A/N : This is the tenth chapter of OreTai. It's a bit later than usual, I know... But I've been busy and I'm dead tired... I haven't proofread this chapter so I think I'll do it tomorrow... so, excuse any mistakes in this chapter.. I'll fix it if you pointed it out...

Enjoy, don't forget to review... and the cover for this is drawn by me, you can see it in full size on my tumblr... waterofkings dot tumblr dot com...

Oretachi no Taiga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai!

(Our Taiga Can't Be This Cute!)

Chapter 10

Our Taiga and Delayed Dance

Kagami Taiga groaned as he tried to lift his head up from his desk. He was tired for some reason. After the culture festival, they cleaned up the school, including from the properties they used to decorate. People were still talking, some teased him with his new title as "Miss Teikou", and Kagami would blush and told them to shut up. He did his job diligently though he was tired. Kuroko told him about Akashi's new plan on putting a piano in the host club so Kagami could play them. Well, the tall red head didn't mind though, at least now he got something else to do except for serving tea and snack and talking to the girls about how they were supposed to make an apple pie with crusty outer layers.

"Kagami-kun, please move yourself from the desk. We have to rearrange it," Kuroko said as he nudged Kagami's side.

"Just let this desk here, Kuroko," Kagami mumbled. "I'm dead tired."

"Don't be lazy, Kagami-kun. Now move," Kuroko said.

Kagami pouted and moved himself and let Kuroko helped to rearrange the desks. Kagami felt a bit guilty for not doing anything decided to help. He was glad that culture festival had ended and he should've said that he enjoyed it, though it was a bit disturbed by sudden rain. And during the ball, he didn't have a chance to show off his new dancing ability (yet part of him relieved he hadn't make a fool out of himself).

"Nee, nee, Kagami-kun, who will you take for your date tomorrow?" asked one of the girls in his class. Kagami groaned at the question. Even since this morning, they had pestering him about the so-called date. Kagami didn't want to date anyone. Especially not with the host club members. For him, they were his best friends. Well, you don't have a date with best friend. You go on date with a person you loved, like lovers or Kagami, he wouldn't go on a date with someone unless he was serious about them.

A date was not something you treat lightly, right?

Momoi had told him to pick someone, but Kagami didn't know who he had to choose.

"You could asked the one you like the most~!" Momoi said to him. But Kagami couldn't really decide. He could ask Kuroko maybe… But being on a date with Kuroko… Kagami scratch his head which actually wasn't that itchy, and sighed. No… he didn't want to go on a date with Kuroko. Kuroko was his best friend, and Kagami stayed on his principle about not going on a date with best friend.

"Can I just not do it?" asked Kagami.

"Tut, tut, Kagamin!" Momoi said as she waved her finger in a 'no'. "This is the rules of Miss Teikou competition, and you will go."

"Well, I'm not exactly Miss Teikou material. Can't you make an exception?"

"No. No exception. I'm waiting for your answer tomorrow~!" Momoi smiled and waved at him as the pink haired girl walked off.

Maybe that conversation was what made him tired in the first place. Well, thinking was not Kagami's forte, but lately, it seemed like he had used his brain too much (was that even possible?). Usually, he would just go to the kitchen, cooked something and voila! He would forget his problems. Too bad the kitchen was out-of-order since someone had it blown up.

"Kagami-kun, Akashi-kun told me we will have a meeting this afternoon," said Kuroko after he had done with his task at hands.

"Do I have to come?" asked Kagami.

"Well, you don't have to if you don't want to, Kagami-kun. You seemed a bit tired though," said Kuroko.

"Oh, well… I'm going to head back to the dorm early today. I'm not feeling so well," said Kagami.

"Rest well, Kagami-kun. Remember, you still have to choose your date for tomorrow."

Kagami groaned at the mention of that matter. Kuroko only smiled and pat Kagami's head softly.

