Summary: Hana's always had a habit of overthinking things, & it's caused many misunderstandings in the past. She's working hard to change but still finds herself running into even more obstacles. A dazzling light & his shadow just so happen to be two of them. Maybe this time, she shouldn't think so much? But for Hana, that's easier said than done...

Pairing: Kuroko x oc

Disclaimer: I don't own Kuroko's Basketball or any of its characters, but I do own this story and the oc's in it! :3

A/N: So after being on hiatus due to college and my other responsibilities, I decided to go ahead and revamp this story. It felt like I was really just testing the waters the first time around, and after taking a break and really taking the time to get to know my characters, I realized that the way I'd written them previously didn't exactly match with the way I'd intended. So I felt a need to go back and make changes to the story that I felt were necessary. Nothing major, I promise.^^The only big changes I've made are in the first chapter, but other than that, everything else will be kept pretty much the same (with the acception of dialogue and other minor details here and there). If you were already following this story than you might notice the changes, if not, than I don't really blame you tbh. It's been forever since I updated anyways.

And to all the new readers, thank you for deciding to read this! I hope you can be as patient with updates as I am writing about awkward teenagers falling in love lol xD ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


A blur of red hair sprung up, its owner seeming to waver against the force of gravity in midair before two muscular arms dunked a ball into a worn out net. A smile broke across Hana's lips as she silently cheered.

Over the past few weeks it had become a sort of habit of hers; as she'd ease into the chore of scrubbing dishes at the tiny sink of her kitchenette, her eyes would casually glance up and peer through her window, instantly spotting the stranger who'd be there already shooting hoops. He was barely visible from behind the trees that surrounded the basketball court, so she'd have to crane her neck sometimes just to get a better view from her apartment across the street. Sometimes she'd even pause in the process of adjusting her angle at the sink and flush at the realization of what she was doing. It was silly considering there wasn't anybody else there but her.

All she knew was that he was tall, had red hair, and was in incredibly good shape. Other than that, she couldn't really make out any facial features, and she'd never stuck around long enough to catch a better glimpse of him on his way home. It wasn't like Hana felt any urge to get to know him. Not really. Just being able to watch him from her kitchen window was enough to keep her attentive as she did her chores.

Dribbling from one end of the court to the other, his body jerked to a halt from somewhere in the center of the court. Bringing the ball up again, it flew from his hands in a smooth arc and into the net.

Another three-pointer? Good job.

She stays like this for a few moments longer, idly rinsing utensils and placing them into the dish rack until the stranger is out of sight, and then back again. The white polka-dotted clock that hung on the wall in the living room ticks the seconds away, noisily. It was the only thing keeping her company in the apartment she was now calling home.

A few months before graduating from junior high, Hana's parents had dropped the bombshell of their move to Kyoto. It was where they'd decided to unveil their shiny new restaurant, and they were absolutely over the moon about finally being able to be their own bosses. It marked the start of a new chapter in their lives- a chapter they'd been putting off for decades in order to raise their family, but Hana couldn't bring herself to share in her parents' excitement. Instead, she'd done something so unexpected that it had left her parents flabbergasted. She'd dug her heels in, used her best loud voice, and pleaded for permission to remain in Tokyo. By herself.

In junior high, she hadn't been able to meet any of the rotten requirements her classmates deemed necessary in order to become their friend, and she'd absolutely refused to join said classmates in any clubs after school. Instead, she'd become a part of the "Go home" club and did just that everyday. Any inkling of a social life she had was centered solely around the girl she'd become friends with during the summer that she'd attended cram school. So with the acception of that one friend, leaving the house at all had been near inexistent for her. With their daughter's introverted self in mind, her parents were skeptical. Hana argued that her life was still in Tokyo and that she didn't feel quite ready to leave it behind. "Reinvent herself", was the key phrase used. "Independence", another. She wanted to prove to herself that she was capable of changing. To prove to them that she could do fine on her own. If she put in the effort, than maybe she'd be able to be one less worry for her parents as they embarked on their new journey. And above all, she wanted to have some sort of control over her destiny, whatever it may be.

