Another day, another chapter.

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I hope you won't mind the little time jumps I'm going to take because the Winter Cup is really far away but the events which occur around that time are so important. I want to cover them as well. And I do hope that the pace of this chapter fits, I got a little bit uncertain by the end - but the fluffiness needed to be written, haha.

Thanks for all the follows, favorites and reviews! You guys are amazing!

DAY SEVENTY FIVE

"It's his what?"

Satsuki pressed her hands together, smiling sheepishly at the girl in front of her with her pleading big round eyes. Even as a girl herself, there was no way Mia wouldn't realize how much of a natural beauty her fellow student was. Her charm was overflowing and maybe even a bit manipulative, whether the basketball club manager was aware of it or not.

"His sixteenth birthday. He hates celebrations...but I just can't not do anything!"

The orange-head glanced at a few students which passed them in the hallway in front of her classroom, she hadn't really expected to hear this from the girl in front of her. But that damn basketball player had never uttered a single word about his birthday coming up like this. Now she actually felt a bit guilty for not congratulating him in any way.

"Well...what am I supposed to do?"

Satsuki's eyes lit up, her smile growing in size as she grasped Mia's hands.

"I've already talked to his parents, I want to throw a little party - with cake and all that. Sakurai-kun is going to help me decorate...so I need someone who keeps him busy until then."

"You say that as if it's easy..." Mia mumbled doubtfully.

"Come on, Mi-chan! Please."

It should be called an extreme sport to say 'no' to Momoi Satsuki. It was close to being impossible, no, it was impossible. There was just something about her which made her so endearing, whether she was asking or demanding for something and Mia found herself quickly lulled in by the warm smile and rosy-red orbs which twinkled in delight.

"...alright, fine. Okay. Keep him busy...I can do that, I guess." Mia gave in defeated. "For how long?"

"I'll text you!" Satsuki quickly gushed."This will be great."

"Yeah...great..."

But even though she had said she'd distract him...she didn't know how she was supposed to do that. The pink haired girl made it sound so simple. There was nothing easy if the basketball player was involved. He always found a way to complicate it somehow. One way or another. However, Satsuki was quick to disappear afterwards, waving goodbye before she turned around the corner, down the hall to return to her classroom.

So...how was she supposed to do this?

"Hah?"

Aomine quirked his brow, his eyes studying her with such an intensity which made her fidget on her chair. Right. It sounded weird. She should've said something else. Stupid Satsuki, stupid plan. Stupid birthday. She could already feel the blood creep into her face, her gaze slowly wandering to the blackboard in front of them to escape his stare.

"It's a spin-off...I...I just thought, because we got stuck at the dragon that it would be cool to check it out..."

Maybe she should have proposed to play basketball. It was a lot easier to get him to agree if it was about the sport...instead she had told him about the game at the arcade she had seen, as she was in the shopping district with Nanami. It was a simple battle game, character versus character, but it was about the video game they had started to play together.

In her mind it had sounded like good idea.

Now she just felt embarrassed.

"I'm in."

Her dark eyes quickly flickered back to his as she heard his quiet reply. At first she didn't trust her own ears but as she saw the familiar lazy grin crawling onto his lips, she felt relief filling her heart. He had actually said yes. Even though she often disliked his annoying grin, she couldn't help but smile back. And her attention returned to their teacher in the front as she tried to hide her lips behind her hands.

That was a lot easier than she had expected after all.

Nanami was busy after school anyway; her Literature Club had a lot to do since the Culture Festival was slowly closing in on them. And in contrast to other clubs they needed a bit more time to prepare to show off what they had to the visitors. Her parents didn't mind it if she said she was meeting up with a friend instead of going home right after school either.

Mission 'Keep Aomine busy' sounded suddenly possible yet again.

"Ha!" The blue haired teen called out, pumping his fist into the air.

Mia scowled at the screen in front of her, unbelievable how lucky he got by the end of their match. That one move had saved him from losing against her. But even though it was such a close call, she could literally feel his arrogance in the air, growing and growing even though he sat on the other side of the arcade cabinet.

"Rematch, I want a rematch."

