Notes: For the record, this chapter hasn't been edited by my lovely editor/beta-reader, ILiveForBL. She's been busy due to the demands of RL so I planned to give her as much time as she needs in order to edit this chapter. I don't need her to be in a hurry as I completely understand the busy schedule she's been going through rn. The reason why I still posted this even though it hasn't been edited/beta-read yet was to keep my promise to everyone that I will be updating a chapter on or before January 29. I will be re-posting the edited version as soon as my editor is done. So, for the mean time, I hope everyone will bear with me with all the mistakes (especially grammar mistakes) that I might've made on this chapter. Thank you :)

EDIT: THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN UPDATED WITH THE EDITED VERSION. THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO MY EDITOR/BETA-READER FOR FINISHING IT FAST. I DIDN'T EXPECT IT XD HAHA AND OF COURSE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO ALL OF YOU WHO BEAR WITH THE RAW/UNEDITED VERSION OF THIS CHAPTER. :)

CHAPTER 12:

No Chance in a Battle with the Man of His Dreams

Whoa! Full-packed…

That was what Aomine thought the moment the Prison Visiting Area came into sight.

"What day is it today? There isn't any special occasion today, right?" The former cop asked the prison guard who had just called him a while ago while he was resting in his cell.

"Today's Wednesday and there's no special occasion to take note of. It's just that there are visitors today more than usual." Answered the prison guard with an unperturbed expression on his face.

"I see…" Aomine replied.

Wednesday. It can be considered the middle of the week, and yet, almost a quarter of the number of prisoners in Teikou has been receiving visitors one by one. As what the prison guard confirmed, there was no special occasion today, no holidays; but the number of visitors visiting on this day seemed like there was one. Though Aomine didn't have any clue why, he knew that he, receiving a visit today from his step-sister and his parents, does have a valuable reason. Well, not like he's saying that the other's reason to visit isn't significant. It's just that today is his mother's birthday and he wouldn't deny that he's been expecting a visitor since yesterday that he even shaved the beard that is starting to grow around his chin.

In all honesty, Aomine wasn't that pleased by the situation. It would've been perfect if he was the one who visited his mother on her birthday and gave her a gift that she would love, but, of course, it wouldn't be possible right now. With these bars that are incarcerating him, receiving them as his visitor was what all he could do. However, just to become optimistic about all of these and not ruin the mood, Aomine simply thought that, at least, he was given the chance to talk to them right now.

He noticed the familiar pink-haired girl sitting at the farthest table in the room. Beside her was a dark-skinned woman that almost possessed the exact same features as him – his mother. The mere sight of them made Aomine smile. Even though it was unusual of him to have such a smile plastered on his face, he couldn't help but have one with the delight he's carrying on his heart right now.

Damn, I really missed them so much, Aomine thought.

He didn't see his father, though. But, no matter what, he understood it. His father accepted him for who he was and what he has done. Well, not like he really has done anything. However, that's beside the point. He just knew that he didn't have any problem with his father and his absence today was surely because of a valid reason.

He took a step towards them and after a few seconds, he was right in front of the table of the two ladies visiting him. His mother was the first one to stand up, followed by Momoi, and both of them had this same worried expression on their faces as they saw the former cop.

"Daiki…" His mother whispered softly, eyes wet with tears. "What happened to you? Are you alright?"

Aomine didn't hesitate to give his mother a warm hug that he almost tried to raise his arms, forgetting the fact that the other one is injured. It was then that he realized why his mother and his step-sister had such anxious frowns on their faces.

"Ah. Well, this is…" He ran a hand at the back of his neck as though he was still a child making an excuse.

With such manner, he heard his mother sigh and she started scolding him, "What are you doing, Daiki? You're not a child anymore. You should take care of yourself and stop getting yourself involve…"

His mother hadn't even spoken a couple of sentences that Aomine has already blocked her rants out of his mind. When Aomine was a child, at times like these, he would've gotten irritated by his mother's endless scolding and ran off the house to rebel. But right now, all he could feel was a sense of gentle warmth settling on his heart. Maybe because he missed his mother so much and he would rather choose getting scolded by her than getting himself stuck in this endless chaos of a prison.

"This is nothing." Aomine said as the three of them sat down on their seats.

"Nothing? How can you even say that, Daiki? What if that turns out a fracture and—"

"Well, this is a fracture." Aomine corrected, partly making a little fun of his mother's overreaction. Even though this exact overreaction was the one that left a smile on his face.

