Another day, another chapter.

Big thanks to...

CopraMeow, Savage Kill, Lavynya, Deyoki - I'm glad you're enjoying all the fluff!, ksbKipper1998 - The romance is finally growing since Mia became aware of it, hooray for development, haha., KT-Desu - I hope you enjoy it!, a fan - I'm glad you like it and I hope you'll continue to enjoy the story!, thesunwillkeeponshining - Yay for jealous Aomine, haha., HiddenCamelia - I hope he's still Aomine-like, always afraid I lean too far out of the window with that guy, haha., BDDB, SamTsui, princess thieves of hearts, TenraiTsukiyomi - Glad you liked the part with the paint, I liked it, too. That lucky bastard and poor Sakurai, haha. And yes, that damn Winter Cup. I'm on my way to that bad boy of plot event. Soon, very soon we're back on track on the anime plot line and character development. Don't jump just yet, we still have a teasing road filled with fluff in front of us, haha. I'm glad you enjoy it! And Saiko - He can be quite adorable, right? Haha. I hope you'll enjoy the festival!

Alright. This is important and will probably be the only time I'll do it. This is a part one of the day. That means that tomorrow when I update it will be the part two. Same day, same event. I just really am late right now and got stuff to do, and birthday and things! So much stuff and many things. But I didn't want to skip the update today either.

So today is part one of the Culture Festival! I couldn't double-check it. Will do that later, so I hope you forgive spelling, grammar and awkward sentences. I'll edit it later on!

Thank you all for the lovely follows, favorites and reviews! I hope you enjoy the chapter!

DAY ONE HUNDRED THIRTEEN

"Have fun." Mia said smiling as the two visitors handed her a few coins.

The boy and girl, obviously still middle school students, thanked her and stepped into their classroom with a few laughs and wonders how it'll be. The orange-head on the other hand had already sat on the chair in front of her classroom since at least two hours because she didn't want to dress up as a monster.

It wasn't really all interesting or amazing to sit here, greet and invite guests into their made-shift haunted house. But it was still better than to run around in the dark scaring the poor visitors who dared to step into their personal hell without realizing it.

Mia only had to lift her hand, counting her fingers until three. Because then they reached the little turn at the corner which was dark and only lit by an old rusty lantern...one, two...three.

It was surprisingly the boy who screamed first.

The girl started laughing into her hands, hiding her grin as the sound of chaotic steps in the room increased. Every, single, time. It was like clockwork to be honest. And after the first four customers they had, the message spread and more and more people wanted to check out their room to see what all the fuss was about.

Well, it was no miracle that the people were scared. Not if they had the very personification of fear itself hiding somewhere in the dark.

The door of the classroom was forcefully pushed open. She had expected to see the two middle school students who had turned around immediately to get out of the haunted house but instead of two young teenagers it was the very tall teen who had become the attraction of their horror cabinet.

Aomine's expression was hard. His gaze narrowed as he frowned at nothing in particular. Although the air around was already enough to knock out the breath out of your lungs, it was heavy and sizzling with anger. No wonder, she mused. He hadn't wanted to be part of the haunted house. It had been Satsuki who had forced him into this role along with the whole class who saw their chance to use his scariness for profit.

Mia could only grin.

"Thanks for the hard work."

The basketball player turned to her, sneering at her delighted expression as he closed the door behind him. His feet dragged him towards her other side where an empty chair awaited him, giving him enough space to just fall down and lean back.

"I hate this."

"But you're pretty good at this."

"Shut up."

Aomine narrowed his eyes at the girl beside him, tugging at the bloodied gloves he wore. They fitted well the torn up suit he had on, something which gave him the image of a dead, cruel murderer. With the natural sharp face he possessed it had become the highlight of their whole haunted house in no time.

Mia handed him a bottle of water she had brought with her, watching him as he took a huge gulp of the drink to satisfy his need for hydration.

"You got a break?"

The teen glanced at her for a second, a single eyebrow lifted into the air.

"I got one now."

Of course, he hadn't asked the class rep if he was allowed to leave the scene. She shouldn't have asked that in the first place but maybe he actually deserved one. Thanks to him, willingly or not, their idea became pretty popular after all. With all the money they earned they would surely get enough together so that the whole class could go out and have fun.

Hopefully not karaoke...Mia sucked at singing.

The girl blinked her thoughts away as another group of visitors appeared. Girls and boys who were probably one or two years younger than her but they talked excitedly about the possibility of ghosts and other creatures who could await them somewhere in the dark classroom. The orange-head smiled and accepted the few Yen they expected as payment.

"Have fun."

She waved after the children who excitedly disappeared in the tiny maze of blackness, they soft giggles and laughter the last thing she heard before they closed the door behind them. Sadly she couldn't count on the chorus of screams anymore Aomine had caused every time when visitors reached his part.

Sighing she leaned onto the table, folding her arms as her gaze wandered from left to right.

"I wonder what the other classes are doing...I'd love to check it out."

