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

Not much of Aomine here, but Aya's coming home... I think we've all been expecting that.

Enjoy! :)

Distance makes the heart grow fonder. ― Simone Elkeles, Perfect Chemistry

It's easy to impress me. I don't need a fancy party to be happy. Just good friends, good food, and good laughs. I'm happy. I'm satisfied. I'm content. – Maria Sharapova

In everybody's life there's a point of no return. And in a very few cases, a point where you can't go forward anymore. And when we reach that point, all we can do is quietly accept the fact. That's how we survive. ― Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

The shattering of a heart when being broken is the loudest quiet ever. ― Carroll Bryant

But grief makes a monster out of us sometimes . . . and sometimes you say and do things to the people you love that you can't forgive yourself for. ― Melina Marchetta, On the Jellicoe Road

"So he did play after all!" Taiga exclaimed loudly when they finished watching the Touou vs. Rakuzan match. Honestly, he wasn't sure what to think about the match. It was awesome, yet a bit forced and tensed. Touou was trying to do something out of its character and not that greatly.

Aya blinked at the screen speechless. She had no idea. "Apparently." She breathed out and shook her head. They'd been travelling for over 8 hours already, 5,5 hours on this plane and she was tired, but she couldn't sleep. Her legs were stiff and she was still thinking about Suzume.

"I wonder if something happened… He seemed to try to actually do something for the team…" He muttered.

"Maybe. Or maybe he just wanted to see Akashi's shocked face. Hard to say."

"True enough." He nodded and stretched his long legs into the aisle. "I hate this small cramped economy class…" He muttered in discontent.

"We could've used the business class. It's you who didn't want to."

"We wouldn't be able to sit close to one another!"

"But you'd have enough space for those long legs of yours." She smirked at him.

He stared at her for a moment and then he shrugged. "Nah… I'd rather be cramped here with you."

It made her chuckle and she ruffled his hair. "Of course, you big baby who can't sit alone." She teased.

"Oi! I ain't a baby!" He protested loudly and he earned an angry shush from a lady sitting behind them. He glared back at her and shaking his head in disbelief he pulled Aya against his shoulder and ruffled her hair; completely messing it up.

"Heey!" She protested in a loud whisper and laughed. "Don't do that."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You are laughing."

"Would you two shut up? I'm trying to sleep here." The lady leaned forward and hissed at them.

Aya rolled her eyes and turned around. "Yeah, you have 7 more hours to keep trying. Or do you want a sleeping pill?" She asked.

The lady backed down at Aya's confrontational attitude. The redhead didn't seem like the usual teenager who would apologise and feel guilty. "Gee' just keep it down."

"We'll try." Aya said and leaned back against her seat. She did feel guilty, but she wasn't in a mood to be polite.

"You sure you don't wanna sleep?" Taiga asked worriedly but he kept his voice to a minimal volume. They didn't need to provoke the lady anymore. "You haven't slept for over two days again."

"Maybe later…" She sighed and rested her head against Taiga's shoulder. "You should sleep too."

"I will, in a minute. We are going to gramps, we won't sleep there much."

"That's true. Adrien won't cut us any slack."

"Adrien? I'm more worried about the little ones. And the horses."

"Definitely the horses." She chuckled, thinking about Spirit. "Ah, right… We'll probably sleep in the stables too."

"I'd prefer sleeping out in the pastures." He sighed contently and rested his head against his seat. He could feel the sweet sleepy haze taking over him.

"Watching stars? That could be fun too."

"Mhm…"

"Good night, Tai." She smiled softly and closed her eyes imagining the vast vineyards and smell of hay and summer. She loved those. It slowly lulled her into the sleep she hadn't expected any time soon. But the last thought she had, was a thought of Daiki approaching her.

Adrien Chevalier was taking care of horses as usual. He'd just graduated from high school and he had no ambition to study at a university. He liked working here, at his home.

His home was a special place after all. It was a huge self-sufficient farm and vineyard belonging to his grandparents in Alsace, France, close to the town Ribeauvillé. Well, it was closer to the mountains on the west than the town. The closest neighbours were several kilometres away. But no one in his family minded that. The people usually came to them. His grandparents had quite a reputation already. Their home-like half-medieval hotel was renowned with great wine and tasty food. It could only accommodate up to 30 people and it was run solely by the Chevalier family.

Adrien's father, Kou, was the oldest of the five remaining children of his grandparents – one of his three sisters would've been the oldest if she was still alive – but she wasn't and either way, she'd never had any ambition to take over the business; and so it was his responsibility. Adrien had two younger brothers and he never really thought of leaving the place. It was quiet and calm, with mountains just behind their backs. He felt free here.

The vineyard accommodated and provided job for his grandparents, his whole family and another two families of his aunts. There were 19 of them living and working there permanently. The other two uncles and their families decided to live in cities, but they showed up from time to time to enjoy their holiday at home – usually they were drawn into work surrounding such a place.

The two horses he was grooming were called Spirit and Feather. They were extraordinary. However, there was nothing exceptional about their looks. Their bodies were barrel shaped with short sturdy legs and they weren't too big, but Feather was a palm taller than Spirit. Feather was a blue roan mare, while Spirit was a hickory brown male. The fur quality was however, the same – thick and shaggy – if he hadn't taken care of it properly. Usually, no one would be interested in them that much. But they were incredibly intelligent and they had some sort of a special training he'd never learned about. Adrien was assigned to take care of them when their owners weren't around –which was almost all year long. The owners were none other than Aya and Taiga, Adrien's younger cousins. And he was always trying to win the animals' trust, but they'd never let him mount them. Apparently, only the twins could, and it was driving Adrien crazy. He wanted a horse like that too.

"Aaah… I'll have to ask them what the trick is when they come." He sighed and patted Feather's neck handing her an apple – the favourite treat of both horses.

Feather was about to bite into the juicy fruit when a certain scent reached her nostrils. She stopped and raised her head snorting. Spirit did the same. A strange vibration ran through both of their ribcages and then they neighed in unison throwing their heads up and down in excitement.

"What is it?" He asked curiously as if they could answer him. Sometimes he thought they could and did (if he interpreted their reactions, looks and sounds well enough), but he'd never admit it out loud because he didn't want to sound like a crazy man. A crazy, lonely, horseman.

Spirit ignored him and trotted several paces along the fence, sniffing the air and neighing. Feather joined him, forgetting about the apple for now.

In a couple of moments Adrien saw two figures approaching the pen they were in. The red hair of the two visitors were unmistakable.

"Finally decided to pay us a visit?!" He shouted at them and waved to get their attention. Then a broad grin settled on his face.

"Finally?! We left in March! It's not that long." Taiga answered switching to French and waved him back. "But you should keep the dogs closed up!"

"Still afraid of them?!" Adrien mocked him, but he was happy to see them. "Hurry up! Or these two will jump over the fence to greet you."

The closer they got the more excited the horses were. Aya laughed at that, sometimes she thought they were overgrown dogs rather than horses.

"Yes, yes! We're coming!" She started to jog towards the horses, Taiga following in her tow. It didn't matter how tired she was from the long flight and the transits they'd had to make. She was happy to be there, with her family and the animals. This place was a wonderland different from her Japanese oasis at the other grandparents' house. This was the place where her mother had grown up.

"Hi, love!" She exclaimed and fished an apple from a bucket hanging on the fence. Handing it to Spirit, she climbed over the fence. "Long time no see."

The horse neighed again and threw his head up and down. He seemed ready to jump up and down and dance around her in excitement. It made her laugh. After all the bad things that had happened in Japan, this was what she needed to find her peace again.

"Greeting the horse before greeting me…" Adrien sighed hurtfully. "What am I to you, eh?!"

"But my dear cousin of course!" She chuckled and stood on her tiptoes to kiss Adrien's cheek. "But he wouldn't take it well if I greeted you first."

"I can imagine." He rolled his eyes and kissed her on the cheek too. Then he turned to Taiga who was greeting with Feather as well. They shook hands and hugged. "Did the kids attack you upon arrival?" He smirked, knowing how beloved the twins were by the youngsters; two idiots agreeing to any kind of stupid game the kids would suggest (most of the time).

Taiga laughed. "Yeah, we spent about the past hour and a half shaking them off to be able to get to the horses."

"But we do love them anyways." Aya smiled and patted Spirit's neck. "Wanna join us for a ride?" She asked with a smile.

"Yeah, but I need to go to saddle up Storm."

"We'll wait." Taiga said, rubbing Feather's mane in affection. He had no idea why he feared dogs (a bit less after he'd made a truce with #2) but not horses.

"You're not saddling up?" Adrien's eyebrows shot up in surprise. The twins could be crazy and impulsive, he knew. This shouldn't even surprise him. "Whatever… I'll be back in 10 minutes. Wait up." He jumped over the fence, but then he stopped and turned around. "And your accent is terrible, Taiga."

"Oh, thank you very much! Why don't you try speaking Japanese?"

Adrien shook his head. "Gee'. No. You probably wouldn't understand a word."

"All the more reason to practise, no?" Aya smiled and tilted her head. She placed her hands on Spirit's back in order to mount him, but then she stopped for a moment as the horse looked at her with a strange light in his eyes. She leaned over to the horse's head and whispered something to him. It shouldn't have been necessary, but she wasn't taking any chances. After that she jumped up and threw her leg over Spirit's back. "Besides," she continued looking down on Adrien, "knowing Japanese is cool, isn't it? And we won't be here for long, three days at most. Don't miss the chance."

"So… You're saying…" Adrien switched the language, tasting the words after a couple of months. His grandmother only spoke Japanese to them all, but… She didn't force them to answer her in Japanese and so he rarely did.

