Disclaimer: Kuroko no Basuke is written and illustrated by Tadatoshi Fujimaki, published by Shueisha. Nothing belongs to me, but my fanfics and OCs are mine.

Author's Note: This fanfic continues off where "Bookmark the Memories" left off. It's not considered as an sequel. It takes place whatever was last written in May 2015.

~ OCs Overview ~

Below is a list of current all OCs that includes brief, random summaries. Rough drawings of Bullets and Blades can be found at my profile page where the link is provided.

The Bullets:

Tomimura Mizuki, 18, Sagittarius

Affinity with Kise Ryouta: She used to have a slight crush on him when they were in their first year of school. It wasn't until their third year, they actually shared the same classroom. She transferred later, however. Presently, both are aware of each other's feelings, but she told him she would never choose him. And that someone else may need him more than she does.

Affinity with Akashi Seijuurou: They both started out an 'love experiment' and gradually drew to one another. But because of he treated one of her friends, she wanted nothing to do with him. Since then, he began showing changes by treating her friends better and with respect.

Affinity with Moriyama Yoshitaka: A brief moment when they shook hands, he said she was very soft. xD That's all really. I mention this because Moriyama = adorable dumbass.

Sakai Rin, 19, Libra

Affinity with Kise Ryouta: They dated each other in the beginning. However, he had only eyes for Tomimura. She later accepted this and becomes friends with him instead. Even encouraging him and Tomimura to get together someday.

Affinity with Akashi Seijuurou: He didn't like Sakai, stating that she was a weak person who uses other to make herself look good. They didn't get along for a while. Along the way, because of Tomimura, Akashi starts to consider his words and actions... which lead the others to think that one Akashi likes Sakai and the other Akashi towards Tomimura. At this point, Sakai had even warm up to Akashi, but doesn't hold romantic feelings for him.

Affinity with Imayoshi Shouichi: As the Supervisor of the Bullets, he equally cares for all of the girls. For Sakai, he holds a little special place for her. He first met her other self, Rinki, and accepts the two of them as a single person. Imayoshi and Sakai get along pretty great.

Affinity with Himuro Tatsuya: There was a time where she said she only likes talented men. Words like this simply drew him towards her.

Affinity with Mibuchi Reo: Met only once. He asked Akashi for her number, but Akashi didn't want to share the information over and over. Mibuchi joked that Akashi can have her all to himself and never brought up Sakai's name again.

Affinity with Liu Wei: She enjoys Chinese food and music. As soon as she learned he was from China, she began practicing speaking his language. She tends to forget about things when she's with him.

Seki Kiriko, 17, Leo

Affinity with Akashi Seijuurou: None are attracted to each other, but are seemingly good friends. No one knows when he started to call her by her given name either and nobody ever wondered about it.

Affinity with Kagami Taiga: Whether it was a joke or not, she claims he was her love rival. Other than that, they're on good terms. Now, they share the same pain of losing the one they love.

Affinity with Takao Kazunari: Becomes interested in him because of the way he treats her so kindly. He has so many faces, she wants to see more. Also, she's quite forward with her feelings, even though she 'believes' he likes someone else and doesn't care how he reacts to her actions.

Affinity with Midorima Shintarou: Begun to think she's falling for him too, but is sarcastic about it.

Moto Shizuka, 18, Aries

Affinity with Takao Kazunari: He started out with a little crush on her because of her personality. Even kissed on a card that her lips touched. They dated, but nothing else happened between the two.

Affinity with Aomine Daiki: Always looking bored, Moto does her best to hype things up and makes things fun for him. Even if she gets injured in the process. He obviously likes her, but denies it while Momoi teases him.

Affinity with Himuro Tatsuya: Ends up liking him a lot, however things don't go the way they do. He grew into liking Sakai and Moto had no choice but to just let him go. May still have some feelings and doesn't let others know of it.

Fukui Kotone, 18, Virgo

Affinity with Midorima Shintarou: Though she talks childishly, they appear to have an mutual respect and understanding to each other. Maybe he might even likes her because she's a Virgo.

Affinity with Murasakibara Atsushi: They gave nicknames to each other, but those names are only for when they somehow get upset over each other. She acts like a mother/sister towards him and doesn't tolerate his rude behavior.

Affinity with Fukui Kensuke: First time they were introduced to each other, they start calling each other 'Brother' and 'Sister' right away. It was a quick click and they get along perfectly.

