CHAPTER FIVE

"So, are you not just gonna talk to me for the rest of your life?"

Wiping the tears in my eyes, I turned to look at my mother who was eyeing me with that fixed frown on her forehead. She came to call me when I didn't show up downstairs for dinner, but all I had been doing was ignore her. She was situated near the door, her arms crossed over to her chest. I opened my mouth to speak, but I didn't know where to start. I had so much to say I didn't even know which comes first anymore.

She heaved a deep sigh, an apologetic look instantly came to stamp across her face. She must've finally realized what the problem was. "Is this about your transfer to Touo?"

As if what she said had caused something inside of me to snap, my entire body shook violently. It was like I would burst any moment and evaporate into thin air because of the emotions that were filling me up.

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe this time I want to stay and graduate in Kaijou?!" My voice came out so loud and unstable that she gasped in surprise, eyes popping wide. "That maybe.. I don't know... I don't want to leave my friends?!"

"Yeah. But I was just thinking--"

"About you!" I cried, cutting her off. "Because you're always thinking about you!"

Her eyes grew even wider and her arms fell down to her sides, lifeless. "Miyako..."

"Have you ever asked me about anything, Mom? Did you ever ask me if I'm okay with this? Did you ask me if I wanted to live here?" I didn't get an immediate response from her, so I continued, "I've been putting up with this all my life and I'm fucking tired of it!"

Without giving her the chance to say anything more, I strode towards the door, hurriedly opening it---only to gasp when I saw Daiki on the other side, looking so surprised as well. Our gazes met, and I knew instantly something was different. He was staring at me as though this was the first time he'd ever had a good look at my face. I didn't know if he had heard everything, but at the moment I just wanted to run far away from this place as fast as possible, so I didn't bother asking and raced down the stairs.

Whether Aomine Daiki heard everything or not, I simply didn't give a damn.

I was so done. All I wanted to do was to get out of this hellhole.

***

The noise of the city was enough to drown my soft sobs as I stroll around unfamiliar streets. It was a bit cold, as I was only wearing a cotton shirt and didn't have enough time to grab a coat, but still I figured I could manage.

For ten long years after my father died, I always had.

"Miyako," a familiar deep voice suddenly called out my name from behind, causing me to stop walking in the middle of the street.

After wiping my tears away, I turned to look at the person who was walking closer to where I stood with quick strides. It was my stepbrother. The concern in his gaze was enough to send me completely idle for a minute. I couldn't quite comprehend the expression he was making. It was one of those faces I'd never expected he would make.

"D-Daiki.. What are you doing here?"

He merely stared at me and didn't say anything. I waited for him to speak but nothing came out from that foul mouth of his. After another minute, however, he removed the jacket he was wearing then wrapped it around my freezing body.

It didn't smell anything like fancy men's cologne, but it surprisingly smelt good. It was warm.

"Thank you," I whispered, loud enough for him to hear. I wasn't exactly used to seeing this Aomine Daiki since he was usually a jerk whenever he was around me.

Was he doing this to intentionally put me in his debt? How cunning. I mean, I hadn't even noticed he was following me.

Heat rose up to my cheeks when he suddenly grabbed my hand this time, held it firmly, then dragged me towards a nearby vending machine. "What do you want?"

"I'm not thirsty," I said.

He tightened his grip on my hand, looking at me with that same old lazy expression plastered on his face. "This is a one-time offer. I'm not treating you again after this so if there's anything you want, just tell me. Hurry."

Gritting my teeth, I quickly yanked my hand free. I wasn't really in my best mood to deal with him or with any of his games---not when he was one of the reasons why I felt so miserable at the moment.

Right. He was the devil that gave me so much frustration and misery these past few days.

"I said I don't fucking want anything, didn't I?!" I snapped, furious.

Surprised, he blinked his eyes twice. "Don't yell at me. I'm just worried."

"Worried?" I scoffed. "Please stop acting like you don't hate me because I'm not going to do the same."

Passers by were starting to look at us because of the fuss we were making in the middle of the street and it was utterly mortifying. I had never done anything like this before. If there was a problem, I'd usually deal with it my own way: Ignore and endure. I had been repeating that process over the last ten years of my life.

If it were to make my mother happy, I would endure anything. No matter how hard it was to repeatedly meet new people and adjust to new surroundings, I'd stay strong because I knew she was happy. And I thought I could go on like that: be the supportive daughter that she needed. But I didn't think I would reach my limit sooner.

"Don't cry," I heard Daiki say in a quiet voice.

As if on cue, I wiped the tears that had streamed down to my cheeks. I didn't even know I was starting to cry again. Stupid eyes! I inhaled deeply to calm myself before facing him once more. "Just go away, Daiki."

"Let's go home." His tone was serious, yet his gaze was kind and gentle.

