I need to post this before I do something stupid and get the content deleted AGAIN :/ Word of advice (mainly to myself): don't ever leave the FFN doc tab open on an iPad after writing and then go on a computer later to write some more. Chances are, you are gonna go on the iPad again, and pulling up the doc tab there will cause the page to RELOAD... and BAM, it will reload/restore the doc to what it was before the addition from the computer (which had 1k+ more words btw, I had to rewrite it T-T)

You live and you learn... Ur author is an idiot lol.

Disclaimer: All canon characters and canon events belong to Fujimaki Tadatoshi.

.

.

.

SPARK

.

.

.

On the other side of the duo, two familiar models trailed a distance away. Kise had picked up a baseball cap from a store to better conceal himself, both for the fans and his targets. Similarly, his spy partner donned sunglasses and a heavy scarf to cover her lower face. Since it was near winter, their getup didn't stick out like a sore thumb, but their sketchy behavior did cause a few heads to turn.

"Aomine-cchi didn't see us, did he?" Kise peeked out from the telephone pole he was hiding behind, only to see the two still walking down the street.

"He didn't look this way I think?" Saeko observed. Deep down, she was actually finding this wild goose chase kind of entertaining; trying to get closer to Kise aside, it really was a better alternative to the coffee shop. Still, she didn't get his infatuation with such a plain girl who was with someone else on a date... Presumably.

"Kise-kun, can I ask you a question about this 'Aomine-cchi' guy?"

"What about him?" The reply was disgruntled and quick.

She had found it odd that for someone who was literally triggered by the presence of the tanned male being near Tomoko to address him so familiarly. If they were friends, then wouldn't what Tomoko was doing count as breaking apart a friendship? That got her thinking. "What's your relation with him?" she asked.

"Hm... I admire Aomine-cchi. He's sort of a friend and inspiration for me," Kise admitted, his golden eyes shone with reminiscence before a cold look overtook it. However, it went unnoticed by Saeko.

"Okuma-san is the common interest, then?" she wondered with some bite to her tone. "Or is she already with him…?" When the blonde didn't reply, she mistook his silence for confirmation and boldly continued. "If she has feelings for your friend, wouldn't you want the best for them if you're not meant to be? I'd give up."

Kise stared at the girl, "Give up?" When she nodded, a laugh then escaped from his lips. "Please don't say something so blatantly hypocritical, Yamanaka-chan."

The beautiful girl looked both offended and nervous, so Kise went on with a cheery grin.

"Even after knowing that my heart is with another, you're still willing to pursue and get my attention in any way possible. Isn't that why you were willing to put up with my behavior and suggest that we follow them?" he looked down on the tight-lipped model. "In the same way, even if what you thought about Aomine-cchi and Kuma-cchi were true, I'd still fight for her. I guess we're not so different."

"Why... Why won't you acknowledge my feelings?" Saeko bit out in frustration, stepping closer to the male with a determined stare. "What does she have that I don't? She's a nobody! I can ruin her with the reputation I have—"

"I don't know what your impression of me is, but I'll tell you this… I don't like you, and I'm not that nice to people I don't respect," Kise leaned towards her with a dangerous smile. The aura around him conveyed a clear threat: offenders better think twice before speaking ill of Tomoko.

"..."

He could see that she was deeply affected by his words; her eyes were brimming with angry, unshed tears as she gripped onto the strap of her designer purse. He tilted his head, "Did I make you hate me now, Yamanaka-chan? Perhaps you don't even want to work with me anymore?"

"I'm..." Saeko bit her lips. "I'm not backing out from this project! But I'll take my leave now."

Kise didn't stop her as she called for her driver to pick her up one street over. When she hung up, she looked back at him with a sad, but hard gaze. "I guess you're right. We aren't different at all," she pointed to the couple they were trailing. Aomine had said something that made Tomoko laugh. "Like me, you'll never get her to look your way when there's someone else."

With that, she left without giving Kise a chance to say anything else. He stood silent for a while, his phone in hand. A text from his manager popped up on the screen but he paid no mind to it. He scrolled down his contacts list to click on Tomoko's profile instead, and it sent him to their most recent message.