He heard another sigh coming from his mother and, this time, Momoi was the one who spoke. "Dai-chan, stop taking things lightly! Tell us what happened to you and you ended up like that. Were you involved in a fight with someone?!"

Aomine, for a second, thought of telling them the whole thing that had underwent; but knowing how his mother and his step-sister will react at times like this, he decided not to.

"Stop being a worrywart, Satsuki. It was just a stupid mistake of mine. I was irritated, punched a wall, and bam. I got a broken fist. That's all and nothing else." He casually lied.

Thank goodness this wasn't his first time to make up that story. He once told that exact same thing to the prison officer before and, somehow, he discovered that repeating a lie can actually make it pretty more convincing to tell. And he surely needed some persuasion skills right now as Momoi Satsuki is definitely not the average kind of girl. She was very perceptive when it comes to things, especially when it comes to her step brother. She could say that she knew him very well since she started living with him in one house when they were young and even just a tiny change of expression on the former cop's face can easily be distinguished by her. If only the pink-haired girl wasn't present here and their mother's the only one who visited him, it wouldn't be too hard for Aomine to press on with his lie.

As though she was a woman of clairvoyance and extrasensory, Momoi stared at Aomine's face and began reading whatever she could find to read there. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." A firm answer came from Aomine's mouth, pretending all he had been saying were all a fact. He actually prepared for a few more conversations – or rather, arguments – with her, with the thought in his mind that Momoi's intuition is as sharp as a knife and she could easily break through to his wall.

But, somehow, luckily, the woman acknowledged his answer.

"Just be careful next time, Dai-chan. Please, don't let us get worried so much." She said with brows furrowed and with a little hint of scolding in her tone.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." He nonchalantly answered as he turned his gaze towards their mother who, he found, was still wearing a face full of unspoken anxiety. It was then that he felt a little bit of guilt with his careless reply and so he answered with a better tone of "Yes." in the end.

Though, deep inside his mind, that that yes came out of his mouth just to assure his step sister and their mother. He knew that this broken fist was just a mere injury now compared to whatever things he knew he would encounter in the future. He was completely aware that, with the way things are now, no doubt that things are going to be dangerous on his course. But that will never be his worry, as he was confident that he could take on things even by himself.

"Anyway…" He spoke. "Like what I've said, this is nothing. I already went to the infirmary doctor and, yes, it was a fracture but it was not that major and there isn't any occurrence of dislocation of the bone. The doctor prescribed some pain relievers that I could take and he put my hand in a splint. He advised that I should put my injured hand on a cast after a while, but that would be my choice."

"Then you should." His mother immediately said.

"Hmm… I don't know yet..." He sounded hesitant. "It was a little troublesome to go back, you know."

"No, it would heal faster if you were to put it in a cast, right? Then, do it. I'll cover the expenses. I will send some amount to your commissary account right after we—"

"Mom." The former cop cut her off. "You don't have to do that. It's not a matter of expenses, but, alright, I'll agree with putting my hand on a cast just so we don't have to argue. But, no, you don't really have to send any amount of money to my account anymore."

One fine brow was raised on his mother's face. "Huh?"

"Well, just a week ago, I got a job at the prison kitchen." He started talking with a trace of excitement on his voice and a gratified expression on his face. "I'm already earning."

"Really, Dai-chan?" Momoi confirmed delightfully.

"Yeah. It was only a little but it would suffice."

"I'm glad then!" She gleefully said.

On the other hand, their mother's smile wasn't that big as he expected her to have. She wasn't disappointed or anything but she surely was dreading with anxiety. It was Aomine's turn then to heave his own sigh, "What is it now, Mom?"

She knitted her brows together, "I'm just worried to death. Would your earnings really be enough? And how can you even work when you have an injury? Shouldn't you be resting for now?"

"Mom." Aomine uttered for the second time. "I hope you were aware that you're talking to your 26 year-old son, no?"

His mom raised both of her hands, surrendering. "Fine, fine. Just don't strain yourself okay?"

Aomine nodded in response.

"Ah, before I forget." She suddenly spoke again, leading to another topic, and it was then that the anxiety started leaving her expression. "Your father would like to apologize for not being able to come today. He's not feeling well. Actually, he was persistent to come but I insisted not to."

