"What's got you smiling like a creeper now?"

"Who you calling a creeper, you brat?"

"I don't see any other creepers around but you."

"Come here, I think you need to be taught some respect."

Aomine lunged forward and scooped her up into his tanned arms. The blonde girl squeaked in surprise.

"How should I punish you?" he smiled mischievously.

"I thought you were going to teach me!"

"Haaah, same thing," he said lazily.

"Ugh, you're so dumb. Let me down, you Ahomine. I'm cold up here. "

He raised an eyebrow, "You're only what, six feet higher up. How the heck are you any colder than before?" However, he did as she commanded anyways, "Hurry and start warming up. We've got a big game today."

She gave him "the look." He's seen it enough to recognize it by now. When she stared at him like that, she was thinking that she didn't need him to state the obvious. This made him smirk. What a cheeky brat.

Crossing her arms, she stared up at him with puffy cheeks.

Glancing back he asked, "What do you want?"

"I can't play basketball if my hair isn't tied up."

"Then tie it."

The tiny blonde pouted even more, "I can't. Do it for me."

"Geez, what a pain. Don't you usually have your hair already in a pony-tail?"

She glared at him, "That's because papa always did it! But, papa had to go early today so he couldn't do it today, remember?"

Oh yeah. He remembered it clear as day. After a long night, the two men had finally fallen asleep. Shortly after though, Kise's cell phone had awoken them before dawn even broke. Apparently, a top model had just returned to Japan and the blonde's company had wanted to jam in a photo shoot somewhere across the country. So, Kise was rushed out the door, half apologizing and half telling the other man to take care of their baby girl. He wouldn't be back until late that night.

That didn't upset Aomine though, because last night was better than he had ever imagined. Thinking back to Kise's blushing face, the pro felt his heart pound. He could almost relive the moment if he just closed his eyes. The model's pale, soft yet firm body against his… the moonlight reflected in the beads of Kise's sweat and the sound of his sweet voice moaning his name – the blue-haired man could feel the familiar ache and warmth in his lower section return.

"Ew, you're smiling creepily again."

Replacing her father's silky voice was the sound of Taki's own high-pitched voice, which brought Aomine back into reality. Embarrassed, he pinched her cheeks.

"Is that how you talk to someone you want a favour from," he growled.

"Owowow, you ganguro! That hurts!"

Letting go, he smirked, "Where are your manners? Didn't your papa teach you better? Haaah, whatever happened to being respectful to your elders."

"I have manners," she shouted in defense, "Taki is a good girl."

"I don't see them," he grinned wolfishly.

Flustered, she lowered her head and started to fidget. A couple of minutes passed and she looked up several times. Aomine didn't say anything though. This was an opportunity to tease her and he wasn't going to let it pass.

"…lease…"

"What was that?" he shouted loudly, cupping one ear with his hand.

He watched with devilish amusement as her ears reddened.

"Please help me tie my hair," she whispered, barely audible.

"Who are you asking?"

This awarded him a snarl and menacing look, which made him laugh.

"Aomine-sensei."

"Yeah? That's my name. What do you want?"

He was being mean. He knew it. She knew it. Her face turned several shades of red and the little girl clenched her fists together. With a burning fire in her eyes, she inhaled deeply and yelled, "Please help me tie my hair, Ahomine-sensei!"

The whole gym felt silent and turned their eyes onto the scene. Taki was fuming, and ignored their curious stares. Aomine – he could barely contain his mirth.

Hatefully, he chided her in his best "responsible" adult voice, "Of course I will. You need to learn to use your indoor voice though, Taki. Look, you're disturbing practice."

Annoyed, she stomped towards him and slumped down in front of him. Following suite, the man did the same.

"You suck," she hissed.

"What was that?"

"Nothing! I said nothing!"

The blonde girl turned her head away from him and puffed her cheeks out.

He collapsed, holding his abdomen and writhing on the floor.

"Stop laughing at me!" she whined, "Hurry up and make my hair all up and pretty and puffy!"

"Yeah, yeah," he breathed out, in between chuckles. Wiping the tears from his eyes, the pro tried to take deep breaths and calm down, but his hands were still shaking as he reached for the girl's hair.