It was just a simple request from him last night to talk to her on the phone, to which she had allowed and they ended up conversing for two hours. He loved to hear the caramel haired girl's voice, and talking to her soothed his mind and soul. Pulling down his cap, he turned the opposite way with a huff.

You're wrong, Yamanaka Saeko.

Tomoko did pay attention to him, but her attention was also split amongst his former teammates. He was just going to have to win Tomoko's heart first.

Tch, I knew it.

Aomine had been wondering why he kept feeling that there was someone following them since leaving Maji Burger. He had seen flashes of golden hair from the corner of his eyes, but hadn't been able to pin a target until now. When he looked back, he had seen Kise talking to a good looking ravenette before she stormed off. He wanted to know why the two was trailing behind him, and why the blonde suddenly changed directions.

Though, to prevent Tomoko from getting entangled with the blonde, he steered her towards the direction of a shoe store up ahead. "I'm gonna find a bathroom. Go in first."

"Ok—"

Aomine slipped away before Tomoko could finish and she giggled, looks like an emergency. As she walked towards the store, she was suddenly pulled into an alley by a rough hand. "Hey! Wha..." At first, she thought it was Aomine playing a prank on her, but her voice caught in her throat when she realized who was leering down at her, along with two others.

"Remember me, baby?"

"I should've known you were sharp enough to sense my presence," the blonde said good naturedly when Aomine caught up to him; he was no Kuroko Tetsuya, after all. The model peeked around the tanned male, "Where's Kuma-cchi?"

Aomine ignored his question and crossed his arms. They haven't really talked since Interhigh, not since the match between them, so the air was tense to say the least. "Why were you following us?"

"To check if Kuma-cchi is safe in your hands, of course," Kise replied, his smile pulling into a straight line. "Which I can see that she's not since you carelessly abandoned her to come find me."

An irked scowl appeared on the tanned miracle's face. "Oi, I was keepin' her away from a creep like you," he said, looking at the direction that Saeko had went. "You and your little girlfriend have a fight?"

Kise didn't let it show that the word 'girlfriend' had made him flinch internally. It was widely known within his basketball team that the one girlfriend he had in middle school played and left him for someone else, namely Haizaki.

If there was one thing he despised more than Aomine always being better than him in basketball, it was Haizaki Shougo's vile personality. After he had replaced the former small forward in Teiko, Haizaki never stopped causing problems for him. Stealing his ex-girlfriend was one of those problems—though he supposed that the girl only dated him for his fame as a model. That was the year he realized that getting serious with a girl would only drag him down... Then his mind immediately flashed to Tomoko.

"Kise-kun, you can do it! I believe in you!"

She wasn't like the other girls who only saw him as something special because he was good looking and a model. It wasn't every day that he gets to meet someone as genuine as her; someone who made him doubt his actions and want to be better. He'd be a fool to let her be charmed by someone else.

"Aomine-cchi," he turned to the tanned miracle with a serious expression overtaking his features. "I know you have feelings for Kuma-cchi as well... You may be superior than me in manys ways in basketball, but when it comes to her, I refuse to lose."

Aomine was taken aback at his sudden confession, but he recovered quickly. "Tch. So what if I do? You make it seem like it's only between us. Are you only afraid of me and not the others?"

"No. I'm aware of their feelings as well, and I'll respect Kuma-cchi's ultimate choice," he clarified, and then his golden orbs darkened. "But I'm not mature enough to stop fighting for her attention until the very end, especially against you."

Silence passed between the two miracles as they stared intently in each others' eyes. "Heh... I guess I ain't mature enough to back down either," Aomine said at last. Their tremendous clashing spirit could be measured tantamount to the day of their match. As their eyes passed on their silent emotions, the tension between them slowly dissipated.

"Come to think of it," Aomine then drawled with a smirk. "You never did beat me once in basketball. How do you know this won't be any different?"

"It will be..." the blonde shot back an equally taunting smirk. Then he pulled down an eye childishly and started running to the direction of where Tomoko would be, "After I go and sweep Kuma-cchi off her feet!"

