Chapter 4: Naoki-san is fine

Walter: I don't know. Just...doesn't it seem like...something's missing?

Gretchen: What about the soul?

Walter: The soul? There's nothing but chemistry here.

-Gretchen Schwartz and Walter White, Breaking Bad

"What took you so long?" It was her brother, Shoutaro, staring at her while watching TV with a remote in hand. "It was nothing."

"Don't it was nothing me. I just saw you get out of a police car and I came home with my papers all over the dining room."

She sighed. "It was just a small misunderstanding."

"Are you sure no one got in? Tried to hurt you or—"

Naoki was somewhat glad that his little brother was concerned, but this was hardly something she wanted him to know.

"Eh, it was absolutely nothing. I fell and slipped on your messy papers and someone thought I was being attacked." She hadn't really forgotten when it had become easier for her. Lying seemed second nature to her or maybe it was actually her first nature. Maybe she was lying to herself to make her feel a bit better.

She shook her head.

It didn't.

"Huh? I left my papers on the dining room floor? Not even the dining table?" He was calling her bluff and she knew it. Luckily, Naoki knew the art of lying well enough to not give up.

One of the rules was when caught, never admit defeat after all.

"The wind probably blew it 'cause you're always leaving the dining window open. Now look at what happened to your onee-san." She didn't feel particularly bad about blaming him for the nonexistent. Maybe the guilt would come in later and keep her awake like most nights.

"Onee-san, I'm so sorry." He whined. It was really wrong of her to blame him, but if she changed her story he might tell the neighbour and things would get complicated.

"Meh, just keep your things organized, Shou."

Her eyes were wide open, but she wasn't awake enough to pay attention. She had not slept, not much anyway.

Grey eyes haunted her.

She was walking to work looking dishevelled and sleep-deprived. The door opened. She should have been scared out of her wits. The door was simply wooden and wasn't electrically powered nor was there someone from the other side coming out.

But she was so sleepy and troubled that the trivial trouble seemed to elude her. "Tsukino-san, that's mean. I know I'm invisible, but that's really mean."

"Uh! Kuroko, you really scared me."

"Good morning to you too, Tsukino-san." The blue-eyed guy replied blandly.

"Naoki is fine." It was robotic and slightly forced, so Kuroko was a little interested.

"Naoki-san," He said testing her. "Yeah?" His expression was still blank, but he knew something was wrong. Kuroko had never called her by her first name and if he did, he expected a more… hearty response.

"Does this have anything to do with the guy yesterday?" She was rubbing her temples and bags were forming underneath her eyes.

"Yesterday?"

"Hai, Naoki-san seems to be unrested since she had met with that grey-haired guy. Is Naoki-san alright?" He asked rather straightforwardly.

She dismissed it. "Uh, yeah, Naoki-san is fine. Well, I'll be going to my office now."

Kuroko was left in silence.

She was most definitely not fine. After all, he had spoken to her fully in third person and she did not even notice. What on earth was on Naoki-san's mind?

He was back.

She wanted to glare, so she did. It felt so good to finally stop holding back. "What are you doing here?"

The grey haired bastard smiled. "Well, since our thing yesterday was cut short, I was thinking we could continue at where we left off."

Kuroko popped out of nowhere and now two people were surprised.

"What the fu—"

"Please avoid from cursing. This is a child friendly environment."

"Oi, You little—"

Naoki jabbed his chest with her elbow. "Ow!"

"May I ask what you are doing here and your relation with Naoki-san?" He inquired directly, staring blankly at the other guy. Said other guy was getting pissed at his indifference and sudden medalling.

"He's no one. Just an old acquaintance." She cut him off before he said something stupid and compromising. "We'll be going now, Kuroko-san. See you tomorrow."

As they walked together, Kuroko couldn't help that something was very wrong. Had he just thrown a lamb to the lions?

Right now to would be wise to believe in Naoki-san.

After all, the difference between her and the lamb was that she was not so helpless. It would be wiser to observe, no matter how much his instincts screamed danger at him.

The next day was alarming for Kuroko.

"Naoki-san, how was—"

He stopped. How hadn't he noticed it before? There was definitely something wrong. Her eyes that were always blazing were slowly diming.

She hadn't even noticed him and it was as if she went through him.

His eyes were wide and after the day had ended and Naoki-san had left with that guy again, Kuroko did what he could only do. He took his phone and dialled. His hand was shaking, but it didn't matter. He had to make this call.

"Aomine-kun, I would like to ask a favour from you."

Author's note:

Thank you to everyone who reads this! A special shout out to Pariisa, Savage Kill and Xxdreamergirl95xX.

To Pariisa, thank you so much! It means a lot to mean that you're incredibly happy about my writing and calling it perfect makes me want to blush like a little school girl / I have spent a lot of time thinking about police!Aomine and really, I have seen a lot of artworks and stories of Aomine and Kagamin and Kuroko, but I've always been plagued with the idea of him and an original character. The drama, the angst, the feels

To Savage Kill, that is absolutely correct! Her past comes to haunt her and there are a few more hints on who this person from the past is. I really want to emphasize how Naoki's past lies with her present and that I want to build on the idea that she hasn't actually been living, so much as she is running away. Her past lies in two things: her relationship with Aomine and with grey eyes.

To Xxdreamergirl95xX, thank you, thank you, thank you! You're the first to review the story and I am absolutely thrilled that you're still sticking around to read. Also, wow, thank you for your constant encouragement.

Alright, time to put on what you can guess. My dear readers, there are a few hints on who the person is and he is an actual character from Kurobasu. There, I said it. I can't get any clearer than that :) Another thing you can guess is the meaning of Naoki's name. Yes, her name does bare meaning and what significance do you think her name bears in the story?

Lastly, the Breaking Bad quote, wow. Just wow. I didn't expect to use it so early in the story. I was supposed to put it in the later chapters, but I just thought it fit. Anyone who's still crying over Breaking Bad's ending, please PM me. I still replay the ending in my head every time anyone mentions the words Breaking Bad.