Koizumi Sayuri, 18, Capricorn

Affinity with Himuro Tatsuya: She finds him attractive, but keeps her distant. Because she tries so hard to do so, Himuro had a little interest at first. But time passes, the two pretty much forgot about each other.

Affinity with Kise Ryouta: Maybe... just maybe... She seems to get jealous when he's together with Tomimura. There are more reasons, yet this gets to her.

Yamauchi Takara, 17, Pisces

Affinity with Kagami Taiga: They met at the first mixer and ended up as the pair for the day. Exchanging numbers and talking, she wasn't so sure about him during that time. When it came to basketball, she started to learn about the sport to be able to talk to Kagami too. Feelings developed for the two of them. Getting together and having fun... Unfortunately, she died.

Nakano Makoto

Someone who was already dead before the original story took place. Apparently, she was close friends with all Bullets, adoring Tomimura the most. Her death was not clear and her friends aren't even allowed to mention her at all. The only person with the important clue is Kasamatsu Yukio. An clue that could bring more tragic. Or possibly some hope.

The Blades:

Sakai Yua, 16, Scorpio

Depending on people think, she has a slight obsession with her older sister, Sakai Rin. If there were rude boys, she would try to keep them away from her Onee-sama. If there were boys asking Yua out, she would tell them she wasn't into relationships and that she doesn't have time for them. Her sole reason, to surpass her sister and to gain their father's share of love.

Ginmori Aimi, 20, Pisces

Titled as the Silver Blade. Leader of the Blades and the Silver Androids. She is highly respected and most calls her "Gin". Childhood friends with Okamura Kenichi and both are sworn siblings who lost contact for a long time. She once went to the Akashi Residence and attacked out of nowhere. Her reason still unknown. Ginmori's the type who doesn't go easy on anyone. Nor family and friends. Not even bystanders. But if it's Murasakibara...

Maki Ayane, 17, Virgo

Not much was mentioned because she died early in the story. Killed by Seki Kiriko.

Maki Chiyo, 17, Virgo

Titled as Crimson Blade. She's Ayane's twin sister, the one who swears and gets more angry. She cared for Ayane, so much she could kill anyone who harms her. She takes full responsibility for her own actions and acts tough all the time. After having to kill Yamauchi, she had a change of heart. Still acts the same either way.

Kurosei Chou, 17, Capricorn

Always carries a katana around. Her bangs often covering her eyes. Though she doesn't speak much, she appears to be close to Ginmori and Maki. What she doesn't like is someone ugly like Hanamiya Makoto.

Michibe Yuuka, 18, Aquarius

Kise's ex-girlfriend, who was said to have cheated on him in the past. Koizumi claimed that Michibe still loves Kise. Even so, Michibe doesn't express much concern but to tell Koizumi not to tell anyone. With love aside, Michibe had a greater ambition that no one knew of. To the point she had to betray her fellow Blades to achieve it too. Later, she was killed when she was weakened at the hospital.

Honda Ren, 18, Cancer

A close friend to Michibe and she deeply cares for her. Known for being ruthless and daring, Honda is shockingly engaged to a man named Katsuo and shows a great deal of attention towards him. She smokes too, but because Katsuo didn't want her to, she smokes less for his sake. It seems she holds hatred towards Seirin High's Basketball Team.

Other OCs:

Minami Kai - he is partners with Sakai Rin's father. Apparently, he's on a secret mission to hire a group of girls to be assassins. Hanamiya works with him and went undercover as the Supervisor of the Blades.

Seki Chizuru - he's the younger brother of Seki Kiriko. People noted he looks like Himuro Tatsuya. He used to date Sakai Rin's little sister.

Moto Oma - he's the second older brother of Moto Shizuka. He shows hate toward his own sister because of her joining the insane Game. He has more reasons for hating the Game as well.

Muyoku Etsuko - she is a short girl, but probably the oldest. She's very close to Ginmori and worries for all of the Blades. The Silver Androids, a gang led by Ginmori, calls Muyoku as "First-sama".

Muyoku Hayato - he is Muyoku Etsuko's younger brother. He's quite tall and moves on his own accord. The past few days, people are after his life. It was thought he raped Michibe, but truth was she lied and was only working with Hayato, along with Moto Oma. Later, even Alexandra Garcia is involved with them and she's rather confident about what she's doing.

