"Chinatsu!"

"Okay, I'm ready!"

Chinatsu closed the bedroom door behind her, holding her shoes in her hand as she met with Aomine at the front door. Chinatsu put on her heels and Aomine raised an eyebrow. "You're wearing heels?" he asked. "You're wearing high heels to a basketball tournament?"

"It's the opening ceremony. I'm there as a celebrity and your girlfriend," Chinatsu said, checking herself in the mirror near the door. "Okay, come on, let's go. We're going to be late."

The couple made their way to the gym and entered the court. Aomine parted ways with Chinatsu to meet up with his team while Chinatsu went to sit in the VIP area where Haruka was already. "Hello, Chinatsu-san," Haruka smiled as her friend sat down. "You're here to support Ao, aren't you?"

Chinatsu nodded in reply. "And who are you here in support of?"

"St Paul's Orphanage." Chinatsu frowned in confusion and Haruka giggled. "The orphanage I work for has been chosen by a team to raise funds for," she explained. "I'm here as a representative of the orphanage. I heard that Ao chose your charity for the homeless."

"That's also why I'm here but it's 90% because of Daiki."

"Ao is so lucky to have you as his girlfriend," Haruka smiled. "I'm so happy for him. Thank you for taking care of him."

"Matsuoka-san, Hamasaki-san, can you please come with me? The opening ceremony is about to start."

Chinatsu frowned but Haruka stood up, taking her hand. "They want us to walk out with the team that's supporting our charity. I was only told this when I arrived," she whispered to Chinatsu as they followed the staff, going to the changing rooms.

They stopped outside a room and Haruka was told to wait outside while Chinatsu was to follow the staff, going to a different room. A few minutes walk after, they arrived outside another room and the staff knocked on the door while Chinatsu waited outside. The door opened and Aomine smiled, seeing Chinatsu. He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the room.

"Daiki?" Chinatsu asked. "Don't we have to go soon?"

"Yeah but I have something to ask you first," Aomine said. "And my team has agreed to witness this for us."

"Just hurry it up, Aomine, we don't have a lot of time," Wakamatsu said.

Aomine glared at Wakamatsu and calmed himself, looking at Chinatsu. He cleared his throat and snapped his fingers at Sakurai who quickly presented him with a small velvet box. Aomine took the box and opened it, revealing the ring inside. "Hamasaki Chinatsu, will you marry me?"

Chinatsu stared at him, dumbfounded as she looked down at the ring. Aomine waited patiently for her answer while his team members stared at Chinatsu, hoping for Aomine's sake that Chinatsu would say yes. "Shouldn't you be on your knee when you ask?" That was Chinatsu's answer.

Without hesitation, Wakamatsu kicked behind Aomine's knee, making him fall onto his knee. "Ask again and hurry up with it!"

Aomine glared once more at Wakamatsu but focused on the matters on hand. "Hamasaki Chinatsu, will you marry me?"

~.~

"Oh, Matsuoka-san!" Kotaro grinned. "What are you doing here? Cheering for us? We're not playing today, we're only here for the opening ceremony."

"I know," Haruka said. "I'm here for the opening ceremony too. The organisation wanted the representative of the charity that you're raising funds for to walk out with you which is why I'm here."

"Really?! Uwah! But...we usually walk out in a single file, don't we? Do you walk in front of us or with one of us? If it's with one of us, who would it be with?"

"You have a lot of questions," Reo frowned at Kotaro. "Does it matter who she walks out with?"

"Of course it does!" Kotaro gasped. "I wonder who looks better with Matsuoka-san..."

"Actually, I'll walk in front of you," Haruka said. "I would feel more comfortable with that."

Although he was silent, the disappointment on Akashi's face was apparent. However, he respected Haruka's choice and accepted it, letting her walk in front of the team as they were getting ready for the opening ceremony.

