Would you dare?

by Sonya06

What if Kagami Taiga had a twin? And what if that twin happened to be a challenging girl, who decided to attend Touou Academy as the second manager of the basketball team... Is she capable of managing the problematic ace? And is he capable of handling her?

33. Chapter 33: Stormy heart

A/N: Thanks to everyone who followed, favourited and reviewed! It makes me very happy :) Here's the long awaited "study session" chapter.

Enjoy! :)

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I've never seen anythin' sexier in my life, and she's not even naked yet. ― Simone Elkeles, Rules of Attraction

Home is people. Not a place. If you go back there after the people are gone, then all you can see is what is not there any more. ― Robin Hobb, Fool's Fate

We are who we are for a lot of reasons ― Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

...do you actually think that how long a person grieves is a measure of how much they loved someone? — David Wroblewski

Never apologize for burning too brightly or collapsing into yourself every night. That is how galaxies are made. ― Tyler Kent White

Love is not a maybe thing, you know when you love someone. ― Lauren Conrad

And I guess I realized at that moment that I really did love her. Because there was nothing to gain, and that didn't matter. ― Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The love that comes from friendship is the underlying facet of a happy life. – Chelsea Handler

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"Finally done?" Daisuke asked the teenagers when they walked into the kitchen. The dogs were clean and blow-dried, while Daiki and Aya were soaked and dirty. He chuckled at the sight. "You did a good job."

"Thanks to someone, we had to." He teased his mother, who was cooking. He sniffed and grinned. "You making teriyaki noodles?"

"Yeah. Thought you might be happy." She smiled at him. "I hope you like teriyaki, Aya-chan?"

"Of course." Aya nodded with a smile. "I eat about anything. Well… besides still living things and escargots. Urgh…" She shuddered at the memory of being forced to eat one alive.

"Es – What?" Daiki asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Snails." She elucidated and laughed at his disgusted expression. "Yep, that's the right reaction."

"You're part French, right, Aya-chan?" Michiko asked just to be sure.

"Yeah. My grandpa is French. But! Frogs and snails are really not something they eat. Not at all." People loved to jump to that conclusion, thought she never really got the reason why.

Michiko chuckled; happy that Aya-chan was feeling relaxed in their company. "No one said that. I was – Hey!" She slapped Daiki's hand, which was about to steal a piece of chicken, away. "Wait for the dinner!"

"Tch." He rolled his eyes. "I'm hungry."

"Go take a bath first. Then come for dinner."

"Yeah, yeah." He headed towards stairs followed by Shiro.

"And let Aya-chan go first! And give her a change of clothes!"

He waved his hand at Aya to follow him. "Gee'. Yes. Come on, or you'll be the last one bathing."

Aya just shook her head, but quickly followed. She didn't mind being left alone with his parents; she just didn't want to stumble around the house trying to find the bathroom, or his room. They climbed up the stairs and Aya was looking all around her, trying to notice as many things as she could. It was an interesting house, a combination of something traditional and modern. At the upper floor there was a relatively narrow corridor and several rooms. They had a dog fence at the top of the stairs, which could've been closed to keep the dogs either down or up; given they weren't crazy enough to jump over it.

"Well that was quick." He muttered as he walked into his room, eyeing the futon his mother had already prepared, though it was thankfully still folded up.

"Uhm…" Aya stood at the threshold. "Can I come in, or am I supposed to ask permission, or something?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Why? You nominated yourself to sleep here. No reason to act shy now, Sweetheart." He teased with a smirk.

If she hadn't known him she might've been offended by his words. "Very well then." She shrugged and walked in mapping his room.

It was neater than she'd expected and about as big as hers, nothing overly spacious but nothing too small either. Shiro's bed was in a corner of the room, hidden between the wardrobe and his bed. He had a big window above a big desk and several shelves with books. You don't read, huh? She thought as she tried to read the titles, but they were too far away from her to see. He had another shelf with two basketballs and couple of medals and trophies earned in competitions. She smiled at that. A small coffee table was set in the middle, probably for them to study at, and her bag was already placed near it. She hadn't realised Michiko had taken the bag.

Peripherally she noticed Daiki rummaging through his wardrobe and before she could ask anything, he threw a t-shirt at her. "Here."

She caught it and stared at him for a moment. "To change into, I s'pose?"

"I don't have anything smaller." He shrugged. "About shorts, I'll go ask mom to give you hers."

"No need to. I have my own."

"You have a change of clothes?" He asked in surprise.

"I wear them under the uniform, remember? And the uniform didn't get dirty. But thanks for the t-shirt." She smiled and kneeled to fish out the shorts from her bag. They were super short, but in combination with Daiki's huge t-shirt it shouldn't be a problem. Besides… she never minded short shorts.

"The bathroom is at the end of the hall. Put your clothes in the basket and mom will wash it."

"Huh?" She blinked at him unused to have someone taking care of things like that. "Oh. Yeah, right."

He noticed her faltering. "What?"

Hiding it behind a smile, she answered: "It's nothing. I'll be quick, so don't worry, you'll get to eat soon enough."

Daiki rolled his eyes and waved a hand at her. "Go already. Shoo."

"Hai, hai." She chuckled and turned to leave, but before she exited the room, "and don't even think about spying," she added over her shoulder.

A wolfish grin flashed on his face. "I haven't thought about it, until you suggested it."

Daiki:1, Aya:0. "You'd better quickly forget it again then, Honey bun."

"Why? It's a pretty nice image."

She didn't answer to that. She turned on her heel and quickly walked towards the bathroom, not looking back at him. That grin of his made her stomach quiver, and she wondered about her sanity. Comments like those should've made her feel grossed out, or something, but she was actually what? Excited? She couldn't really grasp it herself.

The bathroom didn't have a lock, which was questionable but understandable, and at the given situation it made her really worried. At least, she trusted that Daiki wasn't the type of guy who'd walk in on her. Though, she decided to take a quick shower rather than a bath, which Michiko had prepared earlier.

Daiki slumped onto his bed when she'd left. "This is gonna be one hell of a long weekend." He muttered and stared at the ceiling.

She was back in less than 10 minutes, rubbing her hair dry. "Uhm, where should I put the towel to dry?" She asked as there was no obvious place for it in the bathroom.

He blinked at her, ignoring her question. The t-shirt reached her thighs and completely covered the shorts, making it look as if she had nothing under it. And it was his t-shirt she was wearing. At that moment he thought all the idol magazines could go to hell, because he'd never seen anything sexier than Aya wearing his clothes. He was wondering if she was wearing a bra or not, and he thought that she wasn't. It must've been as soaked as the rest of her clothes so…

She rolled her eyes at that slight blush and absent minded look on his face. "Aomine. Are you listening?"

"Uh... What?" He blinked and finally looked at her face.

"Where can I put the towel to dry?" She repeated the question.

"Balcony in the guest room." He said and got up to show her which room it was. When he walked past her he stopped for a moment staring down at her in shock. "Did you use my shower gel?"

"So it was yours. Well then, I guess I did use yours." She smirked.

It left him speechless for a moment. She was too much, really, provoking him like that. "Do you realise what you're doing, or are you testing my self-control?"

"Yes and yes." She laughed teasingly.

He shook his head and rather headed towards the guest room or he'd seriously do something to her. He was thinking of getting off in the shower to survive the evening, anyways. He took a towel from her and went to hang it over the clothes dryer.

"Not really." She said with a sigh, leaning against the door frame.

"Huh?"

"I'm not a guy so I don't really know how you see this, but I'm not trying to test your self-control." She smiled. "I know I should've used your mom's stuff, but…" She bit her lower lip and continued in a quieter voice. "I'm sorry, but I can't stand the sweet flowery scents. Least of all the rose scented things." Which was exactly what Michiko had.

"…" That apologetic expression of hers was damn cute. No, she doesn't know how I see this… "You should go downstairs."

"…" The hungry look in his eyes made his suggestion seem like a very good idea, because it was contagious. She partly wished they hadn't had this vibe. Stupid, you love this vibe. "Yeah, I should. I'll go ask if your mom doesn't need help." She said, turned around and tying her hair, she headed out of the room, hoping it would go away once they'd start studying.

So she doesn't like flowery scents… He made a mental note about it and then he rubbed his face in despair. If it hadn't been Aya, he wouldn't have noticed such a comment. Yes. He needed a cold shower.

######

"Took you long enough!" Daisuke laughed, when Daiki came to the kitchen almost half an hour after Aya-chan. He had a pretty good idea what his son had been doing.

"Tch. So? Any problems?"

"Nothin' at all." He chuckled and looked at the two women ignoring them and talking about the food on the stove. "Aya-chan is… I thought she'd be a bit gloomy or angry or... I don't know. She is like sunshine and a hurricane at the same time."

Daiki shrugged and looked at Aya's back with a small smile. "Didn't I tell you that?"

The expression Daiki had was unusually soft and kind. "Hmph…" Daisuke huffed proudly. "So my son finally respects and admires a girl. Thought it would take you years…"

"Tch. Leave it."

"Hm?" Aya turned around. "What's up?"

Daisuke smiled brightly and pointed at Aya's bruised thigh. "Just wondering who you fought with to have those... And how that person looked like at the end."

"Worse than me…" She laughed. "But no. It was an accident during the practise. Couple of accidents…" She added begrudgingly under the Daisuke's strict but kind glance. "But everything's fine. Things like these happen."

"I always thought that dancing was safe." Michiko said with a smile and started setting the food on the table.

"Appearances can be deceptive." Aya turned around with a chuckle. "Oh, I'll help." She was willing to help and avoid the topic too, but Michiko put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her to sit on a chair.

"You're our honoured guest Aya-chan. Let me serve, or I'll be offended." She said with a meaningful look in her black eyes.

