A/N: Thanks to everyone who followed, favourited and reviewed! It makes me very happy.

As it is Aomine's birthday (supposedly), I'm posting the 36th chapter today :) Happy birthday to our bluenette.

Enjoy!

Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts. – Charles Dickens

It is a great boost for confidence in a squad when there is not just one or two players scoring goals, but the whole team is contributing. – Harry Kane

The great fights with your strongest rivals are always the biggest motivation. When you win easily it's not the same taste. – Valentino Rossi

She was not for everyone but she was for me. ― Atticus Poetry, Love Her Wild

True love cannot be found where it does not exist, nor can it be denied where it does. ― Torquato Tasso

The capacity for friendship is God's way of apologizing for our families. – Jay McInerney, The Last of the Savages

Lindsay was staring at her boss's inbox. Like every Tuesday at 8AM, during the last year and a half, an e-mail from Kagami Aya was delivered. It wasn't work related, she knew that already. These mails had 'Hi there.' in the subject. She sighed and got up.

"Kagami-sama?" She rapped at her boss's door.

"Enter." His deep, rich voice invited her in.

She opened the door and entered. Just like usual, he was clean shaven, wearing one of his suits with a modern necktie. The huge man looked a bit tired, but his ruby eyes were wide awake and sharp as usual. And despite the first strands of greying red hair, his built was still impressive, almost intimidating; clearly presenting that he'd used to be a professional basketball player at one point of his life.

He looked up from his computer. His red eyes stared at the young assistant he'd hired three years ago. Her skills and background were good enough, she had a pleasant face and calm demeanour, and above it all she spoke Japanese. She dressed up according to her position and never complained. Overall he was satisfied with her work.

"What is it?" He asked her. There were no emotions in his voice and Lindsay never knew what he was thinking. She wasn't scared of him per se, but she always felt better when there was a door and wall between them.

"Ay–" She almost said 'Aya-chan', but she quickly corrected herself. "Your daughter sent you an e-mail." Angering the boss so early in the morning was never a good idea.

"What about?"

"It's not work related. It's one of the 'Tuesdays' mails'." She said, discreetly chewing on her lower lip. She hated these conversations, and yet, she felt obliged to inform him every single time a mail like that arrived.

"Then reply to her like usual." His eyes hardened even more than before. "I don't have time for nonsense like that."

The assistant frowned. This was the first time he called it 'nonsense'. She didn't like it. Maybe she didn't know Aya-chan much and maybe she'd never seen her in person – the girl had some magical way of avoiding her so far – but through the strings of emails and occasional phone-calls, she felt like she knew the girl. And she'd always thought that he'd at least read those emails later on… Apparently I was wrong…

"Kagami-sama," she started carefully, when he didn't stop her right away, she mustered up the courage to continue, "I don't think I'm in a position to answer to personal emails like those. Maybe you could look at it this time?"

He sighed heavily, as if she was just wasting his precious time. "Look, Lindsay. I appreciate your work, but I don't have time to deal with the girl's whims. You've been replying her for the past year and a half; I'm surprised you dare to bother me every time she sends something 'personal'."

She remembered her own father and a bile rose to her throat. "But–"

"Enough." He said sharply, cutting her off. "Go do your job, and don't bother me with this anymore."

"… As you wish." She lowered her head. Sorry, Aya-chan. She thought and exited the office.

She sat back on her chair, immediately moving the mail into a folder labelled 'Twins', she'd created after the first e-mail had been delivered. Then she opened it. It was breaking her heart every time she had to read it, but she did. If she couldn't get their father to reply, she would at least read it properly.

'Hi father,

I wonder if you're reading it. I guess not. And maybe I'm an idiot for writing this to you all the time…

Sorry for wasting your time.

How did you get through mom's anniversary? Are you doing okay? Did you have any nightmares? Have you seen something interesting during the past week, or maybe read a good book?

I know you won't answer to any of those. Sorry for everything… Really…

We did fine. Just one or two nightmares, nothing too bad… We both passed our exams, and my history project – the one I mention in the last mail – was rewarded by 100. I guess it was thanks to Aomine's help, the person I work with on the school projects. And then we cleaned the grave and went to the ocean afterwards – people gave us really weird looks when we were going home totally soaked.

And you wouldn't believe it, but Taiga brought home a tabby! It was beaten up and bullied by older cats in some park. He allowed me to name it, so it's Dorian Grey. We can't keep it, of course, so I'm going to send Dorian to Akita. Suzume agreed to take care of him. He is still small, but very cute – look at the attached picture.

Taiga has a training camp with his club, and my club got to the Interhigh. The matches start tomorrow (or today – according to L.A.'s time). I really believe we can win. I'll write about how we ended up next week.

The mail got too long, sorry.

Take care, father.

Aya.'

Lindsay blinked, the tears welling up. She couldn't ruin her make-up, but the mails had always been warm and cosy like that, no matter what was going on. Some longer, like this one, some shorter… There was no blaming, no regrets. The girl always apologised, and wrote about their week. She believed it wasn't everything and Aya never wrote in too many details. For example, she had no idea if the mentioned Aomine was a boy or a girl, or who Suzume was.

She also had no idea about what was the exact relationship between her boss and his children, but judging by this whole email thing, and everything she knew about them, she could imagine it was very complicated and strained. Yet, the girl kept trying and throwing in so many olive branches that he must've been a brick wall to ignore them all.

A year and half… every single week… Lindsay couldn't imagine what kind of an iron heart it took to keep doing it. And keep being ignored like this.

And like every time, she wouldn't reply. She had tried, the very first time, but Aya had seen through it and asked her not to do it ever again. And so she didn't.

She closed the e-mail. And it broke her heart again.

######

The Interhigh meant 6 matches for them all together. One match a day; considering they got to the final round. Aya was sure they would get into that final round, but she hoped there would be at least some interesting opponents.

After their first very boring and very one-sided match, Aya stared at the matchups and Satsuki's analyses in the evening. It was nice and warm outside, so she spread her papers on an outside table in the hotel's garden. She'd also brought out her laptop with some work to do, so a steaming coffee was a must. Though the matchups were much more interesting than work, she had to admit.

Yosen, Rakuzan and Touou were in different quarters and different halves. So probably the only possible semifinal match on the other half was Yosen vs. Rakuzan. In Touou's half though, she couldn't really guess. Kaijo was in the same quarter so that would be their quarterfinal opponent, but the fourth branch… There were several interesting schools, none of them had any spectacular players, but they were all relatively decent.

She sighed.

"What's up, Ayacchi?" Kise sat down opposite her and glanced at the matchups in front of her. Four schools were circled with a marker. He didn't need to read the names. He knew; Yosen, Rakuzan, Kaijo and Touou. Those were the real competitors.

"Nothing really. I kinda expected a bit more out of this competition, but the match today was…"

"Boring." Kise filled in. "Mine too. I only played for one quarter anyways." He sighed and rested his hand on top of his folded arms. "Aominecchi was probably disappointed."

"He didn't play at all. But he grumbled that 'they should hurry up and crawl out'." She tried to imitate the ace's voice – failing miserably again. "I guess he meant the three of you?"

Kise shrugged and grinned. "Let's face it. The real competition will start at the quarterfinals. Not sooner. Till then it's just a painfully prolonged warm-up. Nothing else."

"And you're getting impatient and frustrated." She was talking about all four of them, and Kise could somehow sense it.

"Murasakibaracchi is all happy he doesn't have to work much. And Akashicchi probably won't play anyways, just like he told us yesterday… Really… The only idiots are the two of us, probably."

"The best friends usually make the best rivals… Like siblings."

He sighed. "I shouldn't be talking with the manager of my nemesis."

"The nemesis needs challenge and stimulation. And I'm only the second manager anyways…" She smiled mischievously.

"Seriously…" He shook his head and chuckled. "No wonder you can get Aominecchi moving. But… That quarterfinals… I don't know. I've never once won against Aominecchi."

"And that worries you?" She frowned at the papers.

Kise needed to talk about this. His team just didn't get it. He enjoyed the newly established trust and bonds, but they believed in him way too much, without really facing the reality, without knowing Aominecchi and his style. Ayacchi was someone who had her feet on the ground, she wouldn't tell him anything special, she wouldn't help him with any strategy, but she wouldn't betray him either. She was a world champion. She understood. And now, he needed that more than his team or coach.

"Naturally."

"Do you think you could win?" She asked.

"One in a million chance. Maybe even less."

She stared at the blonde trying to truly understand what was going on. "Why did you start with basketball?"

"Eh?" He blinked at her in surprise. It was an unexpected question. But he was going to answer. "Because… because of Aominecchi. I couldn't copy him, and it was an amazing feeling. Trying to go there, to reach that ideal… The challenge and frustration when I couldn't win… And Kurokocchi was awesome too. I think it was him who had taught me what it meant to rely on a team, then I forgot it and then learned it again, because of him."