"It's alright. It's better for him to be at rest."

"Thank you for understanding, honey." Her mother said as she gently brushed her thumb across his cheek, knowing that it will be another while for her to do it so again.

Aomine, on the other hand, blushed a little with the tiny act of affection her mother did. It's kind of embarrassing, with the thought that he was already a man nearing his 30s. However, it didn't really matter right now. Just a simple affection, though he really isn't that affectionate at all, can actually make his life here in prison a little better.

Their talk continued for a few more minutes. Aomine's mom opened up the topic about the filing of petition for his release, how difficult and long the process would be, and how determined they are to continue on it no matter what. Aomine was grateful of his family's resolution and he completely understood how hard and how long the petition for reinvestigation would be, especially that he has a little background on it before. When the given time for his visitation met its end, the former cop said his goodbye.

"I hope to see Dad on the next visit. Tell him, I said 'hi'." Aomine stood up from his seat while the two ladies followed.

"Yes, of course. I'll tell him." His mother wrapped her hands around him and flashed a smile afterwards.

Momoi quickly had her turn then and did the same. "Bye, Dai-chan. We'll see you again."

After the quick farewells, the same prison guard immediately walked behind Aomine and started escorting him as he went his way out of the visitation area. He was about to open the door – with a little protest on his face for being the one to do it, even though the guard knew that he'll be having a hard time to do it with his injured hand on the line – when it suddenly opened from the other side.

It surprised him when he saw the one who opened it – blond hair, golden eyes, pale skin…

It was Kise.

And if it was Kise, does it mean that the blond had someone to visit him?

The thought immediately sent Aomine's head searching over the number of people inside the area. He was late to realize that it was stupid of him to search. He wouldn't find out anything as he didn't know who he was specifically looking for out of all the visitors in the room. Nonetheless, that didn't irritate him at all for he was more after the idea that someone has visited Kise.

He didn't know if he was just over-reacting with things. In the first place, a prisoner getting a visitor is not that much surprising at all. But the perturbing feeling slowly consuming him right at this moment is what he couldn't seem to fathom and he couldn't seem to ignore.

His gaze quickly went back to the blond and saw him doing the same as him, searching intently among the visitors on each table, looking from left to right and back forth. Until his eyes fixed at one point.

"There's your brother…" Told the prison guard who escorted him, pretty late for it as Kise already spotted the black-haired man with a pair of thick brows and sharp steel blue eyes. "Kasamatsu Yukio."

Aomine didn't hesitate to look back by what he heard, and there at the farthest corner of the room a man of an average build sitting on an empty chair and table. The man looked completely different from Kise and from that, he confirmed himself that the rumor about Kise being in an incestuous relationship remains just a humor. It's not because, Kise doesn't have any romantic feelings for the man, in fact, Aomine didn't have any clue if that was true; but it was because, just by looking at their physical appearances, you can tell that they aren't blood related at all.

Now, the thing is, why did his step-brother visited him after all these years? He remembered Sakurai mentioning about him, never once visiting Kise since he was incarcerated here in Teikou. So why? Was the reason for his sudden visit the same as why Aomine is not feeling better about this?

Aomine, for the second time, faced the blond. And as much as Kise was surprised for his step-brother's sudden visitation, the dark-skinned man was the same when he saw the expression on the pretty blond's face.

Eyes wide, golden orbs dilated, smile wider than sky…

A tender expression of sheer love and pure delight that Aomine has never seen before from the man. It was awe-striking and riveting. Kise never realized that Aomine was completely staring at him for, at that moment, all he could see inside the big room was his beloved brother. And somehow, this made the former police's chest tighten that the thought of wanting to avoid the blond after their little kiss a few days ago slipped past his mind and he badly wanted to catch Kise's attention right at this moment for some unknown reason.

He opened his mouth, not minding the fact that his escort has been waiting for him for a while now, and attempted to call for Kise. However, the blond failed to notice him as he ran across the room, eyes wet with tears of joy, towards the man he had been waiting for after all these years. The man of his dreams.

Notes: Hello!

It has been a while :) Damn, I got my thesis revision going plus exams so I got little time to write so I'm completely sorry for making this chapter shorter than usual. And I will admit that I have no complete confidence when I posted this. It just doesn't feel right for me, sorry. :( And also sorry for the pessimism I'm spreading right now. haha

Expected Update: February 10 (or earlier)