He went back to the dorm, threw himself onto the bed and closed his eyes, not bothered to change his uniform. Kagami fell asleep for the whole afternoon until dinner time and Kuroko knocked on his door. Kagami took a quick shower and changed his clothes before he followed the teal-blue haired boy to the dining hall. They sat on their usual table, talking about random things. Soon, Kise had joined them.

"Hello, Kurokocchi, Kagamicchi~!" the blond greeted with his famous bright smile and took his place next to Kuroko. "You didn't show up at the meeting this afternoon-ssu."

"Didn't I tell you Kagami-kun didn't feel well, Kise-kun?" Kuroko said.

"Ah, but I miss Kagamicchi's cooking-ssu~!" Kise said.

"The kitchen is out-of-order at the moment though," Kagami said. "Even if I came, I didn't make anything for snack."

"You're right-ssu," Kise said with a pout. "But anyway, there wasn't any important things discussed in the meeting. Mostly about Akashicchi's plans for the host club and so on. I think Midorimacchi will give you his note about that-ssu."

"Thanks, Kise," Kagami smiled at the blond who quickly returned.

Midorima showed up later, gave Kagami his note about the meeting just like Kise said. Kagami thanked the green haired boy and asked him if he want to join them on their table. Though he looked reluctant at first, Midorima had set his tray on the table and joined them. Murasakibara was next, followed by Aomine. Akashi didn't show up this time, and they were guessing he dine in his room again.

After dinner, they all headed down to their own rooms, but not Kagami. He had slept a lot this afternoon, he couldn't sleep now. He went to his room, grabbing his jacket and put it on before he sneaked out to the rooftop. Maybe he would find the cold night air calming.

The rooftop was empty when Kagami reached it, and he was glad. Now he could enjoy sometimes alone, no nagging Momoi or any other girls asking for his so-called date, or the teasing "Miss Teikou" from his classmates. Maybe he could spend the night here? Momoi couldn't bother him with his decision, and maybe he would show up on Monday morning, looking as if nothing was happening. Well, that was stupid.

Momoi could just pester him for some more until he gave up.

Kagami stood beside the railing; his chin cupped in his hand while his elbow resting on the railing. From the rooftop, he could see the glimmering lights of Tokyo from afar, and some smaller lights of nearby housings. The rest was almost pitch-black since Teikou Academy was surrounded with forest. Kagami felt the wind picked up as he tightened his jacket.

"I don't know you really like it here, Bakagami."

A voice suddenly came up and made Kagami turned around and he met a pair of navy blue eyes and hair. Aomine Daiki gave him his infamous smug on his face as he looked at Kagami.

"Shut up, Ahomine," Kagami retorted.

"This is my secret place, you know," Aomine said.

"Not anymore."

They didn't say anything. Just stared into the night sky, searching for something or anything. Well, the sky was cloudy tonight. They can't even see the moon. For a few minutes, they could only hear the soft sound of their breaths.

"So, have you decided about your date?" Aomine asked casually.

"I'm not in the mood talking about it."

"Hm? Well, Momoi was looking for you earlier. I bumped into her in the dorm lobby and she's been asking around if anyone saw you," Aomine said. "Why don't you just pick someone? I mean, it's only a date…"

"Well, you're supposed to date someone you loved, right?" Kagami asked. "I mean… I love you guys, and you guys are my best friends… People don't date their best friends, right?"

Aomine was ready to head butt the red head for being so stupid. Seriously, what was he? Five? Even kindergarten children weren't this stupid. And here Aomine thought Kagami would be like a normal guy in this matter. Seriously, what kind of people who still thought you have to love each other in a romantic way to have a date? But from Kagami's expression right now, Aomine could see a distressed look. Seriously?

"Look, Kagami… When you're going on a date, what would you usually do?" asked Aomine.

"I don't know…" Kagami mumbled. "Watch movies, eat, shopping, and playing in game centre… I guess?"