"You speak Japanese, we speak French. To anyone outside the family it'll sound insane, but why not?" Taiga added, already mounting Feather – Adrien hadn't noticed whether he too, whispered something to the horse before, or not – and he smiled at his sister.

"Urgh… I can try." He nodded gravely. They were right after all, and it would be embarrassing if his younger cousins knew more languages than him. (He had no idea how many languages they really knew.)

######

In the late evening, they were sitting outside the house with everyone, drinking wine with those who could and talking about life in Japan, school, basketball, food and anything they wanted. The horses were grazing the grass close by and sometimes they lifted their heads to check if the twins were still there. Aya was cradling one of the three months old twin girls of her youngest aunt and listening to Taiga's talk about the little dog named Tetsuya #2 his club had adopted just a few days ago.

Because of #2, Taiga couldn't claim he hated dogs anymore. So he decided (after a long nagging from everyone) to take his chances with six huge dogs that were running around freely most of the time. Three border collies, two rottweilers and a miniature schnauzer. None of the dogs tried to attack him, so he took it as a good thing, though the rottweilers were slightly aloof around him; like saying 'we don't mind you, but we won't wag our tails because of you'. However, the miniature schnauzer, Eddie, seemed to claim Taiga as her personal cushion. He felt really uncomfortable, but he was trying his best to keep the little dog happy.

"How's your father doing? He hasn't shown his face here in years." Grandfather, Cédric, asked, puffing out clouds of smoke from his pipe.

"Ah." Aya glanced at Taiga, not sure what to say. She didn't expect this question. It wasn't that her grandpa didn't like their father, but Haruka had no intention to learn anything about wine, so that determined their relationship. Plus he took his beloved eldest daughter away when they'd married.

"Quite good. He tends to his business in America, while we decided to go back to Japan to study." Taiga shrugged, summing it up.

Cédric's dark eyes pierced him as the silver haired old man was thinking. He stroked his wild beard and hummed to himself, inhaling another lungful of tobacco fumes. "Maybe he should stop by sometimes. And don't even think of asking Kyou to play him, or I'll kick him out of here for such a trick again."

"Huh?" Aya and Taiga exchanged confused glances. "Uncle Kyou tried to trick you into thinking he was Haruka?" It wasn't that surprising; the identical twins had used to do that quite often, when they were younger.

"Yeah. About a year ago." Cédric cursed under his nose. "He managed to pull our leg for two whole days until we noticed."

"That could be funny." They laughed. "How did you figure him out?"

"It was simple." Adrien chuckled. "He mounted Feather. Haruka wouldn't be able to do it without Feather throwing him off her back."

"He what?!" Taiga bristled, but of course, it was Kyou who had bought those two horses for them seven years ago. He and Cédric had wanted the twins to have a reason to always return here and take this place as their home too.

"Chill… I've tried too." Adrien laughed. "But those two turn into demons when I do. What's the trick anyways?"

"Hmmm… It wouldn't be the trick if I told you." Aya said mysteriously with her forefinger touching her lips.

"I will figure it out!"

Cédric's chest rumbled with laughter. "You can try all you want, Adrien, but those horses are not going to listen to anyone else. Be glad you can groom them at least. Justine couldn't do that even if she gave them a full bucket of apples."

Justine scoffed at that. For some reason she was bad with big animals, but she enjoyed taking care of plants they grew on their farm. "So, are you sleeping in your room or in the stables or outside?" She asked curiously switching into Japanese. She knew her accent was probably thick and terrible, but she didn't care.

"Well, I think we'll stay outside. It's warm enough and besides… We'll sleep in fluffy beds once we get back to L.A.." Aya shrugged and looked at Taiga.

"That could work." He adjusted to the language change just as quickly as Aya.

Justine nodded. "Can I join you then?" She asked with a smile, looking at Aya. There was something bothering the redhead; she had noticed that Aya said they were going to 'L.A.' and not 'home'. She wanted to know what was going on. She was almost two years older, these two were her younger pupils and she wanted to help if she could.

"Sure, why not." Aya smiled and nodded, immediately all of the 5 kids older than five but not yet teenagers, who weren't sleeping yet, started whining and demanding to sleep outside with their older siblings.

"It's cold and damp and some night creature might bite your ear off." Grandmother Ayame tried to scare the kids off. She sensed that the teenagers wanted to spend their time together without having to babysit and tell bedtime stories.

"But we want toooo…"

Aya sighed. "Fine then, I'll tell you an awesome story." She said with a chilly grin and Justine could guess the kids wouldn't sleep soundly for the next two weeks at best.

She grinned back at Aya and so it was settled. What were the older siblings for, right?

"You're still sending him e-mails every week?" Taiga scowled at his sister looking at the laptop screen over her shoulder. "He doesn't read them anyways, does he?"

"Probably not…"

"Why do you even bother?"

"Dunno. He is still our father." She sighed with a shrug. "I believe that he might eventually read them. Maybe he just doesn't respond. Who knows?"

"You know he doesn't read it. And that it's only Lindsay who reads the stuff you write out of pity. I wouldn't bother, Aya."

"I hate the pity, but… You know… I just… I don't want to regret it later on. I don't want to regret not doing things I could've done but found them too bothersome. This way I know I have tried… And if it doesn't work well…"

Taiga shook his head and smiled at her. "You really are unbelievable, sis'."

Daiki always had a hard time saying goodbye to the dogs. They didn't understand that he'd be back in two weeks and so they were whining and barking when they saw his bag.

This time, his mother took a week of vacation to go to Thailand with him. It'd been some years since Michiko visited her mother and she wanted to go there. To the paradise of Koh Yao Noi she was born at. She kissed Daisuke goodbye and apologised. Her decision to go was impulsive and unplanned and so Daisuke couldn't go with them. He had shifts he couldn't decline planned out already and someone had to stay with the dogs anyways.

They climbed into the taxi they'd called. Daiki had to begrudgingly ask the driver to move the front seat more forward so he could fit his legs into the car. Then he sighed and made himself comfortable while his mother talked with the driver.

"I could've gone on my own." Daiki grumbled when the car sped away; looking at Shiro and Kurome one last time before they disappeared from his sight.

"I know, but I want to visit my mother. Am I not allowed to do that?"

He didn't mean it like that. "Tch."

Michiko frowned at him in thought. "You are unusually prickly these days. I get you lost the last match, but did something happen?"

Loss? It wasn't about that. With him on the bench and playing for only two minutes it'd been inevitable. And he didn't feel anything much about it now. He only regretted that Akashi had kept that supercilious smile on his face the entire time, except that last buzzer beater scored by Wakamatsu. Too bad he couldn't have played the full match, because it would've made the difference. He was prickly because of a certain redhead. He didn't even say goodbye to her when she'd left. How lame! But the dispute with Aya was his own and he wanted to resolve it on his own. He didn't want to discuss this with his parents. The only catch was the time. He'd see the redhead in over three weeks and waiting for that long would probably drive him crazy.

"…nothing."

"You know you can talk to me, right?"

"Yes, but I don't want to. I don't need a pep talk or anythin'." He said a bit harsher than he intended. "Well… but if you have a time machine I'd be nice if you could share it?" He said in a milder tone and half-smiled at his mom. He didn't want to hurt her feelings with his reactions.

She chuckled and shook her head. "I don't have one… But why would you need it?"

He shrugged and decided to answer truthfully. "To talk with Aya properly."

"It's called a phone, my dear, and I do pay you one." She smiled compassionately and ruffled his hair.

"Stop it!" He protested and leaned away from her. "I don't want to talk over the phone. She's on the other side of the planet about now, I doubt the connection would be any good. Besides…"

"There are things you don't want to discuss over the phone."

It wasn't a question. He blushed slightly and looked away. "Yeah… Something like that."

"Then you'll have to wait. Nothing to be done about it. Besides, I believe that grandma and Klahan will distract you quite efficiently."

######

"I don't wanna go…" Aya whined when she looked at her small bag. They needed to catch a flight to London in three hours and the connecting transports, but she really didn't want to leave the calm countryside and their family living there.

"We'll be staying there for one or two nights only and then we're going to LA."

"That's exactly why I don't wanna go." She whined like this only because it was Taiga there with her. They'd managed to avoid talking about their problems or father, or Suzume so far. They didn't want their grandparents to worry and they wanted to enjoy the vineyard and winery without thinking about bad stuff.

Taiga smirked. "You need to practise with Kouta. And I bet the boys are all itchy to try out your improved basketball skills."

She sighed and reached her hand towards Taiga. "All right, all right. Lead me then."

He grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. "I'll throw you over my shoulder too, if you want." He laughed.

"Urgh, please don't." She groaned, but a cheerful smile settled on her lips. She never hated travelling.

######

Daiki was lying on a beach and enjoying the last evening sun rays of the day. He'd spend most of the time with his mother and grandmother, talking (he really didn't want to talk about those things they'd asked), eating and lazing around the small simple house. But now he was finally lying on the beach close by, feeling the sand. There weren't many tourists on this island, so it was calm and he didn't mind spending time on his own.

"Daiki! Hey! I heard you've finally arrived! How're you doing?!" A familiar voice of his friend interrupted his activity of doing nothing.

"Ah. Klahan. Hey!" He rolled onto his side and sat up, facing the boy approaching him. "I wanted to pay you a visit tomorrow."

"Well, the word travels faster than you on this small island." The boy was shorter than Daiki, but his skin was darker. He had short silky black hair and black eyes. He was running around shirtless and he carried a basketball. The boys had started playing basketball together so many years ago that Daiki couldn't even remember whose idea it had been anymore. "But your Thai got rusty, I hear."

"There's nothing wrong with it. You can understand me, can't you?" Daiki scoffed. "Besides, I ain't using it every day like someone."