One way or the other, she'd gotten them to agree. They still insisted on taking care of everything for her, but Hana refused and told them she didn't need an allowance. She'd pay for her phone and everything herself and even work up the courage to get a part-time job. They were against it at first but were so impressed by their youngest daughter that they decided to allow her on the condition that she let them pay the rent. She was still a student, after all, and they still expected her to report back excellent grades. They still had high expectations of her, and she didn't want to let them down. She didn't want to fail after getting this far. Especially after she'd begged them to let her stay.

But aside from the apartment, had anything really changed?

Hana forces the thought into the recesses of her mind and glances over at the clock. "Oh, shoot," she says, alerted by the approaching time. She leaves the remaining dishes for later and peeks through the window to see if the red-haired stranger was still there. He was gone. "You're going to be late," she reminded herself and cut off the stream of sunshine that poured through the window.

After grabbing her purse, she gave herself a quick glance in the mirror before heading out. Frizzy black hair was scraped into what appeared to be a bun but resembled more of a birds nest atop her head. Instead of cute hair accessories, she had bobby pins locking everything into place. They did their best anyway. Hana thought of her face as ordinary; Save for the thick eyebrows from her mother's side of the family. She was appreciative of the eyes she'd inherited from her father, though. Their orange pigment served as a reminder for the individual who was currently waiting for her today.

And she didn't plan on being late.


Sparkling green eyes watched Hana curiously as she stepped into the shade of the discount shop next door. It took everything she had not to turn to the owner of those eyes and greet them with a smile that still felt foreign to her own face. Urging herself to be patient, she set her attention on the rotating display stand outside of the shop and twirled the familiar Doraemon keychain between her thumb and index finger. It wouldn't be long now, she told herself. By now, even her green-eyed observer knew the way things worked.

"Excuse me," a voice called out from below.

"What?" Hana's body jolts in shock and she tears away from the display as if it were on fire.

A young girl stands beside her with a wrinkled brow. "What's wrong with you?"

Baffled by the girl's tone, Hana looks past the display and meets the sharp eyes of a woman bouncing a crying baby by the entrance. The girl's mother, no doubt.

"Excuse me!" the girl says for the second time.

"Wh-what was that?"

The girl stomps her foot angrily. "Why are you ignoring me? I said excuse me."

"I... I'm sorry," Hana says, visibly embarrassed. She could've sworn she felt the eyes of both mother and child crushing her with the same judgmental gaze. Hana gets out of the girl's way as she goes up to inspect the cartoon keychains, and exhales a breath as she turns away. Being a teenager meant she was supposed to be bigger and stronger than them, she thought begrudgingly. But clearly, she wasn't.

Kids are so unpredictable.

Like music to her ears, the pleasant sound of a bells jingle rattles behind the window of the animal shelter next door, and Hana's heart radiates with excitement again. A small body of dark orange fur hops up onto the windowsill and makes an effortless walk along the edge in her direction. When Hana looks into the feline's big green eyes, vibrant from the bright sunlight reflecting off of them, she can't repress the smile that stretches across her lips. She peers over the feline's head to make sure the person at the front desk was distracted before squatting down in front of the window. As usual, the woman was munching on her sandwich and pausing briefly to chat to whoever was on the phone cradled between her head and shoulder. Other than her, everybody else working at the shelter was currently out grabbing lunch. "Hello," she greets. "It's been a while, Marmalade."

Marmalade's muffled meow greets her back

"I still can't believe they've finally caught onto you," Hana says, referring to the new bell that hung from Marmalade's collar. Her paws prod at the glass separating them, and Hana wonders if it annoyed her to have mentioned it.