Honda Katsuo - he's engaged to Honda Ren and loves her very much. Though he has looks that could pass as a weak girl, Akashi places trust in his basketball skills. Katsuo even has the Dead Zone that opposes the Zones of the Generation of Miracles. As Katsuo once mentioned, people who uses the Dead Zone are connected to one and another. Even if they don't know each other, they are aware of each other's presences.

Yoshida & Kuraki - team members of the Rakuzan's Basketball Team.

Akashi Ichirou - Seijuurou's father. He was in contact with Ginmori for some reason, but no more. When he saw Tomimura, he told his son to stop seeing her. Ichirou was not certain why, but knew she committed a sin. Truthfully, he still didn't mind what Akashi chose to do and was only worried about him. Ichirou even mentioned about Sakai, who reeked of blood.

Sakai Nobuyuki - Sakai Rin and Yua's father. He's serious about his work and tries his best to uncover the truth of the abnormal-patterned killings in the city. When it comes to Rin, he's awfully childish and forgets about the people around him. Obviously, he adores Rin the most.

Chika - Seki Kiriko and Chizuru's mother. A crazy driver.

Yamauchi Taiki - father of Takara, who works overseas. Even though his daughter is dead, he openly accepts Kagami as his son-in-law. And rather comically, yet seriously.

April - wife of Taiki and mother of Takara. Works with Taiki overseas too. They have connections with Akashi's father; Ichirou.

Sueyoshi - a co-worker of Sakai Nobuyuki and Minami Kai.

Chapter 1

At one of the train stations in Kanagawa, Kasamatsu was prepared to head back to Tokyo. Even though it was summer break, he could pay Kise a visit since he stayed in the city for the night... he was not in the mood. Today might not be a good day either. Especially when he saw Michibe, Kise's ex-girlfriend, being taken to the hospital. 'I wonder how that went?' he thought to himself, staring clear sky.

Heat of the summer and the sound of the train was approaching. Kasamatsu was suddenly was reminded of Nakano. The girl who followed him from middle school to Kaijō High. Summer made him think of her these days. The train station caused him to remember about the time when she was seeing him off, who had to attend Tokyo U.

Kasamatsu made a sharp turn and begun leaving the station. 'I can't leave Kanagawa yet,' he mused. 'Nakano said in the letter that the Game is taking lives.' He wanted to leave. It was hard to be in the city again. But he knew it was right to stay, even if it was dangerous.

The letter that never said 'goodbye'... Kasamatsu was told everything. He memorized the words before he had burned it to ashes last night.

According to Nakano's writing, Sakai's name was mentioned. She was also involved with the Game. He did not know her, but recalled Imayoshi is acquainted with her, assuming it was the same girl that Kasamatsu saw. After that, he had ran into Tomimura, a kouhai.

Fortunately, Nakano mentioned Tomimura, who was surprisingly a Bullet. When he ran into her, he wasn't capable of telling her because he didn't know how to handle the truth of the Game yet. Now, he needed to see her. He has to.

The problem was, where could she be?

~o~o~

Out of the bathroom and with slow movements, Tomimura was pressing her nostrils together with her index finger and her thumb. The moment she woke up in the morning, she had a bleeding nose because the house gotten hot all of the blue, which was odd. Maybe the air conditioner broke. She planned on checking it later until the bleeding stop.

Within small steps, she glanced to the living room. And sighed as her eyes flattened over to the half-naked Aomine. It seemed he had thrown his shirt over on Kagami's belly, who snored. Kuroko was as silent as ever, almost making Tomimura forgetting he was even there.

"Tomi-cchi," whispered Kise. Turning her eyes to the kitchen, she saw Kise walking up to her with a glass of water in his hand. His hair was messy and she smiled behind her hand that still pressed to prevent the blood from flowing out. "What's wrong? Why are you holding your nose like that?" He even sniffed around to check for any strange scent.

She gestured with her head to the back door and walked off. Kise blinked, following her as they both made their way outside. Once they stepped into the backyard, Kise slowly closed the door and faced her. "I had a little nosebleed," she answered him, yet spoke quietly. She did not want to wake up the boys indoors.

Gasping, he leaned forward, "Are you okay?"

"Of course," she flatly told him. "It's just the heat, Kise. The bleeding will stop very soon."

He smiled awkwardly, eyeing her closely. "Well then, Fukui and Seki had left while Midorima-cchi tagged along," he notified. She nodded, remembering hearing the sound of the door earlier in the morning. "So, does Momoi-cchi snore?" he asked with an curious smile.