"Fair enough. But the boys will tease you, you know. And you didn't come last year. Why?"

"Didn't feel like it." He shrugged nonchalantly. It'd been a time when he hadn't cared about anything and anyone. And he'd decided that not seeing his friend would've been better than crushing him. Klahan was, after all, cheerful, lively and kind-hearted.

"Right. Wanna play some?" Klahan asked excitedly, rolling the ball in his hands as he crouched down to be on the same eye-level as Daiki.

"Can't. They say I need a week of complete rest." He glared at his knees. "The last matches were too much, and I bet mom decided to keep an eye on me for the next week."

"Can I see those matches somewhere?" Klahan's eyes sparkled with interest. He was aware of Daiki's outstanding talent, he just had no idea how much Daiki had improved in those two years they hadn't seen each other.

"Uh… I s'pose."

"What's up with you?!" He bumped into Daiki's shoulder with a huge question mark written all over his face. He knew Daiki enough to know that his friend had changed and that something was bothering him.

"Nothing. But I'd rather be somewhere else now." With someone else… Daiki sighed and leaned back to rest on his elbows again. "I messed something up, and I want to fix it."

"Haaah? I'm listening. I bet there's a girl involved."

"A girl? She's the girl." A small, shy smile appeared on his face when he thought about Aya. She'd probably love this place. "The most amazing and strong girl I've ever met."

Klahan sat down and leaned against his bent knees, his interest was piqued. "Tell me more about the special person." He prompted. It was the first time he heard Daiki mention a girl other than Satsuki, and Satsuki had been just a friend.

He sighed. This was something he couldn't avoid. Not with Klahan around. "It's just… you wouldn't get it. Kagami Aya is special… It's the way she deals with the world and people. She's fiery and impulsive, she can argue easily, but she avoids arguments if she can. She cares for the others a lot. She is funny and loves to be around people. She's smart and beautiful. And when she dances it's like… I don't even know how to describe it. I've seen it only once, but… And she plays basket, quite well too, her reflexes could rival my own. Too bad she isn't a bit taller. I never thought someone would read me so well from the day one. Until she appeared."

Do you realise that you eyes are shining when you talk about her? Klahan thought with a content smile. "You are a pretty simple guy, it's not that hard to read you." He teased. "So what's wrong? I guess you guys are dating, no?" But Kagami Aya, he'd swear he'd heard the name somewhere before.

"No. It's complicated… but I fucked up and ended up calling her a traitor." He shook his head. "It was a misunderstanding, but it doesn't change the fact I insulted her deeply."

"Aaaah… That sucks. Didn't you talk it out?"

"She left for the summer and well… She knows it was a misunderstanding, but…"

"But what? Don't overthink it, Daiki. She'll forgive you."

"You can't know that."

"I can. You are head over heels in love with her. She'd be stupid if she didn't forgive a mistake of a stupidly honest guy like you." Klahan patted his shoulder and chuckled. "Okay! I'll make it my personal quest to make you think about other things while you're here."

"Oh god, please no…"

"What? Once your ma allows you to run around we'll play basket, swim and fish and we can go to muai thai gym too. I thought the fighting was something you knew quite well. I want to test that. Oh, and I have some new video games we could play…I'll make sure sis' is contained somewhere…"

Daiki smirked and shook his head desperately. This guy would hardly let him even think about Aya. "Since when are you into martial arts, huh?" True friends were rare, but once he got them… They were always there. And he thought that maybe Aya was feeling just as incomplete without him as he was without her. He wanted to believe that. It made it easier to wait out those few weeks until he could see her again.

A week after the Interhigh, the twins finally arrived at their mansion in LA in the late morning. Kouta was beyond himself, he kept asking about the Interhigh and everything. He was excited about the competitions he was attending as Aya's partner. He couldn't wait until they'd start practising. No matter how tired Aya was, he knew she'd practise with him.

"Oi, oi!" A plump greying woman in her sixties walked into the kitchen with her hands full of paper bags. "You were supposed to arrive in two hours!" She complained, but a wide grin appeared on her face as she put the bags on a huge kitchen counter.

Aya and Taiga both rose to their feet with delighted smiles on their faces. "Gabriela!" They threw themselves at the woman and hugged her tight. "We missed you!" They said as one.

Gabi laughed heartily and hugged the children like they were her own. "I missed you more." She said in Japanese but with a thick accent. Then she pulled away and grabbed Taiga's shoulders to look at him better. "You've grown again!"

He laughed sheepishly. "Maybe a little." He said.

"Oh, damn! You're becoming such a fine young man!" She praised him and then looked at Aya. The girl looked tired, but happy. Aya had always been the one carrying her burden quietly, without complaining. Gabi smiled softly at her and hugged her again. "And you're a fine young woman. I'm proud of you."

Aya blinked in surprise. Tears threatened to prickle her eyes again, but she pushed them back. Everything was getting emotional for her. I'm starting to cry way too easily… She thought and smiled. "Thanks."

"I mean it!" Gabi stuck the finger in Aya's face in a persuasive gesture.

"Hai, hai. I know."

"Anyhow." The old woman rested her palms on her hips. "Have you greeted Ivan?"

"He wasn't anywhere close?" Taiga hesitated, suspicion lacing his voice. Ivan was their live-in gardener, taking care of things too difficult for Gabi and taking care of two guard dogs. Taiga had rarely talked with the man as he usually attended to the German shepherds Bullet and Arrow.

"Ah, right! He took Bullet and Arrow to the vet for their usual check-up today."

"Hence the lack of barking when we arrived." Aya sighed. "Ah well, I'll cuddle with them later on."

"Uhm…" Taiga looked at her expectantly.

"And I'll introduce you to them if you really want."

"What, what, what? You're not scared of dogs anymore?!" Gabi exclaimed loudly and clapped her hands.

"Ah well…" Taiga blushed in embarrassment and looked at his feet. "I'm trying to cope with that. But I'm certainly not a dog lover."

"Yet!" She said and ruffled his hair. "You'll soon get that dogs truly are a man's best friends. Anyhow, what do I cook for dinner? I bet your father would love to dine with you after those long months you've been away." Her eyes sparkled cheerfully as she started unwrapping her purchase. Of course, she knew the twins would return that day, and she'd already bought everything for the dinner she'd already decided on.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Aya muttered, knowing the question was rhetorical.

"Oh, Robin, he does love you! He just doesn't know how to show it anymore." Gabi was trying to be optimistic, though deep down she doubted her own words. As the live-in housekeeper she knew about everything going on inside the house. And what those kids had been through… It wasn't nice. "Maybe he needs to be reminded…"

That we exist… Both twins made the same sour grimace. "Right."

Kouta cleared his throat, as much as he was curious, the topic made him uncomfortable. "Let's go practise!"

"Good idea… But I call a basketball meeting first!" Taiga jumped in. "I wanna meet the guys and they'd be delighted to see Aya playing."

"We have a competition in two days and a half!" The pink-haired weirdo protested.

"Since when do you care?" Aya pulled at one of his dreadlocks.

A wolfish grin appeared on Kouta's face. "Since you are my partner. I don't get to touch you that often, after all."

"Urgh!" Aya rolled her eyes. "Seriously?"

He shrugged and stared at her for a moment, and then he sighed. His joke wasn't appreciated. "I need to practise with you. Because I'm not that perfect."

She chuckled. "I think you're selling yourself short. But… The first is acro, and we'll see how we match up in the evening. If the acro doesn't work out for the two of us, I'll compete with Taiga. And one day for our Samba routine is more than enough, Kouta."

"Eeeeh? So you're willing to swap me?" Kouta whined.

"WHAT?!" Taiga's eyes almost bulged out. "You've never said anything about this?!"

"I'd swear I have." She thought deeply, but she wasn't sure about it. "Whatever. Only in case I won't match up with Kou. Taiga and I are good at that and we've got several choreographies ready anytime, so what of it?"

"You rely on the fact that I always have your back, don't you?"

"You should rely on me too, you know?!" Kota mingled into the conversation almost accusingly. He'd always made fun of them, but the friendship with them was very important for him.

"I do." She answered to both of them. "Should I stop relying on you then?" She raised an eyebrow in a slight emotional blackmail and smirked. I'll burn in hell for this… But I'd never force him if he truly hated it…

"Don't you even dare." The boys said almost in unison.

Taiga shook his head. "You're a stupid idiot, Aya, you know that?" He threw his hands up in the air. "But I do love you anyways!"

"Unfortunately, same here, dear twin. Basketball it is then?"

Taiga sighed gravely and rolled his eyes. "Basketball it is. I'm gonna call the boys. You can come too, of course." He said to Kouta, who stared back at him surprised by the invitation.

"Sure. Go do that." Gabi encouraged them. "Anyhow, we'll make a birthday party for you like every year." She thought it was good if the twins knew. (That way they would come straight home from the stupid rich's party.)

"What?" Kouta asked curiously. He had no knowledge about any party going on for the twins. "Don't you have that stick up the ass party tomorrow? Won't you celebrate there?"

Taiga laughed. "Our birthday? On that freakin' event? No, thank you. We're glad the majority of the people there don't know that it's our birthday."

"And since that stupid party always takes place on the second August..." Gabi looked at Kouta meaningfully, "Ivan and I and some of the basketball guys prepare a small birthday party on the beach in the middle of the night."

It was all Kouta needed to hear. "Eeeeeh?! Why didn't you tell me sooner?! I want to help!" He wanted to prepare some surprise for the twins on his own, but if there were others involved, he'd gladly join forces.

"Urgh! Please, don't let him plan anything, Gabi. I warn you. No strippers!"

Gabi laughed. "I bet some of the guys would enjoy that."

