Rumbles of thunders stormed the sky tonight. Like a tireless torrent of gunshots, countless raindrops never stopped hitting the windows as though trying to break it apart. And it was pitch black outside, without even a glimpse of light visible as far as I could see.

The temperature inside the apartment was low. I didn't turn the fan or air-conditioner on, but I had to curl up in a blanket as I sat on the sofa to keep myself warm. The time shown by the clock on the wall was 1:45 AM, which meant this downpour had been going on for almost five hours straight. And yet it didn't look like it was going to stop anytime soon.

With all the noises outside, I wasn't supposed to be able to hear the sound of the clock ticking, let alone my heart beating, but in fact I could. My fingertips and toes felt cold, and no matter how hard I was clutching at the blanket I was wrapped in, I couldn't feel at ease. How many times had I been checking at my phone since hours ago? But whenever I turned it on, all I could see was the screen's empty display without any notification whatsoever.

There was no reply to my message, no call at all.

"Dammit…" in a whisper, I cursed under my breath. Not receiving any replies at all already made me anxious enough, and to make things worse, in my head I kept hearing his voice promising that he would return.

"…Aomine-cchi…" in a small voice, I called out to his name in hope that it would reach him, "Aomine-cchi, where are you…?"

A blast of thunder pierced through the night sky once again. Burying my face on my knees, I clutched harder at the white blanket while covering myself entirely underneath. It felt cold… The tips of my fingers were trembling as I could do nothing but holding onto the silent phone in my hands.

A glimmer of sunray pierced through the slightly opened curtains, shooting right towards me that I had no choice but to open my eyelids. After blinking several times to adjust myself to the light, it finally came to me that I was still lying on the bed, wrapped in the comfortable blanket up to half of my face. Reflexively, I reached out to my cell phone hidden under the pillow, finding out that it was almost ten in the morning.

I guess I overslept.

I didn't usually wake up this late. Letting out a big yawn, I squirmed to get out of bed, but it was only at that time I discovered it was almost impossible for me to move. My waist was locked tight and my back was pressing against something hard. The only thing I could do was to try turning my head back a little bit, so I did exactly that.

Ah…

It was him. Wearing not even a single piece of clothes to cover his upper half, the first thing I saw when I turned back was obviously Aomine-cchi's tanned, broad chest as he circled his nicely toned arms around my waist, hugging me as if I was a body pillow.

"You're finally here…"

A sigh of relief escaped my lips as my mind flew back to yesterday night. He did tell me to turn in ahead of him since he would come home late. In fact, even until I fell asleep he hadn't returned and to be honest this had been going on for the past few weeks. It seemed that he was quite busy with the cases at hands, so he had no choice but to often work overtime until everything had settled down.

And those seemed to be pretty dangerous, as well.

With a little bit of struggle, I managed to free myself from his grip without waking him up. As I gazed down at his resting figure, I noticed a small cut on his left eyebrow. I didn't think it was here yesterday, so it must be new. He got another small bruise on his arm, too, even though the ones on his torso hadn't fully healed yet. And he was faintly snoring.

You must be really tired, aren't you?

Aomine-cchi would only snore – just a little – when he was extremely exhausted. Yesterday, too, must've been pretty rough. The fact that he didn't wake up after all the efforts I put up to escape his hold also served as a stronger proof. He had good instincts after all, so there was no way he didn't notice I'd been squirming in his arms unless he was totally worn down.

"…Welcome home, Aomine-cchi. Good work yesterday," I whispered to him, giving a light kiss on his forehead. He let out a faint groan when my lips touched his skin, but still he didn't wake up. Despite the concerns I felt upon seeing his exhausted and injured self, I found his reaction kinda funny that I couldn't help but chuckle. I really love these small things about Aomine-cchi that nobody else had seen.

Tip-toeing to ensure that the sound of my steps wouldn't bother his sleep, I left to the bathroom afterwards. A quick shower might be nice, I thought as I stripped off my top, but before that I should brush my teeth first. I turned to face the washbasin, finding a pair of identical mugs and toothbrushes sitting next to it. I said identical, but actually they were colored blue and yellow respectively, and I usually used the blue one.

For some reason, I felt like letting out a small laugh once again, probably because I recalled how Aomine-cchi frowned so much the first time we were about to use this mug and toothbrush. In the end, it appeared that he was just embarrassed and considering how he always acted tough in front of everybody, I sort of felt proud to have the privilege of seeing this adorable side of him.

And yet my movement was halted when I lifted my face and saw the reflection shown by the large mirror attached to the wall right above the washbasin.

"Kise?"

My body almost jumped at the sudden call. Almost without thinking, I put my top back on and abruptly returned to the bedroom, almost stumbling on my own legs.

"Yes?" I answered. Immediately after opening the bathroom's door, I saw Aomine-cchi already sitting on the bed, half covered in the white blanket. His dark blue eyes caught my figure in silence, but the moment I reached his side, he grabbed my arm and pulled me towards him before pushing me down. "W-What gives— Mmmph?!"

He pressed our lips together, pushing me back with such beastly strength that I ended up lying flat on my back. His tongue invaded my mouth, entwining with mine and soon I started hearing the sloppy sounds we made echoing in my ears.

"Nngh— Aomine-cchi, what are you doing?" I pushed him away the moment I found the chance to separate. A thin layer of saliva was formed between our mouth, and with both hands pinned above my head, I was deemed powerless with no choice but to let his eyes captured my breathless figure lying underneath him.

"…Where were you?" he asked in a husky voice, a clear sign that he really did just wake up. Unable to understand what he meant, I knitted my brows while returning his stare in confusion.

"In the bathroom?" I tilted my head, "Is something wrong with that?"

Instead of giving me an answer, he lowered himself and drove me into a deep kiss once again. At the same time, I could feel his hands starting to undress me, unbuttoning my shirt from top to bottom that my previous effort to put the clothes back on became pointless. The feeling of his cold fingers travelling on my bare skin alone was enough to make me flinched, but as if it wasn't enough, I felt them sliding down towards my lower part.

"Mmmn! Nnngh!"

My body nearly jumped. With all the strength I could muster, I attempted to shove him away, but to no avail. I even started hitting his shoulders with my fists and it only resulted in him deepening our kiss, invading further into my mouth while his hands purposely teasing all the sensitive parts known to him. Naturally, all of my senses responded to his touches and it didn't take long for me to lose all the energy to resist. My face felt hot; I could feel tears beginning to pool up at the corner of my eyes as he didn't give me the chance to even take a breath. It wasn't the first time he did something like this to me, but still, I simply couldn't handle this much intensity.

"That's a really nice face you're making," now having his usual arrogant smirk plastered all over his face, Aomine-cchi looked at me in clear satisfaction. My chest were visibly raising and falling, struggling to fill my lungs with all the air I'd been choked out until just a few seconds ago. I really hated to admit it, but even though I didn't want to do it, I was legit crying right now that I couldn't even bring myself to say anything.

"…You're…horrible…" I muttered the only words that came to mind. When I woke up awhile ago, I was feeling pretty fresh and ready to start a new day, but within a few minutes he managed to take away all of the strength in me and made another part of me was ready to do— Well, something else…

"What? You don't want it?" he asked nonchalantly, lightly stroking the front of my pants just for the sake of drawing a reaction from me. Of course, he got the reaction he wanted. In the first place, it wasn't like I didn't want to make love with him. My body and heart had been far too prepared of being devoured by him on a whim whenever wherever. "We didn't get the chance to fuck these past few days, so I'm not gonna let this chance slip away."

"You're horrible," I repeated the same words again, turning my face aside, but despite the things I spouted, he of all people understood very well it was nothing more than a sign that I had given up all the struggles and would resign to whatever he wanted to do with me until he was satisfied. In fact, now he was showing another grin while licking his lips.

"Don't worry. I'll make you enjoy this. Soon, you'll be crying for more…as usual…" almost as if having no shame at all, he blurted out those words in full confidence before proceeding to have his fun with me.

And just like he said, I ended up crying and begging at him as my mind was completely washed away by pleasure.

"Kise, breakfast's ready! Come out here!"

Now fully awoke and refreshed, Aomine-cchi yelled from the dining room almost without a care if it might disturb the neighbors. I, on the other hand, was forced to cancel my original plan to have a nice quick shower; left with no choice but to sprawl on the bed, unmoving like a dead body.