"...Like hell you will!" the tanned miracle grumbled, pulling the suddenly-happy model by the collar of his jacket. I ain't letting you butt in between us! The two engaged in a small wrestling match to get ahead of each other, but a sudden cry made them stop dead in their tracks.

"Get your hands—MUMPH!"

They exchanged an alarmed look. Tomoko!

Tomoko glared hard at Eizan as she tried to twist her head away from one of his lackey's hand that was pushing down on her mouth to keep her quiet. They had each grabbed one of her arms and pulled her further into a different alley. During the struggle, she dropped her bag.

It wasn't a far walk, she realized, when they stopped at an abandoned looking storage space. Eizan then motioned for the guy to uncover her mouth as he sat down on a crate.

"I honestly wasn't expecting to see your cute face again," he stated with a snort, "but you quite literally bumped into me. I'm hurt you didn't say hi."

At first, Tomoko didn't know what the hell he was talking about, but then she understood. He must have been the one sitting at the table at Maji Burger, and now he was armed with two others.

"Even so, I was gonna let it slide... But then I saw that pretty boy walk past and it made me remember our nasty encounter last time."

Kise-kun is nearby? Tomoko's salmon eyes darted around her surroundings. Eizan's two lackeys were rough and mean looking; if they ambushed the blonde, she wasn't sure he would be able to make it out unscathed. She needed steer them away from harming anyone. Glancing at the entrance of the building, she saw that it wasn't blocked off. Seeing that the three who kidnapped her were all brawn and no brain, if she could just make a run for it at the right time...

"What do you want?" she asked carefully, her heart pounding. This was just like deja vu.

"To get back at him for hurting my wrist," Eizan lifted up his once-injured hand. "An eye for an eye!"

The engines in Tomoko's brain was turning; she needed a distraction, and fast. "And how are you going to do that?"

"You're gonna call him over, of course. Or you do you prefer staying here alone and keeping us company?"

She winced in disgust at the male and went silent. The two options he gave her were both not ideal, but what can she do? She suddenly got an idea and looked at Eizan with pleading eyes. "...If I call him, you'll let me go?"

He let out a loud laugh, "I didn't take you for someone who would give up someone so easily. You're gonna break pretty boy's heart, but I like that!" He motioned for the two to let her go and he stepped in front of her, his fingers coming out to caress her chin, "Call him."

Tomoko let out a shaky breath and reached into her back pocket. She gave it a few panicking seconds before looking back up at Eizan, who still had his fingers curled firmly on her chin. "I-I think I dropped my phone somewhere..."

The male scowled and one of his lackeys suddenly spoke up, "She did drop her bag back at that alley. Want me to go check?" He nodded and the guy dashed off. Looking back at Tomoko, he relished in the nervous look she sported.

He motioned for the other guy to grab a crate over from behind him. "You're almost shaking. Needa seat?" he leaned down to her level with a lecherous smirk.

Now! This was her chance!

"I think..." she started to say, leaning her head back slightly before lurching it forward with her eyes shut. "You're the one who needs a seat!"

BAM!

"Fucking HELL!"

The force of her headbutt was so great that Eizan lost balance and tumbled backwards straight into the other guy. They both slammed to the ground and the wooden crate broke into pieces. Tomoko cupped her forehead and hissed in pain, but she quickly took her chance and ran out.

"Don't let her fucking get away!"

She could hear footsteps behind her, and while she was a bit disoriented, she tried to follow the sound of cars on the street to get out of the alley first. Looking left then right, she made an educated guess and ran right—right into Kise.

"Kuma-cchi!? Where have you been? Are—Are you okay?!" He only then saw the nasty red and purple swell peeking out from behind the girl's fringes and her pained expression. "Kuma-cchi?!"

Instead of responding, she pulled on his sleeve urgently, "R-Run!" Without another word, Kise took her hand and ran—he could ask what happened later. Right now, he needed to find Aomine in case there was danger. Taking another turn down the twist of alleys, they luckily found the tanned miracle. However, he was preoccupied with his own problem. Rather, he just took care of the problem with a rough punch to the face.

