A/N: Thanks to everyone who followed, favourited and reviewed! It makes me very happy. :) Here's the new chapter a bit shorter than my usual nowadays, buut...

Enjoy!

Attitude is a choice. Happiness is a choice. Optimism is a choice. Kindness is a choice. Giving is a choice. Respect is a choice. Whatever choice you make makes you. Choose wisely. ― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time. ― Maya Angelou

I have learned that there is more power in a good strong hug than in a thousand meaningful words. – Ann Hood

I just want you to know that you're very special… and the only reason I'm telling you is that I don't know if anyone else ever has. ― Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Aya took a deep breath to calm down her nervously fluttering heart before she'd walk into the gym and face Katsunori, Satsuki and Aomine. Sending that mail was something she'd decided on a spur of the moment and now she wasn't sure it'd been the right thing to do. Maybe everyone else had learned it too… What then?

But her biggest fear was facing Aomine. She didn't know what to do, or how to act, or how to explain her reasoning behind sending it.

I'm such an idiot!

Nonetheless, she pulled out her usual cheerful expression and walked in.

"Hey! Tadaima." She greeted them with a smile; her eyes immediately searching for Aomine. Thankfully, he wasn't there yet and neither was Satsuki.

"Okaerinasai!" Kano replied cheerfully. "I thought you'd skip the morning practise. You've arrived just a few hours ago, no?"

With that, she knew they didn't know. So Satsuki kept it to herself… "Yeah, but I wanted to come. I haven't properly practised for a week!"

"I saw you climbing a tree like a squirrel." Katsunori spoke up from behind her.

"Shoot!" She almost got a heart attack. "Do you have to scare me like that?!" She asked accusingly, with a hand over her heart. Then she realised who it was talking to her. She hadn't noticed him in the gym. "Oh… Katsunori, uhm. Hey. I'm back." She mumbled and looked at her feet guiltily. Taiga had told her that Katsunori had probably had no idea about those articles. And it'd been him who had helped her and Kiku with those bully notes. She couldn't really look him in the eyes, though she was trying to keep her usual façade; she just felt so bad about not telling him before.

He raised an eyebrow at her reaction. This wasn't what he'd expected. In those few months she'd been back in his life he'd learnt to understand her better. He couldn't read her and she could always surprise him with something, but still… Seeing her unsure and anxious like this was strange. And I'm not Aomine…

"Well sorry." A half-smirk formed on his face. "That's for shortening my lifespan with that tree-climbing of yours. Taiga should not send such videos to me. I'm not 20 anymore."

Eh? She blinked at him confusedly; she didn't expect him to talk to her casually. Wasn't he going to scold her? There was no disgust or disapproval in his eyes; he was even trying to joke and it actually turned out well. A small smile, like a candle light in a pitch black night, settled on her face. So Katsunori was okay with it… It was all going to be okay…

And with the renewed courage her small smile turned into a teasing smirk. So Taiga found another spot with a good enough signal, huh? "Sorry, I forgot you might get jealous. If I remember correctly, you could never get up there without my help."

"Yeah, yeah. We just have a healthy sense of self-preservation." He shrugged, there was no way he'd ever try to climb a tree like that without any safety harness. "So, as you haven't properly practised for some time, I want you to lead the practise."

Aya blinked at him and then scanned the boys, who took a few steps back. Even Kano looked a bit paler and his previous cheerfulness seemed to be gone. Well, it was a Tuesday morning, which meant balance practise and stamina drills… Aya's stamina drills were a hundred times worse than Wakamatsu's were and she hadn't practised for almost a week.

We are dead. All of them thought at the same moment.

"Okay then." She nodded with a smile.

The door opened and Satsuki walked in, dragging Aomine along. He wasn't sure he wanted to come. It wasn't that he wanted to avoid Aya, but he would have no time to talk with her during the practise and he just didn't want to make her feel awkward. He didn't want to feel awkward, because he had no idea what to do, or how to act, or what she'd expect him to do, or not to do. And seeing the coach after their small drinking event was strange as hell too. But Satsuki miraculously managed to talk him into coming, though they were late as a consequence. He'd swear that half of her arguments contained: 'Aya-chan is going to be there' and he really missed the redhead.

When she turned to look at them she froze for a moment, blood draining from her face, but she recovered quickly. There was no way she'd deal with this in front of everyone and so she smiled, inwardly thanking Kouta and Tatsuya for teaching her the trick.