It may be hard to believe, but Marmalade was the first cat that Hana had ever truly come in contact with in her 16 years of life. Due to her fathers' allergies, pets weren't even an option in the Iwasaki household. The first time she went out to explore her new neighborhood, she'd come across Marmalade outside of a bakery a few blocks away. Noticing her collar, Hana had felt reluctant about leaving her by herself, so she'd passed on her errands and spent her first ever afternoon with a cat eating snacks under a tree. And Hana had to admit that the presence of Marmalade alone had been pretty magical. It wasn't until someone from the shelter had approached them that the evening's magic had drained away.

Unwilling to part with the gentle owner of those peridot eyes, she'd followed them back and discovered that Marmalade was rather famous in the neighborhood for breaking out of the shelter. After being taken by the charming little feline, Hana found herself taking detours whenever she was out doing errands, and would bring along snacks in case they ever ran into each other again. And they had, on numerous more occasions. It was the strangest thing. All she had to do was walk in the direction of the shelter, and the fluff of fur would materialize out of thin air somewhere along the way. She was reliable that way, and Hana could always count on their time together to lift her spirits. It wasn't until recently that the workers had finally grown some brains and attached a bell to Marmalade's collar to keep track of her, and that was where the trouble now lay.

Hana's hand pressed against the cool glass as she frowned at her own reflection. It was as easy as simply opening the door while the receptionist was distracted: Marmalade would slip out, they'd make a break for it, and then be back in an hour or two before anyone realized she was gone. Maybe this time, she'd even have the guts to take the marmalade cat home. It sounded so simple, she thought. But taking care of a pet was a really big commitment. Hana was still struggling to get used to living alone, and she didn't want to bring Marmalade into the mix until she felt completely confident that she could care for them both.

As if to challenge her warring thoughts, a face she recognizes steps out of the main entrance, and her stomach drops. Without a moment's hesitation, Hana ducks behind the only potted plant located in front of the shelter's window. The same little girl from earlier gives her a startled look before deciding that the keychain simply wasn't worth it, and runs toward her mother. At the same time, Hana felt a blush creep up her neck as two housewives giggled and side-glanced at her from across the street. You even fail as a wallflower, she internally groans.

"Hana?"

Her heart nearly bursts out of her chest as she's forced to look up. Towering over her was the sole reason she'd been unable to make any friends in junior high. This was the girl who'd make wicked grins at the sight of her becoming the target of people's pranks. Who, for years, had berated her with harsh words, and made her feel like a doormat.

"Iwasaki Hana? I knew that hair looked familiar!" crowed Inohara. Inohara Kaori, whose bright smile, and laugh had preconditioned Hana to look down at her feet.

"Hi," she greets, forcing a smile that felt crooked.

"So you're the ghost whose been coming to see, Tora! And here Asuka thought she was just seeing things," she exclaims, gesturing toward the woman at the front desk.

Her name is Marmalade, Hana wanted to say. Not the name that she was given by the shelter, and possibly Inohara, but the name that Hana had come up with herself.

The frizzy-haired girl was so nervous that she couldn't say a word. Her heart was beating in her ears, and she felt short of breath. She recognized that familiar urge to turn and run, but Hana does her best to fight her springy nerves and reluctantly wills her body to stand.

"I thought you'd moved to Kyoto?" Inohara asks. She crosses her arms and shifts her weight from her right to left leg. "That's what you told the class anyways."

The way she'd framed her question suggested Hana had done something wrong, but all she could do was pretend it hadn't fazed her. "Th-there was a change of plans," Hana said, disappointed in the shakiness of her voice. Hana could've sworn she looked pleased with herself.

"Really? Than you're going to a school nearby?" She pauses for a second, thinking something over. Then almost immediately, she snaps her fingers."Is it Seirin?"

Hana's stomach dropped again. "How did you know?"

"Nobody I've kept in touch with has mentioned seeing you around, and Seirin's the only place I know that nobody wanted to go to. Or knew existed, really. I'm going to Touou myself." She smirks and rakes a manicured hand through her silky brown hair.

Hana keeps her smile from slanting despite the girl's condescending tone. "Touou?"

