If there was one thing that both Kagami and Aomine unmistakably shared, it was the feeling of victory. They knew what it was to win. The feeling of overthrowing your opponent was nothing new to them. Countless of days in the kwoon rooms with different opponents hoping to find someone who was just a smudge closer to their level.

Anyone could see the determined looks in their eyes as they stared at each other from opposite sides of the combat room.

"This isn't a fight." Riko Aida announced from where she stood alongside with the other spectators, staring at the two with interest. Though she was in fact not a pilot, the woman was a force to be reckoned with in the Kwoon Room. "This is about compatability."

Alongside her stood Satsuki, Kuroko, and Akashi. Though other cadets and workers in the shatterdome main themselves known as they stood around in the main opening to the combat room buzzing with curiosity. A new returnee and already attempting to be Aomine's drift partner? This was something they couldn't miss.

Both parties stayed silent and slowly moved to the center of the mat and everyone in the room seemed to hold their breath in anticipation.

Aomine slowly twisted the wooden stick in a circular motion motion above his head as he took his first step closer towards the redhead and brought it down in front of him in a stance with his legs bent slightly, a predator ready to spring for its prey. Kagami followed soon after, with his dominant leg in front of the other and his stick swung from behind him as he switched hands before holding it defensively towards the other.

There was a brief moment of stillness in the two of them before the darker male moved with an alarming speed, swiping his leg underneath the other and pointing the tip of his stick towards his chest.

"One - zero." He said with a bored look in his eyes because he honestly didn't expect anything less. Though he held out a hand for the other to grab on.

Kagami simply slapped away the hand and stood up himself. He puffed air through his nose in annoyance as he glared at the other.

Someone's getting fired up. Aomine lip curled at the side in a small smirk as he watched Kagami get into his previous stance. Did I ruffle your fur, Taiga?

As if the other heard his words he swung his stick and Aomine blocked it effortlessly. The sounds of wood smacking against each other filled the room as they both attacked each other relentlessly. But during a brief moment of thinking Kagami found his chance.

He ducked underneath a swipe and twisted his body as he stood back up, then in a flash of movements Aomine was tossed over his shoulder and dark red eyes glared down at him.

They never got to feel what it was like to find an equal. Someone who could block their attacks effortlessly and attack with the same force as their own.

"One - one." His grip tightened visibly on his own weapon and he pulled it away to step back. "Don't underestimate your opponent. I'd be careful if I were you, Aho."

Aomine narrowed his eyes at the insult and stood up to retaliate with another attack when Akashi interrupted with a voice that demanded respect. "I've seen enough."

"But they've both only gotten to one point?." Riko said confused.

Akashi turned and looked at her with his calculating mismatched eyes. "And when has an opponent of Aomine's ever gotten that far?"

Satsuki decides to pipe in. "Never. Dai-chan knocks them off their feet before they even get the chance to start."

When Kuroko turns to face him Kagami finds himself freezing, because why is the creepy baby-faced male looking at him like he's the most interesting thing he's ever seen? The expression made him uncomfortable.

"It appears we've found ourselves a new set of pilots."

Kagami looks constipated when the sentence left the General's mouth. As much as another part of him felt pride for finally being announced to be an actual pilot the other side wept as memories of a man with black hair with a mole underneath his eye flooded his head.

When Kagami is told to pack his bags because he'd be moving in with Aomine he looks at Satsuki and Kuroko with an expression of disdain.

"Dai-chan may come off as rude and ignorant." She continues helping him pack his things, completely ignoring his sarcastic snort; because that was the understatement of the year. "But that's just a masquerade mask hiding what's underneath."

He tries to take her words into consideration, but when he opens the door to his new quarters and his eyes instantly lock on a stack of magazines at the foot of the bed on the left with an underdressed woman as the cover he pinches the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

Aomine wasn't in the room, but from the sounds of running water coming from the door that connected to the room he must've been in the bathroom. Kagami avoided the mess of clothes and things on the floor, placing his bags on the empty bed on the right side of the room. He had begun to unpack when he heard a door open.

"Oh its you." Aomine said boredly as he dried his hair with a towel.

Kagami briefly glanced over his shoulder but didn't say anything, continuing to unpack his things.

The other man slipped off his towel to reveal a pair of black briefs and pulled on a pair of sweats before he made his way towards him. "They're going to be sticking us in a simulator later today, they tell you about that?"

Kagami froze, because no they hadn't told him that.

The action didn't go unnoticed. "Well yeah they're sticking us in one of the pods for a test drift before we get shoved into a jaeger."

The moment you start the drift you're vulnerable. Not to the kaiju, but to the person standing next to you decked out in the same armour you're wearing.