The twins rolled their eyes and Taiga decided to rather deal with the call than comment on this.

######

"Kagami-sama?" Lindsay knocked on the door softly.

"Yes?" He invited her in, using his usual monotone voice.

"Pardon my intrusion," she walked in with her head bowed in respect. "I wanted to inform you that your children should have arrived by now."

He sighed and put down the pen he was holding. Why did his assistant seemed to be so involved with his children? "I know." He looked up at her. "And?"

"Well…" She coughed lightly to clear her throat and fight off the uneasiness she felt. "I thought that, maybe, you'd like to take the rest of the day off…?" She turned her statement into a question, not sure if she wasn't crossing some invisible line with her boldness.

"What for? They'll be there in the evening too. No reason to take a day off. Now go do your work."

They might not… "…" For a moment she considered protesting, but then she bit her tongue. She needed this job. "Yes. Sorry for bothering you." She muttered and backed away from his office.

His eyes rested on a box Peter Fairchild had brought him earlier in the morning. "Oh, wait."

Lindsay stopped in the doors and turned around to face her boss again. "Yes?"

He picked up the box and handed it to her. "Take it to my house, or have someone do it. It's a dress for Aya, for tomorrow's party."

"You bought it for her?" Her voice softened slightly. The man was cold as a rock, but maybe… just maybe he might've been trying.

"No. Peter brought it earlier today. He wants her to wear it for the party. Anyways, just take it to her."

WHAT?! A chill ran down her spine. She knew Fairchilds. She hated them, but because of her work, she had to get along with them on some level. And they, all of them, had given her some really lecherous proposals she had always refused. But still… The younger son buying something for Aya, it sounded like an ominous premonition. It took her couple of seconds to compose herself enough to answer.

"Have you seen the dress?" She asked suspiciously but tried to keep her formality.

He scoffed. "Why would I? It's Peter, a good boy. He's taken interest in her despite all the drama, as his possible fiancée. I trust his choice. Now go and stop bothering me with pointless questions."

"I'm sorry, Sir, but you should think it through."

The tone of Lindsay's voice made him hesitate for a moment. She rarely used the warning undertone but once she did, she was usually right on point. And honestly, he had opened the box and all he saw was a black lacy front of a dress with pretty silver embroidery. But he hadn't taken the dress out to examine it closer; he knew he'd be unable to fold them back into the box. Besides, what could be wrong with a black lacy dress? He shook his head to get rid of the chilly feeling he felt for a moment.

"It's none of your business." He said with finality in his voice. "Now, take it and go."

"As you wish." She took the box he shoved into her hands. There was a note he had written attached. This won't end well, Kagami-sama. With heavy heart she left to do the assigned task.

######

In less than an hour a group of friends from different cultures and backgrounds met up on a nearby basketball court. Kouta was surprised that eight guys and two girls managed to get there on such a short notice. He didn't know much about the twins' life and friends here in L.A., but he was pleasantly surprised. Those guys weren't from the uptown world. And he wondered how in the world this group had come into existence. They didn't notice them yet. Well…

"Hi there!" Aya ran to the group with a cheerful smile on her face. The group had reduced after her little scandal, but… The members she liked the most had remained. "I'm SO glad to see you again!" And Kouta witnessed the perfect language switch once again. Sometimes he thought it was the whole Aya who changed.

The group turned to them and a wide smile graced every face.

"Robin! Strayed back home, have y'?" One of the shortest guys spoke up. Of the shortest… he was still around 180 cm tall. But he seemed to be the oldest; around 23 years old, and he had a spark of something that could only be labelled as natural leadership.

"Just to see your face, Zack!" She outstretched her hands and Zack hugged her tightly, picking her from the ground for a moment. "And that crazy white shining teeth of yours."

"Naturally." He laughed, showing off his sparkling teeth. Then he clasped hands with Taiga and hugged him too. "Glad to see you too Tiger! I hope you're taking good care of your sis'."

"Tche, as if you didn't know her." He scoffed.

"Miss 'I can do everything by myself'?" Zack chuckled and then he took in Kouta's figure tagging behind the twins and measuring everyone in the group curiously. With those pink dreadlocks he looked like an interesting fellow. "And our new friend here is…?"

"Ah… Shiranui Kouta. Our childhood friend." Aya said and stepped aside to stop shielding him.

"Well, hello there. Welcome. Do you play basket too?" He stretched out his hand for a handshake, but Kouta hesitated. He was surprised by the warm welcome, but Zack interpreted it differently. He pulled back his hand and half-smirked, scratching his neck. "Too black for ya?"

"Huh?" Kouta blinked at him. True, Zack had the darkest chocolate shade of skin and eyes Kouta had ever seen but he wasn't hesitating because of that. "No! Sorry! Damn!" He shook his head and outstretched his own hand. "Usually I'm not introduced and welcomed like this! I was just surprised."

Zack laughed and accepted the handshake without fussing about it. "Why would you be surprised? Their close friends are our friends as well!"

Aya laughed and patted Kouta's shoulder. "Be the pervert all you want, but you are quite anxious around strangers!" She said in Japanese, because she didn't want the others to know she was mocking him.

"Shut up, Monkey!"

She just waved her hand at him and Zack pulled him into the group introducing everyone. And for a moment the twins were only observers. Everyone seemed to like the pink dreadlocks, and they saw Kouta blush in embarrassment again. The attention seeker didn't seem to know how to handle the attention he hadn't asked for.

"You feeling okay?" Taiga asked her quietly.

She looked up at him. "What do you mean?"

"You know… Suzume, Aomine… Satsuki…"

"Are you?"

"I don't know." He admitted.

"I don't know either. I was stupid for breaking down that easily… But… We're here. With them." She pointed her chin towards the cheerful group. "We might as well enjoy it."

"True, they don't need to worry."

"Hey! English please!" Scott creeped up on them and hugged them around their shoulders. "You know we don't understand that secret language of yours!"

"It's Japanese, not a secret language, and we were just discussing who we are playing against first!" She pushed herself away playfully and jumped several steps backwards.

Aya liked Scott quite a bit, and Taiga did too. He was 193 cm tall and lanky and most of the time a thickhead, but he was kind and caring to everyone. The guy wasn't sneaky and they always knew what he thought. And when it came to basketball, he never put up a half-assed game; though he tended to underestimate his opponents sometimes.

"Me, of course!" He grinned widely. "But if you wanna play two on two, Dominic would gladly join. Right, Pizzaman?!"

Dominic rolled his eyes. "Would you stop with that? I just happen to work as a delivery man."

"It's not a bad one." Aya smirked at him.

"Well, everyone thinks I make pizza." He complained and then he waved his hand as if getting rid of an annoying mosquito. "Whatever. So? two on two? Or one on one? Which is it?!" He prompted them with a grin. "I'll play with either, I don't care. Let's just do something already."

She glanced at Taiga. "What do you say?"

"One-on-one." He grinned. "And ladies first. I haven't played against you in weeks. I wanna see if you've improved too."

"Okay, boys. I'll take on either of you. Who dares first?" She challenged them both.

Aya wasn't sure which one was a worse opponent for her. They were both over 190cm. Scott was a very skilled shooting guard and his defence was holeless. And Dominic was… he was a missile. Like Aomine and Hayama. Fast, instinctive, playful, tricky, strong…

"I call the first!" Dominic shouted before Scott could open his mouth. "Let's see if you can get past me, Robin."

In that moment she realised, she wanted to go against Dominic the most. Because his basketball reminded her of Daiki's. And because if Dominic deemed her worthy, he would teach her some tricks. She wanted to prove she'd really gotten better. That all those practices with her team weren't in vain.

After a quick game of rock-paper-scissors it was decided the first ball would be handled by Aya.

She stood under the basket, facing Dominic with a smile. She was excited and anxious at the same time, but she was so looking forward to this. At least I don't have a stage fright. She thought, feeling that everyone was watching her.

"I like that." Dominic muttered. "I really like that." He was pleasantly surprised by the redhead. She'd played basketball out of fun, or boredom at times, and while he believed she loved the sport, she'd never devoted herself to it. And so, even though she had everything she could physically need to be really good, she never seemed to utilise it like she could've. But now… Just in that basic stand he saw a huge improvement and confidence she'd always had in dancing. He liked the determination he saw in her eyes.

And then she started dribbling and he realised he couldn't take this easy like the usual. He could feel the danger she now posed.

Dominic's defence was great and he could react to almost anything. But she'd seen those moves so many times, and she'd played against it too. She managed to keep the ball out of Dominic's reach; just barely, but it was enough. She always had an exceptional feeling for others' rhythms and movements. And finally, she felt she might even do this.

She was focusing deeply, but she was relaxed enough to fully see him. It was strange, she was excited and calm. There was nothing unnecessary on her mind. She took a step back to have more space and dribbled the ball to her left hand behind her back. And then crossover to the right, and back to the left. He followed, but then she bounced the ball through between his legs and danced her way around him.

He spun around but she was already there. That move got him, but the ball bounced slightly sideways because of some tiny rock. He managed to tip it with his fingers and a race for the ball started.

This time, he got it. And even thought Aya's defence didn't look that bulletproof, he couldn't shake her off. And so he decided to go for a fade-away. She shouldn't be able to reach it.

Just as he jumped up and backwards, Aya lowered down, almost squatting, and propelled up with all her strength. She should at least touch it!

Eh?! He blinked in shock when she touched the bottom of the ball with her palm. Not the tip of her fingers, but her palm. The ball bounced off the upper right corner of the board, it didn't even scratch the hoop.

"And you dare to tell us you can't dunk?!" Scott shouted. "How high do you think you were?!"

They landed and Dominic blinked at the younger girl. "Damn, you got me!" He said with admiration in his voice. "Who are you practising with?!"