"Hmmm…"

He drove his fingers through his hair. "But I really just want to beat Aominecchi in one-on-one. Just once. That would be enough."

She bit her thumb nail in thought. She shouldn't be helping Kise, she wanted her team to win, but at the same time, Aomine needed some reality check she couldn't fully provide. "And the only one who can beat him is him. Apparently…"

"And I can't copy him. Honestly, I can't even imagine him losing."

Then she understood. "You admire him. You want to win, but you don't want him to lose…" Of course you can't copy him, stupid. When it comes to talent or strength you're on the same level…

He frowned and she could see the cogs in his head spinning, turning her comment round and round. Then his eyes widened and he blinked at her. "No way. You don't suggest…" I could copy Aominecchi?

"I'm Touou's manager. I'm not suggesting anything. But are you sure you know your limits?"

It was the second time she was asking him this question. His jaw dropped at the realisation. I could become 'him'? But of course Ayacchi wouldn't say that out loud. She was just nudging him to come up with ideas on his own. That's impossible. No, maybe… "Not really." He grinned at her. "I don't think it's gonna be easy."

She grinned and shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You're the best, Ayacchi!" He had an urge to jump over the table and hug her. Maybe he should try and lure some girl to become a manager at Kaijo, but the coach had forbidden it…

"Not really. I haven't helped at all. All I did was listen." Yet, she couldn't help the feeling that Aomine wouldn't lose anyways. But I can so enjoy the shocked face if Model-kun pulls it off…

He was shaking his head in disbelief and delight. He knew what he'd do in the evening. He needed to get his hands on all Touou's matches where Aominecchi had played. "Where is he anyway? I thought he'd definitely be with you."

"Exploring the neighbourhood; looking for some bigger convenience store in the vicinity." She said with a shrug. "He asked me to come with him, but I have some things to do."

"I should leave you to your work then?"

"That would be for the best."

######

After a dinner Aya finished the tasks she had to do and folded all the papers. "Haaah." She breathed out and spread over everything, burying her face in her folded arms and closing her eyes.

It was already dark out and the air cooled down ever so slightly. Cicadas buzzed and some moths circled around the dim lights. She enjoyed the buzzing. It meant it was summer, her favourite season. She could hear footsteps approaching her, but she felt too tired to open her eyes to look at the person.

There was a slight rustling sound. Then something cold touched her forearm and she flinched at the sensation.

She crack-opened one eye to see a can of mango juice standing on the table, she had an idea who might've brought it. But the person placing it there stood on the other side. She turned her head to look at him.

"Thanks Honey-bun." She smiled and Aomine slumped down to the bench next to her.

"Wasn't easy to find…" He mumbled and yawned.

"Well, you didn't have to." She chuckled and rose to open the much deserved juice.

He shrugged. He hadn't searched for that particular item; he needed the run he'd usually get with the dogs. But once he spotted it, he decided to buy it for her.

"What's that?" He took a paper to examine the list of five players. His name was on a side, circled, with a small note below saying 'backup'.

"I had some time so… it's an idea for tomorrow's match. I haven't discussed it with Satsuki and Katsunori yet."

"You wanna change the line up again?"

She shrugged. "Why not? Today it was 120 to 46. And you weren't even there. I really don't get it, because they weren't all that bad, just gave up half-way..."

"The tournament starts at quarterfinals…"

"Model-kun told me the same thing. While I don't want to underestimate anyone, I hoped it'd be better. I mean… All the schools here had to get through the preliminaries and all. They are the best of their prefectures. They should want to win, and not give up half-way. I mean, come on!" She groaned in exasperation.

"That's what I've been telling you since the beginning." He said with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah. You might not play but you are here and they all turn into a bunch of terrified children… I really don't get it. Anyways, what do you think about it?" She pointed at the paper in his hands.

"You really can't get it, Sweetheart." He said and then zoomed on the paper. He shrugged. "Why not? Ishii, Kano and Naito make up a decent team. But I would rather put Tada there instead of Ryou; he might get overwhelmed by it."

"True… Hmm… I was thinking about putting Oyama-kun in too, but…"

"No." He said firmly. "He is not good enough to stand there."

"Yet…" She added, so his words wouldn't sound so harsh. "He needs some experience from matches too."

"Next year, maybe."

She stared at him curiously, while she sipped from her juice.

"What?"

"Since when are you willing to discuss about the team and the matches?"

He averted his eyes and frowned deeper than usual. He really didn't remember when he started to pay attention to those on his team. It was her fault for luring him into these kinds of conversations; slowly pulling at the passion for the sport he'd had tried to bury deep inside.

She chuckled at his reaction. "I bet you'll be the captain at some point." It was a mere teasing, but she wondered if it wasn't an actual possibility in the future.

He looked at her astounded and laughed roughly at the idea. "Very good joke, really." Then he placed his calloused palm on her forehead. "You sure you don't have a fever?"

"Probably not." She laughed. "We'll see though… Who knows? Miracles do happen sometimes."

His big palm slipped away and he shook his head. "Not here." He muttered, but it made him think about it for a second. And then he completely refused the idea. He wasn't the one for a responsibility like that.

"Hmmm… So, Tada instead of Sakurai and the three of them? Will you be on the bench?"

"Won't kill me."

"Booby-chan!" Hero appeared at the doors looking all around her. "Have you seen Poker face somewhere?"

She blinked at the tiny girl. "Uhm, no? Why?"

"Crap! I hoped ya knew! He keeps runnin' away from me since yesterday! He ain't in his room or with the cookie-monster or anywhere!" She complained and sat on the other side of Aya sighing desperately.

"What do you need him for?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. If Tatsuya was hiding from someone, he usually had a damn good reason.

"Observation! How else am I supposed to learn to read him…" Hero pouted.

Aya burst out laughing. "He isn't a guinea pig, you know. If you keep staring a hole in his head, of course he'll avoid you. You can slowly learn to read him without putting him under a microscope. But that's the better outcome, really."

Hero blinked at her. "… what's the worse one?"

"Either teasing you, like he'd done before," Hero blushed immediately and looked away – that would be worse. "or scaring you away." Aya mused.

"He can't be scary." She shook her head.

"Oh, he can. What do you think of him anyways?" She asked tilting her head in curiosity. Aomine beside her shifted a bit, yawned and laid on top of the table. He had nothing to contribute in the girls' conversation, but he didn't want to leave; it made Aya smile.

Sumire sighed deeply. "I don't really know. He is hardworkin' and serious. He practises a lot; he can handle the cookie monster easily. He is friendly and nice to everyone… But… I don't really know what to think of him. There's somethin'. I can't tell what he thinks. It's weird." At first she thought he'd be easy to be around, but… He'd make a good serial killer. The little girl thought with a shudder.

"Well… He's always been like that. There are reasons why he is the way he is. But he isn't a bad person. Give him space, let him breath, maybe he'll talk to you if he needs to." She shrugged. "If you pester him too much… Well, you wouldn't like it either if someone tried to observe you all the time, right? Plus the team will be antsy even offended if you pay attention only to Tatsuya. Mainly when you don't have a crush on him… Fukui-kun might get jealous…" She smirked as she mentioned Fukui, and watched Hero's face turn rosy pink.

"How d' ya…?! I'm not… When did ya?" She blabbered.

Aya was smirking smugly and then a happy grin broke through. "So I was right!" She clapped.

"What?! Mean! Ya'r mean!"

"I've had a hunch since I was at Yosen, but I wasn't sure."

Hero pouted. "Don't ya dare tellin' it!"

"My lips are sealed." She promised. Hero was an amazing person indeed.

"Good." The small girl nodded. Then she frowned. "It's unfair. Ya read people so well… Ya know Poker face so well! Unfair."

Aya laughed. "Years of experience and subtle observation. And I've known Poker face for seven years."

"Oh, that explains a lot..." She rubbed her chin in thought. "So let him be, ya say?"

"Yeah."

"Understood. Ne? What's the Spray-tan doin' here?" She pointed a finger at Aomine, noticing him for the first time.

"Oi!" He snapped at Hero with a stormy glare. "My name ain't 'Spray-tan'." He spit the nickname as if it burned his tongue.

"For me, it is." She stuck out her tongue at him. "And why are ya here? Spendin' yer evenin' with Booby-chan, eh?" She asked suggestively and her eyebrows wiggled.

"Tch. None of yer business, ya yappin' Chihuahua." He imitated her way of talking (successfully) and glared at her.

"WHAT?!" She glared at him, ready to fight.

Aya burst out laughing. "You're hilarious." Aomine imitated Hero perfectly. Then she patted both of their heads, using her position in the middle. "Don't argue, please. We were discussing tomorrow's line-up. I am their manager after all, Hero." They both shook off her hands like offended dogs.