Because you relive every single painful memory that you wish you could just lock up in the darkest place of your mind, only you can see them. But when you drift, that person is there alongside you. Watching everything you endured during your lifetime. From then on your armour is deemed useless. Because that person standing next to you knows everything.

And when everything you've kept to yourself, everything that slowly killed you inside is shown to someone else, you're vulnerable; completely exposed because they now know everything.

Kagami watched his fifteen year old self running through the deserted city. Everyone had already fled and taken refuge somewhere safe while the small teen was left with his father at his side, running for their lives from the sounds of a beast not far behind.

A loud roar erupted from behind them and Kagami saw himself freeze in fear from how close it came. His father yelled and grabbed his arm, dragging him into a narrow alleyway in hopes of losing the alien's sights. Kagami felt his own body tense up because he knew, he just knew what was happening next.

In an act of slow motion the two in the alley saw the beast's radioactive colored blue eye staring into the narrow walkway and roared furiously before ramming it's head into the crevice and slamming it's feet against the ground. The ground shook underneath it's weight and debris' fell from the victim buildings.

The two attempted to dodge whatever came their way but they weren't lucky enough.

"Don't chase the rabbit Kagami." Satsuki muttered into her hands as she sat in the control room, watching the stat numbers flare to life in anything but a good way. "C'mon Kagami."

But Kagami couldn't hear her from where she was and where he was, too immersed in a memory of something that happened years ago. Because replaying it over and over was one thing but living it was another.

Kagami's father was struck by one of the larger debris and his younger self cried out, reaching out as if to help the man but he wasn't fast enough to react.

There was a loud bang from where the monster was standing followed by an array of blinding lights before he could see clearly. A large mechanical figure stood, it bent down on one leg and from the side he saw two beings climb out of it, and approach the younger boy carefully.

"Tatsuya." He whispered brokenly, his chest aching as he saw the familiar face from behind his mask. "Alex."

There was a flurry of flashes and the memory changed rapidly until another caught his eye and made the ache in his chest transition to a burn.

The day Himuro Tatsuya and Alex Garcia died.

"Should we pull the plug sir?" Midorima asked with a calculated look on his face as he glanced at the general with a raised eyebrow.

The man simply raised a hand to silence him as he watched the exchange with silent interest.

It was like it just happened yesterday. The air in the shatterdome was silent and everyone stood tensely as a man approached a small redhead that stood along the crowd in anticipation. The boy recognized the man instantly, but appeared confused when he realized two missing people.

"Where are Tatsuya and Alex?" He asked quietly as he looked at him.

The man bent down and placed a hand on the teenager's head. "I'm sorry kid."

The kid remained confused until it finally clicked and his eyes filled to the brim with a never ending flow of tears. "You're lying!" He shouted, backing up as if the man had struck him. "They aren't dead! They can't be! I can't lose them too!"

A tear slipped down the redhead's cheek underneath his mask.

"Kagami you have to listen to me." Aomine stepped up from the shadows of where he was watching towards the other male, laying a hand on his shoulder. "It isn't real. It's just a memory."

When the man didn't answer he shouted. "Kagami it's all in your head! It isn't real!"

His body tensed and his hands that were clenched into fists uncurled and relaxed. His eyes then flashed open, taking in their surroundings. "Aomine?" He whispered, but his body shut down before he could say anything else.

"Gave us quite the scare." A soft tap on his cheek nudged him awake and Kagami forced his eyes to the bright lights. They took in his surroundings and he confirmed to himself that he was indeed in the infirmary.

"Welcome to the land of the living Bakagami, enjoy your stay." A deep smooth voice flooded his ears and the man turned his head to glare at Aomine from where he sat next to Kuroko in the chairs along the wall.

Kagami rolled his eyes and placed an arm over his head with a groan. "It's too freaking bright."

"Well," the man drawled. "if you hadn't knocked yourself out you wouldn't be in her, obviously."

Aomine better be lucky Kagami was actually very comfortable where he was lying or he would've gotten a face full of fist. That and he was too sluggish to move. He'd been drugged up on meds and was still trying to regain full control over his own limbs; he wasn't having much luck attempting that.

"Your drift was flawless at first." Satsuki said from her spot on the wall, making herself known. "But since you fell out of line while you chased the rabbit there was a flaw. But the general thinks if we'd put you in an actual jaeger your drift would be absolute."

"I don't know whether to be happy about that or not right now." Kagami grunted. "I feel like hell.."

"Tomorrow we'll be showing you your jaeger, the one you'll be piloting. And maybe you'll get to drift in it depending on the general's words - we're still waiting for confirmation."