"Welcome!" She greeted them and then she looked at Aomine, not looking him in the eyes. "I'm leading the practise today. I hope your stamina is going to last." She informed him.

"… Is that a challenge?" He asked, catching up with her play and cooperating. He'd swear he saw her sigh in relief. And heard all the others groan in annoyance; the two of them competing meant more work for everyone.

"…Maybe."

######

"Don't ever, ever do that again!" Kano complained, glaring at Aomine at the end of the practise. He was laying on the ground completely lifeless, just like the rest of them – except Wakamatsu, Tada, Ishii, Susa, Aomine and Aya of course – but she was already in the changing room. Those six were exceptional when it came to stamina practises.

"Huh?"

"Don't provoke her like that again! How can you even stand?"

"Tch, how can you be so weak?" He frowned at Kano, but he had to admit that he was barely standing. One or two more rounds and he'd be just as dead as everyone else. And that balance practise was a torture. He had a good balance as it was, but Aya mixed in some ballet and some gymnastics and now he could feel muscles that he had no idea he had hurting.

"You are not far from being like us~" Imayoshi hummed from his spot on the ground, seeing through Aomine's act. "By the way… Did something happen to Aya-chan? She seemed a bit off in the morning."

"… Nothing that I know of." He said with a shrug, ignoring the captain's first biting comment.

Imayoshi's eyes opened a bit more to give Aomine a long scrutinizing look. It was obvious, at least for him, that something was going on. As a 'mind reader' he wanted to know. As the captain, he needed to know. Because he needed to be ready for a moment when the things might go south…

"I'll figure it out eventually." He said with a determination which sent shivers down Aomine's spine.

It wasn't in the ace's nature to show the slight fear and discomfort Imayoshi made him feel, so he smirked lazily. "Do as you wish, captain. Just don't regret it later on."

######

"Aya-chan!" Satsuki walked into the changing room and leaned against the closed door.

Aya had to take a deep breath before turning around to face the pinkette. She expected a ton of questions regarding the articles. But before she could fully face her, Satsuki gasped and covered her mouth.

"What?" Aya asked with a mild concern in her voice. Then she noticed what Satsuki was staring at. The scar on her shoulder. Shit… She covered it with her palm. "Sorry, it probably creeps you out."

So that's why Dai-chan asked me about scars?! "That's uhm… No… It's fine, I guess. I just… I haven't noticed it earlier… …?" Her eyes narrowed. "Why haven't I noticed it earlier?"

"I'm usually hiding it." She admitted.

"Why?"

"Because it creeps people out…"

Apparently not everyone, if Dai-chan knows. But Aya's stoic voice was making her uncomfortable and a bit angry. She had a feeling that Aya might be closing up again and she frowned. "And the bruise?"

"What bruise?"

Satsuki raised an eyebrow at that. "Have you seen yourself in a mirror lately? Your hip…"

Aya turned around to stare at herself in the mirror. And really, she had a rather large dark-purple bruise on her left hip and side. "Oh…"

"'Oh' you say?" Satsuki was more concerned than angry or hurt. "It looks terrible. What were you doing?"

"Climbing trees… Painting the roof of our tree house, I slipped and fell, must've hit myself when I landed on that branch." She shrugged nonchalantly. "I haven't realised it."

"How can you not realise that? It must hurt!"

A crooked smile appeared on Aya's face and she sighed. "It's just a bruise, Satsuki. Nothing serious. Don't worry."

"But I do! You're my friend! What was that all about anyways?"

"The articles?" Aya asked just to be sure. Yep, it was to come…

"Yes! Why didn't you tell us sooner?"

She bit her lower lip and looked away, picking up her shirt to get dressed. It was easier to talk when she didn't have to look at the pinkette. "It's not something you boast about… I guess… Though I knew it'd get out. Everything eventually does, that's why I send it myself… And why not sooner – I simply wanted you to know me better before dropping the bomb. If you'd known from the day one, would you really want to become friends?"

Satsuki blinked at her guiltily. Probably not.

The redhead just nodded. "Probably not, right?"

"That's not…" She wanted to protest, but Aya halted her with a raised hand and a tad sad smile.

"It's fine, you don't have force yourself."

"Sorry, I just…" Satsuki sat on a bench and stared at the ground. "You weren't telling me so much."