"Hey, what took you so long?" growing impatience, he swung the bedroom door opened and strolled inside. From my current position – lying flat on my stomach – I could only glare at him for not having even the slightest bit of remorse in his face.

"Whose fault do you think it is?" I grumbled without even bothering to lift my face from the pillow. Seriously… Half asleep or not, Aomine-cchi was a real beast. To be honest I considered myself pretty strong for a man's standard, and yet I could barely keep my eyes opened in the aftermath.

"But you were enjoying it, weren't you? You were crying while clinging onto me," a smirk broke out on his face that I finally lost it.

"Eromine!" without holding back, I yelled and threw a pillow at him, but regretted it soon as a dull pain invaded my back once again. I grimaced; my face contorting in pain and my eyes almost tearing up. Seeing my reaction, it seemed that Aomine-cchi finally realized what he'd done to my body.

"Fine, I'm sorry," he exhaled a long sigh while scratching the back of his head, "But if you don't hurry, the breakfast's gonna get cold, though."

"What breakfast… I bet it's just two cups of hot coffee."

"How did you know?"

"How did you think I know?" I pursed my lips as I continued to sulk. We'd been living together long enough for me to find out that first, Aomine-cchi only took a cup of coffee in the morning, and second, he totally sucked at cooking so there was no way he could prepare any breakfast. Plus, even if we were going to eat now, it couldn't be called "breakfast" anymore. "Brunch" would probably suit it better.

"Well, whatever. I'll just bring it over here…"

He left the room and returned in less than a minute, bringing two cups of coffee in his hands and offered one to me while he settled down on the bedside. I said he was bad at cooking, but when it came to coffee, Aomine-cchi could really make it delicious. With the blanket wrapping my naked body, I put up with the pain on my back and struggled to sit up, leaning back to the headboard while taking the cup offered to me. I let the luscious scent sinking into my system. Just like that, we sat next to each other, silently sipping the hot black liquid in our hands.

"…Say, Aomine-cchi…" after a few minutes had passed, I called out to him. With a small grunt, he turned sideways to face my direction. "You've been coming home late these past few weeks."

"Well, yeah, there's this difficult case we're currently working on, so I can't help it," he replied while taking another sip of his coffee, "What is it? Do you miss me?"

"Aren't you a confident one?"

"But it's true, isn't it? Don't worry, though. Once I have a day off, I'm gonna spoil you rotten until you lose your mind," pulling the corners of his lips into a familiar sneer, he closed in until our noses nearly bumped as he placed the cup in his hand on a small table next to the bed. My brows knitted together at his provocation; my cheeks beginning to feel hot that I had no choice but to avoid his deep stare. However, it was due to the close distance between us that I saw and was reminded of the small cut on his eyebrow again.

"How did you get this, Aomine-cchi?" I put my hand on the side of his face; slightly brushing his injury with my thumb, "Did you have a fight with someone?"

"Huh? Oh, this? Yeah, I guess you can put it that way. The last guy we arrested put up quite a fight that eventually we had to shoot him in the legs so he'd stay still."

"You've been injured a lot lately."

"Naturally, when you're arresting people, some of them might fight back, especially when they've been driven into a corner," Aomine-cchi replied casually, but noticing the concerned stare I was giving him, he sighed and scratched the back of his head. "Look, Kise… Those kinds of things are normal in this line of work. It's nothing to be worried over."

"I…suppose…yes…"

Just like he said, in my head I knew very well the risks that came with his job. Those were nothing but extremely minor injuries, but I still felt uneasy whenever I found out he was hurt because of it, even in the slightest bit. Unconsciously, I hung my head down, staring at the black liquid inside the cup I was holding, but all of a sudden, Aomine-cchi snatched it away from me and put it on the table alongside his.

"Enough about that. How about yours?" without waiting for my answer, he pulled the blanket covering my body until my upper half was completely visible. As expected, his eyes were directed towards the bullet scar on my right shoulder. "It looks better now, but does it still hurt?"

"Isn't it a bit late to ask about that, though?" I pursed my lips at his completely guiltless remark. If he really was worried about it, he should've thought twice before pinning me on the bed like he just did awhile ago. But in any case, it was already healed. "Well, I haven't felt anything out of the ordinary for a few days now. I think it should be okay."

"Do you need to have a check-up just in case?"

"Ah, no. I'll be alright. I can already use this arm normally, so there's nothing to worry about," putting up a smile as reassuring as possible, I brushed away his insistence with a wave of hand.

In the first place, it wasn't as bad as the one I inflicted on you.

"If you say so, it's all good then…" albeit faintly, I could hear him letting out a sigh of relief. With his fingertips, he gently caressed the scar embedded on my skin, but not so long afterwards, he rose from the bed while stretching his arms. "Well then, I'd better get going soon."

"You're leaving?" before my head could think, my mouth already spouted those words right the next second after seeing him standing up. Aomine-cchi raised an eyebrow, looking at me in confusion upon my sudden remark and realizing what I'd just said, I was unable to find any other words to cover it up that I could only hung my head down once again. "…I'm sorry."

"Do you really miss me that much?" he asked in response to my totally exposed feeling. Now that it had come to this, I wanted to say yes, but of course it was impossible. I couldn't just whine at him to stay at home when he obviously had works to do. In the end, I only averted my eyes to avoid meeting his gaze, but to my surprise, instead of teasing me like I expected he would do, Aomine-cchi ruffled my hair gently and pulled me into his arms.

"Aomine-cchi?"

"You're really lonely, aren't you?" his low voice reverberated in my ears, "Sorry for leaving you by yourself so often. Once this case is closed, I promise I'll take some days off."

"That… That's not what I mean. You don't have to do that," I looked up at him, but he stroked my cheek instead.

"Nah, no worries. I've been thinking of taking one since I haven't done so for a long time, 's all."

"…Sorry…" pressing my face against his torso, I wrapped my arms around his back and hugged him tight. I didn't know what was wrong with me. It was normal for people to leave for their job every day, but for some reason today I really didn't want to see him leaving. Probably it was because he'd been coming home very late in the past few weeks; probably it was because he'd been slightly injured. Seeing my conflicted expression, all of a sudden Aomine-cchi pinched my nose that I nearly choked.

"What is it with the constant apologies? Did you catch Ryou's germ when he shot you that night?" he said without letting me go until I shook my head hard and struggled to break free, "There's nothing to worry about. Didn't I tell you I'd spoil you rotten once I'm done with this case?"

"…Yes."

"Then stop with the sad face. Now you're making me feel bad, too," replied him while holding my arms and made a small distance between us. When I looked up, for the last time today I found my figure reflected in his dark blue eyes. He gazed at me in silence, but not long afterwards, I could feel him running his fingers through the strands of my hair before he lowered himself and kissed my lips.

"Mmm…" I let out a small moan when our lips met. It wasn't an intense kiss like he did before; it was much more gentle and kind, as if he was trying to tell me that he actually also wanted to stay with me. When we finally separated, I looked at him and circled my arms around his neck, hugging him tight while whispering into his ears.

"I'll be waiting…" I told him.

"Yeah. I'll see you tonight."

I was planning to see him off to the front door, but when I tried to stand up, the pain in my back acted up again that I ended up falling back on the bed. Aomine-cchi laughed at my awkward position although he did help me to sit up again while saying there was no way he'd let me walk out wrapped only in the blanket. I pursed my lips and pouted, but accepted one last kiss from him on my forehead before he said his goodbye and left for real this time.

…There he goes…

For a few minutes, I remained staring at the closed door even though Aomine-cchi's figure was no longer in sight. Letting out a really long sigh, the next thing I did was to sprawl on the bed once again. My back had begun to feel better, but I was still feeling exhausted. While waiting for my energy to be recharged, I looked around the room to sort out my plans for the day. As usual, perhaps there was nothing to do except the regular chores. Since I wasn't allowed to go outside for the time being, even shopping for groceries was out of the question and needed to be done through delivery service.

Yes. For almost six months now, I had been put under house confinement.

It wasn't imposed on me by official verdict, nor had a warrant been issued for my arrest. After the things that had happened, as I thought it simply didn't feel right for me to run free just like this. To be honest, I had come to terms with myself to understand that everyone had been trying to tell me the crimes I committed in the past wasn't out of my own free will. Likewise, I had also decided to accept their kindness and stop blaming myself. However, still… Those were horrible things I'd done in my younger days, thus I asked whether there was anything I could do as a substitute for being granted freedom.