"The ace of the generation of miracles." She said smugly. "Well, if he feels like it."

"The – what?!" Zack mingled in.

Taiga rolled his eyes. "The guy she likes. He kinda has a title of the best high-school ace in Japan. Maybe even better than just that."

"Ahaha! I feel a bitter loss there!" Nina, who was standing next to Taiga punched his shoulder and laughed loudly.

"Oh, shut up." He glared down at the girl who once pined after Tatsuya.

"Again." Dominic demanded and picked up the ball. "I wanna see if you can do it again."

"Sure."

"Hey! My turn!" Taiga and Scott yelled in unison. "Huh?" They looked at each other in surprise and then shrugged.

Aya and Dominic exchanged glances. "Okay, let's see if Tiger got any better too." The boy said and passed the ball to Taiga.

"You sure you didn't want to test him first?" Aya asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"If, by change, he managed to make me miss or stop me–" he put his hand over his heart, "–it would be a fatal blow for my ego."

She rolled her eyes and laughed. "Yeah, like for…what? Five minutes?"

"Maybe ten." He winked at her and they took Taiga's and Scott's places among the spectators.

"I did miss y'all."

"Aww. We missed you too." Nina placed hand around Aya's waist and hugged her. "The two still not talking?"

"With Tatsuya?" Aya reassured herself. "No."

"And you and Tatsuya?" Dominic pried. He was curious.

"Friends." She shrugged. "And let's watch the match! I guess Taiga will win."

"That's highly possible."

And she was right. It didn't even take him a long time. He fully stopped one of Scott's quick shots and then dunked the ball himself.

"Whoah! Tiger learnt to fly!" Scott shook his head, surprised by the improvements. I underestimated him. "But you know… Let's do it again and I'll stop you."

"No you won't." Taiga growled.

"Oh yes I will."

"Bring it on!"

Aya sighed. The two didn't give anyone chance to disturb them. The second mini match took longer. Scott was focusing more, and he stopped underestimating the 'kid'. Taiga's streetball tricks weren't that top notch yet and his left-handed ball handling wasn't that good either; though the speed was troubling. But if Scott picked the right moment, he could easily steal from Taiga.

And he did. When Taiga faked to the right and passed the ball to his left hand, he made one excessive movement. It was enough for Scott, who had four more years of experience.

"Can you jump that high again?" He asked and went for another three pointer. He hoped for the repeating pattern.

"Tch!" Taiga jumped and caught the ball, trying to dunk again, as quickly as possible.

"Ah, there it is again." Scott caught up and stopped the dunk. "You're trying to be too fast."

"Damn it!" He swore. It was like playing against Midorima. "Again!" He demanded.

"Nah, my turn!" Aya called out.

"Come, come little Robin. Let's see if you can fly again."

"How poetic."

Scott was calmer than Dominic, instinctive too, but he liked to take his time. And he usually managed to force his opponents to adjust to his slower pace. With Aya it was it was a bit tricky, because she had a tendency to influence the others with her rhythm too.

She forced him to run around, because he wasn't glued to her as close as Dominic. And there was that moment when she went one way and he followed, so she hastily pivoted the other way. Scott lost his balance and fell on his knee.

"What –" She blinked at him in disbelief and almost stopped to help him.

"Just shoot, idiot!" Dominic yelled.

And she did. Forced by Dominic's shout she made the shot. The ball scratched the rim, but it went in. She won the mini match.

Scott jumped to his feet. "Have you really ankle-broke me just now?!"

"I have?" She asked.

"Tell me she isn't serious." Dominic prayed. "You really haven't gotten an idea what were you doing there?"

"Huh? I just wanted to shake him off. I mean, he was far enough…?" Then she turned to Scott. "You okay, right?"

"Robin, dear, I let you do that." He said, trying to save his dignity as he was getting up from the ground.

"Sure you have." Nina scoffed sarcastically.

"Yes! Dammit, you have ankle-broke him just now!" Dominic stormed to her and shook her shoulders. "Why haven't you done that before?"

Her clueless expression was priceless. "I didn't know I could?"

"Sure you can! That's how you fight the height, Robin! Anyways, can you touch the hoop?"

She shrugged. "With a proper run-up… I guess?"

"Then you could dunk, right?"

"Theoretically… but I can't jump high enough while handling the ball. I mean… it's different than volley, or just acro."

Dominic looked at Zack. "Shall we teach her?"

"Where's Alex, by the way?" Taiga asked.

"She went to Havana a week ago. Should be back in two weeks." Zack explained with a shrug. He'd been surprised when Alex decided to go for a vacation instead of waiting for the twins, but she'd had a lot on her plate too. "Let's split on half-courts. Dominic, you teach Aya whatever you want, if you think you can. Taiga, c'mere, you'll play with me now." He said and the group split. Aya started discussing with Dominic vividly and he smiled at Taiga and approached the boy.

Taiga gulped. Zack was, by all means, the best among them, the scariest. But it excited him. "Great! Heard you are in the Lakers now."

Zack shrugged. "Point guard, for now anyways. But I don't think I'll stay more than one or maybe two seasons."

"Why? It's a great thing, isn't it? I'd give anything to get there."

"I don't really know. I wanna play basketball because I love it and I want to, not because I'm owned by a club and I have to. The guys are great really, but the boys on streets sometimes have more spirit in them than anyone else." He explained. Out of all people, Taiga could understand that doing sport for money could bring more struggle than joy, he knew. But the decision would be solely on Taiga in the future. "But I knocked up my babe and someone has to take care of 'em. So I thought I could try it out. I do want to see mi kid grow up, you now."

"Oh…" Taiga blushed at the last sentence and looked away.

Zack laughed heartily. "Still innocent? Well, never mind that, let's play. Show me what you've got."

The 'basketball meeting' turned into a whole-afternoon-event. The players rotated and changed. Sometimes they played 1-on-1s, 2-on-2s or 3-on-3s on half courts simultaneously. Sometimes, one half court was used for practise, the other for mini matches. And it dragged for hours. Aya was still far from learning how to dunk (even though it didn't look that difficult), but ankle-breaks seemed almost easy now. With her instincts she should be able to pull that off on almost anyone. Well, maybe anyone except Aomine, but she wanted to try that too. She was still hurt by his words, and angry, but she was starting to miss him too.

At the beginning, Kouta thought he would be bored, but he soon got dragged into the practise and to his surprise, he enjoyed it. When they called it quits, he was sweated-through and dead exhausted, and there was a dancing practise awaiting him after the dinner. With a sigh he sat by the fence and gulped down his entire drink.

Nina sat next to him with her drink and smiled. "You don't look like the type who'd enjoy basketball."

"World is full of surprises, my dear lily."

"Urgh, please. I'm a simple girl, don't try to flatter me."

"Why wouldn't I? It's rare to find a girl up to my standards." He smirked and glanced at her boobs, staring a bit longer than was appropriate. "I like to flatter them."

"Doesn't work here." She said coldly, not impressed by it. "I'm dating Scott, by the way. So don't even try."

"Oh… I thought you sat to me, because–"

"Certainly not. Gabi sent a message that you'd like to help with the small party for the twins tomorrow, so…"

"Oh, that, yes! Of course I want to help. What's the plan?"

"Nothing too fancy. Roasting marshmallows, sitting by fire, talking, singing, some alcohol maybe… Just spending time together."

"Gifts?"

"No. We bake cupcakes for them, but no. They strictly forbade us to buy gifts. Although… We were thinking of making a photo book for them. We just can't make it right. It doesn't look good and so we probably won't do it in the end."

"That I can help with. I study arts; I think I should be able to help with that. But you need to find someone who'll print it tomorrow."

"Huh." She stared at him for a moment and then she smiled. "You're not as terrible as you present yourself. 'kay, deal. We'll let you know about the baking tomorrow. Give me your number, so I can call you."

######

"Aya!" Gabi shouted from the kitchen when she heard the front door close, indicating someone had come home.

"Yeah?! We're home!" The redhead shouted back. "Is something the matter?"

"C'mere for a moment!" Gabi called them. She didn't want to shout through the house. On the other hand, she kind of missed it.

Aya, Taiga and Kouta barged into the kitchen, laughing, arguing and still discussing the basketball matches. Gabi waited for them to quiet down with a smile on her face. It was nice and lovely to have all three of them back in the house. And talking together.

"Oh, sorry." Aya chuckled and pushed a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. "We're listening."

Gabi raised an eyebrow and all three decided to avoid the eye contact. "Thank you… Anyhow… Lindsay stopped by a moment ago. Haruka won't make it for the dinner–"

"Why am I not surprised…" Taiga muttered and rolled his eyes which earned him a nasty glare from the old woman. "Ah! Sorry. Please continue." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. Gabi didn't like when someone interrupted her. And her nasty glare was truly feared by everyone.

"Thank you!" She exclaimed sarcastically again and nodded. "Anyhow, it is not that surprising. He has a dinner with a big client or a partner something like that, I don't really know. But, we'll be eating at seven thirty with Ivan."

"Okay." Aya nodded. Honestly, she felt more comfortable dining with everyone when her father wasn't there. It would be less stiff.

"And there is something he'd sent for you. Lindsay didn't specify it, but Ivan took it to your room. It was a box about this big," she pantomimed a middle sized box, "I guess it might be an early birthday present?" She smiled expectantly. If it was a gift, then the things might change for the better between the two.

Aya blinked at her in surprise and then she laughed at the idea. "He didn't give me a birthday present for seven years, why would he do it now? I'm sure it's something weird… I'll let you know when I open it though."

Gabi sighed, "if it isn't, I'll give him a piece of my mind."

"You'd rather not. We don't want some stranger coming in in your stead."