The blue haired teen beside her had started to rock the chair he sat on forward and backward, his eyes rolling towards her lazily.

"Then let's go."

Mia twisted her head to the basketball player, staring at his rather calm and bored expression as she tried to make out whether or not he was trying to pull her leg. He made it sound so casual which it probably was. But somehow she feared somewhere in her mind that he was merely trying to mock her somehow.

"I'm not on break though." She muttered.

Aomine snorted at that, the chair he sat on rocked forward and landed on all its legs. It squeaked lightly beneath his weight as he narrowed his sharp eyes at her, obviously not accepting the argument she had offered.

"Me neither but who cares?"

She couldn't help but smile at that.

"Your logic is always so flawless, huh?"

He grinned, pulling off the bloodied gloves before he reached for the permanent marker and paper block beside her. Curiously she leaned towards him, glimpsing at whatever he was messily scribbling down on the paper until she slowly but surely was able to put together the letters and numbers.

"You really think people will just put money into the can and go in?"

The basketball player shrugged with his broad shoulders, putting the cap back onto the marker.

"They ain't me, so, maybe."

Mia laughed and watched her tall classmate shove the can and note towards the edge of the table. He pushed his chair back with his legs as he stood up, the gloves which annoyed him left behind as he quirked a brow at her still sitting form.

"Comin' or not?"

She did hesitate. For a second, where her smile faltered and her mind concluded how many things could go wrong if she just left her position at the entrance of the haunted house. Her dark eyes flickered towards the broad sign above the door, a creation of Sakurai alone she heard, which looked great with the bloody 'H' and its chaotic streaks. Before finally she reached for his abandoned gloves which she laid onto the note as if they were holding the paper in place.

The excuse was weak, but hey, a ghost clerk for a haunted house? Maybe the class rep won't kill her for that creative idea.

"Coming." She confirmed, grinning at the giant who waited impatiently beside the table.

It was amazing how many people had come to visit the festival. There were many families around, middle school students who wanted to check out the academy before they decided that maybe they should aim to get here. Or only people who lived close by and were curious enough to look what the Culture Festival had to offer.

And not to forget all the classes and clubs who had truly put much effort into their projects, the halls and campus were decorated with colorful flags and paper-roses. Posters were glued to the walls to invite the people to visit all the many booths which could be found on the different floors of the academy.

Mia and Aomine had both naturally stopped at a stall outside, buying some fried noodles while they continued their adventurous exploration trip over the campus.

"I wonder how Satsuki-san is doing." The orange-head mumbled before she stuffed a handful of noodles into her mouth.

"As long as she isn't cooking everything is fine."

Mia blinked at him in surprise, the experience and dread in his voice was a bit puzzling.

"Not good?"

"Deadly."

She had to refrain from laughing while there was still some food in her mouth. The girl hid her lips behind the hand which held the chopsticks, her eyes looking up to the teenager who actually snickered at her scrunched up expression.

Thank god, it felt natural to wander around with him like this.

Aomine did receive a few looks here and there thanks to his outfit but if anything, she already got used to that because his height always made him stand out. She followed his long strides through the crowd, glancing around at all the familiar faces of her fellow students and classmates. The scent was amazing, a mix of sweetness and spices which filled the air of the campus. Turning slowly into an orchestra of sound, scent and other sensations.

Noisy and lively.

Just like a Culture Festival was supposed to be.

"Please visit the 1-C!"

Mia jumped a bit startled as a girl approached her in a pink cat costume. The one-suit looked huge and comfy, and with the hood and fitting animal ears it flattered her heart-shaped face nicely.

"We have a fortune telling booth!" She smiled broadly, urging the orange-head to take the flyer.

A bit baffled she accepted the bright pink colored paper, quietly wondering what her costume had to do with that topic. However, she guessed it was more or less only helping her to gain attention and lead customers to their location. But a fortune telling booth...?

Ah.

They forged their class and a club together, Mia had heard about that.

"Thank you, I'll try to come by later."

"Nidori."

Aomine had stopped a few steps ahead of her, twisting around with that familiar hard expression on his face. Hastily the girl bowed her head in thanks to the friendly cat girl, jogging towards the blue haired basketball player who stuffed his now empty hands into his pockets.

"Sorry. So, where do we go to next?"

He shrugged with his shoulders uncaringly. As long as they didn't have to return to the haunted house he didn't really care it seemed. It was enough for Mia to figure out where she wanted to head next to at least. While she finished the last bit of her meal, she pointed towards the building of the second years, her round eyes blinking up towards her tall classmate.

"Let's check out Nanami's booth, they are selling an anthology."

"Aah? Sounds boring."

Mia bumped into his side, narrowing her gaze at the light lopsided grin which was growing on his lips. "It's not boring! And you don't have a better idea either."

"I could go sleep on the roof..."

"The class rep is going to have your head if you disappear for the rest of the day like that."

"I don't care."