"I ain't a yappin' Chihuahua!" She grumbled. That particular nickname was vicious, and she didn't like that. Or being imitated.

"And I'm not Spray-tan."

Hero puffed her cheeks. She glared at him for several moments, but he didn't budge. "Aomine it is then." She yielded with a sigh.

"Hironaka." He nodded in agreement, having a truce with the loudmouth would be better than being called 'Spray-tan', Urgh… worse than Honey-bun, really.

"Hey!" Aya looked from one to another. "And what about me? I don't want to be Booby-chan."

Aomine snickered. "That's a pretty fitting one, Sweetheart. Right?" He glanced at Hero.

"Yeah. I know!" She nodded smirking too. "But Sweetheart? There's no fantasy in that."

He frowned and then shrugged. "But I like it."

Sumire's eyes narrowed as she thought about it and then she shrugged too. "Fair enough. We can't call her the same."

"Hey! Don't gang up on me!" She protested, knowing it was pointless. "My name's Aya! It's not that difficult!"

"The food here is amazing!" Kano was blissfully praising the buffet-like breakfast in the hotel. "The omelettes are so fluffy and soft!"

The four teams ate at the same time, while trying to avoid the opponents and keeping to their teams. Kise tried to mingle with Touou or Yosen couple of times to either talk with Aominecchi, Ayacchi, Momocchi or Murasakibaracchi, but his captain always pacified him quickly, keeping the blonde close to his own team. The pacification was always accompanied by long whining of the model, he didn't like this heavy atmosphere of rivalry in the room. And Akashicchi's silent presence was making it 1 000 times worse.

Even if it was sometimes difficult to eat in the heavy atmosphere and anticipation of the matches, the food was indeed delicious. Buffet-like breakfasts were basically an all-you-can-eat event and the food must've been added several times as the hungry teenage boys gobbled almost everything very quickly.

"Yes, yes. Better than what I managed during the training camp, eh?" Aya chuckled, shaking her head. "Eat up to have enough energy during the match."

"Eeeh. Wait, wait, wait, Aya-chan! I haven't said that!" He protested; his green eyes wide and staring at Aya. "Your cooking is amazing!"

She just laughed it off.

"What was it about the energy during the match?" Naito was frowning at her. He didn't like the sound of that. "We aren't playing…"

"But you are! Today you are!" Satsuki exclaimed proudly. "We decided on that yesterday! You, Kano-kun and Ishii-kun will play in today's match!"

All the three snapped their heads at Satsuki. Their mouth hung open and they didn't quite understand what they were hearing. Naito then looked at Imayoshi, searching for denial of that statement.

Imayoshi smiled at the boys. "It's true. We decided it yesterday. The opponents are from Osaka, I know their point guard from elementary school. They are a good offensive team, but I think you can handle. Wakamatsu and Tada will be there to support you and Aomine will be ready to swap." He shrugged. "So why not? You have no reason to be worried about your mediocre abilities."

Naito frowned at the captain. "You really had to point out that we are 'mediocre', hm?"

He chuckled. " I didn't mean bad, Naito-kun."

"Yeah, right." Naito rolled his eyes. "Why not Sakurai? I thought he was the best shooting guard we have?"

Sakurai stared at his hands timidly. He probably wasn't deemed good enough to participate in this match. "I'm sorry?" He peeped, but was ignored.

"Tada has a height advantage here, and he mingles well with the three of you." He said simply. "What's needed is an efficient team, not a patched up team without a thought."

"So we do have a chance, right?" Ishii asked. The opponent's surely had a team of second and third years, boys with more experience and more training to back them up.

"Of course you have. I wouldn't suggest this otherwise." Aya said with a smile. "Believe in yourselves, 'kay?"

"Easier said than done…" Kano muttered. He was the one who had started with basketball just recently, the one with the least experience and all… His stomach was suddenly tight and heavy. He had played in the prelims, but…

"It's gonna be fine, Kano-kun!" Satsuki cheered him on. "Go over the research. You have three hours before the match, it's more than enough."

"As for the rest," Katsunori joined the conversation, "we have the gym booked in the afternoon for two-hour practise; plus there are some outside courts nearby you can use if you want. I don't care what you do, just don't cause trouble." He repeated, and he would repeat it every day, just in case.

"You said it yesterday. And the day before. Don't worry, Katsu." Aya told him with a smile.

"And I will say it tomorrow too. It's annoying, but necessary."

"Hai, hai."

######

"Sakurai-kun!" Aya barged into their room later in the morning.

The three were sitting above Satsuki's research, trying to figure out the best strategy. Aomine was laying on his bed, paging through some of his magazines. And Sakurai was absent-mindedly drawing something into his notebook, listening to some music. He had his back turned to the others and it was obvious he didn't want to be bothered.

"Aya-chan!" The boys startled at her sudden barge-in.

"He probably can't hear y', Sweetheart." Aomine rumbled, glancing at her over his newest magazine.

"Right…" She mumbled and approached Sakurai, gently patting his shoulder.

"Eeek!" The boy almost jumped out of his skin, dropping the notebook and jerking the headphones out of his ears.

That reaction caused Aya to jerk away from him too. "Sorry! I didn't want to startle you."

"You sounded like a girl, Ryou." Of course Aomine had to have a jab ready.

"Sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to…" Sakurai started apologising, blushing in shame. He really didn't want to scream in fright. So embarrassing.

"All right, all right." Aya felt like throwing some pillow at Aomine at the moment. Didn't he realise that words could hurt much more than actions? "Sakurai-kun has nothing to apologise for. I'd have been startled too. I'm sorry for freaking you out."

"No, no, Aya-san, I'm sorry. Really."

She sighed and rolled her eyes. Then she blinked when she recognised the music coming out of Sakurai's headphones. "You're listening Vivaldi?"

"Eh? You know it?" He stared at Aya in surprise.

"Yeah. Four seasons, Winter. I might not look like it but I listen to classical music too sometimes." She smiled.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend, sorry." He blushed and looked away. Then he peeked at her again. She was patiently waiting for him to calm down a bit. "Uhm… Do you need something from me?" He asked finally.

"Well, I just wanted to be sure you're fine."

"Sure, sorry. Don't worry, about me, Aya-san."

"Can we stop with the apologies? Look," she sat on the edge of his bed, "Tada-senpai is playing because he practises with the three more than you. During the mini-maches and after practise, so he is more used to their dynamics. It doesn't mean that you are worse, or that you couldn't possibly handle. And he has a height advantage as the opposing shooting guard is rather tall too."

"I know…" He looked at his feet and pouted a bit. "But I'm better."

Aya blinked in surprise. Oho?~ "Well, you'll be sitting on the bench ready to swap in too."

He nodded and picked up his notebook. Suddenly, he seemed really okay and Aya was astounded by the sudden change in behaviour. It wasn't bad at all. So he has bright moments like Kiku. She thought and turned to the trio.

"That's all I wanted. Good luck then! I'll be watching from above."

######

"Is this some sort of a joke?" The opposing captain asked as he stared at the line-up. None of the guys in front of him were regulars, except Wakamatsu. "Do you really think so low of us?" He asked disgustedly. Powerhouses…

"Not at all." Tada smiled in a useless attempt to lift up the hostile attitude. "We simply want to give a chance to our first years. They need to gain some experience after all."

"They could get it another year." He rumbled. "I expected an equal treatment, but I guess we were greatly underestimated. Be ready to lose." He said firmly and shook hands with Tada.

"That's gonna be bad." Kano muttered to Ishii. "They seem ready to tear us to shreds."

Ishii shrugged. "Then let's win and prove to them they are the ones underestimating us."

"Exactly what I've been thinking." Naito nodded.

"Don't get too cocky, first year boy." The taller guy in point guard position said with a smirk.

No, Naito wasn't cocky. He knew he could rely on his two friends and Tada-senpai. The play of this line-up was different from the usual style Touou used and he knew it would serve to their advantage. And they didn't train their assess off for nothing.

Wakamatsu stole the tip off for Touou, sending it straight to Tada. He wasn't completely sure about the new line-up Satsuki-chan and Aya-chan put together, because he was used to a different style, but it wasn't bad to play with a real team once in a while. And he liked the idea of sharing the court and enemy with his best friend.

"Uff. Thanks!" Tada smiled and shoot before his opponent could react. It was a long range shot, but he'd trained those in the past few weeks over and over again. He didn't want to be left in the dust by the first-years. Because of that his accuracy and success rate increased a lot. But despite that, the ball hit the rim and bounced out of the hoop. "Tch!"

The first points were scored by the team from Osaka, but Touou soon got their engines started. And to everyone's surprise, they were doing very well. After one trip-fall due to stress and nerves, Kano shook off the fear and started really playing. He'd been practising with Aomine for god's sake; he couldn't be scared of some average opponent.

