A/N: Hi there! I'm sorry for the delay, but the so called "busy season" in my work is really busy and I needed to rest a bit as well. I didn't feel like staring into my computer after staring into one for 9-12 hours a day at work. :) I hope you don't mind. Plus the chapter turned out to be quite packed with events, so I needed to rethink some parts...

Here we go! Enjoy!

I mean, when the world comes for your children, with the knives out, it's your job to stand in the way. ― Joe Hill, Horns

I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles. – Audrey Hepburn

This connection we have isn't going away, it's only getting stronger. Because the more I spend time with her, the closer I want to be. ― Simone Elkeles, Perfect Chemistry

Home is where you are loved the most and act the worst. ― Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Alice: This is impossible.
The Mad Hatter: Only if you believe it is. ― Lewis Carroll

Life is full of happiness and tears; be strong and have faith. –Kareena Kapoor Khan

All parents damage their children. It cannot be helped. Youth, like pristine glass, absorbs the prints of its handlers. Some parents smudge, others crack, a few shatter childhoods completely into jagged little pieces, beyond repair. ― Mitch Albom, The Five People You Meet in Heaven

Love and peace of mind do protect us. They allow us to overcome the problems that life hands us. They teach us to survive... to live now... to have the courage to confront each day. – Bernie Siegel

When Haruka finished reading all the e-mails – he couldn't have finished it in one day, or his heart would tear apart – he closed his laptop with tears streaming down his face. He couldn't believe what an utter bastard he'd been to them. He tried to imagine their lives, all their successes he'd decided to ignore, all their mistakes he'd had no idea about, all their worries, fears, friendships, joys… He didn't know. And those e-mails only briefly brushed it. It was over 80 e-mails from Aya, and through them, he kind of learned to decipher when she was sad or happy, but that was all.

For him, it was an emotional roller coaster.

And there were no complaints, no accusations, no hatred, nothing negative. Not even in the last one. The one that hurt the most:

'I'm done trying. Sorry and thank you for everything.'

It was a goodbye.

And it arrived well past its due date.

If he was in her shoes, would he keep trying for that long? Probably not… He'd left them when they needed him most. He hadn't trusted them, hadn't believed in them. And now, they didn't need him at all. It felt like his heart - barely surviving as it was - got squeezed so tightly it couldn't continue to pump blood through his veins. The whole company meant nothing to him at the moment. Why had he even struggled that much to build it? What was the point? At what cost? Why hadn't he realised it sooner? Where the hell had he been all those years?

He couldn't even remember properly.

And at three in the morning he got up, took his jacket and went to wander the dark streets aimlessly. He couldn't be contained in their home. He needed the air. He needed to think. To drink. He needed Hiroto to be his conscience again.

Because he knew that at the end of the day he would make his amends. In one way or another.

It was Tsubaki-san's shift. And the grumpy old man frowned as Haruka passed by him without greeting.

"Good morning to you too, Kagami-san. I see you've found a way to stay."

He looked at Tsubaki with his tired, bloodshot eyes and didn't even try to argue. "Yeah. Sorry." He said and left.

"What the…"

######

Tada steered and stretched in a bed with a yawn. He always woke up before dawn. There was supposed to be someone with him, but the bed was empty and cold. He sighed and sat up. He hadn't expected Kouta to actually stay beside him until the morning. They had clearly said it was purely physical. Still, it stung.

He'd been interacting with the strange pink haired young man ever since he'd arrived. And they got along surprisingly well. Kouta was so much more than he let on, and Shun liked he was able to see through it. But he also knew Kouta's ways. He shouldn't have been surprised.

He got up and threw some clothes on. He should sneak out of the house and take a shower before the morning runs. He wondered if the guys had noticed he hadn't spent the night there. I've been warned. Damn… I'm an impulsive idiot.

"Whoah," he bumped into Aya when he walked out of the room. Awesome.

"Eh? Senpai?" She blinked at him and grinned. "Well, at least someone had a pleasurable night."

He shrugged. "I guess."

"What is it?" It was unusual to see Tada-senpai... dejected? Or sad? She wasn't sure.

"It's nothing, Aya-chan." He smiled. "Why are you up so early?" He asked to change the topic. Of course, she knew what had happened there last night, and he wasn't willing to dissect his own feelings about it.

"I couldn't sleep at all. Something's off with Taiga… Ah, maybe I'm just imagining it." She waved her hand as if she was shooing away some fly. "If you're looking for Kouta, he might be in the dining hall sketching and smoking, like usual…" She smiled. Those two looked quite good together.

Tada shook his head. "I'm not. I just wanted to sneak out. Apparently I'm not good at that."

"If you say so. I'll let out the back." She shrugged and showed him a way out of the house without being seen. He didn't mind her help. After all, she'd known and kept his dirty little secret.

She leaned against the door frame and watched his leaving figure with crossed arms and a frown. She didn't like his slumped shoulders. She sighed, annoyed with Kouta's ways of dealing with things. Tada-senpai was a good guy; he deserved someone who'd take him seriously. Not an idiot like Kouta.

With that she turned on her heel and went to painfully pull at his damn pink dreadlocks for this.

As she'd expected, she found him in the dining hall slouched over his sketchbook with a piece of charcoal in his hand and a cigarette in his mouth. The morning was chilly as always, but he was half-naked, wearing only his pyjama bottoms. There were several hickies on his back and shoulders.

Kouta sighed heavily and ran his hand through the dreadlocks that fell forward and covered his sketch, throwing them backwards.

"You used him." Aya accused him as she silently approached him.

"Huh?!" He startled, almost falling off the chair. "Who? What?" He was frowning at her.

"Tada-senpai, I've run into him a second ago. He looked… dejected."

Kouta blinked at her and inhaled tobacco fumes deeply. "You don't get it." He grumbled and suddenly he looked vulnerable. So unlike the prankster and pervert she knew.

She tilted her head in curiosity and sat next to him, glancing at his sketch. It was a sketch of sleeping Tada, half naked, with his musculature drawn into the smallest details. Why would he draw him?

"Why…? Do you sketch all the people you sleep with?" She asked, not sure if she should be freaked out or not.

"So dejected, huh?" He didn't answer her question. He sighed and put out the cigarette, taking out another.

She studied his expression for a moment. Was he desperate? She hadn't seen Kouta like this. Ever. "…I don't think he was dejected about what you did… more like… I don't know."

"…that I left him alone?" He asked softly. That was probably it. Because damn, their night was amazing.

"Why?" Her tone was softer now, the original accusation gone. Kouta wasn't smug or happy. On the contrary… If she could somehow help, she would. The Shiranui's were just like her and Taiga. They only had one another, so they were used to dealing with things on their own, without worrying anyone else.

"Why…" He repeated… Honestly, he came to like the boy in this short time span, no, Shun was already a man. "I'll be leaving. Long distance relationships don't work for me, and… look at me. Broke, perverted artist with a student loan on his neck, who's freeloading at his lil' sister's house because he can't afford his own living. Better if he hates me. He can do much better than this."

She blinked in surprise. She'd never thought Kouta viewed himself like that. "Better for whom?" She asked quietly.

"I don't know. Both?" He breathed out the smoke and shook his head. "It's not like I took his virginity and threw him away, Robin, so don't blame me for using him. I've told him I wasn't looking for a relationship." He defended himself.

But he felt like shit. He'd thought it would be like so many other emotionless one-night stands he'd had in the past. He never wanted any strings and feelings attached. He feared them. But now it seemed they had formed against his will… And he couldn't get Shun out of his head. He was struggling with himself, but there was nothing he could do. After all, he had to leave eventually.

She took the cigarette out of his fingers and put it to her lips. The weird feeling she had about Taiga, and now this. She couldn't resist the temptation. Not when he was smoking in front of her. And she had no idea what to tell him. He was showing her parts of his soul she'd never seen. Sure, she knew they were there, but…

"Are you sure?" She asked.

He shook his head and took the cigarette back. "But what do I do?"

"I don't know." She shrugged. "Transfer schools? Come back home? I wouldn't mind you back in the city. The question is… What do you want to do?"

"That's nice of you. But… Home? Both of them have their lives. It's not like I have a place to stay or return to in Tokyo."

"We'd figure it out. They are your brothers. They'd help. It's not a place to return to, but the people."

"They've taken care of me long enough. I don't want to bother them anymore."

"You're not a bother, stupid. And you're not alone."

He snorted. "You're the one to say that."

"Am I not exactly the one who can say that?"

"It's just a fling, Robin, it'll go away. No reason to make hasty decisions because of it. I can't have a relationship. I'm not capable of that."

"Aren't you just scared of that?"

"Tche."

She raised an eyebrow at him, but her smile was kind. "Don't make hasty decisions, but… think about it. Talk with him? Really talk with him. And you'll see if it's just a fling."

"Long distance relationship?" He wondered. Maybe he could… No… not possible… He needed to have the other person close… Or he'd find someone else to keep him warm during lonely nights. And that was not a good treat to have if he wanted something real.

"It's your love life. I just want the idiot with pink dreadlocks to be happy." She grinned. "That's all."

"You are an amazing person to have in life, you know that, lil' Monkey?"

"Dunno… Am I?"

"Urgh, come 'ere." He hugged her around her shoulders and ruffled her hair creating a bird's nest on her head.

"Hey!" She protested.

"Thank you, stupid." He kissed her on top of her head.

She pushed him away and laughed. "You're stupid, stupid."

"You're still willing to help me despite that." He offered her another cigarette from his pack. He had a feeling she wouldn't refuse.

"Just like you." She took the offering with a smile. "So, what are we gonna do for the test of courage?"

"How good is your man at climbing trees?"

"Huh?"

"Don't Huh? me. We'll need someone's help. And he didn't seem too willing to listen to Kyou's creepy stories yesterday. My bet is, he's easily scared–"

"No way!"

"Protest all you want, but I think it would be better if he knows what's going on and can help with scaring the others." He chuckled at her pout and added. "Propose it to him. If he agrees immediately, you'll know he's actually an overgrown scaredy cat who can't handle a few ghosts."

