Another day, another chapter.

Big thanks to...

Preppy-Stealthy-Ninja - Oh my, thank you. I'm glad you enjoy it and your birthday is one day after mine? Happy birthday to you then! Haha, I hope you had a great day., Savage Kill - That. Sounds. So. Delicious. I can imagine how that doesn't survive long, haha., KsbKipper1998 - I'm glad you liked it!, princess thieves of heart - MAYBE! Haha, who knows, who knows? And confessions aren't my thing either, it's a struggle! And I love Aomine's way to show affection as well, it's so stupid and jerk-like., Mybfflisazombie - Thank you! I enjoyed the day with my family; on Sunday will be a party with friends. Hooray. We'll see how these two stubborn teens will make it happen and we'll see if I can put a few more scenes with Nanami and Imayoshi in there, it wasn't planned but they kinda got soft spot it seemed xD, OrangeLightning-Mik - Yes, I got older! Thank you, haha. And of course, a little love for those two - I'm glad you liked it. And it is a relief to hear that even a chapter without the jerk is well received. You never know. I hope you'll continue to enjoy the story!, AkibaraLatina - I think it's funny, too. But more watching than singing myself, I'm a horrible singer, haha., LuzElvaParra17 - Oh my, thank you! I'm glad you like it., HiddenCamelia - I really like the friendship of these two, as well. Mia is really stubborn, isn't she? Haha. And Guest - Phew, I don't know to be honest. I'm not a fan of yaoi but I don't really write OC stories either, this here was an exception, kinda. But if you guys would really like to read some more I could think about it, haha. Akashi really seems to be popular. Let's get surprised together.

A big time jump, more hints here and there. I can finally start with the Winter Cup, starting with the practice match against Josei, I think they were called and the Onsen and the meeting with Kuroko and Kagami and character development and so on.

Sheesh, I hope you won't mind the time jump, haha. Thank you guys for all the lovely follows, favorites, reviews and birthday wishes. I'm glad you enjoy this story.

DAY ONE HUNDRED THIRTY EIGHT

It was karaoke.

Of course it was.

Mia grumbled to herself as she rummaged through her closet for the skirt she had bought last time she went shopping with her mother. Her class surely wasn't creative, because the second someone offered they could go to the Karaoke place at the Kagenai train station, the majority agreed. She had wanted to go somewhere else, Nanami as well - but the two of them and handful of others had no chance against the bigger part of the class.

So now, here she was. Searching for the skirt and sweater she wanted to wear because slowly the autumn became colder. The summer had left them completely behind, just like the exams which luckily finally ended. It was hard to remember how much she had learned for them, how the days passed and how her mind never really found the answer for her little...problem...either.

"I'm not going to sing..." Mia mumbled as she finally got hold on what she was looking for.

Maybe she could arrive a bit later, Nanami did so as well. Although her friend had no other choice because her mother wanted to visit their aunt together, that lucky girl had a good excuse in contrast to her. It still could be fun, she guessed. Getting to know her classmates better, she definitely had Sakurai to turn to.

The moment she checked the tall mirror on the wall, staring at her own reflection her mobile phone started ringing. Quickly the girl made her way towards her desk, grabbing the little black device to see who called her. And surprisingly it was no one else than the blue haired teenager.

"Yeah?" She asked carefully after she had flicked the phone open, pressing it against her ear.

"Where are you?"

Mia hesitated for a second, she still hadn't get used to the tone of his voice. It always sounded deeper over the static line, gruff and loud because she heard him talk so close to her ear. She never really thought about it before but it did sound nice...however, as that thought hit her she couldn't help but feel flustered.

"Uh, I'm, I'm still at home - why?" Her gaze hastily flickered to the clock on her desk. "We're supposed to meet...thirty...minutes ago. Oh."

"Figured." He drawled.

The girl furrowed her brow, leaning against the desk in front of her. "Well, what about you? Already singing?"

"Tch, as if. I was taking a nap at home, but Satsuki threw me out." She could hear him grumble in annoyance, his sentence ending in a yawn. "...your house is the one with the blue roof, right?"

The orange-head paused, blinking blankly at the table in front of her. A few notebooks were sprawled across the surface; her finger was pushing her pencil back and forth until his words slowly sunk through her thick skull. Her family house had indeed a blue roof. With snow-white walls and a few flowers which framed the paved way towards their door. Although those were already withering thanks to the grey weather...

But why in the world did he ask that?

"Y-yeah? I mean, yes. It is, but...why?"

As if on cue the doorbell started ringing. The sound making her jump as her head whipped around towards her window. He couldn't be...right? Hectically she stumbled towards her window, pushing the fresh green colored curtains aside to take a daring glimpse. It was already dark outside, their class wanted to meet up on a Friday's night - but thanks to the lanterns of the street she could easily see the tall figure standing just behind the gate of the fence.

It was no one else but the basketball player, one hand buried in the pocket of the jacket he wore. The other holding onto a phone which he pressed against his ear just like she did and as her movement revealed the light of her room he looked up.

Oh, no.