And indeed, the seemingly weak makeshift team of the first years stood true to their name of being one of the top eight teams of the country. They were a proud team with Aomine Daiki as their ace, and they wouldn't shame that reputation.

The first quarter ended with Touou in lead; 26 to 18.

The opponents were not bad either. They may not have been in the country's top 10, but they weren't bad. Yes, this line-up had surprised them as it had been something different than what they'd expected – thus their initial problems to cope. But they were quick and their center was a strong one too.

The match was well balanced and beautiful to watch. No fouls, no dirty plays and no one giving up half-way.

The second quarter ended up 52 to 48, still for Touou. It was close. But the boys believed they could win. Satsuki's research was only starting to show its effects; they'd stop even more attacks in the next half.

######

"You're doing great!" Aya praised them in the changing room during the half-match break.

"The score is too tight." Wakamatsu frowned. "That center is very skilled."

Aomine yawned. He probably wouldn't be needed at all.

"Yeah, he is." Satsuki nodded. "And they might sub their PG for Nara-kun. If that happens, their shooting power will go up. Nara-kun is a skilled shooting guard as well."

"So two shooting guards?" Tada asked and rubbed his chin. "That might be interesting."

######

"Aomine, get ready to swap with Kano." Katsunori said at the beginning of the fourth quarter. The opponents were now in 10 point lead (76-86); the two shooting guards were truly their trump card.

"Tch. Hai, hai." He nodded and took his jersey to change into. Ishii and Wakamatsu on court… Awesome. He rolled his eyes at the thought. He didn't mix that well with the two, or with anyone on the team, but whatever.

"I'd be enough." Yamaoka jumped in. The difference wasn't that huge.

"We should show them we aren't looking down on them, Yamaoka-kun." Imayoshi smiled at him. "By showing them our ace, don't you think?"

He grumbled something under his breath but shut up.

A whistle announced a change of Touou's player; Kano obediently jogged towards their bench and basically half-fived with Aomine as they changed positions.

"Good luck, Mr. Ace." He smiled at him.

"Tch. This is gonna be boring." He complained but a small lopsided smirk settled on his face. He'd get the score above 100 points in those 8 remaining minutes he got. The opponents should see that it was mercy they had played with 'the first-years'.

"Welcome." Tada smiled at him. "We are getting exhausted here."

"Then give them all to me." He said and his smirk widened, turning into something quite dangerous too. "I think I need a small two-minute warm up first."

"Don't miss the first shot!" Naito called out and passed to Aomine.

"What did y' say?!"

And that was when the game turned one sided. He didn't miss that first shot. Or any other. And even if the opponents tried double teaming Aomine, in those two minutes they figured out it was pointless. The prodigy just did what he wanted.

The match ended up with Touou winning; 116 to 92.

"We wooooon!" Kano jumped at the two his friends, almost toppling them over. He was excited. So what if Aomine had helped. The match was still mostly their hard work.

"Yeah!" Wakamatsu joined him.

"No." Tada stopped him. "No hugging or toppling me over, please."

Wakamatsu rolled his eyes. "You're no fun."

Tada raised an eyebrow at him then shook his head and turned to Aomine. "Thanks for saving us there."

"You didn't need it." The ace shrugged and walked away; unfazed by the victory.

Naito blinked at senpai. "Has he just praised us?"

"Uuuhm…" Tada stared at the ace's back. "I guess?"

######

After watching matches of some other teams, and their afternoon practise, Aya and Satsuki met in the hotel's cafeteria to compare their observations and notes. They were gathering data – just in case of future use. Both watched different teams and different matches and then compared the results.

When they were done, Satsuki sighed and leaned against a chair.

"Tired already?" Aya asked her with a smile.

"I really don't know where you get the energy, Aya-chan. But you've always been like that." She blabbered out without thinking.

That dumbfounded the redhead. She was good at reading between the lines. "…What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, uh…" She laughed nervously. "It's nothing. Really."

"Satsuki? What aren't you telling me?"

She was biting her lip and staring past Aya and out of the window. She had rehearsed this with Kise. But… Why was it so damn hard when facing Aya-chan herself? And it was such a petty thing. "That's…"

"We did know each other before, right? My instincts weren't wrong… You've figured it out…" She said slowly, as if realising something very important.

Aya was sharp and Satsuki nodded. "The ballet."

"At Shiranui's…" Aya breathed out, trying to make out the face of that little pink haired girl, or the name. It made her frown. She thought it wasn't possible. The name… "Takano-chan, Pinky… It was you… I thought… No way!"

"I'm Momoi now…" She mumbled. Aya-chan was putting the pieces together on her own. I'm useless at this…

"Your parents divorced?" She asked.

"Eh?" She blinked at the redhead, and saw a quiet understanding in those reddish orbs. It surprised her.

"It's not that uncommon. You thought I'd mind that?" Aya smiled. Everyone has some secrets.

"It's weird… Feels like father gave up on me. Though we do meet often and all…" She admitted. Suddenly, it wasn't so difficult to talk about it. "But dad is awesome too. He really cares for me and he even signed me up for mini basketball where I met Aomine-kun. So it shouldn't bother me…"

"But it does anyways... Isn't it nice though? You have two caring fathers. When one angers you, you can run to another to complain." She chuckled. While I have one who ignores me… probably hates me…

"I guess." Satsuki chuckled too. It was exactly what she was doing sometimes. "I missed you then. When you left. I remembered just recently."

"Hmmm…" It was news to Aya, but she could dig out some vague and blurred memories now. "We missed you too. I think we asked mom if we couldn't take you with us."

"Really?" She laughed.

"Yeah." She nodded, remembering the dream from the anniversary. "I don't remember much. Only that we loved you." The feelings were something she could remember better than images. It'd been 10 years after all.

"And protected me from the other kids... Well, you protected me and Taiga-kun from the other kids when they were making fun of us. You were like some superhero then!" Satsuki had a kind, nostalgic expression on her face. She was glad she could now stand her own, but that time… Without the twins she'd been lost.

Aya laughed, her expression softening up too. A long lost friend, she never quite let go but could never quite reach either. The person was hidden right under her nose all along. And they had become friends without knowing it again… after all those years.

"How long have you known?"

Satsuki scratched her cheek. "Something over a week… After Imayoshi-taichou mentioned it, and your reaction… I asked mom."

"Why not telling me immediately?"

"I couldn't. I'm not usually talking about this and well… it was your mom's anniversary, I didn't want to add to it. It wasn't that important."

"Hell it was." Aya protested. "Taiga won't believe it. And wait… Have you told Aomine?"

"No. He didn't know about the ballet either. It's just… no one's business, I guess…"

"And yet, you exchange messages with Michiko-san." She raised an eyebrow at that.

"I guess I should tell him?"

"It'd be only fair…"

"Uhm so… We are still friends, right?"

"Satsuki! Why wouldn't we? Tell me one reason why should I stop being friends with you, hah?!" Aya got a bit irritated, but it was coming from a good place. "I found a long lost friend, whom I befriended again without even realising it! We should get drunk or something… Not stop being friends! Gee'…"

Satsuki laughed, her bubbly laugher echoing in the near empty room. "We are underaged." She pointed out.

"True, but does it really matter?" Aya shrugged, with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "But anyways. Nothing changes. Just a piece of the puzzle finally clicked into its rightful place. I'm glad the world is this small. It never ceases to amaze me."

"You've travelled quite some part of it, eh?"

"And I always find the right people everywhere."

######

Aya was laying on her bed in the evening, absentmindedly stroking Dorian's soft fur. She was thinking, trying to remember things from the time they had all lived in Tokyo. The four of them, like a family. It was nostalgic, and slightly sad.

Her phone buzzed.

Suzume.

"Hey, Suzu! What's up?" She greeted her friend with a wide smile, knowing it seeped into her voice too.

"Hey! I needed to call you! I've just finished this awesome book!" She started cheerfully. "You have to read it too. You'll love it."

Aya sighed. "Another psychological thriller?"

"No. A thriller! And an awesome detective story. It's called The frozen dead, it's originally French and it was just recently translated to English. You really don't know who the killer is until the very end. Aya, you have to read it." She said seriously at the end.

"Suzu, me and thrillers… I don't know. It's a good feeding ground for nightmares."

"It is a bit disturbing, but it's great. Trust me!"

She sighed again. "Okay then, I'll give it a try. But if I get one nightmare because of it…"

"I'll work twice as hard during the camp. Don't worry. Oh, and it gets really good after the first 25-50 pages. You'll see; you won't put it down." It sounded that Suzu was floating in delight. "Oh, how's the Interhigh going? And how's Dorian?"

"We are winning so far. We have four more matches ahead of us, including finals. Aomine isn't playing much yet…" She quickly described the events since the beginning to Suzume.

"Hmmm… Seems interesting. To meet in the hotel like that. So Tatsuya will bring me the cat? Gee'… Can't it be that swearing midget instead?"