"But I wasn't lying to you. And you're not telling me everything either, are you?" The reddish eyes stared at Satsuki intensely. She knew that pinkette was hiding something too, she had a feeling she'd known her from somewhere, and yet… Their first meeting was in the club. It didn't make sense.

This time, it was Satsuki's turn to avert her eyes and stare at her feet. "Ah… Well…"

Aya smiled. I knew it. "See? If you want to tell me you will. We all have things we prefer to keep to ourselves. So don't feel betrayed, or something, just because I didn't tell you sooner." When did it turn out that Aya was actually consoling her?

"It's still a lot to process." Satsuki nodded and then she frowned and bristled up. "Just who would write that about you anyways?! It was horrid!" She threw her arms into the air. Thankfully, her previous worry about Aya closing off was just her impression, not really true, and it made Satsuki relax a bit.

Aya laughed at the reaction. People getting angry for her sake, she hadn't experienced that often. And Satsuki's angry face was cute. "I have an idea who might want to pay for it, but it's better left unsaid."

"What do you mean by that?! You know who'd do that and you did nothing?!"

"I can't confront everyone. As much as I'd love to, I couldn't do anything. Not that time."

"Oh… Someone dangerous?"

"More like super spoiled, super rich. You can't really start an argument hoping you'll win, because you won't. Especially when you're facing it all alone. Sometimes it's like that." Aya shrugged. "And ruining your reputation once in a while makes you realise who you really are, what can you do and who are your real friends. I moved on – at least I like to believe that – found new friends some of whom can, hopefully, accept that fail of mine…" She sighed and tucked her shirt into the skirt. Tch… It hurts. She frowned when she touched the bruise. How could I not notice?

"We know it's a lie and those stupid bully notes actually made it easier to realise. But I was kinda shocked that Kiku-chan wasn't all that surprised when she read that."

That made Aya smile as she took her school bag and headed to the door. "Well… Kiku's good at reading people. She's scared of them; hence she notices a lot of small things. I can't really fool her when it's something serious."

"Hmmm… I never looked at it like this. By the way… Did you send something more to Dai-chan?" She just had to know. The curiosity was eating her up, because he'd refused to tell her anything more than what she could figure out on her own.

"Not really. Why?"

Satsuki gave her a sideways glance as they exited the changing room. "He seemed to know something more."

Aya's hand locking the door froze and she paled. "What?! What do you mean more?"

"Eh? Dunno. He wouldn't tell me…"

Awesome… Aya thought desperately. She had so many stupid ideas in her head that she tuned out Satsuki's rambling about her weekend adventure in some amusement park she'd visited with her mother. Aomine might've played along during the practise, out of whatever reasons, but she wasn't sure he'd do that all day long. What else had he figured out? It kept repeating in her mind. And then she remembered the history assignment she'd almost completely forgotten about… She was panicking inwardly, smiling at others outwardly. And on top of it all she felt so tired even though she'd gotten much more sleep in her oasis than usual. Counting in the killer practise, she could hibernate for ages.

Satsuki parted half-way to go to her classroom, feeling happy that Aya-chan didn't shut her out and listened to her amusement park stories.

Aya was hesitating to enter the classroom. It was probably the first time she was actually anxious about facing Aomine. Damn it! Why do I even care?

"Don't you usually walk in like you own the place?" Kiku's voice made her snap out of her misery.

"Ah!" She spun around. "You're late."

The little girl chuckled at the reaction and adjusted her glasses. "I overslept. But I'm glad you are not running away from me."

"Why would I?"

"For the same reasons you fear facing Aomine-san?"

"Certainly not the same reasons." She said conclusively.

"Ah." Kiku blushed suddenly, getting what she'd said. Aya was in love with Aomine, of course the reasoning would be different. "I-I d-didn't…" She stuttered.

Aya laughed and ruffled Kiku's short hair. "It's fine. Accompany me please. I'll feel better." Encouraged by her presence, she smiled at the girl. Kiku smiled back and entered the class first, followed by Aya.

The moment she stepped in, she could feel Aomine's eyes on her and she had to bit the inner side of her cheek to not look at her feet. Instead, she stared back at him, avoiding his deep blue eyes of course. He was lazily sitting at his desk, reading a textbook, now watching her. Eh? Reading a textbook? Is there some quiz?

"So? How was your trip to Akita?" Kano asked, breaking her train of thoughts.