She glared at Kouta. I don't like them either…

"What? Just because he's scared of supernatural ghost-stuff doesn't mean he wouldn't protect you from it. I meant no offence. And we could really use his help. He has an amazing voice." Kouta teased her with a dreamy expression.

"Ew! Daiki's my man! Don't fantasize!"

Kouta laughed, almost choking on the tobacco fumes. "Just ask him, lil' Monkey."

"Fine, I'll ask him." She yielded with an eyeroll. And she was actually curious. Was Daiki scared of ghosts and such?

######

"Bakagami! Where are you going?!" Riko stopped him at the door, but he was already set on leaving. She knew she'd have trouble if they didn't return in full numbers and she'd need to give teachers one hell of a good reason for someone's earlier departure. They were there without adult's supervision.

"To Hanamaki and then Akita." He said in a hurry; really impatient to catch the first bus and then following train.

"Why?"

"To get Aya."

"Why do you need to get Aya-chan?" Kiyoshi asked and surprisingly he was serious. Even his goofy smile was gone. Kagami hadn't slept properly since that phone call, and he worried for him.

"Errr… because… It's a family thing." He grumbled. "So can I go?"

"NO!" Hyuuga slapped both of his hands against Taiga's cheeks. It stung like hell. "Until you tell us your whole reason, I'm not letting you go. We are the ones who'll be in trouble if you don't return with us."

"I need to go!"

"Kagami-kun." Kuroko stared at his light with unwavering eyes. "We're not your enemies."

"AARGH!" He pushed Hyuuga's hands from his face rather aggressively. "Our best friend in Akita woke up from coma! And Aya doesn't have a phone signal, so she doesn't know! We need to go there!" He shouted at them all. "Is that enough of a reason for you?!"

They all blinked at him in shock. They'd had no idea.

"Right. Thanks." He muttered, turned on his heel and left. No one tried to stop him again.

######

Satsuki refused to look at Daiki at the breakfast. Or speak to him. Or admit he existed in the same room. Those frogs had been terrible. Disgusting. Hideous. And there had been sooo many of them! She had no idea how or when he'd placed them in her room without being noticed. Or how she hadn't noticed them sooner.

If it hadn't been for Aya-chan saving her, she'd probably die surrounded by the creatures she despised the most. Yeah, she was exaggerating, but she really hated frogs.

Daiki on the other hand, seemed very pleased with himself. And for quite a lot of things. But Taichi's glare was keeping a silly grin off his face. The grandfather could be really scary and Daiki had been very daring the previous day.

The boys were watching Aya in awe, they were still very surprised and enchanted by her performance and some of them weren't sure how to behave around her now. But she behaved like usual. This was nothing out of ordinary for her. And they only had to accept it.

With a frown Daiki leaned over her and sniffed her hair.

"Huh?" She backed away a bit; she didn't expect him to do that. "What?"

"You smell of... cigarettes…?" It was a half-question. He'd gotten a whiff of something like that when she'd passed him by earlier. And he wanted to make sure. He was already used to her fresh and sweet fruity scent.

Fuck. She swore inwardly. She had forgotten to wash or spray her hair with perfume. She really didn't want Daiki to find out so soon. "I discussed the secret plans with Kouta in the morning. He smokes." She shrugged.

He stared at her for a moment, obviously not buying the explanation. For some reason… Then he leaned even closer and whispered to her ear: "So if I kissed you right now you wouldn't taste like one?"

The first thought was to lie, but… No, she couldn't and wouldn't lie to him. "Probably would." She admitted and bit her lip, looking away guiltily.

He sighed and leaned back to his place. It's not like he cared about it that much. He'd seen cigarettes in her apartment before and he'd doubted they were Taiga's. And this was the first time he actually smelled cigarettes on her anyways, well except that night at Hiroto's bar, but she hadn't smoked then.

Daiki noticed how Tatsuya was looking at them. The ex knew what their quiet discussion was about and he wasn't surprised at all. He merely observed Aya carefully, trying to read her. Daiki wanted to ask 'Why?', but he was curious what Tatsuya had in mind so he waited.

"What happened?" Tatsuya asked finally.

"Taiga… Something's off. I couldn't sleep properly because of it, so I've really discussed secret plans with Kouta before dawn… He's the only person awake at such crazy early hours." She frowned. "I don't know what's up. Just that something's going on."

"Something happened to him?"

For a moment she looked at him as if ironically saying 'because you care'. But then she shook her head. They might've been 'enemies', but they both still cared. In a way. "No. I don't think so. He's just unusually unsettled… Angry? I guess… Never mind, it's probably nothing serious." She was trying to push it out of her head, but it was unbelievably persistent feeling.

"Maybe you should call him." He suggested. "Your sixth sense can be scarily accurate…" And if she was worried enough to smoke…

Maybe she should… "Urgh, with this no-or-terrible signal you can catch here? Nah. But maybe I could run to the cafeteria for a minute and give him a call. Which reminds me… I haven't had a proper coffee in days." She went on, biting her thumb nail in thought.

"Muro-chin…" Atsushi drawled and gave Tatsuya a meaningful look.

"…" Tatsuya shook his head. He really didn't want to deal with this when Daiki was sitting opposite him. It was humiliating.

Aya didn't seem to notice their exchange. But Daiki did.

"What?" He asked with a raised eyebrow and his eyes travelled from one to another. It wasn't weird that Atsushi let others deal with his problems, but Tatsuya's hesitation... Or more likely his refusal to help was strange.

"No. It's nothing." Tatsuya said, avoiding Daiki's stormy eyes.

"Muro-chin… It's not nothing. Aya-chin will find out."

"Huh?" She raised her head and stared at both of them. "What is it? What am I going to find out?" She asked confusedly and her reddish eyes bore into Tatsuya's. She hated not knowing about something if it involved her.

He couldn't resist those eyes. "…that you have a tab to pay in the cafeteria." He blurted out without thinking about the phrasing.

She blinked in shock. For some reason she was worried for Taiga and Tatsuya said that? "Say what?!" She barked.

Tatsuya opened and closed his mouth, realising how badly that sounded. "Uh… Sorry… Well… Errr… I promised Atsushi as much cake as he wanted after the incident in that match… And… well… I thought you'd be okay with it? I'll pay you back of course, but right now… Could you please take care of the tab for me?" He tried to explain quietly, switching to English, but still wishing to disappear from the surface of the earth. It was humiliating to ask his ex to pay his bill. He knew how rich she was, he hadn't minded it too much, but it was still shameful to admit he wasn't able to pay a few (a lot of) cakes Atsushi had eaten.

She stared at him with hard eyes for a moment, but then she rubbed the back of her neck. Tatsuya had always had a hard time asking for help, or money, or whatever… He preferred to get things he needed in his own way. And she didn't want to shame him further. "Fine, I guess. I didn't know they had tabs in the cafeteria."

"They didn't." Atsushi said. "But they do now." He didn't like English but he was improving a lot thanks to Tatsuya. And even if he refused to speak, he understood. More or less.

So did Daiki, but Tatsuya wasn't aware of that.

"Tch, you and your charm." She shook her head and chuckled. "Fine. Of course. I'll take care of it. But I won't take the money back from you." She had never done that before even if he owed her, and she wasn't going to start. She didn't need it; not when her account said she could buy a small town and still had enough for a lifetime. She knew Tatsuya's family wasn't at their best with money, and he needed his scholarship to afford the dorms and all, so…

"Oh no… Please, no favours." Tatsuya pleaded, because favours were a different matter. And she was fond of using that form of repayment if she thought it fitted the situation.

"Oh yes, my dear. You know me well enough to have expected it."

He desperately looked at Atsushi, but the giant wouldn't offer any help in this situation. "You're the one who offered me cakes, Muro-chin. I even held back a bit. It's your job to deal with Aya-chin."

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, uncovering the scar on his cheek. Everyone at this table knew about it and no one cared. "Okay. Whatever you want. Do you at least have the slightest idea? So I can mentally prepare?"

She shrugged. "When do you plan to go visit your mom?"

"Uh… I don't know. I wasn't planning to any time soon… Why?" He asked suspiciously. He loved his mom, really, but after the divorce she needed some alone time to figure things out on her own. She needed to rest from his father and him. And he needed to be away from that place just as much.

"Then let me know once you decide. I think I have something in mind already." She noticed that he paled, so she added: "Don't worry, you'll actually enjoy it."

"I'm already scared of what you'll come up with…"

Aya grinned. "You'll find out when it's necessary."

"Why can't you just forget the favours people owe you?"

"Then I'd be a really bad business woman, wouldn't I?"

He chuckled at that. He really missed her. But he knew it was over already. They were back at being friends and that was all. He was slowly getting over too. "Probably."

Aya stayed behind after breakfast and didn't go to practise. She'd helped Satsuki with water bottles, but then she went back to the house to start preparing the event. Kouta and Derek went to fetch fresh meat for the barbecue. Kyou was mentally preparing Kaito to be ghost number 1.

The children's spirits in folklore could be pleasant, like Zashiki Warashi, or really scary and creepy. Of course, they wanted to scare everyone. And because they were in the mountains with plenty of owls silently hunting during nights, he'd made up a story about Tatarimokke the previous night and he'd fed it to both basketball teams.

Tatarimokke was a spirit of a dead baby or young child, inhabiting the body of an owl. The hooting was believed to be caused by the spirit of the dead baby. It usually kept close to the family they had once belonged to and didn't cause any harm. It was treated with respect and taken care of. However, there could always be a resentful and hateful spirit that could cause terrible curses. In the past it wasn't unusual that parents killed a child to reduce the number of mouths to feed and carelessly discarded the body. Those spirits could hold grudges and cause harm to any passerby crossing their area. Tatarimokke made eerie sounds, brought uneasy feelings and sometimes, fires appeared in the air around the places where they resided. And sometimes it wasn't a child's spirit inhabiting the owl but a murder victim - murdered in a particularly violent and gruesome way… Well… Kyou let his imagination loose, creating a really spooky spirit, so everyone who listened to his stories had difficulty sleeping.

