On my head was a black fedora hat, crowning my silky smooth blond hair. Covering my tall, well-proportioned body was a light goldenrod shirt under a black coat, matched with black trousers and a leather belt. All was well, all was set. If anything, I must say all was perfect without even a single glitch to find.

Flash! Flash! Flash! I could still remember how the shutter flickered with that figure of mine right in the focus. They asked me for a smile, so I gladly gave it to them, a smile powerful enough to send my picture to the front cover.

But I could no longer smile like that.

With both hands bound together and chained to the corner of the bed, all I could do was lying hopelessly on the disheveled sheet with only a piece of shirt covering my tainted body. My swollen eyes could only stare at that large picture of mine, plastered on the wall right across where I was. How many days had it been since I was first brought in here? In this room with minimum lighting, even looking at the clock attached on the wall above the door was difficult. But it was probably for the best. This way, I would not be able to see how terribly wretched I was right now.

I had been kidnapped, this much was already obvious to me. On the day I was going to meet Aomine-cchi, someone attacked me when I was on my way to the meeting spot with a stun gun and brought me to this place while I was unconscious. I did not know who he was, but just one look at this room gave me enough clues to figure out what kind of person he was.

An overly obsessive fan; a stalker. Even though it was dim, I could see pictures of me everywhere, as though the room itself was a sea of posters and photographs, covering every single inch of the wall. I had always been proud of my pictures, but now that I had seen all of these, perhaps I would never want to see a camera again for the rest of my life.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

…He had returned.

The moment my ears caught the sound of his footsteps approaching, I could feel cold shiver running down my spine. But even so, there was nothing I could do in my current situation. On the first few days, I was devastated. I struggled with all my might, trying to scream and bang on the wall in hope that his neighbor would hear the noises I was making. But all those efforts were in vain. If anything, my retaliation only brought him to the conclusion that he had to bind my hands and gag my mouth.

"I'm home, Kise-kun."

He said that with such a gentle and kind voice, as though he treasured me so much. From his point of view, perhaps that was indeed what he thought he was doing to me although what I felt was obviously the opposite.

"I'm sorry to leave you alone. Did you wait long?"

The man whose identity remained unknown to me settled down on the bed, caressing the side of my face with one hand. I thought I had gotten used to this, yet the feeling of disgust when his fingers touched my skin was simply too strong that I couldn't help but retreat further away from him.

"Now, now… There's no need to be shy. Today, too, I will indulge myself in you. You'll enjoy it as usual, won't you?"

No way! I screamed as hard as I could, but what came out from my sealed lips were nothing more than meaningless mumbles. The man chuckled upon witnessing my reaction, as though he was savoring the sight of something very adorable. And not long afterwards, it began…

"Kise-kun is very beautiful. I'll never get bored looking at you every day," he said with a grin while ramming into me. It was painful to realize that my body responded to his stimulation, but more than that, my heart was the one hurting the most.

…Aomine-cchi…

In the midst of such despairing pleasure, I recalled his face. A year had passed since Winter Cup and the both of us were on our second year in high school now. Ever since then, Aomine-cchi had been slowly returning to his old self and even though he didn't say anything, I know that he, too, was happy about it. We returned to being friends and rivals, just like the old times.

Yes. Just like the old times… Even that day, we were supposed to meet and have a little game of one-on-one. If only this person hadn't done this to me, I would've been able to meet him. I would've been able…to meet Aomine-cchi…

"Hmm? What is this, Kise-kun?" that man grabbed my chin and forced me to look at his face. He was definitely displeased. "Why are you crying? Are you telling me that you're unhappy?"

I had heard about this in books and movies that to people like him, there might not be any common sense left in his mind. I think it should be obvious that I would not feel any sort of happiness from being kidnapped, but apparently he thought of it differently.

"What are you still unhappy for? I've treasured you this much and it's still not enough?!" he began to lash out, "What else do you want me to do?!"

Let me go…was what I would like to tell him. But with my mouth sealed, all I could do was to throw him a glance. Surprisingly enough, this time he appeared to understand what I meant and he definitely wasn't happy about it.

"No!" he pounced down on me, ramming hard inside that I nearly cried from the pain, "You are mine! I won't let you go! Did you hear me? You're mine!"

Perhaps he noticed that even in my desperation, I still did not show any sign of resigning to him. There was a brief moment of silence between the two of us, and it was at that time I noticed his hands were crawling towards my neck.

"…It can't be helped then…" he whispered under his breath, "I didn't want to do this, but if I can't make you mine while you're alive, then I'll just have to make you mine when you're not alive."

