Thank you so much for the continued support everyone :) A big thanks to Emily kale, Hello Sydney and the guest who reviewed! That was so kind of you *3*

I forgot to mention that what happened to Momoi in the previous chapter is what is known in Japan as 'nanpa', where a guy tries his luck to pick up a girl and get her to go home with him or something. Of course where I'm from it's just some guy trying to pick up a girl and hitting on her and stuff but Japan has a term for something like that.

Anyway, with regards to this chapter...its kind of dramatic, kind of dark but also typical, mostly inspired by shoujo manga lol.

Italics - Nana's thoughts/flashbacks

HATE

Aomine had another basketball game tomorrow after school; I'd been invited to watch that one as well. Although after what he did yesterday and the rumors about us spreading even quicker than multiplying bunnies, I really didn't want to attend. However, I found myself entering the gymnasium with the rest of the crowd to find a seat. Momoi, who was at the player's bench, suddenly waved me over.

"Nana-chan!" She exclaimed; her expression was full of worry, "Can you come over here for a second? It's urgent!"

"What is it, Momoi-chan?" I said; I made my way over to the player's bench where I saw Aomine in heated argument with one of his teammates – it was the captain, Wakamatsu Kosuke. Both were being held back by their team mates who were struggling to keep them apart; they were both glowering and hurling insults whilst the team helplessly watched on, unable to do anything to stop them. I noticed that all the members of the team were just as tall as Aomine was and also equally as intimidating and when I approached, Momoi nudged me towards the group.

"Minna-san, I hope you don't mind, I brought Aomine-kun's girlfriend to see him before the game started."

"A-ah, s-sumimasen! O-ohayou, Tatsuno-san." A guy with short light brown hair was the first to acknowledge my presence and he bowed at me quickly, stuttering nervously the entire time. This was Sakurai Ryo, the guy who Aomine kept leeching off of whether it was homework, chewing gum, stationary, bread and answers to tests. Poor guy; I couldn't help but pity him. Also, I hadn't spoken to him much before, however. "Anou, could you help us?" He added, gesturing to the bickering pair.

"Aomine-kun's arguing with the captain again and he won't listen to me..." Momoi murmured with a sigh.

I'd heard about how uncooperative Aomine was with his own team. I didn't know what I could do to help but I nodded and hastily made my way over to the two guys and wedged myself between them, facing Aomine who seemed surprised to see me. "What are you doing here?" He grunted.

I smiled as sweetly as I could. "Daiki, would you stop arguing with the captain for my sake, please?"

"Stay out of this, Nana."

The captain studied our interaction intently, "Are you...?"

I turned to the captain next. "Please forgive my impoliteness. I'm Tatsuno Nana, Daiki's girlfriend. It's nice to meet you. I hope you all continue to support Daiki-kun as much as I do. He works really hard to support the team." I said my rehearsed line as politely as I could, including a bow.

"Girlfriend?" Wakamatsu muttered, with an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, this is my girlfriend." Aomine replied, and the tension between himself and the captain seemed to have disappeared immediately when he wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and pulled me into his chest, nuzzling into my hair.

I gave him a false smile and a giggle, the best one I could manage in this instance. "Ahaha...Daiki, stop it, how many times do I need to remind you? We're in public...people are watching us, you can't do this, nooooo. Um. Could you please excuse us for a second?" I said, and Wakamatsu nodded, his eye twitching slightly from our display. ERMAHGERD, so embarrassing...I wished I could die on the spot right there and then. With the captain's permission, Aomine and I moved away from the bench but we were still within view of the public and standing close to the team. It felt as though all eyes were on us.

"I regret coming over." I mumbled, still with Aomine's arms around me. "And can you please let go of me?"

"Can't. People are watching."

I glanced over to see his team staring at us with wide eyes. "Yeah, but you don't need to hold on so tightly – " His hand then landed on my butt, causing me to leap in my spot. "Hey! Now you're just taking advantage! And what did I say about groping? Get your hand off me; I'm still pissed off at what you've done."

He moved his hand away but the smirk on his face was still there. "What are you doing here anyway?" He muttered in a low voice so the team wouldn't hear.

"Momoi-chan asked me to come over because you were arguing with the captain."

The smirk vanished and Aomine seemed irritated all over again. "Goddamnit, Satsuki's always too nosy for her own good."