And so, after spending three to four months recovering from all the physical injuries, including the bullet wound, I was given two choices: To assist their investigation with my knowledge and experience of the yakuza as an anonymous informant, or to be confined at home for half a year with the balcony as the furthest limit I could step out to, just so I would still have access to sunlight for health's sake.

Although… I must say that my decision at that time was more inclined towards how I could make up for my grave betrayal to Aomine-cchi.

The sudden ringing of my cell phone nearly made me jumped out of the bed. I turned around to find it under my pillow, but it was only at that moment I recalled I had really put it back there before leaving for the bathroom, so when Aomine-cchi jumped on me and made a mess of the bed, it must be buried somewhere around the wrinkled sheets and blankets, stuck under one of these scattered pillows.

"Hello?" I answered abruptly, having no chance to look at the caller's name after finally discovering the phone wrapped under the bed sheet on its fifth ring.

"Ki-chan, it's been awhile! How are you?"

"M-Momo-cchi?!"

I couldn't hide my surprise upon hearing the bubbly voice from the other end. Of course, she was no longer unfamiliar to me as we quickly became good friends shortly after we were introduced by Aomine-cchi back then. But still, it really had been a long time since we talked properly to each other.

"Tee-hee, were you surprised?" just like usual, as though capable of reading my mind she giggled immediately after hearing my response, "How are you, Ki-chan? Is your wound already healed? How are things with Dai-chan?"

"I'm… I'm good. Just like the doctor said, it does leave a scar, but I no longer feel any pain," adjusting to her friendly greetings, I answered with a small laugh. In contrast to Aomine-cchi, Momo-cchi was visibly attentive and cheerful. Whenever I talked to her, it didn't take long for the atmosphere to become casual and comfortable. "As for the things with Aomine-cchi, well… Everything's back to normal…I guess…"

"Ah, so you guys are back to a lovey-dovey couple as usual," she blurted those words without holding back that my face turned bright red even though she wasn't here looking at me, "By the way, Ki-chan, is Dai-chan still at home?"

"Eh? Aomine-cchi?" I frowned at her question, "He just left a few minutes ago. Was he supposed to arrive earlier at the office? Maybe you should call directly to his cell phone."

"No, no, that's fine. He worked until very late yesterday, so our superior allows him to come in the afternoon today," replied her with a reassuring voice. However, the next words she said made me frowned even more. "Actually, I want to talk to you, Ki-chan. And we want to keep this a secret from Dai-chan for awhile. That's why I asked you if he's still there."

"Talk to…me?" I wouldn't be so bewildered if she just wanted to talk about normal, everyday things as two friends usually did, but I didn't understand why it must be kept a secret from Aomine-cchi. To my question, she gave a reassuring confirmation before continuing with yet another surprising question.

"Say, Ki-chan… If you don't have anything planned for tonight, let's go have dinner together. I'll send you the restaurant's address later."

"Dinner— But, Momo-cchi, I'm not allowed to—"

"—go outside, right?" once again, she caught up to me before I could finish my words, "To tell you the truth, Imayoshi-san's the one who told me to invite you. Everyone will also be there."

"Everyone? Do you mean your entire team?" I asked in confusion, in which she responded with another convincing confirmation, "So Aomine-cchi will be there, too?"

"Ah, no. He won't be there…" she said with a rather apologetic tone. Right now I was totally at loss of what she'd been talking about, but when I told her that, the only thing she said only served to spur both my curiosity and anxiety. "Actually, Ki-chan… There's something we want to discuss with you personally. It concerns Dai-chan…"

Lights, cars and people. Those were basically the only three things I saw since I first stepped out of the apartment until I finally reached this busy part of the city. Moreover, it was right after office hour. To be honest, I felt kind of lost walking on my own in this crowd. For someone who had been locked up indoor for half a year, even if I still knew my way around, it felt peculiar to finally see the outside world again although they mostly remained unchanged as far as memory served.

Donned in a pale yellow V-neck under a light green shirt, topped with a dark grey jacket and paired with my favorite jeans, I blended well with the hordes of people passing through the sideways packed with lines of stores. Many of them were restaurant and bars, and even from the street I could see the inside was totally packed. I could not, however, find the place I was looking for. Thus, I spent almost 20 minutes walking aimlessly, shifting my eyes back and forth from the description sent to my cell phone and the number of the buildings around me.

"Ki-chan, over here!"

My ears twitched instinctively upon hearing my name being called. I began to look around, trying to find the owner of the voice among the bustling crowd of the downtown when my sight finally caught the familiar figure waving at me. She was standing in front of a building decorated with nice light-works adorning the entrance.

"Momo-cchi, sorry to make you wait," I told her with my breath slightly racing after I made a small run towards her. She didn't change much, including the choice of her outfit. Just like those female detectives in the movies, she was wearing a normal set of working attire. However, even though I couldn't really put it into words, she had a good sense in fashion that made her capable of putting these supposedly "common" pieces of clothes together in such a way into a nice combination. And since she was naturally good-looking, basically almost all kinds of outfits would suit her.

"It's alright. I just got here, as well," she replied with a familiar smile, "Let's go inside. Everyone's waiting."

She led me into the building with light-works. Turned out it was the restaurant she mentioned before and it was pretty famous for the nice atmosphere and food ever since it was first opened three months ago. Of course, I had no idea there was a place like this, considering that I had been locked up at home, but I guessed it would be nice to come here again with Aomine-cchi some times later.

"You look well, Ki-chan," Momo-cchi remarked as we walked through the occupied tables and busy waiters. I turned at her and saw the same smile was drawn on her face as she looked at me. "I was assigned to look after you in the hospital after the things that happened back then, so I'm really happy to see your condition has rapidly improved."

"…Sorry…for causing so much trouble," I hung my head down, "Thank you for taking care of me Momo-cchi."

"Now, now. You don't have to make that face," with a cheerful voice she made a small laugh; her peach-colored eyes squinting as she smiled, "Ki-chan is my friend and you're already as good as my own little brother, so of course I will help you out even if I wasn't assigned to do it specifically."

"Thank you," I repeated the same words once again, now with a smile to reply to hers, "Has Momo-cchi been doing good, as well?"

"Work is busy as always, but aside of that I've been doing good. Now that Dai-chan is back to his normal self, our team is working as how it used to be. I think it's all thanks to Ki-chan."

"Eh? Me?"

"Well, now that you're back to his side, he can't be any happier, right? It's always been like that since we were kids. As long as he's happy, Dai-chan will be able do anything, no problem. Not that he's going to show it on his face though…"

"I totally agree on the last part, yeah."

We both chuckled and giggled, having a vivid imagination of Aomine-cchi's face when he was pretending to be all cool even though he was actually excited at heart. This was probably why I could get close easily with Momo-cchi. Even though we were separated by a six years age span – just like me and Aomine-cchi – for some reason we had a lot of similar interests, including talking about Aomine-cchi when he wasn't here.

"Ah, we're here."

I looked at the direction she was heading to and saw several private rooms lining at the furthest end of the restaurant, separated from the crowded front part. The sliding door of the room on the left side was slightly opened and I could see a group of familiar figures whom I hadn't seen for awhile sitting cross-legged around the wooden table placed in the center. Momo-cchi walked ahead of me, taking off her shoes and slid the door wide opened.

"Sorry for the wait, everyone. I brought, Ki-chan," she called the people inside, and the next second, they all turned at me. There were three of them; two were facing me directly, which was Imayoshi-san and Susa-san. On their right side was Wakamatsu-san, while Momo-cchi herself headed for the left side.

"Good evening…" with a bow, I greeted them in hesitation. To be honest, I was quite nervous now that I was meeting them directly. I wasn't trying to keep talking about the past, but after everything that had happened I couldn't just stroll in casually with these people staring at me almost without blinking.

"Hello, Kise-kun. It's been a long time," with a friendly voice said in his Kansai dialect, Imayoshi-san replied to my greeting; a wide smile plastered all over his face, "Don't just stand there. Come in, come in."

Although still having doubts, I did as told and took off my shoes before stepping into the square, rather spacious room. Momo-cchi signaled that I sat next to her, and so I did. It was at that moment I noticed there was one person missing.

"If you're looking for Sakurai, I sent him with Aomine to assist him," as if capable of reading my mind, Imayoshi-san mentioned the content of my thought precisely. Considering his personality, however, even if he said that I knew that the guy wasn't sent just to help out Aomine-cchi, but also to keep an eye of him, especially since I was called out of home without his knowing. "But never mind that. What would you like to eat, Kise-kun, Momoi? We already placed our orders, so now it's your turn."