"Ah." She placed her bag on her desk and turned to Ishii and Kano occupying Ishii's desk. "Well… Let's hope we won't have to play against them in the Interhigh. They have three players over 2 meters tall, their current shooting guard is 193 cm tall and they are incredibly skilled in defence. Especially Murasakibara Atsushi. They are not nicknamed the 'shield of Aegis' for nothing. "

"Oh." They both blinked at the thought. Three guys that big would sure be troublesome. "And the manager?"

"Hero? She is amazing." Aya chuckled. "Rude, straightforward, fearless and short. I came to like her. She is a quick learner, so I didn't have to stay there longer than planned."

"Hiro?" Kiku tilted her head in curiosity. "Is that her name or a nickname you gave her?"

"A nickname. Her name is Hironaka Sumire-chan. I originally wanted to call her chibi-chan, but Tatsuya warned me not to just in time… She'd bite my head off otherwise."

"What's Yosen like? Is it similar to our school?" Ishii asked curiously; he'd noticed that Aya didn't really look at Aomine and he gave her a way out, ignoring the ace's sharp glare.

And so she was pulled into a detailed description of the Yosen's school grounds, dorms (omitting the fact that she'd sneaked into the boys' dorms) and teachers. When a teacher came in, she was interrupted. She tried to pay attention to the lesson, but couldn't ignore Aomine's burning stare pinned into her back.

It dragged like that during all classes, until the lunch break, when Aomine's patience ran out. Aya'd gone to the cafeteria to buy some lunch, as she hadn't been at home so she hadn't prepared anything. He grabbed a lunch from Sakurai (someone had to do it in Aya's absence) and glared at the two boys.

"I need to talk with her, so back off." He grumbled at them irritably.

"She doesn't seem willing to talk with you though." Ishii mused calmly. "Did something happen after the ramen?"

"That's none of your business."

"Hmmm… you started coming to practises and she behaves strangely, but I have to admit she's a good actor."

Aomine's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I get the feeling she wants to run away." Ishii shrugged. "I'm not sure it's safe to leave her with you alone."

"Oi, Ryuu…" Kano nudged his friend before Aomine could snap at them. "Let's go eat lunch with Naito. We probably shouldn't get involved…"

Ishii raised an eyebrow at him.

Kano shrugged with a crooked smile. "Maybe they do need to talk and Aya-chan is just conveniently using us to avoid it…?"

"I-I'd agree on that." Kiku said, calmly observing the situation. She was still anxious around Aomine, but the other two were her good friends. "Can I join you?"

"Sure!" Kano agreed immediately. "Let's eat on the outside courts, you too, Sakurai."

Within seconds they successfully disappeared, leaving Aomine blinking after them in surprise. He'd never expect Kiku to help him out. Now what? He thought. Despite his need to confront the redhead, to talk with her, he was clueless as of what to do.

Aya returned to the classroom just to find all of her friends gone. Only Aomine remained at his spot, staring at his wrapped bento.

"Where's everyone?" She asked, suddenly feeling left out and panicked again.

Daiki shrugged. "They went out."

"Oh, uh… Maybe they'll be at the outside courts… I should…" She stuttered out, not daring to really look at him. What the hell's wrong with me?!

He sighed heavily. "So you seriously plan to avoid me now?"

"What?" She snapped her head up to stare at him. Those stormy eyes, which caught hers, were threatening to drown her. "No! I mean… That's not… Oh, gosh… Your lunches! Sorry, I wasn't really at home, so..." She facepalmed when she remembered the bet.

An amused expression settled on his face. This stuttering side of Aya was unusually cute. "I know that. Uhm…" He scratched the back of his neck. This was awkward. "The rooftop?" He suggested.

She bit her lower lip anxiously, but when she heard Aki's giggle and the others' small talks, she nodded. A classroom was definitely not a good place for any type of serious talks.

"How's Murasakibara?" He asked when they exited the class. Maybe if he got her to talk about casual stuff it'd get less uncomfortable.

Aya smiled at his attempt. I've never thought he'd be considerate… "The sweets you recommended were accepted with pleasure. And he is… huge… seems lazy, but he actually practises with everyone. But…"

"But?"

"I've seen the Teiko games and he was playing the offence too. Well… most of the time. Now he doesn't move away from his three point line. Why?"

"Hmmm… He stopped practising around the time I did, maybe for a different reasons. We weren't that close but by the end he started to focus solely on defence, claiming it was too much trouble to run around." He shrugged; it was the first time someone made him think about it.