"Do you always argue with the captain?" I asked, even though I sort of knew the answer to that already; I'd heard that Aomine clashed with his teammates frequently. "I think you should show some more respect for your teammates."

"Tch, I don't need you to tell me that." He grumbled. It was then I noticed that he was wearing the couple dogtag we had bought yesterday which was now hanging out of his jersey. He followed my gaze and glanced down at himself. "What?"

"...You're wearing the..."

He jabbed a finger at my direction, where my dogtag could be seen hanging off my neck. "Yeah, and so are you."

My cheeks felt a little warm as Aomine stuffed the dogtag into his jersey and away from view. "W-well, I'll be sitting over there." I said, pointing to where my seat was. "Who's the team you're playing against today?"

"Ueno High."

"Oh...I heard they're not very good."

"Yeah."

"Good luck. Ganbatte." I turned to leave but he grabbed my wrist. "What?"

"You're just gonna leave like that?" He said.

There was a brief silence before I inwardly grimaced. "Are you serious?!" I hissed, and he grinned. "...Fine." I've become good at predicting his demands so I hastily went on tiptoe and he leaned down; I quickly pecked him on the cheek and then reached over and ruffled his hair. "Now go and destroy them."

"Yeah, yeah." Aomine released his grip on me with his grin widening and we parted ways; his mood was a lot better than before... I guess he was fired up. He began to make his way back to the bench to join the rest of his team who were still gawking at us.

Wakamatsu approached me then. "You managed to calm him down." Glancing off to the side, he muttered. "...Now if only you can do something about that attitude of his..."

"Huh?"

"N-never mind..." He uttered, but he bowed politely at me, "Arigatou gozaimasu, Tatsuno-san."

"Oh, it was nothing. Please take care of him."

Wakamatsu seemed baffled by my words. "H-hai..."

The sound of a whistle went off and the referee entered the court. "Everyone! The game is about to start! Tōō, Ueno! Take your positions!"

Wakamatsu left my side and began barking orders to the team. "Minna! Let's go play and win this game, yoshaaaa!"

"Tch, this'll be over soon..." Aomine grunted under his breath, before he threw a quick glimpse at my direction. I offered him a sweet smile and a little wave.

He smirked at me in response and I waited until they had made their way to the court until I went to find my seat. I was all too aware that Risa had been watching us the entire time.

...

180-21.

That was the final score between Tōō and the rival team.

Despite the overwhelming odds against them, the opposing team did their very best. Cheers erupted throughout the entire gymnasium along with uproarious applause when the buzzer sounded off. The losing team looked miserable - he'd did it again. He'd crushed their spirits into dust. Aomine was approached by his team who, along with a very reluctant Wakamatsu, congratulated him for making the final shoot although Aomine didn't seem to be bothered by the praise at all. In fact, he was the first to leave the court.

"Whoaaaa, Aomine Daiki completely destroyed them by himself!"

"He's even brutal than usual!"

"Yeah! He was out for blood today!"

"What's gotten into him?!"

"I don't know, but man, he was awesome!"

"Maybe it's because he's getting laid!"

Imagine a tonne of bricks falling on your head. Yup, that was exactly how I was feeling at that precise moment.

I listened to people's conversations around me before I rose from my seat, joining the rest of the viewers who were now beginning to head towards the direction of the exit. Aside from the last comment, it was true; I'd never seen Aomine play so brutally before; his performance today was parallel to his performance at the Winter Cup, although there wasn't really any need because the team they were facing weren't very strong.

It was then I realized that we hadn't thought of a place to meet up after the game or even made plans to meet up. Inwardly I wondered if we were going to meet up at all. Suddenly, as if on cue, my phone began sounding off. It was Aomine. I swiped the screen and put it against my ear. "Aomine?"

"Nana. Where are you?"

"I'm still inside. I'm about to head outside soon."

"Wait for me. I'll come get you."

"Okay."

Click.

He'd hung up without saying bye. Sheesh. I hurried out of the gym and stood outside, waiting. I spotted Risa a distance away, watching me but not daring to come over. I pretended not to notice and played around on my phone, going through my emails and messages. I waited for a long time but Aomine wasn't here yet – what was taking him so long? By this time, the gymnasium was empty and no one was around, having all gone home. Had he forgotten about me? I swiped my phone screen, about to text him but then my phone sounded off.

Hm?

Gunna b 5 mins late.

At least he'd bothered to let me know. I texted him back. Yeh ok.

