Author's Note: Although I had hoped to get this up sooner, alas... I hope you guys have enjoyed the story, it's finished with this chapter! Phew. It's crazy to think I only have two more stories to write and I will have successfully written one for all of the GoM. Before I start posting Midorima's story, I'm going to try to finish Kuroko's story. Thank you for all the wonderful reviews and all the lovely support!

Twelve

"Are you just going to stare at me, or...?"

He averts his eyes and scratches at the back of his head. "Tch, what's there to stare at?"

Suzune smirks at him in turn. It proves a little difficult to move on her crutches as she is still not quite accustomed to them, but she manages to make it out of the front gate easily enough. "I thought it would be nice to take these instead of my wheelchair. I can walk pretty well with them now. Shouldn't you be congratulating me?"

"Yeah, yeah. Congrats."

"Pfft, you don't sound the least bit enthused," she grumbles back at him in complaint with a sour look on her face.

A grin stretches over his lips as he reaches over toward her, and before she can pull away, he has already tousled her finely groomed hair. "Heh, you don't have to sulk. It's good that you're able to walk more now." Is that supposed to be his indirect way of saying he's happy for her? As usual, he can never quite express himself properly.

"Well, let's get going then! I hope you're good at bowling, otherwise I'm going to crush you."

He scoffs at the very notion, ambling along beside her with his hands shoved into his pockets. "You wanna make another bet on that?"

"It would be too sad if I beat you twice in a row."

"Tch, lucky win," he responds, glowering at her.

They continue their usual back-and-forth banter the entire way to the bowling alley. Except that when they arrive, there are two people waiting just outside the doors for them. It is a strange sight for Suzune, if only because she feels some vague sense of familiarity when she gazes upon their faces. And perhaps that is why she feels it is no coincidence that the two are loitering there.

Nonetheless, she is perfectly content to hobble past them, except that Daiki takes a sudden stop which coaxes her to pause and glance back at him. Almost immediately the strange man takes a step toward her and seizes her hand. She has half a mind to clobber him over the head with one of her crutches, except that he falls to his knees almost immediately.

"H-huh?"

"I am... so sorry," he croaks out apologetically.

Suzune stares at him quizzically. "I'm not sure I..."

"Our daughter," the woman beside him cuts in, "You saved our daughter."

It is a struggle for Suzune to swallow the lump sitting in the back of her throat. These two people – she thought she would never see them again. A part of her hoped she would never have to. But she is certain this is no stroke of luck that they happen to be waiting in front of the exact bowling alley she plans to enter. A quick glimpse over her shoulder is telling enough, as Daiki gives a nod of acknowledgment – his complicity is somewhat obvious.

"I won't ask your forgiveness," the man breathes out shakily, his head bowed low. He eventually lets go of her hand and nearly prostrates himself in front of her. "I am sorry – and thank you. If it wasn't for you, we might have lost our daughter. I don't think... there's anything we can ever do to thank you enough."

The words sitting at the back of her tongue feel acidic. She wants to blurt them out – blame the couple for the loss of her own dream, for the permanent damage sustained to her legs. But she also knows that it was her decision that led to these consequences. Her face softens as she breathes a sigh.

"I made the decision that I knew I could live with," she tells them. "If I could go back in time, I am sure I would make the same choice again. I won't lie and tell you that I am happy with that choice. But I know it was the right thing to do."

Daiki grins at her from the side and reaches over to ruffle her hair again.

This time, she does not make a snappy retort or try to bat him away. The tears start to well up in her eyes – each drop that falls represents a fragment of her shattered dreams and the regret she will carry with her. But she also knows that burden is not as heavy as it would have been if she had watched a little girl die in front of her.

"Hey, come here. You don't want everyone to see your crying face."

Encouraged by Daiki, she drops both of her crutches and falls into his chest. His hand cradles the back of her head as she sobs against his shirt. He grumbles underneath his breath about how she better not wipe her snot on his clothes. It brings a temporary smile to her face and eventually the tears begin to dry up.

After some parting words from the couple, Daiki and Suzune head inside the bowling alley. Strangely, she feels like a weight has been lifted off her shoulders. He seems to notice as much with that cocky grin on his face.

"Don't think I don't know that you had a part in this."

"Your mom asked me."

That bit of information is not entirely surprising but still manages to catch her off-guard. And ultimately, she cannot even pretend that she is truly mad – it would be disingenuous to the gratitude she feels toward Daiki. Quietly she mutters, "Thanks."

"Eh? What'd you say?"

"I'm not repeating it. Anyways, let's play. It's my turn to crush you."

—

"I am actually kind of surprised to see you this early in the morning. Who knew you could wake up at the crack of dawn?"

"Yeah, yeah. Shut up and let's go to school."

"Jeez, you sure are cranky. Did you not have a good winter break?"