"Well, okay, basically that. Now, when you hanging out with your friend, like we did yesterday, what would you usually do?"

"Ehm… Watch movies, eat, and going to arcade…" and the realization came to Kagami's mind. Aomine smiled at this.

"See? Basically, date was like hanging out with someone. You're hanging out with your friends, right? Rather than thinking of this as a date, why don't you just treat it like two friends hanging out for a day?" Aomine asked. "You don't have to stressing yourself up of thinking who to ask for this so-called date, but you can simply ask to choose who you would like to hanging out for a day with. Easy, right?"

Deep in his mind, Aomine felt sorry for anyone Kagami had asked in the end. They surely hoped for something more out of this, and here Aomine, indirectly telling Kagami to friend-zoned them. And yet, he didn't feel really bad though. Kise said all's fair in love and war. This was merely a counter-attack.

"Sometimes you can be smart, Ahomine!" Kagami said with a bright smile.

"I am smart, Bakagami!" said Aomine. "You better tell Momoi now before she harassed someone just to find you."

"She wouldn't do that."

"You're right. She'd only harassed Tetsu."

Kagami chuckled a bit as he remembered how much the pink haired girl adored the quiet pale-blue haired boy.

"Well, now I know who I would ask for hanging-out," said Kagami.

"Who?" Aomine couldn't help but put some bitterness in his voice. He had to prepare himself to hear Kuroko or Kise, or Akashi, or Midorima, or Murasakibara's name out of Kagami's lips. Should he regret to put the idea on Kagami's head? Maybe it would be better just to let Kagami stressed himself out and ended up asking no one. No matter how much Aomine liked to tease the boy and watching the red blush bloomed on Kagami's face, Aomine felt the urge to help the red head. He didn't want to see that distressed look, and made him wanted to cheer Kagami up.

Even if Kagami only thought about the date as hanging-out between friends.

"I'm going with you," Kagami said casually.

"Huh?" Aomine's brain couldn't register the statement fast enough.

"Well, since our stroll around the festival yesterday was interrupted by rain and so on, I thought we could make up for it tomorrow?" Kagami asked. "I know your weekend passes revoked for a month, but Akashi told me he'd make an exception. At least, that's what he told me a few days ago."

"Huh…" Aomine still didn't know what to say. Kagami glanced at the tanned boy, looking for something, anything the slightly taller teen would say. "Did you… just ask me for the date…?"

"It's not a date!" Kagami said, face turned deep red of embarrassment. "You told me it can be just hanging-out between friends… And since you still owe to accompany me, I thought…" Kagami looked nervous right now, as he tried to avoid Aomine's eyes and covered his face in embarrassment. "I-it's okay if you don't want to… I… I can ask Kuroko or Kise…"

"Who said I'll refuse?" Aomine asked, smiling at Kagami. "Sure. Besides, the host club and student council will pay for any expenses we used."

"I thought you're rich," Kagami lifted his splitted eyebrows at Aomine's statement.

"I am. But there's nothing wrong about feeling happy when you know someone else would pay for your fun."

Kagami only smiled and shrugged at Aomine's statement. He decided to go downstairs and find Momoi, told her he would hang-out with Aomine tomorrow.

And then, a realization came to Aomine.

Did he just tell Kagami to friend-zoned him, now? Aomine sighed as he realized he just dug his own grave. Now he regretted for telling Kagami to treat this just as a hang-out between friends. This the second time Kagami came to him and asked him for this 'not-a-date' thing.

Damn Kagami and his high defense!

Surprisingly Akashi had handled everything about Aomine's weekend passes revocation. With exception only for today, Aomine could go out of the school ground to the city. Now he was standing in the bus station with Kagami, while the red head reciting about what they should do for today.

"We probably had to go shopping for this new kitchen knives set they were talking about. I read it in a magazine about how good they are," Kagami said. Aomine only listened to the boy. They only went to Tokyo for crying out loud, and yet, Kagami was very excited like he had offered for a trip of a life time. Kagami had told him he never had a real chance to explore Tokyo and for today, they would spend a day wondering around the shopping district in Toshima.

