One or the Other

God, it's been like a year since I updated this huh. I'm terribly sorry, but the combination of school, work, and a lack of a person to bounce off ideas for this story certainly made it harder to continue this story. Can you believe, that I had half of this chapter written out after I posted the last chapter before I left it alone for a couple months only to rewrite it completely? It's not as long as the other chapters (it doesn't even hit the twenty page mark I like most of my chapters to reach OTL) But I figured I put this off long enough. Not to mention, the wave of favs and alerts I got for this story about a month or two ago certainly made me go back to this story.

And I would really like know what makes you guys so interested in my story. I know there's not much going on just yet (oh the drama I have planned in the Far, far, far future in the story that would probably make the story a lot more better than right now) and I don't think I've done the characters justice. So even though I shouldn't be asking (after I made so many people wait) I would really like to know what brings you guys to read my story. And if it's not too much to ask, would there be anyone willing to beta or even help me write out the story? Having someone constantly bug me or even to share ideas with would be so helpful and possibly help me update the story more.

Normally I would share my thoughts on the reviews that I've gotten in the last chapter, but I think I made you wait long enough. Please enjoy the chapter and I apologize for the wait.

Talking: "What are you doing here?!"

Thoughts: Please! I don't know what to choose!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no basket or Haikyuu, only my character Tohru Hatake.


Previously

"Yeah….um….see you Saturday." A second later, Tohru's phone went silent as the call ended. She shakily sighed to herself before wiping away the tears from her eyes. She gave a guilty look at her phone as she whispered to herself.

"Sorry Tobio….but….I really want to play basketball….I really do."

But are you really playing basketball for yourself? Or is it to get revenge on Kise?

"Maybe….both…." She whispered as she took a look at the training schedule Riko left her before picking up her pencil and scribbling away the drills and runs she remembered her father putting the Teiko team under, years ago.


"Keep sprinting! I didn't say you could jog!" Riko shouted as some of the first years began to lag behind, breathing in heavily. Tohru said nothing as she continued to look at her clipboard, making more notes on each of the player and how to improve their stamina. From the corner of her eye she could see Riko giving her side glances along with Izuki and Huyga. She couldn't blame them honestly. After yesterday's…incident, the whole team most likely wanted to know her history with Kise especially since they were going to play against his team in a couple of days.

But I don't have a good answer to give them honestly. Tohru sighed as she finished writing up individual training regimens for the first years—Riko was in charge of the second year's—along with Hinata's. After all she did promise to teach him how to become a better jumper. And….I don't want to talk about it right now….I have more….pressing matters to deal with.

"Alright! Five minute break everyone!" Riko shouted after she blew her whistle, signaling the end of their warm-ups. "Afterwards we'll have another scrimmage game."

"Ah, are we finally having that scrimmage game with Hatake-san?" Kuroko asked, panting heavily as he tried to catch his breath.

One of them is making sure Kuroko has more stamina by the time Inter-high comes around. Tohru sighed before smirking.

"Of course! I don't back down from challenges. Not to mention, I really would like to see how well the seniors play. I never really got to see you guys in action." She smiled as she placed her clipboard down and pulled her hair into a ponytail. "Will it be seniors against freshman?" She asked the coach as she and several other of the basketball players quickly pulled out the mini score board and box of scrimmage jerseys.

"I knew you were a good manager." Riko smiled before giving her a thoughtful look. "What position are you used to playing?"

"Ano…I'm usually a point guard and sometimes a center…" She muttered causing several mouths to drop.

How is she a center?! She's about the same height of coach/Riko-san!

"But….I like playing point guard more than center." Tohru smiled as she grabbed a yellow jersey—obviously too big for her. "So who will be my teammates?"

"Even though we're not playing against you, I definitely don't want to miss out on your basketball skills." Kagami grinned, nearly mirroring a tiger that has caught its prey. "You have a rather interesting smell for a player. It's neither strong or weak, but something still tells that you're someone not to take lightly."

"I would say I am honored but that sounded a bit creepy." Tohru smiled as she spun the basketball on her finger before grabbing it as it fell off. "Who else?" She blushed as she looked away from the snickering teens.

"You'll have Kuroko-kun, Furihata-kun and….Fukuda-kun." Riko said as she looked at the starting lineup before nodding to the captain of the team.