My phone went off once more. A text from Mei?

Nana, Im sry bout wot hapnd b4 n I rly wanna 2 tlk 2 u. Im waitin 4 u da skool grden. R u gonna come over?

Since Aomine wasn't here yet, I guess I could go and see her. I left the gymnasium and hurried over to the garden where I saw Mei waiting for me by the school shed. "Mei? What did you want to talk to me about?" I said.

She looked incredibly uneasy. "Um, Nana-chan, I – " She was interrupted when several guys – about four or five – came out from behind the garden shed; I didn't recognize them, even though they were wearing the Tōō Academy uniform. I think they were upperclassmen.

"What's going on?" I said, when the group approached me, grinning and smirking. "Mei?"

Mei was shaking, "W-wait, what's going on..."

"Get outta here!" One of the guys snarled at her, and she scampered away, frightened.

"What the hell is – " I was cut off when immediately they reached for me, and I was seized by the arms and hauled me out of my spot. "Hey, what do you think you're doing? Let me go! Let me – mmppph!"

They stuffed a rag into my mouth. "Hurry up, someone's gonna see us!" One of the guys barked at the group. I protested and squirmed, kicked and screamed, but to no avail; they were dragging me towards the shed! What the hell was going on?!

I kept kicking and wriggling against my bonds as much as I could as they dragged me over towards the small hut, opening the door before shoving me inside and I was flung to the ground. I tried to get back up onto my feet as quickly as I could but they had all stormed inside and slammed the door shut behind them. We were encased in darkness, with the only light from the tiny window on the far wall. I could see their massive silhouettes approaching me. My eyes went wide.

Wait a minute, this is...

"Make sure no-one saw."

This has happened to me before...

A guy hurriedly opened the door a tad to peek out. "All clear." He slammed the door to a close again.

...It happened a long time ago.

"C'mon guys, we better get this over with." said another.

It was...

"What's the rush?"

"No, Shinya! Don't!"

"Risa said we had to be quick."

"Shinya, stop it! You're hurting me!"

I was grabbed by the shoulder, turned round onto my back and before I knew it, they were trying to pull my skirt down and tearing my uniform off my shoulders. I froze, unable to struggle; all I could do was squeeze my eyes shut.

"Shinya, don't do this!"

Tears were building in my eyes as the horrible memories resurfaced.

"I'm your SISTER!"

And then –

The door opened and everything stopped.

"You bastards! Get the fuck away from her!"

I re-opened my eyes to see Aomine at the door; Mei was standing behind him. My mind went blank at his sudden appearance. I couldn't register what was going on.

"A-Aomine Daiki?!" Someone squawked; the one closest to Aomine was promptly delivered a swift punch to the side of his head.

"Wait – oof!"

Aomine grabbed another and kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying out of the shed. Mei leapt away safely, then darted inside the shed, picking me off the floor and pulling the rag out of my mouth, trying to readjust my uniform and skirt to its proper place whilst Aomine went to take care of the rest. The remaining guys immediately retreated after suffering a few punches and kicks from Aomine.

I blinked, my senses returning when Mei shook me fiercely. "Nana! Are you okay?!" She shrieked, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't know – I didn't know what they were doing! Risa told me that you were waiting for me in the garden! I didn't know they were there!"

I was confused. I was shocked. I couldn't speak or respond, except tremble in my spot. I was so shaken, all I could do was quake helplessly.

"Nana." Now Aomine was by my side, crouching beside me. He grabbed my shoulders, much like how Mei did before, "Nana?!"

"...A-Aomine..." I stammered out quietly, squeezing my eyes shut. I couldn't help myself; tears were beginning to leak profusely from the corner of my eyes.

"Tch. Those fucking bastards..." He grunted under his breath when he noticed my tears; he scooped me into his arms and picked me up from the ground.

Mei watched us anxiously. "Aomine-san, what are you..."

"I'll take it from here."

She nodded. "O-okay. Please take care of her."

Aomine grabbed his duffle bag which he had left on the ground, slung it over his shoulder and carried me out of the shed and I felt very little in his arms. I didn't know where he was taking me, but he carried me out of the schoolgrounds and we were in the streets. I was still trembling, not able to recover from the ordeal. My heart was still thumping hard; my pulse was not able to slow down. People were staring at us but I didn't think Aomine noticed or cared to react in anyway. He carried me for what seemed like a long time until he arrived at a house I didn't recognize.