"Yeah, it's where all of my friends decided to go. It's too bad you ended up going to Seirin, though. It must be really lonely going there all by yourself."

Hana internally scoffs. Her attitude was really beginning to grate on her nerves, but for the sake of ending things quickly, she opted for short responses.

"It's no big deal."

Inohara gasps in mock surprise. "You really haven't changed at all, huh? I can't even imagine how things must be like for you in school." Before Hana can respond, Inohara turns her attention to the animal behind her. "So you're thinking of adopting, Tora?"

Hana looks back at Marmalade and then to Inohara, becoming flustered by the question.

Inohara wags her finger. "Well, I doubt you'd be able to handle such a sneaky cat like Tora, Hana. Knowing you, you'd probably have a tough time keeping up with her and end up losing her. I think a chubby kitty would be a much better match, you know, because they're so slow-"

"No," Hana cuts in. Annoyance curled in her chest and her body trembled.

She stares a moment, taken aback. "I'm wrong?"

Hana's hands were shaking so badly from the tension that she had to clutch them together to keep still. The bell from Marmalade's collar jingles behind her as if to cheer her on.

Inohara raises an eyebrow at the silence but swung around. "Tora's a really old cat, Hana. And to be honest, it's sort of why no one's bothered to adopt her yet. She's more like the shelter's mascot at this point, so everyone's pretty attached to her. Besides, there're way better cats than Tora that I can introduce you to."

Hana could tell what she was doing but wasn't about to have any of it. It was true that she was anxious about owning a cat. She was inexperienced with them and had only recently begun to gain the confidence she needed to even consider adopting one. But to be told by Inohara that she couldn't handle it, or that she wasn't capable of choosing for herself felt like a bigger insult than Hana could've ever imagined. She was practically vibrating with anger. "It has to be, Marmalade," she says, more firmly this time. "I've already made up my mind."

This causes Inohara's eyes to narrow considerably. "Marmalade?"

Even as the warning bells go off, Hana holds her ground and nods.

She shrugs. "Well, if you want to take Marmalade home than you'll have to wait till after lunch is over."

Funny how she was so eager to give up her lunch a few seconds ago to show me around...

"Hana?" She says, patience wearing thin. "You will be here when lunch is over, right?"

Snapping out of it, Hana realizes that this was really truly happening. And not only were things moving fast, but she wasn't anywhere near prepared to own a living breathing cat. Inohara repeats her name impatiently even as the indecision clouded her brain. Jumping in with both feet wasn't how she normally did things. She needed more time. More time to think, to process.

"T-tomorrow!" Hana stammers. "I'll be back tomorrow."

The skepticism was visible in Inohara's eyes as she absorbed her words, no longer putting in the effort in her sunny expression. "Then I'll see you tomorrow," she drawled out, turning to go. And just like that, her former bully was gone.

Pressing a hand against her heart, Hana tried to pull herself together and knelt down closer to the sound of Marmalade's bell.


It shocked her to see such a high level of restraint on Inohara's part today, especially after all of those times she'd been so quick to snap back, and talk her down. Of course, she'd still been able to talk down to her like she had before, but Hana had pushed back this time for the first time. And that was progress, she insisted. She wasn't the same as she was before- She was different now. Changed. Back then, Hana would've shut down on the spot.

Wanting to take her mind off of her ruined visit with Marmalade, Hana walked the rest of the day and wandered in circles, lost. She wasn't sure how she'd managed to find her way home, but she was too exhausted and hungry to care about how her body worked on autopilot. She's reluctant to pass the staircase on the side of the 3-storied apartment complex, but she does so with heavy feet. The convenience store is located directly below her apartment, and it's nights like these that make her feel grateful for its location.

A loud BEEP greets her and notifies the cashier of her arrival. As the harsh lights illuminate her fatigued face, she keeps it down as she heads toward the aisle with the Bento boxes. After everything that had happened today, the thought of making herself dinner was a prospect Hana didn't currently find welcoming. More than anything, she wanted to take a steaming hot bath, slip on her pajamas and call it a night as she snuggled up against her warm, soft sheets.