But Kaito wasn't scared much. It fascinated him. And he was a kid too; if he could run around in a yukata, making scary noises and creeping the hell out of those big teenage boys, he was all in for his role. And Kyou rephrased the story especially for his son so he wouldn't be too freaked out.

With a soft smile she left them to their stories and messing around. Now was her only time to go to the village to even Tatsuya's tab and call Taiga. So she went to her room to get changed.

Someone knocked, but they didn't wait for her answer.

"Whoa, sorry." Daiki blinked and almost turned around, but… She was only in her sports bra and panties with some t-shirt in her hand. That was way too interesting for him to politely turn around. She had a flat, toned stomach, thin waist and wide hips. And her D-cups… That figure made him drool when she was dressed, and now… That was the first time he saw her in her underwear. No way would he turn around.

"You're so not. But please don't get hard over this." She pointed at her simple black sports bra and black cotton bikini panties. If she was surprised, she didn't show it and she wasn't trying to cover herself. She didn't feel any shame being in her underwear in front of him. "It's not supposed to please your eyes, it's sports' efficient."

He looked back up to her face and into her red eyes. She wasn't blushing and neither was he. Yet. "Then I wonder what you'll wear when you do want to please my eyes." He smirked.

"Probably nothing." A small blush finally reached her face and she chuckled.

"Eeerrr…" He blushed too and covered his face to hide it, which made her laugh.

"What? Don't tell me you haven't thought about it."

"Are you really provoking me right now?" He barked and his blush got deeper in colour. But he loved all this teasing and flirting.

"Nope. I need to run down to the village right now, and then I have other things to do." She said, still laughing and pulled the t-shirt she was holding over her head. "So? What is it? Why did you barge in?" She asked while picking up her shorts.

"What is going on?" He wanted to know.

"Hm?"

"All the preparations… What for?"

"Uuuhh…" Well, Kouta asked me to tell him… "Do you really want to know?"

"Yeah." He nodded; he didn't mind lazing around, but he didn't want to be the last one to learn.

She sighed and decided to bet on Kouta's gut feeling. "Test of courage. It used to be a tradition of the national team when they practised here. We thought of reviving it. Do you want to help?"

"Test of courage…" He repeated and leaned against the door frame casually, watching her pull up her shorts. "Will I get to scare them?"

"Yep. If that's what you want."

"Sure. I'll help." He agreed immediately. It was a much better option than everyone learning that Aomine Daiki was scared of ghosts, which probably didn't even exist. He noticed her grin. "What?"

"Kouta said you might be scared of supernatural stuff like ghosts and such…"

"Not at all!" He protested immediately.

Aya just raised an eyebrow at him and waited for him to admit the opposite was truth.

He opened his mouth but he said nothing and covered his face in embarrassment again. "Tch, so? Ghosts are scary."

Aya chuckled, her heart warming up. He could be so damn cute. And she learnt something new about him. "I agree. That's why I've been helping to set it up since I was a kid. With my nightmares I really don't need things like horrors and tests of courage. Then again, I've seen a bunch of horrors…" with Taiga, Tatsuya and Ray despite that.

"Why?"

"Curiosity." She laughed. "And then you want to give it another try, although you know you'll be freaked out… And sometimes it's fun to get scared with someone else, or watch someone else getting more scared than you. Taiga, for example…" Then she quickly covered her mouth. Oh shit… Taiga would most certainly not appreciate this. But it was so easy to talk with Daiki! "Please don't tell him that you know…" She glanced at him guiltily.

A barky laughter escaped him. "Right… If I get a kiss."

She rolled her eyes, he'd get one anyways. "So you'll help?"

"Sure."

"Good. Anything else you wanted?" She asked.

Oh, that phrasing was asking for some teasing. He raised an eyebrow at her. "You?"

Her eyes twinkled at that and she smirked. It took her two steps to reach him and she pulled him into the room. Before he knew it, she was standing on her tiptoes and her lips found his. And no, she didn't taste like cigarette. He chuckled, which made the kiss clumsy. Neither of them minded.

Damn, he was so happy she didn't shy away from him, that she wanted to touch and kiss and that she could actually take initiative too. Wrapping his arms around her waist he pulled her against his chest and helped her to keep balance. (The height difference could be a pain in the ass in situations like these.) Her hand ran up his chest and into his hair. He could feel she was smiling against his lips too.

But then she pulled away, before it could get too steamy.

Daiki didn't seem willing to let go of her. Even if they weren't kissing, he liked holding her so close to him. Her body strangely fitted against his, and he enjoyed the proximity.

She looked at him discontentedly, not letting go either. "Although I am very comfortable now, I still need to go to that cafeteria, you know." She needed to, but she didn't really want to. Her man was freakishly tall and strong and he didn't mind supporting her. She loved being pressed against him.

"You sure about that?" He smirked at her teasingly and kissed her again.

Not at all… "Yes – I - Am." She said between the kisses. "Seriously."

He sighed. "Hai, hai." He let go, but kept staring at her.

"What?"

I just love you. "Can I join you, or do you want to run alone?"

"If you want to. But if it's a race, I'll win." She challenged him.

"If you lose, I'll get more of you." He demanded.

"That's not fair. I have no real motivation to win that way!" She protested.

His surprise lasted only a second, and then he smirked widely. "I never said I was fair."

"Neither did I, so… if I win… I want you to buy me a flower. Just one."

"What?!"

"You heard. You'll probably get more of me regardless the result of the race, but… That's my condition. Are you in?"

A flower? Me? Buying a flower? That seemed so surreal in his head. "Tch… yeah. I'll win."

"Good luck." She said with laughter and ran out of the room getting a head start.

"HEY!" He shouted, and didn't wait another second. He dashed after her.

Aya won.

"That was dirty! You used a shortcut!" He protested when they arrived at the cafeteria.

"You could've too. There were no rules in the first place." She chuckled and walked in to get a coffee and phone signal.

Both black dogs stayed outside, like usual. Yui and Ai were both so tired and slightly overheated from that unbelievable dash.

Daiki grumbled and complained to the dogs a bit more, petting them and getting them water. When he got over the fact he'd lost and would have to buy a flower he followed after his girlfriend. Aya had already evened the tab – and refused to tell him the amount – and checked her phones. She was staring at it in disbelief.

All the easy going, fluffy mood was gone.

She had at least fifty missed calls and messages from Yomi. Two missed calls from Haruka – four days old or so. And one message from Taiga, which said: 'I'm coming to fetch you.' Nothing else.

"Now they won't pick up." She grumbled, trying to reach Taiga, and then Yomi several times while sipping her coffee.

"What is it?" Daiki asked, noticing her mood shift and sudden worry.

"Suzume woke up." She sighed in relief. "But Yomi's messages don't say anything else. She's either scolding me for not picking up and not answering or pleading me to do so… If she reached Taiga… No wonders I get these uneasy vibes from him. I wonder how she's doing."

"How does it even work?"

"Hm?"

"Those 'vibes'?"

"I've never wondered about it. I sort of know if he's okay or not."

"So let's say, can he tell if we… well…" He rubbed the back of his neck and blushed. It was probably a stupid question in the situation, but he was curious. "Eeeer…"

She laughed. "I don't think so. I have no idea when he jerks off or goes to pee or what he eats or whatever. It's just… I know if he is happy or sad, safe or not… I can't read his mind."

"I don't get it."

"And you probably never will." She said mysteriously and glancing at the cafeteria's clock she got up. It was time to head back.

######

Taiga had watched his phone vibrating on a train's tiny table. Several times. He'd wanted to give in and pick up, especially because he'd known Aya worried, but he hadn't. She should know how it felt when someone ignored you. It was childish of him. And then he regretted it, and then he got angry at himself for being an idiot.

The country behind windows was moving too slowly for his tastes. He wanted to be there already. He was irritated; tapping his fingers against his thigh, then the table in front of him. He considered calling back to Aya, but then she was unavailable again. The terrible signal at their grandparents' was infuriating.

Someone sat beside him. He didn't care much, he merely glanced at the older lady and continued in his fidgeting. The lady sitting beside him seemed to be getting more and more nervous with each time he tapped his fingers. Well, he was huge, his expression wasn't the friendliest, plus that hair colour of his... And when she actually asked to be reseated, he clicked his tongue in annoyance.

He didn't get it. All he did was worry endlessly for his best female friend. The only girl that befriended him like a normal person. She certainly didn't deserve to be in the state she was in. She couldn't give up. That was unimaginable. He rubbed his tired eyes and yawned, but he wasn't able to relax. Not in the situation.

As if it wasn't enough, his stomach rumbled. He'd forgotten to eat breakfast that morning.

"Fuck… come ooon… move faster…" He mumbled under his nose.

######

The lunch servings were small, and the boys were dejected to suddenly get so little food. But the coaches wanted to keep them hungry for the barbecue, which was being secretly prepared in the kitchen. The real grilling would start in two hours.

When Aya finished her lunch, she frowned and got up as if she was being pulled by invisible strings and walked towards the door.

"Whoa." The twins pulled the doors open at the same time and collided at the doorstep.

Taiga blinked at her, and then his face twisted into an angry grimace. "Where the hell is your phone?!" He barked at her without saying hello. He was annoyed. He had no real reason to be furious, or to take it out on her. But… She hadn't picked up. The train was too slow for his tastes. He had to walk all the way from the village here. He was worried for Suzume. He was hungry and tired because of lack of sleep he wasn't used to. He needed Aya's help. But his sister crossed his path, colliding with him with the worst possible timing. And it was easy to take his irritation out on her.

"And where was yours when I was calling you today?!" She flared up instantly, fuelled by Taiga's anger and resonating with his emotional state. "Nice to see you again too, by the way." She barked and took a step back glaring up at him. She had no freaking idea what was going on.

"I didn't want to hear your stupid excuses!" He attacked. He had ignored her on purpose to show her what it felt like. "You're the one who was supposed to tell me, not Yomi?! Dammit!"

Rationality was trying to run away from her – waving her goodbye with a vicious smile – and she was desperately trying to hold it back. She knew that fiery comeback at angry Taiga was a stupidity. That it'd only add fuel to the fire, but… she couldn't help it.