"I'll ask you again. Why do you have her bag?" he lifted the injured guy's collar, ready to throw another punch when Tomoko yelled out his name. He turned, allowing the guy to run away, and widened his eyes at the sight before him. "Okuma!"

At this time, Eizan and his other lackey had caught up to the girl and the blonde. His eyes showed rage as his forehead also sported a nasty red bump. They were both gripping a broken piece of plank wood, ready to swing. Aomine stood up and glared at the intruders as Kise immediately pulled Tomoko behind him.

"Call Megumi-cchi for me, okay? She'll sort this out," the blonde told her softly, pushing his phone into her hands. She winced slightly and nodded.

"Are you the ones that did this to her?" Aomine barked, taking a threatening step towards Eizan and his lackey. Tomoko could see that he was beyond angry. They swung at him, but with lightening speed, the plank wood was kicked out of their hands. A fight immediately broke out in the alley.

Even without seeing the fight, she knew that without weapons to assist these thugs, it was a losing fight against two very athletic basketball players.

"...Didn't I tell you that the next time you touch her, I'll break your hand?"

Tomoko vaguely made out Kise's voice, and then a cry. After making the call, she felt extremely dizzy and had to lean against the wall for support. She wanted to stop the fighting, but she found that she had no energy to even open her mouth...

The last thing she heard was the two miracles' worried shouts.

.

thirty-six

tough luck

.

"...Checked for a concussion... if any, it's very minor. Just... away from bright lights and loud noises... few days. As for the bruise on her forehead, apply ointment... away in a week..."

Tomoko zoned the conversation in and out before she opened her eyes. Her hand went up to touch the white bandage on her forehead. She wasn't dizzy anymore, but her head was still heavy from the injury. When her teammates noticed that she was awake, they quickly piled into the small room.

"Okuma-chan!" Koganei and the other first years cried. Kuroko walked over to the side of the bed and helped her sit up.

"You're all here...? How long was I out for?"

"The doctor said two hours, but thankfully it's not that serious. We came as soon as Kise called us," Riko answered as she made her way to the front of the crowd. She frowned at the bandage on the girl's head, "He told us everything. You seriously head-butted the guy?"

"...Yeah," Tomoko said sheepishly at the coach's disapproving sigh and grinned. "But I'm okay though! Right?"

"You call this okay?!" Kagami scowled incredulously.

"Tomoko-san, your injury could've been worse," Kuroko agreed. "Please don't do anything like this again."

"...Sorry..."

"On the bright side, it must've been a killer head-butt, huh?" Alex tried to brighten up the atmosphere. "On par with the American football team!"

"Alex!"

"Ack!" the busty blonde ate a mouthful of the redhead's basketball jacket. "Okay! Sorry, geez! I told you not to throw clothes at me, Taiga!"

The rest of the guys sighed, and Tomoko could see that they were all truly worried for her. It must've been scary to learn that she was unconscious and sent to the hospital, especially since they were already high on tension during game season. She slowly got out of the bed, "Oh! Is Kise-kun and Aomine-kun okay?" She was worried that they got injured during the fight, too.

"Aomine-kun went down to the police station to turn the thugs in," Kuroko replied. "And Kise-kun was dragged away by his manager earlier."

The police station? Tomoko widened her eyes. Wouldn't he also get in trouble for hitting the thugs? And Kise; it would be bad if the media got wind of this...

Sensing her panic, the blue haired shadow set a hand gently on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze. "They won't get in trouble because it was in self defense. Also, Aomine-kun's father is the chief of police and Kise-kun's manager had already talked to him."

"R-Really?" she sighed in relief.

"Yeah, so don't lose any more brain cells worrying about it, got it?" A new voice said by the door. Seirin looked over and saw Aomine leaning against the wall with a puffy-faced Momoi attached to his side.

"K-Kuma-chan!" the pink haired girl sobbed and ran up to Tomoko, embracing her in a gentle hug. "I'm so glad you're okay! It's all my fault!" Tomoko patted the girl's back, trying to reassure her that it wasn't her fault and that she was perfectly okay, but Momoi continued to cry.