Aya sighed. "Okay, but if I can help with something, let me know. I'm not used to being spoiled like this." They did have a housekeeper back in L.A., who did the cooking and all, but…

"Spoiled? By being fed a dinner? Aya-chan please." Michiko rolled her eyes theatrically and put down the last serving for herself. "It's the least I can do, for all your help with this mildly dumb basketball freak, who barely tells us anything." She said giving a pointed look at Daiki, who rolled his eyes in response. He had told them quite a lot actually…

"Alright then." She nodded and smiled. The food smelled amazingly well; she couldn't wait to dig into it.

At first, Michiko had thought it would be difficult to lead a conversation with Aya-chan. But soon she learned that it was the easiest thing to do. She herself was open and cheerful, and so was Aya. The conversation flowed naturally and Aya was happily talking about the school and teachers, practises and matches... Daiki kept quiet and listened to the talk, rarely jumping in to correct some of Aya's 'practise' stories. And she finally explained Michiko the rules of the sport named basketball, which meant so much for her son, and who had considered the explanation to be too much of a drag.

"I can't believe you haven't explained this to your mom. Really…" Aya shook her head in disapproval, but she had an amused expression. This was like Daiki. "But…" She looked at Michiko again. "Haven't you been to his matches?"

"Ah…" The woman looked away from the big reddish brown eyes staring right at her. "Well… I either work, or Daiki forbids me to go... And I wouldn't get it either way." She shrugged and got up to wash the dishes.

He nodded to that. "That's right, whose mother goes to their matches? Tch."

"Maybe yours should start with it. Right, Michi?" Daisuke winked at her and passed her his plates. "And I probably should as well."

"Urgh… Couldn't you rather give us tips for the project?" His father was a kind of a history freak after all; who else should he ask if not him?

"I've already given you my tips. Now you two have to sit by the books and net, and put it all together. I hope you informed Aya-chan, right?" He looked at her for a confirmation.

"Yep. I was enlightened on our way here. And it is really interesting." She nodded. "I don't really know much about Japanese history, as it wasn't a subject in the States. But I'm actually glad we have to do this. The formation of shogunate and its function… I mean, there is so much to learn. The paper is too short for that…"

"Too short? It's 15 goddamn pages!" Daiki protested immediately. He liked history, but 15 pages were just too many.

"Language young man!" Michiko scolded him.

"Tch. Yeah, yeah… Anyways…" He raised an eyebrow at Aya. "You aren't much into history, or…?" He'd never noticed if she had a favourite subject or not, she was fine with everything, maybe except math, physics and chemistry…

She shrugged with a smirk. "More than into chemistry, definitely… Aaand… to me, it really depends on the person explaining. Ueda-sensei, for example, does a very decent job in keeping me interested, so do my grandfathers; but the sensei in Akita was terribly monotonous and boring."

Daisuke laughed at that. "I completely understand that. Had some lame teachers in the high-school too."

"Same here!" Michiko added over her shoulder and dipped a plate into water. "What's the time, honey? When do we need to leave?"

"?" Daiki looked between them in utter confusion. Weren't they supposed to stay at home?

"Date night." He replied seriously and then looked at Michiko. "We still have half an hour to get ready."

"Where are you going?" He asked for a more detailed explanation than just a 'date night'.

"Cinema and a late night dinner afterwards. There is something mom wants to see."

"Oh… Good luck on surviving the movie." Daiki cringed, already pitying his father; he knew what type of movies his mother loved, and it definitely wasn't something for either of them.

Daisuke sighed, inwardly agreeing with his son. He couldn't handle horror movies just as much. But… "What wouldn't I do for my lovely lady, eh?" He teased her lovingly. "And I'll check up on your progress when we get back, so behave. Akari will keep an eye on you."

He rolled his eyes in annoyance and decided to change the topic. "Do I need to take 'em out?"

"Nah, Akari had her walk before I'd come home and the two devils were walked by mom. Let the back door opened for them, just in case, but the walk isn't necessary today."

"'kay. So we'll do the project. Hopefully the whole damn thing, right?" He sighed and looked at Aya, but she wasn't paying attention to him, and was staring into nowhere in particular, lost in thoughts. She was holding onto her scarred shoulder, and he wondered if she realised it, or if it was just an unconscious impulse of hers.

Daisuke noticed too and blinked at his son in question, who responded with a shrug.

"Would you like a tea, Aya-chan?" Michiko asked cheerfully, putting a kettle on; oblivious to a warning look Daisuke sent her.

"Ah, uhm," Aya blinked at the sudden question aimed at her. She got too consumed by their 'date night' plans and the whole feeling and dynamics of Aomine family. It reminded her so much of what she'd once had and lost; of how her own parents used to interact, and she couldn't help but feel sad and a bit envious. She missed this…

"Are you okay?" She asked immediately with concern in her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah." She stammered. "Sorry. I'm fine. And, uhm… I'd like a coffee, if it's okay. I'm just a bit tired."

"If you say so." Michiko hummed and decided not to probe. They needed to leave soon anyways. "But don't overwork. If you want to sleep, take a nap."

"I'll keep that in mind." She smiled, hoping it was reassuring enough.

In half an hour, Daisuke and Michiko left for their date night, and the two teenagers were left alone to write the paper and study for the final exams.

"We should get started." Aya said and washed her coffee cup.

He took out two glasses and a juice his mom had put in the fridge. "You want any snacks?"

"Not yet. I'll let you know if I want something." She nodded with a surprised smile. "To think that you'd be this hospitable, Honey-bun…"

"Tch. Very funny…" He shook his head and headed to the stairs, followed by the dogs. So she's fine, huh? He didn't buy it. "Hey," suddenly he whipped around to ask her if she was really okay, but…

"Uff." She was close behind him, so when he suddenly stopped and turned she bumped into him, barely catching one of the glasses she knocked out of his hand. "Watch it." She mumbled and rubbed her nose.

"You really okay?" He asked what he wanted before he'd lose the courage or she'd start with something else, and took the glass from her again.

She blinked at him. "Yeah, fine."

His eyes narrowed. "Y' didn't seem 'fine'."

"Tch. And what do you want to hear?!" She asked frowning, a sharp edge appearing in her voice. "That I miss mom?! That your family is the spitting image of what mine used to be once? And that it reminds me of what doesn't exist for me anymore?"

What? He blinked and took a step back.

Noticing Daiki's shocked and confused expression, which was a perfect reflexion of 'oh… I don't know how to react now', she pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. She shouldn't have let that out, and not in that almost angry tone. Those few days before Keiko's anniversary were always difficult for her, and Aomine's family was like a life's way of mocking her, another nail in the coffin. She had no real reason to be angry or envious, but some part of her heart just couldn't get rid of the panging emptiness and longing she felt.

"Sorry." She muttered and locked it all away. This really wasn't Daiki's fault and she had no right to be upset.

"That's…" He stammered; he had no idea Aya could feel like this. Heck, he could've, should've expected it, given her circumstances… But there was nothing he could do. What the hell is wrong with me? I shouldn't have asked at all…

"…my problem and I should've been used to it by now. I'm sorry for that, and don't worry, I'll be fine." She said with a kind smile. She was genuinely surprised by the bluenette's care. It was just so unusual.

"…you're not upset…" He half-said half-asked, using a very careful tone, which wasn't usual for him.

"I miss her, I'm a bit sad, but I have no right and no reason to be upset. Though… If you ask it one more time…" I will be.

"Right." He nodded. "Let's do the damn assignment." He said in an order-like voice.

"Yes, sir!" She saluted and chuckled shortly.

A quicksilver. He thought again and headed up to his room.

He set the juice on the desk and started setting up his laptop and books on the smaller table, his mom had prepared for the studying. He really wanted to have this done already. The dogs were all crammed in Shiro's bed, and were watching him curiously from their bundle of legs and tails. He'd never believed they could be comfortable in those yoga positions they performed.

"No way!" Aya squealed out of nowhere, which startled him a bit.

"What?" He glanced up at her and raised an eyebrow at the sight. She was kneeling on his bed, boldly checking out his book shelves.

"You have the 'Ranger's Apprentice' series! No way!" She pulled out one of the books with an overexcited expression. It must've been read several times; the corners were chipped, and the cover was worn down.

His jaw dropped. "…you know it?" He was flabbergasted. It was his third favourite series, which was considered a boyish one, and Aya was a girl, a dancer… Well… A tree climbing and basketball playing girl and a dancer… No way…

"If I know it?!" She asked incredulously. "I freaking read it in three different languages, but the original is just the best!"

"You're kidding me…"

######

"Kagami-kun! Focus, please." Kuroko tapped his pencil against the Classical Japanese textbook impatiently. He'd explained the stuff several times already, but Kagami-kun just wasn't listening. It was well past 10 PM on Friday and everyone was tired, but they had to cram everything into Kagami's skull or he'd be unable to go to the training camp.

Though, Kuroko had to admit that Kagami-kun had gotten a bit better, but it was still insufficient. Without Midorima-kun's pencil there was only a very slight, almost nonexistent, chance of Kagami-kun passing the tests.

"I'm tryin', all right?!" He threw his hands up in a desperate gesture, almost hitting Furihata in the process. His brain just wasn't adjusted for cramming or studying like this. Mainly when he was thinking (and worrying) about Aya and mom; now he was doubting his decision to get Aomine involved.

"Then try more!" Riko scolded him almost immediately. "We can't spend the whole weekend on one subject only!"

"Urgh! But it's impossible, when Ay– ah…" He bit his tongue.

"When what?" Kuroko asked staring at Taiga.

The redhead backed away under the ghostly stare. He wasn't quite used to it yet. And after their little argument, he felt weirdly self-conscious, because he knew he'd hurt Kuroko and had never apologised – nor planned to apologise. "It's nothing…" He mumbled.

"It's not nothing when you are this distressed."

He frowned at Kuroko. "It's none of your business, then."

"Aya-san?" Kuroko guessed, not backing away. He knew that when he pushed enough, Kagami-kun would give way.

Taiga grumbled something under his breath.

"What's up with Aya-chan?" Riko asked curiously, which only put more pressure on Taiga.