With his long fingers, he started to gather Taki's hair in one hand. Despite all his bravado earlier… there was just one problem which he realized now – he's never tied a girl's hair before.

Helpless, he clumsily fumbled with the yellow stands he held. Occasionally, he heard the child let out yelps of pain and he had to remind himself to be gentle. After several minutes of clueless, futile attempts, he finally was able to somehow tie it into… something.

"Uh… done..." he murmured.

"It feels funny," Taki complained.

"It looks terrible," a lower voice said dryly.

"Gah! Tetsu. When did you get here?!"

Blank eyes looked down at Aomine, and the owner of said eyes shook his head disappointingly at the man, "I've been here for a while now. I watched your entire, sad attempt at doing Taki-san's hair."

"Hey, in my defense, I think it looks pretty damn good."

"Hair is sticking out everywhere, the pony-tail is sideways, the hair band is barely on – frankly, it looks like she just survived being thrown into a tornado."

Meekly, Aomine shrugged, "That's good, right? I mean, at least she came out of the tornado alive."

Kuroko sighed in resignation and instead kneeled down, gesturing for Taki to come to him. Happily, she got up and with light steps, she walked towards the smaller man. With skillful movements, the blue-eyed teacher undid the mess that resembled a bird-nest and turned it into a simple, elegant high pony-tail.

"There you go, Taki-san," he said thoughtfully.

The girl turned around and beamed at him, "Thank you, Tetsu-kun!"

Sulking, Aomine shouted out, "Where's my thanks?"

"Thank you for being so useless!" he little blonde spat.

"What? You little – ugh! Forget it. Start warming up you brat! 100 laps around the gym!" he barked.

"Yeah, yeah, you meanie demon coach!" she stuck out her tongue at him, but turned to Kuroko before leaving, "Good luck Tetsu-kun~ Your team is going to need it!"

The man looked down at her with warm eyes, "Good luck, Taki-san," and ruffled her hair.

With that, the two men watched her skip away towards her teammates who were already diligently stretching. Sighing contently, Aomine couldn't keep the smile off his face. Her enthusiasm was contagious.

"Hey, Tetsu," the tanned man opened his mouth to speak, "I hate to say this but – huh? Why are you touching yourself?"

Kuroko glared at him, "Could you not put it that way?"

Aomine shrugged.

Biting his lips, the shorter man returned to his own thoughts, as his hand rested on his forehead. Occasionally, he'd look down to his other hand. The pro was starting to get impatient and growled, "Are you going to tell me what you're doing or are you just going to continue this little show?"

Kuroko didn't flinch at all. Calmly, he shook his head.

"No," he murmured, "It must have been my imagination."

"Haa?"

"It's nothing, Aomine-kun. Anyways, are you planning on telling me what happened with Kise-kun last night?"

"What about last night?" the pro tried to feign ignorance.

"…." Blue eyes eyed him up and down, "Forget I ever asked. Last thing I want is to explain to the kids why Ahomine-sensei's weewee is up."

"?!"

Automatically, his hands went straight towards his pants.

"I was joking. But, it seems you two had fun last night."

Aomine raised his fist jokingly at his friend, "Shut up, Tetsu."

"Ooh, Aomine-kun is acting like an embarrassed teen girl, how cute."

"Hey, this isn't easy! Why don't you talk about you and Akashi?"

"Well, if you insist."

"Huh? Wait, no Tetsu – "

"Yesterday, Akashi-kun and I went to a hotel. I didn't even know it, but he really wanted me. So in the elevator he started to kiss me and then he reached for my zipper and –"

Aomine blurted out, "I'm sorry I asked."

"What? Didn't you want to know about our sex life? Akashi-kun is really good with his tongue."

"I swear to god, stop. Don't put these disturbing images into my head."

Kuroko laughed quietly to himself as he watched his best friend cover his face and shiver. It was nice to see life in those azure eyes again. A month ago, he never could have imagined that the tanned man could make these expressions ever again. He remembered the look on Aomine's face as the door closed, and how hopeless the situation seemed. But now it was so different. The three of them really looked like a family.

"Ah."

His exclamation made the other man look up from his hands.

"Have you decided when to tell her?"

