Songs I listened to before and while writing: I'd love to change the world by Jutta (it's a remix.) and Stitches.

I am so freaking happy right now. Seeing more and more people supporting this story is just so... Ugh I am speechless.

The next two days went by pretty fast. Airi, after she'd gotten a haircut, continued to practice with Sakurai and hung out with him for the rest of the time. Occasionally, she would also spend some time with Aomine, who, strangely, was being a little too nice. Not only to her, but to the rest of his teammates as well.

No one complained, however, and went along with it. After all, it wasn't not every day that Aomine was nice. He soon seemed to take notice of his sudden change of comportment and went back to his usual, harsh self.

It was their last day. The team had packed up and was waiting for the bus, and Aomine, who had probably woken up late. The Fukusu trio were chuckling in between themselves. That usually meant they were up to no good.

When Aomine finally showed up, grumpy, the rest of the team finally understood and burst out laughing. Fu, Ku and Su had drawn all over his face with markers. The tanned boy, confused, glared at the three brothers, silently threatening them.

During the ride, he finally figured out why everyone had been laughing at him, thanks to his reflection in one of the windows. He had to admit that his face was worthy of mockery.

Airi was settled comfortably in the back, reading a book while listening to music, a half finished granola bar in her other hand. She ate the rest, crumpled the wrapper and slipped it in her pocket before turning a page of her book. Captivated as she was, she didn't notice Ku staring at her from the seat in front of her.

"Hi there."

She couldn't hear him. The music was a little too loud. Ku reached over and patted her shoulder. Airi lowered the volume and looked up at him questioningly.

"So what's happening between you and Aomine?"

She nearly choked on her own saliva, eyes widening in disbelief. "N-Nothing! W-What makes you say that?"

Ku showed her a picture on his phone. It was one of Aomine with Airi sleeping in his arms. What in the world. . .

Airi felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment. She slipped the hood of her sweater over her head and pulled on the strings to tighten it. Ku narrowed his eyes but didn't insist.

Once she was sure he was gone, Airi emerged from her 'shell' and let out a sigh, brushing her hair with her fingers.

Lately, Aomine has been having a weird effect on her, if you could call it that. She had come to the all-too-scary conclusion that she, unfortunately (or fortunately), had developed a crush on him. And that wasn't good.

The brown haired girl had heard of girls falling in love, and not being able to do anything other than think about their 'soul mate'. She didn't want that. If anything, her main concern was successfully graduating and getting into a good college.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed Aomine sitting next to her. "Watcha thinking about airhead?"

Airi slowly turned her head around and gave him a nervous smile. "Oh nothing much. Just school I guess."

"School?"

"Yeah. Don't you ever think about graduating? And what you'll do in the future?"

"Not really."

Airi blinked as she watched Aomine scratch the back of his neck. What was he waiting for? They only had about a year left.

She cleared her throat. "I see. If you need help finding a good college, I'll be waiting."

Airi was more than joyful when her dad was the first one to welcome her back home. She had missed him more than ever, and was planning on spending as much time with him as possible.

She told him about their games, their wins, and their trip. The older Hogiwara was happy for his daughter. For her to tell him about her journey with so much enthusiasm meant she was truly enthralled with basketball. He promised he'd go watch her game on Monday.

Feeling ten times lighter, Airi called Sakurai to tell him about the events that had recently occurred before asking him if he was too busy. She wanted to train some more. He agreed to go to the court next to his house.

She hung up, letting out a sigh. These next few days were going to be hectic and exhausting, with Aomine, her dad and the new technique she had to develop under a delay of two days. Barely.

"Let's get to work."

Monday

Today, Too academy was playing against Seirin high. There was a great amount of stress in each team. Excitement and dread was thick in the atmosphere as the fans watched the current ongoing game.

"We're next," Momoi said.

Airi's legs were bouncing out of control. The thing was, Sakurai and her hadn't had enough time to practice yesterday because he had to go over at his aunt's. She was well aware of the fact that her family was here, and would be watching her play. She couldn't screw up.

Aomine, on the other hand, was sitting in his corner, all pumped up. Seirin had won against them the year before, and he wasn't about to let then win a second time. No, this time, he was getting revenge.

"What's with all this tension? Relax," Too's team captain said.

Airi let out a sigh and checked the time. They were up in two minutes. She took off her glasses, carefully placing them in her bag, and put in contact lenses. She brushed her bangs to the side and silently counted to thirty to calm her racing heart. When she was sure she could think of the game without the organ bursting, she let her mind roam freely to the Seirin aces.

This game was going to be tough.

"Let's go!"

They all stood up and got in line, walking out of the locker room to the court. The roaring of the spectators was overwhelming. This was what they had been waiting for.

Airi felt a surge of bravery overcome her. "We'll do great, I just know it," she said, loud enough for her teammates to hear her.

They nodded in acknowledgment. Aomine snorted and lightly hit her upside the head. "Do your best, Airi."

Airi smiled. "Hai hai."

Okay okay. Seirin against Too. Prepare for an intense battle ya'll. Until next time!

~AHAL