"Yosh! Izuki, Mitobe, Koganei, Tsuchida, let's give them another match to remember why they should respect their seniors!"

"This is going to be fun." Tohru laughed merrily as the rest of her team quickly put on their jerseys. "It's been a while since I had a decent game."

"Ha, what makes you think you'll win?" Huyga called out, narrowing his eyes in annoyance before they widened in shock as Tohru looked back at him.

"Because….I just do." She smiled mischievously, her now pupil-less eyes starting right back at the captain. "Ready whenever you are….captain…."


A certain black haired third year basketball captain growled in annoyance as he watched the ace of Kaijo sigh heavily for the nth time during practice and paying little to no attention on the court. Normally it was hard to even get the blonde to focus on anything, BUT basketball so the fact that he chose now of all days to let his mind wonder did not go well with Kaijo's captain short temper.

"I swear to god, if you don't start paying attention I'll kick your ass!" He shouted as he jumped towards the blonde model and kicked his backside. He let out a grunt of satisfaction as Kise went flying and groaned afterwards about the pain.

"You're supposed to do that after your threat!"He whined as he picked himself off the floor, pouting as the other basketball players snickered at his misfortune. The captain could only sigh as Kise went back to spacing out and nodded to the coach.

"Alright! Fifteen minute break! Afterwards, we'll play a mini scrimmage match against the first years and seniors." There were collective groans from the first years but they quickly jogged off the court and grabbed their drinks. Kise was about to join them before the captain of the team grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the exit of the gym.

"Wah? Kasamatsu-sempai? Wha—where are you taking me?! I wanna take a water break!" He whined as his captain ignored him until they were both outside, away from prying ears.

"Alright, spill, what the hell is going on in your tiny brain." Kasamatsu sighed as Kise froze up momentarily before chuckling nervously.

"What do you mean? Nothing's—"

"Ever since you visited Seirin, you haven't been your stupidly annoying self lately and while I do enjoy the mini vacation, it's messing up with your practices and it's my job to make sure you're in top condition even if our scrimmage game is against a new school." He huffed as he crossed his arms, glaring at the ace player as he opened and closed his mouth in hesitation.

Strange…this is the first time I've seen him flustered like this….I wonder what the hell happened when he visited Seirin….

"It's nothing really Senpai!" Kise chuckled, waving his hands in front of him nervously. "I'm just excited to see an old teammate of mine that's all."

"Lair." He hissed, surprising the blonde basketball player. "Something had to have happened when you visited Seirin. Now spill or I'll go down to that damn school myself and ask what the fuck did you fucked up on."

Not that I would really, but that's probably the best threat I could come up with. The captain sighed as he saw Kise's face pale a bit.

"Why do you assume that I was the one who messed something up!?" He cried, before flinching as he saw his captain twitch his leg in anger.

"Because you always do….wait a minute….does this have to do with one of your fan girls?!" Kasamatsu shouted, glaring even more intensely at the blonde. "Because I swear to god if it is—"

"What?! No! Tohrucchi isn't like a fangirl! She would kill me if I said anything like that!" Kise blurted out before realizing his mistake and turned his head away in embarrassment. Kasamatsu couldn't help but let his jaw drop in shock and gasp out lightly. This was probably the first time Kise ever referred to any girl by their first name not to mention he even added his annoying add on to that girl's name. He knew for a fact that there wasn't anyone in the Generation of Miracles that had that name so that left him with…

"Is she your girlfriend?" He asked earning an even more shocked look from Kise.

"WHAT?! NO!" He shouted out, before looking away annoyed. "She's just a….an acquaintance I knew back when I was in elementary school. We went to Teiko but she left for America for her second year and I never saw her again until….yesterday…." He muttered fiddling with his piercing with a rather somber look in his eyes.

"Of course she's just your acquaintance." The captain of Kaijo's basketball team huffed, "After all you only add that annoying –cchi after anyone you just happen to meet." Kise had the decency to look shameful but Kasamatsu continued on. "So I'm assuming after never seeing her for a good while, you said something stupid to her. Or you assumed something from seeing her and—"

"So just because I assume something means I'm wrong?!" Kise hissed, surprising the captain before he growled out in anger and kicked the blonde's legs.