"She's been like this since you got to the hospital," Aomine rolled his eyes, but his face showed worry as well. "I don't even know who cried harder, her or..." he muttered. Footsteps rushed down the hallway, and then...

"Kuma-cchi!" Kise appeared from the door, followed by his exasperated manager. "How are you feeling?!"

Tomoko turned her head towards the tearful blonde and smiled since she couldn't move her arms from under Momoi's hug. "I'm fine! Just a, um, sore head?"

"Sore head? Perhaps your head injury messed with your language skills," another deep voice traveled from the door in an almost chiding manner. His hawk eyed companion also popped his head out from behind and nudged him for being so harsh. "...But it seems that you are okay."

"Midorima-kun!" she blinked in surprise to see the green haired miracle here as well, since he probably just finished his game not long ago. "Why are you here, too...?"

"I was simply in the area."

Takao chuckled and slapped the tall male's back before bouncing over to the girl. "Shin-chan just won't admit that he wanted to see if you're okay. He even went to get you a little get-well gift—"

"Her lucky item," Midorima defended immediately. In his left hand was a small plastic carton of blueberries. "Libras have the worst luck today."

"Geez, who invited all you people?" Kagami grumbled loudly, eyes scanning the large amount of people cramped in the small hospital room, but mostly just at the bothersome miracles and their sidekicks. Aomine snorted besides him.

"What crawled up your ass and died?"

His eyes twitched and he took a step towards the miracle, but was stopped by Alex when she wrapped an arm around his neck. "Okay, enough of that. We should leave before that nice nurse over there kicks us out." True to her words, there was a nurse walking over towards them, a clipboard in her hands.

"Patient Okuma Tomoko?" she walked over to Tomoko and quickly gave her a once-over. Being sure that the girl was fine, she checked off the boxes on her sheet and nodded at the group of people surrounding her. "She's good to go," the nurse confirmed, then she smiled back at Tomoko. "You're lucky to have so many people around you who care about you. Have a good night."

After the nurse left, Tomoko turned to her dearest teammates and friends, who all looked at her expectantly with joy and relief. She cracked a smile as well.

Yeah... I am lucky!

It was dark by the time they were out of the hospital. As winter drew nearer, the days was getting shorter and shorter. A loud ringtone then sounded and everyone looked at Kise, whose hand shot to his back pocket and answered the call. There was a muffled shout from the other end and the model's face paled. It was from his captain, and the man was not very happy that he had skipped practice.

His manager, Megumi, could only sigh and rub the bridge of her nose. She knew the model's schedule, of course, and she knew he was extremely late to Kaijo's practice. After letting him sulk comically for a few minutes, she finally offered him a ride back to Kanagawa in her car.

"Good luck, Kise-kun," Tomoko encouraged when the blonde walked past her. She gave him a gentle smile, "And thank you. I'm glad you and Aomine-kun didn't get hurt today."

You're saying thank you when you're the one who saved me today, Kuma-cchi... Kise felt his stomach tighten at her warmth. He wanted to tell her right then and there of his feelings for her, but he knew it wouldn't be fair to the girl to put her on the spot with so many people around. But he was a selfish person by nature, so instead, he leaned in with his hot breath tickling her ear, whispering so only she could hear.

"Please wait for me, okay?"

He could see that she was confused at what he meant, and he was proud of the blush that produced from her cheeks. Soon... At his manager's impatient command to hurry up, he let her go and threw the rest of the gang a handsome grin. "I'll see you guys later~" he waved and left in his manager's car.

"...What was that about?" Furihata asked, to which no one responded. Riko then cleared her throat.

"Alright... Let's head home and review the data on Nakamiya South," she said and then turned to Tomoko. "Except you, Okuma-chan. You need rest."

Tomoko wanted to retort, but at the stern look that the coach was giving her, she sighed in defeat. "Fine..."

"Ah, while you guys do that, allow me to borrow this guy for awhile," Alex suddenly said. She reached over and pulled Kagami to her chest. "I promise to return him safely in time for your next game."

