RECAP

By the way, you should be more aware of your surroundings. Who knew he came just in time for you two to kiss, whilst he had a necklace box on hand…

"What did you say—" Kamiko panicked as she quickly stood up, as she looked in several directions at once, as soon as Akkiko mentioned that Akashi had already came by, only to disappear when… "Oh my god… Akkiko, what I am going to do?"

Find him? I don't know! I'm not the one who has guys fawning over you, especially if it's the captain and the ace from the Generation of Miracles! This is your fault for being a dense idiot!

Wordlessly, she immediately picked Hachimitsu up, leaving the area to search for a certain fuschia crown.

One week after that… kiss with Aomine, and the unexpectedly caught red-handedly by Akashi, Kamiko's mind was all over the place for the first time in her life.

When Aomine left and Akkiko indirectly told her that Akashi was there when it happened, the sky bluenette futher lost her composure as she went around town to look for him and explain everything. Although she thought it might be fruitless as he would never really listen to what he usually calls useless explanations, it was worth a try.

The search for him was in vain in the end as it went on for hours, fortunately leaving Hachimitsu to Riko's care before she started looking for him.

For as long as she can remember, Akashi is the type to confront things, situations, even people head on immediately because, well, that is his personality, being the confident, rational, and silver-tongued guy that he is, but right now, he's nowhere in sight, even in places where she knew he'd be in when he's not in the mood.

There were a lot of possibilities that she thought of about where he would have gone, tiring herself in the process as she continued looking for him. It was stupid, she knew that too well, but knowing that he might have misunderstood the situation that she was dragged into, she couldn't stay still.

Seconds turned to minutes, walks turned into runs, meters turned into blocks, she searched every corner, dragging her exhausted feet forward, even though she should have been in her apartment, resting by now, but no. Not until she finds him and explain everything.

Luckily, she was found wandering tirelessly by Kagami, who was actually looking for her, as per ordered by their coach but mainly because he was worried about her, as a neighbor, friend, and teammate. He actually stumbled upon the scene between her and that Aomine guy when he decided to walk back to the gym and was caught off guard when the sky-bluenette suddenly took off, searching for something or…

"Karadai! There you are! It's late! You need to continue your—"

'Was she searching for someone then?'

"K-Kagami? No, I still need to look for him. H-He misunderstood my situation and—" She was still alternating walking to jogging and vice versa, looking like she wasn't planning to stop anytime soon, but one can notice the tiredness in her movements. Kagami can only crease his forehead in annoyance and at arm's length grabbed Kamiko by the arm firmly, finally stopping her in her tracks.

'So she was.'

"And wear yourself out further? Look, this is stupid," Kagami forcefully made her face him then as she was startled at the sudden movements caused by the tall redhead. "Whoever that person is can wait and you focus on your recovery more. I know you don't like the idea of standing by when you know that our team is up against that Aomine guy's school, so you gotta heal up fast and let's help each other out."

And the thought of Kagami going against the tanned male and the words that Shintaro said when he vaguely gave the redhead a heads-up of whom he was playing against in the championship league dawned her senses, widening her eyes a fraction. How selfish can she really get, just to explain something that seemed irrelevant to him?

When Kagami saw the change in her behavior, he decided to let go and mumbled a sorry, thinking that he might have gripped on her arms harshly, but it was gone unnoticed as Kamiko can only shake her head and let out a tired sigh, only to have collapsed onto a startled Kagami, her deadweight then carried effortlessly on his back as he carried her home, though it was a bit difficult at first because he was clueless next to the rock, finding the right key for her main door when he fished for her keys from her pant side pocket, but was successful when he finally tucked her in her bed, not prolonging his stay in her apartment any longer as soon as he wished her a good rest for the night.

It was fortunate for the girl that she had been excused from the official basketball trainings in two weeks' time because of her arm injury, otherwise, Riko would have doubled, maybe tripled her training, with how distracted she's been for the past week; although being excused from the upcoming championship league match is different story.

'No calls… no messages. Is he really that mad?'