And just like that, he grabbed my throat and pressed his fingers on my skin with all his might. While he was at it, his lower part continued to violate me without showing even a little bit of mercy. As my lungs were slowly deprived of air, I could feel my consciousness began to escape my grasp.

"Man… And here I thought you've gotten a little better."

My eyes went wide. I could hear his voice ringing in the back of my mind and all of a sudden I could see the court at the park we often visited. Aomine-cchi was standing there, holding a ball in his hand. And I, too, was there… Desperate and frustrated of being defeated once again.

"I'm not done yet! One more time!"

"No way, that's enough for today. Don't you even realize what time it is?"

"Hmph… I'll win next time."

"Ha! I'd like to see that happen."

Aomine-cchi was strong. No matter how hard I tried, when I thought I had gotten a little stronger, he was already soaring to a place much higher than before. But even in that situation, I was having fun. As long as I could stay by his side, even though this feeling of mine would never reach him, it was enough for me.

"By the way, Aomine-cchi… What are you going to do after graduating from high school?"

"Ha? Why are you asking me that all of a sudden? But, yeah… I guess it's already the time for that, huh? We're already second years, after all…"

"I'm…going to an aviation school."

"What?"

"I want to become a pilot. I'll fly higher than Aomine-cchi, so you can't catch me this time."

"Is that supposed to be a pun? Well, work hard then. Don't bring your passengers down."

"So mean! And, anyway… You haven't answered my question!"

"Let's see… If you can beat me next time, I'll tell you."

…I suppose…I would never know what his answer to that question would be. I…would probably never see him again. If only…I could meet him that time… If only, for the last time, I could have a one-on-one with him…

Aomine…cchi…

If only…I could tell him…that I had liked him…this whole time…

Kise was kidnapped.

On his way to our meeting spot that day, he was attacked and hauled away to the kidnapper's house. It wasn't until two weeks later that they finally found him, and at that time, his condition was so horrible that the police immediately admitted him to the hospital.

It was apparently the work of an obsessive fan, and while he was there, Kise suffered from lack of sleep and food deprivation. Perhaps he was actually given some food, but it was very likely that Kise himself refused to eat. To top it all off, they also said there were obvious signs of sexual abuse. Simply put, the perpetrator did not only kidnap, but raped him, as well.

Three days had passed since they found him and here I was, standing right in front of the private room where he was admitted to after being rescued. I reached for the knob, turning it slowly and pushed the door ever so carefully as not to make too much noise. The smell of medicines entered my nose as soon as I stepped into the chamber entirely covered in white, and next to the window, I saw his figure lying motionless on the bed.

Truth be told, even though I had already expected he would look ill, to see his current condition with my own two eyes were quite painful. The popular model who always looked so handsomely perfect and bright, both in pictures and actuality, was nowhere in sight. The Kise Ryouta before me now was so thin and fragile, as though he could break any moment even at the slightest touch.

"Kise…"

I called his name. His long eyelashes fluttered and he opened his eyes, showing a pair of gold spheres hidden behind the lids that quickly caught my figure.

"…Aomine…cchi…"

"Hey, it's me."

I pulled a nearby chair and sat next to him. As expected, even his voice sounded so weak. On his wrists where he was said to be chained were thin scars. Just with a single look, I could tell that the wounds used to be bleeding. The corners of his mouth where he was gagged for a long time were slightly swollen. On his neck, there was a darkened mark, forming the shape of human hands. Indeed, if the police were to be a minute late, he would've departed to another world.

"How are you feeling?" I asked him.

"Much better than before," to my words, he bitterly smiled, "They said I could go home in three days."

"Well, that's good to hear," I replied, "I met your sister in the hallway. She said she's going back home for awhile to bring some change of clothes."

"I see. My family has been taking turns to take care of me. They've also attended meetings with the police in my stead while I'm here."

As we spoke, I took the chance to get a better look at his face. Even though he smiled and talked like he normally did, it was impossible not to notice his swollen eyes.

Have you been crying this whole time?

I wanted to ask him, but the words simply could not leave my mouth. Were you scared when you were locked in there? Did you try to escape? Did you call for help? Was it painful when he raped you? How did you even manage to stay sane after all that? How did you hold yourself together the entire time you were there?

"Aomine-cchi…" his voice, calling out my name meekly, quickly cut the line of endless questions running inside my head. However, he did not look at me in the eyes. It was as though his sight was wandering somewhere to the distance outside the window while his voice trembled as he continued. "Aomine-cchi… I'm sorry…"

"Ha? What are you apologizing for?" my brows furrowed at his sudden remark.