"Not that you're currently living here..." She muttered, but when she noticed Aya's 'seriously?' look, she shook her head. "Yes, yes. I know… Now go check out that box! I want to know what's in it!" She urged her. Maybe she could be strict with them, but she was also a loving caretaker, the closest thing to a mother they now had.

"Comin' too?" She glanced at Taiga, who sighed and with a nod he joined her.

He was curious about the 'gift' too.

The box was placed in the middle of Aya's huge bed. It was a white paper box tied up by a simple black ribbon. Aya approached it carefully, as if it could bite her. A small note was stuck under the ribbon. She took it and turned her in her fingers to read it.

"For the tomorrow's party, it says." She read it out loud and looked at Taiga. "No one signed it. But it is father's handwriting."

"Now, that's new. Since when does he think you can't choose what to wear?"

"Since he thinks I'm a whore?" She shrugged. "Whatever, let's see what it is."

She pulled the ribbon and opened the box with a mixture of feelings, not sure if she should be glad, thankful or terrified. The dress was neatly folded. From what she could see it was black, sleeveless dress richly embroidered with silver thread. At the first glance it looked nice. Until she pulled the dress out of the box and held them up.

"What is that?" Taiga was genuinely stunned. He didn't know how to name what he was seeing, but he sure as hell wouldn't call it 'a dress'.

"…" Aya stared at it with her mouth opened for a moment, and then she looked at Taiga with the same level of shock and wonder. "Seems like a whole swimsuit with…a see-through black pareo? Uhm… I thought he'd want me to wear some monk robes and not this. I can't imagine him shopping for this."

"Try it on?" He suggested, because he couldn't even imagine that piece of something on a living person. "Can it even hold on you?"

"I doubt that… Let's try it out." She took the dress and disappeared in a bathroom which was attached to her room.

Aya took a shower first, but after a moment of swearing and fighting with the zip, she returned to the room. The dress was skin tight, and it indeed looked like a whole black, silver-embroidered swimsuit. Her shoulders and upper back were completely bare. The 'dress' even had a cut-outs on both sides of her waist. It seemed like the 'dress' were holding on her boobs by a sheer willpower. The pareo-like part, soft and light as a spider web, spread down from her hips and it reached her knees, but it was made from a black see-through material and it only covered Aya's back side, so she really looked like wearing a swimsuit; a high cut swimsuit – her hipbones were visible too – with bare back and waist.

It covered none of her scars.

"You're not wearing that." Taiga said, processing the horrendous dress his sister was wearing. "Not to the Fairchild's house and not anywhere else, but especially not there."

She gave him an uneasy look. "Trust me; I don't want to go like this anywhere. I wouldn't even wear it for a competition... And to Fairchild's?! He's lost his mind. I can't go there like this." She pointed at the thing she was wearing."It feels like wearing a neon sign screaming 'whore'! I mean… what's his bloody point?!" She threw her hands in the air angrily and the front of her dress slipped down.

"Shit!" She quickly caught it and covered her boobs again. "Sorry, Tai!" She said, feeling a bit mortified, but oh whatever.

"Nothing I haven't seen yet." He shook his head, not even blushing; it was his stupid sister after all. "But it's certainly an invitation for those perverts. You think you could change father's mind about this?" Taiga couldn't get their father's reasoning behind the dress either. It just felt weird. There was no logical explanation. Something didn't bode well…

And Aya picked it up as well, he could tell. She was frowning deeply.

"I'll have to try. And even if I don't, I'm wearing the emerald dress." It was a simple A-cut off the shoulders dress that reached slightly below her knees. There was nothing excessive about them, but they fit her perfectly. And bonus, they hid her scars.

"Yeah. They are nice. The colour works well with your hair." He said absent-mindedly.

"What would I do without my fashion advisor?" She chuckled. "Okay, time to show off to Gabi and Kouta?"

"Don't forget to throw your hands up to please the idiot."

"Before you call him 'idiot' to his face, remember, he's the prankster." She teased and walked out of the room, holding the dress in place with her hand.

"What on earth is that atrocity?!" Kouta shouted angrily.

"Don't say you don't appreciate the sight." Taiga teased him, but he only earned a slap on the back of his head from Gabi.

"Not funny, Taiga. She can't wear that anywhere."

"It kinda was." Kouta chuckled. "I mean… It does please my eyes, and more–" this time it was him who got hit by Gabi. "Sorry, sorry. But you must admit she does have a perfect figure, dear Gabriela."

The old woman sighed. "Unfortunately, you're right. That's exactly why she can't wear that." The dress didn't seem like something Haruka would choose. The man was too much into appearances. It just didn't make sense for her either.

"Can I send a picture to Hikaru? I swear it'll sour his day." He grinned and pulled out his phone.

"You're a terrible brother." Aya shook her head but allowed him to take a picture. "Only Hikaru. If it comes back biting me, I'll kill you in your sleep."

"Hai, hai, don't worry, lil' Monkey." I don't promise Hikaru won't show it though…

######

"Oh, FUCK!" Hikaru threw his phone against a pile of clothes. "What the fuck is that atrocity?!" It was way too early in the morning (in Japan) for him to witness such a horrible taste in fashion. That dress was so not fit for his lil' sister.

"Huh?" Kise looked up at his stylist with puppy eyes. "What are you talking about?" He yawned and stretched. Even though it was summer holiday, he had to get up early for morning practises – he was still forbidden to play, but he had started secretly running again.

"Come on! Just look at it?!" He picked up the phone and shoved it into Kise's face. "I've never seen a worse dress on her than those! It doesn't even hold up on her breasts properly. I mean. What amateur made it?!"

"Whoah…" The blonde blinked at the phone. It showed too much. "Is that Ayacchi? Where would she wear it?"

"Nowhere, of course! She can't show up at Fairchilds' wearing that." He spat out.

"She is wearing it now."

Hikaru rolled his eyes. "She's at home, stupid." He frowned when he finally read the message. "Of course… She'd never choose something like that willingly. It's her father's choice…?" He made a grimace, not really understanding.

"What?!" Kise's voice jumped higher at the absurdity of the situation. "If my father could choose clothing for my sisters, they'd wear monk robes and bulletproof vests all day long."

"And they're going to a Fairchilds' for that stupid garden party… tomorrow." Hikaru muttered and swore under his breath. He was frowning.

"Is that bad?"

"Oh, you can't imagine. The bunch should've been locked up in a jail for mistreating women long time ago… if you know what I mean." He looked at Kise meaningfully.

Suddenly, he felt worried for his friend. "Oh… Shit."

"You said it right. Shit. I just hope she won't obey Haruka-san in this, or they'll break her for real this time."

"It's Ayacchi." He chuckled. "I'm sure she'll be fine."

Hikaru raised an eyebrow and sighed. I doubt that…

Kise quieted down and looked at Hikaru. "Right?"

"Let's go, you can't let Reina-chan waiting too long."

"What? Reina is here today?!"

Hikaru stared at the blonde for a moment. He'd never seen him to freak out because of a girl. "Since when do you fuss about your co-workers? And since when exactly is she Reina and not Reicchi?" He saw the way Kise looked at the girl, but he never expected the blonde to stop using the ridiculous nicknames when someone asked him to.

"…"

"What did you do?"

Kise bit his lip guiltily. "I might've stood her up… But I swear it was not my fault! Kasamacchi forced me to clean up the locker room since I can't practise. They took my phone and locked me in! When I got out there she was already gone, and she's not talking with me."

Those two were unbelievable. "Did you explain yourself to her?"

"I've been trying but she either won't listen to me or won't believe me! And she isn't picking up her phone!"

Hikaru sighed heavily. "Whatever, stop whining, you need to do your job." He pulled the blonde out of the changing room by his ear. "Ask your team to back up your excuse, dumbass. Reina-chan isn't stupid."

######

"Come on!" Aya shouted at Kouta when he let go of her for the fifth time. "You can do it. I'm not that heavy."

He bent forward catching his breath. "You're not, but I might be too weak. Can't we change this part of the choreography? Or make it faster?"

"It won't have the same feel to it if you do it faster." Taiga pointed out and got up. Those two were struggling with the choreography for hours. They didn't seem to have the right chemistry for this particular song and choreography. But he wouldn't really say it. At least Kouta never let her fall to the ground, end even if she accidentally kicked him or hit him; he made sure she got down safely. Taiga admired that much. "It's about how you set your entire body. She is helping you as much as she can, you know? But you can't only use your arms."

"How am I supposed to stand then? I mean… I lift her up while she does her thing and I have to turn around and walk almost immediately. It's not just that dirty dancing lift up!"

Taiga shrugged. "It's a bit harder. But you need to use your legs and the entire body, not just your arms." He grabbed Kouta's calf and pulled his leg to a place he saw fit. Then he did the same with the other. "If you stand like that, you should be able to lift me. And I'm about 20 kilos heavier."

"Huh." Kouta looked him up and down with that look in his eyes again and Taiga cursed at his stupid remark.

"Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you wanna grope him." Aya filled in and put her hands on her hips.

"But I do."

"Urgh, gross. So? Willing to try again?"

Kouta sighed. "Yeah, but could you take off that terribly plain old t-shirt?" He complained.

Aya looked at her clothes and then at him. "What's wrong with it? It's my favourite practise t-shirt!"

"I'd be more motivated if you only had your sports bra accompanying your panties."

"Those are shorts, not panties!" She exclaimed reproachfully.

"It barely covers your ass, so panties for me."

"Can I kill him?" Taiga asked with a raised eyebrow.

Aya tapped her lip in deep thought. "Not yet. He might actually learn this."