This was dangerous. His eyes were. If he stared at me like that for another minute, my heart might fail me.

"I'm not going back there," I simply said, turning my back on him and walking away. But, once again, he grabbed my hand to stop me from leaving. I whipped around to meet his gaze, sighing in frustration. "Did you hear what I just said?"

"Where do you think you're going? Are you going to run away from your mother?"

My eyes grew wide. His austerely delivered question left me in a trance.

Run away.

It sounded so tempting. Too damn tempting. But where would I go if I did do that? Running away was supposed to be my mother's forte, not mine. All she had been doing all these years was run away from her problems and move to wherever she wanted to whenever she had the chance---destroying my life in the process.

Yeah. It sucked to be me.

Aomine Daiki, as though reading my mind, gave a small sigh. "You don't have a place to go, right? Then let's go home. Don't be such a hassle."

"No one asked you to come after me," I shot back.

At that point, his eyes narrowed and his grip on my hand tightened even more. It was starting to get a bit painful. It was as though he was making sure I couldn't escape from him. "I can't leave you alone when you're like this. Let's go back home, Miyako."

Those blue eyes that had frightened me many times now seemed to be laced with sincerity and the concern in his voice sent my heart pounding inside my chest. He was really worried, like geniunely worried, wasn't he?

It didn't make sense.

I had thought he hated me so much---as much as I had thought I hated him. But if we hated each other all this time, should we be even staring at each other like this?

Just as I was about to give in to his kindness and nod my head in silent surrender, the sound of brakes filled my ears. Both Daiki and I turned to the source of the noise.

"Natsume," I gasped, eyes wide.

Aoi Natsume leaped out of his motorcycle then swiftly removed the helmet he was wearing, revealing that worried frown on his handsome face. Quickly after making sure his bike wouldn't fall, he ran to me, pulled me away from Daiki, and embraced me so tightly I found it hard to breathe.

"I was so worried, nee-san! Your mom called me, she told me you two had a fight and that you left without saying where you're going."

I returned his hug, allowing him to give me the comfort I needed. I felt as if a lifetime's worth of bad luck had fallen on me all at once and the tears that I had successfully kept in earlier somehow managed to escape again. "I can't do this anymore. I'm so tired of everything."

"Shh. It's okay," he cooed, gently kissing the top of my head as I remained encased in his arms. "I'm here for you. Always."

In that very instant, right after Natsume finished his sentence, I was yanked out of his arms. Daiki's familiar warmth was soon pressed against my back and I looked at him, just in time to see him throw a nasty glare towards the blonde.

"Who are you?" he asked in a rough voice---a much rougher voice than usual.

Natsume's brows met, but his expression relaxed almost immediately. He then raked his fingers through his long, brownish blonde hair. His free hand came to fiddle with his earring, his emerald eyes narrowed, as if deep in thought. Then after a few more seconds, he finally spoke, "I see. You're nee-san's new brother."

Daiki didn't answer for a moment before, "I'm Aomine Daiki."

"Yeah, I know." Natsume shrugged his shoulders, seemingly uninterested in Daiki's self-introduction. "I recognized you. You're famous everywhere. The basketball prodigy? But I never thought you're the rude stepbrother she was telling me about."

The tanned male creased his brows. He looked like he was about to say something unpleasant, but changed his mind anyway. "I'm taking her home. You're free to leave."

"You'll take her home so what? So you can make her scrub your toilet again?" Natsume's menacing tone surprised me, but what surprised me more was the way he was glaring at Daiki. He was frightening. "No, thanks," he continued, "Nee-san is coming with me."

Upon saying that, Natsume grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the man. However, Daiki wouldn't let me go. The way they were glaring at each other sent chills down my spine, and I secretly gulped. So before anything bad would happen, I finally decided to interrupt. "Daiki, just go home. I'm going with him."

"No," he growled, "You're coming with me."

I stared at him for a minute, then replied in a small voice, "I want to be with Natsume. Please leave us alone."

I didn't waste another second and immediately walked to where Natsume's motorcycle was parked, ignoring Daiki's protest. The blonde followed, handing me his spare helmet. After putting it on, I climbed into the space behind him. I knew Daiki was glaring at us, but I couldn't bear to look at him again.

Was he really concerned about me? I couldn't seem to fully grasp his strange change of attitude. I let my gaze travel to the jacket wrapped around my body. Just remembering his kind and worried gaze made my stomach clench in pain.

Aomine Daiki was a devil, but today he was different. There was definitely something wrong with him.

"Are you okay, nee-san?" Natsume asked, glancing at me through his shoulder.

I nodded my head. "Yeah."

"Then let's go."

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Just in case you're wondering, YEAH I AM STILL ALIVE. LMAO

It's good to be back. I miss you guys so much. :)