The blonde was seriously cute like that. Tomimura smiled again. "Not at all," she replied as she thought back. She and Momoi were sleeping together in her own room, while Seki, Fukui, and Moto took Nakano's old bedroom. "She's very sweet and sleeps rather quickly. Made me envious because I couldn't sleep well."

Kise looked concerned as he tilted his glass of water a bit. "You couldn't?" he questioned, making an upside down smile.

She waved her hand gently, "I was having a little headache. That's all."

Nearly shouting, he instead whispered loudly, "You were not feeling well?! Oh, Tomi-cchi!" He whined and pouted at the door as if he was directing it to someone inside. "And Aomine-cchi kept bothering for a change of clothes too! I'm glad Kuroko and Momoi went with him for the last minute shopping before heading to bed!"

Chuckling, Tomimura assured, "No, it's fine. Aomine is a little annoying, but it's not like I don't like him." Kise looked at her childishly, as if frustrated, and she smiled. "And I thought it was cute how Kuroko and Momoi used Aomine to buy Kagami's clothing size." They were such good friends, it was obvious these people had bickered many times in the past to reach such a point.

Kise snickered, slightly covering his mouth, "That's actually a joke that comes around sometimes, especially with their shoe size." She blinked as he tugged his shirt, "And they bought something a little over-sized for me. I don't know how I'm going to walk back home like this!"

"You're leaving soon then?" she asked rather quickly. Almost like she wanted him to stay a little longer.

Just before he answered, Moto had jumped from the door and leaped onto Kise's back. Because of that, Kise's glass of water flew out and splashed Tomimura's face. "Kise-san, Tomimura-chan!" Moto chirped, whispering, of course. "Good morning~!" Tomimura frowned and Kise held in a laugh at her silent, drenched expression. Though, he looked sorry when she glared his way. Moto set foot on the ground, but still lean her weight on the blonde. "Sorry, did I interrupt something?"

"No," Tomimura walked around them, heading back into the house.

"Why are you holding your nose like that?" Moto hopped to watch her go. She grinned and immediately concluded, "Aomine-san's body too hot for you, I see." She had saw the bluehead in such a state when she passed through the living room, pretending Tomimura was a pervert, thus the nosebleed.

Tomimura continued to take her leave as Moto giggled. Kise directed a small smile to Moto and told her, "It's the heat." He wanted to explain it and yet Moto kept giggling.

"Oh, it is the heat all right~" she snickered, grinning and clapping her hands together. Then she skipped through the back door and went after Tomimura, who had already gone through the living room. No one seemed to notice Kuroko had woken up to the footsteps, which faded into Tomimura's bedroom.

Moto had closed the bedroom door and glanced around her friend's room. Tomimura grabbed a cloth and pressed it to dry her face where the water dripped. "Tomimura-chan, your room still look the same since we've met," Moto commented, childishly taking a seat on the gray carpet. Tomimura uttered nothing and slowly let her nose go. It was no longer bleeding, but she looked at her small mirror at the dresser to be sure. "Hey, hey, I found a book in Nakano's room," Moto grinned.

Instantly, Tomimura flattened her eyes at her and the girls were quiet. "...You read it?"

Guilty chuckles crawled out of her mouth and she kicked her legs up. "Sorry!" she winked, remaining seated. "But I only skimmed through it! I saw a page filled with Akashi-sama's names too!"

Tomimura squinted her eyes, "Akashi...sama?"

"And it wasn't like I was scoping around," Moto defended rather late, smiling softer. "It's only because I had this strange dream, which I thought it was because an special object must have been nearby." Tomimura patted her damped face slowly with the cloth, listening attentively. "So, I was sparked with curiosity, pondering what gave me that dream. Next I searched for your book. Or notebook? Well. Sorry, again, Tomimura-chan."

There was no need to get upset. Tomimura let the matter slid, she queried however, "What did you dream about?" Then again, Tomimura knew the answer because this was not the first time Moto talked about her dreams, which were supposedly often unique. It surprises Tomimura, even now.

"You know that I mostly forget my dreams after waking up," Moto lazily dropped to the side, beaming widely. Then she rolled until she touched Tomimura's feet with the side of her belly. Smiling up at Tomimura's expressionless face from the floor, she added, "Although, I do remember seeing a little girl with white-ish, blond hair when I was dreaming." There was a pause and Moto detected Tomimura's mood becoming negative. Her friend's eyes darkened with a hint of sadness and Moto smiled warmly. "...What's for breakfast, Tomimura-chan?"