She could hear his snicker over the noise of the other people and games, before his head appeared beside the machine. He was such a sore winner, she couldn't help but think. She couldn't let him have this whole triumph, there was no way she would be able to fall asleep tonight if she always had to remember this stupid grin on his face.

"Ya really think you can beat me?"

"I won the round before that!" Mia argued.

Her classmate just loved to forget the times he had lost in something against her. At her statement his grin shrunk even though it didn't disappear completely while his gaze slowly started to wander around the hall they were in. Satsuki still hadn't texted her yet, and they had already played this game for about an hour. Not to forget the time they had needed to even arrive here.

The orange-head wasn't sure how long she was able to keep him busy anymore.

As if he had heard her thoughts, Aomine suddenly chose to stand up, stretching his long legs as he grabbed his school bag. "I ain't risking losing against you again, let's do somethin' else."

The girl couldn't help but laugh quietly at his logic. Slowly, she reached for her bag as well, her eyes traveling through the arcade to look for something else they could play. But there were so many different games from grapplers next to other coin machines. It was hard to decide what you should try out next.

"Any idea?" She asked him instead, craning her neck to look up at him.

"We could go to my place and continue to play the real thing."

At his suggestion Mia's face paled. That was the very thing they shouldn't do! The tall basketball player took her silence as a 'yes' however, and shouldered his bag. He turned away from the game automat they had been playing at, as the orange haired girl quickly grabbed the end of his blazer to keep him from leaving.

Surprised at the sudden force which kept him from moving forward, he glanced over his shoulder. Lifting an eyebrow, he stared at Mia whose face slowly gained more and more color. Her body always had to react faster than her damn mind, hadn't it? It was terrible. What was she supposed to say?

"...already?" She tried helplessly. "I, I mean we could do something else. It's not like we're here everyday..."

At this he turned fully around to her, her grasp on his blazer slipping away as she blinked carefully up to his suddenly expressionless face. Even she knew that she sounded suspicious. It didn't need much to figure out why she didn't want him to go back yet, at least for Mia it sounded more or less obvious. The question was if the same thing applied to her tall classmate.

"What do you wanna do then?" He drawled with the typical lazy slur in his voice.

There was only one thing which popped into her head immediately.

"Get ice cream."

The convenience store wasn't far from the game arcade, the way easily conquered by feet. And after the teenagers had browsed through the aisles - Aomine lingering a bit too long where the magazines were - they stood at the counter to pay the cool treat. It was probably a dull idea, but it was the first one she had and the blue haired basketball player went along with it with a shrug of his broad shoulders.

If only Satsuki would finally sent her a message...

The teens left the store, nibbling at the popsicles as Mia tried to force all the gears in her head to turn and twist. There must be more to do here. It was the shopping district after all. Hell, it was Tokyo! But next to the arcade and several shops she didn't know, what else could be used as a distraction? Looking for clothes? Yeah, right.

Aimlessly, they started to walk down the sidewalk. Fleetingly talking about the spin-off game they had played and their obvious disagreement who was better at it. Aomine was definitely too stubborn to leave her the title as the better gamer, but she didn't mind it as long as he wouldn't propose once more to go to his place.

"I won against a handful of friends in middle school." Mia said confidently, the ice slowly melting in her hand thanks to the late summer heat.

"Tch. They probably just sucked at it. I never lost against my friends."

Curious that their turn of conversations had led them back to his middle school, she chose to try and find out more about it.

"You mean the guy from the summer festival?

"Nah, not four-eyes." Aomine grumbled before he bit off a piece of his popsicle. "I played a lot with Kise back then. And Tetsu."

Surprised Mia stopped walking at once. She had heard that name before. That friend of Satsuki who attended Seirin High, she had known that he must have been friends with her tall classmate as well. But if the bubbly girl had such a high opinion of him, she couldn't help but ask herself why he had never brought him up before. Maybe because it just never came up?

"Nidori."

Aomine had stopped walking as well, his body slightly turned towards her as he furrowed his brow.

"Yeah, sorry."

Quickly, she started moving again. The many strangers on the sidewalk made it a bit hard to catch up, who would have expected that on a Friday afternoon the shopping district was already so busy and full of life? Dodging a stranger here and there she closed in onto her tall classmate whose head was easily spotted by her eyes over the many other people who didn't reach his height.