"Tell who… oh… about that…"

Kuroko could see the nervousness flit into the usually intimidating eyes. Clenching his teeth, Aomine slumped down onto the floor and sat down.

"I don't know. It's not exactly an easy topic to bring up."

"Your time is almost up though," he said, sitting down next to the man.

"Yeah, I know," the pro began to scratch his chin, deep in thought, "but it's not like I can just walk up to her and be like, 'Yeah, sup kid. I'm actually your dad. I didn't know you were born so I missed out on five years of you life but now that I'm back, it's all good."

"Might also want to mention that you threatened to take her away from everything she's ever known."

"Right," he said, "That'd absolutely help my case. Thanks. Why don't I just go ahead and wear a sign that says El Creepo on it, since she'll see me as one anyways."

Ignoring the sarcasm, Kuroko leaned his body on the other's back, "The longer you put this off, the harder it will be to come clean. At least now she's not going crazy with hormones."

"Right. Satsuki used to turn bat-shit crazy all the time during middle school and high school. She used to hit me every time she saw my face."

"You deserved it most of the time," he snorted, "Besides, being your daughter, Taki-san will probably burn cities down, not just hit you."

"Are you trying to say something about me?"

"Let's just say that I thank god every day that you weren't born a girl."

Aomine opened his mouth but closed it when he couldn't think of anything to say. Instead, he glanced at the clock. The hour hand was at three, and the minute hand had just arrived at twelve.

"Huh. Look at that. You'll have to excuse me. I need to get my team together. It's time for them to whoop your team's ass."

Matching his arrogant smile, Kuroko smiled softly and raised a fist, "May the best team win, Aomine-kun."

"Back at ya," the man smirked, bumping his own fist against the others. Then, he jogged off towards his side of the gym.

There, four familiar faces looked up at him, all excited and nervous. Oddly, he felt a sense of pride and warmth. That should have been expected though. Excluding Taki, none of them had ever played basketball before. Now, they've come a long way.

Speaking of Taki…

"Where's the bossy little princess?"

"Sleeping," one of the boys answered him, pointing to the corner of the gym behind him.

Aomine clicked his tongue, "I told that brat to warm up. What's she slacking off for?"

The only response he got were mumbles and a lot of shrugging.

Irritated, the tanned coach stomped over to the blonde girl. Leaning down, he could see the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest. She had a peaceful look on her face, and while he knew he should wake her, a part of him kind of wanted to just watch her sleep. It was at times like these that the pro understood how Kise saw the girl – a little angel.

However, there was a game to play and he couldn't have his star player out in la la land.

Clearing his throat, he tried to wake her using his low voice, "Game's starting, Taki."

She didn't stir.

Trying again, raising his voice a little, he called her name once more. This time, her eyelids fluttered and slits of blue eyes could be seen. Quietly, she mumbled inaudible sounds.

Aomine was starting to get impatient at the child's slow rising, and took it upon himself to drag her up. Wrapping his arms around her, he lifted her onto her feet. To his surprise, there was no resistance.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Her body was warmer than before, and she fell right onto him. Usually, she would have thrown a fit and pushed away. This time, she didn't utter even a single word.

"Hey, Taki, can you hear me?"

After a moment of silence, faintly, he heard her reply in a hoarse voice, "… Has the game started yet?"

"No," he felt uneasy at her strange behaviour.

"…Got to go play…" she mumbled in slurred words.

Slowly and with much difficulty, she pushed herself off the man and tried to walk. Instead, she fell backwards, landing on her behind.

Okay, there is definitely something wrong with her.

"Are you sick?" he asked, extending a hand to check her forehead.

There was no mistaking that heat. She had a fever.

Not knowing what to do, Aomine picked up the delirious child and half-jogged, half-walked, panicking, towards the opposite side of the room. In a worried voice, he called out to the smaller man.

"Oi, Tetsu! What the heck do I do! She's burning!"

Composed as always, Kuroko simply reached a hand and felt the girl's temperature, "Hmm. She's got the fever."

"Don't 'hmm' me! What am I supposed to do? She's really hot. Is she going to die?"

The smaller man kneed him, "Will you calm down? It's just the flu. We just need to send her home. Go call Kise-kun and tell him to pick her up."