"And who is this Aya-chan?" Kiyoshi asked confusedly. He hadn't been lucky enough to meet the girl everyone else seemed to know.

"Kagami-kun's twin sister." Koganei cleared for him.

"Oh… I didn't know. And what's up with Aya-chan then?" Kiyoshi joined the interrogation with an expression of utter innocence.

"Urgh…" Taiga rubbed his hair in despair. He couldn't run from it as he really needed the help. "Writing an assignment…"

Kuroko stared at him with his blank expression, but Taiga'd swear that this blank expression was equal to a raised eyebrow.

"With Aomine…" He added begrudgingly, which caused several gasps and whispers among his team. "…alone…" He added; his despair magnifying. "…at his place…"

"Uuuhm…" Riko was blushing by now. She didn't like Aomine, and he had mocked her team, but… well… She could clearly see his built with her inner eye, and well… Forgetting the face and the personality, he was damn hot.

Taiga shot her almost a panicky glance. "What do you mean by that?!"

It was probably the first time in Kuroko's life when he had to suppress an eye roll. This was ridiculous. No matter how much he'd changed, Aomine-kun was definitely not the type to hurt Aya-san in any way. "Why don't you just call her?"

"No way! She'll know I'm checking up on her and then…" He paled. "No."

Everyone sighed. How stupid…

"Fine." Riko fetched her phone and dialled Aya's number, making sure she was far out of Taiga's reach. "I'll do it."

"No!" Taiga jumped up and threw himself over the study table and several guys to snatch the phone. He knocked over several glasses of water causing a little flood. The hit boys grumbled and groaned under Taiga's weight, sharp elbows and knees, cursing the impulsive redhead.

"Oi, what are you doing, Bakagami?!" Hyuuga yelled at him angrily.

Riko squealed in fright, she hadn't expected him to be so quick and nimble at the moment so it startled her and the phone flew across the room, already dialling Aya.

"Yes?" Aya's voice sounded on the other end almost immediately and everyone in Riko's room froze. "Riko?"

Kuroko picked up the phone and turned it on the speaker. "Hello, Aya-san." He greeted calmly, it was rude to ignore her like that.

"Kuroko-kun? Uhm… Did something happen?"

"Not really. Kagami-kun is just worried about you, thus unable to focus on studying, so–" Kuroko said the truth straight faced.

"Shut up!" Taiga shouted in English and roughly slapped his hand across Kuroko's mouth, which earned him a nasty glare from the shadow.

"Taiga?" Aya sounded irritated, that tone demanded an immediate explanation.

"Ahaha… It's nothing. Nothing at all."

"…we'll settle it at home…" She said ominously, and Taiga was suddenly scared for his life. "But… I'm fine, we're on the 8th page of the assignment and three huge dogs were ordered to watch us. So… anything else?"

"No." He peeped.

"Good. Focus on studying. If you don't pass you'll be ironing the clothes for the next semester."

"The whole semester?" He asked carefully. Ironing was the one thing he hated and never had to do.

"Or maybe until the end of the school year?" Aya's voice was sweet, but unbelievably frosty at the same time.

"I'll study!" Taiga shrieked in terror. "Anything but ironing."

"Very good then… Oh… Aomine's sending you greetings. Hey!" There was a shuffling sound as Aomine snatched Aya's phone. "Yo, don't worry, sister-complex, she's safe an' sound." Aomine's voice was lazy, and sounded unbelievably arrogant. "You should focus, Mr. loser, wouldn't it be sad if you couldn't practise?"

"Aomineee!" Taiga growled.

Aomine cackled shortly. "Determination is good, but it won't help you–" They could hear another shuffling and something that sounded awfully close to a smack on the back of Aomine's head and then his muffled protests and curses. "Sorry. He can be more unbearable than Kouta at times. I bet I'm on the speaker, so, Hi everyone! Please help the Bakagami in my stead. You have my blessing to beat some knowledge into him! And a little advice on the English… Don't let him think about it. He usually gets it right when he doesn't have the time to analyse it."

"Mm-hm…" They all hummed collectively, baffled by the exchange.

"Great then! I hope to see you at some of the Interhigh matches! Oh and! Tatsuya caught up the entire first semester in couple of days; do you wanna let him win again, dear twin?" She added another argument she knew would work.

"I hate you. But fuck no!" He shouted, which earned him a smack from Riko. "Quiet, my parents are in the house!" She hissed.

"Love you too, bro." She said in a mocking tone, knowing he hated when she called him 'bro'. "Study hard. Good luck and bye, bye!" Aya hung up.

"So Aya-chan." Kiyoshi said shaking his head, looking at the disaster Taiga had caused while trying to snatch the phone. The way she could handle Kagami was something he hadn't seen so far. She must be an interesting person.

"Aya-chan." Riko nodded in confirmation, half-reading Teppei's mind.

"Who's Tatsuya?" Hyuuga asked. "And Kouta?"

Taiga rolled his eyes. "No one important…" But if he plays in the winter… Damn it!

"Okay!" Riko clapped. "Let's focus on the studying for real! You –" she pointed at Taiga, "go out for a short run to cool off. Hyuuga-kun, please go with him so he doesn't run away."

"Ossu." They both nodded and left.

"The rest of you, let's tidy up this mess." She sighed desperately.

######

"Ouch." Daiki was rubbing the spot where Aya had hit him to get the phone back. "What was that for?!" He glared at her nastily, which reminded her of their first meeting so many weeks ago.

"Shall we stop exaggerating?" She raised an eyebrow at him, confidently withstanding the glare which had sent so many girls running away in tears. "I didn't use any strength at all. And… You do not steal my phone like that ever again. Understood?"

The annoyance by Taiga's check up was still obvious in her voice and expression. "Tch, yeah, whatever." He decided it was wiser to retreat. He had just witnessed her icy anger. He didn't wish to be on the receiving end.

"Great." She smiled, and the frosty smile sent a shiver down his spine.

Then she sighed and he could see how all the annoyance and frost disappeared from her expression and a small kindling fire returned to her eyes. This ability of hers amazed him to no ends. He didn't realise that a kind smile settled on his face.

"What?" She asked, baffled and amused by his expression. It was so rare she wasn't sure she saw right. It was close to 11 PM, she might've had a hallucination caused by fatigue.

"Hm?" He blinked and the smile disappeared like a ghost.

"Nothin'." She shook her head. "Let's get on with this." She pointed at the laptop in front of her, where she was writing the assignment, while Daiki was telling her or discussing with her what to write, or explaining some history stuff along the way. Her typing skills were much quicker and she made fewer mistakes so this was an obvious solution. Though his explanations sucked sometimes…

A yawn escaped him. "Can't we take a break?"

That didn't sound like such a bad idea. They had been working for a couple of hours. She yawned too and stretched. "If you want to sleep, you can take a nap… Am I allowed to prepare a coffee for myself?"

He nodded. "I don't know how you like i– your coffee." He specified in the last moment to avoid an embarrassing innuendo.

"I'll show you, but you have to tell me where you have all the things." She smiled and got up. "Come on."

With a snicker he followed after her to the kitchen. All three dogs fought to untangle and ran down the stairs after the two teenagers.

"That sounded like a thunderstorm." Aya mused as the three animals showed up wagging their tails. They were still overgrown pups, except Akari, but she liked to fit in with the rest. "Do you want some coffee too?"

"Urgh…" He shuddered. "I don't drink coffee. It's bitter." He made a grimace. "I'd rather have some energy drink than coffee."

"Hmmm… so you don't like bitter stuff?" She glanced at him as she measured the amount of coffee.

He just shook his head like a little kid refusing to eat something.

"But you are tired, right? You can go to sleep if you want. I can finish it by tomorrow on my own."

True, he wasn't used to staying up too late. But right now was a special occasion. He didn't want to go to sleep. Plus the topic interested him. "Forget that… I chose the topic, so I want to finish it together."

"Then I'll make a coffee for you too. I s'pose you don't have any energy drinks?" She raised an eyebrow at him in question. Despite his disgust with the taste of black coffee there was a slight hesitation, followed by another long yawn. And Aya knew how to use that. "You'll like it, trust me."

"Is that a challenge?"

She shrugged and smirked. "If you want it to be."

"Oh." He raised an eyebrow and nodded slowly in agreement. "Then…I could try…"

"Okay then. I'll need sugar and milk or cream, whichever you have and… do you like and have any ground cinnamon?"

"I guess I'm fine with cinnamon." He nodded to himself and shuffled to the counter to search for it.

Afterwards, he sat on a chair and observed Aya doing her magic. Only the lights above the counter were turned on, and all he could see was Aya silhouette against the light. Her hair was tied up in a loose messy bun, some strands escaping here and there, making the nape of her neck look really cute. It took him a moment to notice that she was very quietly humming and moving to the rhythm ever so slightly. Her movements were so smooth and so slight he'd barely noticed.

"Ready and done!" She said cheerfully and whipped around with both coffees ready. His was in a much bigger mug than hers. "Give it a try." The mug was pushed into his hand and he had no other choice.

"Come." He said and walked out of the kitchen.

"Oi, wait. Where?"

"Tch, just move those legs of yours." He grumbled impatiently. A 20 minute break wouldn't kill them.

"Exquisite legs, if you'd mind." She said overly seriously, but the teasing humour was obvious in her voice. "Kano and Ishii assumed so on the very first day. I must admit. I liked the appreciation."

A smirk appeared on Daiki's face as he pulled the door leading to the back porch and the garden open and let her go out first. "Pardon me, Sweetheart, I appreciate the other parts a bit more, but they weren't wrong in their assumption." He said his over the top reply in the same overly serious tone.

They stared at each other, or tried to in the dark house, and then they both laughed.

"Come on." He motioned his hand to make her go out.