"What are you even talking about? How was I s'posed to know?! I was away! I have no signal here." Her defensively aggressive tone surprised her own ears.

"Because she's your friend! You knew you should've been available! Yomi was trying to reach you for days! Days! But you're holed up here! In the middle of nowhere!" He accused her, not noticing Taichi's glare.

Everyone was just staring at the siblings. Some boys froze with their chopsticks in front of their mouth.

"Holed up?! It's my responsibility to be here! And what about you?! Didn't Yomi have your number?! Suzu's your friend too! Don't blame me. I can't deal with everything alone!"

"Well, while you're happily fulfilling your responsibilities, your best friend is givin' up." He said venomously, not shouting at her anymore, knowing it would hurt her. But he didn't care at the moment.

It served like a slap. "Then why the fuck have you come here?!" She shouted at him and threw her hands up in a furious gesture. His words hurt. A lot. "You should've been with her now!"

"Because you have to talk with her!"

"Oh? Me?!" She rested her hands on her hips. "Why so?"

Taiga opened his mouth to retort, but there was nothing biting and malicious enough to say. He needed Aya, because he didn't have the courage to face his best bedridden friend alone. "Because someone needs to knock some sense into her!" …was what Yomi had said…

"Really? Then why don't you do it alone then? Huh?!" She jabbed her finger into his chest. "I'll tell you why! Because you're scared! Scared of facing her. Scared she'll hate you. And I'm the only one you know who's stupid enough to make her best friend hate her if it helps. So that you can once again be the good one, while I'll be the bitch of the day!"

"…" He didn't have an answer to that. Aya was right. And because of that it hurt all the more.

She took a deep breath, realising they were making a show for everyone. Taiga hurt her. Suzume's state worried her, but she wasn't really surprised. Closing up, shutting everyone out, that was the first phase of Suzume's way of dealing. But Taiga hurt her. He didn't have to. He had no reason to. He just knew she could handle it and he could take it out on her. He knew she would forgive him. And she hurt him too. Because she knew he was too damn kind for his own good. She should've controlled herself; she had no idea what had ticked her off in the first place.

"You've got nothing to say?" She snorted and turned away from him. Feeling of being hurt won over the guilt she felt. "Thought so. You know what?" Her eyes rested on Kaito for a moment, and she felt sad for all this. "Go fuck yourself." She said bitterly in Russian, hoping Kaito didn't understand, and stormed out of the dining room to find refuge in her room.

"What the hell?!" He asked in disbelief and only then he noticed all the eyes on him. Aomine's glare was the deadliest of them all. Oh, fuck… Then he noticed Kyou, who was blinking at him in shock. "You?!" Taiga pointed his finger at the man, momentarily redirecting his anger and hurt, but then he noticed Kaito, who was half-hidden behind his father, obviously frightened by his beloved older siblings fighting like that. And out of nowhere.

"Yeah, me. Kyou." He said with hard eyes, just in case Taiga still hadn't realised the difference. "And you'd better go apologise to her right now. Because you know the best how she's feeling."

"Why me?" Taiga protested stubbornly.

"Aren't you the one who brought anger through the door with you?"

"Keh." He turned on his heel and left. He wouldn't go and apologise. Not right away at least. He needed to cool off.

"Uuuh…" Kano blinked. "What the hell just happened? Weren't those two like… the ideal picture of siblings?"

Satsuki shrugged with just as surprised expression. She had no idea.

Daiki was about to get up and go after her, but Kouta grabbed his elbow. "Leave them. You don't want to get involved in their sibling fight."

"What are you talking about?"

"They'll deal with it. And they'll be fine as quickly as they argued. If you get in the middle you'll be the worst."

"He's right." Tatsuya nodded.

The ace frowned, but there was something in Tatsuya's eyes he could only label as 'personal experience'. With a sigh he leaned back against his chair. He had no idea what to do…

Heavy silence fell over all of them.

In fifteen minutes, Aya came back with a placid but a tad sad expression and her bag packed. She looked at Derek and he got up without a need for her to say anything.

"When are we leaving, miss?" He asked, not using her name again. She might've been calm, but he really didn't want to piss her off or offend her in any way.

"Tomorrow morning at six."

"I'll take the bag." He nodded and offered her help immediately.

"Just gimme the keys." She raised her hand.

"Are you sure?"

"Derek."

He threw her the keys, fighting the urge to stand at attention under her look. Not an angry one, but a one saying 'don't argue, really don't'.

She caught it easily. "Thanks." Then she sighed and turned to everyone. "I'm really sorry that we made a scene. Please forget about it."

"Nee-chan?" Kaito peeped, glancing at her, still half hidden behind Kyou.

"Hm?"

"Do you hate Tai-nii-chan now?"

"What?" She blinked at him and a guilty expression crossed her face. She approached them and motioned for Kaito to come to her. She crouched down to be at Kaito's eye-level and rested her hands on his shoulders. "Of course I don't. I'm sorry we frightened you with our shouting. We'll try not to do it again. Okay?"

The boy nodded, but he wasn't sure who the winner of the argument was. He didn't know which sibling he wanted to support, because he loved them both. He couldn't choose. "So… who won?"

She chuckled sadly. "No one. But we'll talk it out, I promise."

Kaito balled his fists, showing them to Aya – fingers crossed. He wanted to play with Tai-nii-chan, he'd waited for him the whole summer, but he didn't want to anger or sadden Aya-nee-chan. Now he knew he could play with him without any worries.

She kissed the boy's forehead. "Just don't go looking for Taiga right now, 'kay? He needs some time to cool off."

He nodded seriously and returned to his dad. She looked at Kyou and shrugged. "I'm really sorry. I didn't want to flare up."

The older man chuckled. "It's fine… Hey, what's that?" He pointed at the box she put on the ground.

"Oh… This? Our birthday gift from grandpa. I have no idea how to open it."

"That's a puzzle box. Ooooh, it's been ages since I've seen one."

"Huh? A puzzle box?" She stared at it and handed it to Kyou to have a better look at it. The box was covered with geometrical patterns of different types and colours of wood but no real picture. It was beautiful as it was, but it had no visible lock or anything like that.

"Yeah, look…" He turned the box around until he found what he wanted. There was a small hollow of a size of a geometrical pattern next to it. "You need to move the pieces until you can find a lock… It should form some picture, a hint to find the key, right?" He looked at Taichi.

The old man nodded. It took weeks to create such a box. It required a skilled craftsman with a sense for details and heavenly patience. His father had taught him and now he was teaching it to Keiji. He'd used to make boxes like that for Kyou and Haruka, to teach them patience and his boys had fun trying to solve it.

"Really?" She snatched the box and studied the hollow. It wasn't that easy to move the individual pieces, but it was possible.

"You've been too distracted to notice." The old man grinned. "When you discover the lock you should have a picture of the map to the key. It might take you a while though."

"When I discover the lock, I'll probably deal with it with a hairpin or something." She smirked and winked at her grandpa, who rather didn't want to know where she'd acquired the skill. "But thanks! It helps when I know what to do with it."

"You're welcome." Kyou showed her thumbs up.

"Hmmm… Aya-chin is a mystery…" Atsushi drawled staring after the girl's figure when she went to put her bag into the car. "Muro-chin, is she really going to apologise to that annoying thickhead?"

"I don't think so. Taiga will probably apologise first once he sees her again… They can have strange dynamics sometimes. But they are too similar and they both worry for the same person. And Aya never liked arguments."

"Hmmm…" The giant appeared to be thinking about it. Then he stared at Daiki for a while. And then he seemingly came to his conclusion: "Ah, right. She's dating Mine-chin. She has to be tolerant and resilient."

"HAH?!" Daiki glared at him. "What do you mean by that?!"

######

After she cooled off enough, she found Taiga in the tree house. She was still hurt, but she hated being like this with Taiga. And she said some pretty bad things too.

"Are you coming down for the barbecue?"

He was sitting in one of the sleeping nets, cursing himself for being an idiot. And a stubborn mule. "Offering an olive branch?" He asked and looked up at her. He pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned; the tone he'd just used was more biting than he'd wanted.

"Want me to ignore you?" She raised an eyebrow, expecting some fiery comeback again.

He sighed. "I'd deserve that."

She blinked at him in surprise. Taiga usually needed a bit more time to calm down than her.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said all that… I just… I'm worried. And… scared… You were essentially right. I don't know what to do. I wanna be there, but I don't… I'm angry at myself for that and… It's… I'm sorry, sis'."

She smiled kindly. "Well, you shouldn't have said all that, but…" Yeah, she knew her twin all too well. "I'm sorry too. I've said some bad things too. Maybe, if I'd hit you first, we wouldn't have escalated it like that."

"Do it next time…" He hung his head down again. "I didn't mean to scare Kaito. I haven't seen him for so long… Damn… I didn't know they'd be here."

She sat next to him, trying not to flip them over, and bumped into his shoulder. "Kaito wants to play with you. So I suggest you go and apologise to him, then hug him really tight and then do whatever he wants to. And eat something. You must be hungry too."

"…when do you plan to leave?"

"Tomorrow morning. I need to think about what to do a bit, and well… Suzu needs some time too. You know how she works. Besides, there's a test of courage tonight. We can't miss that. She is up, and she will be well, we can take one more night for ourselves and try to have fun."

"What? You revived that?" Taiga shuddered. "I'm not going through it."

"Visiting Suzu will probably be scarier."

"Are you really planning to make her hate you?"

"I hope it won't come to that, but… I'll do whatever's needed?" Aya shrugged. "I'm certainly not going to pity her. She is strong enough to get on her feet again. It'll take a lot of time, but she can't dwell in self-pity. It never helped anyone. She is in the situation she's in. We can't change it. It's terrible, but I'm not letting her fall further."

"It's worse than ours was…" He reminded her. They'd lost their mother, got injured, but… Suzume lost her possible future, her father, everything she'd been.

"You're forgetting one thing: she's stronger than us."

######

The barbecue started and they were all lured outside, driven by the beautiful scent of grilled meat and fish. There were four huge grills, ran by Taichi, Hanae, Hero and Kiku. The huge guys were trying to avoid Kiku's grill, knowing the girl could still get scared, but Wakamatsu was keeping close to her like a guard dog.