Kamiko was barely listening to what the coach was telling the rest of the team, with the competing lists of the championship league in the hands of every single member. Kagami wasn't there yet, since he had cleaning duties. Hachimitsu, in his Seirin Number 16 jersey that Riko had made for the pup when the sky-bluenettte was away, cuddled close to her, as she was staring at her sheet blankly.

"The names of all the schools appearing in the championship league are out!" Riko announced. "As you can see, A block is us, B block is Touou Academy, C block is Mesei, and D block is Senshinkan. These four schools will compete to represent our region."

'I was right. We are up against Touou… The question is, will we be okay?' She wondered, unconsciously placing her left hand over her right arm, gripping on it firmly.

Despite being warned countless times about avoiding to wear her right whole arm out, she still keeps it conditioned while practicing endlessly with her left. She's barely lucky that her arm didn't 'fall off' or something, as the Piercing Howl is a dangerous move, not meant to be performed by a player, no matter how high his stats are, whose body isn't developed enough yet.

"Even if we can't beat Momoi-chan and Aomine, if we beat the others…" Koganei began.

"You can't just underestimate anyone at all, senpai," Kamiko looked up from the sheet she was holding, and everyone's eyes were on her. "Senshinkan might be a well-known school, but Satsu-chan and Aomine attend Touou Academy."

"What?"

Everyone, except Riko of course, were shocked at the news.

"I thought all the Generation of Miracles went to well-known schools!" Koganei protested, at the moment forgetting that Seirin had in fact acquired a member of Uncrowned Kings, and the former aren't exactly a well-known team.

"I thought for sure that he would have gone to a strong team like Midorima." Izuki added.

"That's unheard of." Hyuuga frowned.

As a good manager and researcher that she is, Riko spoke. "Touou's history isn't impressive, but they've been putting energy into their scouting efforts lately, recruiting promising athletes from all over the country. In the last few years, they've rapidly gained power and this year's line up, I dare say, is comparable to Shutoku's."

"We might be in trouble with the match against Touou," Kamiko tucked the now folded paper in her pocket, as everyone turned their attention to her once more. "Aomine's strength is nearly incomparable against almost everyone from both monster teams. It's better to see it for yourself."

Hachimitsu whined.

"What's with you and your sudden not-wanting-to-see-Kamiko mood, Seijuro?"

The fuschia head was in the restaurant, sitting by the bar counter dejectedly, and Sayo was handing a fourth glass of warm milk and honey, and the male can only look at his auntie with glaring eyes, but the female remained unwavering.

(If you haven't noticed from the past chapters), Akashi's aunt Sayo has been overly fond of the sky-bluenette even since the first time her best friend, the sky-bluenette's mother, brought with her the little girl in the Akashi residence to be introduced to the fuschia crown, since, in her mother's terms, 'Kamiko was looking for a playmate and Tetsu isn't too strong enough to play around yet under the sun because he was sickly'. Kamiko and Seijuro just clicked it off, and grew closer when they found their passion and love for the same sport, and it didn't help that they've always found ways to hang out despite studying in different middle schools.

Ever since his mother died a little before he and the sky-bluenette became friends, Sayo has been the mother figure in his life and because her mother instincts are activated, it's not even hard to guess that her nephew had the biggest crush on the sky-bluenette, but a prideful guy that he is, he'd deny every now and then. Sayo noticed since that he shows his affections in his own way, a tsundere way, to the people close to him, but mostly shows them a little more openly with the sky-bluenette, which was a huge sign that he, indeed, likes her more than a friend.

She questioned the fuschia one time during a family dinner when she noticed that either of them never showed themselves in her restaurant during their third year in middle school, and the male only pursed his lips into a thin line and excused himself, leaving the question and her hanging, and she later concluded that something must have happened between them, and she decided not to mention a thing anymore.

"I… was so angry," Seijuro mumbled, staring at the glass counter aimlessly.