How did he know where she lived? She never told him - the only people she had told her address was Nanami, obviously, the school and Satsuki who had asked her once about it and...oh. Oh. That bubbly student really couldn't keep anything to herself, could she?

"Coming?"

Mia tried to form a word with her lips but her tongue suddenly felt heavy as she saw him outside. Her head was empty because the moment looked so surreal to see him there. That is...until her mind finally kicked back into action. She wasn't alone at home; her mother and father were here as well. And if she wasn't opening the door soon someone else would. Quickly she closed the curtains again, nearly running into her bed as she made her way around it towards her door.

"On my way."

The orange-head quickly shut her phone, stuffing it into the pocket of the jacket she had draped over her chair earlier. Her heart was suddenly excited again, hammering against her chest as the girl all but hurried to put the coat on, hectically checking the mirror again to make sure her hair wasn't a horrible mess. There was no time to put in her hair clip, the bright hair strands fell openly onto her shoulders where the ends curled.

It was okay.

Well, she looked presentable.

Normal.

Right?

"Whatever." Mia breathed as her feet already carried her out of her room. Her steps echoed loudly throughout the house as she rushed down the staircase. One bolt step after another. But as she reached the end which leaded into the small entry area of their house she already crashed into what she had wanted to avoid.

Her father had opened the door, revealing the blue haired teen who had stepped towards the entrance. Aomine had probably expected the girl to open it not her father. But now he was facing the man of the Nidori household, his hard expression actually not present as he blinked surprised at the older man in front of him.

Aomine rarely met anyone who was taller than him and not part of any basketball team.

"Huh." Mia's father breathed, his eyes traveling towards his daughter before they returned towards the boy. "Who're you?"

"That's, that's a friend of mine, dad." The orange-head explained. Too eager to quickly get out of the house, this was hardly a situation she wanted to experience.

"A friend?"

"Aomine Daiki." The basketball player introduced himself, to the girl's surprise he actually offered his hand to shake it; she hadn't really expected him to show any sort of manner.

A little perplex her father grabbed it, shaking it firmly while his light eyes scanned the visitor from head to toe. "How tall are you, boy? I rarely see anyone in my league around here."

"Same here." Her tall classmate drawled.

Mia had jumped down the last two steps in the meantime, forcing herself between the two males with a breathless laugh.

"Today the whole class meets up, remember? He's a classmate of mine."

The older man narrowed his gaze ever so slightly, the gears in his mind turning and grinding against another but before he could have concluded anything serious, Mia reacted. She turned around to push the basketball player outside, reluctantly Aomine let himself get forced out of the open door while the orange-head waved back to her father who still stood quietly in the entry way.

"See you later, dad!"

The teenafers finally made their way out of her home, closing the gate before they started walking down the street towards train station. And only after they had left his sight her father's eyes widened. Wildly he gestured with his hand, from his head towards the spot where Aomine had nearly reached his nose - that kid was pretty tall for a Japanese - and abruptly the certain summer day came back to the surface of his mind.

"No way." The orange haired man breathed in panic. "Honey, honey - where is my-"

"Don't you dare to start with your annoying baseball bat jokes."

"But that guy is-"

"He looks handsome, doesn't he?" His wife laughed.

"There is no way-"

"He is tall."

Mia's father faltered, his expression falling as the woman behind him smiled knowingly. Pursing his lips, he slowly pushed the door back into its frame, grumbling something to himself about 'how he changed his mind'. For him his daughter would always be too young for anything. But at least she was right and that kid was nearly as tall as him.

"...I'm still more handsome."

"Well...I don't know about that..."

"Wait, what?"

Mia breathed in relief as they left her home behind. It could've become embarrassing if her father had really started to question her classmate, he was noisy enough to do so. But the girl would have never survived that, she probably would have tried to bash her head onto the wall in hope she'd fade before her dad could have asked something really stupid.

"Your old man isn't from here, is he?"

The orange-head blinked at the teen beside her. Aomine was still pondering about the appearance of her father it seemed, his eyes staring off into the distance without paying attention to anything in particular.

"No, he is German. But we moved to Japan because he joined the business of my mother's family."

At that he finally awoke from his thoughts, his heavy gaze falling to her. "You didn't grow up here?"

Mia shook her head smiling. "Not exactly. I was six when we moved. Before that I lived in Germany."

"Heh..." The giant drawled, taking in the information she offered.

A comfortable silence filled the air, the only sound was their calm breathing and steps. The girl found herself looking at him from time to time, just to make sure that he was still really there because she didn't have the heart to really ask him why he had suddenly appeared on her doorstep like that. Well...it wasn't like she hated it either...she was just surprised. It did feel nice to get picked up.

Slowly the station came into sight; the two of them hurried a bit to catch the next train. The class rep did expect everyone to be there and they were already not on her favorite list after the Culture Festival, so being late was maybe not the best thing.

The door closed behind them swiftly, something which the orange-head used to lean against for support. The compartment was strangely full, adults and other teens on their way home or other locations to spent their free time with their friends.

Aomine yawned once more, his body easily building a wall between Mia and the others as they closed off the little corner next to the exit for themselves. The girl held onto her skirt as she stared at their feet, it was definitely unintentional but the close proximity was making her nervous anyway.