Kaito and Taiga were vividly discussing over their food. Kyou was discussing with Derek, getting to finally know the young driver. Kouta was keeping aside, not really interacting with anyone; he was thinking about Aya's advice. The dogs were running around, gobbling up everything that fell to the ground, but never stealing food from tables or someone's plate.

Everyone seemed happy. The meat was rich, tender and perfectly seasoned. Hanae made fitting salads, but they also grilled vegetables. The boys were unbelievably content with this sort of treat after the torturous week of practising.

Aya was sitting on the porch, further away from everyone. She had some meat and grilled corn on her plate, but she was eating it slowly without a real appetite. As much as she wanted to enjoy the moment with everyone, she couldn't stop thinking about Suzume. She wanted to go there already, but she knew it was best to wait until morning.

"Is everything okay?" Daiki asked her, sitting down next to her, with a plate full of meat and grilled vegetables he snatched from one of the grills. He wanted to be with her, yet he didn't want to push her too much. But he really didn't like when she was sitting alone.

She smiled at him, but it didn't reach her eyes. "With Taiga, yes. With Suzu… I don't know." She sighed. "I want to see her. Hug her. Tell her that everything will be okay, eventually."

"You will."

"I'm afraid she won't really listen." She muttered and rested her head against Daiki's shoulder. "I wouldn't… Didn't… Just how do I approach her?"

"You'll figure it out." He kissed the top of her head gently – hoping no one saw his display of affection and gentleness – but not worrying about it too much. Because you can do anything you set your mind to.

That small gesture so full of love, trust and support… He believed in her. And it was an unbelievably powerful emotion. It almost overwhelmed her to tears. She had to blink several times.

"…want me to come with you?" He asked impulsively.

"I'd love that, but…" She shook her head. "I don't think that's a good idea. Suzu isn't that social in the first place, and right now… I won't do that to her. And you and Taiga in one car for three hours? No thank you."

"Ah, right… Him…" He blinked and had to agree that he shouldn't go. Although he wanted to be there for her, this was not his place to intervene. "I can scare the shit out of him tonight though, right?" He changed the topic, hoping to make her feel a little better.

"Sure. He deserves it for starting that argument."

######

After the sunset, the meadow was illuminated by numerous torches. And because it was full moon, no one was allowed a flashlight when going into the forest. They could head in in groups of three, two or alone. The first boys going decided to go alone – they weren't scaredy cats, right? – but after hearing several terrified screams and cries of the 'brave ones', and the entire eerie atmosphere that ruled the forest once the meadow disappeared from their sight, persuaded the rest of them to go in in pairs or groups of three.

The path they had to take was marked by phosphorescent blue-ish something, no one wanted to know how Kouta made it, or what it was. The air cooled and a low mist settled just above the ground, covering rocks and roots, which threatened to trip the boys. That in itself was worrying enough. And the forest was very lively on a night like this. Small rodents and owls came out to feed or hunt. A fox appeared here and there.

City boys were not really used to all the sounds of the night forest. Wandering around without anyone jumping at them was creepy enough. After Kyou's stories, they were jumpy at every louder sound or any twig cracking under their feet. And Kouta made sure he spread several traps and scary props. As if roots, rocks and hollows weren't traps enough.

In one area with huge tree crowns and thick undergrowth, he spread out a net, blocking out the moonlight while it still looked like branches and leaves. That was Daiki's station. He was hidden in the tree, scaring passers-by from behind either by letting out a low, blood freezing growl, or just telling them something random. He could make his voice sound really scary if he wanted. And in the atmosphere it didn't really matter. The huge shadow with a voice like that appearing out of nowhere freaked everyone.

And after that, when Kaito showed up as the final point… Everyone ran. Shouting and screaming. They ran back to the house to the safety of the lights. They didn't recognise the kid in those clothes and face paint…

"Are you scared, Shoichi-kun?" Kouta asked the captain from behind.

Imayoshi shuddered, but refused to admit it. "Not at all, senpai." He was smirking, hiding the fact that he wasn't really fond of going into that darkness. "Do you want to join us?" He motioned to his two companions – Susa and Tada.

"Groups of three are maximum." Kouta said with a sigh. "But I think this could be an exception. I know the whole path after all." He grinned; he could fuel their fear more if he walked with them. "What do you say, Lil' Monkey?"

Aya only heard the last question. She was heading to Kiku, to make sure that she and Wakamatsu stayed together the whole path. She was considering tying them together with a rope or something… "Hm?" She blinked at Kouta. The usual answer would be 'yeah, you're right', but with Kouta she couldn't say that.

"Do you think I could join this group?" He cocked his head towards the boys.

She stared at him for a moment. Then at Tada. And then she pushed Kouta towards the group. "You have to join this group." She winked at him and continued her way.

"I thought she didn't particularly like you, senpai." Imayoshi stared at him with raised eyebrow.

"A lot of people think that, Shoichi-kun. But we're much closer than we let on. She's like my lil' sister, so… Ah, let's go! It's our turn!" He ushered the group towards the dark forest – with Imayoshi in lead.

"Why am I the first?" He asked desperately.

"Because you're the captain, of course." Tada said with a smirk and pushed Imayoshi's back.

"I don't want him at my rear." The captain protested, pointing at Kouta, who grinned widely.

"He's at my rear. That's fine, or isn't it, captain?" Tada teased him with a half-smirk, but his eyes were sad.

Hmmm… Detail, which Imayoshi noticed. "If you think so… Okay, let's get this over with!"

With Imayoshi at the front, they followed in one row with Tada and Kouta at the rear. They entered the dark forest. Kouta used it and creeped up on Tada, hugging the taller boy from behind and pulling him back, so the distance between them and the rest would get wider.

"What is it?" Tada asked and his voice sounded colder than he intended.

Kouta sighed and pressed his forehead against Tada's back. "I need to talk with you, Shun. Really talk with you."

He blinked in surprise. He wanted to cover Kouta's hand with his own, but he didn't. He felt hurt. And he wasn't in a mood for anything with Kouta. "What about?"

"Us? Look, I'm sorry for leaving in the morning…" He said quietly.

But Tada wiggled his way out of Kouta's reach. "Let's go. I don't need Imayoshi's teasing."

It took a lot of effort for Kouta to keep his sudden sadness in check. "You're right. Let's go." He headed after Susa and Imayoshi first. He didn't want to follow the young man anymore. And he knew the path by heart. With him in lead they could catch up in no time.

"But I will hear you out after this, senpai." Shun added.

Kouta smiled. "Don't call me senpai. That's not my name."

Whatever you say… Tada thought with a small smile. Could he hope for something? He thought he shouldn't, because he was realising the differences between them, but still… There was something about Kouta he'd really come to like.

The two boys didn't even realise that Tada and Kouta were gone for a few seconds. They were too preoccupied by going forward.

"What was that?" Kouta asked suddenly.

"Hm?" Imayoshi turned around. "Stop scaring us."

"I'm not. I swear I've heard something right now. Listen." Inwardly, he was laughing his ass off. There was a small transmitter and speaker hidden in a tree. Kyou was monitoring the area and playing the sounds.

They stopped and listened. And really. Soon they heard childish voices, laughter, chanting. Quiet at first, but gradually increasing in volume.

"Let's get out of here." Imayoshi said and started walking forward, where the forest seemed even darker. But he tripped on something and fell down. Under his hands was something soft and mushy. It was hidden in the mist. But then lights appeared in the trees and he saw the skeleton filled with something red, sticky and disgusting. "Gah!" He jumped to his feet and bumped into Tada.

"Whoah, careful, captain."

An owl hooted. All four looked up. It was sitting on a low branch, looking down at them with its huge eyes. It tilted its head and hooted again. It was an eerie sound. Kouta wouldn't have planned this better. And it creeped him out as well. The huge bird silently flew off and disappeared in the night.

Imayoshi'd had enough. He pushed Susa in front of him and forced them to move – almost run – just to get away. And they had no idea what was expecting them ahead…

Totally pale and scared to death they ran out back to the safety of the meadow.

"What the hell was that?!" Imayoshi shouted at Kouta. "Do you want to kill us?"

"Wasn't that Aomine?" Susa pointed out. He was scared, but he could still think clearly.

"Huh?"

He shrugged. "He is nowhere here, so…"

"No way. Aomine's too lazy to do something like that." Tada refused the option, but he wondered about it too.

"What was that kid anyways?"

"But Kaito of course." Kouta started laughing. "Oh, Shoichi-kun, it's so good to see you freaked out."

Out of all the boys, only Atsushi seemed totally unfazed and unimpressed. He walked through the entire path eating his sweets, while calming down Tatsuya and Liu. The giant had no idea what was supposed to be scary there. The sounds were obviously artificial, the 'corpse' on the ground might've freaked Tatsuya, it was gruesome, but not that scary. In the darkest part, he recognised Daiki and greeted him casually. And then in the Kaito's area which was the scariest one, he praised the boy for the fancy yukata and performance, giving him one of his treats. He liked the kid. The boy was so shocked he thanked him and took the offered chocolate bar.

"What are your nerves made of?" Tatsuya asked in disbelief once they got out of there.

Atsushi shrugged. "Was that supposed to be scary?"

"Yes!" Liu was shaking with fear. He was quite superstitious and hated ghosts and such.

The giant shrugged. He considered different things scary, not this. "Kai-chin had a great costume."

Tatsuya sighed; his huge friend could be unbelievable at times. "What scares you then?"

"Eeeh…" Atsushi thought about it for a moment and then he said seriously: "Thunderstorms."

Aya chuckled as she passed the group. Atsushi was a truly interesting person. But she had something to do, so she didn't stop by. She knew everything about the path, and she knew the surrounding passages through the bushes. She'd prepared it after all. And she couldn't resist the urge to try and scare Daiki. She was aware it carried certain dangers; in the real fight or flight situation, Daiki would probably choose the first, and if he didn't recognise her right away… Well… She decided it was worth the risks. And then she could join him to freak out Taiga.