He really was a lost cause. It was unbelievable how stubborn a guy could be even if everyone around him was hard working and busy. And he was obviously enjoying her glare judging by the teasing smirk he wore. Mia could hardly imagine what Satsuki already had for disagreements with him over the years. It must have been a true battle sometimes. Eagerly the girl opened her mouth, another useless argument rolling off her tongue until both of them froze at the sound of an object.

Click.

"Want to check out the Photography Club? We're selling all the photos we take later on!"

Too many people.

Mia blinked at the girl to their left who grinned at them with a heavy-looking camera in her hands; a sign was hung around her neck, exposing the location of their club and what they offered. There were too many people outside for someone to have a single conversation in peace.

Awkwardly the orange-head tried to shake her head - a photograph suddenly sounded like evidence for something people shouldn't see, whatever that was that is - but the tall teenager at her side reacted faster. He didn't really reply but grabbed her wrist to escape the photography club member, dragging Mia into the crowd of people.

For the first time she actually agreed with his drastic escape, her wrist easily wiggling out of his tight grip until her hand slipped into his.

She only had to ignore her heartbeat which picked up its pace as his fingers closed around hers, tightening their hold as the two of them rushed with a wave of people into the building. Leaving the slightly confused girl without a second thought behind.

It suddenly felt like hide-and-seek.

Stupid, really.

But Mia couldn't help but grin as both of them stepped quickly into a room as they saw their class rep walking down the hall. It happened without a question or a word. Their gazes recognized the familiar high pony tail of the brunette, her glasses shining in the sunlight and just like that they rushed into a colorful room which was darkened softly by drawn curtains.

The orange-head breathed in relief as she quickly turned around and saw their classmate pass the room they found themselves in. Her hand gave Aomine's a squeeze of assurance, a sign that they were safe until both of them nearly jumped into the air once more. They were startled by another person who had appeared out of nowhere, swinging a colorful staff into their faces.

Mia nearly yelped out of surprise, her body flung back by the basketball player who actually pushed her back out of reflex. Although it was actually laughable. All what had scared them was a small girl who wore a purple coat, the stick which was nothing but a plastic toy with a pink star on its tip.

"Are you here to hear your special fortune?"

"What?" Aomine barked in annoyance, his frown only softening as Mia found the strength to tug at his arm.

"Sorry, what?" She repeated once more.

The girl pointed at the pink flyer in her hand, her droopy eyes wandering from the object to the teenagers who still hadn't calmed completely down from their heart attack yet. The orange-head scanned the paper in her free hand, ghosting over the content before the dreaded blush, she had avoided all day, creeped into her face.

'Special fortune of the Day - Love!'

No.

No. No. No. No.

No.

Mia didn't need that. Oh, why had they used this room as a hiding spot and no other? She could feel her hand start to sweat which still held onto Aomine's. The grip she had actually already forgotten felt suddenly so foreign once more and she would have loved to just quickly pull away and laugh it off if her limbs hadn't suddenly tensed up as she realized how this all looked like.

"Uh, no, no. No." Mia stammered helplessly. "Thanks, but. No, I, uh..."

Aomine's heavy gaze landed on her, his forehead set in wrinkles at her sudden change of mood but the girl beside him couldn't help but feel embarrassed. Tugging weakly at their joined hands she urged him to leave with her. As long as he didn't notice what she had noticed...then maybe she was still able to walk around with her head held high instead of buried beneath tons of sand to suffocate herself.

"Let's go."

The basketball player let her lead, his glare aimed at the unknown girl behind them who still swung her staff childishly around. It wasn't like he really wanted to stay there either even though he didn't understand why she had suddenly felt the need to get out of the room so fast.

Mia pulled him successfully out of the booth nevertheless, biting her tongue in hope the stinging pain would get rid of the blush which clung to her cheeks. That was just her tough luck, wasn't it? The moment where she actually accepted something as silly as that the whole world tried to mock her for it.

"It's all 'go'!"

What?

The basketball player and Mia came to a halt, turning around to the girl in the purple cape who formed a big 'o' with her tiny arms above her head.

"Your fortune is all 'go'!"

"The hell is she talking about?" Aomine grumbled.

"I...I wonder...?"

Quirking his brow he bent down to the orange haired girl, his navy colored eyes staring intently at her glowing face. He wasn't grinning for a second, or frowning. He was only staring at her openly in the hallway while a few people walked past them, talking excitedly about the stalls and classrooms they were visiting next.

"What?" Mia mumbled.

Aomine didn't reply, his gaze merely flickered to her lips as they moved but afterwards he locked their gazes once more. For her it wasn't really helping that he was so close, every time he invaded her personal space as if it was nothing. Tactless and egocentric as ever. Breaking walls with a swift movement like this while still appearing nonchalant about it. Mia could go on and on about his flaws.

But his expression twisted suddenly into a frown as he saw something in the corner of his eyes.

"Shit, the class rep." He muttered beneath his breath, tugging at their hands to force her to move. "Come on."

May the hide-and-seek begin once more.