"Eh? Well, okay," Riko blinked. She decided not to question the woman since she knew what she was doing. Altering seeing the abilities of one of the Generation of Miracles at play today, she must have found a way train the redhead more effectively. "We'll go ahead then."

They parted ways with the redhead and his master, and coincidentally, was heading the same way as Midorima and Takao. "Hey, aren't you guys missing your phantom sixth man?" the hawk eyed male said with a close-eyed grin. When the guys looked around with shock, he cracked up incredulously. "What... You guys seriously didn't notice!"

"Tetsuya-kun has a weak presence," Tomoko defended for her team, but she too was curious as to where her blue haired friend went without a sound.

"Come to think of it..." Koganei piped as he scratched the side of his head. "I saw him talking to Aomine before we walked out, but now both of them are gone... Momoi-san, too. Where did they go?"

"You did mention somethin' about calling me out tonight..."

Aomine shoved his hands in his jean pockets and looked back at the quiet shadow. They had just parted ways with Momoi, who had sensed that they needed time alone, and was now walking down the sidewalk by shops that were closing. "So what is it that you need, Tetsu?"

Kuroko returned his look with a serious one. "Let me be direct, then. Aomine-kun..." Besides them, cars passed by and illuminated the street with bright colors and made the shadow's sapphire eyes contain more depth than usual.

"Teach me to shoot."

"Why him?"

At Izuki's question, Riko furrowed her brows in thought. She had asked the blue haired boy the exact same question when he told her about his plan in training for the next few days. "He said that as far as he knows, Aomine-kun is the best," she replied before turning her head towards the green haired miracle. "I'm sure it was of no offense towards you."

"None taken," Midorima answered coolly. "Kuroko has a terrible shooting percentage. It would be a lost cause if I tried to teach him... Aomine's formless style is what he needs."

All of Seirin nodded their heads silently in agreement. They also understood that while that may be true, even if all went well during their next two games and they face Yosen, will the few days of training really do anything for Kuroko?

"Will he be okay?" Hyuuga had worry etched on his face. He wasn't one to rely on luck, and it seemed like they were really trying to push it.

"Combined with the shooting training Kuroko-kun has been receiving from my dad after the preliminaries..." Riko looked at her team with confidence. "He should be alright."

Teppei nodded. "In any case, he has to master it sooner than later for future battles. We can't rely on just a single one of his abilities too much or it will use its usefulness."

Kuroko has used the drive on us a few times and Aomine broke the drive altogether, but once he is able to shoot, a whole new domain of possibilities are opened up to Seirin, Midorima thought to himself. It made sense, but he was conflicted about one thing. Akashi must have known this back in Teiko, too...

"You guys just beat Aomine in a match though," Takao mused at the idea, "Is he really willing to teach Kuroko so freely?"

"I don't think that will be a problem," it was Tomoko who gave the hawk eyed player a small grin. "Aomine-kun seemed to be eager to play again," she said, thinking back to this morning. As her thoughts trailed off to the two former partners, she suddenly grew somber. Truth to be told, she was slightly hurt that Kuroko didn't mention the training sessions he has been attending. They were close, so she didn't like to be kept in the dark.

Soon, the team and the partners from Shutoku reached a crossroad. Koganei, Mitobi, and Fukuda exchanged goodbyes as they split to the left while Izuki, Hyuuga, and the other two first-years headed right. Tsuchida also bid them goodbye since he needed to stop by a convenience store on his way home.

"I can walk you home if you'd like, Okuma-chan," Teppei offered when they walked further. He knew usually Kagami or Kuroko always walked the girl home, but since they were both gone, it was getting late and she was injured, it was only the right thing to do as her senior.

Tomoko shook her head, "You should walk Riko-san home. She lives farther away than me."

"I'll be fine," Riko waved off dismissively.

"Eh?" the center seemed torn as the caramel haired manager made a good point. "Then I'll walk you both home! It's late."

"...That'll have you walking across town, senpai."

"Tomo-chan can walk with us then," Takao offered in rescue. "I'm sure Shin-chan doesn't mind. Right?" He nudged the miracle, to which he received a small 'hn' in reply. Linking arms with Tomoko, he saluted Teppei and Riko, "Yup! We'll make sure she gets home safe~"

At the girl's added reassuring smile, the two upperclassmen went on their way. As soon as they left, Takao let go of Tomoko's arm and pouted.