She sneaked towards Daiki's station, trying to spot him in the darkness. She wasn't scared per se, but it was certainly eerie. And if she, who had helped with preparations, felt uneasy, she wasn't surprised that boys were screaming – some of them like little girls. But her man was unbelievably well conceived in the darkness. She was making sure she didn't make any sound or any fast motion–

"Ga–"

Someone suddenly grabbed her from behind and covered her mouth to muffle any possible scream. Her heart almost leapt out. At first she didn't realise who it was so she kicked around, but then a familiar chuckle sounded next to her ear.

"I thought you would try it." Daiki's husky voice was quiet but not scary anymore. "Too bad I saw you first."

She stopped fighting him and let out a relieved sigh. "How?"

He shrugged, not letting her go. "Dunno. I just saw your silhouette before you slipped into that bush and I followed." But I had my heart in my throat too… He thought, resisting the urge to shake off the bad feeling like a dog. All the hooting owls and nocturnal animals creeped the hell out of him.

"Damn… You win, Daiki." She smirked, admitting her defeat. She turned her head so she could look at him, not that she saw much.

"That I do." He hummed and she could feel his voice vibrate in his chest she was pressed against.

She loved that voice so damn much. It heated her blood and quickened her heart. And hearing, feeling it in the middle of the night, concealed in the darkness… She didn't feel the chilly air of the night anymore; only Daiki's body heat, spreading through her back and her own blood humming in her ears. Dammit… Impulsively, she reached up and kissed his jaw she could reach in this weird position. If he wanted to kiss her, he'd have to lean over her.

Feeling her lips on his jaw, he wasn't sure that catching and holding her like this was a smart decision on his part. With one arm holding her firmly around her waist and the other that slipped from her lips and now rested on her chest, he could feel her heartbeat all too well. It pleased him. Without thinking he leaned down and kissed her. He wanted to. He loved kissing her.

It was a deep passionate kiss and she somehow turned in his arms, pulling him closer.

A sudden bright light interrupted them. And they glared into the light grumpily.

"Oh fuck!" Taiga covered his eyes and turned the flashlight from his phone away. He decided to go and try the test of courage as the last participant and alone. He wanted to see if it was anything similar to the ones he'd remembered from when they were kids. With his phone he cheated, but so what? Yet, he certainly hadn't expected to see his sister and Ahomine kissing like that! "Since when…?! Geez! My eyes were hurt!" He looked at them through his fingers. He really didn't like seeing his sister and his greatest rival like that. It brought back memories he wanted to forget, but he wouldn't make a scene. He shouldn't have been surprised.

With a disappointed sigh she took a step away from Daiki. When Taiga caught her like that, it was quite embarrassing. "Since a few days ago?" She said as calmly as she could, but her voice sounded too excited. "But I'm not going to apologise."

Taiga raised the flashlight again and stared at them – glared at Daiki. "Spare me the details." He grumbled. "So he was helping out after all… No one running out could say for sure." He changed the topic and tried to forget what he'd just witnessed.

"And you're cheating with the light." She accused him.

"And you're making out in the middle of the path. Trust me, you wouldn't want me or anyone else walking into you in action." He said sourly and his face twisted with disgust.

"Ah… Right…" She blushed and looked away. She really wouldn't want that.

"Now I need to find Kaito and I'll be gone from here." He shuddered. Despite knowing the majority of the tricks, he didn't like tests of courage or haunted houses. And hearing the 'Tatarimokke' story from Kyou… He wasn't sure he wanted to find Kaito at all.

Aya raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"

"Why?"

"Have you seen him?" She shrugged nonchalantly. She saw him dressed up, but she didn't see the final result. Kyou didn't let anyone see Kaito before the real deal.

"No, have you?"

"Not really…" She admitted, suddenly feeling chills. The twins exchanged worried looks. It felt like someone was watching them. They instinctively made a step closer to Daiki, moving at the same time. That in itself weirded Daiki out. The ace hadn't seen the twins act in unison like that so far.

Because of the bright light of Taiga's flashlight their vision narrowed a lot, they didn't see anything outside of the circle of light. Until…

"How long do you intend to make me wait?" A calm, accusing childish voice, similar to Kaito's but not really like his, sounded from somewhere behind them.

The three were immediately grouped together, each facing a different direction.

"Is that Kaito or not?" Taiga gulped.

"Should be." She said.

"Should be?" Daiki asked her in disbelief. Could the forest be really haunted? He squeezed her hand, not sure if it was to support her, or to make him feel better.

"Should be, but I don't really want to wait until he comes out."

"Until who comes out?" The kid said, appearing soundlessly from a nearby bush.

She saw him by the corner of her eye at first. The clothes were the ones she'd seen on Kaito, so it must've been him. But Kaito was a good little actor and his face and eyes were blankly staring at them. He wore a pure white yukata that glowed slightly, making him look almost translucent. His skin was painted white and there were bloody marks and gaping wounds all over his face. The makeup was unbelievably detailed and gruesome. That face… Kyou made him almost unrecognisable.

"KYAAAAAH!" All three of them shouted and turned around bolting away, not really waiting until the ghost-Kaito spoke up again.

When they reached the safe meadow, everyone was gathered there and laughing at them.

"So you got scared too, after all, eh?" Kyou patted their backs laughing heartily. "But good job there, Daiki-kun."

Kaito emerged from the forest with a wide grin on his face. Some of the boys went silent and took a step back, hiding behind their teammates. The kid looked too eerie.

"And there's my little Tatarimokke!" Kyou stretched his arms and Kaito jumped into them happily.

"I did a good job, right?"

"The best." He laughed and kissed his son's forehead.

######

Kiku was still shaken from the spooky trail through the forest. She had no idea why she'd agreed to go. Maybe she just wanted to hold Wakamatsu's hand. He'd gotten scared too, but he'd managed to keep his facade because of her. After all, she was the scaredy cat of the Touou's basketball team. Because now she was definitely a part of the team too. Not intentionally. It just happened. And she was happy about it.

Everyone was sitting by a huge bonfire now, talking, laughing... Kaito was teasing all the boys who ran away screaming. When the kid calmed down, he, Tatsuya, Kyou and even Taiga took out guitars, a bass guitar and cajón so the night wouldn't be quiet. Kyou teased the twins with some of the songs (70's and 80's rock) they liked, especially Taiga - but almost no one here knew them. Aya huffed at that but she was smiling.

Kiku was watching everything with a soft smile of her own. When was the last time she actually enjoyed being with so many people?

"Are you okay?" Wakamatsu asked her. He was deliberately keeping close to her.

She glanced at him and smiled. "Yeah. Still a bit scared, but…"

"The kid was good." Too good... He chuckled. "I wonder how Imayoshi-taichou handled it…"

"I saw his group go in with Shiranui-san, so… They probably had it even worse than us."

"Hmmm… He went with them?" He narrowed his eyes at Kouta sitting close to Shun. The two were discussing something and laughing. Wakamatsu wasn't an idiot, he knew his best friend through and through. And he was quite protective of his friends, still… This probably wasn't his business, though he would interrogate Shun later on.

"Y-yeah… Why?" The sudden change in Wakamatsu expression surprised her.

"Nah, it's fine. Do we have some more of those cookies?" He asked, finishing the last one. Kiku's homemade sweets were heavenly. He could eat it all the time.

"Mhm." She nodded and got up. "I have some more in the kitchen, I'll bring them right away."

He hoped for an answer like this. Not only because of the cookies, but also because he wanted to talk with her in private. And she didn't seem to catch that. He got up too. "I'm coming with you. You're not going alone after that spooky thing."

"No, no, you don't have to." It pleased her, but… He still had no idea about so many things… She feared he might…

"I want to." He said firmly in a tone that didn't take any protests.

He's had enough of this running in circles and getting nowhere. He liked her, even loved her. But Kiku was… She let him closer, then pushed him away. She came closer and then ran away. She let him think she liked him, then she pulled back into herself. He didn't understand. For a simple guy like Wakamatsu it was a torture. He was straightforward, but given Kiku's nature he couldn't really be like that with her. Maybe, because he was trying to take things into consideration, and didn't want to push her, they were running in circles. He didn't know anymore. And he's reached his limit. Either she'd agree on dating him, or she'll push him away for good.

She avoided his eyes but nodded. She'd have to make a revelation and a decision she feared the most.

They didn't know Aya noticed them leaving.

"I wonder how that will turn out." She nudged Daiki with her elbow.

"You'll know the moment they'll be back." He said and followed them with his gaze. "But the height difference is ridiculous."

"It's cute. And there is quite some height difference between us too."

He smirked. "Yeah, but you won't kill yourself wearing heels."

"You're mean."

He shrugged and gulped down another cookie. The tiny girl wasn't all that bad. Especially when he knew her story and where she was coming from.

The next morning, everyone was allowed to sleep in. And the only people coming to say goodbye to the twins were their family, Kouta, Keiji and Daiki. They promised Kaito and Kyou to see them during the winter break; either the twins would go to France, or Kyou would come to Japan. They took a lot of pickled food, dried fruits and herbs, and honey Hanae packed for them. And after one quick, but meaningful kiss she parted with Daiki. Taiga just rolled his eyes and muttered something like "Gross.", which earned him a good aimed jab at his ribs.

They got into the car and Derek drove away.

"Who're you messaging?" Taiga asked her curiously. They arrived at the Akita's hospital and he wanted to go right in. He didn't like this stalling. And Aya rarely played with her phone unless bored to death (which she almost never was) or having something important to deal with.

"Daiki." She said just as she pressed the send button. "I promised I'd let him know when we safely arrive. And vice versa."

He rolled his eyes in annoyance. He wanted her to be happy, really, he'd even told her to date Aomine already, but once it was the real deal… he wasn't sure he appreciated the relationship. "At least he cares." He grumbled.

"Of course he does." She smiled kindly and put the phone into her pocket. "Well, let's face the test of courage of our own."

He gave her a crooked smile and offered her his hand to hold; it was the best way to avoid any panic attacks. And Aya accepted it without any protests. Derek just watched them from behind; he would wait in the cafeteria again, but the Kagamis were fascinating.