"Hero would kill you if she heard you." She laughed. "Why are you so against him? He isn't a bad person…"

"Because! He hurt you! Even if you're trying to deny it! I don't like that… I wouldn't mind seeing you though…"

The bad feeling she'd been feeling since Monday tingled at her back again. As if it wanted to remind her it was still there. An instinct, or intuition, or whatever it was, was quietly creeping in the back of her mind, where she tried to bury it as 'nonsensical'. There was nothing wrong going on. And yet, it was there whenever she thought of Akita or Suzume. Maybe she should listen to it?

"... Maybe I'll make a short trip and deliver Dorian myself." She said after a short pause.

"…" Suzume quieted too, as if she was trying to read Aya's mind based solely on her voice. She had known the redhead long enough. "Something is bothering you, right?"

"I don't know. It's stupid really. I just… It's a feeling I have to go up there and see you on Sunday."

"I'm leaving to Sendai the day after that." She said seriously. "With my parents…"

"You don't want to…" She guessed and stopped stroking Dorian, which meowed and jumped to the ground.

"I don't. I'm happier with grandparents. It's only for a week or so, but I'd rather stay here. Ne? You think something will happen?"

"Suzu, it's just a stupid feeling. Really. Don't take it seriously. I want to see you for a bit too, and Dorian will probably behave better with me around. And Tatsuya doesn't like cats much. That's that. Nothing more."

"Maybe, but Aya… Don't underestimate women's intuition and instincts. You have them pretty strong. Yomi was a bit strange yesterday too. I really can't explain the feeling. But… It's like… quiet before the storm, and I really don't know what to make out of it…"

A chill ran down Aya's spine. The unpleasant tingling only intensified, and she needed to change the topic. "Maybe it's because of the book?"

"That's actually possible. Yomi read it too, she finished today, so probably."

"Urgh, and you want me to read it?" Someone rapped at her door. "Oh, I have a visitor."

"Sure. I'll call you later. Bye, bye. See you Sunday then?"

She got up and opened the door with the phone at her ear. Atsushi was standing there with his hands in the pockets. "Hi, Aya-chin. Can I see Do-chin?"

"Yeah, see you on Sunday evening. Bye." She ended the call and stepped back into the room. "Hi. Sure, come on in. I was wondering if you'd come or not."

He shrugged and ducked to enter the room. Everything was so small here. "I said I would." He drawled. "Do you have some sweets? Or snacks?"

"I promised, right?" She smiled and from a small cabinet she pulled out several differently flavoured potato chips, cookies, biscuits, candies and other sweets. "Do you want a juice?"

"Soda."

"Soda it is." She repeated and took it out from a small fridge in her room.

She observed Atsushi as he looked around and then sat on her bed. She liked the giant, but she couldn't quite make up her mind about what to think of him. He acted lumpish and disinterest, but she didn't think he was stupid. More like resigned. She'd already learned that talking about basketball wasn't a good topic, so she didn't try. If Atsushi wanted to talk, he would do so on his own.

Dorian was staring at the giant curiously. He jumped back on Aya's bed and walked around the newcomer. The bandages were down and the fur was slowly starting to grow back at the injured places.

She placed the can on a small conference table; she had in the room, next to her juice. She nestled on the ground and opened her laptop – there was no desk in the room, just one chair where her clothes were hanging. "You won't mind, right?"

He blinked at her, then at the laptop and shook his head. "Noo." He said and reached out towards the cat. Then he stopped himself, he was actually afraid of hurting such a small and cute thing, so he waited for the cat to come to him, to touch him first. And soon, it did.

Aya was searching for the book Suzume had recommended. If she didn't buy and start reading it right away, she'd forget. Thankfully, she brought her e-book reader with her. And she didn't have any urgent work anyways. She could spend some time reading. She downloaded it in French, the original language and also the English version, so she could compare some parts, if she wanted.

When she was done and had the book in her reader, she glanced up at Atsushi, who had found the makeshift toy she'd made before and was jerking it up and down in front of Dorian, who seemed to be enjoying the game and attention. It made her smile. But there was something…

"You like cats?"

"Mhm, I had one. They're fluffy and nice." Dorian's paw missed the toy and his claws dug through Atsushi's shorts into his thigh. "Ouch." He winced. "I don't like when they scratch."

"Kitties do that." She shrugged.

"So we're taking Do-chin back with us?" He asked as if to make sure, without lifting his eyes from the cat.

"Actually… I decided to go to Akita myself. Suzume, my friend, will take care of it and I want to see her."

He frowned. "Is she good?"

She raised an eyebrow at that. Was Atsushi worried for a stray cat he didn't really know and which had been picked up on the streets? If so, he was probably kinder than he looked.

"Yeah. One of the kindest people I know. Though she can be antisocial… and a very competitive pain in the ass too." She smiled when trying to describe Suzume. "She actually goes to Yosen, have you never met her?"

"Ah… How would I know? I don't pay attention to them. The girls… they are small and scared and fragile and they screech. And use aggressively sweet perfumes." His face twisted into a disgusted grimace when he talked about the girls from Yosen. That was his general idea he'd made up after seeing the girls in his class.

Aya laughed. "Yet you can handle Hero and Satsuki and me."

"You aren't scared, you don't screech and you don't use those perfumes." He summed up. "You're okay. And you're not as short."

"Suzu would be 'okay' too. She is 190 cm tall, you know."

That made him look at Aya-chin, to see if she was joking or not. But she wasn't making fun of him. "That is not possible." He drawled and pulled at the makeshift toy again. "There are no girls that tall in this country."

Aya shrugged. "Try to look at the people around you a bit. Maybe you'll get to spot her at school some day."

"Maybe…" He put away the toy and touched the kitty with his forefinger to rub its fur carefully. He liked fluffy things. "I want to play with Do-chin again."

Aya frowned at that and got up. "Are you scared of hurting him?" She asked straightforwardly, looking down on him When she was standing, she was slightly taller than Atsushi sitting on the edge of her bed.

"…" He gave a sideways glare to the ground. "Do-chin is fragile. I'm not good with fragile things. I tend to crush them." He said with a deep, almost hostile frown.

He wasn't happy that this girl saw through him. Sometimes he felt like an overgrown dog who had no idea how its body functioned because it got too big too quickly. While he could control his movements and had an exceptional eye-hand coordination, he couldn't fully control his strength yet and so he usually avoided handling animals or other small things; simply because he feared hurting or crushing them. Even in basketball, he was immensely talented and the best built for the sport, and yet he could never be too sure how much strength he could use. It was beyond frustrating; it was hellishly annoying. And it made him so angry that he'd always have to play against the small flies. That's why he'd started practising at Yosen again. There were boys around his size (and he hated coach's shinai), that way, he believed he could learn to control his power better.

She lifted the cat from the bed. "Can you sit on the ground?"

"?" He blinked at her, but obeyed. He sat near the conference table and leaned his back against the wooden frame of the bed, stretching his long legs in front of him. He could see some book on Aya-chin's screen but it was in a different language he didn't know. It surprised him a bit.

Aya took the makeshift toy and put it on the table too. She sat back to her previous spot with Dorian in her hands.

"Open up your palm."

He did, curious about what was going to happen next.

Aya gently placed the kitty into Atsushi's huge palm. It fitted there, but if Atsushi wanted, he could probably crush the kitty by squeezing it. And yet, he didn't want to hurt it. It was strangely cute. Then she took Atsushi's free hand and placed it on Dorian's back. She was using a pressure of her hands to show him, how much strength he could use.

"He isn't that fragile." She smiled. "If you use too much strength, he'll let you know by meowing, scratching or biting. Don't worry. Pay attention to him instead." She withdrew her hand and let Atsushi to stroke Dorian on his own.

Atsushi's smile was almost gentle. He really liked the soft fur of cats. It reminded him of childhood and the cat he'd had then.

"Yeah. Like that." She praised him. "I'll start reading a book. If you need something, let me know, okay?"

"Haaai, Aya-chin." He said happily. It was the first time someone had let him pet their cat and showed him how to do it without injuring it. Usually the people would tell him off like some huge creature who'd wanted to hurt everyone.

Dorian started purring.

######

"Hey, Aomine." Tatsuya called after the tall ace when he saw him entering his room on a hallway.

Aomine's hand stopped on the doorknob. "What?" He turned to face him.

"Have you seen Atsushi? If he isn't in the room till lights-out, Araki-sensei will kill him." He asked, looking at the clock. It was ten minutes to 10PM – ten minutes to lights-out. He was getting desperate.

"No. I don't know where he is." He shook his head. "Maybe he went to buy sweets and got lost?" He suggested, knowing how bad Atsushi's orientation skills were. Why am I even helping them?

"Damn! He has a huge pile of snacks in the room anyways… Which number is Aya's room? Maybe she'll know."

