"Well, Imogen, since you've missed a lot of practices and matches, time to catch up. Start running." Imogen scowled.
"Ah, but I'm the manager! And I don't have my sports bra!" She whined.
Riko blew her whistle and Imogen groaned.
"Come on, pretty boy, you still owe me an apology, and you can run with me!" She said before taking off towards the opposite side of the gym. Kagami grunted before running after her as well.
"Wait, Imo-chan. Knee brace?" Kuroko asked, causing her to pause.
"Eeh? Oh, it's in my bag, but my therapist said that if I felt fine; I didn't need it. We finished the sessions as well when I was in America, she assigned me a therapist there too," She explained before resuming her running, catching up to Kagami.
"So, in all seriousness, I heard you put up quite the fight against Aomine-kun, I'm surprised, that's pretty good. You could be right up there with the Generation of Miracles if you keep practicing."
Kagami seemed to grin, nodding his head. "Ah, thanks, but shouldn't you be part of it too if you went to school and played with them? You're as good as they are," he said, wiping his face with his shirt as he ran.
Imogen pouted. "Oh, I'm definitely good enough, but like Kuroko-chan said, I was a fill in so I didn't get much time to play as a regular. Plus, Aomine didn't like the idea of having a girl as part of the Generation of Miracles, but thanks," she said, smiling at him.
He wasn't too bad, and he was still good looking.
She came to a stop after finishing a few laps, stopping by Riko.
"I heard that Aomine and Murasakibara were benched during the final match though. And that Kise had copied Ao-san's moves? Is that true?" She asked, tilting her head,
"Hai, Momoi benched Aomine after the match with Kaijo because of potential risk of injuries," Riko explained.
"Ah, that's harsh, man, I miss them..." She whined, going over and draping over Kuroko.
"You're the only one I've seen in so long." He stared blankly, though there was a slight blush on his cheeks.
"EH!? He blushes when it's her draping over him?!" Koganei asked.
"HEY, what's wrong with me? Kuroko, he's being mean to me!" Imogen murmured, pretending to cry into his shoulder. Kuroko curled an arm around her and scowled at Koganei.
"E-EH, w-why does he suddenly seem a lot s-scarier?"
Imogen turned in his arm and smiled. "Kuroko-kun is my little sweetheart, but Momoi-san thinks she can claim him as her own. It's really unfair because she always says that I can't claim Aomine-kun or
Mido-kun, or even Kuroko, but she knows he's mine~!" She exclaimed, reaching up and ruffling his hair.
Imogen eventually let go, allowing Kuroko to fix his messy hair.
"Well, I've got to go home, in desperate need of food if I'm honest. Haven't eaten since before my flight, I'm also really tired so that's an indication that I'm just going to sleep. It was great seeing you guys! I'll properly introduce myself tomorrow," she said, walking over to her things and slipping her hoodie and sweatpants back on.
"Bye, bye, Riko-san! Take care, Kagami-kun! Kuroko-kun, it was nice to see you again," Imogen said, smiling over at him before picking up her bag and heading towards the exit without another word.
Back in the gym, everyone was recovering from the bundle of energy that had just left.
"Typical of her," Hyuga muttered, though he did smile. Riko hummed, tapping her chin in thought.
"I think there was something I was supposed to tell her, but I can't remember..." She trailed off sheepishly before shrugging.
"Well, anyways, practice is over, go home and get some rest for tomorrow." Everyone changed in the locker rooms, packing up their things and leaving.
Imogen had walked up to her apartment door, taking out her key to unlock it, however she pulled the knob and the door slowly opened. Confused, Imogen pushed her door open and stepped in, shutting the
door behind her, setting her bags on the floor. Imogen sighed as she walked to her bedroom, dragging her bag along behind her. The surprise awaiting in her room was one she hadn't seen coming. The
instant she stepped into her room, she nearly screamed, whipping her bag at the person on her bed, successfully hitting them. A low groan emitted from them before they sat up, rubbing their head.
"AOMINE, WHAT THE HELL?!" She shouted, nearly stumbling back.
"Oi, so noisy," he grumbled, looking over at her before a slight grin formed on his lips.
"Ah, you're finally said you'd be home today. I figured I'd come visit," he said, flopping back onto the bed after moving Imogen's bag to the floor.
"You liar, you just wanted to nap here and be cooked for, you ass," she muttered, setting her bag on her desk and sitting on the side of her bed.
"That's also true." Aomine nodded in agreement. Imogen rolled her eyes, laying down and facing him.
"I heard you were benched for the last matches. Honestly, that's quite disappointing, but I can see why Momoi-san did it. I'd rather you be sitting out and safe over injured and unable to play as well," she said, sighing softly.
Aomine scowled, turning away. "Tch. I would've been fine and we would have doubled our score if I had played."
Imogen raised a brow, crawling over to him. "Quit whining. You get to play every game, sitting out for once isn't going to kill you. Besides, consider it punishment for showing up to games late and never going
to practice." Imogen snickered, taking a pillow and smacking it against him. He grumbled something incoherent, waving her away.
"Keh, shut it," he muttered, facing the wall entirely now. Imogen sighed, shaking her head to herself. She sat up, sliding from the bed.
"Hm. Feel free to leave at any time, honestly. I had a long flight and a shitty trip, I'm not in the mood for your bullshit too," she hissed, pointing towards the door.
Aomine turned back to face her, an unidentifiable look on his face before a smirk settled.
"And here I thought you'd be happy to see me after so many years," he retorted, sitting up slightly.
Imogen shrugged, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I would have been if you would have just shut up and let me sleep," she countered, stalking back to the bed, flopping down onto the mattress with a soft sigh.
"Shut up and go to sleep, I'll cook you breakfast in the morning before I leave for practice, 'kay?"
~~~~~~~Time skip to Winter cup preliminaries weeks later~~~~~~~~
Everyone had practiced hard until the Winter Cup preliminaries had snuck up on them. Seirin winning their first match and advancing on to play Shutoko, with Midorima Shintaro from the Generation of Miracles.
Imogen had realized after that first match with Aoba Josei that Kagami had true potential. An unspoken realization forming to those who were part of the Generation of Miracles, Imogen included. Kagami was
prying his way through the door to the room only prodigies were able to enter. Without a doubt, he was stronger than before.
They all were, and they were ready to win.
Hello again! The reason for the major time skip is because I like to get right to the good parts-which is all of them- but at the time of writing this, I didn't have the patience to write everything up until this point so boom, Winter Cup, let's go! Things get interesting from here on out, I promise! Bye! xxx