Yomi was sitting outside Suzume's room, leaning against the wall with her eyes closed. She had dark circles under her eyes. She'd spent the last days in the hospital nonstop. Well, she'd spent almost her whole summer break there and she'd gone home only to change her clothes and bath. Suzume's grandparents visited daily too, and they spent hours by Suzume's bedside, but Yomi was almost like a nurse. Her childhood friend had returned back to her just a few months ago and she feared losing her. It was scary when Suzume was unconscious, but it was even scarier now that she was awake. One would expect it to be a good thing. With Suzume, however, it seemed like the exact opposite.

Aya glanced at Taiga worriedly. Yomi looked dead tired, like she'd reached her limits and was ready to break down. "Hey." She spoke softly to get Yomi's attention without startling her.

The girl slowly opened her eyes and stared at them with mixture of annoyance, relief and maybe hope?

"Took you long enough." She muttered with a deep sigh.

Aya crouched down in front of Yomi and took the girls hands. Yomi was her friend too. "What's going on?"

"She's been up for five days I guess." Her voice was weak and resigned. "I didn't call right away because it was too… I didn't think it was right and then I forgot. And then I couldn't reach you… Fuck." She hung her head down again.

"Tell me." Aya demanded softly, but firmly. She needed to know what she was getting herself into.

"Go and see for yourself." Yomi pointed at the door in front of them. The window's blinds were down so no one could see inside. "I've never seen a living person so… dead… before. And trust me, I've seen my mom disappearing from our sight and dying for about a year."

Aya pinched the bridge of her nose. "That's what I feared…" Then she slapped her hands against her thighs and got up. "Let's go in then."

"Are you coming with us?" Taiga asked the girl.

Yomi shook her head. "I can't look at her, when she's like that. I can't."

Taiga wanted to say something, but Aya caught his forearm and shook her head. Yomi had all rights to feel that way. Unlike them, she was there all the time and she could be tired, discouraged and sad.

When they walked into the room and the door closed with a soft click, Aya blinked. It was dark inside. The blinds on the window were down and letting only a small amount of light inside. Enough to see, but it was a depressing shadow in the room. Suzume was sitting in the bed, staring dead ahead. She looked gaunt, pale; her beautiful long hair was shaggy and tangled. She still had an external fixation device on her legs. And she didn't even raise her gaze to acknowledge their arrival.

Taiga exhaled sharply. He'd never seen Suzume like that. She looked almost like a living corpse. That's when she looked up at them and Taiga understood what Yomi had meant. Suzume's silvery grey eyes, once so lively, were empty without any spark or will to live.

Soft music was playing in the background. Probably Yomi's choice. There was some food on a night table, which she obviously didn't touch and some IV nutrition was dripping to her vein. The air was still, thick and heavy. The smell of disinfectant and well… a sick person was filling the room. Obviously no one bothered to open the window and let the fresh air in. Or maybe Suzume protested…

The twins were shocked.

Aya felt her heart breaking and she felt like crying. Seeing her best friend wrecked like this, it was… But then the redhead braced herself and clapped sharply, shoeing the pity away. She wouldn't pity her. No. Suzume didn't deserve that. Not from her.

"Good to see you alive and well!" She walked towards the window energetically, ignoring how Suzume jerked at the sharp sound. "How can you sit in the dark room like this?! Geez', girl! No wonder you look like a ghost." Her voice was loud, slightly accusing, but friendly and as cheerful as Aya could manage. She rolled the blinds up and opened the window. "You need sun and fresh air."

Suzume shaded her eyes at the sudden bright sunlight entering the room. She looked away from it. The flashes of the accident were replaying in her head when seeing the cerulean sky. She remembered the whole thing very clearly. It felt like a slow motion. She'd rather forget it all. All the gruesome details, the excruciating pain, the blood, the groans of her dad, who got hit by few of the steel rods, some of which pierced the seat stopping just centimetres from her own body – he didn't hold on until the help arrived. And then the silence. When everything went silent... even the forest around them quieted. She couldn't stand the silence anymore. She feared it.

She'd heard the prognosis. She believed it was highly improbable she'd ever enjoy a walk outside. So looking at people walking by, at the trees and sky… It was unbearable for the injured girl. And if she couldn't play volleyball anymore, heck if she found out she couldn't walk again, what was the point of being there? Of trying? Even if she ended in the wheelchair, what would she do? Her grandparent's house wasn't suitable for someone with a disability like that. She'd only be a bother to everyone. She should've just died with her parents.

Why the hell was everyone so caring? All the pity, all the worries… All the time they spent by her bedside – she heard them even if she was unconscious. She just couldn't answer. And when she woke up, she didn't feel like answering. Why couldn't they just leave her alone? She wanted to be left alone. She'd become useless.

And why did these two come again? Like they had no better ways to spend their time… Something in Aya's 'greeting' made her want to retort impulsively. But she decided to ignore her. Maybe they'd leave soon, if she ignored them.

Taiga, maybe.

But Aya would have none of that. "So, what about homework? Wanna do it together?" She asked something Suzume didn't even think about.

A small spark appeared in Suzume's eyes, but it vanished just as quickly.

"What?" Taiga looked at Aya as if she was crazy.

"What what? If she doesn't want to repeat the first year – which would be really unfortunate as she's already repeated the first year of her middle school – she needs to do all her homework and take all the exams from here. It's not impossible. And we didn't even start with ours, so… it'd be a win win."

"Speak for yourself. I've started."

"And have you finished it?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Nah…"

School was the last thing Suzume wanted to think about. "Get out." She rasped emotionlessly. "And close the window."

"No can do." Aya said, staring at Suzume with a burning challenge. She needed to spark something in the girl. Something other than self-pity and resignation. Anger. Annoyance. Anything else. "Unless you can get up and shove us out." It was rude. Really, really rude and mean. Aya knew. And regretted it so hard, but she had to say it.

"Oi!" Taiga glared at her, trying to rein her in– which she knew would happen.

"I don't want you here." Suzume said hollowly again. She wasn't sure why she was talking with them after ignoring everyone else. Her voice sounded weird to her own ears as she hadn't heard it for weeks. How could those two get her to respond was beyond her. But Aya's lack of empathy made her blood start to bubble. Slowly, quietly. The redhead could be many things, Suzume knew, but she'd never once been on the receiving end of Aya's real meanness. "So get out." She repeated her demand.

"No." Aya said and sat down on the chair next to Suzume's bed. "Not unless I see some determination in those dead eyes."

"Aya!"

She glared at her brother. "Shut it. I'm not talking with you."

He opened his mouth and stared at her. What's gotten into her?!

"Get out." Suzume said louder, frowning at her fiery friend. The redhead didn't understand. She could never understand!

"Why?"

"I don't want to see you."

"Why?"

Suzume opened and closed her mouth. Aya was unbelievably persistent.

"I'm not leaving you drown yourself in sorrow and self pity and all this 'I'd be better off dead' attitude that reeks from you, my love."

Suzume cringed.

"No one wants you dead, stupid." Aya said in a softer voice. "So get it through that thick skull of yours."

That was the breaking point. Everyone was tiptoeing around her. Walking on eggshells. Except the redhead. Suzume liked tiptoeing more. That way, if they weren't asking, she didn't need to think so much about what to answer. She didn't want to dissect her feelings with anyone. Yes, she felt like shit! Useless! Broken! What was the point of saying it? They must've known. But…

"I do!" She turned to Aya and snapped at her. Finally there was some light in those dead eyes. "I'm done! My life is done! You don't get it! You'd feel the same if you were in my skin!"

"What exactly is 'done'?" Aya asked challengingly. Suzume always, always bottled up what she felt. That was how she'd been brought up by her mother: 'shut up', 'smile', 'keep up', 'don't complain', 'don't show your real feelings'… With the twins' influence it was getting better, but Aya hated it nonetheless. And she knew Suzume so well she could tell when the girl needed provocation to let the volcano of bottled up emotions erupt.

"My legs! They are useless! Literally, useless! I won't walk! I'd rather be dead."

"Not true. You will walk again. I know you will."

"You know nothing, Aya! What's the point if I can't play again! I don't want to be dependent on someone for the rest of my life! You'd feel the same if you were here!" She pointed at the bed.

"Maybe. But I'm not. And if I were, you'd be there doing the exact same thing I am doing. I can't let you give up. I won't. There's a cat you need to take care of. There are your grandparents, and Yomi, and us. You are loved and needed, you stupid idiot! And you survived a–"

"He didn't! Daddy died!" Tears sprang to her eyes. After days of not being able to cry. All the anger, all the frustration and sadness were suddenly bubbling up. She furiously wiped her eyes. She hated crying. And it was Aya's fault. She glared at the redhead with hostility. "She wanted us all dead!"

"What?" Aya blinked.

Suzume didn't want to tell it to anyone. Ever. But there was no stopping now. Tears streamed down her face as she kept wiping them. "It was mother who steered the car into the opposite direction! To prove some point! To scare us! I don't fucking know what went on in her insane head!" She remembered the fear… Her dad who tried to pull the car back… How they accelerated… and then that turn where the truck came from. The poor driver couldn't have seen them; he couldn't have even hit the brakes. It was a second. One fucking second that cost them lives…

And she finally cried. Letting out everything.

That's when Aya got up and walked up to Suzume. She sat on the side of her bed and pulled the tall girl into her arms.

Suzume was surprised at first and she froze. But then she leaned into Aya. The wound on her left side hurt when she moved but she ignored it. She'd felt much worse pain than that. And those arms were so warm, so welcoming, and so loving. And they were safe. She sobbed and cried.

Taiga couldn't watch. He couldn't believe his ears. What happened to Suzu… He knew his sister was silently crying too. And he just… He left the room. Outside he leaned against the door and slid down. What his sister did. He could've never done. He didn't have it in him to be mean and rude and… towards someone so… Even if he guessed he should be.

Yomi was immediately at his side. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?"

"You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I may as well have…" He muttered and rubbed his eyes before he'd cry in front of this girl.