"I'm sorry… If only I had been more careful… I made you wait, didn't I?"

What had gotten into him all of a sudden? I couldn't understand why he'd start apologizing for something that wasn't his fault, but when I looked at him, I noticed his hands were shaking.

"Kise, what's wrong with—"

"D-Don't touch me!"

As soon as I held out my hand, he rolled over to the other side of the bed; his back facing me. His sudden reaction was surprising, but even so I did not fail to catch a glimpse of his shoulders shaking.

"Kise."

"Don't touch me," his voice trembled, "Don't touch me, Aomine-cchi."

"Why can't I touch you?"

"I…am dirty… If you touch me… Aomine-cchi…will also become dirty…"

It was probably a lie when he said he was feeling much better, but it wasn't meant to deceive the people who visited him. He might have been trying to reassure himself by telling those words over and over again, to erase the horrible memories from those fourteen days. However, before I could even say anything, his next words immediately stopped me in my tracks.

"I like Aomine-cchi," he said with quivering shoulders, "I like Aomine-cchi. I'm sorry you have to hear this from me. I'm not even a girl and I've been stained by another guy. But I promise this will be the last time we meet, so I want to tell you. I've liked Aomine-cchi this whole time. I'm really sorry…"

Was it weird of me not to be surprised at his confession? For some reason, this whole time, too, I had had a hunch that he had been harboring some sort of feelings towards me. But still, I had never expected he would actually confess. Not at his current situation at least.

"Kise," once again I called out to him. He refused to face me, but no matter how hard he tried to conceal it, I could hear his faint sniffles from the other side of the bed. "Kise, look at me."

"No," he buried his face on the pillow.

"Look this way," I grabbed his shoulder and forcefully turned him around. It was rather cruel, considering that he was still shaken by the entire incident, but it was the only way I could think of so he wouldn't brush me off. "Who said you have the right to decide whether we're going to meet again or not?"

Kise stared at me with confused eyes. Even though he didn't say anything, it was obvious that he had prepared himself for the worst. So that meant he was actually planning not to see me ever again after this, huh?

"Doesn't Aomine-cchi…feel disgusted at all…?" he asked straight out in disbelief. The look in his eyes told me that there was a tiny bit of hope growing in his heart, but at the same time, it also meant he would crumble to the point of no return should I deny him right here and now.

"Why should I?" without a pause, I quickly responded to his naïve question, "No matter what that bastard's done to you, it wasn't even your fault to begin with. You're not dirty. You're not a slut or a whore. You're Kise."

His eyes widened upon hearing my statement. Those gold spheres of his were soon drowning in transparent, warm liquid dripping down his face. He probably never expected to hear that. But, well… He hadn't even heard the last of it yet.

"Listen," I brought my face closer to his, "Didn't you say you're going to beat me the next time we have a one-on-one? If you don't beat me, I won't tell you my plans for the future. Aren't you curious at all?"

"I'm…curious…" he mumbled. A streak of red colored his cheeks as he tried to shift his gaze away from me.

"Then should you be saying crap like 'this will be the last time we meet'? Idiot…" I lightly flicked his forehead. It might be a little painful for him since he shut his eyes tight when I did it, but even so, there was still bewilderment lingering in the way he looked at me. Well, if he was actually this dense despite his bold confession, I suppose I had no other way.

"Kise, come here," with my hand showing a gesture of calling him, I pulled back and settled down on the chair. He furrowed his eyebrows, but even with confusion in his eyes, he shifted towards me.

"Nope. A little closer."

"What is it, Aomine—?!"

And just like that, I grabbed the back of his head and brought our lips together. Kise went rigid immediately, even after we had parted from each other. On the contrary, though… I couldn't help a smirk from breaking out at the sight of his obvious astonishment.

"That's how it is," I touched my forehead to his, "Are you still thinking of not seeing me again ever?"

There wasn't a single word coming out from his mouth, but the next second he buried his face on my shoulder; his fingers clutching tight to my clothes. Ah, ah… He's gonna cry again, this crybaby…

I'll keep this a secret from you for the time being, Kise. But do you know that I want to be a cop?

I rested my chin on the yellow strands clinging on my chest. Truthfully, I was glad when he said he was going to an aviation school. But even though he stopped being a model, there would still be dangers roaming around him as long as he still had that annoyingly pretty face of him. That's why I had to become stronger, strong enough to protect him from all those people craving for him.

You'd probably never imagine this, but… Kise, I strengthen myself because of you. Not that I'm ever going to tell you, though…