She stepped onto the porch, the three dogs almost knocking her down as they stormed out too. "Hey!" She protested and tightened the hold on her coffee mug. Then she looked out. "Wow." She breathed out. The high fence and the hedge planted all around it completely shaded the small garden from streetlights, which created a special place for Michiko to decorate. There were numerous garden lights, probably running on solar energy they gathered throughout the day. Some colourful lanterns were lining the wooden railing.

"And that the dogs destroyed the garden…" Aya shook her head. "It's beautiful."

"Thought you might like mom's other kid." He said with a shrug and sat down. He carefully smelled the coffee, as he leaned his shoulder against the railing and stretched his feet out of the porch.

She followed his example and sat down on the other side of the steps leading to the garden. But unlike him, she turned towards him, leaning her back against the railing and resting the mug on her bent knees. She sniffed the air for the moment. "Is that… uhm… wisteria?"

"Huh? Oh, the purple dangling stuff?"

She laughed at his description. "Yeah. It has quite a special scent."

"You mind it?"

"Not yet."

"So wisteria, huh?" He repeated the strange name of the weird dangling plant. He'd never cared about what plants his mother had there, but he'd mow the lawn every once in a while. He didn't mind that, it was a simple enough task.

"How's the coffee?" She asked curiously, staring at his still full mug.

Only then he sipped a bit. The taste was so… sweet and tasty he didn't believe it was a legit coffee anymore. He loved the cinnamon added. But he couldn't just admit it. "…not bad…"

"Mhmm…" The grin on her face was hearable. "Delicious, you mean?" She asked teasingly. He grumbled something under his breath in reply, which she couldn't understand, but it only made her smile more. "Glad you like it. Wanna try mine?"

"What do y' have anyways?"

"A pure black coffee. The same stuff you have somewhere in there too."

He reached his hand to take her mug and sniffed it carefully. The scent almost blew off the top of his head. "Geh, what's that?" He scowled and returned her the coffee without trying it. "How can you drink it?"

"When I need to work late, it keeps me awake."

He snorted and glared at the black liquid suspiciously. "That would wake up the dead."

"Exactly what I need~" She smiled and sipped from her hot coffee contently.

Soon the dogs returned and settled near the teenagers, who were quietly enjoying the warm summer night. Kurome seemed to be very fond of Aya, because she forced Aya to straighten her legs and then rested her big furry head on top of Aya's thighs. Aya scratched her behind the ears, and Kurome let out a content sigh.

"Ne?" Daiki broke the silence carefully. "Uhm…If… if my parents did something you didn't like, then–" There was something about late night talks he had never understood. Not until he was sitting on the porch with Aya by his side and the three dogs curled up around them. It was nice and strange at the same time; an intimacy on a whole different level than he'd imagined. And he actually didn't mind talking about whatever.

"Stop right there." She interrupted him, immediately. "Your parents did nothing I disliked. They are awesome people, outgoing, kind, funny… I like them. I just… With mom's anniversary in a couple of days…" She sighed. "I don't know. I get this longing feeling. Like… There's something missing, lost, something that can never be replaced. On that day we didn't lose just our mom, we lost both of them, I think." It was easier to talk openly in this small wonderland and maybe she wanted to get it off her chest. And Daiki wouldn't interrupt her. "Yeah," she chuckled humourlessly, "living without parents and their constant questions and lectures seems great, until it becomes a reality and you realise that there is no one to run to when things get nasty, or when you're hurt and struggling and need advice..."

"I'm sorry…" He said quietly.

"Don't be, it has its positive sides too. We've become adults rather quickly." She shrugged. "We travelled a lot, learned a lot… by stupid decisions mostly. Met hundreds of interesting people…" She chuckled. "Maybe we'd never have that otherwise. Maybe we'd be different. I don't know. But nothing's just black and white. Aaah… Taiga's right, I'm just weird and can't let go."

"Letting go is never easy." He sighed in agreement.

"That's an experience talking."

"?"

"I think I know you already. So… I've answered your question from the afternoon. I wanna know what's bothering you too." She said with a smile and watched him.

He sighed and turned around to face her, bending his legs so that they didn't bump into each other. "Satsuki must've told you everything already."

"You'd be surprised, I mean… I know your shoe size, but I have no idea what really happened at Teiko. Or, I don't know… Taiga heard something from Kuroko-kun, but he refused to tell me, and besides… I think your point of view must be different after all."

He frowned at that. "…it's complicated."

"I don't mind complicated."

"Uhm…" He really wasn't good at explaining his thoughts and feelings. He didn't like poking in it any more than absolutely necessary. He was changing, somehow. He knew; he just didn't want to analyse it. He definitely didn't want to admit that he was softening up or something. He didn't care, shouldn't care. This just wasn't his style.

"Hmmm…" Aya hummed. "I guess talking about what's going through your head isn't your style, huh?"

He smirked at her, and there was something apologetic about it. "Not really."

"And if I ask directly? Will you answer?"

"I might try. For the coffee." He shook the mug in his hand and gulped the last bits of the delicious beverage she'd prepared.

"When you drifted off… What was the coach doing?"

He blinked, surprised by the question. "…persuading me to attend practises, and then laying in a hospital… We had a substitute coach after that." He scowled at that a bit.

She had a feeling she hit the nail. One person could have an unbelievable influence in another's life, she knew. "Who… I bet, told you not to come, if you felt you didn't need it…" She guessed, and by his frown she knew she guessed right. Then she started to put together a story from the pieces she'd learned so far. "You were rapidly improving, practising like an idiot, because you loved it. You had Kuroko-kun, who was your shadow, aiding you whenever needed. And then… suddenly you figured you were above everyone else, you didn't need Kuroko-kun anymore, you didn't have an equal and even Kise wasn't entertaining you enough. You were alone, far from people who were actually close. Kuroko, the older coach, Satsuki, and maybe even Kise were dragging you to practises in their own ways. And they were still managing, somehow… And then… and then the substitute coach came, telling you not to come, which only estranged you from the others even more. And it numbed you completely."

By his dead silence she knew she was piecing it together perfectly. "Your response was normal, after a while you shut out everything and everyone. I would've done the same."

"But you didn't."

"I was in a different environment. And in the Ballroom, you can't win alone, you can't enter a competition alone and during the competition, you can be only as good as your partner is. And I just love dancing."

"I don't think I can say the same anymore." He said with a sigh, remembering the match against Tetsu. …hating the only thing you love… Tch…

"You know what I think?"

He glanced up at her, and literally felt the intensity of her stare. He raised an eyebrow in a silent question.

"That you're just lying to yourself, trying to punish yourself for drifting away… I don't think you'd play with me, or try to help Kano and Arai if you truly hated the game. That's not what a person hating basketball does. And I think that you're actually excited."

"Excited?"

"You'll face your former teammates in the Interhigh. You do acknowledge them, which means you want to play against them."

"…and win. As I always do."

"Oh really? Well then… Imagine we end up facing Rakuzan… Who do you think will win? You, or Seijuurou?"

"I don't lose." He replied immediately, overlooking the fact that Aya called Akashi by his name.

"Neither does he." She opposed.

"Tch." He bit his lip and realised than indeed, he wanted that match in particular to happen. To figure this out, because this truly was a question he couldn't answer. They played different positions, had different styles, and yet… His former captain didn't lose. And the only one who could beat Daiki, was him. He actually got goosebumps thanks to Aya's simple comment.

"Well then… I hope I'll get to see the match." She said with a smirk.

"Me too." He said with a devious grin on his face. "I want to face Yosen as well." He added.

"During the training camp, you will for sure. In the Interhigh… depends on which bracket we end up in."

"That's not the same as an official match…" He grumbled.

"True… Which reminds me… I know your style is streetball, buuut…"

He raised an eyebrow. "But?"

"Tatsuya showed me something when I was there. I didn't ask Taiga because, duh… He wouldn't even listen. Probably… but I can't figure it out."

That sudden change of topic confused the hell out of him. "I'm not following."

She sighed and explained the miraculous shot Tatsuya had showed her.

"Mirage shot, you mean?" He filled in almost instantly. Truth to be told, he knew about it, but he'd never seen anyone pull it off successfully. He himself didn't know the trick; had never tried it. Technically, he knew how it worked, practically; he could probably do it, but it just didn't fit his style. Why lose time by throwing the ball up twice, if he could get it into the hoop on the first throw?

"It even has a name… Then, can you… uhm…"

"Do it? Maybe, but it's not my style. Never seen anyone pull it off correctly and never had to guard against anyone like that. You sure he did it?"

"100%. My reflexes are good enough, so are my jumps. And Tatsuya isn't as tall as you, so… He pulled it off. Perfectly."

"Hmph. I wanna see that."

"You will… Let me know how to guard against it then... When you figure it out."

"With pleasure." He grinned at her, and forced Shiro's head out of his lap while getting up. They needed to finish the project. The basketball talk only made him eager to play.

"We should get the work done, right?" She forced herself up too, sending the last glance towards the beautiful garden.

"I don't want to, but…" The summer classes are drag.

"The deadline." She sighed in disappointment. She'd rather play basketball too. Her nose twitched and she sneezed. "And the wisteria."

And they'll definitely need me in the Interhigh. He thought as he followed her. Maybe he was excited. The girl in front of him was slowly rekindling the spark, which was buried under the heaps of ashes. It was the truth whether he wanted to admit it or not.

######

"Tadaima. How's it going?" Daisuke's head peeked into Daiki's room well past midnight, as they returned home from the date.

"Okaeri'. Almost done." He replied with a long, wide yawn.

Aya copied him, she just covered her mouth. "One last page, and it's done, and we can finally take a nap."

"Well…" Daisuke chuckled. "You need to take the dogs out at four thirty, which is… in an hour an half."

Daiki groaned. "Can't you go? Look at that." He desperately pointed at the pile of books waiting to be studied.

"I will… With you."

"Seriously?"

"I can go in your stead." Aya offered herself, and then glanced at Daiki's father. "If it's okay."