It was best to change the topic. Moto was not fond of the energy Tomimura gave off. Hopefully, it merely was the heat that got to her and not what she mentioned.

As for Tomimura, she was not able to respond and dried her face as she looked away. 'As usual, Moto can still sense these kinds of things,' Tomimura thought, her eyelids feeling heavy.

Often it was Fukui who would become aware of things that brought her friends down. She would take care of everybody too. But in these kinds of cases, it was Moto's specialty to feel the supernormal.

Now that she was musing about this, she wondered if Moto was still playing with her tarot cards. Was it after Nakano's death that Moto had stop bringing it up...?

~o~o~

Speaking of the heat, Koizumi wore a long face as she trailed by Ginmori's side. 'When will the month end already?' Koizumi frowned, raising her hair up and letting the breeze cool her down. Ginmori chuckled, walking with an relaxed smirk. Behind these two, they strolled together with Honda, Muyoku, Kurosei, and Maki.

Koizumi glanced back to Maki, who had bandages over her left eye that went around her black hair. Maki glared as soon as they made eye contact and Koizumi calmly looked away. Kurosei tilted her head as Maki sighed heavily. Honda ignored the girls, talking on her phone quietly while Muyoku seemed to keep an eye out for something. Or maybe it was someone?

Down the street they took, they were going to meet up with Yua. But first, Honda and Muyoku had other plans, in which they were not going with the others to eat ice cream.

"Gin," Honda quickly flipped her cell phone closed and put it away. They were still walking as Ginmori slightly looked over her shoulder. "Zwei is waiting at the bar around the corner."

The Silver Blade nodded once, her eyes returning to the front. Koizumi raised an eyebrow to herself, wondering who this Zwei person was. She kept quiet and minded her own business, paying attention to her long hair that made the back of her neck sweat.

After taking fifty more steps, Ginmori leaded them around the four streets that meet. Shortly, Ginmori stopped by a sign standing by a bar. She smirked as a girl with a black cap to greet her with a wave. "Zwei, Honda and Muyoku are to go with you," Ginmori commanded.

The girl with the cap tilted sideways, eyed at the group who all stopped walking behind Ginmori. Her brown eyes disregarded all but Muyoku and she shrugged with saying a word.

Koizumi studied her figure for a second. Zwei, a girl with brown hair that overlapped her collarbone, appeared cautious of every movement. For a girl wearing torn shirt and jeans, her movement itself was smooth. She even saw this girl had an silver ear cuff on her left ear. 'An Silver Android,' Koizumi recognized the trademark of Ginmori's gang.

As Honda went forward to be by Zwei's side, Muyoku rushed to Ginmori and smiled brightly. "Gin-sama, I'll see you soon," she said.

"Be careful, Etsuko," Ginmori gave an half smile.

Muyoku nodded and turned to head off first. But then Zwei called, "First-sama, just a moment."

The shortest girl, who was probably the oldest, stopped in place and looked back. "What is it, Zwei-chan?" Muyoku blinked a couple of times, wondering if something was off.

The new girl eyed Ginmori, her voice in monotone, "I got word that Murasakibara Atsushi just arrived in Kanagawa, Gin-sama."

As Ginmori smirked, Koizumi made a faint expression of shock. "That's strange," Ginmori chuckled a second after. "Thank you, Zwei."

The girl with the cap shrugged indifferently and Honda looked to the silverhead. "Gin, you're keeping tabs on that guy?" Honda inquired, baffled by this. Again, Koizumi was puzzled, feeling completely at lost. "Why so? Is he trouble?"

"Of course not."

Honda furrowed her eyebrows, "...Then what the hell is up?"

Maki and Kurosei were interested at this point. Ginmori sneered, "Must I answer you, Ren?"

The only one who flinched was Muyoku. Honda glared at Ginmori and snorted. "Fine, whatever," Honda spun the other way and stomped off. "Let's go, Zwei, Muyoku."

Koizumi stared at the trio departing together and soon focused her attention to the side of Ginmori's face. The silverhead chuckled and sheepishly smiled, "Now... let's hope we don't run into Atsushi."

"Why?" Ginmori smiled to Koizumi who raised question. Koizumi's dull red eyes stared right at her and she continued, "Don't tell me you're attracted to that giant. He's quite irritating."

"Aw," the Silver Blade grinned, moving her feet to face Koizumi. "I think otherwise."