"You looked a bit flushed today, Kagami," Aomine commented.

"Huh? I'm excited…" Kagami said.

"You talked like you've never been to Tokyo before," said Aomine.

"I've been to Tokyo," said Kagami. "I don't know why, but today, I'm feeling very excited."

"Because you're going on a date with me?" Aomine asked with a teasing smile on his face.

"This is not a date!" Kagami said. "This is just a hang-out between friends, okay?!"

Aomine chuckled at how cute Kagami looked like with his flushed face as he managed to convince himself about their 'not-date'. If Kagami wanted this to be some normal outings, then so be it. Aomine couldn't hide the smug smirk on his face when the bus arrived and they got on the bus. They rode in comfortable silence until they stopped as soon as they arrived in the shopping district.

It was still 9 o'clock in the morning so most of the shops hadn't opened. Kagami pulled Aomine to one of the coffee shops, insisting he was hungry and they had to eat something before they went on for shopping. Kagami ordered some bagels for him and Aomine and also coffee. They sat in front of the coffee shop, enjoying the bagels and coffee while talking about things. After they finished, Kagami asked if Aomine wanted to go to some markets that sold groceries. Aomine couldn't help but agreed.

When they arrived, Aomine was surprised. Never had he seen this kind of lively atmosphere before. Growing up in a rich family, Aomine never went to this kind of market. His food was prepared by the chef, so he never saw what the real market would look like. Aomine was still gaping while Kagami had wondering around the place, looking at vegetables and fruits, talking to the seller.

"O-oi, Kagami… What kind of melon they sell over here? It's way too cheap!" Aomine whispered at Kagami who was still busy looking at the broccolis.

"Huh? That's just an ordinary melon, Aomine…" Kagami said.

"But it's way too cheap!"

"Aomine, don't tell me you've never been to this kind of traditional market?" Kagami asked.

"So what if I haven't?" Aomine retorted. Kagami wanted to laugh. Surely these rich guys… Kagami started to doubt if Aomine ever played in an arcade before. Before he went to a boarding school, Kagami had his chance for spending a few months in normal private high school. But to the students in Teikou, they had spent their times there, from elementary school to high school. Kagami knew they were raised in a different environment.

"Maybe we should just spend our time here?" Kagami asked.

"Won't it'd be too boring?" asked Aomine.

"You're right…" Kagami said. "But it was almost fascinating to see you so worked up about the price of a melon."

Aomine pouted while Kagami laughed light-heartedly. They continued to wondering around the place though from the corner of his eyes, Aomine swore he could catch a glimpse of purple hair.

"Mukkun, you almost got us caught!" Momoi yelled at the purple haired teen beside her. "Forget about the snack already…!"

"But Sacchin~ They're very cheap~" Murasakibara whined.

"Now is not a good time, Atsushi," Akashi said calmly. "Are you sure this is a real apple?" he asked as he motioning for a stack of red apples nearby, being sold half-price.

"They're real, Akashi-kun," Kuroko said calmly, "Though I'm still wondering how they could sell something this cheap… Do they even get profit?"

"I think they do," Midorima answered. "Okay, this is getting ridiculous. Does that banner just say they sold bee plushie for 130 yen?"

"It does-ssu," Kise saind. "Midorimacchi, don't tell me…?"

"Bee plushie is today's lucky item," Midorima put his small bee figurine in his pocket and quickly went to the seller to get bigger bee plushie. He was surprised when the seller couldn't take a credit card so Midorima had to pay it in cash.