"No can do." Daisuke said with a smile. "I don't mind you going, but Shiro's his; which means she is his responsibility as long as he is at home. And you're a guest Aya-chan. He can sleep a bit when he gets home, and let's be honest… one or two all-nighters never killed anyone."

"Tch, whatever." He grumbled, too tired to argue. "Let's finish this damn page."

---

Daiki returned from the morning walk dead tired. He could barely see where he was going. He shuffled to his room and almost tripped over Aya, who was curled up on the futon she'd spread on the ground.

"Shit…" He muttered as he stopped in the last second before accidentally kicking into her thigh and giving her another bruise and a really nasty wake up. But Aya didn't seem to register anything. Unlike him, she continued sleeping calmly, curled on her side. The red hair was let down and spread on the pillow in thick waves.

He was way too tired to pay any more attention to the sleeping girl in his room. He fell into his bed face-down and was cold within seconds.

######

"Mooom?" Satsuki called out to her mother on the Saturday's morning. "Where are you?"

"The bedroom! Reading!" The woman called back to her daughter.

Satsuki's quick steps echoed through the house as she ran to her mom and then jumped onto the father's side of the bed. He was in the hospital for the whole weekend so they had the entire weekend for themselves, and studying.

"What should I buy father for his birthday?" Satsuki asked with a desperate sigh. She just never knew.

"Takuma's birthday is in October. Aren't you thinking about it a bit too soon?"

"But Aoi-otou-san's birthday is tomorrow." She protested with a pout. "I've already told you, that Takuma is 'dad' and Aoi is 'father', can't you remember it?"

"Oh, sorry… So, Takano Aoi's…" She muttered, remembering the man she'd once loved, but divorced when he'd gotten involved with some very dangerous people, who had been threatening them, and Satsuki. As a mother, she'd chosen to protect her child. And it'd been the easiest choice in her life. "How is he anyways? At least he keeps in a proper contact with you…" She was happy that Satsuki hadn't lost the contact with her biological father, because she loved him as much as she loved her step-father.

"Fine. He had some girlfriend the last time I spoke with him, but we have a deal to go out for a lunch tomorrow, so I'll ask him again. What should I buy? Please help me! I never know…" She pleaded.

"He is a mechanic, what about some motorbike model? He's always loved those." She suggested. "And something sweet… but you shouldn't worry about it. Anything is fine."

"Thanks, mom." Satsuki hummed. "Wanna go shopping with me?"

"Shouldn't you study for the finals?"

"Nah, I just need to revise it. It should be fine. Though, maybe I'll call Aya-chan to help me with English… But! Shopping! Come with me!"

"Hmmm… I don't feel like going anywhere. Can't you go with someone else?"

"Aomine-kun won't go with me and Aya-chan is studying. Maybe I could give a call to Michan or Ki-chan."

"That sounds like a better company than me." She laughed and patted Satsuki's hair.

Satsuki nodded, but remained laying next to her mom and stared into the ceiling. Aya's reaction when she'd learned about Satsuki's short-lived ballet past was quite strange… It kept weighting her mind, but she couldn't remember. Hmmm…. "Mom? Where did I attend ballet classes?"

"Huh?" She blinked at her daughter in surprise. "You still remember that? I thought you'd forgotten long time ago…"

"Well yeah… It's not something I could completely forget. I remember some bits, but I can't make out the place. Where was it? Who taught me?"

"Hmmm…" Truth to be told, she had to think about it too. "I think it was Shiranui's ballet class. The old man and his wife were renowned teachers. I wanted you to learn from the best. Why?"

Satuski's eyes widened… "Uuuhm… Did I… Did I have any friends there?" She asked carefully, already guessing the answer.

"There were some twins… I don't remember the names, but they were partly the reason why you quit." She huffed. "You fixated on them too much, and when they left to America, you refused to go to the club anymore."

"I wasn't that good anyways…" She mumbled, but it was slowly coming back to Satsuki. The void she felt when her best friends had suddenly disappeared on her, the embarrassment when the other kids had made fun of her after that… Now she was 95% sure it had been Aya-chan and Taiga-kun. They had both asked if they hadn't met her before, but they hadn't been sure and she guessed it was caused by her change of name. The twins had known her as Takano Satsuki. Or well… Pinky… They had called me pinky. Because I was small and had pink hair…

"If you're curious, there should be some photos in the box… You know which one." She looked at her daughter by the corner of her eye. "Why are you asking now?"

"…I just… had a feeling, that… well, it's nothing, I'm just curious."

"Satsuki," she stared at her more intensely. "Don't tell me the twins are back."

"Oh, I think they are. I just couldn't remember before, and they can't figure it out either. But Aya-chan asked me like million times if we hadn't met before… Thanks for helping me, mom."

"If they hurt you again…"

"Mom, please. I don't remember it much. And it's not like a five year old can choose whether they leave with their parents or not."

"Still." She huffed. "At least Takuma assigned you for that mini basketball after that."

Satsuki chuckled. "Yeah, and to this day I wonder how it was possible that you approved."

"Love is blind, my dear." She laughed and picked up her book again. So the twins are back…

Satsuki got up and ran to get the box. She needed to be 100% sure before she'd say something to Aya-chan. And she had to think it through. She didn't want to tell her about her parents' divorce, or her change of name. It wasn't that strange, but she felt that Aoi-otou-san just gave her up; she knew it was only practical that she shared the same name as her mother, but… She didn't like talking about it, and she hadn't told this to Aomine either. It was none of anyone's business. But Aya feels I'm hiding something…

Ah. Here it is… She pulled out several pictures from the ballet class. At the back of the photo was a date and names of all the people. 'Kagami Aya (on the right), Taiga (on the left)' and she was in the middle. The twins were unrecognisable from one another, and the photo was taken after practise, so they were both dressed in the exactly same jeans and simple t-shirts and both of them had their hair short. On the other photo it was Satsuki standing below the tree growing in front of the gym and staring into the tree, where Aya was hanging upside down – laughing (or at least Satsuki believed it was Aya, because this was so like her) and Taiga was clutching to the trunk and crying – probably too afraid to climb down. She had to laugh at the picture. She went through the other ones, from practises, or playground…

Satsuki picked up her phone and dialled a number. When the person on the other end picked up, she spoke quickly and urgently. "Ki-chan. I need to talk with you. And it's personal."

"Momocchi! What's going on?" He asked in surprise. For Satsuki he was a perfect person to confide in. He was jovial, could listen, and knew when to keep his mouth shut. "Where do we meet?" And when his friend needed help… He could postpone the studying easily.

"Pick me up in an hour." She said seriously. Her heart was beating like crazy, but it was easier to talk to Kise first. The blonde could always advise her well, and she should train on spilling out the beans.

"Ossu. Count on it."

######

"Aya-chan. Mornin'." Daisuke greeted her. She was up sooner than Daiki, but they had returned from walking the dogs just recently, and Daiki must've been dead tired.

"Mornin'. Is it okay, if I make myself a coffee?" She asked carefully, behaving like at home was probably not the wisest idea when she was here as a guest.

"Sure, could you make some for me too?" The girl was just amusing. "Michi had to run for work, again, and she barely managed to prepare some breakfast for you. It's in the fridge."

"Sure, gladly, any special requests?" She asked with a smile and reached for the coffee.

"No. Just a pure black coffee." He yawned as if underwriting his request. "Nothing else would work on a policeman working all weird hours."

"I believe that."

"Daiki's still sleeping?"

"Yup. I'm actually surprised he didn't wake up when I crawled out of the futon. I've never seen him sleep so calmly."

"Skipping classed or trying to sleep through them, huh?" He sighed. "I wish we had more time to actually be with him."

Aya blinked at him incredulously. "Aren't you? I thought…"

"We're trying. But it's difficult. We work on shifts, or as you can see, whenever it's necessary. And Daiki's quite complicated too; it's worth a celebration if he talks with us. Especially the past year and half. Ah, adolescence." He shook his head, maybe he shouldn't discuss this with Aya-chan, but right now, she was probably closer with Daiki than Satsuki. And he wanted to subtly interrogate the girl too.

"He had it quite difficult… And yet, he trusts you enough to confide in you. In my opinion, you are great parents." She shrugged.

"Confide in? Ah, the articles, you mean?"

"Yup." She nodded and brewed the coffee for them. Kurome was leaning against Aya's leg almost the whole time. With a sigh, she leaned down and scratched the dog. "Yes, yes, you're a big cuddly monster. Mornin' to you too." She hummed.

Daisuke watched it with softness in his eyes. Kurome was in their pack the shortest, and they had adopted her from a shelter. Maybe the dog felt a bit left out; the way it clung to Aya immediately, it must've felt some sort of a kindred spirit in the girl. "Aya-chan, may I ask you something personal?"

"Hm?" She looked up at him cautiously. "Ah… Well, you're having me over for the weekend, it's only fair. I guess." Honestly, when Daiki had said his parents knew, she kind of expected an interrogation sooner or later.

"Your father… He believes those articles?"

"Yes. He's never really heard me out. It's like talking to a brick wall." She shrugged.

"Does he know you're here? At our place, I mean."

"No. He is America. And even when we lived in the same house, he never cared where or when I went, as long as I didn't shame him in any way. So why should I tell him now? Honestly, I think he doesn't know which schools we attend, let alone what I do on my weekends."

"Do you hate him?" He asked lightly but directly. He didn't want to corner her, he was just curious. And he seriously wanted to know her better.

A heavy sigh escaped Aya as she placed two coffees on the table and sat down. Suddenly, she didn't feel hungry. Talking about her father was never welcomed, but somehow, Daisuke made it almost easy. He had this air of reliance and fatherhood around him she couldn't explain, but it made her feel at ease. Maybe it was a policemen's thing.

"I don't know." She said finally. "I know he misses mom. I know he loved her very much, and us, but I think that in his heart he blames us. I can't explain it; it's just a feeling, but… I think I can't trust him with anything; he's never had my back in the past years. And I don't want to give him any leverage over me." She chuckled dryly. "Isn't it weird?"