"I still think there's more to it than just laziness…" She mused and bit her thumb nail in deep thoughts.

"If they face us, I'll make him run around too."

"He told me something about your ability to slip shots past his perfect defence." Slowly, she was relaxing around him. Aomine was talking with her. He probably wouldn't look down on her, though she still felt the conversation wasn't as natural as it should've been.

They entered the rooftop and sat down, leaning against a wall. Aomine had a lunch with a childish motif, so Aya suspected it was Sakurai's work, and she unwrapped some bun she fetched in the cafeteria.

"Not that it's easy…" He admitted begrudgingly, digging into his food (ignoring the bunny motif). Those five were probably the only worthy challengers he could face. Well… and Kagami Taiga, if he gets better. "…is your brother's leg fine?"

"He damaged a muscle, so it needs one more week of complete rest. Maybe a few days longer, considering he climbed trees with us, which is definitely not a definition of rest…"

A silence settled over them. It wasn't the typical comfortable silence, but an antsy one, when one wanted to talk, to ask, to pry, but couldn't bring themselves to. They remained like that even after finishing their meals.

"Okay." Aya broke the silence, stood up turning her back to him and walked a few steps towards the railing to put some distance between them. "So?"She nudged him.

"So what?" He asked confusedly.

"Ask, talk, berate me." She encouraged him, clenching her fists as if it could make her stronger. "You must be shocked, right?"

"I was…" He admitted, "but I just… I know it's all lies, but uh…" with a sigh he placed the lunch box on the ground and stood up too. "Why?" He asked simply.

"Huh?" She spun on her heel and stared at him with wide eyes. "Why…? Why what?"

He shrugged and it was his expression that astounded her the most. There was no disgust, no disappointment, no taunt; he was simply trying to understand her, to process it all, to… accept it? He had a puzzled look in his eyes as he was thinking about how to formulate his next words. He is really not good with words, huh? She thought.

"Why everything… Why did it happen? Why telling me? Why now?" He asked several questions in a row, trying to read her, but except her apparent surprise he was clueless. Without her talking to him he couldn't have her back, so he really hoped she would answer. He wanted to be there for her just like she'd been there for him so many times before. "I just… I want to understand." He sounded almost pleading and he felt embarrassed as hell. Those two geezers making fun of him, telling him that he was a good influence on her… What the hell? I probably can't even comfort her.

"I don't really know…" She said truthfully, biting her lower lip and staring at her feet again. "I reunited with people who knew and who didn't care 'bout it. I've met Hero. I… well, Taiga told the crap to our grandparents, which I couldn't bring myself to do for months. I didn't want them to hate me." She shrugged. "If widely known, it's a shame on the entire family… but they got angry for my sake. They didn't scold me… I…" She sighed.

Damn, it was hard to explain her reasoning like that. Opening up a bit; it could all turn against her, but it was Aomine. Something about him… She couldn't really explain why she felt so… at home? And he didn't interrupt her. "It lifted a huge weight off of me… Always watching what I say… It's tiring. And so I thought that you should know; that you might be okay with it. The three of you know me the best and Katsu ought to know." She chuckled dryly. "Well, at least you can consider all the pros and cons of being friends with a publicly declared 'whore'," she spat out the word, "and run away before you get burned… Before I get too attached…" She added quietly.

So I was right… He thought and decided he didn't like the gloomy expression settling on her face, as she stared at her feet. Kagami Aya was supposed to walk and talk with her head held high. But he understood it was easier to talk about the things hurting you like that.

She looked at him again, trying to search for his reaction, but except that slightly puzzled expression she couldn't see anything. "Why you, you asked… I guess I want to try trusting you." Ah… crap… That's basically a confession. She thought, and hoped he was dense enough to not interpret it that way.

That took him aback. "Even if I fucked up?" He asked carefully controlling his voice, so it wouldn't jump higher from the sudden whirlwind of emotions he felt. After the half day of avoiding eye contact, she was staring right at him. Those red eyes were burning with so much he couldn't understand.

She shrugged. "We all do." A gentle half-smile curled her lips upwards.

He opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't find the right words. There weren't any. This girl was encouraging him, despite needing the encouragement herself. She'd done it now; without the intent or realisation. And he'd already decided he didn't give a damn about the stupid articles, or her idiotic father. Without a warning he crossed those few steps separating them and pulled her into a tight hug. He didn't know why, but he felt he needed to do it. It was an instinct and he listened to it.