He pushed the menu book lying on the table to our direction. Unlike me who was obviously restless, Momo-cchi accepted it lightly and showed the opened pages to me. The way she guided me to pick the meals and drinks in such a friendly manner made me wondered if she was trying to ease my uneasiness, but whether it was true or not, I was very grateful that I had her with me in this room.

"You look well, Kise-kun," still with the same smile, Imayoshi-san rested his chin on his hand while looking at me, "I suppose things are steering to a better direction on your side, aren't they?"

"Yes…" not knowing what else to say to his remark, I could only nod my head. In the meantime, I glanced around a little bit, only to find the other two guys – Wakamatsu-san and Susa-san – were doing nothing but looking silently at me. Under this situation, even if Momo-cchi and Imayoshi-san were being friendly, there was no way I could be calm.

"And I suppose the things with Aomine are also going well. I can see that clearly…"

"Yes?" I frowned upon hearing his last sentence. It didn't feel like he was just chit-chatting to break the ice, and as though to answer my confusion, Imayoshi-san pointed his index finger towards me.

"Ki-chan, have you been bitten by a bug?" all of a sudden, Momo-cchi pulled back my left collar, slightly exposing the bare skin of my neck. I still didn't understand what they were talking about until Susa-san, who probably couldn't stand the dilly-dally anymore, eventually talked for the first time.

"The red mark on your neck," he said in a flat tone, "That's what they're talking about."

"Ah, you said it now…" with an irritated voice, Wakamatsu-san clicked his tongue and looked aside. It took me a few seconds to finally understand what was going on and right that second, I could feel my face going red and hot as I instinctively covered the said "mark" with my hand. So that was why the two of them had been staring at me so intently.

"I— Umm, I mean— It's not—"

"Now, now. No need to freak out, Kise-kun," said Imayoshi-san who didn't lose his composure even in the slightest bit, "This isn't something unfamiliar to us, actually. It's just that it has been awhile since something like this happens due to all the recent incidents. Right, Susa? Wakamatsu?"

"Eh? Did something happen recently? Why didn't I hear anything?" seemingly interested in the turns of events, Momo-cchi leaned forward towards her two colleagues who couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

"No, well… It's just that this afternoon we met Aomine in the changing room," explained Wakamatsu-san while avoiding eye contact with her, "There were red lines on his back, so I asked what they were. I guess I shouldn't have asked…"

"My wife gave this to me this morning. Aren't I great? …That, he said with a smirk," Susa-san, with a face that suggested he'd seen worse, spelled exactly what Aomine-cchi appeared to have told him.

"Stupid, Ahomine-cchi! Stupid! Why did you say that to them?!" my own voice screamed inside; my head felt like it was letting out steams to the air. Forget my face turning red. I really wanted to dig a hole and jumped inside right now, never to come out again for the rest of my life.

"Calm down, Kise-kun. There's no need to be shy, or should I say… It's too late to feel shy. We're already far too used to it anyway," not even trying to fix the situation, Imayoshi-san simply laughed it off, adding up to my embarrassment that my stomach was churning. However, it was not long afterwards that he pushed up his glasses, clearing his throat while fixing his sitting position. With both arms placed on the tables, his fingers entwining together, Imayoshi-san looked straight at me who was sitting right across him. "Well, that was that. I assume you already feel more relaxed by now, don't you, Kise-kun?"

"Surely, you didn't think we call you out here just to tease you on your love life" was probably what he wanted to say. Of course, if he put it that way, I wasn't as nervous as when I first came into this restaurant. Still, I couldn't help but feel my stomach churning when I looked back at him, now for an entirely different reason.

"I'll get straight to business…" he continued without waiting for my answer, "Kise-kun, I would like to propose the termination of your confinement."

"…I'm sorry?" not capable of registering his words into my system, I found myself staring at Imayoshi-san with a dumbfounded look. But at the same time, nobody around me raised a question – let alone objection – to his remark, even Momo-cchi. Silently, they waited in their respective seat, waiting for their leader to continue with whatever it was he certainly had been planning beforehand.

"It's just as you heard it just now. I wish to propose an early stop to your home imprisonment and let you return to society," the man said without the faintest sign of his voice faltering or faking conviction, meaning that he was a hundred percent serious. Seeing my bewildered expression, he did nothing but pulled his lips into a meaningful smile as he asked. "So? What do you say to that, Kise-kun?"

"…Why…all of a sudden?" were the only words I could think off, although I quickly added while stuttering, "I mean, it's— It's not that I don't want to be freed or being ungrateful or anything. I… It's just… The confinement's not gonna last much longer, so… I feel like…this is completely out of nowhere."

"I understand your confusion. Considering that the deal was supposed to last until next month, it is completely normal if you see little point in me cutting it short. But since we wish to request something out of you, it is only right if we give something back to you; in this case: your freedom."

Just how big of a request were they about to ask that they could easily grant freedom to me? In the first place, they could actually just order me to help them out and I would certainly never refused after all that had happened. I couldn't help but wonder why they – instead of making use of their privilege – chose to strike a fair deal with me.

"It concerns Dai-chan…"

"He seems to get it," without any words from me, Susa-san all of a sudden made his remark. Indeed, however, even though I didn't say anything, I was sure it was printed clearly all over my face. After all, why else would they want me involved in this?

"Then it makes things easier for us," their captain nodded approvingly.

"…What would you…like me to do?" I replied in a small voice after a long pause, resulting in everyone's gazes burdening even heavier on me, "And how is it related…to Aomine-cchi?"

"I figure it would be boring for you to listen to our explanation from the very start, so we have summarized everything into a very short, but clear description. Wakamatsu, if you will…" said Imayoshi while passing the stage to the blond-haired guy on the right side. He was, according to Aomine-cchi, simply a noisy and fierce man, but I would like to think that despite his brash personality, he understood things better than he looked.

"Well, you know that our team is specialized in dealing with drug smugglers and syndicates, right?" while scratching the back of his head, Wakamatsu-san exhaled out a faint sigh as he gave me an opening question, which I responded to with a nod, letting him to continue, "There is basically just one thing we want to ask from you. That yakuza group you used to be part of, how do they organize their manpower?"

"What?" spontaneously I exclaimed in surprise. If I had been nervous when I first came here and met this guy, right now I had no idea where those feelings had flown to. In its place were, aside of surprise, curiosity and worry. I was curious because they wouldn't have asked for such a thing with no good reason, and I was worried because even though I had yet to figure out how it was related to Aomine-cchi, certainly they wouldn't connect in a good way. But even more so, me telling them about it would mean…

"It isn't that we are unable to handle them the way it is now. But ever since the change in leadership took place, the casualties on our side have grown bigger," Imayoshi explained, "Through the use of my networks and Momoi's analytical skill, the numbers have thankfully been reduced, but of course, we would like to have as few casualties as possible. This is where you step in, Kise-kun."

"I'm sorry, Ki-chan," Momo-cchi slightly hung her head as she threw me an apologetic look, "I didn't want to ask you to do this if we can help it."

A greeting was heard from outside and the door slowly slid open, revealing a waiter with our orders on her tray. After politely apologizing for the intrusion, she put the plates of food in front of us according to our respective orders, including the drinks, before leaving while closing the door once again. They looked really good and smelled delicious these foods, but my appetite had totally gone that I couldn't even think of taking even just one tiny bite.

"…Well, I… I don't know if it's going to assist the police or not, but I do know the size of their group, their armaments and general strategy from the time when I was still there. I even have some names, if they haven't been changed from their last positions that I know of," with uncertain voice, I explained to them, "But at the same time, should they find out I'm leaking this information to you, they will have me for sure. This is…different from back then where I 'only' revealed the time and location of their activity."

"If you're worried about your safety, surely we can arrange something to—"

"P-Please don't get the wrong idea," despite my heart saying I should hold myself back, the words simply came out on their own from my lips before Imayoshi-san could finish his words, "Please don't get the wrong idea. It's not like I want to protect myself or anything, but for whatever reason, the new leader has set me free unconditionally. I feel like…I shouldn't push my luck and be thankful for that. Moreover, I… I haven't…heard from you…why this concerns Aomine-cchi…"

Now that I could no longer pull back what I'd said, I just hoped that I didn't sound rude to these people who had helped so much that I could live peacefully with Aomine-cchi once again. I noticed them looking at each other for awhile, but instead of Imayoshi-san, the dark brown hair sitting next to him was the one who answered.