"Leverage? What do you mean?"

"We have some sort of a cold war. When he has anything he can use to make me do something he needs, he will. If it's important for him… I'm a difficult person to handle after all, so this is the easiest way for him. Otherwise, he doesn't care."

"That's a blackmailing." He said with a deep frown. He wasn't a perfect father, but he'd never seriously blackmail his son with anything.

"I guess it is, but I can handle so far. I have a handful of things I can use against him, but… I've never done it yet, I can't; it makes my stomach turn. He is my father after all."

"Why don't you talk with him like this?"

"Talk?" She laughed. "I've tried, trust me. If only he's ever listened. For him, I'm a good for nothing whore, who can only dance well and do the work that he needs to be done…"

His eyes widened in shock when Aya shamelessly said that out loud. The girl had a handful of her problems and misery; she usually decided not to bother anyone with. And as a father, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Such behaviour of a father was in his opinion unacceptable. "I don't think it's true."

"He told me himself. Whether he meant it or not, I don't know." She sighed. "But... I want to try talking to him one last time. The time apart might've helped, somehow… He is the only parent we have left… Maybe I'm a masochist, but I guess I can't hate him after all."

"You're a very special daughter then, because if Daiki was in your position, he'd have left long time ago."

Special daughter?! "I wanted to… Gods, I still want to slam the door so much, but…" Her eyes turned glassy from held in tears; to hear that she was a special daughter from basically a complete stranger… She didn't tell him that for pity, or encouragement. Maybe she hoped for some advice, or understanding, she didn't know. "But then I remember all those times he danced with me standing on his feet, or taught me how to dribble, or climbed trees with us… And I just…" She bit the inside of her cheek to stop the tears from spilling out and took a deep breath. "He might not like me, but somehow, I can't believe that the person who once cared for us so much is completely gone. I just can't."

Daisuke chuckled dryly. "Then we are both hopeless idiots."

She blinked at him in astonishment. "What?"

"I hope that it will work out for you as it worked out for me and Michiko." Aya was still sending him incredulous look, so he continued. "Would you believe if I told you we were on a verge of divorce fourteen years ago? And that, for the time being, we sent Daiki to Thailand to grandma, just so he wouldn't be a victim or a weapon? Or rather… The grandma took him away after seeing the state of our relationship at the time. The time being was three years. Three damn years, when we didn't see our son at all."

"Oh… I… He didn't tell me."

"It was a long time ago and he, thankfully, doesn't remember much of it. Plus… He couldn't tell you, because he doesn't know why we 'put him away' then. We want to talk with him, when he is 'old enough to understand', but we're just postponing it. There are some things we don't want you kids to know. And it gets harder and harder as the years pass by." He knew he shouldn't be discussing this with Aya, but he couldn't help it. If he was trustworthy for Aya, she was trustworthy for him. She was a mature girl, who had more than enough bad experiences, but kept her smile and a certain distance. Now he understood why his son respected the girl so much.

"Postponed truths do tend to weigh people down." She nodded and stared into her mug, which was halfway empty now. "And if you don't want to, I won't talk about this with Daiki. He doesn't like talking about himself anyways. But… Why? If I may ask…"

His icy blue eyes stared at her in confliction. He wanted to get it off his chest, at least like this, but it wasn't only his 'secret' to tell. Michiko should've known. "I'd like to explain further but… It's not just mine, and Michiko isn't here. When we finally decide to tell Daiki, I think you'll be the first one to know."

Aya smiled. "I understand. Thanks for talking to me like this. I really appreciate it."

"It was my pleasure, young lady. You're used to dealing with adults right?"

"Can't help it…" She shrugged.

"You should eat something."

"I'm not that hungry now. I feel like having a cigarette mo–" –re. She slapped a hand across her mouth in dread. She relaxed too much for her tongue to slip like that.

Daisuke raised an eyebrow at her. "I haven't heard anything. Just don't get Daiki into smoking too, please."

"Definitely not!" She exclaimed loudly, then blushed in embarrassment and bit her lip. She glanced at Daisuke apologetically. "Ah… I'm sorry?"

"Why?"

She understood what he wanted to hear. "Helps with nerves, and stress… Calms me down after a nightmare." She blabbered quickly. "My brother hates it, he always scolds me. I'm really only an occasional smoker."

"How often is that?" He asked, switching into his policeman mode – to tease the girl a little.

"Twice a month? Or… depends on the month and the situation, and well…"

He chuckled at her nervousness. "It's your health, Aya-chan. And I'm not your parent. But you're too young to be slowly destroying it."

She looked at Kurome, guiltily. "I know." She mumbled under her breath.

"Now! Could I see the assignment? I'm really curious what you created." He said cheerfully, changing his behaviour as quickly as Aya.

"Uhm… Is it okay? Won't it bother you?"

"Me? Oh, no. It's Daiki who'll be fussing over it. He would've never shown me. So, Aya-chan, I'm relying that he's sleeping, and that you'll gladly become my partner in crime." He winked at her conspiratorially.

"Says a policeman. And that people should trust them… tcs, tcs, tcs." She chuckled and got up. "I'll fetch the laptop. Do you think I won't wake him up?"

"He is a light sleeper, but I think he won't be up till ten."

"Okay. I don't want to be caught in crime." She grinned widely and disappeared on the staircase.

She is like a quicksilver… He thought and chuckled to himself.

######

"Oh, sleeping beauty is up?" Aya chuckled when Daiki finally shuffled down the stairs to the kitchen.

He glared at her and grumbled something incoherent, still too groggy to answer properly. He hadn't slept for that long, only for a couple of hours.

Daisuke raised his gaze from the laptop, chuckling at Aya's comment. "You did a really good job with that project."

"Huh?" He blinked at the two sitting at the table with tea in their hands. "You read it?"

"Just finishing. And you really overdid yourselves. I'm proud. Good job." He hummed. "Now only if you study enough to pass like you did the last time…"

"Urgh… Leave me. I just woke up." He grumbled and searched for something edible in the fridge. Thankfully, mom had made him breakfast too, so he took it out and slumped to the table, stretching his long legs under it. "Where's mom?"

"They called her to work. Someone had called in sick and they needed to fill it…" Daisuke sighed in disappointment. He really hoped to be with his wife during the Saturday.

Daiki shrugged, this was nothing new. "At least I have a breakfast." He took the first bite and only then he finally woke up. "Wait… Why are you reading the project?" He looked at his father suspiciously.

Daisuke returned the look steadily. "Because I asked to see it."

"Tch. How could you give it to him?!" He snapped at Aya.

"Pardon me? I didn't know it was a secret project?" She raised an eyebrow at him in surprise. "What's the problem?"

"Tch… It's a principle! You should've asked me, dammit!"

She wanted to roll her eyes, and argue further, but then… "You were cute while sleeping." She teased him instead. "I didn't want to wake you up."

"Don't call me cute!" He growled at her in annoyance.

"But it's the truth!"

"Oh, just you wait you witch."

"What for?" She challenged him easily.

Daisuke started laughing at their bickering. "You two are simply hilarious."

"Huh?!" They both snapped their heads at him.

######

"Oh fuck this!" Daiki slammed a pen against a math textbook. He hated math. It was the subject he skipped the most, and always copied the homework from Sakurai.

Aya didn't startle, but Shiro barked in surprise and Kurome twitched, hiding her head under Aya's t-shirt.

"No, Honey-bun, we need to learn this." She said calmly; she'd been expecting some sort of an outburst sooner or later. It was math after all, she didn't like it much either, but she understood it most of the time. But this was geometry; she didn't get it that much.

"The hell?! I'll guess it." He scowled at the poor pen.

"Where do you take the confidence?"

He shrugged, still scowling. "I've never failed."

She sighed. "Somehow, I wish you do and learn a lesson. Then again, you're needed on the court, so we need you to pass."

The scowl was replaced by his typical smirk. "Aren't you conflicted, Sweetheart?"

She snorted. "A bit. But I need to pass too, you know. I'm not that lucky to guess, so I want to understand this crap as much as I can. You're no help… but maybe I should call Tatsuya to give us a short explanation."

He frowned at the idea. "Why not Ishii? Isn't he good at math too?"

"Oh, so you do know your teammates after all."

"Tch." He rolled his eyes at the statement.

She laughed. "…because Tatsuya has a better knack of explaining math to the idiot me already. And Ishii's probably too busy teaching Kano everything."

"Uhm, kids?" Daisuke's head peeked inside the room, interrupting whatever Daiki wanted to say. "About lunch…"

"God no!" Daiki shouted in terror and glared at his father, everything else forgotten.

Daisuke scratched the back of his neck sheepishly and chuckled. "I thought so… That's why I'm here…" He glanced at Aya expectantly. His cooking skills were rather terrible. He could make an edible food, even tasty sometimes, but it looked disgusting no matter what. There was no way he could serve something like that to a guest; Michiko would kill him for that.

"You want me to cook?" She caught up quickly and shrugged. "Sure, why not? If it's okay with you to let a stranger into your kitchen?" She teased the older man with a smile.

"Michi would kill me if I hadn't so… The kitchen is all yours. I hope it's not such a distraction." And I'm a bit curious what kind of food got Daiki into studying before…

Aya smiled and got up. "I think we need a distraction right now. We can always go through English while I cook, right?" She glanced at Daiki, who frowned again.

"I hoped to get some rest…"

"No can do. Take the book and we'll do it in the kitchen."

He raised an eyebrow at her in a hidden innuendo.

She rolled her eyes. "Just move that cute ass of yours already." She spun on her heel and followed after Daisuke, who'd left a moment ago.

"Hey!" He protested. "Take it back!"

"When hell freezes over!" She called over her shoulder. Father sure has a good show… She thought.