"They're starting to move," Momoi said as she never took her eyes off the two teenage boys who just left a vendor and continued to walk. "I was really surprised Kagamin had decided who he would take on this date. Though he kept insisting it's just a normal outing…"

The six of them were now following Aomine and Kagami. The host club members were surprised when they heard from Momoi that Kagami had chose Aomine to go with him, and the pink haired girl was so excited to see her favorite red-head and her childhood friend going on a date. She wanted to follow them, just follow without interfering. Midorima agreed, saying the picture they might get from this date would sell well in the host club. That's why now Kise had equipped himself with a DSLR camera and tele lens. For Kuroko, it was a simple pocket camera.

Momoi had made them swore they would not doing anything to ruin Kagami's date and they agreed after Momoi threatened them. So, here they were now.

"Momoicchi, they're heading for another store-ssu!" Kise said.

"We can't follow them there…" Akashi said. "Satsuki, is there any back door of this store?"

Momoi's brain starting to work to find the data she would need to answer Akashi's question.

"There is one…!" Momoi said. "Don't tell me…?"

"No. Taiga was too oblivious to notice our presences and Daiki doesn't know this area," Akashi said. "But just to be safe, Shintarou and Ryouta could guard the back door in case they're coming out from there. We'll contact you if we saw any movement."

"Roger-ssu!"

With that, Kise and Midorima went to the back door. The rest of them were trying to find some place to hide and watched over the front of the shop.

"Akashi-kun, you seemed to enjoy this," Kuroko commented.

"Hm? I wonder, Tetsuya…"

After wondering around from one shop to another, Kagami and Aomine went to arcade. It had been a long time since the last time Kagami came to this kind of place, and Aomine never went to one. They played some shooting games, shoot some hoops, and enjoyed it. After that, they searched for lunch (Aomine shouted once again at how cheap the teriyaki burger was) and ate together.

Once again, Aomine's eyes caught a glimpse of something. This time it was something green, and his gut told him they had been followed. Aomine turned to say something to Kagami, but he realized the boy had been quiet after their time in the arcade.

"Kagami, are you okay?" Aomine asked. The boy's face were flushed and wet from sweat. It wasn't that hot out here, and yet, Kagami was sweating a lot.

"I'm okay…" Kagami mumbled as he wiped the sweats from his face.

"No… You don't look too good…" said Aomine. He leant to Kagami and touched the boy's forehead with his hand. Aomine cursed softly. "You have fever."

"I'm fine," Kagami said stubbornly.

"You've been feeling unwell since this morning, haven't you?" Aomine asked. "We're heading back. I'll call my driver—"

"No… We haven't gone to the park…"

"You're sick, dumbass," Aomine said. "The others would kill me if they know—"

"I can still go on."

"I'm calling my driver," Aomine pulled out his cellphone, but Kagami easily snatched it from his hand and put it into his pocket.

"I said no," Kagami said, voice still firm despite his condition. Aomine tried to get it back, but Kagami skillfully protect the phone inside his pocket. "There's a small concert in the park nearby every late afternoon. I just want to see it once…"

"Bakagami! We're going back to the dorm, NOW."

"No! The concert, I…"

Aomine sighed as he looked at the stubborn expression on Kagami's face.

"Why do you want to see it so badly?" he asked.

"My mother used to bring me to see them when we still leave in America. When… when I heard they came to Japan, I want to see them…" Kagami said. "Please, Aomine…"

Kagami's pleading look melted Aomine's determination to bring the red head back to the dorm. He looked around the burger joint and saw no one paid attention to them. Aomine scooted over so he sat next to Kagami, pulling the other boy closer and let him rest his head on his shoulder. Kagami was tensed before Aomine whispered something to tell him to relax. They still had a few hours before this so called mini concert, so Aomine decided to let Kagami rested for now.

He was glad they had taken the furthest seat, so they could have their privacy while letting Kagami to take a rest for awhile.

Without them realizing it, six pairs of eyes watched their very moves and stared wide-eyed when Aomine pulled Kagami to rest his head on the tanned boy's shoulder.