"Eh?" She let out when she suddenly landed against Daiki's broad chest. Being hugged by him was the last thing she'd expected. "What are you doing?" She stiffened for a moment waiting for him to answer and he thought she'd definitely push him away.

He shrugged. "It felt right." Somehow he managed to turn it into a half question.

It felt right? That made her chuckle softly and she relaxed, resting a cheek against his chest. No words could convey his acceptance better than this hug. His presence, his warmth, his scent were washing away all the bitterness from her system. She could hear his strong heartbeat and it made her feel calm, safe, reassured that everything was okay, that she wasn't as much of a failure as her father liked to believe. Her arms circled around his waist as she hugged him back.

He smiled at it and hugged her tighter. The ability to hide her in his arms was sure nice. Compared to him, she was small and it made him wonder where all that courage and confidence could fit into. But even she needed a recharge, she wasn't perfect, she struggled too. And he wanted to protect her, because finally he could.

She shakily sighed in relief and traitorous tears welled up in her eyes. Eh? Why am I such a… She tried to blink them away; she couldn't go back to the class with red eyes. She pulled away slightly to wipe them off.

"Hm?" Daiki looked down to see what was going on. When he glimpsed tears he jumped away, letting her go. He had no idea what to do with a crying girl. "Oi. You're not crying, are you?" He asked suspiciously.

Shoved away, she frowned at him. "So? Given the situation, you should've expected that."

"Wha'… I… Well… Err… What…" He was fretting clueless.

That was so like him and it made her laugh. She couldn't be angry or offended when he was making such a cute face.

Eh? Beautiful. He thought speechlessly observing her laughing face and the sun reflecting on her unshed tears, creating tiny rainbows. Unconsciously he leaned closer to see better.

"Listen," she cupped his cheeks pulling him down to her eye level, "you don't ever push away a girl crying in your arms, got it?"

"… and what do I do?"

She smiled. "You hug 'em tighter," then she added, "doesn't mean you have to hug 'em all though…"

Understanding shone in his eyes and he wanted to hug her again –

"A-a-a." She stopped him, keeping him bent down, and surprisingly he didn't protest. "It doesn't count when I just divulged the secret trick."

"?"

"I'm fine already. So…" She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "Thank you." She said and pulled away, letting go of his cheeks, which turned red in an instant.

With wide eyes he was frozen to his spot, blushing terribly. He was stunned. What had she just done? True, he'd imagined all the stuff, but this was… real…

"Uhm…" She waved her hand in front of his eyes. "Earth to Aomine. Don't tell me I'm the first girl who kissed you on the face…"

No reaction. The only woman to ever kiss his face was his mother…

And that was only a peck on the forehead… She thought desperately. "Okay, it's obvious. Sorry?" She tried. "I didn't know you were this innocent." Provocation might work, but…

Nothing.

"For god's sake, Aomine Daiki! I had your face in my cleavage! You managed that! You read porn. Don't faint just because of a small peck on the forehead."

That worked.

"What?!" He shook his head and straightened up. "I ain't… It's not… It's not porn, okay?! Those are idol magazines! And I'm not…"

She raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

She's so enjoying this... "Tch. We're not in America, okay?! We don't kiss people casually."

"Sooorryyy… If you hated it that much, I won't do it again." She pouted teasingly and headed to the door. Just as she touched the knob the bell rang. "But I kissed you, not people." She disappeared on the staircase. "And it wasn't casual!" She added over her shoulder.

"Huh? What do you mean?!" He ran after her.

The only answer he got was her laughter. "Let's go. It's chemistry! Katsunori will kill us if we're late."

"OI!"

######

"Something definitely happened." Kano mused during a short second break in their afternoon practise.

Arai wiped his forehead and gulped down his water. "I'd bet. I actually got past him… That's impossible."

"And he even missed." Naito joined the flock of the first years.

"Just twice." Tada-senpai noted. "That's normal."

"Not when it comes to Aomine." Imayoshi mused. "Hmmm… what could've happened~?" He asked curiously staring at Kano.

"Ah…" The boy rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "He ate lunch with Aya-chan, so…"

"Ohoo~ Alone~? So are they finally a thing?"

A ball suddenly hit Imayoshi head. "Mind your own business!" Aomine growled at them, totally overhearing everything.

"Nice to see your aim is improving~!" Imayoshi smiled at him eerily.