######

Aya really did call Tatsuya in the late evening, when they were back at math and really desperate. It made Daiki's mood sour, but soon he understood that it was probably the best thing she could've done. Tatsuya was on the speaker and all he did was explain the stuff to them in the simplest words possible. Daiki kept quiet the entire time, he had no reason to talk to the stranger on the phone, and Aya didn't tell Tatsuya there were two of them listening to the explanation. Daiki was a bit curious why, but he decided to ask her later.

"And that's about it… Was it helpful?" Tatsuya asked when he was done with everything that was supposed to be on the test.

Aya quickly glanced at Daiki, who nodded. What else could he do then begrudgingly admit that Tatsuya was really good at math? Although it did hurt his ego…

"Yup. Thanks a lot. And sorry for the late night disturbance."

"You're never a disturbance, Robin. Actually, this helped me with Japanese a bit too. I was used to explain math in English only. So, pleasure is mine." He said smoothly.

She rolled her eyes. "I hope to call you during a steamy sex once. I'm really curious if you pick up."

"Hah… You're terrible. That's not happening anytime soon."

"Mhm… You know who to tell that... And by the way, did Hero tell you about the training camp?"

"With Touou? Yeah. Honestly, I wanted to visit mom around the date, but I guess I'll stay. I'm curious about that Aomine. Might be worth my while."

Daiki raised an eyebrow and scowled at the phone. No, he didn't like this guy. But Aya sighed and he blinked at her in surprise.

"Just keep your shoulder in place till then."

"Yeah, right… There's no gambling basket around here, and I'm not going home during the summer break either, so I'm safe and sound. Don't worry."

"Whatever. Thanks for the help–"

"You owe me."

"A coffee and a cake maybe, but that's that." She said icily, remembering the last time he had 'helped' her and Hero out.

He sighed heavily. "I didn't mean it like that. And–" They could hear a soft knocking. "I need to go now."

Aya blinked in surprise. "Sure. Thanks again. And good luck~" She hummed.

"Go to hell, Robin." He growled and hung up.

She was chuckling quietly. "Not happening anytime soon, huh?"

Daiki blinked at her in surprise. "A girl?"

"Or Atsushi. But I'm 95% positive it is a girl. He sent me to hell, and I know him. Now that he doesn't have a girlfriend weighing him down, it was just a matter of time really."

Daiki snorted. "What a bastard."

Envious? "You think? He's always had it in him and maybe this fling will finally get him over me and to someone who'd be a better match for him." She shrugged, not affected by the fact that her ex was probably having a girl in his bed about now. She really didn't care; she just didn't want to know the details.

"I thought you'd be… angry?" He asked, glancing at her carefully. The more time he spent with her the more he learned about her. And it was worth putting his own mask away for a while.

"Tatsuya is one of the few things I've been seriously settled with for quite some time now. I'm not angry, but I'm not curious either. His relationships are his only." She shrugged. "I wish him well. We really didn't break up because we hated each other. It simply didn't work."

From her eyes, he knew she was saying the truth. "Right…" He muttered. He didn't get it, but… What did he know about relationships anyways?

"Let's go through biology next, and then we should try to get some sleep. Is that okay?"

He nodded in agreement and suppressed a yawn.

######

Aya was woken up by thirst. The moment she'd opened her eyes, she knew she was in an unfamiliar place. Everything was strange. Her blanket was too thin and she was cold. She sat up and peered around the dark room. There were some things she remembered; a massive wooden chest, which belonged to her mother, but there was no reason for her to have it in her room, heck it'd been thrown out years ago. In a corner were her ballet shoes and a tattered dress form the first competition she'd been to. In a corner of the room was a dressing table. She looked at herself in the mirror. There was nothing strange about the image, but it made her feel scared, watched, like she didn't belong there.

"Taiga?" She called out, but her voice was just a barely audible whisper.

She got up and quickly walked to the door. She needed to get out of the room, preferably out of that place, whatever it was. The door led her into a dark corridor with no source of light, but her feet led her to the right. Why, she had no idea. But she felt as if she was in a basement.

She reached a kitchen, poured herself a glass of water and drank. Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her and she didn't dare to turn around.

"My sweet little Robin." The voice of her mother said.

She gasped and spun around, half-happy half-scared of what she might see. The second feeling had been the correct one. Fear. She should've been scared. She shouldn't have turned around.

It was her mother, with blood trailing down her face and neck. One of her eyes had been gouged out; her clothes were tattered, dirty and soaked with something black and sticky. She stretched her bloodied arms towards Aya, and took several steps towards her.

'No.' She wanted to say, to scream, her lips moved, but no sound came out.

That wasn't how her mother had looked on the day of the shooting, Aya knew. By now she realised it was a dream. Terrible, terrible dream. She wanted to wake up, but she couldn't. She was trapped there, unable to move, or talk, and she was terrified.

"Tell me," the woman tilted her head to a side gently but it made a terrible cracking sound, "why did you kill me?"

Aya didn't answer. She couldn't. Tears filled her eyes. I wanna wake up. She thought.

"Why did you lead me to that park? Why did you kill me?" She asked again. "Didn't you love me?"

"I did… I loved you so much." She whispered and couldn't hold back the tears. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I-I'm sorry."

The woman smirked and appeared right in front of Aya.

Aya startled and wanted to take a step back, but there was the kitchen counter. She could smell blood and oil and sticky old mud. It was disgusting. She was scared; she didn't want to be trapped there. More than of remorse, she was crying because of the fear she felt.

The woman grasped her neck and squeezed, staring at Aya with that one eye of hers. "Sorry? Now?" She cackled. "It's too late. Little Robin… You failed me. Killed me. You don't deserve to –"

"No! That's not true!–"

"No." Aya sprang up on the futon, instinctively touching her sore throat. Her breathing was ragged; she was soaked in cold sweat and scared. For a moment she was disoriented and looking all around her. The place was unfamiliar and for a moment she thought it might've been another nightmare. In the darkness of the room she could make out a dog shape. The dog raised its head to look at her.

"Hey. You okay?" Daiki asked her softly and carefully. Given the soft sobs and words she'd spoken before springing up, he had no idea what to expect. He'd never seen a person to wake up like that. Sure, some boys had sleep-talked during the training camp, but this was not a casual sleep-talking.

"?!" She turned her face to him in surprise. She bit the inside of her cheek; just to make sure she was awake. With a part of her mind, she was still trapped in the strange dark house, with a maimed woman, who looked like Keiko, and not like Keiko at all.

Then, in a second she put everything together. She was at Aomine's, sleeping on the futon on the ground. The sweated-through t-shirt was stuck to her back and despite the warm summer night, she felt cold. Sometime during her sleep she'd started crying. And. She'd been woken up by a nightmare. She woke up on her own; thankfully.

She forced her breathing to calm down. "Oh…" She muttered and wiped her tears away immediately. This was embarrassing. "I'm sorry… Did I wake you up?" Her voice was a croaky but barely audible whisper. Did I scream? She meant, but Daiki couldn't possibly decipher it.

"That's not important. Are you okay?"

The softness of his voice soothed her, and amused her at the same time. And she realised; he was the last person she wanted to see her like this. And yet… There he was. Caring and worrying for her. She took a deep breath, pulled her knees to her chest and clenched at the scar. She felt like crying again. I don't deserve this.

When she didn't answer and curled up instead, he slipped from his bed and knelt on the futon next to her. He reached out to her but then pulled his hand away, he wasn't sure if he could touch her or not. She seemed frightened by something. Whatever it was, he didn't want to make it worse. Shiro seemed to agree with him, because she crawled up close enough so Aya could touch her, but far enough so she wouldn't be in the girl's personal space. The Samoyed whined softly, as if trying to soothe the girl too.

"…Aya?" He tried again, using her name probably for the first time since he'd met her, because the nickname just didn't fit the situation. She turned her face to him, so he continued. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head no, and bit her lower lip to fight off another wave of tears trying to win over her. She took a ragged breath. She wanted a cigarette… "…I will be…Sorry…" This was so different than the routine she'd already had with Taiga. To Taiga, she didn't have to explain anything, he knew.

His inability to help her in any way was a terrible feeling. He had no idea what the nightmare had been about, he hadn't received any advice on what to do in such a case from Taiga, and he'd never seen Aya so vulnerable and fragile. But one thing he knew; she must've hated being seen like that. He would have.

And so, he reached out again, pulling her into a hug and resting his chin on top of her head. "Just don't apologise."

"Wha-?! Don't," she tried to push herself away from him weakly, "I'm sweaty." She protested.

He rolled his eyes. "And I don't care. So shut up, and let me hug you." It sounded a bit harsh, but there wasn't much more he could do. She was cold and he didn't like that.

She chuckled quietly. Normally she'd retort something, but the dream was still replaying in her head, and she couldn't shake off the fright and cold. His presence was calming her down and he was warm. Like a personal heater. And so she did shut up and let him hug her. She shouldn't have let him do this. Yet, she couldn't force herself to get out, she couldn't resist him. Calm and warm and safe… Protected. Overwhelmed by the feeling, she leaned into him, clenching his t-shirt. She couldn't hold back those treacherous tears anymore; the more she tried, the worse it would get.

Daiki was completely baffled by this version of Aya. He'd never thought she could be like this. The strong and fiery girl, crumbling down like this… And he was trusted enough to see it, to be there. He realised that if she really hated him seeing her like this that much, she wouldn't have stayed the night, no matter what his mother would have tried, or she'd get up and leave now. He sat back, leaning against the bed to get into a more comfortable position and pulled Aya with him, cradling her like a child and hiding her in his arms.

She didn't protest anymore. His presence and scent were calming her down and she instinctively snuggled closer to him.

"Shhh, it's all right." He murmured softly, gently stroking her hair and back, not sure where the sudden affection came from. It was instinctual. The only thing he wanted right now was to protect her, soothe her. If he could help fight those inner demons of hers, he gladly would. "It was just a bad dream."

When his fingers absent-mindedly traced the scarred skin on her left shoulder, she shuddered and jerked her arm away from him, covering the scar with her own hand. She didn't like him touching the scar.

