her ever lasting bright smile before collapsing into his arms, unable to control the torrent of tears that overflowed. Aomine hugged her, slowly patting her back while he wrapped her with his warmth. The security that Aomine gave her was so comforting that she could simply let her heart talk to him while her mind took a rest.

After all, he was the one who was there with her the whole time, taking care of her and sheltering her from the blazing storm.

- Forth chapter done. Fifth coming up-

Author's note:

Okay, I know it's supposed to be a one-shot but yeah, since there have been requests, I shall continue :D BOOMZ

Please continue to support though! I really love all of you guys and the encouragement you give to me! I shall update as soon as possible!

* Please do understand that I do have a lot of tests on some weeks so I may not be able to update though~Sorry!