As they were walking, Haruka slipped and nearly fell in her six inches heels before Akashi caught her with his quick reflex. Instead of letting her go, Akashi placed her arm on his and escorted her out instead. "If you can't walk in those, won't it be better not to wear them?" he asked as they were waiting by the side for Rakuzan to be announced.

"What do you know about shoes?" Haruka muttered, gripping onto Akashi's arm tightly. Even though her heels were six inches tall, she was still shorter than Akashi which somehow made Haruka feel really shy and small next to him.

"I know that shoes are made so that we can walk comfortably, not fall over."

"These are Prada," Haruka stated. "And did you not know that high heels are invented so men can have an excuse to have a woman cling onto them?"

Akashi smirked a little just as Rakuzan was announced and they walked out together, naturally looking like a couple. As they stood on the court with other teams, Haruka slowly slipped her arm away from Akashi's, just standing next to him instead.

"Too."

Haruka looked to the entrance to the court and saw Chinatsu being escorted by Aomine as his team came out and stood next to Rakuzan. Chinatsu smiled at Haruka and freed her hand from Aomine's, showing her hand to Haruka and pointed to the ring on her finger. Haruka gasped and gripped Akashi's arm suddenly. "Yes?" Akashi frowned.

"Ao proposed..."

"Huh?"

"Chinatsu-san and Ao are going to get married."

~.~

After the opening ceremony, the five that formed the Generation of Miracles had a mini reunion since none of them had a match that day. Chinatsu and Haruka tagged along although the two girls were too immersed in their own world to bother with the men. Kise watched the two girls, frowning slightly. "They seem a little too happy today," he said. "Shouldn't we be the excited ones?"

"There's a reason behind that," Aomine smirked, glancing over to Chinatsu.

"Let me see! Let me see!" Haruka gasped, staring at the ring on Chinatsu's finger. After much persuasion, Chinatsu finally took the ring off and handed it to Haruka who admired it. "Uwah...who would think that Ao knows how to buy a ring..." she whispered.

Akashi watched Haruka staring at the ring and couldn't help but feel that even though she was happy for her friends, she was somehow jealous of Chinatsu. "It's more amazing that he knows my ring size," Chinatsu said, taking the ring back and placed it on. "But he did it so unromantically...now that I think about it, I shouldn't have said yes."

"Tell me everything!" Haruka said, a little too excitedly.

"He proposed in the changing room. He didn't even go on his knee until Wakamatsu-san made him. But I've never seen Daiki putting so much effort into something before. You can tell that he put a lot of thinking into it even though it was not romantic."

"But he still proposed," Haruka mumbled, staring at the ring once more.

Chinatsu looked at her, noticing Haruka's mood and smiled a little. "I'm sure Akashi-kun would put even more effort into thinking up a more romantic proposal. Are you guys back together? You guys looked really good walking out during the opening ceremony. I was jealous that you looked more like a couple than Daiki and I did."

"We're not back together," Haruka stated. "And even if we were, it's Akashi we're talking, he won't be any more romantic than Ao."

Chinatsu sighed softly and stroked Haruka's hair gently. "Do you still like him?" she whispered to Haruka. "I know you had a messy break up but I also know that you never had another boyfriend for six years now. Akashi-kun is the only one for you, isn't he?"

In the end, Chinatsu never got an answer out of Haruka. All the way home, she was unsettled, fidgeting in her seat as Aomine drove home. "You okay?" Aomine asked. "You're not acting like someone who was just proposed to today. You look like you're thinking of something. You're not rejecting me, are you?"

"Of course not!" Chinatsu said, looking down at her ring and smiled a little. She then went back to frowning, going back to her deep thinking. "Daiki...what do you think about Haruka's feeling for Akashi-kun?" she asked. "I mean...she acts strange whenever he's mentioned and she never had another boyfriend for six years. Six years, Daiki! We've been together for five years and that's a long time."

"Looks like you're not the only one who noticed," Aomine said, sighing softly. "Ruka-hime is different now. I'm not even sure I know what she's thinking about anymore... As for whether or not she still has feelings for Akashi...I guess only Ruka-hime will know."