"Sorry…" He muttered and moved his hand to her forearm instead. To his surprise, she shook her head and rubbed her forehead against his collar bone, her unruly hair tickling him slightly.

They were silent afterwards. She was listening to his strong and steady heartbeat. And soon, her tears dried up and she finally calmed down. Her breathing evened up, she sighed and took a raspy breath. "Thanks." She breathed out and cleared her throat quietly. "And… sorry. I didn't want to freak you out."

"Feeling better?" He asked. The atmosphere of the night didn't allow him to speak louder than a whisper.

"Yeah. I should be fine now." She nodded, but she didn't try to push herself away from him. She rested her head against his shoulder, enjoying the closeness, the warmth. She needed to recharge a bit more. "Sorry for waking you up."

"Tch. Would you stop apologising?" He asked a bit annoyed, his husky voice vibrating deep inside his chest.

"Hai, hai. As you wish, Honey-bun." She chuckled.

"Yeah, feeling better." He confirmed and chuckled too. "So, uh… Is this okay?" Was I allowed to do this? Did I do the right thing? He asked, suddenly feeling embarrassed. It was the first time he was handling Aya with nightmares; he had no idea. But he could feel he was starting to blush. There was no need to stay like this, yet she didn't seem willing to let go. Well, and Shiro crawled over Aya's legs, keeping her at place too. Clever dog…

"Hugging me? Or if you handled me well?" She rephrased his question as if reading his mind, blushing as well, grateful that he couldn't see her now. Then she chuckled. "First, I don't mind at all. Second, given you had no idea what to expect, you did great. I didn't know you had it in you…" She teased.

He couldn't find a suitable retort, so he let out a low sound, almost a growl, which sent shivers down her spine. And she chuckled again.

"I hoped it wouldn't happen. Well –"

"If you say 'sorry' again, I swear I'll do something to you." He warned her in that dangerously low drawl.

"And we wouldn't want that. I get it." She smiled. "No. Thank you, really. Uhm… I… Didn't scream… or anything?"

Turning this cosy atmosphere into something heated and dirty wasn't his intention, and by the topic change, he knew it wasn't hers either; though he wouldn't really mind if she did something. "Ah… No. You just sleep-talked. You apologised and said something wasn't the truth…?"

Aya sighed in relief. "Good then."

"…What did you dream about?" He asked curiously, and waited for her answer.

"If you were Taiga, I'd say 'I bet you know', but…" She sighed again, snuggled against his chest and rubbed Shiro's fur. The dog made an appreciative sound, almost like purring. "Mom… I dreamt 'bout mom. But the woman didn't look quite like her. No. It wasn't her." She said as if to persuade herself. "It was in an eerie, empty, dark basement-like house… She asked why I had killed her, if I hadn't loved her. She wanted to strangle me, saying I'd failed her, killed her; that I don't deserve to... Ah…" She blinked and realised that she clenched Daiki's wrist. Opening up like this… She let go.

He groaned in annoyance. Why did it have to be Aya, who was tortured by such dreams? He stroked her hair again softly. "It's fine. Y' didn't kill anyone, and it's not your fault. The woman didn't look like your mom, because it wasn't your mom. I don't think a mom would ever blame her kid for anything… A sane mom…"

"I know… In my head I know… It's just…"

"Just what? It's not your fault. Period." It sounded almost like an order; he didn't think he'd have this conversation with Aya anytime soon. Honestly, he was glad he got to know this side of her, because with each personal dialogue, he felt he was getting closer to her. This weekend was probably the best, despite the studying. I should thank that Bakagami…

She had to smile at that. She was really glad to have him there. "You know… You sound like Taiga."

"Urgh… Don't put me into a group with the bum."

"Hey!" She leaned away from him, which made Shiro huff in displease. "The bum is my beloved twin – who would cringe at the words that left my mouth just now – and –!"

He covered her mouth and muffled the next words. "Keep it down, stupid." He hushed her, but he was glad she was feeling better. A real quicksilver.

She pulled his hand away and rolled her eyes. Not that he could see it properly in the dim moonlight illuminating the room. "We're not doing anything. Even if your parents decided to check up on us… We're just talking."

"Yeah, sure. Just talking. Each on their side of the room." He said sarcastically.

"Ah…" Daiki:1, Aya:0. She was sitting between his legs, supporting herself with one hand against his chest, the other against his thigh in attempt to put some distance between them as she was protecting her brother from badmouthing. She was definitely in his personal space and Shiro was lying across her legs. Honestly, she hadn't realised the position, but she didn't mind it. "…and you two are more similar than you'd think." She finished her previous sentence, this time keeping her voice down. "And now. Let go, I'm sweaty, and it irritates me."

"Tch…" He shook his head. "Do you want to take a shower or is a change of t-shirt good enough?"

She shrugged. "I'd prefer a shower, but… since you don't want to wake up your parents, and we don't want them to think anything… weird… I think a change of t-shirt is my only option."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Sure, but… You need to let me get up, Sweetheart, y' know?"

"Tell that to your lovely lady, who's lying over me."

"Shiro." The dog raised its head and whined. "Place. Now." He ordered quietly, but firmly.

With a grumbling and burbling sound she got up, stretched like a cat, shook off and headed to her bed gracefully, clearly signalling she had been offended.

Aya laughed quietly. "Is that a dog, or a cat, or a person? I swear she is thinking something along the lines 'it was so comfy there with my human'."

"Hah, sometimes I wonder 'bout that too." He got up, completely understanding Shiro's displeasure; it felt good having Aya so close. It was nice and cosy and he liked it. There was no embarrassing nervousness or stuttering. Natural, yeah, it felt natural. "Here." He took the first t-shirt he found and threw it at her again.

It landed on top of her head, because she didn't see it coming. "Oi."

He chuckled. "Someone's clumsy."

"I don't see in the dark."

"Me neither and I threw it home." He sat back on the futon, and leaned against the bed again. This time he gave her some personal space.

"Oh, congrats, you scored two points." She teased as she tried to figure out which side of the t-shirt was the front and which the back. She sighed and folded her arms over her lap. A soft smile settled on her face. Despite all, she actually felt happy.

"Nee…" Daiki hummed. The night sure had a strange magic.

"Hm?"

"How can you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Keeping yourself together like that. I mean… The mood changes… What switch do you have?"

"Dunno. I don't like crying. It helps to vent out emotions, but… I don't like it. I'm not like that. Besides… It was a dream. It unsettles me, yes. A lot actually, but… Taiga is right. It's been eight years. I wasn't brooding before, there's no point in starting now. And honestly, would you handle me crying till the morning?"

"If it meant hugging you till the morning, I wouldn't mind." He teased her. "But… Honestly… No… I don't know how to help you." He admitted truthfully, staring at his feet. If she was this honest with him, he would do the same.

"You can't. In situations like these, you can't help, you can't do anything. Except being there. That's all." Surprisingly for her, Daiki did understand that in some strange way. The fact that he hadn't tried talking to her or giving her advice… He knew she didn't need his help. And he'd done what was needed, he'd been there.

He nodded. This was probably a time when he could confess or something. It was night, dark; it felt intimate, calm… But he didn't want to fuck up. Or be an idiot and use the first, or maybe the second?, moment she showed her vulnerability. If it had been Taiga with her, the situation would have probably been the same, maybe better. If you do something now, she'll reject you. He thought, and bit back the words he wanted to say.

"Turn around, please."

He raised his gaze just to notice she'd been staring at him. "Huh?"

"I want to change the t-shirt. So if you could…"

"Oh, uh… right." He turned around, but damn how he wanted to peek.

"No peeking." She added, sensing his thoughts. But she was glad there was nothing else happening. She regretted it a bit, but she knew she'd pull away from him. Guess he can sense that.

"Tch… Not that I'd see anything."

"You'd be surprised, how your eyes can adjust when they need to~" She teased and quickly pulled off the wet t-shirt over her head.

Daiki did peek, of course. It wouldn't be him if he hadn't. But he was disappointed. Aya turned her back to him as well, and all he could see was her silhouette against the window. But even that silhouette was burned into his mind. Her curves were a magnificent image, often hidden by the uniform. Her waist, and hips, he wanted to touch her. To kiss her shoulder. To do so many things to her. Yet, when she pulled on the t-shirt he forced it to the back of his mind. It wasn't right to use the situation. First and foremost, they were friends. And he feared losing what they'd had. There was no way he'd ever find anyone close to who Aya was, so he decided to be patient even if it wasn't one of his virtues. Losing her wasn't an option. But at least now, he finally knew what he wanted. And Aya was definitely a keeper.

When she turned around she saw him peeking over his shoulder. She smirked. "Was my back interesting enough?"

"Ah… I didn't–"

Her soft laughter stole whatever excuse he might've had. "You should go back to sleep, if you want to rest at least a bit."

"And you?" He asked, vacated the futon and laid on his bed, but remained watching her.

She sighed sprawling on her futon. "I won't sleep again tonight. The idea of going back there is way too scary. So…" She fished out her phone and laying on her side she waved it at him. "If you don't mind the light from my phone, I'll be probably playing or chatting with Kouta. We need to agree on choreographies for the competitions."

"Shouldn't there be only one competition?"

"I found another one taking place two days sooner. I haven't competed in acro yet, so I'm quite curious if we can win… Or place at least. And I need to go over it to decide what is possible to manage with Kouta and what to cut out. But I guess I'll truly know only when we actually start practising together."

"You have videos?"

"Yeah, sure. Why?"

"Move." He said and in two seconds he was sprawled on her futon too.

She blinked at him. "Really? You wanna see it?"

"You see me playing all the time. Can't I?"

"I thought you're not interested in dancing…?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Not really… But I wanna see."

"Hmmm… All right. Help me choose, but I'll be discussing with Kouta all along so be ready for anything…"

---

A/N: Lots of bonding time, lots of contradictory feelings in this chapter! I hope I didn't overdo it too much.

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

S.