"Well if you had that attitude with her then it's no wonder you left with bad terms!" He shouted surprising the ace before he sighed heavily. This wasn't the drama he wanted to hear, but it seemed like if they didn't resolve this soon, the blonde idiot would continue to be in his own world and annoy the rest of the team.

Being a captain shouldn't be this troublesome. Kasamatsu sighed heavily as he ran his hand through his hair before grabbing Kise's arm and pulling him even further away from the school.

"Wait! Senpai! Practice is still going—"

"If you're still going to act like this then it's my job to make sure we deal with this and get you in top shape." Kasamatsu snapped. "So as much as it annoys me, we're going to take the rest of the practice off and solve your girl problem."

"It's not your job to butt into my business!" Kise shouted as he pulled away from his sempai and surprised the captain as he gave him an angry glare before he looked away. Kasamatsu could feel a head ache coming on and if he didn't give a reason for his outburst, the blonde would have another kick to the ass for disrespecting his elder. "Look….I know you're just…doing your job as a captain, but really…..everything is fine." He could have convinced the captain if he didn't have a pained look dancing behind his golden eyes.

"With that face, you're not convincing anyone." The Kaijo captain muttered annoyingly. "Whatever happened with your friend that day is obviously bugging you." Kise sighed heavily as he turned away from his captain.

"And I can fix it on my own." Kise muttered back, "Look….basketball is more important than talking about a misunderstanding between me and an…..old acquaintance."

"An acquaintance that's taking up your attention from basketball." Kasamatsu growled back, getting annoyed with the bickering. He was here trying to help out his teammate who obviously having some sort of turmoil, but the stubborn fool was refusing help.

"Sorry….it….it won't happen again." Kise sighed heavily. "Just please….drop this." The Kaijo captain kept silent as he was deciding the ace's fate before sighing heavily. If he kept prying, there was a chance that the blonde would explode or even refuse to listen to him—not that Kise listened to him that much during practice—when it comes to a game strategy. There was really only one thing he could do.

"Whatever. If you still find yourself still troubled by your "friend", I'll be here." He sighed heavily. "But just out of curiosity," He began as Kise gave him a confused look. "What kind of girl is she that you're even friends with her?" After all, if she wasn't part of the Generation of Miracles, then how did she catch the attention of the legendary Copy-cat?

"She's…..she's one of a kind. There's no one who can come close to her." Kise chuckled however; there was no humor in it. "She's shy to new people and situations but once she's comfortable, she'll blow you away with her confidence. Not to mention, she's a prodigy when it comes to sports. She's probably going to be a candidate for the gymnastic Olympic team. She also plays volleyball with her cousin and helped him become a prodigy for his age as well."

"That good?" Kasamatsu asked, raising an eyebrow.

And if she's into gymnastics and volleyball….how the hell did they even meet?

"She's really good….so good that if she had continued to play basketball like she wanted….she probably would have been another Generation of Miracles…" At that Kasamatsu couldn't help but widen his eyes. He knew the power of the generation of Miracles—he saw them at their last match at Teiko—and he couldn't picture anyone coming even close to them.

"Really?"

"Yeah…she's someone you don't want to go up against unless you can match her." Kise muttered, closing his eyes.


How…..how in the world is she doing all this?! Riko gasped out as Kagami dunked another basketball, giving the freshman team another two points. The total was now twenty to seven and it had only been about twenty minutes since they started the scrimmage. The coach had expected Tohru to show above average skills when it came to basketball due to her parents. However, this was beyond what she had expected.

It's like she can predict our every move. Huyga thought, gasping for breath at the intense running they were doing. She knows when and where each of us are, how to get by us, and she's a speed demon to make matters worse.

"Come on Captain!" Tohru called out, staring at him with her pupilless brown eyes. It sent chills down the Seirin Basketball captain spine when she smiled at him despite knowing it was probably very friendly. "Show me how you guys made it to the Inter-High!"

"How are you doing this?" Kagami asked as he jogged passed her, shuddering a bit as her eyes met his. "It's like you can see—

"Everything?" Tohru muttered, smirking. "Well, cuz…..I can."

"How is that possible, if you don't mind me asking." Kuroko asked, surprising Kagami with his sudden appearance.

"Gah! Stop doing that!"