"He's been pursuing these people all by himself, completely rejecting our idea to ask for information from you," Susa-san said in his low voice, "Although he managed to successfully accomplish his goal so far, at the same time he has also been injured because of it. Minor injuries, but they were there nonetheless."

In the next second after he said it, the door were slid opened once again, this time without any greetings or manners. It was simply slammed to the side with such force that a loud thud could be heard despite the crowded noises surrounding the atmosphere of the restaurant. And there at the doorstep was no waiter with trays full or food or drinks, but a tall man with tanned skin and dark blue hair. His sapphire-colored eyes were glaring at every single soul sitting inside the room.

"You bastard…" Aomine-cchi hissed furiously, "What did I tell you about never involving Kise in any of our problems? Were my words not clear enough for you to understand?"

"Dai-chan?! How did you—"

"I'm sorry!" right behind Aomine-cchi, another guy with light brown hair showed up before Momo-cchi reached the end of her sentence. With his shoulders shaking, he began to apologize constantly while struggling to explain. "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry! I tried to keep it a secret from Aomine-san as you ordered, but he called home when I was in the restroom and found out Kise-san wasn't there. I'm sorry!"

"Aww, we're busted…" his peculiar composure remained in place, Imayoshi-san simply let out a sigh without a hint of remorse even though Aomine-cchi was clearly furious, "So, Kise-kun… It seems that we're out of time. What do you say to our proposal?"

"Huh? But I—"

"Kise, we're going home," cutting through my words, Aomine-cchi stepped onto the tatami without taking off his shoes, grabbing my arm and pulled me out forcefully that I didn't have a chance to resist. Almost stumbling on my own feet, I put my shoes back on abruptly before being led out of the building.

A familiar car was waiting right outside the restaurant. It wasn't new, let alone luxurious, but the dashing jet black color reflecting the street lights were enough of a proof to show that the four-wheeled ride had been very well taken care of.

"Get in," opening the door to the passenger seat, Aomine-cchi's order rang clearly next to me that I didn't have the courage to talk back. As soon as I pulled my last leg into the car, he slammed the door closed, walking to the other side and slid into the driver seat, fastening his seat belt without saying a word. I felt like I was prompted to do the same despite his silence, and right after I put on mine with a click, the engine started. Before long, we were already dashing on the road with a roaring start.

The distance between this place and our apartment was in fact not very far. That being said, there shouldn't be any need for Aomine-cchi to rush back home as if we were being chased down, but ever since the car started moving, I didn't see him moving his foot away from the gas pedal. Our car blazed through the busy street, and even though he was a cop, Aomine-cchi literally broke almost all traffic regulations with the reckless way he was driving, ignoring the screaming horns from angry drivers around us. His fingers were tightly gripping at the steering wheel; so strong was his grip that it looked like he was about to crush the wheel in his hands.

He was angry. If he was just pissed off, he would've complained about it endlessly along the way, but right now he was silent as a clam. I'd never seen Aomine-cchi so furious before, at least not at me, but just the sight of his sharp eyes glaring straight ahead like a mad man was enough to send chills down my spine that I decided to shut up until he spoke by himself. However, the moment I was waiting for never came. We dashed through the main road, turning into the suburban area and soon found ourselves back home.

It already started raining by the time we dropped off from the car. With his large steps stomping on the ground, Aomine-cchi grabbed my wrist and dragged me upstairs. We were about the same height, but I was already having difficulties keeping up with him climbing the stairs. And the moment we reached our apartment, he swiftly unlocked the door, flinging me inside with a single pull of his strong arms and slammed the door close with a bang.

"Why were you with them?" he asked me with a piercing glare. We hadn't even moved away from the entrance when he grabbed both of my shoulders and pushed me back to the side wall, blocking every mean of escape I may had.

"Earlier…today, after you left… Momo-cchi called me and—"

"And why did you come?" without waiting for me to finish talking, he cut in and pressed me further, "You know you're not supposed to go outside. That four-eyes is the one who imposed the confinement on you after our last discussion. It's not as if you didn't know him. If someone then told you to go out on that guy's order when you're actually not supposed to, even a kid knows he's got something up his sleeve."

"Because…" I stammered with my words. It was scary to have the usually gentle Aomine-cchi now speaking to me with such a fierce look on his face. The hands grabbing my shoulders began to tighten as he questioned me. "…Because they said it concerns Aomine-cchi."

"So what? Just because it concerns me doesn't mean you can just stroll casually to meet them like that. You heard what he wants from you. If I hadn't come and got you, he would've made you told him the information he wanted and risked yourself being hunted down by those thugs for the rest of your life. Isn't that why you chose to be confined at home rather than becoming their informant in the first place?"

As he said this, I noticed a bandage covering the base of his neck, near the collarbones. It was so well hidden under the collar of his shirt that I didn't see it immediately even from this distance, but now that it was visible, I could see a spot of dark red color slightly sipping through the white cloth.

"...No," I muttered under my breath. Despite his anger, Aomine-cchi realized the change in my voice and face that he stared at me in a mix of confusion and irritation, but I ignored all that. "That's not it."

"What nonsense are you spouting about now?" he asked impatiently.

"That's not it. I didn't choose to be confined at home because I was scared of the clan chasing after me," I lifted my face, meeting those pair of dark blue spheres reflecting my figure in their deep color. With his anger now seemed to be subsiding, the expression on Aomine-cchi's face was now dominated by perplexity with a dash of curiosity in anticipation of what I was about to say. "I made that decision…solely because I want to make up for my mistakes to you…by staying close to your side."

It might be weird, or bluffing even, if I said being hunted by them no longer scared me when I was weighing down the options given to me. At that time, the only thing influencing my decision was which choice would allow me more chances to make Aomine-cchi happy. I had hurt him in the most painful way possible. I had told him that I loved him, but even knowing very well how he felt for me, I still left him. He had chased me down through a hell of struggles, but at the very end I selfishly chose to leave him still by insisting to be arrested by using moral conscience as an excuse. I thought only about myself; I was so self-centered that I didn't think of how he felt back then and why he refused to have me handed over to the authorities.

Still… He always forgave me, despite all the things I'd done to him.

"Had I chosen to provide information to Imayoshi-san and your team, perhaps I would've been able to redeem the sins I'd done in the past a little bit," I told him again, "But then, I would put myself at risk of being targeted by the clan for pushing my luck. It isn't their punishment that I'm scared off. If they take me away, it means I will once again leave your side and that is the only thing I can't let myself do. Nevertheless, now you get hurt for dealing with them alone because you don't want to have me involved in this. Just…what am I supposed to do now?"

I felt so bitter. I agreed to return to the clan and shoot him back then to prevent those people from killing him, but by doing so I ended up betraying him so horribly. I came back and helped him out to make up for my betrayal, and I decided to hand myself over afterwards to atone for my past crimes, but by doing so I would end up leaving again when he'd chased me with all his might to bring me back. I chose to be imposed by home imprisonment in order to finally dedicate my whole time to be with him, but by doing so I let him fought the clan all by himself and he was wounded because of it. Why was it that everything I did for his sake always turned out to be hurting him instead? Was I so unworthy to be by his side that all I could do was throwing him into problems one after another?

"I just want to make you happy… That's all…"

The hands that were taking hold of my shoulders suddenly loosened. Before I could register what made him do it, I felt his arms circling around me and soon, I found myself being held close to his chest while he kissed the strands of my hair.

"You're thinking too much, you idiot," he scolded me in a low voice. Despite the harsh words, however, I could feel gentleness returning to his act and gestures. "I'm not so weak that I need an information leak in order to take down a syndicate. I'm not called an 'ace' for nothing. Have you been underestimating my abilities all this time?"

"That's not what I mean…" I replied, feeling his warmth seeping into my skin due to our close distance, "It's just I don't want to see you keep getting injured."

"I told you getting injured is part of the risks that come with this job, and I take on this job with my eyes and brain clear awake," he said, "You've been working yourself up over nothing, stupid."

My lips were sewn tight. Aomine-cchi sounded reassuring, but even then I still couldn't find calm. If possible, I want to keep clutching at his back like this, hugging him tight all day long without having to worry over whether he was getting hurt or not out there.

But it was simply impossible. Before long, he released me from his embrace, and while keeping a small distance between us he peered into my face as he spoke the words I didn't want to hear.

"Well, I must go now," he said with a faint sigh, "I'm just using my break time to drive you back here, so I have to get back to work now. There is a case to be solved."