And as she finally reached him, she could see his frown clearly.

"Just thinking." She said quietly before her eyes fell to the popsicle in her left hand, the cool treat was nearly already finished. "When we're already on a sugar rush...how about some cake?"

Aomine snorted although his frown slowly slipped away. "You sound a lot like someone I know."

"Well, you can never do something wrong with cake, can you?"

The basketball player actually laughed breathlessly at that. He shook his head slightly before he started to walk down the sidewalk once more, his mind set on a store she didn't know yet.

"I know a place." He said while he easily moved against the river of unknown people which moved against their direction.

For the tall basketball player it was easy anyway, she mused. With his stature and appearance no one would want to step into his way voluntary. There surely were quite a handful benefits he had thanks to those attributes which she lacked. Although maybe it wouldn't be really great to be this tall as a girl...in Japan nonetheless, in the western world it was probably easier...

"Come on."

Aomine glimpsed at her over his shoulder, making it sound like as if it was all her fault that she wasn't a walking 'get out of my way' sign like he was.

"I'm trying."

The basketball player frowned slightly, his tongue clicking dissatisfied at the distance which was slowly building up between them thanks to the busy part of the street they had reached. In the end, he surprised her like always, reaching for her hand with his own one. With a single tug he yanked her forward, past an adult who hadn't seen her before until she was walking right behind him.

Mia gasped before she was able to win back her balance after a few unsteady steps, her fingers were clinging onto his hand to not crash onto the pavement in front of so many people. That would be just a terrible, embarrassing situation, she certainly didn't need today. But he never even thought about warning her for once, did he?

His plan though, no matter how simple it was, worked. The atmosphere alone around him felt like a shield against the strangers, no one bumped into them or came too close. It took them a few minutes but in the end, they reached the end of the busy part of the district. Both teenagers came to a halt at the street as the pedestrian lights signaled them red.

If anything, it was all good and nice if it wasn't for the fact that Mia's grip had long ago loosened on his hand while the basketball player still refused to let go completely.

It wasn't like he was clinging on to her hand, the hold he had on her was slack. But it was enough to feel the rough, calloused skin of his palm and fingertips. Something which reminded her faintly of the day she had tried to give him a challenge by tying a handkerchief around his fingers to handicap him. Although this time the situation was completely different. Back then she hadn't even thought or realized how easily a touch could make her nervous.

Speechlessly, she glimpsed at his profile which looked so strangely calm. He didn't even flinch in the slightest while her nerves were frozen in place. His face was a perfect facade for a poker match in contrast to hers.

She...should pull away, right?

Well, it sounded like she should at least.

But the orange-head bit her bottom lip instead as she lowered her chin to hide the crimson colored cheeks she knew she had. Damn him and his stupid...everything. How was she supposed to know what to do, when it was hard to calculate what he was thinking? All he did was teasing and bugging her, his rude and plain comments excluded for a moment. Every time it felt like they were running and he was far ahead of her while she struggled to catch up to him.

Finally, her mobile phone went off, the short melody felt like a life savior who pulled her out of the sea of thoughts in her mind. Carefully, she dug with her free hand through her school bag until she found the certain device, her thumb quickly pressing a few buttons to open the message she had received.

'We're ready!'

About damn time, her heart was dying here!

Mia felt another tug on her hand, the light had changed into a bright green. And as she started walking again, she was able to spot the store the basketball player had mentioned. A big sign above the entrance spoke of a colorful store while the display window showed off a handful of creative creations.

The girl stared at their joint hands in bewilderment, her fingers itching to finally react even though she didn't know what to exactly do either. She knew that Aomine was bronzed, his tanned skin always stood out next to their rather pale classmates. But right now, with her hand in his, it became so painfully clear. The size differed a lot, his long fingers were easily cupping her thin knuckles - her bright skin was nearly disappearing in the tanned cage. A boy's hand was not comparable to a girl's one.

With another jump of her heart into her throat, she narrowed her gaze in determination. Her nerves were finally melting as she flexed her fingers.

She suddenly held onto his hand firmly.