He carried me inside and up to the front door. "Ma. Open up."

A few moments later and the door opened and I saw a gentle-looking woman at the door. She had the same blue hair as Aomine. Aomine's mother had been smiling widely at first, but when she spotted me and how bedraggled I looked, her eyes went wide. "Daiki? What happened?"

"I'll tell you later." He proceeded to carry me inside.

"I'm okay, I can walk..." I muttered, but he ignored me and went into the lounge.

"Oh my, what happened?" Aomine's mother scurried up to us after she closed the front door. "Daiki, put her down over here." She grabbed a few plump cushions from the opposite couch, placing them strategically over the sofa for me. She also helped me take my bag off and my shoes which I felt embarrassed about but she took them away with a smile, placing them in the landing. Then she disappeared from the lounge and reappeared with a glass of water for me.

Aomine settled me down and I sat, still trembling but not as bad as earlier. "Ma, can I talk to you in the kitchen?"

"Of course."

Together, they left the lounge and I heard a door close somewhere and I could hear muted conversation. I could hear them talking about how some boys tried to have their way with me in the school garden shed when I waited for Aomine after his basketball game and if Mei hadn't come to tell him and if he wasn't quick enough, who knows what would've happened. I felt sick to the stomach when it finally dawned to me the gravity of what had just happened. And also, from that ordeal...what kind of memories it brought back.

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and tried to calm down. I re-opened my eyes a second later and used this time to glance around my surroundings; this was Aomine's home. His lounge was surprisingly large and spacious compared to most houses in this neighborhood. His sofa was comfortable, standing opposite a large widescreen plasma TV. Underneath my feet was a fluffy carpet that was kept in pristine condition. I saw a bookshelf closeby but instead of books, however, the shelves were filled with family photographs and various medals and trophies. They must be Aomine's.

A few minutes later, Aomine returned to the lounge and I glanced up. "Nana." He said, "My ma says you should stay here for now. She'll call your parents to come pick you up."

I shook my head. "I can't. I should go. Thank you, but – "

He seemed irritated and stormed over to me. "Those guys might still be out there!"

"If you walk me home, I should be fine."

"Ma's on the phone right now." He said, crossing his arms.

"Aomine, you really don't have to..."

"It's fine."

Aomine's mother entered the lounge and we simmered into silence. "Nana-chan? Your mother says it's okay for you to stay here for dinner. She's still at work so she said she'll pick you up later tonight. Is that okay?"

"...Mrs Aomine, I..." I left my sentence trailing, throwing my glance to my hands in my lap before I stood up and bowed at her. "Thank you. Thank you for having me over. I'm sorry for being a burden and I'm sorry for any inconvenience I am causing."

She smiled. "Don't be silly, my dear, I'm making sukiyaki tonight for dinner. Let me know if you want anything."

"U-um, I'm fine with sukiyaki, Mrs Aomine..." I spluttered, and with that, Aomine's mom waltzed into the kitchen. Turning to Aomine, he flashed me a reassuring grin. "...Aomine, is this really okay?"

"Tch. Course it is. You worry too much."

"...Does your mom think we're dating?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I told her you're my girlfriend."

A pang of guilt hit me in the stomach. "You shouldn't have. We're tricking her. It's not nice. When we break it off, she'll be upset."

Again, he grunted, rubbing the back of his neck. "...Nana. About that..."

"Yeah?"

His mouth opened; he wanted to say something, but then it seemed he decided against it and he fell silent. A few moments later, he uttered, "...You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for...coming to get me."

He glanced at me and I glanced at him; our eyes met and he quickly turned away. "...It was nothing." He glimpsed over, "Your mom will be worried if she sees you like that."

I threw my glance down at myself. He was gesturing to a large rip in my skirt which I hadn't noticed. If I moved a fraction, my panties were in full view. "Oh."

Aomine nudged his head towards the stairs, indicating me to follow him. Were we going up to his room...? My hunch was correct when Aomine left the lounge and headed up, taking two steps at a time; I could do nothing else but follow after him. His room was the first to the left but before I arrived at the landing, I saw him cursing. "Wait here." He barked.

"Yeah, I'll give you a few minutes to hide your porn."