"…Yes…" I replied in a whisper. In spite of my words, I hung my head down; my fingers still clutching at the clothes on his back. He noticed this, of course, because he brushed the side of my face and told me in a comforting tone.

"I'll be back," his thumb caressing my cheek as he slowly lowered himself. And our lips met. I closed my eyes to savor this fleeting moment, because not long afterwards we separated, and he let go of me, walking back towards the door.

But still in the last second, I tugged at the tip of his coat.

"Kise?" he asked me in bewilderment.

"I…will wait…" I mumbled under my breath, unable to bring myself to look up and face him in the eyes, "I'll be waiting…"

"Don't worry," as if capable of sensing my anxiety, he touched my fingers and removed it gently from him, "I won't do anything reckless, as long as I know you'll be here to welcome me home."

And he released my hand; the door soon shut closed, erasing his figure from my sight. Before my brain could process anything, in the next second I found my body running on its own to the balcony of the living room. The rain had begun to fall harder by now, and as I looked down I saw his car leaving the premise with the faint growling sound of the engine. I couldn't bring myself to make any sound, let alone calling out to him despite the futility.

Only my own voice ringing clearly in the back of my mind.

In this life, there was never any good.

I was made to believe that when I was young, and for a very long time I had been holding onto that very belief without even considering if there was other possibilities I could choose.

I thought I was born and raised in a fairly happy family, but soon it was stripped away from me. The days that followed were hell. Being treated like a slave in a house full of ruthless men was already more than tormenting, but then I was made to commit things horrible enough to make me questioned my humanity for doing them albeit it was forced on me.

That's why… When I first met Aomine-cchi, I was frightened. Why would this person save a stranger like me? Why would this person be nice to me? If he knew there would be no advantage in helping me, what would he do then? I had been living so much in the shadows that his kindness seemed so bright, and it became even more blinding when I realized he had no ulterior motive in doing so; that he was honestly and earnestly saving someone like me without hoping for anything in return.

In this life, perhaps there were actually some good things.

I was made to know that when I began to live with him, and ever since that time I began to learn that good things really did can happen.

I thought I could finally find happiness, but even that was soon stripped away from me. The days that followed were even more hellish than before. Having to return to that world after just discovering the brighter side of life was already miserable enough, but I was made to betray the person I loved the most in the entire world that it made me question the purpose of why I was ever born in the first place if what I would end up doing was hurting everybody around me.

And now that we were finally together once more, would he be taken away from me again?

Rumbles of thunders stormed the sky tonight. Like a tireless torrent of gunshots, countless raindrops never stopped hitting the windows as though trying to break it apart. And it was pitch black outside, without even a glimpse of light visible as far as I could see.

The temperature inside the apartment was low. I didn't turn the fan or air-conditioner on, but I had to curl up in a blanket as I sat on the sofa to keep myself warm. The time shown by the clock on the wall was 1:45 AM, which meant this downpour had been going on for almost five hours straight. And yet it didn't look like it was going to stop anytime soon.

With all the noises outside, I wasn't supposed to be able to hear the sound of the clock ticking, let alone my heart beating, but in fact I could. My fingertips and toes felt cold, and no matter how hard I was clutching at the blanket I was wrapped in, I couldn't feel at ease. How many times had I been checking at my phone since hours ago? But whenever I turned it on, all I could see was the screen's empty display without any notification whatsoever.

There was no reply to my message, no call at all.

"Dammit…" in a whisper, I cursed under my breath. Not receiving any replies at all already made me anxious enough, and to make things worse, in my head I kept hearing his voice promising that he would return.

"…Aomine-cchi…" in a small voice, I called out to his name in hope that it would reach him, "Aomine-cchi, where are you…?"

A blast of thunder pierced through the night sky once again. Burying my face on my knees, I clutched harder at the white blanket while covering myself entirely underneath. It felt cold… The tips of my fingers were trembling as I could do nothing but holding onto the silent phone in my hands.

Three hours ago I sent a message to Aomine-cchi. I didn't intend to disturb him while he was working, so I just asked him to let me know if he was already on his way home. But there was no reply at all. In the first place, I had no idea where he went or what he was doing. He just said there was a case he needed to solve, but whether he was tracking someone down, investigating clues or participating in another raid, I didn't know.

Why do I keep thinking of all these bad thoughts?

I had found out since a long time ago what he did for a living. This wasn't the first time either that he had to come late from work. There were even times when he didn't return for three days straight. But back then he kept me informed of where he was and what he was doing. Sometimes he would even call for a short while just so we could hear each other's voice. But even more than that, back then I was so blissfully oblivious of everything else around me, even to the point of forgetting who I was. Until they found me and awakened me to reality, the thought of dangers the clan might pose never crossed my mind. No matter how awfully cheesy it sounded, in my world there was nothing else but him.

Perhaps… This was why I felt so restless right now. Aside of not hearing any news from him, I had now realized the threats he would be facing in his line of work and how it would endanger his very well-being. What if he was shot? What if he was stabbed? What if he got caught and they did terrible things to him? What if… What if he never returned again?

"Aomine-cchi… Aomine-cchi, please come home soon. Please…"

A sudden ring in the palm of my hand surprised me enough to make me almost dropped my phone to the floor. There was a call coming in, but it wasn't Aomine-cchi. In fact, it was a number I didn't know. Who, on their right mind, would call someone at this hour?

"H-Hello?" with uncertain voice, I picked up my phone and answered.

"Good evening, Kise-kun. Or perhaps I should say… Good morning," said a familiar voice from the other hand. Even without looking at him directly, I could already imagine that person's ever so composed, but serious face. And when he was talking in such serious tone, it could never be good news.

"Imayoshi…san?" obvious as it was, I couldn't help but muttering his name in questioning manner, "Why are you…? What happens to Aomine-cchi? I haven't heard from him at all."

"About that… I would like you to remain calm as I convey this message," he replied without changing the way he talked, "Our team has just successfully apprehended a drug syndicate strongly linked to the case we informed you this evening. However, it is my deepest regret to inform you that some of our squad members were injured during the fight that broke out in the process."

I felt cold all of a sudden; the tips of my fingers and toes became numb. With what little guts I still had in me, I gulped hard and forced myself to open my lips and talked.

"Is…Aomine-cchi…alright?" almost choking on my own breath, I managed to ask the most important question.

"As for Aomine…" following a brief pause, I could hear him exhaling a faint sigh, "It is most unfortunate that I have to tell you he was also injured and had been admitted to the nearest hospital together with his wounded colleagues."

A clattering noise resounded in the living room, now frozen in silence. I couldn't hear anymore of Imayoshi-san's voice from the phone that I just dropped on the floor. Did my heart cease from beating for a second, I wonder? I was unable to speak a word, not lifting a finger. It felt as though the time around me had just stopped and I thought I had lost sense of everything until I heard heavy footsteps coming from the entrance hall.

"Kise, I'm home!" yelled a familiar voice without a care at how late it already was, "You still awake?"

Before I knew it, I had sprang from my seat and sprinted with all my might. There, standing on the doormat, was the tall figure with tanned-colored skin that I had been dying to see. Wearing no trench coat and bringing no umbrella, he was soaked from head to toe with water dripping down his hair and clothes like a small rain inside the house, making a puddle on the floor.

"Oh, there you are. You haven't turned off the lights— Woah, hey!" he let out a yelp in surprise when I jumped at him, circling my arms around his neck and holding him tight that he nearly fell over from the sudden force, "Stupid! You're gonna get yourself wet, too."

"You're back…" I said to him, choking on my own voice, "You're back…"

"Calm down now. What the hell is wrong with you? I'm home already," while patting my back, he scolded me in a gentle voice, "Come on, Kise, let me go. You're seriously going to get yourself wet."

Instead of listening to him, I closed the distance between us and pressed my lips to his. "Welcome home. Let me get you a towel. Hurry up and change before you catch a cold", those were the things I was supposed to tell him, but I wasn't able to. I didn't even know whether I was crying or not; I was unable to hear my own self if I made any sobs or sniffles. I only wanted to feel his entire being right now, feeling that he was really here and alive in front of me.

"…What the hell are you doing, really?" he said after I pulled back from him; his eyes looked rather feverish despite the confusion clearly drawn all over his face, "If you carry on with this nonsense, I might attack you right here and now, just so you know."

"I don't care," I replied quickly, burying my face on his shoulder.