"Its….a genetic disorder I guess." Tohru muttered—not the least bit frightened at Kuroko's sudden appearance—looking thoughtful as she took her position for defense. "In exchange for my eyesight, I can "see" anyone by feeling the ground vibration within a forty foot radius and basically maneuver with ease because of that. Think of it as the ability Toph has in the cartoon Avatar: Last Airbender."

"It can't be that reliable." Furihata muttered, "I mean…."

"It sounds unbelievable right?" Tohru chuckled, as the seniors steadily took their place, double teaming on her. "But as the saying goes," Giving Huyga and Kogenei a smirk, the gymnastic feint a left before disappearing from their view.

There she goes with that incredible speed! Huyga thought as he turned around only to see Izuki struggling to keep the ball away from Tohru. The only upside is that she doesn't have the strength to forcefully take the ball away from us. However he gasped in shock as Kuroko suddenly appeared next to Izuki and stole the ball from him, passing it to Furihata as he managed to get by the seniors without much problem. Tohru smirked knowingly as she jogged up to catch up to Furihata, Kagami not far behind.

She knew Kuroko was coming and forced Izuki to position himself so that Kuroko could steal the ball easily. Riko thought as Furihata scored another two points for the seniors. Such a frightening ability.

"You have to see it to believe it." Tohru muttered, smiling happily as she gave Furihata a high five.


"You guys sound pretty…."

"Close? We were and then…we entered Teiko…" Kise muttered, sighing heavily. "We were placed in different classes and we saw each other less and less. And as I told you, she moved to America and that was the last I heard of her until today." Kise shrugged nonchantaly but Kasamatsu could still see the Kaijo's ace's shoulder tense.

Something must have happened during that time then….The Kaijo captain thought to himself, Otherwise this Tohru wouldn't have affected him this much.

"I see…."

"So, don't worry so much about it Kasamatsu-senpai." Kise chuckled. "It's nothing really. I promise it won't affect my playing!"

"It better not." The captain huffed. "Otherwise I'll kick your ass again."

"Don't be like that sempai!" Kise whined. "Your kicks really hurt."

"If you stopped acting like a dumbass, then I wouldn't be kicking you nearly 24/7." Kasamatsu huffed. "Now come on, practice is going to start up again."

"What?! But I didn't get my water break!" The blonde model complained before he was roughly kicked back into the gym.

"STOP COMPLAINING OR I'LL KICK YOU!"

"WAHHH!"


"Maaann! I haven't felt this good in years!" Tohru smiled as she took a sip of water and wiped some sweat off her face unaware of the danger behind her. "Feeling this pumped up is awesome!"

"H-how—the score—eyes—how the hell are you able to do that Hatake-chan!" Riko-san cried as she grabbed the shoulders of the surprised gymnast and shook her. "HOW!"

"Coach!" Hyuga cried out as he tried to stop the basketball coach with little success. After all, if she wanted answers, she was going to get them one way or another. But he was sure that their coach didn't want to lose their manger so soon so he had to do something. "S-she's turning green!" Well at least that was the truth.

Tohru never really took the words, don't judge a book by its cover, seriously until now. She honestly thought that her kind hearted couch would be so quick to violence—well sort of violence—to get her answers. Not to mention, she was a lot more stronger than she let on. She was grateful for the captain's interference otherwise she might have spilled her lunch on her coach and that wouldn't have ended well.

"Oh! Sorry Hatake-chan!" Riko apologized as she immediately let go of the teen. "I didn't mean to be that rough."

"It's fine…" Tohru chuckled, as she struggled to keep her lunch down her throat. "No harm done."

"Are you alright?" Kuroko's voice piped in as Tohru quickly placed her hand over her mouth and kneeled over. "I didn't know coach could shake anyone so hard they could puke…"

"Ah!" The coach cried as she saw the gymnast double over and immediately began panicking. "I'm sorry! Someone get her a bucket and water!"

"I'm fine…." Tohru managed to gasp out as she slowly pulled her hand away from her mouth as the nausea slowly died away. "Sorry….it's just a small side effect…" She chuckled weakly as her teammates gave her a disbelieving look.

"Small? It looked like you were gonna puke your guts out to the floor." Hyuga commented as he helped steady the gymnast. "Make room on the bench! She needs to rest!" He barked at the freshman as he helped her move.

"Right!"