Aomine raised an eyebrow at that. "She didn't tell y'?" He couldn't read Tatsuya's poker face, but there was a hint of anger in his visible eye.

Tatsuya wanted to retort, when a door at the end of the hallway opened and Atsushi walked out.

"Thank you, Aya-chin." He said contently and looked down the hallway. "Ah, Muro-chin. I'm just getting back."

"Where the hell were you?! You made me worried."

"Aah, sorry, sorry. I wanted to play with Do-chin, and Hiro-chin told me which room was Aya-chin's."

"Playing with the cat?" Tatsuya asked in disbelief and looked at Aya, who peeked outside curiously, cradling the cat in her arms.

She shrugged and smirked. "Well, yeah. I'm actually glad. It means that Dorian will sleep during the night instead of climbing up the curtains like last night."

Aomine sighed, he didn't feel threatened by Murasakibara in any way, but if he knew the cat needed someone to play with it, he wouldn't mind sacrificing himself… "Should I come and tire him out tomorrow?" He teased her with a smirk.

Aya laughed. "That's not a definition of Katsunori's 'don't cause trouble', but if it means I'll have time to read the book… I don't mind you entertaining Dorian."

"Then I'll stop by, Sweetheart."

"Aya." She corrected him again. She caught Tatsuya's raised eyebrow and the slight flash of jealousy in his eyes, but it was necessary. He needed to realise he was only a friend now, maybe family, but nothing more. "Oh well, whatever. Good night boys." She waved them and disappeared into the room to continue her reading.

"Let's go, Muro-chin."

Tatsuya shifted his gaze on Aomine. "I hope you're not playing around and killing your boredom with her." He said quietly and venom was dripping off those words.

"Like you with that lover of yours?" He asked with a smirk, observing the fleeting emotions reflecting deep in that grey eye. Who would've thought that once he noticed what to look for, he could guess what Tatsuya was thinking. And that question would normally cause a very sour expression. "Don't worry. I ain't you, Ex-san." He said, and disappeared in his room.

######

"He isn't softening up, Imayoshi." Tada said as he sprawled on his bed, thinking back to the match they'd had in the morning. "He's just getting more tolerable."

"Glad to hear that. I can't wait for some proper match. It's boring so far. There were actually some better teams in the prelims."

"It's not about them being weak." Wakamatsu muttered. "But them giving up when the point gap gets wider than 15 points…"

"…and at the idea of Aomine showing up on court." Susa added. He enjoyed playing basketball against whomever, but opponents who gave up quickly were really discouraging.

Tada rolled onto his stomach to look at his teammates and friends. "If we are feeling this way… Can you imagine what Aomine must've felt that it'd turned him into that inflated idiot he'd been during the first few weeks?"

"The only thing I don't get… Is how come that Aya-chan can apparently understand him?" The captain mused. "I've been trying to act as if I knew, to push her into a corner but I can't. And it's damn frustrating. Do you know?" He admitted begrudgingly, looking at Tada questioningly.

The boy bit his lower lip in hesitation. These three were like graves when it came to keeping secrets. They'd known his. But… He'd promised Aya he wouldn't tell. "Yeah, more or less. But I won't tell."

"You're too loyal." Imayoshi shook his head. "Can you at least hint me in the right direction?"

That he could do… "Have you tried googling her up? In English of course…"

Imayoshi blinked at him in surprise. "Eh? Why would I google up another teenager?"

He shrugged. "Dunno… Because she is the Kagami?" Imayoshi and Kousuke still didn't get it. But Tada noticed that Susa opened his mouth and then pulled out his phone. "Well then try. But don't believe everything you might find." He added for the two.

Aya attended matches the next day. In their match, the first match of the day, Imayoshi let Naito play with the other regulars, to have some fun and to observe the first year point guard to struggle a bit in the team he wasn't used to. Then he swapped him out mid-game. Touou won 104 to 86 and earned a ticket to quarterfinals; without Aomine having to participate for more than ten minutes since the beginning of the tournament.

Kaijo won the next match 112 to 76. It'd been obvious from day one that this would be their quarterfinal opponent.

Aomine didn't show his face at the stadium at all and no one knew where the ace disappeared to. And no one cared. The ace wasn't needed.

She had used every free minute to read the book Suzume had recommended. It really piqued her interest and even if it was highly disturbing and a bit scary, she couldn't stop reading until she'd figure out who the killer was.

In the evening, Aomine truly did knock on her door. She opened it up, while rubbing her thick hair dry.

"Come on in."

He looked her up and down. She was wearing shorts and a baggy t-shirt with a cartoon hamster – the animal was strangely cute.

"Already in your PJs?" He asked with a smirk, raised an eyebrow and followed her inside – ducking his head to avoid the doorframe. The hotel wasn't designed for tall people, apparently.

He looked around the room. It was a strange feeling to be in Aya's room, even if was only a contemporary one. The room seemed bigger than his, but it was probably caused by the fact that there was only one bed. She had her clothes hung over the only chair and her laptop and papers were resting on a small conference table at the bottom of the bed. And there were glasses. He had no idea she wore glasses.

"Glasses?" It really surprised him.

"Only to block the blue light from the computer, otherwise I see as well as a hawk." She explained with a shrug. "So? I want to read and then sleep. I'm barely in the middle of the book." She headed towards her bed and hopped on it, picking up the reader. "You wanted to play with Dorian, not me, right?"

He laughed at her wording. "You do realise how that sounded?"

"Ah…" She blushed slightly and looked out of the window. It was getting dark already. "Either way! It's true." She retorted in a quiet grumble.

He shook his head, looking at her and sat on the edge of her bed. "Sure thing." He was still chuckling, and lured by the new, unknown sound Dorian came to investigate. He offered his palm to the cat and it started nibbling at it weakly. "What are you reading?"

She lifted her eyes from the reader. "The frozen dead. I'm not sure how to translate it. I'm reading it in French though, it's called Glacé. So maybe 'Frost', could be fitting too?"

"A horror?" He guessed by the title with a raised eyebrow. It was already pointless to act as if he didn't read.

"No, a thriller. It is not that scary, but quite disturbing. I don't get how Suzume can love books like these, but I must admit it's written well enough that it keeps me reading. So far, there was a butchered horse arranged like a bird on a cableway, one hanged human corpse, one psychiatric institution with the criminals, who are mentally sick and partly medicine resistant, but who can't get out no matter what, and an utterly confused team of detectives, because the DNA of one of the worst and the most intelligent of those criminals was found on both bodies… Uhm well… and they are starting to ding in the past in belief it's all connected."

"And snow and silence everywhere, right?"

"Yeah. It gives me goosebumps sometimes. I hate the cold and winter."

"Good for nightmares. You sure it's worth it?" He gave her a meaningful look.

She frowned at him. "Shush. I won't be satisfied until I finish it."

He shook his head and sighed. "Stubborn mule."

"You're the one to talk." She muttered and started reading again.

He looked around, hoping to spot some cat toys. And then he found the makeshift one. He liked playing with animals and cats were funny while chasing things; different from dogs and very amusing. He could spend hours doing that and not get bored. Then he decided to use a red pointer light, to see what would happen, though he first had to download it into his phone as there was nothing of the sort in the room.

With Aya reading quietly, it was as if she wasn't even there; she was so immersed in her thriller that she tuned out everything around her. He smirked as an idea stroke him.

Dorian seemed to love chasing the red dot coming out of Aomine's smartphone. The cat was running on the ground and then he diverted the light back on the bed. And then at Aya's bent legs. Dorian gratefully jumped at her bare calves, but he bounced off.

She jolted in fright and swore. "Damn! What was that for?"

"You are ignoring us, Sweetheart."

"Oh, really~?" She asked and a dangerous light twinkled in her eyes as she put the reader on the night table. Then she grabbed a pillow, not quite sure what she wanted to do and definitely not thinking about it.

Daiki could sense an attack that would come; he just didn't expect her to plunge at him full weight. Poor Dorian jumped away to seek safety before he'd get squashed. They almost fell off the bed, but Daiki managed to counter her somehow. He got hit by the pillow couple of times – not that hard – before a vein popped on his forehead. He wouldn't have that. Oh no you won't, Sweetheart. He thought.

But pacifying the redhead once she got going was surprisingly difficult; as long as he didn't decide to get serious. They turned into a fighting ball of arms and legs, each trying to topple the other off the bed, while keeping their position on top of it. She was unbelievably nimble and skilled in wrestling-free from him. He'd need to ask her where she'd learned that. Soon they were like two kids fighting over a toy which was long lost and then continuing the fight just for the sake of it. He had to laugh at the situation, while hoping she wouldn't accidentally kick or hit his crotch, and trying not to hurt her; though he did accidentally pull her hair when it ended below his elbow or hand. It didn't seem to bother her that much though.