With clumsy, inefficient movements, Aomine passed Taki into Kuroko's arms and took his cell phone out of his pocket. Somehow, even with his bumbling fingers, he was able to find the model's contact number. After the fifth ring, he heard the sound of his call connecting.

"Aominecchi? Is something wrong?" the voice on the other end crackled.

"Kise, um well, are you free right now?" Aomine stuttered.

Kuroko kicked him and hissed, "You sound like you're asking him out on a date. Just tell him to come."

"Ouch," he snarled back, before returning to his call, "I mean, can you come pick up your brat?"

"Takicchi? Why? What's happening?"

"Well, she's burning up."

"Takicchi is on fire? Why is she on fire? What the hell are you doing to my baby?!"

"Oh, for crying out loud," Kuroko shoved the girl back into his arms and took the phone out of his hands, "Kise-kun. Taki-san has a fever right now and needs to go home and rest. Can you pick her up?"

"Kurokocchi? Takicchi is sick? Ahhhhh! I'm coming right now!"

"Good. Will you be here in ten minutes?"

"…."

"Kise-kun?"

"I'm sorry Kurokocchi… I forgot that I'm on the other side of Japan right now…"

"Exactly across Japan where?"

Hearing Kise's answer, Kuroko just sighed, "You're not going to be back until evening."

"I'm sorry, Kurokocchi! Tell Takicchi I'm sorry too."

"It can't be help. I'll just send her home with Aomine-kun."

This made the basketball pro snap back into attention, "I can't take care of her."

Instead of replying, Kuroko shoved the cell phone to his ear. Aomine could hear Kise frantically blasting off instructions.

"…the medicine is in the top drawer… make her porridge… make sure she gets tucked in with two blankets… always make sure there is water on her bedside table… don't leave her side…"

There were so many things that he began to forget and lose track of them all. Overwhelmed, he cut Kise off, "I can't do this. Can't you take her home, Tetsu?"

Shaking his head, the other man told him, "This is my class. I can't leave until they are all picked up by their respective guardians."

Kise also chimed in, "Why can't you do it, Aominecchi?"

"I've never taken care of anyone, especially not a kid. What if I mess up and she dies?"

"I'd like that you don't jinx that."

"Sorry."

"Anyways, I think you'll do fine Aominecchi. Takicchi is a resilient girl, like her daddy and papa. Besides, I'll be home before you know it."

"And I'll come visit when all the kids have gone home," Kuroko offered.

Aomine still wasn't too eager about this. Once, he had caught a crayfish as a pet and it died. He didn't want to risk it with Taki.

Somehow, Kise must have sensed his lingering discomfort because he cooed in his most seductive voice, "Pretty please, Aominecchi? For me? I'll reward you with something fun later~"

He gulped, but it wasn't enough to hook him yet.

Then, Kise switched from bribing to guilt, "Aominecchi, do you not love Takicchi? What kind of daddy won't try and take care of his own baby?"

"Agh, fine! I'll do it. But if something happens I'm blaming you two."

"Aww, thank you Aominecchi! I love you!"

"Yeah, yeah. Let's see if you do after I mess up."

"Mm, but I believe that Aominecchi will do a good job. Good daddy!"

"Shut up Ki – "

"…Papa?"

Flushed, with glazed eyes, Taki struggled to reach the phone. Seeing her trouble, Kuroko moved the phone down towards her, allowing her to grip it weakly.

"Takicchi? What is it? Are you okay?"

"Where are you, papa?"

"Papa is still working, baby. But Aominecchi is going to take care of you until I come back. Is that okay, Takicchi? Papa is sorry."

"Uhh… it's okay papa. Taki is fine," she smiled softly, "Be a good papa and work hard."

"Mm, that's my girl. You also be a good girl for Aominecchi, okay?"

"I'll take care of him."

"Um, no. I'm supposed to be taking care of you," Aomine rolled his eyes.

She ignored him.

"All right, papa has to get ready to come back now. I'll see you soon, okay baby?"

"Yes. Be safe papa."

"Bye bye!"

Click.

"How are you feeling, Taki-san?"

At this question, the little blonde yawned and rubbed her dark blue eyes, "Sleepy."