As if to see if she had provoked some kind of reaction out of the teenager, Mia's gaze flew up to his face. But he didn't even respond in the slightest. He blinked, yeah. But the girl couldn't be sure if it was because of her action or if he just blinked at that moment because every damn human on this planet had to blink once in a while.

The only thing she felt was how his hold slowly tightened as well.

Mia's face was probably not recognizable anymore, her forehead was set in wrinkles as she didn't know what to feel or think. On which page of this book were they right now? The same one? Or were they still stuck at complete different chapters?

The orange-head breathed in the air around her, in hope it would calm the turmoil in her head. Aomine wasn't helping her in the slightest as his gaze wandered around the place nonchalant, his attention everywhere except on her.

Although maybe that was good, she decided quietly, because she sure as hell wouldn't know what to do if he'd ask her something right now. She would probably just explode or something. Yeah, that sounded good. Explode and disappear right in an instant.

"Let's buy some chocolate cake..." Mia mumbled instead.

"If it's supposed to be my birthday cake, then I want cherry 'though."

Her body froze as she gaped up at him, her mouth open in shock. The calm expression he carried finally slipped away as a broad grin spread on his lips, showing off his sharp white teeth. He had known! Her mind yelped. He had known the whole time that she knew - how much did he know? Had he been laughing behind her back all this time?

"How! You-"

Aomine snickered, his blue orbs staring at the display window of the cake shop in front of them instead. The orange-head couldn't help but do the same, but instead of really looking at the sweet and colorful cakes which were shown behind the thin glass, all she could see was their reflection.

His smug grin was still in place.

"Satsuki sucks at keeping secrets. Seriously."

Mia groaned, her embarrassment suffocating her as she crouched down. Her legs suddenly felt like jelly, all what she had been doing was for naught. He had known from the start that she had been trying to distract him, entertaining her obliviousness while he probably had to keep himself from laughing at her silly antics. Oh, how she hated him for that.

"Ahomine." She cursed to herself, pressing her free hand against her face to hide her flushed skin.

Mia could feel how the teenager crouched down next to her, the two of them probably receiving a few strange glances here and there, because they were still on the sidewalk in public. And even through her hold had loosened because all her muscles were fading, she believed, he still didn't let go.

"This is all so stupid..." She mumbled into the palm of her hand.

"I had fun."

At the sound of his deep voice, she found the strength to glimpse at his face which was right next to hers. The hand she had used to somehow hide her face from anyone's eyes slipped slowly away, as she narrowed her eyes sulkily at the damn grin he still wore on his face. Of course, he thought this was all funny. That stupid, arrogant jerk. He had known. He had known all this damn time.

"You're blushing." He pointed out.

Yeah, rub salt into the wound. As if it wasn't bad enough that she was already dying here, her heart trying to eat her from the inside with its erratic beat...it was ridiculous. It was all so damn ridiculous. And even though she couldn't stand his annoying amused grin, she didn't find the strength or heart to pull her hand away.

"No shit, Sherlock..." She whispered gruffly.

Aomine chuckled at her weak insult. It felt like the beginning all over again, where she had wished he'd just stay away and forget instead of staying. But with an ease she didn't know he possessed, he leaned forward, pressing his cool forehead against her burning temple. The laughter was still resounding from his throat. The sound sent shivers down her spine, he wasn't being fair at all in her opinion.

"So, I get a birthday party."

"Yeah."

He sighed, his breath ghosting over her skin while he closed his eyes in slight annoyance.

"I hate that stuff."

Mia was finally able to smile slightly at that. Satsuki had been right, he didn't sound thrilled at all. Who would have known that people really existed in this world who hated birthday parties? But it shouldn't surprise her, she guessed. He was a very moody guy after all.

"I heard."

Carefully, she gave his hand an assuring squeeze. Her head slightly pressed against his forehead as she watched the pavement beneath them as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. Well, it was at least easier to look at than his grinning face.

"...happy birthday, Aomine."

In the end, they bought both types of cakes while Satsuki and the basketball team members - who were more or less voluntary there - waited for the return of the blue haired teen. If only the bubbly pink haired girl knew how her childhood friend had foreseen all her actions since the very beginning.