"Hmmm… Senri did learn it. It would be a shame if the perv couldn't. Isn't he supposed to be better than his brother?" He asked in provocation, but he acted as if Kouta wasn't there with them.

Oh… Aya understood the play and turned her back to Kouta to hide her smile. "Maybe we gave him more credit than he deserves. Tcs, tcs, tcs… And it's just a lift up…"

Kouta narrowed his eyes at them. They seemed to be forgetting who was the no.1 prankster.

Taiga had to bite his cheek to hide a grin which threatened to break on his face. "That's what he gets for practising with a 40 kilo girl."

"…or guy."

"She was 53 kilos!" Kouta burst out. "Don't underestimate me!"

Aya suddenly spun on her heel and ran up towards him. "Then catch." She said and leaped up.

Thankfully Kouta hadn't moved from the position Taiga had set him into. "Urgh!" He groaned as he grabbed Aya's hips and pushed her high above his head. She spread her hands backwards like wings and stretched up one of her legs up in a perfect figure.

Kouta was supposed to turn around on his back leg and start walking all the while bringing Aya down to sit on his shoulder. But instead, he set her back on the ground.

"You had it! What went wrong?"

"If I moved my leg you'd come crashing down." He admitted. "Can I watch you two do it again?"

She looked at Taiga questioningly.

"Sure, come on."

######

"Gabriela." Haruka peeked into the kitchen where Gabriela was solving a crossword. He waited until the old woman raised her head to acknowledge his presence, though this evening it took much longer than usual.

The only reason he respected the housekeeper was because she'd been chosen by Keiko long years ago and she was in the age of his mother, maybe a bit younger, but still… He respected the age and the woman's background. And she made his meals…

"Yes?" She asked emotionlessly. Even her expression was blank. And he'd swear it had something to do with his children. They must've told her something.

"I don't know what they told you, but they probably made it up." He said, not sure why he felt the need to make excuses in front of her.

She simply raised an eyebrow at him. They don't need to make anything up… "What do you need at this late night hour?" She asked glancing at the clock. It was well past 10 PM.

He sighed, knowing he wouldn't get any explanation of the sudden cold behaviour. "I need to speak with my daughter."

"I'm sure you do." She said and pushed herself from the table. The chair made a terrible screeching sound on the tile floor, but it didn't seem to bother her. "Shall I call her to your room?"

"No. Living room is good enough. I need a drink."

Gabi decided not to comment on that, or she'd probably say something she'd regret later. "It might take some time. She is practising in the gym."

"Prompt her then." He said and walked away.

######

Aya took a deep breath and walked towards the living room. To be called for a 'talk' by her father was usually not a good thing. You need to talk with him anyways… It's gonna be alright. She told herself and pushed the door open.

She hated the room. It had changed a lot after her mother had passed. It'd become too sterile; white walls with no pictures, white carpet, knee-high conference table made out of clear glass, two creamy leather sofas and armchairs, an unused fire place. The room was huge, but it was empty, cold and impersonal, and so different from their huge vivid living room in Japan. She withheld a sigh and approached her father.

Haruka was sitting in his armchair like a king on a throne with his hands crossed over his chest. He had two glasses of whisky on the conference table, one empty and one full, and his expression implied that he'd been waiting Aya for some time. And she wasn't sure if it was a good or a bad thing. It was past ten in the evening but he was still wearing his Armani suit. If he was still in his business clothes, Aya suspected this conversation would be about business too. She hardly remembered when she'd last seen him in casual clothes.

"Good evening, father." She greeted him with a respectful bow of her head and kept her expression blank. "You've asked to see me." The sentence was carefully worded. She had no idea what was going through her father's head, but she didn't like this heavy atmosphere. She wanted to talk to him too, but this…

He didn't react to her formality. His daughter was known for her fiery and bold behaviour, but Haruka couldn't see it anymore. When he looked at her, all he could see was impenetrable, emotionless mask which didn't match her practise clothes. He could feel she was being careful how she would speak to him. But he still watched her carefully.

Good. She still knows her place. He thought. "I want to discuss the party we are attending tomorrow."

Aya nodded, waiting for him to continue.

"I asked Lindsay to deliver a dress to you. I believe Gabriela-san," in the past few years he started to call the housekeeper that, and he refused to use the less formal Gabi – like everyone else did, "gave it to you. Have you seen it?"

"Yes."

"Have you tried it?"

"I have…" There was 'but' hanging in the air.

He raised an eyebrow as a sign for her to speak.

"I can't wear them tomorrow. They are too revealing. I'd prefer something with more cloth, less cleavage and a covered torso." She admitted, looking at him, and yet, looking past him at the same time.

There was the chill he felt when talking with Lindsay earlier. "You will wear the dress." He said firmly, there was no way he'd show he had no idea what the dress actually looked like. Aya was probably exaggerating anyways. "After all, you are used to wearing revealing clothes and showing off. No reason to act timid and decent now." He said in a rather cold voice, staring at her from his throne.

Aya winced inwardly. His comment served like good aimed slap. So he really thinks I'm a whore… Not that you didn't know, Aya. "Father, please." Her poker face didn't slip, but it was tearing her heart to plead her father for something as stupid as a permission to wear a dress according to her own tastes. "Let me choose a dress myself. I promise you, you won't be disappointed."

"You've disappointed me enough, Aya. I'm not letting you do it again."

"I won't. But please let me choose my dress."

"No. You'll wear the one that was delivered."

I may as well go naked! She was feeling too wronged and had been away too long to notice his wording. He never once mentioned the dress had been his choice.

She should lower her gaze and look at her feet to indicate she understood, but it was against her nature. She decided not to answer him. And she remained stubbornly staring at him. There was something else he wanted to discuss; otherwise he'd send her away. And much more than just a dress. "Is there anything else?" She asked.

"Fairchild gave me a proposition." He said, scratched his chin and leaned forward to take the full glass of whisky into his hand. For him it was a great idea, but he wasn't sure how his daughter would react. He expected some opposition, but he hoped she would see his reasoning and all the privileges that would come with it.

Upon hearing the name her blood froze in her veins. She feared what he was about to say next. "What kind of proposition?" She asked carefully.

Haruka noticed fear that flashed in her eyes. No it wasn't fear, it was dread. It appeared for only a split second, but because she didn't avert her eyes, he noticed. It satisfied him. He believed his daughter needed her wings cut, so she wouldn't cause any more problems.

Though she had behaved the entire time she had spent in Japan, according to what he'd heard, Haruka didn't believe that she'd turned into an angel all of a sudden. The receptionists were probably covering for her, and she probably had several boyfriends there. He didn't know only because he considered it unimportant. His idea was right and fair.

"The youngest son, Peter, has shown a great interest in you. They asked me for your hand. They want you as Peter's fiancée. And I think it is indeed a good proposition."

Aya's eyes widened and blood was drained from her face. "No." She said, but her voice was not louder than a whisper. She shook her head. For a moment she felt like a fish out of the water, gasping for air but unable to breathe. The party at Fairchild's was planned for tomorrow. Her father had already made some sort of a deal with them. If he hadn't told her now, she would've found out in the worst possible way tomorrow. "No." She repeated a bit louder.

Haruka heard, but he acted as if he didn't. "What do you think about it?" He asked, but he didn't want to hear her genuine opinion, he was more or less decided to accept, he just felt that she should know before he would announce it at tomorrow's party. "In my opinion it is a very generous proposal, Aya. After your incident, and your… affairs… I'm surprised that someone of their status wants of you. Accepting it will help you to finally clean up the mess you've made with that boy, and joining our wealth with theirs will benefit the company. Not to mention connections we will acquire. It's beneficial for everyone." He said, proud about his reasoning. But all he could see was terror and hurt in Aya's face. And something else. Anger. White hot anger bubbling just beneath the surface.

"Beneficial for you, you mean?!" She muttered in French so he wouldn't hear, not caring about keeping her mask up. She was shocked, and hurt. Her father had a talent for hurting her deeply ever since the photo of her and Tatsuya making out on the beach had been published in a local press and even before. She knew he saw her as a worthless whore, who brought a bad light on them, but she would never think he would do this! He must have lost his mind! And there she was, throwing him so many olive branches. Bile rose to her throat. This engagement or whatever wasn't going to happen. Over her dead body. This will turn ugly very quickly.

"No. I refuse the proposal." She said out loud, with her chin stuck out. "I'm not getting engaged with any Fairchild. I don't want to have anything to do with them. Least of all Peter. I hate him." She was restraining her voice to sound as calm as she possibly could. But she wanted to shout.

"Aya, you have to understand. He is the best company for you. The best partner for you. I've decided to agree, Aya."

You decided, huh?! She thought, but decided to listen to this crap till the end.

"Love is, after all, a choice. It's learnt. And you will learn to like Peter too. He is a charming young man, who is willing to look past your improper sexual relationships."

That did it.

"PAST WHAT?!" She spat out. "My improper sexual relationships?! Are you even listening to yourself?! I am still a virgin, father! VIRGIN!" She shouted, too angry to be embarrassed. "Which you can't say about any of the Fairchilds! They are monsters! They assaulted me once! I was twelve! I don't want to have anything to do with them!"

Haruka raised an eyebrow. "I don't know anything about them assaulting you–"

"Because you don't listen! You NEVER listen!" She interrupted him mid sentence, not realising her mistake.

"DON'T yell at me!" He thundered.

Aya shut up, but her reddish eyes were burning with rage. This was her life. Her fuckin' life! She had obeyed enough, she had done enough. She wouldn't obey in this. Not in this.