"Stupid… It's not the time to fool around," he let out a long sigh at my careless remark, "Go to bed now, Kise. You should really get some sleep. Look, your eyes are red but you're totally white as paper. And you're shaking, too."

"I don't care," once again, I repeated the same words. For some reason, I could tell that Aomine-cchi was rather taken aback as if he wasn't expecting me to be so stubborn. To be honest, I didn't know why I was saying such things, but at this moment, I was already far from capable of thinking. It was an absurd thought, but I felt like I mustn't let him go now. I didn't care if it made me sound as though I was asking for it.

"Fine. You ask for it," repeating what I just had in mind, this time it was Aomine-cchi who shoved his lips to mine as he took my wrist. I tensed up and quivered when his other hand, cold and wet from the rain, slipped into my clothes and travelled along my back. With my mouth being ravaged like this, it didn't take long for my legs to give way and soon my body slipped down, falling to the cold floor. Had Aomine-cchi not held me close with one arm, I probably would've hit the ground pretty hard.

I gazed up at his figure hovering on top of me. Even though my sight was rather blurry with the tears I'd apparently cried, I could still see his dashing face with those pair of sapphire-colored spheres peering into mine. The drops of rainwater trickling from the ends of his dark blue strands made his appearance even more attractive that I found myself starting to blush, even if I had seen his face up close a lot of times already.

"I'd warned you. You're gonna get wet, too," muttered Aomine-cchi as he saw the water had seeped into the front of my clothes, as well. It did feel cold, now that he mentioned it, but he gave me no chance to think when he shoved his hand into my shirt, pushing it up until the front part of my torso was completely exposed.

"Nngh!" again, I couldn't help but tremble when the cold drops of water fell from his hair to my bare skin. He seemed aware of it, but chose to ignore as his hand and tongue glided over my chest. At this moment, I was already at the brink of having my breath taken away by his touches and yet I noticed his gentle kisses were getting lower and lower, down to my stomach until I finally understood what he was about to do when he slowly pulled my pants down.

"Why are you so sensitive today?" he asked while keeping his hands working on getting my briefs out of the way. Hearing that question alone was already more than enough to send a flush of red devouring my face, but when I gazed down, I felt like I was about to die of embarrassment to see the state of that particular part totally visible in front of him.

"Aomine-cchi, are you really going to…?"

I couldn't finish my sentence. He slightly glanced up at me as though stuying my reaction. When I saw the look in his eyes, I thought my heart just jumped a bit, but before I could do anything else he proceeded to take it into his mouth, sending such an overwhelming feeling all over my body that I involuntarily let out a cry. There was a suckle, a lick and a lap, and then he sucked on it while repeating the same pattern on different parts. My toes were curling; I had to cover my mouth with both hands to prevent such shameful voice from coming out again, but with him knowing exactly where to hit, I didn't know how long I could keep this up.

I can't stand it anymore…

Perhaps it was as he just said. For some reason, even I was aware that my body was more sensitive than usual today. With muffled cries, I attempted to push him away but to no avail. I could feel tears streaming down my cheeks again, but now for an entirely different reason. My hips already felt numb, and when he suckled hard on it, I threw my head backwards; my back arching as I reached climax. What followed after that, however, was extreme exhaustion that I thought I was about to faint.

"…Kise, are you tired?" wiping the traces of white from his lips, Aomine-cchi hovered above me once again; his face approaching mine. To be honest, when I felt his fingers brushing the tears away from my cheek, it felt so comfortable that I could actually fall asleep just like this. But something in me kept my consciousness intact as I brought myself up, surrounding my arms around his back.

"I'm okay…" I told him with a hoarse voice between my gasps, "I'm okay, so… Don't stop…"

"Tch, aah, man… You're really asking for it," clicking his tongue in frustration, Aomine-cchi pushed me on the floor and stared at me with agitated eyes. Maybe he, too, was already on the brink of losing it. "Don't blame me if you're feeling sore all over tomorrow."

He said that and took off his clothes. However, as soon as I saw what had been hidden beneath his shirt, both of my eyes went wide.

"Y-You're hurt!" I rose from my position abruptly. Earlier this morning, there were "only" several small cuts and bruises, but now his lower torso was wrapped in white bandages. And his upper right arm, and his lower left arm, including the one on the base of his neck that I saw this evening. Seeping through the white cloth, in all of those wounds, was the same dark color of red.

"It's already being tended to, no problem," replied him in a casual tone, "Though it's gonna get kinda nasty if I wanna take a shower…"

"I… I should've told you…the information I know…"

"Stop it right there," halting my stuttering words, he put his hands on the sides of my face, making me looked straight into his eyes, "There's no need to blame yourself. No need at all. Forget you used to be part of them. Forget you used to do bad things because of them. You are now an ordinary guy who knows nothing more of the underworld than most people. You hear it? An ordinary guy."

"But, I…"

"No 'buts'," once again, he stopped my words, "Kise, you have been freed from that world. Don't look back. Don't turn your back no matter what. Look only at me."

The hands holding my face were firm and unshaken. His eyes were resolute, and I of all people should know that when he said it like this, he really meant it. I wanted to believe in him; I wanted to live as an ordinary guy as he said and I really did try. But when I saw those wounds on him, I felt like I was being pulled back again to where I started.

"…You're hurt…" repeating the same words, I hung my head down. I felt really miserable…because all I could do was to watch him getting wounded over and over again while I remained safe in his protection.

"I told you, this is nothing," Aomine-cchi replied while ruffling my hair, "Just some cuts and bruises are normal. They'd heal if you give them some times. But… Well, I suppose for now I'll just have to make you stop seeing them."

With that said, he pushed me down again to the floor, but this time I was lying flat on my stomach. Unable to look back, I could only feel his cold fingers running down my back to my hips. Stuck in a mix between confusion and panic, I attempted to rise but he prevented me from doing so, rubbing two of his fingers on that part that I could feel my face turning red.

"I told you, don't look back," he said in a low voice, but for some reason there was also a little bit of teasing in the way he said it, and in the next second he pushed one finger in that my body jumped in surprise.

"St— What are you—?"

"What am I doing? I have to loosen you up first, don't I? But we just did it recently, so it looks like I don't need to do much. Here, it's already like this…" he pushed in one more fingers. I bit my lips when I felt movements inside. Even though I just came, his stimulation was enough to rile me up once again that I was almost scratching on the floor.

"Say, Kise…" he lowered himself and held me from behind, whispering into my ears, "It's okay now, isn't it?"

I glanced at him and caught the sight of feverish look on his face. He didn't need to spell it for me; I knew that he was also at his limit by now. Shutting my eyes closed, I gave him a nod and he then kissed the strands of my hair.

"Kise, I love you…"

I thought my heart just stopped. It startled me enough that I let loose my entire defense. Aomine-cchi rarely said that first, even as a joke, even as we were doing these kinds of things. But it was exactly because of that I was completely taken off guard when he entered me in the next moment.

"…s… It hurts…" I curled and clenched my fists to the floor albeit his slow and careful movements.

"Sorry… I guess it wasn't enough, huh?" holding back his own breaths, Aomine-cchi's arm pulled me close so my back was pressing against his chest. He remained idle for awhile, waiting for me to get used to him before he started with a slow movement again.

"Ah! Nnn… Nngh, Aomine-cchi…"

"Kise…" he called my name in a whisper, nibbling at my ear with his hand lifting my chin. He touched my slightly parted lips, brushing them gently and slipped two of his fingers inside. Being careful as not to get bitten in my current state, he pushed them towards my tongue in a careful gesture as if trying to tell me to suck on them.

"Mmm! Mmm!" I arched my back as he pushed deep into me. Kissing the side of my neck and shoulders, he asked if I was feeling alright, but it was too much for me that I couldn't give him any answer. He considered my silence as a sign that I wasn't okay, apparently, and in the next second I felt him gliding down my stomach with his free hand, touching my front and beginning to stroke on it slowly. "Nnnngh! Nnngh! Sto— Aomine-cchi, don't—!"

"No? But I thought you were in pain," he asked without stopping his hand. Instead, he rubbed faster and stronger that a wave of pleasure suddenly came crashing on me. My eyes went wide. It was enough of a sudden attack that I nearly bit his fingers off had he not pulled them out before pressing at the tip, driving me insane for the second time.

"He's been pursuing these people all by himself, completely rejecting our idea to ask for information from you."