Aomine answered with an eye-roll accompanied by an annoyed grunt.

"Ah, by the way…" Tada remembered something. "Kousuke!"

"Hm?" Wakamatsu raised his head to look at his friend. "What?"

"Kiku-chan will come after her cooking club! She has some business with Aya-chan. Maybe she'll bring you something again."

"Ah…" He blushed. "Thanks for telling me."

"Hmmm… I need to question Kiku about this later." Aya hummed as she returned from the water taps with refilled bottles, overhearing the last few sentences. Then she looked at Aomine, "you up for some quick one on one?" She put the bottles down.

"Sure." He was dead tired from the morning practise, totally out of it because of the hug and the kiss, but he was always up for a quick one on one with Aya. He threw her a ball he picked up.

"Your passes suck." She pointed out as she caught the ball.

"Tch. I don't pass."

She shook her head with a sigh. "Hai, hai, that'll come later too…" She muttered under her nose.

Lowering her center of gravity, she took a relaxed stance and started to dribble. She couldn't forget that Tatsuya's one-time miraculous shot, but she definitely couldn't copy it, heck she didn't even know what the hell it was. Not that she could figure it our facing Aomine.

She tried to pass him without faking, but he was already there to stop her, reacting to her movement. She halted and took a step back before he could steal the ball. Hmmm… She was thinking how to fool him. Her tricks stock wasn't as large as his, but she had dancing.

They circled around each other for a moment in an utmost concentration, giving all the spectators goose bumps. Then she came up with a plan. She jumped into a fade away, which forced Aomine to leap up as well. The trick was in the strength of the leap, she used the minimum, so she'd be the first one to land, but she made it look like the exact opposite.

"Tch." He clicked his tongue when he realised it.

Aya was first one down and turning around him to get closer to the basket and score a lay-up. But his stride was slightly longer, so when he landed he caught up easily. And yet, he barely managed to touch the ball. It circled the hoop and then bounced out.

"It was almost there!" She complained.

Yeah, it gave me a fright there… He thought. It was unimaginable to loose in one on one with her in front of everyone. "You're ten years too early to try to beat me, Sweetheart."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh really~?"

He looked away, trying his best to hide a blush. She was unbelievable. Tch… Get a grip. That little peck shouldn't have had such an impact on you. It probably meant nothing.

"Something definitely happened." Imayoshi nodded.

"Maybe~" She turned to him. "But what's that to you, huh captain?"

"I'm curious, Aya-chan~"

"Good luck with figuring it out then."

"All right!" Katsunori clapped and glared at Aya shortly. "Back to practise!"

######

"Wow, I'm surprised you've been coming to 'dancing' practises even when I wasn't here! That's awesome!" Aya praised Kiku after she'd learned about it from Senri. The girls were the last, practicing a bit more than the others. Now they were packing their stuff and getting ready to leave. "And you've really improved!"

Kiku blushed slightly and smiled; she wasn't used to hearing praise. "I guess. But the split is still…"

"You almost get it. A few more practises and you'll master it." Aya locked the gym and turned to walk Kiku to the station. It was quite late, Senri had had to go home, Taiga was sleeping as he hadn't been used to pulling all nighters and she didn't want Kiku to go home completely alone. Even though she wasn't a fan of walking alone in the night, she wasn't scared either.

"I'm glad you persuaded me to come."

"I thought you might like it. Maybe your coordination isn't that good, but dancing and gymnastics can improve it a lot and it's fun too, right?"

"Yeah. It's fun for a short time period I guess. But it's still not something I'd love to do. Archery is… well… I love it more than anything."

"And when will you teach me?" Aya asked and bumped into Kiku playfully.

"Aaah... That's… I'm not sure." She peeped.

"Whenever you say." It'd been some time since the girls talked alone and she wasn't going to waste it. "I heard you weren't surprised by the articles…" She mused glancing at Kiku.

The girl looked at her warily and quickly averted her eyes. She wasn't intimidated by Aya anymore, but she wasn't sure about how the redhead would react, so she liked to keep some level of awareness. "I… I knew you were hiding something. I mean… You understood m-my… You know… The s-scars… And the way you handled those bully notes, I thought you were used to it, in a way. S-sensei even mentioned s-some p-photos. So it d-didn't surprise me that much." She shrugged biting her tongue for stuttering again.