Why was he a total idiot for leaving? Of all the time, why did he have to see that at that very moment when he decided to show up earlier than he should? WHY WAS HE BEING IRRATIONAL AND PRIDEFUL when he knew that Kamiko was searching for him frantically and tirelessly nearly the whole night? He was there, watching her move from corner to corner from a distance. He knew she wanted to explain what happened, probably she thought that he misunderstood the situation.

No, he didn't. He knew about Aomine's feelings for Kamiko. He clearly saw how the tanned male's feelings for her remained unchanged, especially during the time when the match between the Uncrowned Kings and the Generation of Miracles were up.

He was pissed at himself for letting Aomine take her first kiss; pissed that he has more guts to do something like that than he does. It was a big deal for him and he doesn't care. She was his, is his, and always will be. It was an unspoken thing, even his former members were aware of that, except of course of the tanner male.

"If you're being like this, then you must have done something that really made her upset," Sayo shook her head in dismay as she closed her cash register and proceeded with wiping her glasses crystal clean. "Something stupid, maybe?"

Seijuro can only groan at the recurring memory, resting his forehead against the glass counter.

"If you like her so much, what are you still doing here?" The older female was already in the kitchen, peeking through the receiving window.

"She probably hates me for ignoring her for days by now," he mumbled, his outgrown fringe hovering over his sad eyes.

Then, he heard a light and teasing kind of laughter coming from the kitchen, and that made him sit up straight up, his head towards the kitchen. "Now I understand why sometimes, she'd say that you're actually really stupid, despite being so bad-ass smart." Sayo then knocked her kitchen door open, merging out with a plate of freshly baked cinnamon rolls, placing it in front of him on the glass counter. "If you know her as you've always claimed, you should have been already out of this resto a few minutes ago, with a box of my cinnamon rolls, and on the way to apologize and cheer her up."

'Wait what?'

"Oh my god, how slow can you be?" The female pushed a box of cinnamon rolls in front of him too, his heterochromatic eyes blinking in wonder. "Don't think about coming back here, still in your sulky mood." She sing-songed as she gestured for him to take the box and leave, but the boy was still unmoving. Sayou walked from her side to his and dragged him with the box, pushing him towards the door. "I need progress between you! And your mother would want that too!"

For once, Seijuro was surprised as he found himself outside of the restaurant, with his auntie handing him the box and his dark formal blazer. "I trust that you know what to do~ Take care, Sei~"

Bakashi calling…

Something like this seemed to be a miracle to most many, like a sudden call from a loved one after how many weeks, or months, or years of being unheard of, but for her, it is more than just a miracle or relief.

After the second ring, she pressed the answer button, putting the phone against her ear in the process, not bothering to speak, only hearing a steady and lowly sound of his breathing.

"You probably would hate me by now for ignoring you these past days," he began, his ever-dripping melodious soft tone rang through her ear, and she could only sigh inaudibly in content. "And for not being able to protect your hidden thimble like I promised you during our 4thgrade."

'So he was really there when it happened.'

"S-Sei, let me explain—"

"I'm aware of Daiki's feelings for you," he only cut her off, needing her to hear and listen to him. "But I was pissed because I wanted—always wanted to be your hidden thimble, but he took that away from you. It's a big deal for me since it is also important to you—"

"Sei—"

"—It disgusts me to the core that someone like him was able to take something that has always been mine—"

"I never returned his feelings because there's already someone occupying the little space in my heart before he came along."

At the other end of the line, Seijuro was stopped on his tracks as he was already in front of her door, his eyes trained forward, suddenly his surroundings became silent. His grip on the box loosened but still intact as he tried to register the words that the sky-bluenette just said.

"Sei? Are you still there?"

His breath hitched as he heard her worried tone on the phone, his grip on his phone against his ear slightly tightened, and he pursed his lips into a thin line.

'You're lying, Kami.'

"I'm not sure I heard you right the first time, Kami."

His tone was in monotone, denying any sign of emotion from his voice. Placing the box over the little chair beside the door, he quietly turned the door knob to open, hoping that it is open, and it was.

"I never liked Aomine because I liked somebody else already."

The fuschia crown was barely listening then, as he invited himself in with the cinnamon rolls, quietly making his way to her bedroom.