Normally she would take a step back at her father's voice. But she remained stubbornly standing at her spot, glaring at him. The glare was something Haruka hadn't yet seen. It reminded him of Keiko, whenever she'd been protecting her children from anyone who dared talking bad about them. It reminded him of Seth, who had punched him, when he'd first called Aya a 'whore' – of course he had fired that insolent driver. Now, it was Aya herself who was glaring at him like that; like she was ready to fight him, to tear him apart if necessary. And for a moment, he felt a chill ran down his spine again.

"Then tell me. Why do you think they are monsters? I'm listening." He stuck out his chin as well, downing half the whisky from his glass. He put it back on the table and crossed his arms.

She blinked. Was he willing to listen? She didn't feel like explaining, but she forced herself to calm down enough. Maybe… "Have you ever wondered why their girlfriends are ending up in a hospital almost every other week? They like to beat women, tie them up, hurt them!" She noticed how he looked at her… "Oh, don't give me that look! I knew some of them. They were running away the moment they could, never pressing charges because their mouths were glued shut with money."

"Do you want me to believe that wild story of yours?"

Aya had to take a deep breath or she'd break something. "Why would a woman run away from a rich guy, who 'loves' her, and whom she loves back?"

"I've never expected you to badmouth anyone."

"I'm not! It's the truth!" Aya wasn't a liar. She knew her way with words, but now she was so hurt and furious, she didn't care anymore, and she wasn't careful how she told her story. But it was the truth. It wasn't only that she knew some girls, Taiga and she had seen them beating one up, and to top it, they had tried to do the same to her, if Seth hadn't been there… But exactly because she had no real proof, she couldn't do anything, except keeping her distance.

"No one pressed charges." He raised an eyebrow and waved his hand, this was not worth any more of his time.

URGH! But I've said it! No. One. Pressed. Charges… "Well then… Soon there will be charges. Against me. For a murder. I'm not getting engaged with the Fairchild." She said, rage bubbling in her voice, but she didn't shout. "And that's my final word."

"You are my daughter." His voice rose and with that he rose from his armchair. He felt like she was looking down on him, and he couldn't stand it. He couldn't stand her glare. "You will do as I say!"

"I've been trying to do as you say long enough." Her voice was bitter and sad, but unbelievably cold. "I won't obey in this. You don't own me."

After Keiko had been killed, he gradually started to hate whenever people disagreed with him, or disobeyed him so openly. "I don't care. I'll announce it tomorrow, and then you can say goodbye to your little boyfriend in Japan, because back here you'll come."

Aomine's face flashed in her mind. She was angry at him too, yes, but she loved him too. He was her own choice. And she couldn't possibly disappear on him without a proper discussion. She didn't want to. Oh, how she wanted him to be with her at the moment and at the same time, she was glad he wasn't. If he witnessed this… what would he think?

"So you do have a boyfriend." He explained her moment of hesitation. "Ha! I knew it. You just can't be without a man. What a disgraceful woman you have become!" He was shaking his head in disappointment.

Something in Aya broke in that moment. This was pointless. Haruka would do whatever he wanted to. And she could either destroy her image now, or end up in jail for murdering Peter Fairchild, worse even, tainting Taiga because she knew he'd help her. She would never become Peter's fiancée. And she doubted she'd look good in orange.

"Enough! I'm your daughter! The one you danced with years ago! And I refuse to get engaged with the Fairchild!" She yelled at him. "You are my father! You should be the first one protecting me! Believing me! Believing in me! Having my back!" Tears shone in her furious eyes and her voice cracked with all the bottled up emotions. "But what do you do?! WHAT?! You don't listen! You give me loads of work I can't always handle – but I do in the end. You insult me! Distrust me! And now you want to do THIS to me?! Sell me off?! What did they offer you? WHAT IS THIS," she jabbed a thumb in the middle of her chest angrily, "THIS WHORE'S PRICE?! Huh? I wanna now."

He blinked at her in disbelief. He couldn't comprehend that his daughter was running her mouth like that. And yet, there was so much hurt and blame in those words it felt like thousands of frosty icicles were piercing through his chest and heart at once. And all he could do to cope with it was to get angry.

When he didn't answer in five seconds, she snorted. "Open your grieving eyes already. If you hate me that much just disinherit me and erase my name from your family tree! It'll be easier for both of us. That way you can forget you ever had a daughter. The one your wife protected with her li–"

SLAP!

The slap was so strong and so unexpected, that Aya fell on the ground. She flew through the cold glass of the conference table onto the white carpet. The shards stuck into her thigh and hip. Her upper body hit hard against a couch. The whisky spilled on her and both glasses shattered like the table they were set on.

Because of the shock, she didn't feel the pain of sharp glass cutting her flesh yet or the pain when she bit into the inside of her cheek. She didn't feel the blood dripping from the corner of her mouth.

All she felt was betrayal and deep hurt. I'm done. I'm so done with this shit.

She looked up at her father who for once had a shocked expression on his face. His red eyes were wide, as if he couldn't comprehend what he had just done. He saw his daughter bleeding in the pool of glass shards and his whisky, and he couldn't believe it was him who'd put her there.

The look she had in her eyes, shattered his already broken heart even more. He could read those words clearly written all over her face.

'I'm done.'

Tears were shining in her eyes, but they weren't flowing down. She was way too proud to cry in front of him.

He couldn't remember when the last time he had seen her cry was.

What was I thinking? She remained quiet. There was nothing else to say.

And Haruka realised that that silence, was much worse than everything she had told him, anything she could've told him. He lost her for good.

"Aya!" The door was almost ripped out of its hinges, as Taiga barged in. He knew Aya went to talk with their father, he knew the yelling was inevitable, but the sudden silence was… Oh god! His face twisted in worry and rage when his eyes laid on Aya and then on the broken table and smudged blood on the snowy white carpet. "What have you done?!" He yelled at their father and pointed at Aya. "She sure didn't jump through that table alone!"

At that moment, Taiga appeared bigger. He was bigger, wider. Not bigger than his father yet, just much bigger than Haruka had remembered him to be.

He had no idea when Taiga had grown so much. He was just standing there, looking at his son, as if he wasn't there. As if he was watching the scene from an outside of his body. His palm was still stinging from the slap he had given.

"Taiga." Aya said firmly, stopping him from punching their father like Seth had done. She was so glad to see him there, because she had no idea what to do. But Taiga's barge in snapped her back from her self-pity and shock. "Don't. It's not worth it."

He turned his head to look at her. He immediately jumped to her and tried to think of a good way to get her out of there without causing any further cuts. His sister had four too many scars for his tastes.

But instead…

She took a deep breath and pushed herself to her feet. The blood trickled down her leg and some shards fell off of her leg. The whisky was stinging in the wounds, hurting like hell. One shard was bigger and it was apparently stuck much deeper than the others. She knew she shouldn't pull it out, despite the urge to do so.

Quietly, she took off her t-shirt and tore it into two pieces. It was an old t-shirt she liked to practise in, the fabric was barely holding together anymore, now it would serve like a good sponge. She wiped her foot and calf and loosely tied one piece under the wounds, so she wouldn't leave bloody footprints around the house, and the other above the wound to limit the blood flowing into her leg.

"What are you doing?" Taiga asked after a moment. Still too shocked.

"Come on, the carpet's white. No need to ruin it further." She joked and smiled at him.

Taiga sighed, she was fighting with tears and herself, and all he could do was watch and patch her up afterwards. He hated it.

"Oh, right. The white carpet is what you care about the most now? And what about that piece of glass stuck in your leg, huh? Lemme guess, it's nothing." He said sarcastically.

"Well yeah! Compared to a heart attack Gabi might get if I leave bloody footprints around."

Taiga raised an eyebrow. "She is a doctor, she walked through wars; she ain't scared of little blood, but… It's you. She will get one either way…"

"She will patch me up here, I hope." Aya sighed, but she knew that a hospital was probably inevitable. "I've had enough of hospitals for the next few weeks…"

"Me too, but you'll go. If anything, you need a medical record."

"What?" She blinked at him, not understanding.

Taiga shrugged and glared at their father, they'd been ignoring so far. "Leverage. You can't punch yourself like that."

Haruka took a soulless step back under that glare.

Aya tilted her head and stared at him. "Huh… And they say that I am the crafty one. Fine. Go get Kouta, he'll drive."

Taiga nodded. "Sure, meet us in the garage. I'll get Gabi on the way."

"'kay. Thank you."

When she was sure he was gone, she turned back to Haruka. "We're done. But don't worry, I'll go to that stupid party, where you will call off the engagement. Otherwise, I will destroy the company." She hated doing this. "And believe me, Taiga will have my back." She said coldly and left the room.

Haruka was left alone with his thoughts. He slumped to his knees and covered his face, staring at the blood on the carpet and shattered table through his fingers. What have I done?

######

It took ten stitches to patch up the biggest cut and some others for the rest. Aya was struggling to not have a panic attack when they were stitching her up in a hospital and it was Gabi doing all the talking.

Aya didn't really care. All she could hear was a distorted mishmash of sounds surrounding her. Replaying the conversation with her father wasn't helping it.

For the first time in her life she saw no more reasons to try getting along with him. She even hated him and she hated herself for feeling that way. She didn't want to hate her father; it wasn't the right feeling to have about one's family.

Maybe that's how Suzu felt about her mother all along… She could finally understand what a terrible feeling it was.

She felt bad for Taiga, because she could see the struggle going on within him. He wanted to protect her, he felt he had to choose a side, he didn't want to hate their father either, but what she didn't know was that he'd chosen a side long time ago and that it was her.

He squeezed her hand and smiled at her. "We'll get out of here soon enough."

She nodded, but she couldn't return the smile.

A/N: That's it for now. We got to quickly meet Aya's family - I didn't write more because I considered it unnecessary for the chapter. Then oh, hi Aomine, enjoy your vacation. And some basketball improvements. And we met the father...

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

S.