"I just remembered I also have to stop at the convenience store. Walk home with Shin-chan, okay?"

"Oh," Tomoko blinked before nodding with understanding.

Damn you, Takao, Midorima thought with a twitch.

Thank me later, Shin-chan~ Takao sniggered as he left the two behind. "See ya!"

Tomoko waved and turned back her last companion. They started walking for awhile, and though the miracle was quiet, she didn't mind. She went to open the carton of blueberries taste the mellow-sweetness. When she saw that he was watching her, she paused mid-delivery to her mouth.

"Um, is it okay to eat a lucky item...?"

"You may do whatever you please with it."

"Then..." she offered him one with a smile. "Will you like to share with me?"

Midorima stared at her cute expression for a moment before taking the fruit and looked away quickly. "Thanks."

"I know you're gonna say that it was a given Shutoku would win today, but still, congratulations. I'm sorry I couldn't come see you guys play, though," she said softly, her hand coming up subconsciously to touch the white bandage. The miracle suddenly stopped walking, causing her to pause as well and look back at him. "Midorima-kun?"

"Why do you always put others before yourself?" he asked abruptly.

"Eh?"

"You were sent to the hospital and yet you are apologizing for not attending a pointless match."

Tomoko grew angry at his choice of wording and furrowed her brows. "I don't think it's pointless at all," she looked up at his burning emerald eyes. "I enjoy watching you and the other miracles play because you guys are so good. I also enjoy seeing others have fun at the sport they love while they are playing against their opponents, so it's not pointless!"

"That should be the least of your worries at the moment because you are hurt," he retorted, taking a forceful step towards her. "What part of that do you not understand?"

"I have a bruised forehead, not crippled! It's not even that bad, so I don't understand why you care so—"

"I care because you are important to me!" he shot back, stunning her to silence. There, he said it. If Takao was present to witness his uncharacteristic outburst, the male would've had a field day for sure because he spent so much time and energy banking on the fact that he had feelings for Seirin's little manager. But the 'feeling' Midorima had for Tomoko wasn't what Takao thought it was. It wasn't even what he himself thought it was.

Not many girls caught Midorima's eyes in the past, most because the lot of them in Teiko were too preppy or too immature. He was always drawn to older, more mature girls simply because of the way they think and carried themselves. When he compared what he thought of Tomoko with his ideal type, it was a different feeling. She has undeniably become an important figure in his life, but he was not sure that was love. He cared for her, but was it in a romantic way?

Maybe it will be one day, but for now... He was not willing to take that step.

"If Kuroko, Kagami, or any of your teammates got hurt, would you care about that more than anything else?" he asked her, this time his voice was softer. She nodded slowly, eyes downcast. "That is what I want you to understand."

"I'm sorry... For yelling at you..." she mumbled, her lowered head just inches from his chest. Midorima's taped fingers lingered above her momentarily before he rubbed her head gently. A warm feeling filled the girl's heart and she leaned towards it, "Thank you for caring, Midorima-kun."

You're welcome, the miracle thought with a small smile. "Come, I still have to walk you home."

It took a second for Tomoko to compose herself again, but she nodded with a rosy blush and walked next to the taller male. Today was such a long day full of confusing signals... And feelings...

What was happening to her?

EXTRA:

Late in the night, Tomoko slept and rolled over slightly in her bed, burying her face into the soft material of her Keroppi plush. Laying next to her head, her phone buzzed lightly with a notification.

...

From: Aomine Daiki

To: Okuma Tomoko

Goodnight, Chibi. Dream of me ;)

(01:05)

...

It buzzed again, and this time she grumbled softly in her sleep.

...

From: Aomine Daiki

To: Okuma Tomoko

Shit. Was tryna be smooth but I realized ur probably already asleep...

(01:06)

...

the romance cruise is sailing so plz remember to feed the fish (reviews)~!

/honestly who is aomine lmao n just imagine canon!aomine'sdad as chief of police woah