"Because I like you first, Seijuro."

She felt vulnerable now that her long-bottled feelings about Sei were all out in the open, but at the most, she didn't care. She felt too fucked-up to even give a care about anything at all.

There was such dead silence on the other line and she dropped on her knees, thinking that her breath was gone to waste as he might have ended the call already.

'What the hell was I thinking, voicing out my feelings like that…'

Not long, she caught sight of him already standing in her bedroom doorway, his outgrown bangs covering his eyes and his lips were pressed into a thin line.

"W-Why are you—" She croaked.

His phone was still attached to his ear as he was holding it against it with his left hand. Looking up to look at her, his heterochromatic eyes gazed upon her light honey-glazed orbs with so much pain as his lips quirked into a frown. Silently, he walked up to her as her eyes followed his movements. As he finally closed the gap just a few inches from each other, he moved his phone away from his ear then dropped on the bed, along with the box.

She tilted her head in confusion, guilt, and somehow sadness as she dropped her phone on the bed as well.

"Sei—"

So soon, his cold yet gentle hands grabbed her warm small hands, wordlessly pulling her whole being towards him, closing the gap as he snaked her waist with his right arm and cradled the back of her head with his left hand, nuzzling onto her strawberry-scented hair—the scent that he grew fondest of since 1st grade.

He remembered clearly the first time he told her that this… unnatural gesture of his won't be repeated the second time around, but then when he heard her rants on the phone just moments ago, just as he was on his way here to surprise her, his heart suddenly ached and that desperate feeling of wanting to hold her in his arms again—to comfort her, to make her feel safe—was present and he doesn't understand why.

Why of all people, she was able to turn him like this? Of all people, she was able to defy him, even beyond its limits, and guess what? He was fine with it yet at the same time, it irritated him. Of all people, she was able to defeat him unwillingly. Of all people, she was the only person who can understand and put up with him. Of all people… she made him fall in love with her without her knowing it.

This was uncharacterized of him and it made him crazy for years.

He wanted to hate her for making him feel and be this way. Oh, he was desperate.

But he couldn't. He couldn't bring himself to hate her when there's absolutely nothing to hate her about. She was too gentle to be hated at; too great to be a failure; too close to perfection. She was the Angel to the Devil; the Empress to the Emperor; she was everything precious to him, yet, she couldn't see that.

'Can't you see that I love and hate you at the same time?'

During the time when 3rd year came around, everything around him grew boring to him because…

She stopped coming by at the start of 3rd year.

To him, it somehow depleted his already-low motivation to play basketball. He couldn't blame her for wanting to hate him or any of them for that matter, for hating the sport. He couldn't blame her. He simply couldn't blame her for anything.

He hated himself for that, but then… People change. People's way of thinking varies constantly. That's how weak human species can be. How pathetic. How pathetic of him for making her feel like this.

For making her so heartbroken with everything that he did, until now.

'I'm the worst human being to have ever walked on Earth.'

Kamiko widened her eyes in surprise as he cradled her body as gently and careful as if she was fragile; vulnerable; all the synonyms above. Her hands rested on his chest since she was enclosed in his arms. She was too numb to even shake her fingers. His peppermint scent filled her nostrils—her ever favourite scent of him.

'I can hear his heart beating so loudly.'

She remembered clearly the talk they had back in the gym when Sei decided to teach her gain control of her left arm, how it ended up with her questioning about everything, how it ended up with him telling her that he would crush his pride only once to comfort her the best way he could think of.

And he did.

Something like this and this was the second time that he would go all the way to crush his pride again. For her.

She nuzzled her face into his chest, gripping on his pristine white shirt rather tightly, feeling his arms wrapping her more closely now. The feel of his hot breath through her hair made her sigh at his closeness. Slowly and gently, she pushed from his chest, just a few centimeters away to see his face.

She caught sight of his tired and sad yet chiseled-ly handsome face—a vulnerable expression that only she was witness to. It was sad and beautiful, including his heterochromatic eyes which lost its usual glow because of her; the glow which was replaced with so much worry, hurt, and exhaustion.