"What were they arguing about? I heard them shout… but… you did nothing! Is Suzu… Is she gonna be okay?" She asked worriedly, chewing her lip. She couldn't believe the redhead would be so insensitive. If she'd known she wouldn't have let her in.

"You heard and did nothing too." He reminded her flatly. "And I think she'll be fine… Once she cries her soul out."

"What?! Suzu's crying?!" Yomi hadn't seen the girl cry in… years…

"Just leave them. Once we leave it'll be your duty to make sure she fights. No matter the circumstances."

"You want me to argue with her?" She stared at him in disbelief. How could she? Suzume was suffering, she couldn't possibly…

"You've been best friends and worst rivals for years. Don't tell me you're scared to challenge and provoke her. She doesn't need us tiptoeing. She needs us to pull her back on her feet again… And my crazy sister is probably the only one with the guts to grab Suzume's hand and start. But we need to help too."

"Well… that's… but she's… Suzu's legs…"

"Will heal. And she needs to start believing that too."

"And if they don't?"

"They will." He said with certainty. "I know they will. And maybe she'll play volleyball again one day."

Aya walked out in an hour. After Suzume cried herself to sleep. Her eyes were red from crying, but her gaze was firm and cheerful. She felt dead exhausted, being an emotional support and sponge for all the bad feelings wasn't easy, but she wouldn't leave. Not for long. Still, she needed a cigarette and she needed to be alone for a few minutes to process all that. She felt guilty for being a bitch but it served its purpose.

"How is she?" Taiga asked.

"Sleeping." Aya said and sat down leaning against the wall opposite the two. "I need to go out for a moment. But you can go in if you want."

Taiga nodded. "Will you be able to return here on your own?"

"I'll call you to come get me, 'kay?"

"How long are you staying?" Yomi blurted out. She didn't want them to come, kick Suzume out of her lethargy and then disappear just like that, leaving all the work on her.

"We'll probably take the flight tomorrow evening."

"Can't you stay 'till the end of the holiday?" She pleaded. "I… I'm scared."

"Of what?"

"That's she'll fall back there again."

"She probably will. The whole process of healing and rehabilitations won't be easy, but… You can't walk on eggshells. She doesn't need that. This big softie can tell you, while I go pull myself together." She winked at them and walked down the hallway.

She didn't have cigarettes. But she bought some in the buffet. No one asked her ID, and she was glad for that. She walked outside and sat down. Last time, there was Mayu with her and it looked like it'd rain. Now she was alone and the sky was bright.

She suddenly felt so empty and lonely. But it was fine. She lit up the cigarette and inhaled deeply. She would be fine.

In the evening they visited Suzume's grandparents and Dorian. The atmosphere was heavy with worry, but the older couple welcomed them warmly despite that. After dinner they went to the guest room and felt like passing out, but Yomi climbed over the balconies and they spent the whole night talking. About Suzume, mostly. And the different experiences they had with their best friend, the different sides they'd seen of her. Then Aya stopped it, saying that Suzume was not dead and she ordered lights out.

The next day they brought homework to Suzume. The bedridden girl glared at Aya for that, but she actually took it. She even ate her breakfast for the first time. Then she demanded one of the nurses to wash her hair somehow, which surprised the lady, but with some effort and joined forces of the nurse, Aya and Yomi, they managed.

For the first time, Suzume actually laughed at the struggle they had with the simple task. She regretted it immediately when she felt her stitched side stretch. Suzume's laugher sounded like bells, it was beautiful and the nurse blinked in surprise. She didn't think that this girl would ever smile again. Yet…

All four of them joined forces on Suzume's homework. Even Yomi, who was still a middle school student. The twins took pictures of that so they could copy it at home – the homework was the same after all.

"Hey! You're profiting on a sick person." Suzume protested.

"And the sick person can't get up and snatch it from us, so shush. We helped too."

Suzume shook her head. "You're terrible."

"I know. Hello, Kagami Terrible here." She bowed and grinned. "But you love me anyways."

"I might reconsider that, meanie."

"Is it Meanie, or Terrible now? Make up your mind! You're getting me confused." She joked.

Yomi laughed loudly at that. The other three joining her soon. They didn't know the grandparents were standing outside and heard all that. Saeru covered her mouth and tears of joy sprang up. The twins were like a blessing. They alone couldn't bring Suzume to smile. They couldn't bring her to even look at them. Yet those two… in a day… A day… There were things they didn't know about their granddaughter, she'd only ever visited them sporadically and she was usually introverted around them…

When the twins were leaving and saying goodbye, Suzume hugged them tight. "Thank you."

"I expect you to come to Taiga's winter cup finals. On your own two legs, my love. So work on that." Aya said with a smile, and she meant it.

"I'll do what I can." Suzume grinned. "And if I come in a wheelchair, you'll take care of me."

"Without a single complaint. We'll have one hell of a ride on that." Aya grinned and kissed Suzume's forehead. "But you were meant to fly, not to be grounded. So I know you'll come on your own two feet."

######

"Kagami-san!" Someone called after them when they were about to leave the hospital. "Wait up!"

The twins turned to see a doctor quickly walking towards them. "What is it?"

He bowed deeply. "Thank you!"

"Hm?" Aya blinked at him. What was he talking about?

"Ah, sorry! I'm Nakahara Taiki. I'm… Well, I work in the children's department, but I visited Moriyama-san a lot. Thank you for helping her."

Aya chuckled. The doctor seemed to be one of those kind doctors who couldn't help but empathise with all of their patients. "She's our family. Oh… Are there some fees her grandparents will need to pay?"

"Eeeer…"

She and Taiga exchanged glances. If Suzu finds out, she'll kill us. They both thought. But they could sweet-talk the grandparents to keep it secret.

######

Daiki received a message from Aya in the late evening. There was a picture delivered. The twins and two other girls. He suspected that the one in the middle was Suzume. He could see struggle in the girl's expression, but there was also determination and a small smile. Surprisingly he thought Aya looked more exhausted than the patient, despite her smile. The message was simple:

'Heading home from the airport. See you tomorrow? I need a recharge.'

He smiled softly. It didn't surprise him. The redhead had unimaginably turbulent summer behind her. Of course she was tired. He quickly typed back his answer:

'Sure. When? Where?'

"An official date with Aya-chan? Finally!" Michiko's voice coming from behind startled him and he dropped the phone.

"Dammit!" He swore. "Don't read my messages from behind!" He frowned at her angrily.

"Language! Sorry, sorry! I'm just so happy you have such a fine girlfriend." She smiled angelically. "You should give her the gift you'd forgotten to take to the camp."

He shook his head. "Not tomorrow. It's waited until now; it can wait a bit longer."

"Hmmm… If you say so. Did Dad talk with you?"

"Yeah, sure, we talked about the camp. Why?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Just the camp?"

"…" That confused him. "Well… and the dogs… what else?"

"Nah, it's nothing." Oh, you old fox avoiding your promises…

######

When Aya had sent the message to Daiki, she had no idea how on point it would be. There was one more surprise waiting for her at home. And when she spotted Haruka sitting in her kitchen reading one of her business magazines, she wasn't sure if she should cry or laugh or go crazy.

Both twins were frozen on spot staring at their father making himself at home. No one had warned them. Even Derek was not sure what to do.

"Welcome back." Haruka said, trying to sound as placid as he could. He had no idea what to expect, his hands were sweating and his stomach turning. He hadn't expected them to just appear… Then again… What did you expect, idiot? A written warning?

"I'm not doing this." She said bluntly.

"Aya, I… I want to talk." He faltered.

"Well I don't." She said harshly. "Now if you excuse me. Derek, come, I'll show you the guest room you can use while you're here." She turned on her heel and stomped away – Derek following at her tow. She was too emotionally drained, shocked and tired to argue or deal with him in any way. She didn't feel like leaving her home either. It was her home. Not his. She wouldn't vacate her territory because of him. But she didn't want to see him either. So she retreated to her room.

Taiga stared at Haruka a bit longer. "You shouldn't be here." He said seriously and he meant it.

The steel and hostility in his son's eyes surprised him. Taiga was always the kinder, softer kid… But... He was a young man now. And he had clearly chosen who he was protecting. How much had he grown up? "I want to talk with her… With both of you."

"Well, you chose a shitty timing for whatever you need."

Haruka clenched his teeth to suppress his anger. He deserved this. He knew he did. "There's never a shitty timing to apologise."

Taiga's eyes almost fell out. Then he laughed. "You? Apologising? Hilarious. I bet you don't even know what you're apologising for. You just need her to work again."

"Taiga, watch the tone." He raised his voice slightly, he wouldn't tolerate – That victorious look on Taiga's face stopped him. No, he wasn't there to yell at them, he wasn't there to make them obedient like dogs. He wanted his kids back. He wanted to change. But it was one big test of his courage and determination. And it would take a lot of work to persuade them he was worth the second chance. Or the millionth chance… He thought desperately.

"Yes, sir. Whatever you say, sir." He saluted with scorn on his face. He wanted to hurt him. It was wrong, but he wanted to. After all the drama around Suzume, and Aya dating Daiki, and meeting – and ignoring – Tatsuya again and the lack of basketball skill he still felt… He needed to vent his frustration somewhere. "You're not welcomed here." Then he turned and left to his room.

I'm aware of that… Haruka closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down again.

When Aya passed through the room to hit the bathroom, she didn't even look his way.

He accepted that. He was a stranger in the house of his children. Right now, he'd accept anything from them, no matter how much it hurt his pride, his ego, his heart. If he wanted his millionth chance, he'd have to put up with that. And hope, and pray it would get better. With time. Admitting that, realising that, he regretted everything all the more…

A/N: That's that for now. I hope no one was OOC, the WakaKiku part was left as a bit of a cliffhanger, but I want to get to it in their own story (once I finally get to continue it).

I'll try to have the next chapter done on time (in two weeks), but if I don't, please have patience with me and believe that I am working on it.

Sometimes I find songs that inspire some characters, so if you're interested, Suzume's songs for this chapter would be "Fly" and "Warrior" from Avril Lavigne (I discovered it by chance and I just loved the lyrics).

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

S.