Confused, Koizumi hid it and asked, "Then why avoid him?"

Ginmori chuckled, "...Must I answer you, Sayuri?"

Whereas Koizumi frowned, Maki voiced, "Keep asking and Gin will say the same thing over and over. This will never change." Koizumi remained looking at Ginmori, heeding Maki's words. "She likes to keep her own private matters to herself. Get use to it."

The heat was unbearable yet again, so Koizumi ignored the topic. "It's not like I was interested anyway," Koizumi said, narrowing her eyes to nowhere. "Can we move on now? I need some ice cream."

"Yes. Ice cream," Kurosei nodded, adjusting her katana bag over her right shoulder.

Lightly, Ginmori laughed, "As soon as Yua meet up with us, we'll go."

Koizumi sighed at the thought of more waiting, but was patient enough. Maki felt her left eye aching, so she shut her mouth to made the pain go away. Kurosei glanced at Maki, staying close to make sure if she was needed.

'And why do a few call Muyoku "First-sama" for?' Koizumi finally gave a little regard. It was strange at first, but she never asked and minded her own business. She might even continue to not question about such a name as well. But curiosity kept poking her.

~o~o~

The summer sun heated up rather quickly, however this only added to Yua's enthusiasm to have ice cream in such a weather. She jogged joyfully, her blond hair behind her as she made her way down the sidewalk. It felt like she was alone in the world, which was comforting once and a while.

But now, she desired to spend time with the Blades. A child like her, it was easy to forget how cruel the world might become.

Before long, Yua reached to the designated meetup. It was at a large water fountain, where the water that seemed to dance into the air. Tall green trees provided shades from the sunlight and Yua was quick to search the others under them. "Eh?" Yua saw them, but blinked directly at Koizumi who seemed to have accompanied the Blades.

Kurosei and Maki noticed Yua before Ginmori and Koizumi did. There was this pause in the heat when Yua gazed over to Maki's patched left eye. Obviously, Maki knew Yua did not hear about yesterday's incident and pretended there was nothing wrong with her.

"Yua," Ginmori called. "If you're here, then let us be off."

Smoothly, the blonde snapped out of it and forced a small smile. For now, she wanted to smile as Maki seemed like she was not going to talk about what happened. Neither did Kurosei and Ginmori. Going forward, Yua waved, "Okay, let's go!"

"Never mind," Maki glared, hurrying off by herself. Koizumi took a glance back and saw Kurosei rushing with Maki. "I'm not feeling well, so I'm heading back."

"Suit yourself," Ginmori said and didn't even look. She moved on while Yua and Koizumi were watching Maki taking her sudden leave. Kurosei was still following right after her too. "Yua, Sayuri. Come on," Gin called.

Without much thought, Koizumi went along with Ginmori.

As for Yua, she was worried now. Maki seemed unusual this time, even if her behavior was a little the same as usual. Yua pouted a little and waved to Maki's back, praying for her well being. Then she turned her body to follow Koizumi and Ginmori.

~o~o~

At Tomimura's place, everyone was pretty much awake. For Moto, she got a call from her mom a few minutes ago. It had something to do with a Psychic Convention nearby, so Moto left as soon as she could. It was the minute after Aomine finally woke up, but he was still sleepy and only sat there for a while.

Cooking breakfast, Kagami was in the kitchen whereas Kuroko was helping out. Aomine yawned, opening his mouth widely and little tears filled in his eyes. He smacked his mouth as Kuroko and Kagami continued making 'cooking' noises from the next room while his eyes were staring at the bedroom doors. He was daydreaming, thus was not paying attention where he was looking at. And when the door on the right opened, the door closer to the entrance of the house, Aomine raised his head higher to focus his vision.

The pinkheaded skipped out as Tomimura followed and closing the bedroom door. Both of them were standing there and discussing about something. Aomine was not listening since what happened yesterday bothered him. And that talk with the guys at the Yamauchi Residence, he knew the secret of the Game should not be revealed until the girls felt like sharing. Or either, at the very least, when they were safe and alone to go into details.

Aomine wanted answers, but he glanced to Momoi. He wanted her to have nothing to do with the secret and let it slide for now.

"Where's Kise?" Aomine finally realized as he bothered to scan around.

"Ki-chan left," Momoi replied, bubbling over with excitement. She rushed into the living room and sat down in front of him. Tomimura frowned as soon as Momoi informed, "Did you hear? Apparently Ki-chan and Akashi-kun had this thing going on with Tomimura-chan!"