Nanami had made it sound so easy weeks ago. Wait till the exams are over, she said. You'll know then what to do. But now she was alone with him again and she had no idea. If only the Kagenai station would come soon so they could get off and join their class. It would certainly make this whole thing easier.

"Say something in German."

Mia quickly looked up at the sound of his voice, meeting his blue orbs which twinkled in something close to curiosity.

"Trottel." Jerk.

Aomine furrowed his brow. A moment of uncertainty flickering over his face as he tried to make out what the word could mean. The girl couldn't speak the other language fluently anymore, but the years of her childhood had still been filled with it. And, of course, if she did remember anything it were a bunch of insults.

"Tr...trott..." The basketball player struggled with the pronunciation, his expression scrunching up thanks to the foreign syllables on his tongue.

Mia started to smile at that, her nervousness melting away as she finally found the comfort in his company. That had been something which had surprised her the most as she got to know him in the beginning. The way they actually got along somehow.

"Stop smiling." He scowled. "What did it mean anyway?"

"Not telling." She laughed.

Her tall classmate was about to say something else but the compartment they were in started to tremble as the train swayed from side to side. The curve they moved in was harsh, the announcer stated which station was coming up - not theirs yet - and Aomine's arm shot out as he braced himself against the weight of a stranger who bumped into him from behind.

Mia actually jumped in surprise as his hand landed on the transparent door behind her. She blinked startled at his long arm beside her head; feeling suddenly more locked up then safely cut off from the strangers around them. The teen twisted his head around, grumbling something to the stranger who had nearly thrown him off balance while the edginess crawled back into the girl's bones.

Yeah, great.

Really great moment for her heart here, thanks god.

The orange haired girl stared at her boots once more in hope it would somehow help to conceal her frantic heartbeat. Not to forget the blush which had surely graced her cheeks the second his body had taken an unconscious step towards her.

"I hate trains..." Aomine muttered beneath his breath, his attention slowly returning to the girl in front of him who had started to pray that the ground would just try to suck her up in one motion.

But the world never seemed to hear her prayers.

"Yeah." She agreed quietly. She started to hate them, too."H-hey, isn't the Winter Cup finally starting?"

Thank god that the topic basketball was always a thing they could talk about, whether she died from embarrassment and cold feet or not. The giant shifted in front of her, his hand slowly slipping away from the glass. The teen found hold on a pole beside them instead, the slight shaking of the compartment calm enough to not throw them off their balance once more.

"I guess, the preliminaries do."

"Preliminaries?"

"We ain't participating in them; we're already in the final league." His explanation made her look up at him; the lines on his face were hard as he stared disinterested into the distance above her head. There he was again, frowning as if a tournament meant nothing.

"That's awesome."

Aomine shrugged with his shoulders.

"The only thing we got going on next week is a practice match."

Mia pursed her lips in thought. "Are you playing, too?"

"Dunno, they ain't worth it probably."

The orange-head frowned at his dark tune. He had said something similar back then as well. No one could beat him. He didn't need practice. He'd crush every single opponent easily. It was still hard to believe, even after she had already seen him play a tiny bit. Not to forget the times they had played together. The girl was not even close to being something like a real basketball player but she had seen how impossible it was to get past him.

"...you shouldn't say that. There is always somewhere someone who will be a real challenge."

Aomine's gaze fell to her face, his blank expression broken by a weak grin.

"I heard that one before."

"Well...maybe because it's true?"

Instead of replying he grabbed her wrist, pulling her with him through the doors which had suddenly opened on their own. They stepped out of the train compartment with a handful of strangers, following the flow towards the stairs which leaded towards the popular location their class met at. Mia found herself staring at the back of his head, musing how familiar this all already felt. The warmth, the tingling nerves and itching fingertips...how was she supposed to figure this out? She needed a new deadline. She still didn't know what to do with herself or him.

But what she did know was how easy it had become to wriggle her wrist out of his grasp. Her eyes followed her pale limb as it slipped out of his grip, his long fingers easily letting her arm pull back until her hand fell into his palm. She wasn't even able to retract her limb completely; the blue haired teen didn't give her a chance to do so as his fingers closed around her hand the minute it fitted.

She did like that...that couple stuff, it was small and nothing big. But it was warm and nice.

And the karaoke bar came way too fast into sight, she believed. Inside were her classmates, and Sakurai. And if she was patient enough Nanami soon as well...but it would be weird. Definitely. The girl sighed, rubbing her glowing face with her free hand as they reached the establishment.

"Great...singing." The basketball player grumbled, pushing the door open to step inside.

"Maybe we can get Sakurai-san to sing." Mia wondered.

Aomine actually laughed at that, his hand letting go of hers as they both approached the booked room. It was noisy and loud, the cheering and bad singing of a pair of boys ringing through the thick door. Mia hesitated for a second, her fingertips itching to reach out for his hand once more - but she didn't.

'What am I supposed to do?'

'Well, it's obvious, isn't it?'

Yeah, the girl thought as they opened the door to their classmates, I'll take those feelings into my grave.

But it sounded like a lie.