"Fair enough. Irihata really knew how to dig up dirt…" Aya nodded. "But… Is it really okay with you?"

"… You're a good person. And you're my f-friend." The one who talked to me first…who accepted me, why wouldn't I? "I'll have your back."

She smiled. "I'm glad then." Despite Kiku's anxiety and fear, she didn't doubt that the girl would fight for her if necessary and it definitely went both ways. There was no reason discussing it more than that. Plus there were other things Aya was interested in. "So… You and Wakamatsu-senpai are a thing?"

Taken aback by the sudden change of topic, Kiku came to a halt and turned her wide eyes at Aya."N-n-no!" She protested in shock. "What are you talking about?!"

"Eh? But you brought him something after the practise right?"

"Ah well… We were baking blueberry muffins, so I thought he might like it…"

"In other words, you are a thing." Aya said convincingly.

"No! How could he accept… This!" Kiku pointed at herself. "There's no way he would!"

"That's the whole you, Kiku. And anyways, Wakamatsu-senpai isn't prejudiced or anything. I think he's just shy." Which is quite cute considering his loud demeanour…

"I know. And it's better that way." She grumbled discontent. "I can't date anyone."

"Why not?"

"Why not you ask? Because I hate it! The scars. It's hideous, disgusting. I'm disg–" Suddenly she gasped. It was the first time she was actually talking about it. She could usually avoid the topic, but now, with Aya… The walls were down. She bit her lower lip and looked away.

"Disgusting? You?" Aya finished for her and Kiku winced. "What on earth are you talking about? It's not that I don't get it. I felt like that too, I hate my scar too." She shrugged. "But… It's only in our heads, Kiku. And we need to learn to accept it eventually."

Kiku was staring at her feet, thinking about it. For Aya to feel disgusting… She couldn't believe that, but it was probably true. The redhead wasn't flawless and there were probably more things she was still keeping to herself.

"Look," she sighed, wondering what to say to the small girl. "Wakamatsu-senpai isn't prejudiced, but you already know that. Don't you?"

"He'd be disappointed in me." She sighed. "I'm weak and too small. I'm scared of people and clumsy. I know near nothing about basketball, and I'm not even pretty. What's there to like? Nothing, right? I'm nothing. Nobody… totally worthless."

Aya sighed again, this time in exasperation. She had no idea Kiku felt that worthless. "And you're also smart, courageous," she could see the protest arising, so she quickly continued, "– yes, you are! You're trying to face everyone and you are changing. In your own pace. Your cooking is awesome, you're a marvellous archer – or so I believe. You're learning about basketball and you're absolutely adorable, cute and beautiful. You're not nothing. So stop underestimating yourself, my dear. None of my friends is worthless; never forget that, 'kay?" She ruffled Kiku's hair.

Kiku had to blink the tears away. "…You've had a crazy week, shared that stuff with Aomine-san, and you're still encouraging me?" She asked in disbelief.

The redhead grinned. "Sounding all cool… It helps me too. And well… Aomine hugged me today." She mumbled. "I'm not sure what to do now. So thinking about something else helps me keep my mind occupied."

All Kiku's personal drama was forgotten and her eyes widened. "What?! Aomine-san did what? The Aomine-san?!"

"Uhm… yeah. You know the guy. Tall, tanned, hot, sitting behind me… Why?"

Kiku rolled her eyes at the explanation. True, I asked the stupid question… "Well… I mean, he's super scary. Frowning all the time…"

"Is he? I guess he frowns a lot, but I've never found him scary."

"Because you're similar." She muttered under her breath. "Did he confess or something?"

"What? Of course not. Nothing like that. I guess he just wanted to comfort me somehow. He's not good with words… But I have to admit, he found the best way to show that he cares. And now I'm a bit confused. We have to work on that project… That's gonna be super awkward…"

"You really do like him." She smiled softly at her friend. "It's the two of you. You'll handle it, playing all tough and uninterested I believe." Usually, she wouldn't tease Aya, but she couldn't help it this time.

"Yeah, right." Aya rolled her eyes. "Tough and uninterested, huh? I'm not sure I want that…" But jumping into things won't make it any better…

A/N: I hope I didn't overdo it (as usual), and that Aomine is in the character! I wondered about it a lot really, but then again, I think he might be the type to freeze up a bit when things get out of his control, well soo... :) He recovers quickly though. :)

Let me know what you think but remember, reviews are appreciated but never necessary.

-S.