Flattening his eyes, he seemed unconcerned. "...Your point, Satsuki?"

She giggled, "I just wanted to tell you since Tomimura-chan said it was okay because it's out in the open!"

"I never heard of it," Kuroko appeared closer to them now.

Tomimura heaved out a short sigh, hoping everyone was not going to make a fuss about the matter. "Anyhow, are you guys seriously staying here until Takao is out of the hospital?" she inquired, looking from one person to another.

Kuroko nodded, "That was the plan, was it not?" Tomimura folded her arms to her chest and looked disturbed. When she gazed over to him, he seemed apologetic and she raised her hand. "Tomimura-san?"

"It's fine if you guys stay," she honestly said, her eyes rather emotionless. She noticed this was actually a good thing and she wanted to hide her feelings about it. Yet, she honestly told him, "It's nice to have company because I live here by myself."

The Phantom Man blinked a couple of times, looking like he wanted to know something. Aomine yawned and Momoi smiled, "Thank you again, Tomimura-chan."

"...You're welcome," she returned a smile to the pink head.

"Where are your parents then?" Kuroko inquired. This was what he sought to ask when Tomimura just mentioned she lived by herself.

At first, there was a pause. Tomimura nearly turned away, however she found no need to. "They're probably being reincarnating right now," she shrugged. Kuroko was expressionless and Tomimura thankfully smiled. "My aunts are the ones watching over me on this side of the world."

"I see," Kuroko nodded. His own smile was faint and Tomimura's face looked more livelier because of it.

Momoi giggled and stood up. She could feel Tomimura's stiffness was wearing off from the heat by Kuroko's presence and stepped toward the girl. "Hey, Tomimura-chan, you should think about coming to sleep over at my place some time," she gave a toothy grin. Tomimura eyed her and seemed unsure. "Aomine-kun is pretty much next door too! It'll be convenient for a hangout!"

"No, thank you," Tomimura instantly refused at Aomine's name.

The bluehead was bored and said, "That was fast." She probably did not like him, but who cares?

"Breakfast is almost ready!" Kagami called, busying himself all the while. He even thought, 'Are we seriously just going to live here until Takao gets better?' It sounded amusing, but on the other hand, he wasn't so sure. What if they get pulled deeper into the truth of the Game that Yamauchi had lost her left to? Kagami spaced out, worrying if they should flat out ask Tomimura right now.

Seriously, for girls like her to play such a game, it made no absolute sense to him. The more he kept thinking about, the more he just wanted to ask.

~o~o~

Time seemed slow as Murasakibara stretched his arms into the cloudy sky. "Aw man, I'm tired!" he groaned and looked completely exhausted. He lowered his eyes to his friends, who paced forward. Dragging the wheeled suitcases in hand, Murasakibara followed them willingly and was soon uncomfortable with the hot air among them. "Hey, is the hotel close by yet?" the purple haired guy sounded like he was about to complain.

With Liu and Okamura leading, Himuro and Fukui behind them looked over their shoulders to the tallest person. Himuro chuckled, "It's only around the corner now, Atsushi." Murasakibara still looked upset though and Himuro grabbed out a candy out of nowhere. Completely silent, Murasakibara took the candy and hurried to unwrap it with the help of one hand and his teeth.

Fukui returned his eyes to the front just the moment Okamura grumbled and said, "It's because a cab can't fit all of us together and we didn't prepare much money to pay for a ride...!" Paying for a room at the hotel was costly enough too!

"I did suggest each of us take a cab each," Fukui reminded calmly with a grin on his lips.

Okamura snapped his head to the shortest, "We didn't bring that much money this time around, okay?! We need to save for food since we don't know how long we're going to stay here!"

Fukui nodded firmly, "Just saying."

No one noticed, but Liu had just dialed Sakai's number. And she greeted happily, "Liú Wěi, nǐ hǎo (hello)! What's up?"

"My friends and I came to Kanagawa," he reported as if this was important.

"Oh my goodness, for real?!" she gasped and something fell in the background. It did not sound like she got hurt, so he dismissed it.

Liu replied, "Yes. We are going to drop our stuff at a hotel in about a minute or two."

"Wow, okay!" she giggled, her voice ringing in his ears. "You called to meet up somewhere? I mean—that's why you called, right? Ah, hold on, I need at least two hours...!"

He blinked, feeling someone tugging his shirt from behind. "Truthfully... I called because Murasakibara wanted to get a hold of you earlier this morning," he told her.