At least she didn't yelp and after a while she was laughing too.

And then he somehow spun them around, pinning her to the bed with his weight. She couldn't possibly counter that.

"You sure you wanted to fight with me?" He asked victoriously, almost with a childish glee, not quite realising the position.

It surprised her, because now, she could barely move and was basically rendered powerless. And that intimate proximity made her heart race uncontrollably. His warmth, his scent, his body pressed against hers, his deep voice vibrating so close she could physically feel it. And she didn't mind it in the slightest. On the contrary, she wanted him to erase those few centimetres of air separating some parts of their bodies. She blushed furiously.

Only when he looked at her blushing face, which was closer than ever, he realised. A victorious smirk faded and he blushed too, freezing on his spot. He had no idea what to do. Underneath him, she looked small and fragile. And suddenly he wasn't sure if he hadn't accidentally hurt her. The sweet, yet fresh scent of apricots that was all around him tickled his nose. He liked the dazzling scent typical for her. His brain didn't seem to be working right anymore and his heart was ready jump out of his chest. And those reddish eyes were looking right at him with something he couldn't understand, but it sure as hell wasn't rejection. He was both excited and totally freaked out.

She could see the confusion, shock and worry but also the excitement rolling in those stormy eyes. She really didn't want him to let her go. But some sane part of her brain was still working correctly and she reined in on her wild emotions and hormones.

"You're heavy, you know?" She countered, her blush slowly fading away. Her voice broke the atmosphere, but in fact, she didn't mind his weight at all.

"Ah… Sorry." He mumbled with a deepening blush and got up, letting her go and sitting next to her.

It took him a few seconds to calm down his heart rate a bit and peek at her, only to be caught up in the scorching fire burning in her eyes. Could it be labelled as desire? He wasn't really sure, but it didn't help to calm down his crazy heartbeat.

Then she forced the flames in her eyes to calm down and they turned into glowing embers. She grinned. "Well… Now we know that fighting on a bed can turn out to be pretty dangerous." She summed up their moment.

A strangled chuckle escaped him. "Yeah. Uhm… I didn't hurt you, right?" He asked hesitantly. The thought wouldn't leave his head and when he noticed a few strands of red hair tangled around his long fingers he had to be sure.

"Huh?" She blinked at him in surprise. "What are you talking about?"

He averted his eyes. "I am much stronger than you…"

The scene of Atsushi fearing to touch the cat popped up in her head again. "Don't worry, Honey-bun. You might be much stronger, but I'm not as fragile as you think. Don't forget that I grew up with a brother and cousins. If you'd hurt me, you would've known about it."

He nodded and frowned at the yanked long hair.

She zoomed at what he was staring at and she laughed. "I'm a dancer. My pain threshold is far above a few strands of yanked hair. Besides, Kise pulled out more than that during our fight at the photo shoot. No worries, 'kay?"

It took him a moment to nod and he felt relieved. The last thing he wanted was to hurt her.

She glanced at the time. "Ah… As much as I'd like you to stay," that fire flashed there again for a second, erasing his worry, "it's almost lights-out. And Katsu will check up on me."

The last sentence actually startled him. "What?"

She shrugged in resignation. "Those articles might've been a lie, but I have a certain reputation. And even though Katsunori doesn't want to hurt me and he doesn't mean bad, he checks up on me. And I promised Taiga I'd call him."

He exhaled loudly. "Then I'd better flee while I still have the chance."

"I completely agree."

######

"Where've you been?" Kano asked Aomine when he returned to the room a minute before 10PM, with an unexplainably excited glee in his stormy eyes.

"None of your business." He grumbled and sprawled on his bed. He probably wouldn't be able to sleep. Tch… Tomorrow is the quarterfinals… He remembered, but thankfully the match was supposed to be just before the lunchtime, so he could sleep in.

"Playing with the cat." Naito hummed and lifted his gaze from a book he was reading. "But maybe he didn't play just with the cat." He jabbed dryly after assessing Aomine's expression.

"What?!" Kano almost shouted and glared at Naito. "Aya-chan wouldn't…"

"Wouldn't what?" His intelligent eyes stared at his friend over the edge of the book.

"Just stop it." He shut his eyes tight.

"Stop what?" He provoked.

Kano blushed. And Aomine was starting to get annoyed by the conversation.

"Sexualising Aya-chan." Ishii said it in Kano's stead. "Really. She's our friend, Shouhei. Hideki and I don't need to have any weird ideas… definitely not with Aomine involved." His face twisted into a disgusted grimace.

"It's you who's done it though." Naito shrugged and returned to his book, while Ishii took in Kano's and even Sakurai's deep red blushes.

"I hate you." He growled at Naito.

"I know, until you need my help with biology."

"Go die."

"If Aya-chan could hear you… tcs, tcs, tcs…" Naito shook his head in pretended displease.

"One more word about Aya, and I will kill you all." Aomine growled from his bed, with an expression that could rival any serial killer out there.

Both blushing boys paled immediately – that was a scary face they'd remember till the world's end. Even Ishii averted his gaze and stared at the ceiling instead. Suddenly, he didn't think that sharing a room with Aomine and Naito was a good idea. Mainly because he could guess what would follow.

"See? The first name basis. Finally." Naito commented, not quite realising the danger levels in the room.

Then Aomine's slipper found its place in the middle of Naito's face. And his nose started bleeding.

Aya's eyes opened widely. She didn't know what exactly had woken her, but she felt cold. She turned to look at her phone. It was 2AM. Then she was slowly remembering the dream. It consisted mostly of weird patched up images, scenes from the book she'd been reading. The images then turned into a certain disturbing story.

The whole dream, she'd been watched, hunted. She'd been running around within the pure white psychiatric institution, while the freezing winds blew through gaps and seams in the old building creating a dreadful symphony. And someone had been preying on her. She'd had no idea who, as she hadn't seen the predator, but she'd known he'd been there somewhere.

That's what had woken her. The helpless fear of prey knowing it's hunted. The feeling was still quite strong and she shivered despite the warm night and blankets.

Damn you, Suzume. She thought.

She rolled on her other side and saw two glowing eyes staring down at her from not more than 30 centimetres.

"Kyah!" She screamed and fell off the bed with a loud thud.

Dorian let out a startled meow and jumped down of the bed as well, equally freaked out.

"So much for my imagination." She growled. "I should've finished the book before going to sleep." It was certainly the fault of an unfinished story that had triggered the nightmare.

No, she couldn't stay inside that room without going mad. This dream scared her on a whole different level than the usual nightmares involving her mother. The only feeling remaining in her now was a dull, nonsensical primal fear, nothing else.

She changed from pyjamas, hopped into her basketball shoes and took a ball. There was only one person she could possibly wake up at 2AM.

######

"Ayacchi!" Kise's voice echoed through the hallway like a gunshot.

She jumped away from the door, she was right about to knock at like a startled cat. "Shush!" She hissed at the blonde immediately. "Do you want to wake up the whole hotel?"

"Ah…" He lowered the volume as he approached her. "Sorry, sorry." He looked her up and down, there was something off about the girl and it wasn't just the dishevelled hair she'd messily tied up.

"What are you even doing here at this hour?"

"And you?" He glanced at the door number. "A date with Aominecchi? Or…" He asked teasingly.

"…" She looked at him accusingly and threw a ball at his chest. He caught it. "None of your business."

"Wanna play basket?"

"Not with you." She sighed, not in the mood for courtesies.

"Eh? That's mean!" He whined.

"Shush." She hissed again. "I'm gonna get a coffee." What was I even thinking going to Aomine in the middle of the night? She thought, but Daiki was the person she felt safe with. So when scared and distressed, running to him was her first choice. She really hadn't expected to run into someone else at 2:10 AM.

"Can I join?" He asked with a puppy expression. With the upcoming match against Aominecchi, he couldn't sleep.

"Do what you want." She mumbled and headed for the stairs.

######

"You sure, you're not going after them?" Naito's voice mumbled from the darkness in a slight provocation. He hadn't forgotten the slipper.

"Why should I?" Aomine grumbled quietly. He didn't want to wake up the others too. Kise was goddamn loud for such a late hour, well; the blonde had nothing to hide apparently.

"You are into her, not me." The shrug was almost hearable. "But if I were you, I'd want to know what she'd wanted from me at 2AM. And I wouldn't trust the model, though I don't know him."

"Tch." He clicked his tongue and crawled out of the bed. He couldn't sleep anyways. It wasn't that he didn't trust Kise, more like… He wanted to know what had happened to Aya; because if he knew her enough, she'd had a nightmare. "Tch."

Naito chuckled quietly when the door shut close behind the ace.

"You're terrible, Shouhei." Ishii murmured.

"Oh, shut up. Isn't it fun?"

"No wonder Imayoshi likes you."