"I see," he looked at her with concern, "Then it's best that Aomine-kun takes you home quickly."

"You don't need to look at me like that, I'm going," the larger man huffed.

"Be safe," Kuroko waved.

Aomine looked at the smaller man, "Got it."

Child in his arms, Aomine made his way out of the gym, and into the long corridors. Like always, he got confused and had to wonder around for a bit before the sight of the twin glass doors appeared. Once he got out though, he had the urge to go right back in. Unfortunately, it was a typical summer day. No wind and the relentless sun made the temperature outside an unbearable abomination. Just five seconds outside, and he already missed the cool, relieving air conditioning of the child care center. It wasn't he who was suffering the most though. Even in the heat, he could feel the warmth coming from Taki's body just as easily as before.

"Jeez, are you sure you're not dying? Sweat's pouring out of you like a waterfall."

"Un. I can play basketball still…"

"Like hell you can."

Aomine didn't care that both Kise and Kuroko said that she would be fine, or that Taki herself said she was okay. He wasn't going to take any chances. Clutching the girl tight into his chest, he began to sprint down the street. He figured that he could probably run faster home than wait for a cab.

Gently, he pulled back the comforter on the large bed and laid Taki onto it. He was careful not to make any grand movements though, because the girl had gave in at some point on the way home. Her breathing was now slow and steady as she slept calmly. Silently, Aomine pulled a tissue out of the box and began to soak up her sweat. The poor child had sweat so much that her hair was wet and stuck to her face.

When he finished, Aomine decided to go downstairs and try to do some of the things Kise had rambled off about on the phone. Although he was able to get a cup of water before coming up, he still needed to find the medicine and look up how to make porridge.

As he got up and turned around to leave, he felt his shirt get caught on to something. Without turning around, he reached his fingers down to try and unhook it. Surprisingly, he didn't find something, rather, it was someone.

"Don't go," Taki cried in a faint voice.

"I'm only going downstairs, I'll be back," he said, trying to imitate Kise's cooing voice. It came off kind of psychotic, but it was good enough.

"No, don't leave me."

At a loss for what to do, he turned to face her and grabbed onto her hand.

"I'm scared, papa," she whimpered with glassy eyes, "It hurts."

Ah. She thinks I'm Kise.

He didn't feel the need to correct her though. Easing her grip, he held onto her hand as he placed it back towards her body. Aomine didn't leave after, but instead kneeled down beside the bed.

"Go to sleep," he rumbled in his low voice.

"Don't go," she cried again.

"I won't. I promise to stay here, okay?"

"Until I fall asleep?"

"Yeah. 'Til you fall asleep."

The tanned man watched as relief filled her eyes that seemed to mirror his own. Slowly, her eyelids grew heavy and her grip slackened. Yet, he didn't leave.

"You should have been honest, idiot," he whispered, "Should have told Kise that you were scared."

He continued, "You know, I just realized recently but you look like me and act like me. But you're definitely Kise's daughter."

He brought his face closer to hers, and touched foreheads, "Both of you try to keep problems to yourself…you can trust me you know."

Closing his eyes, he exhaled slowly, and thought about that day at the zoo.

"You're not Taki's daddy," she whispered back.

It stung a bit, but he tried to brush it off nonchalantly, "Yeah, I know, sorry."

"I wish you were."

As his own eyes got heavy, he griped her hand tightly into his own and murmured, "Would you have still said that if you knew the truth?"

"…Mine… Ahomine!"

Aomine woke to a weak pounding on his back and a high-pitched voice chanting his name. Groggily, he forced his eyes opened to see a cranky yet somewhat better looking Taki staring down at him.

"Wake up, sleepy head!" she pouted.

"What the hell," he complained, "Shouldn't you be resting?"

"There's no time for that!" she puffed out her cheeks, "The game! We have to go to the game!"

The basketball pro groaned, "What time is it? The match is probably already over."

Horror flickered in her blue eyes, and a dark realization dawned on the young girl. Aomine watched silently as the girl turned to her bed side, and with trembling hands she picked up her digital clock. In the light of the setting sun, red numbers glowed faintly. It read: 6:30 pm.

As the blue-haired man had said, the game was already long over.