"Well….normally it's not that bad but Riko-san's shaking kinda pushed it over the edge." Tohru explained as she took a seat and grabbed a water bottle Futihara gave to her. "Thanks…"

"I'm sorry! I didn't—" The gymnast shook her head at the coach. If anything, it was her fault for not mentioning the side effect.

"It's alright, I didn't tell you so you couldn't have known. No harm done." She laughed trying to ease the guilt the coach obviously had.

"So that thing you use, it's not forever?" Kagami asked as he came into view. "There's like a time limit on it before you puke your guts?" Tohru couldn't help but sigh heavily, things were about to get a bit serious.

"Kinda….the more I use it, the more the side effects lasts and the more I get." She explained. "I'm forcing my body to shut down a perfectly functional sense to use a more hypersensitive sense that normal people don't have. That causes me to get nauseous, migraines and sometimes….well according to my mother, if I over use this ability, not only could I pass out but I could…..alsolosemyeyesight." Tohru sped through her last part of the sentence, leaving the basketball team momentarily confused. She fidgeted underneath their stares before they finally understood her words and cried in shock.

"WHAT!"

"You could go blind and you're using this ability!" Riko screamed as she reached for the gymnast only to stop herself remembering that she was still recovering and settled for punching the air. "Are you insane!?"

"That's only if I overuse it!" Tohru cried as she placed her arms up in defense, "I haven't really even used it for a good couple years! Even in gymnastic I don't use my ability!"

That much…..

"I probably just got nauseous from using it after a while!" Tohru hastily added as she realized she paused a bit too long after her last statement. She didn't need them to worry that much. Besides, she did controlled how long she used her ability. She didn't want to end up in a hospital and have her mother show up and take her back to the States. Not to mention, if she did end up in the hospital, Tobi would realize she lied to him and it would become a bigger mess. She just had to make sure she controlled herself….she could do that….right?

"Still, with such a dangerous ability, you should really take care on how you use it." Kuroko muttered, surprising the gymnast at his sudden appearance.

"Geeze, you honestly should just carry a beeper so people know where you are." Tohru muttered under breath before sighing. "I know, I'll be careful. Besides, I don't really use it unless it's for basketball or helping out my cousin. So I won't become blind any time soon." She smiled brightly at the teens still surrounding her hoping her small lie wouldn't show. "I promise."

"As long as you don't push yourself then that's alright." Hyuga sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Since we finished with our scrimmage match, we'll have a small break and then it's back to drills. Will you be leaving early again?" He asked the gymnast as she took a peek at the gym's clock.

"Yeah, my coach wants to get me into a training regimen as soon as possible and we should have a tournament coming up in about a month or so, so I'll be busy with that. But, don't worry I'll make time for basketball." Tohru smiled as she picked up her clip board she had discarded earlier and took another look over at the training schedule. Maybe she should up Kuroko's training especially after seeing him action….

But will it be enough to get them ready for the scrimmage match? She thought as she looked up at the team just as they finished their water break and prepared to do another set of drills. I know they have talent especially the seniors and the new freshmen duo but…is that going to be enough? Just how strong is Kaijo….better yet, just how strong are the rest of the Generation of Miracles along with their respective schools? Not to mention, if I'm gonna help Dad and Tobio-chan with their team, then I will need to do the same with them. The only upside, there are no Generation of Miracles for volleyball….right?

"I'm going to be doing a lot of late nighters…." Tohru muttered, sighing heavily as she could picture herself with bags under her eyes and whatnot. "But…." She smiled as she could already see the smiling faces of her team and her cousin's team as well. "It'll be worth it…."

Wait….don't I have to do it for gymnastics too?!

"Fucckkkk." The gymnast groaned as she slammed her clipboard into her head, earning stares from both the coach and the team.

Great….way to ruin the moment….


"Come on girls! You were faster than this last week!" Kyo shouted as he looked back at the four young women and one teen girl struggling to keep up with their coach for a "small" run. "Are you telling me that youngsters like yourselves can't keep up with an aging man?"

"Considering that the aging man used to be a professional martial artist and keeps a dojo as a side job, I would be amazed if we could keep up for another mile." Tohru panted heavily as she sent a glare at the two responsible for the run. While she did like skipping out on gymnastics from time to time, she hated to run for punishment. Running for training—she could deal with—running for competition—hell yeah she put in all of her effort into it—but running because someone couldn't behave property for at least thirty minutes—she was going to get back at the two bickering gymnasts one way or another.