######

It took Daiki a while to find the two. The hotel's lights were out and the hallways were illuminated only by some low emergency lights. Dark and with no people running around, the hotel was almost eerie. He turned left to run down the staircase, praying there were no motion-sensors to switch on some lights. He headed for the cafeteria, no one would be there at this hour, but the vending machines were 24/7. He turned around the last corner and he almost ran into them.

They were sitting in the cafeteria's comfortable big leather armchairs in silence. Aya was sipping from her coffee and Kise had a cocoa, like usual when he couldn't sleep.

She had her back to him, but he caught Kise's eyes for a second and the blonde smirked at him. For that smirk, he'd strangle him, but he knew Kise wouldn't rat him out. So he quickly disappeared behind a corner and crouched down leaning against the wall. Damn it. He swore inwardly. So much for being stealthy.

"Couldn't sleep?" Kise broke the silence first. He didn't like the silence.

"And you, Model-kun?" She answered the question with another question. She wasn't sure she wanted to talk with the blonde. But it was a deep night, a time when it was easier to talk and everyone showed their vulnerabilities, and the blonde wasn't all that bad.

"I'm excited and terrified." He spun the ball on his forefinger. "I can't wait for tomorrow's match."

"Today's." She corrected him.

"Ah well… True." He chuckled. "You won't answer my question?"

"Why should I?"

He sighed. "I thought you trusted me a bit, Ayacchi. I keep secrets well."

"Haaa… I know. It's not that I don't trust you, Model-kun. I simply don't like showing off the vulnerable spots."

"Apparently you don't mind showing them to Aominecchi."

A soft smile played on her lips. "Because... He's special. He's straightforward, oddly kind, and safe, like a protective wing without any ulterior motives. I trust him, I feel safe with him. I know he would never use it against me. He's not capable of doing that to anyone, really."

"And I am?"

"I think you are. You just haven't had a reason for it. Yet…" Her narrowed eyes told him loud and clear, she knew he knew about the articles somehow.

Kise let out a chuckle. Normally he would whine and accuse her of being mean, but she wasn't that far from truth. He'd never use the vulnerabilities against his friends. That was the one rule he'd never ever break. "And I won't do it even if I do have a reason, Ayacchi. When you're sly, you need some rules after all."

"That's yours?"

"That's mine. And what's yours?" He stared at her. There was something special about the night talks. Everyone was strangely vulnerable at 2AM. Him included.

"Never lie to those who really care." She said and stared back confidently.

"Half-truths allowed." He nodded. "I thought so." Then he remembered Aominecchi at the corner. He was wondering what his friend thought about all this. "You had a nightmare?" He guessed.

Her eyes widened in surprise. "What gave me out?"

"The way you jumped in fright when I called out to you? I'm not blind. Or stupid…"

"Yeah… A nightmare. Because of a damn book."

He raised an eyebrow and chuckled. He could as well help Aominecchi with some answers, no? And Ayacchi seemed willing to talk. "Why didn't you go to Ex-kun then? He probably knows you better than Aominecchi?"

"Eh? I didn't even think about Tatsuya. He's never handled me with nightmares. Only once… When we were kids and friends only… It freaked him out and ever since he always avoided me during the times I could have had a nightmare." She blinked at the blonde in realisation. "I think I avoided him during that time too."

Of course she hadn't even thought about Tatsuya, she couldn't associate him as someone who would want to protect her. Maybe she was being unfair towards him now and that hadn't been his intention as the boyfriend, but that was what she'd learned over the years of friendship and dating and dealing with Tatsuya's broken family. It had been simple, really; be with him when everything's fine, go to Taiga or Seth when you're hurt or scared. Why haven't I realised it sooner?

The lost look that flashed in her eyes actually shocked Kise. "Don't tell me you haven't realised it until now?" And Aominecchi has handled you with nightmares?

"I guess not. I didn't have time to dig in it then and I probably choose to overlook it." She snorted. No wonders Suzume is so hostile whenever she hears about Tatsuya. But it's not only his fault… "And I mean… You get used to so many things in seven years that they don't seem weird at all."

"Wow… Seven years… How long did you date anyways?" He asked curiously.

She had to think about it. "I'm not really sure… Two years? One year and something?"

"Have you ever talked about Ex-kun with Aominecchi?"

"Is this an interrogation?"

"A mere curiosity of a friend." His smile turned apologetic, but there was no malevolence behind it.

She shook her head and chuckled. "A bit… It's not really a topic I'd like to discuss with Daiki."

"You don't mind discussing it with me, then?"

"You should be a detective one day, really." She laughed and shrugged. "You know it, don't you? A situation when you tell your entire life story to a complete stranger? Because it's easier? It's something like that. You're unrelated, I don't see your face every day and I'm not into you, so yeah, it's somehow easier to talk about this with you."

You'd be a good detective too. He laughed at that, she was really good with words. "Oh, how good that sounds! A girly friend who won't get the wrong ideas… Does it mean you're into Aominecchi?"

"Don't you already know that? I guess it's kinda obvious."

No clear answer… Again. "Hmm… Not really. Your self-control is unbelievable and you're holding back..."

"Father." She said ominously as if the shadow was looming over her.

"You need an approval?"

She laughed again, but it was a dry, humourless laugh. "No. I'm not looking for approval or blessing or understanding. I want to inform him in person, and give out a small warning. It's better if I tell him myself than if he learns it from someone else."

"Warning to your father?" His eyebrows shot up in disbelief.

"Yes. You don't know him at all. But I don't want to see Daiki being used against me, or his possible future destroyed, because I wasn't thinking." She said seriously. "After I'm sure he won't harm Daiki… I think there won't be a force able to keep me away from him. Well… except Daiki himself. He might not want of me in the end."

Kise had to force himself to not look in the direction of where Aomine was crouching behind the corner. He really hadn't expected this kind of a conversation; first Momocchi and now, completely by chance, Ayacchi, who confided in him, because both girls valued him as a good listener and a good friend and a perfect secret keeper.

"I don't think so…"

"We'll see then." A genuine smile appeared on her face. "The irony of life is cruel sometimes." She concluded. "So are you ready for the match?"

The conversation turned against him now. "The best I can be. I think I'll take my chances with what we talked about."

"I don't remember talking about anything of the sort with you."

He laughed. "Well… Then you know what I'm talking about."

"That I might. Is your team okay with it?" She asked seriously.

"I'm the spoiled ace of theirs." He shrugged. "And I'm the only one who can actually face Aominecchi head on. You can't even comprehend how excited I am."

"Oh, trust me, Model-kun. I can."

"Ah, right. You are the world champion."

"Was," she rolled her eyes. "Is your girlfriend coming to support you?" She asked with a sly smile.

"Hahaha… You know I don't have a girlfriend." He laughed it off, but there was a certain person appearing in his mind, which made his laughter falter slightly.

"But there is someone who interests you…" It wasn't a question.

"Shiracchi?"

"Does it matter?"

He sighed. "There is, but… It's not that simple." He admitted truthfully. He hadn't really talked about the girl with anyone yet. Perhaps it was time to do so because for the first time, he felt lost and clueless.

She smiled at him encouragingly. "I'm all ears."

"Some other time, maybe? I can't open that up now… I need to focus on the upcoming match."

"As you wish, Model-kun."

Aomine had heard enough. Who listens behind a door, usually hears things about themselves… Michiko's words rang in his mind. But wasn't he there exactly because of that? And Kise having a genuine interest in someone? Mind blowing…

He got up and dragged himself back to the room. So she did like him, but she was scared of her father's possible backlash. He didn't know the man, and Aya had never talked with him about her father, though he knew the relationship was strained and tattered. The idea of Aya trying to protect him, however… He didn't like it, it was supposed to be his role, then again, he had no idea what the CEO could possibly threaten him with. But if Aya was wary, it was probably for the best if he remained patient. It wasn't like they didn't interact or didn't have their moments... They just weren't officially dating, that was all.

Heck she wanted to go to him when scared. If that was not a proof of him being special, then he had no idea what it could be.

Still… He hated the fact that she had to walk on thin ice and strategize around her father, or that the ex never truly supported her when he should've had. Now he understood her a bit better once again; her reluctance, self-control and caution.

She didn't deserve that.

She deserved much better.

A/N: That's it for now. The first days of the Interhigh and the first matches - I didn't write the matches in detail, as I thought it wasn't necessary. I already have a bunch of OCs and I thought that creating another full teams of players just for these few games would be contra-productive.

Yes, the book 'The frozen dead' exists, it's real, and it belongs to its rightful author Bernard Minier. I read the book around the time I wrote the chapter and I loved it, so I took a bit of an inspiration. It really is a chilling thriller and it gave me a nightmare or two as well.

Oh, and maybe a KisexOC story in the far future? Who knows...

Well, anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and that no one was too OOC, (especially Atsushi).

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

S.