The mere thought of her bed waiting upstairs for her made her yawn even louder. Exhausted, and desperate to get this over with, she quickly crouches down and picks out her meal from the bottom shelf. When she rises and turns in the opposite direction, her elbow bumps into something and she hears it hit the ground as it lands behind her. An onigiri rests on the bleached tile, and Hana hangs her head.

As a kaleidoscope of memories tumble before her mind's eye, her fingers tremble against her pale cheek as they unconsciously wipe at the sensation of invisible tears. The same ones that had dripped down her face upon arriving home from school for all those years. Pulling in the reins to her emotions, Hana assured herself that confusing the memories with reality would only hurt her even deeper. But she couldn't help but meld the memories of her past experiences with the events of today, and it seemed to only add to the wound that had opened a few moments ago.

Hana's eyes were steadily welling up with tears and she tries to blink them away. The next thing she knew, she was facing the onigiri she'd dropped from only mere inches from her face. She screams.

"H-hey! What's wrong!?" A masculine voice exclaims from somewhere in front of her. Her eyes glance at him for a second, before pulling away from the blur of red.

"I-I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"Are you okay...? You dropped this."

She doesn't look at him when she answers,"I-I'm fine! I'm fine. Thank you." She snatches the onigiri from his hand and rushes away.

Behind him, a boy with an ice cream cone is heading toward the exit. "I'm going to leave you behind if you don't hurry."

"What the-? Just wait a minute, damn it!"

Hana purchases the onigiri along with her bento and is still catching her breath as she hands the money over to the cashier. Avoiding the strange looks from another customer in line, Hana quickly collects her things and hurried out of the store. Red-faced, she presses the food against her chest and runs past someone standing outside, desperate to be rid of an audience once and for all.

She knew she looked crazy. She knew that they were watching her now as she ran. But it didn't matter anymore. It didn't. She was so tired.

She could feel the tears return to her eyes again as she made a mad dash for the stairs. Why was this happening again? Why, after seeing Inohara, were memories of the past becoming clear as day again? Why did she have to be there with Marmalade? Why?

Hana was halfway up the stairs when her toes clipped the edge of a step. Before she could even tell what was happening, she reached for the handrail but couldn't manage a solid grip. It slipped through her fingers.

A gasp was let out once she saw the stars overhead.

"Watch out!"

The wind got knocked out of her as she collided against something hard. She was helpless as she and whatever she'd crashed into were sent hurtling down. And all went silent.

Hana felt as though she were rushing through space, and for a few moments, her dizzy head failed to find balance. Opening her eyes, her gaze trailed over the staircase and was immediately greeted by the food that had spilled out of the bento box. One of her shoes, which had slipped off in the midst of the chaos, was now dangling from the edge of the fifth step above her. Her heart drummed wildly in her chest as she tried to process what had happened.

"Iwasaki-san? Are you all right, Iwasaki-san?"

As she became vaguely aware of the body pressed against her, Hana leaned against the arm that wrapped around her shoulders and peered into a pair of icy, blue eyes.

What? What what what?

His mouth continued to move, but Hana couldn't hear any of it. As she was gently shaken and snapped out of it, it finally dawned on her what this person had done. She parted her lips to respond but only managed a slight nod.

The boy's body relaxed against hers and he sighed.

"What the-!?" The both of them turned, and saw a giant with red hair standing by the corner. "Kuroko, what the hell happened!?"

The boy beside Hana stared blankly back. Blinked. "Ah, Kagami-kun."

"What kind of a response is that!?"

Disoriented by all of the things happening around her at once, Hana's orange eyes manage to settle on the basketball the redhead held against his side. And slowly putting one and two together, she realized who he was.


A/N: And that's a wrap. To anyone still sticking around, I hope to see you in the next one! (=゚▽゚)/