It has been a month since the end of the Wintercup. In the wake of it all, they have only really met up for the holidays. The void left in Daiki's absence is palpable and while she does not show it outwardly, she is secretly glad that school has resumed and they can walk together in the mornings.

His breath is rising through the air in thin, visible wisps – like smoke. Although the jacket he is wearing appears thick enough to keep him adequately warm. All of a sudden he thrusts his hand out toward her. "Your hand."

Suzune grins back at him. She has not been off of her crutches for very long and her legs can still verge a little unstable at times, but on the whole she is happy to be walking again. Almost too enthusiastically, she slaps her hand against Daiki's palm. He frowns momentarily before threading his fingers with hers.

"Smilin' like an idiot."

"Hypocrite, you are too."

"Tch..." Even though he pretends to be annoyed, she can see the grin on his face that he is trying to hide by turning his gaze away from her.

"You actually missed me a lot, didn't you? Admit it. You can't live without me now."

He clicks his tongue as he peers over at her. "You sure have gotten cocky."

Suzune lets out a hearty laugh. "Well, I guess I have learned from the best, right? My boyfriend is probably the cockiest guy in all the basketball teams in Japan." Almost as soon as she says that, she notices a rosy color on his cheeks as he walks along beside her. It is difficult to see and maybe it is only her imagination – he is more than a head taller than her, after all. "Oh? Are you acting embarrassed? So even you can blush. I guess no one is immune."

"Keh, you're a real brat." He reaches over and flicks her on the forehead before she can defend herself.

"Hey! Jerk, that one really hurt."

"Eh? Did it?" Grinning, he suddenly stops and leans toward her. Before she can react, she feels his lips brush against the red spot on the middle of her forehead. That stuns her – at least long enough for him to sneak in another kiss on her lips. It is brief but the warmth seems to linger and subsequently spread across her entire face. "Hm, so the cocky girlfriend can blush, too."

"W-what are you... c'mon, we'll be late if you keep goofing off," she grumbles, tugging at his hand to coax him along. But Suzune can scarcely suppress the smile surfacing on her face. Secretly, she is happy for these small moments they share together.

Almost as soon as they arrive at school and enter the classroom, Kanako flies in between the two of them. "The lovey-dovey couple is here!" she exclaims with a grin, wrapping an arm around Suzune's and peeling her away from Daiki. "It's almost the end of our first year, you know. Next year we'll have to start thinking about university and stuff. Can you believe it?"

"Hey. Don't just run off with her," Daiki interrupts, seizing Suzune's hand and putting a halt to Kanako's attempt to whisk the brunette away.

"What? You can't be jealous of me. Or are you... the possessive type?"

"Tch, annoying."

"You're lucky I'm being nice enough to let you have Suzu-chan as much as I do!"

"Am I some kind of pet?" Suzune cuts in glumly.

"Oho~ that reminds me, Valentine's Day isn't too far away. Shouldn't you be on your best behavior if you want to get chocolate?"

"Who cares about that?"

They obviously completely ignored her comment. Suzune breathes a sigh. "Well, I guess if you don't care about chocolate then that solves the problem of whether or not I should get you anything."

"… I didn't say it like that."

"Are you... are you pouting?" Kanako gasps in disbelief.

"Who would pout over chocolate? Tch, I'm going to my seat."

"He was definitely pouting. Don't you think he would get super mad if you gave chocolate to another guy and didn't give him any? Man, he is such a sourpuss. He should just be honest and say that he wants some from you."

Suzune grins. "I think that part of him is cute."

The expression on Kanako's face is either unamused or complete disbelief – either way, she seems largely flabbergasted. "If you say so. Well, on that note, have you thought about what you want to do in the future? I mean... you had to give up your dream."

"I'm not giving up on volleyball."

Kanako's face softens. "I don't mean to sound like a pessimist but the doctors said–"

"I can't be a player anymore, that's true. But there's nothing saying I can't be the manager for the team, right? And moreover, I think... maybe I could coach a team in the future. That's not giving up. I just have to find another way to live my dream, right?"

That answer causes the dark-haired girl to blink slowly in surprise. "Wow, you really thought this through. I thought you might still be..."

"Hung up? Upset? No... I have people like you and Daiki-kun to encourage and support me. In fact, it's because of him that I realized that I didn't have to completely give up my dream."

"That's the spirit! Although I'm not sure what part of that big lughead has inspired you but I'm glad either way."

Suzune chuckles at her friend's words. Only minutes later the teacher enters after the first bell rings. They take to their seats, although she finds herself peering back at Daiki. When their eyes meet, he almost immediately turns his head away as though embarrassed to be caught staring at her. She sniggers under her breath.

Her future that had once been so dim is somehow brighter – and she suspects that Daiki is part of the light guiding her way. Ironic perhaps, borderline cliché even, though she cannot imagine where she would be without him.