A piece of recollection from this evening's conversation flashed up in my mind. Why…would I be remembering that kind of thing when we were together like this? I already was at the brink of losing my mind, but now anxiety and worries attacked me once again as those pieces of uneasiness started to return into my heart.

"Although he managed to successfully accomplish his goal so far, at the same time he has also been injured because of it."

"Minor injuries, but they were there nonetheless."

"It is most unfortunate that I have to tell you he was also injured and had been admitted to the nearest hospital together with his wounded colleagues."

"…se… Oi, Kise!" with a rather loud voice, Aomine-cchi shook me awake rather forcefully. In my surprise, I could only catch a glimpse of his face contorting in a combination between concern and confusion as he stroked my hair and leaned closer. "What's wrong? What were you thinking just now?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but at the same moment, for an unknown reason I choked back on my own voice and instead of responding to his question, I turned away and buried my face on my arms on the floor. I didn't know why I started crying again. With this fit of sobs, I was far from capable of speaking even a word that I felt Aomine-cchi touching my shoulder and asked.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he repeated his question, "Kise? Are you alright, Kise?"

"…m...red…" my tongue felt numb as I talked, "I'm scared…"

"Scared? Scared of what?"

Unable to spell my worries into words, I could only clench my fists and curled. Perhaps, when he saw me like this, Aomine-cchi seemed to understand what I was trying to say. I thought he would finally be pissed as I kept repeating the same thing over and over again, even though he had told me everything would be okay. I thought he would finally tell me to stop being a baby, that he'd had enough of my stubbornness. However, contrary to my expectation, what he did was to touch my chin, signaling that I looked back at him, and when I did I was met with those gentle pair of dark blue color gazing into mine.

"Stupid… You're thinking too much," he scolded me in his low voice, "Kise, do you love me?"

"…?! O-Of course I do—"

"Do you believe in me?" he asked again. For a few moments, I stared at him in confusion, but eventually I nodded my head and he smiled while letting out a small laugh, "Then… Do you believe me when I told you I won't do anything reckless, as long as I know you'll be here to welcome me home?"

I could feel the lids of my eyes opened wide as he whispered those words into my ears. He did come back, didn't he? Despite the injuries, he came back walking in one piece and now he was holding me like this. Had he not been true to his words, he would've probably rushed himself into danger and I might not see him again in the same way ever.

"I haven't heard your answer," brushing the locks of hair covering my ear, Aomine-cchi pressed his forehead to my temple. I could feel his hand grazing against mine; our fingers then entwining together as he slowly turned me over so we would be facing each other. When I saw his face, silently waiting in anticipation, a mountain of feelings I'd been keeping deep down in my heart all of a sudden felt like they would burst out altogether, but the only thing I managed to let out from my lips were only two simple words.

"…I do…" I muttered that answer to him, "I do… I believe in you…Aomine-cchi…"

He said nothing in response, but I could see a subtle smile pulling the corners of his lips as he leaned in and kissed my forehead. It was strange, indeed… When I repeated his words in the back of my mind, the uneasiness torturing me began to subside little by little. Maybe I really had been thinking too much. If only I had put more trust in him… He did come back to me, didn't he?

"I'm sorry…" in a small voice, I whispered those words to him as I leaned in against his arm, "Aomine-cchi, I love you."

"Seriously, Kise… I really should keep you away from Ryou. You've totally caught his apologetic germ."

We both chuckled at his remark. As he swiped away the bangs covering my forehead, I thought I could catch the sight of his rare, loving smile directed at me and returned mine to him just the same. It was just…immediately afterwards, a wave of relief streamed into my system accompanied by drowsiness. I had wanted to stay awake to gaze into his gentle smile as long as possible, but before I knew it, his voice calling me grew far into the distance and my lids fell closed as I finally lost sense of everything around me.

A glimmer of sunray pierced through the slightly opened curtains, shooting right towards me that I had no choice but to open my eyelids. After blinking several times to adjust myself to the light, it finally came to me that I was still lying on the bed, wrapped in the comfortable blanket up to half of my face. Reflexively, I reached out to my cell phone hidden under the pillow, only to find out that the device was not placed where it was supposed to be.

Huh? Weird… Where is it?

"You looking for this?"

I nearly jumped at the sudden remark coming from the door that what was left of my sleepiness flew out of the window at once. Walking towards the bed where I was lying was Aomine-cchi, already fresh and dressed in his casual homely clothes. In his hand was a familiar square object I'd been searching for.

"Aomine-cchi… Good morning," I greeted him in spite of the bewilderment of his sudden entrance, "Where did you find that?"

"I'd say 'Good afternoon' sounds better," replied him with a smirk, throwing himself to the bedside while passing the phone to me, "It was on the floor near the sofa."

"Ah…" I remembered now. The last time I held onto this was indeed when I was covering myself with the blanket in the living room. As it now returned to my hand, the first thing I did was reflexively turning it on and I was then dumfounded to find out it was already well past noon.

"You slept like a log," Aomine-cchi said with the faint sign of his usual smirk starting to spread on his face, "I shook your shoulders and even threatened to attack you, but you only mumbled some nonsense and went back to sleep."

"S-Sorry…" I felt my face turning red at his remark.

"Actually, I took the liberty of looking at your phone when I found it back there," replied him with his voice changing into a more serious tone, "I noticed that the last phone call you had was with that accursed four-eyes at two in the morning, right before I came back. What was that about?"

"That, he… He told me…that your team has successfully apprehended a drug syndicate," I said, recalling the brief conversation I had with the captain of his team. Aomine-cchi stared at me intently as though telling me to elaborate further, and when he was being like this, I knew that I might as well just did it. "He informed me…that some of the squad members were injured. Then I asked him about you."

"And what did he say?"

"...He said you were also injured and had been admitted to the hospital."

"That damn four-eyes… So that explains why you were acting like that last night," Aomine-cchi clicked his tongue in irritation. If Imayoshi-san was here, I swore he could've really smacked the guy in the face.

"But he wasn't lying, though," I told him, "You were really injured, weren't you?"

"A shallow cut or two won't kill me, idiot. Look, I told you they're going to heal soon," as he said this, Aomine-cchi showed the injuries on his arms. The bandages were already replaced with a new one, and it was done neatly. There were significantly less blood on them compared to last night, and when I asked to see the one on his stomach, it appeared to have looked better, too. "I was injured, yes, but it's nothing to fuss over. I knew he had something up his sleeve when he made that suspicious smile when dropping me at the gate last night."

"Imayoshi-san dropped you off?"

"Ah, sorry. I wanted to tell you this when I came back, actually," with a rather awkward expression, Aomine-cchi scratched the back of his head, "My phone was smashed to pieces when I fought with those thugs from last night. The front and side of my car were also damaged so bad they had to be sent to the repair shop."

"So that's why you didn't reply to my message…"

"Did you send me one? Must be after my phone was destroyed, sorry," replied him. Afterwards, he let out a long sigh while stretching his arms and legs, sprawling on the bed next to me while leaning in towards me. "Well, guess it's time to get a new one. What do you say if we look up the web together later on, Kise?"

"Eh? Don't you have to go to work?" I stared at him in confusion. Now that I thought about it, it was weird that he was wearing such casual clothes instead of the usual shirt and trousers and tie.

"Nope. The guys we caught last night were quite the big fish. Now that they're already in our hands, we can relax for a little while, so the four-eyes said I could take today's off since there's only some reporting and desk works to do anyway."

"I see…" I mumbled under my breaths, quite amazed that Aomine-cchi didn't feel insulted when he'd practically been told he was useless for desk works right to his face. But then, all of a sudden I noticed his arms circling around my waits as he pulled me closer with a suspicious grin. "W-What?"

"I'm free for the entire day, see?" he said in a similarly suspicious tone, "I wonder what I will do with you…"

"…?! But we'd just done it last night—"

"When did I ever say anything about doing that?" replied him, pretending to play innocent.

"But you're still going to do it, right?"

"Well, that's true," without even a tiny bit of shame, Aomine-cchi shifted closer until he was literally lying on top of me, making a mess of the sheet and blanket. I knew he could see my face turning red by now, but still he closed in until our noses nearly bumped together. "I told you, didn't I? Once I have a day off, I'm gonna spoil you rotten until you lose your mind…"

There was nothing I could say to that, and with his arms locking tight around my waist, there was nowhere for me to run. It seemed that I was left with no choice. As I shut my eyes tight when I felt his presence drawing near, a thought flashed by in the back of my mind.

Today's gonna be a really long day…