Pursing her lips, her chest felt heavy. She couldn't hate him after all, even if she really wanted to.

'I hate you, Sei. I hate you so much.'

And to that, she felt her cheeks heat up, fully aware of her heart beating rapidly as she wrapped her firm, slender arms around his broad shoulders, pressing her chest against his.

As she initiated the gesture, he was taken aback. She was pressed against him, chest to chest, with her graceful slender arms wrapped around his shoulders, even as she settled on resting her cheek against his cheek. He can feel her heart pounding like his own and somehow, it gave him hope, even just a little. There were no words needed between them.

"… See that, Sei-chan? We won! We won together!" 1st grade.

"Sei-chan! Please stay with me! I'm scared!" 2nd grade.

"I like you so much, Sei-chan! Promise me we'll marry each other in the future, okay?" 4th grade.

For the first time in years, his face finally warmed with a smile, even as he slowly snaked his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. He then nuzzled his nose on her slender neck, feeling her shiver at his action as he fights the urge to smirk.

Nearing his lips against her ear, he whispered.

"You're still keeping that promise you forced me to keep, ne, Kami?"

She couldn't respond as she was too concentrated towards the feel of his cool lips against her ear, making her flinch ever so slightly at the contact. How the words flowed smoothly out of his warm mouth with such softness and arrogance; how his arms caress her body so gently—yet at the same time, so moody, so demanding and it fitted him quite well.

Gosh, she could never keep up.

"Bakashi, you agreed to it willingly," she pouted, making him laugh.

And it was the most carefree sound that will always make her heart dance. She smiled as she hid her red-tinted face against his neck as his throat rambled on with laughter.

'I love and hate you, too, Sei.'

It was already nearly 10 in the evening, but neither of the two wanted to stop talking about various things while devouring Aunt Sayou's cinnamon rolls. Kamiko was still snuggled up in Akashi's arms, selfishly enjoying his warmth and security for a long while. The fuschia crown didn't mind how most of the sky-bluenette's weight was against him, her arms around his torso as his arm was around her shoulders, securing her closer to him.

"Ne, Sei… About… us," Kamiko cleared her throat, feeling nervous all of a sudden. She moved her leg that was resting over his lean, firm thigh, just slightly, as she began drawing feathery circles over his waist.

'I wonder how he's going to react on this.'

"What? If you're worried that others would find out, don't be. As the noisy idiots they are, whether you tell them or you don't, they'll know. Sooner or later." Seijuro answered, even as she detected a hint of nervousness in his tone.

"It's not that… I mean, where do we stand now? Well, we've been the closest of friends since 1st grade and…"

She trailed off, not really knowing how to explain. Well, she doesn't know how to approach this kind of stuff. Maybe she could ask Satsuki for advice. Or maybe not.

"I don't know yet, Kami. I would have to ask you out properly by then, but for now, listen carefully because I'm not going to repeat this twice. Understood?"

Typical Akashi Seijuro for you, ladies and gentlemen.

"Okay then… What is it?"

She swore she heard him suck his breath in a short moment, and to that, she could really tell that he was nervous now. Knowing him for a long time, he rarely gets nervous because well… his self-confidence is too strong and intimidating, but she doesn't really care. As long as he's with her, she's okay.

It took him a while though, even the sky-bluenette thought he had already been plumb tuckered out, but then she felt him move his weight, and gently yet firmly taking her arms from his waist, making her sit straight and face him. She anxiously waited for him to tell her what he was about to say and it was…

'I didn't realize how much I was in love with you until we made that promise.' She could hear Sei sigh then came the softest whisper from him; the kind of whisper that only lovers would do.

'I love you since then.'

She couldn't believe what she heard. She wanted so badly to make him repeat it again, but then, it's free to dream on while she could. Kamiko caught sight of her reflection on her full-body mirror and there it was.

A full smile across her lips.

The promise they made when they were in 4th grade was the only proof there was—that he loves her first before she realized that she loves him too.