"I hope they can get back together," Chinatsu sighed. "Actually...no, I don't want her to go back with him. Akashi-kun was so mean to her. Haruka deserves way better."

"You seem to know what happened to them. Mind telling me?"

Chinatsu looked at Aomine and squinted her eyes at him. "You're her best friend and you don't know what happened?" she asked. "I was there when it all happened. Since you're her best friend and my fiancé, I guess I can tell you."

~Six Years Ago~

"Please, Haruka, please?" Chinatsu pouted, following Haruka around.

Haruka sighed and turned, going the other way to try and shake Chinatsu off but her friend was following her around closely. "I said no, Chinatsu-san," Haruka said. "It was hard for me to get these tickets. I'm not going to give them away," Haruka smiled brightly to herself. "So I'm sorry, Chinatsu-san, I can't give them to you."

"But you have two! Give me one and I can go with you! Please, Haruka? Please? This is a once in a lifetime thing!"

"It's a festival, Chinatsu-san," Haruka said. "The only thing special is the concert they're having at the end."

"It's the concert I want to go to!" Chinatsu whined. "Haruka! Please? Who are you going with anyway?"

Haruka smiled and her cheeks went bright red. "Aka-chan."

"Your stoic boyfriend who loves basketball more than you?" Chinatsu frowned. "Have you asked him already? Is he going with you?"

"I'm going to ask him today," Haruka smiled. "The festival is on my birthday, I'm sure Aka-chan wouldn't say no to me."

Chinatsu pouted and watched as Haruka went to the gym where the basketball club was having their practice. None of the Generation of Miracles were present except Akashi and Haruka happily skipped over to him. "What are you doing here, Haruka? Practice isn't over yet."

"I know," Haruka said and showed him the tickets to the festival, grinning. "Look what I have! The festival is next weekend and I really wan-"

"I don't have time," Akashi said coldly.

Haruka stared at him silently and bit her bottom lip. "Aka-chan...we haven't been on a date for a while. And that day is-"

"I don't care what that day is, I'm not free. You're not a child, Haruka. It's just a festival, don't whine about it."

"Aka-chan! You're not listening to me! It's not just a festival! I just want Aka-chan to-"

"You're disrupting our practice, Haruka. I've already said no so please leave now," Akashi said. "I won't forgive anyone who stands in the way of our success. I'm hoping that you understand what I mean by that. Just because you're my girlfriend doesn't mean that you're exempt from my rules either."

"Aka-"

Akashi's hand collided with Haruka's cheek, cutting her off. Haruka was stunned and just stood on the spot. Chinatsu, who saw everything from outside, ran over to Haruka and held her in her arms, glaring at Akashi. Chinatsu slapped Akashi back who immediately glared at him. Akashi raised his hand to retaliate but caught sight of Haruka crying.

"You bastard! Do you know how much Haruka was looking forward to this? It's her birthday, you jerk! Her birthday! It's just one day she's asking from you! Come on, Haruka, let's go," Chinatsu said, taking Haruka's hand and pulling her friend along.

Haruka resisted, looking up and wiped her tears. "Aka-chan..." she whispered, looking him in the eyes but Akashi did not soften. "Aka-chan..."

Eventually, Akashi looked away, letting Chinatsu take Haruka away without a word.

~Presently~

"Even after that, Haruka still didn't give up. She went to the festival hoping that Akashi-kun will show up," Chinatsu sighed. "She left him a lot of messages but he never replied to any of them. The slap hurt her but her heart hurt even more. They never really said it but I guess they both knew that the relationship ended right after Akashi-kun slapped Haruka."

"Akashi slapped Ruka-hime?" Aomine frowned. "No wonder she had a 360 degree change in her personality..."

"I don't care what you do but your best man better not be Akashi-kun because Haruka will definitely be my maid-of-honour," Chinatsu smiled. "Find someone better than Akashi-kun for her, okay?"

"Anything for my princesses."