Not uttering a single word, the child's shoulders slumped down, face low. Peering closer, Aomine could see the little hands grip the clock more firmly.

"Hey," he whispered, "You okay?"

A moment passed, and still she hadn't spoken. Worried, he shifted his body lower to the ground to take a peek at her face. Warm droplets fell on his own tanned cheek and he could feel his body stiffen.

"I… I wanted to play."

Her eyes were fighting to keep the tears in, but it was a losing battle. Through her long locks, Aomine could see the regret in her expression.

"I worked so hard and I practiced so much. It's not fair," her voice rose into a scream, "It's not fair!"

Her tiny fists raised the clock above her head, and with an angry yell, she tossed it above the man's head. It landed with a dull thud, before bouncing off the wall and falling to the ground, virtually unharmed. Shocked as he was, the alarm clock would have to wait. There was a more alarming matter on hand: calming down Taki.

"There will always be more games," he said, comfortingly.

Taki only shook her head, "But you won't be here."

His eyes met hers, and she leaned over to hug him.

"Tetsu-kun said you'd only be here for the next month. That means you'll be going away soon, right?" she murmured in a quiet voice, "I wanted to show you how good I am…"

He was at a loss, "What? Thought you hated my guts."

"I do! I hate almost everything about you!"

Expected, but Aomine still felt a twinge of pain from her rejection of him.

"But," she continued, "You can be cool, like, when you play basketball, or when you saved Taki at the zoo."

He looked away, "No big deal."

"And you make papa smile lots! I hate that you can make papa laugh more than I can," she glared at him, "I mean, I'm so much prettier than you! Hmph!"

"So what you're trying to say is that you just hate me?"

The blonde girl shook her head, and looked seriously at him. With a sad, tiny voice, she said, "No… I'm trying to say that I don't want you to go away. You can stay with papa and me… you don't need to leave."

Her eyes twinkled in the evening light, and Aomine could see how earnest she was.

"I can't stay, at least not yet," he said honestly.

The little blonde's eyes fell, and she bunched the edge of her blanket into a ball, "Why not?"

"Our basketball season starts in the fall. I'm a professional player – I can't go missing games," he tried to say it as gently as possible, to try and make sure that the girl understood that he wasn't leaving because he wanted to, but because he had to.

Whether she understood or not, her expression showed no indication of either. It stayed disappointed. Instead, she pushed her comforter away and reached out for a hug. Aomine felt her warmth and at the moment his heart sank. In just a week, he would leave Japan. He would leave not only the love of his life, who he finally made up with, but also his daughter – their daughter.

The realization stung him. No more early morning bickering, or playful teasing, or afternoon practices or late evening one-on-ones. Again, he'll miss all of his only child's milestones. Thinking back, he felt regret. He wasn't there for her first word, or first steps. Now, the pro realized that he was wrong when he thought he wasn't suited to be a father.

I'm not supposed to be 'acting' as a dad, I am a dad.

Aomine looked down on Taki, and rested his chin on her head. She smelled comforting; her scent was a mix of soap and baby lotion, with a hint of Kise's cologne.

Coughing, he decided to be brave.

"Hey, brat," he exhaled nervously.

Her azure eyes looked up and met his own.

"What is it, Ahomine?" She said it with the degrading tone she always used to address him with, but today, it was a bit gentler.

This is it, he thought, now or never.

"Do you want to go back to America with me?"

A/N: HELLO. I AM ALIVE. Joking aside, I'm happy that I can finally release a chapter OTL. I'm really sorry for putting Taki on hiatus… and I don't even know if I can release again soon. But… I wanted to put out one at least for the holidays… which have passed. I know. I am bad. OTL. I'm so sorry and thank you all for bearing with me ^^

So… here's the start of the final arc which means that the story will end within 2ish more chapters~ I'd like to finish this soon and stop delaying it! I'm sorry if this chapter is lacking ,even though you've all waited so long for it. I feel as if my writing skills have been degrading urgh. BUT. I tried my best and I really hope you all enjoy it. Merry belated Christmas and belated Happy Holidays, as well as Happy belated New Year! Thank you for the previous year and I will work harder.

P.S. HOORAY FOR AKASHI'S FIRST ANIMATED APPEARANCE.