I was afraid that he would reject me in the future, despite the promise we made, but I'm glad. No, I'm the happiest. The happiest in my nearly 17 years of my existence, now knowing that he loves me since.

"I love you too, Seijuro."

Those two days after she and Seijuro spent the whole day together was the first match of the championship league made Kamiko feel a little more anxious than usual, although no one can figure out what she's really feeling due to wearing a poker face most of the time.

-Flashback-

As unclear as what their relationship status would be, Sei grasped her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers as he walked with her after taking her out for a quick breakfast, oblivious to the many adoring yet frightened faces of the girls as they passed by, stopping just outside the Seirin High gates.

"It's fine here, Sei. I'll be fine. Thank you," The sky-bluenette looked at him with a gentle smile, grasping his hand a little tight, as if telling him to not leave her yet.

The heterochromatic-eyed red head glanced at her, giving a small sigh as he gave her hand a light squeeze. "You should go, Kami."

The girl nodded lightly, giving a small bow at him then turned her back against him.

For some reason, he groaned quietly and clicked his tongue as he grabbed her wrist, pulling her to face him even as his free hand cupped her cheek rather gently and kissed the tip of her nose. Just when he pulled back, he saw her face had gone red in embarrassment and he can only smile smugly at the sight of it.

Sliding his fingers delicately from her wrist to her hand, he brought it up to his lips, brushing her knuckles before kissing it and she can feel his smirk as he kissed her hand.

"That is for defying me over and over again, Kami." In other words, "That is for my utmost apology."

To that, he left her with a smirk and a playful wave, leaving her at the gates, blushing like a tomato.

-End of Flashback-

The training during those last days had been brutal for the rest of her team, especially for Kagami whose legs have already healed a few days ago, and was doing some extra training to make up for all the days that he had lost. Riko had somehow turned into Satan during this time, judging by the number of drills and runs that she had the team doing.

They could barely manage to drag themselves the extra mile home the moment when Riko had dismissed them from training.

And if truth be told, Kamiko is concerned about the match with Touou the next day.

She knew how dangerous Aomine could be on the court, being his rival once, but it said so much of his performance despite the first meeting. It's been more than a week since that incident and she never heard anything from him. She wanted to tell him that she was sorry that she couldn't accept his feelings, but then the timing right now with the upcoming Touou versus Seirin match would be so wrong to do so, so she kept quiet.

Touou is already strong enough without Aomine. An addition of him to the equation, then emerges one dangerous team. She has already asked Riko's permission for her to be included in the first string once more for the match, although it involved series of ignores and no's, but eventually because of the sky-bluenette's persistence, the coach gave in, warning her that if anything worse than an arm injury happens during this match, she's not going to play anymore, to which the sky-bluenette readily agreed.

Sensing that she lost herself in space once more, Hachimitsu whined, and Kamiko was brought back to awareness, as the puppy crawled atop her lap, making the sky-bluenette smile softly, petting his head gently.

"I hope everything goes well tomorrow," she mumbled, with the puppy tilting his head at her in wonder. "But I can't seem to shake this bad feeling…" She laid her body down the bed, grasping her phone, scrolling down the contacts' list until she reached Akashi's name, her thumb hovering above the dial button. Feeling a little frustrated, she only let her phone drop on her side and hid her eyes under the shield of her arm.

"What am I going to do?"

AN:/ BECAUSE MOST OF YOU ARE LOOKING FORWARD FOR A NEW CHAPTER, I FINALLY FINISHED CHAPTER 15. IT TOOK ME NEARLY TWO DAYS TO FINISH THIS BECAUSE I GAVE IT A LOT OF THOUGHT THO. XD OOOHHH, and did anyone expect this pairing? I wouldn't even know myself. HAHA.

Please look forward to the next chapters, okay? Q~Q I'm sending oceans of love to each one of you, fellow readers of TDSM!

before I forget, I've decided to rename this story but I have no idea what it would be. will any of you be kind enough to lend me some title ideas? I'll mention you in my next chapter~ :3

lovelots,

-dj