"Ehhh?" she sounded disappointed.

Right there, Liu wanted to apologized even though he did nothing wrong. But a strong hand had grabbed for his phone, which was Murasakibara, who demanded right away, "Give me Ai-chin's number!"

"What?!" Okamura inched closer to the two. "Don't tell me you wanted the girl's number just to get to Mimi, Murasakibara!"

On the other line, Sakai was confused who they were even talking about. She did slowly recall hearing about 'Mimi' when she was with the girls at Okamura's apartment before.

Fukui and Himuro watched the guys from where they were, but then they eventually stopped when Murasakibara ordered again, "Her number."

"I want to know too!" Okamura voiced loudly toward the phone.

Liu grabbed his phone back from Murasakibara's lax hand and put it on speaker phone. "Sakai, I apologize for that," he said, eyeing both of his friends unconcernedly. Okamura was rubbing the back of his head with an uneasy smile and Murasakibara did not seemed shameful for his behavior.

"Who's Mimi?" Sakai asked. "I never heard of this person before. And why do your friends think I know this person?"

"Um," Murasakibara bothered to recall. "I think Muro-chin mention your given name was Rin, right?"

Himuro blinked and Sakai answered, "Yeah. So?"

Thinking again, the purplehead pointed out, "I think Ai-chin said something like she didn't want to see you."

"...Eh?" Sakai was clearly still puzzled.

"She was there on Liu-senpai's first night in Akita," Murasakibara clarified. It was the time when Sakai and her friends entered Okamura's apartment and Ginmori left through the window. Murasakibara suddenly smiled to himself, remembering how cool she was when she did that.

Okamura frowned, "Geez, Murasakibara!" He was making this hard for the girl on the other side of the call. Turning to the cellphone, Okamura stated, "Her full name is Akimo—er—Ginmori Aimi. Do you know her, Sakai?"

While there was a silence, Fukui looked at Himuro, "Why do these guys want this Mimi's number again?"

Himuro gave it some thought. "...Who knows?" At the very least, he now knew Murasakibara wanted Sakai's number to call for another girl's number. What was more, Himuro was interested to why Murasakibara wanted to talk to this other girl so much. As for Okumura... Himuro had no idea what was going through his head.

~o~o~

"How do you guys know Gin-chan?" Sakai pouted in her bedroom, fixing her shoe boxes that had fallen seconds ago. With the way these two guys were calling Ginmori nicknames, she felt a bit defensive. Were they close to Ginmori? Sakai never knew of this!

Murasakibara retorted, "I just want her number."

And if they knew Ginmori, this was not a good situation for anyone. Sakai was clear about this and rather have these guys stay away from Kanagawa. Yet, how could she convince them to go away when they arrived?

Sakai continued to pout and informed, "Gin-chan doesn't have a phone. Sorry, I can't help you there." Honestly, she does not even know. All she could recall, Ginmori never held a phone since the night Nakano passed away. Who knows if she has one on her now?

"Tell me where she lives then," Murasakibara casually told her.

Okamura added, "Will you please tell me too? I really wish to see how she's doing, Sakai-chan!"

The blonde grinned childishly and giggled, "I'm sorry, I do not know this either. Gin-chan loves to come and go~"

"Oh, that's true," Okamura considered it carefully.

"I don't care," Murasakibara sounded angry. "You're useless, Sakai."

"Atsushi!" Himuro's voice was heard.

Fukui even said, "That was rude."

Sakai laughed though and directed her words to Liu, "Hey, Liú Wěi, call me again later when you guys are ready for a tour or something." She wanted to be sure the guys are away from the Silver Androids as she possibly could. It was a plus if she hangs out with Liu too.

"Of course," Liu responded. "I will be certain to do that, Sakai. We'll see you in two hours." He remembered that was what she said, that she need at least two hours.

She smiled, "Okay, thanks. Bye bye."

"See you later, Sakai."

She hung up first, or so she thought. Lowering the devise, her heart fell. "Useless, huh?" she blinked slowly. She did not fully register those words in her head, but when she did, it seemed it hurt her more than she previously thought. Smiling sadly, she agreed, "I guess I'm useless sometimes, huh, Nakano-chan...?"

For not being able to save her friend that night, it had been the only moment Sakai had felt utterly powerless.

"No time to think about this," she shook her head. "I need to head to Tomi-chan's place before Liú Wěi calls again."

Thanks for reading!