"Shut up." He snapped, but he rushed inside the room and he was beginning to tidy up, throwing things around and pushing them under his bed, away from view. I saw a few Horikita Mai (or was it Horikito Mai? I still don't know. Bleugh, who cares...) magazines in the fray, along with empty food wrappers and cans. "Nana," He said, once he'd cleared his room to the best he could in that short timeframe. "Get over here."

I waddled inside and glanced around his room; it was a typical boy's room - dark and messy... With empty food wrappers and cans all over the floor and old socks. His curtains weren't even drawn properly. He had a desk crammed underneath the window, covered to the brim with books, homework and other junk... I couldn't really tell. He had a TV and a game system but they looked barely used. A skateboard and basketball stood by the closet, along with some unfolded clothes. I stopped glancing around the room and finally, to him. He appeared embarrassed, glancing to the closet door and not meeting my eye.

"You have a nice room." I commented.

"Siddown." He gestured to his messy bed, so I took a seat and he went to his closet and opened it to a small fraction, grabbing something from inside. "Here." He pulled out a dark blue hoodie for me and flung it at my direction. I caught it and looked at him in surprise. "Put that on."

"...Thanks." I didn't mention about the musky smell it contained which reminded me of him and carefully slid my arms in, then zipped it up. It was big, hanging off me and stopping at my thighs, but definitely covering my torn skirt. Aomine sat down beside me and I looked up at him again once I rolled up the sleeves and his face appeared even redder. "You're mom's really nice."

"Huh? Uh...yeah. But she can be a bit...overbearing." He admitted. There didn't seem to be any further attempt at conversation because it occurred to me he was too embarrassed. But then he said: "Did it happen 'cos you're my fake girlfriend?"

Oh, we were talking about what just happened roughly half an hour ago. "Yeah." I murmured.

"Damn." He uttered, gritting his teeth, "Didn't think it'd end up with you gettin' hurt."

"It's not your fault." I replied. Although what I really wanted to actually say was: No, wait, it kind of is, if you hadn't said that we were doing it and incurring Risa's wrath. Instead, I said, "It's okay, it's...well, this is the way how girls fight. You guys can settle things out with punching or kicking, or you can settle things out when you play basketball, but for girls...it's sneaky."

"So you know who it was who did this to you?"

"Risa." I said, without batting an eyelid, "Mei said her name. And I heard them say her name too."

"Is that the cheerleader you told me about?"

I nodded.

Honestly, I wasn't even sure what Aomine and I were doing anymore. Was this fake girlfriend, fake boyfriend thing really working in my favor, or was I playing with fire and fanning the flames? Could I really keep it up? What would happen at the end? At least I knew I'd accomplished something - I definitely had ticked Risa off big time and to retaliate, Risa had something like this done to me. It's like I don't even know who she is anymore. It was unforgivable. She wasn't like this. The Risa I knew would never do something like that. I no longer recognized her. She'd changed so much, it was scary. And I hated her even more.

"It's okay, Aomine. I'll deal with it."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Thanks for earlier."

"You said that already, baka."

"No, I really do appreciate it. I think you're the only person right now who's on my side."

Aomine grunted and rubbed the back of his neck and a silence fell between us. I became aware that he was gazing at me intently and I wasn't able to look away from him either. We were just staring at each other. And this time, he didn't make some stupid or rude comment or look at my chest or anything. It probably didn't help that we were sitting so very close to each other. I don't think I've looked at him for a long time, but I didn't really notice how good-looking he was. He's not like other boys, Aomine is far from that. He's a monster at basketball, a natural at the sport, and I've seen this rude and somewhat crass side to him... and when he's around me he's a dork and a pervert and even when we bicker I actually end up having fun. I didn't know what to think of this. I mean, we weren't even friends. However, I found myself slowly inching towards him and so was he, as though we were gravitating towards each other by some unseen force and our faces were getting closer and closer and closer and -

"Daiki! Can you come downstairs for a second?"

At the sound of Mrs Aomine's voice, I quickly turned away and Aomine frowned. "What is it, ma?" He growled. He sounded more annoyed than usual.

"Just come downstairs!"

With a grunt of frustration, Aomine stood up and shuffled towards the door of his room. Turning to me, he said, "You coming?"

"Huh? Oh, y-yeah." I stammered slightly, and followed him out of his room. To my surprise, I felt a surge of disappointment.

I wondered what would've happened if we hadn't been interrupted...

Notes

Actually I had them make out and then Aomine's mom interrupts them but I thought it was too early for that XD