Kagami's fever hadn't gone down. Aomine sighed. He glanced at his clock, realizing it was time to wake Kagami up. He softly shook the boy until Kagami groaned and opened his eyes. Red orbs stared into the dark blue one, and Aomine let out a smirk as he pinched Kagami's cheek playfully. He smirked as Kagami's pouted and rubbed his cheek.

"What's that for, Ahomine?" he asked. His voice sounded weak and a little hoarse.

"I still think we should go back to the dorm, but you insisted on watching this concert…"

"Ah, yes…" Kagami murmured. "Let's go."

They walked slowly to the park Kagami had mentioned before. It was a simple park where children usually played. There was nothing special about this place. The only thing that attracted Aomine's attention was a small group of people surrounding something, and Aomine could hear the soft voice of violin and the sound of cello, forming a harmony with flute, oboe, and contra-bass.

"That's it, Aomine," Kagami said quietly as he tried to walk faster. They wanted to get closer, but Kagami's feet and the crowds couldn't get them close enough. So, they settled under one of the trees in the park, leaning on the tree, enjoying the concert from afar.

"Why do you insist on watching them anyway?" Aomine asked. "You cannot see anything from here."

"At least we could still hear the song…" Kagami said.

"But this song sounds familiar…"

"Of course it is. I played it in the ball," Kagami said. "'Waltz of the Flowers' by Tchaikovsky."

"By the way, you didn't dance that night," Aomine said. "You ended up playing the piano."

"Well, I'm glad…"

"Hm? So I wouldn't tease you for having two left legs?" Aomine smirked. "I wonder if you really can dance properly without stepping on your partner's feet."

"I can dance just fine now. Thanks to Momoi."

"Too bad you can't prove it now, can you?"

"I'll prove it to you, Ahomine," Kagami said.

"Don't be stupid. You can barely stand."

Kagami kept quiet since Aomine's words were true. Indeed he couldn't stand on his own. He leaned all his weight on the tree, and let Aomine's hands supporting him to keep standing. As the soft melody of 'Waltz of the Flower' almost lulled him to sleep. He felt really tired now, and his his head was pounding like crazy. And yet, he wanted to see the performance until the end, no matter how much Aomine tried to coax him to go back to the dorm and see the doctor.

"Then maybe next time, I'll show you…" Kagami said.

"Sure, whatever," Aomine ruffled the boy's red mane as he felt Kagami's skin was still hot and damp with sweat. He started to worry about Kagami's condition now. "Okay, I don't care what would you say, but I'm calling my driver now and we're going to the hospital before we head down to the dorm," Aomine said firmly as he fished his cell phone from Kagami's pocket.

In ten minutes, his driver arrived with a sleek silver Benz. Aomine dragged Kagami to the back seat and they headed down to the hospital. Kagami got himself checked, and the doctor said it was only a small fever due to the exhaustion. Aomine sighed in relieve when the doctor said Kagami would be fine and his fever started to go down. She said Kagami didn't have to stay overnight; just a complete bed rest and the red head would be fine.

From the hospital, they headed back to the dorm. Aomine helped Kagami to get into his room, while he went to the kitchen and asked the kitchen staff to make porridge for Kagami. The cooks gladly helped and told Aomine she would send it to Kagami's room as soon as possible.

Later that night, the host club members had gathered in Kagami's room (except for Momoi since she couldn't get into the boy's dorm room), checking out on the red head. And furthermore, Aomine got an earful of lectures from Midorima about Kagami's condition and how he should be responsible to get Kagami to the hospital as soon as he found out the red head got fever, not a few hours after that.

After Kagami fell asleep, Aomine closed the door slowly and went back to his own room. In his head, he still could hear Kagami's words when he whispered in his delirious state to the hospital.

"I'm sorry… I ruined it again…"

A/N : Sorry for any mistakes... I simply hadn't proofread this... Sorry if this chapter isn't that good and felt a bit rushed...

Please review~?