The redhead raised an eyebrow at the sudden announcement. "Sounds to me that you already had this planned out."

Kuroko couldn't help the small quirk of his lips as he put himself in the conversation. "We've been waiting for you for a long time Kagami-kun."

The two bid their goodbyes then, having to go back to their work which left Kagami and Aomine alone in the small room. There was a brief uncomfortable silence before Kagami broke it with a tired sigh.

"You saw it." He muttered.

Aomine looked at him with a serious expression as he nods at him and for once all traces of a smirk was gone from his face. "I saw everything."

Kagami let his arm drop to his chest and stared up at the blank ceiling for a moment. "They were my guardians after the attack when I was thirteen." He started off, his voice shaky. "They took me in when I had nothing left. They saved my life."

The navy haired man could only watch in respective silence with his hands locked in his lap.

"Two years later they died in a fight against a category four. The first one ever to hit the waters of California."

"Is that the reason for the ring around your neck?"

The redhead nodded. "Though Tatsuya was my guardian he didn't want me to call him dad." he smiled. "said that title was reserved for my old man, though he rest in peace Tatsuya refused to be called that and said he was my older brother instead. He had a matching ring of his own on a chain too."

"And the woman?"

"Alex was his co-pilot;she was like a mom to me. She also is the one who taught me how to play basketball since she used to be a pro player before the kaiju started their attack."

Aomine watched the other carefully and dragged his seat closer. "I know."

Kagami scowled. "Then why'd you make me explain Ahomine?"

Aomine shrugged with a sheepish grin. "My mom used to say talking about things put the soul at ease, and I saw how your shoulders tensed when your saw your memories."

"I always wanted to fight the world's biggest demons after that though. I just had to battle with my own first."

"Do you think you've won now that you've seen the scars of the aftermath?"

Kagami smiled a little and gave a slow nod. "Yeah I think I have."

Kagami is discharged from the infirmary within the hour and he is off to his own quarters relieved from the over-sanitized room that made him high from the too-clean smell. His stomach grumbled in complaint since he hadn't eaten dinner yet but he didn't feel like going all the way to the cafeteria. His body was still mostly numb and Aomine literally had to drag his ass to their quarters.

He ignores the whale noises coming from his stomach and flops onto his bed with a groan, not bothering to change his clothes or kick off his boots. "I hate everything." He mutters into his pillow.

"Go drown in your self-pity somewhere else, I am looking at Horikita Mai and I don't need you ruining the mood with you wallowing." Aomine says from his side of the room.

It takes a moment for the name to click in Kagami's brain and suddenly he is up and moving from his bed. He marches up to Aomine who is on his bed looking at a specific magazine like he's staring at furniture rather than naked women, and snatches the magazine from his hands ignoring the cry or complaint.

"The hell you doing bakagami?" He shouts dolphin diving for the magazine but Kagami shifts his body out the way which ends up with Aomine on the floor and looking up at him with a glare.

"What are you a teenager with newly-discovered hormones? Don't be looking at this crap in here, I don't need you masturbating while I'm in the room." Kagami gives him a look very similar to the one Satsuki gave him when she found such magazines for the first time when they were in high school.

When Kagami grabs the stack of magazines and puts them in one of the cupboards Aomine only sits indian style on the floor with his arm crossed, very much looking like a pouting child. "Oh get over it you pervert."

"I don't like you."

"I don't recall asking if you did or not."

Aomine mutters a few things under his breath that Kagami can't quite catch but before he knows it he's on his ass on the floor with tanned arms around his neck in a headlock blocking his oxygen. He was caught off guard so he reacts a few moments late but Kagami raises his arms and wraps them around his offender's torso, pulling him above his head to slam him against the floor with a laugh.

They were too immersed in tackling each other to notice the pink haired woman standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips and an amused smile playing on her lips. "Men." she muttered, stepping inside.

At the sound of her footsteps both heads snapped in her direction bodies tense before they relaxed.

"General said the drift is a go tomorrow, decided to pop in and let you two know." She said with a raised eyebrow as she eyed them, and they immediately pulled back from each other like they were burned. She restrained herself from laughing out loud but couldn't help the quiet snicker that escaped.

"We should be fine tomorrow then. As long as Ahomine doesn't mess up the drift." Kagami grins like he's won himself himself some trophy.

Aomine laughs. He laughs and he grins. "I don't think I'm the one we should be worrying about Bakagami."

Last time I saw Aomine like that was when we were still kids. Satsuki thinks to herself, and she forces herself not to cry right then and there. Because they found him, they found Aomine's person.