"We wouldn't be in this mess if stupid blonde could take a joke." Summer hissed as she "accidently" ran into Kisa and nearly sent her falling into a ditch, "And not throw a hissy fit."

"And if you knew how to actually aim, you wouldn't have thrown that bucket at sensei to get mad at us." Kisa growled back, pushing the dark haired woman in retaliation. "It's your fucking fault goth bitch,"

"MY FAULT! YOU FUCKING YANKEE PRINCESS!"

"How did either of you put up with this nonsense?" Tohru couldn't help but ask Makoto and Hanna as they sighed at the two girls.

"Well…..Summer is a bit violent, but she means well." Makoto smiled nervously as her best friend just released another volley of curses. "She is going to take over her parent's flower shop after all so she knows how to reel her anger in."

I highly doubt that Tohru couldn't help but think as she saw their orange haired coach coming up angrily to them and bashed their heads together. I can actually picture her scaring off customers with her glare alone.

"And Kisa, she's usually easy to get along with unless you do something to get her mad, and since Summer can easily rile up a person," Tohru had to snort at Hanna's comment; that was an understatement if the first impression had anything to do with it, "Well, they're like cats and dogs."

"What the hell sensei!" Both cried as they recovered from their blow, before shutting their mouths at the deadly aura coming off from their coach.

"We're going to have a long talk when we get back…..a very long talk."


"I've put up with all of your shiiizzz… long enough." The orange head gymnast and ex marital artist growled out as he glared at the girls lying on the mat, tired to the point of exhaustion. Tohru actually looked like she was on the verge of passing out. Then again, all of them did. He did make them run up and down the mountain near their gym at least three times. He almost felt sorry for what he was about to do. Almost.

"You…can say….shit….I'm not….a kid." Tohru wheezed out as she rolled over. "Water….need water…."

"You're a teen, I'm not gonna take responsibility if your mother asks where you learned foul language." The orange head male hissed. "As I was saying, I put up with your damn tempers long enough. Especially you two, Summer and Kisa."

"not my fault that—"

"Exactly my point." The orange head male sighed heavily as he interrupted Kisa. "You're always fighting with each other. Now I understand rivalry arguments, but this? This is bullshit you pull on each other just to rile each other up. Everyone here is at fault for this."

"Don't….bring….Makoto—"

"She's just as much at fault as you two for not stopping you." He interrupted the dark haired teen earning a whine of agreement coming from the second smallest gymnast. "Same goes with Hanna." He could have sworn that he heard her mutter something along the lines of 'I knew it' but he didn't push her to say it louder.

"Then why am I getting punished?" Tohru groaned, "This is my second time here!"

"Training." Kyo shrugged earning a tired glare from the high schooler. "So in order to stop all this nonsense, I've decided that I'm going to put you guys in pairs until our first tournament and if I see you guys can behave, I'll drop the pairs."

"If you can't count, there's five of us." Kisa pointed out as she slowly sat up, her hair loose from her pony tail. "You can't put us in pairs evenly."

"One of you will be alone because they need to learn how to not depend on others. They have a lot of potential to do great, but I've noticed they keep holding back so working by herself should help boost her confidence a bit." Kyo could already see Tohru's pleading face to be the one paired by herself, and she wasn't the only one if you counted Kisa's bad lip biting habit whenever she was nervous.

"But working in pairs doesn't sound that bad…" Summer muttered. "I mean, we do duel drills at times—"

"Did I mention that you have to be with your partner every single practice, rehearsal, drill, the whole shibang? And to make sure that you get friendlier with each other, I expect you to hang out with each other every other weekend." The orange haired coach stated, silently smirking at the shocked faces of the young girls in front of him.

"But I have the weekends with my dad!" Tohru cried out, breaking the silence. "That's not gonna be fair!"

"Life's never fair so suck it up." Kyo sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance. Oh he could already imagine the protests. Might as well get it over with.

"Hana. Summer. I except both of you to get along and if none of you talk to each other, I'm going to pull you two from the tournament." Kyo sighed as Summer openly gaped at him.

"Wait what?! Why am I paired up with Hana? I'm always with Makoto!"

"And what do you mean by that comment of not talking?" Hanna asked as she fixed her glasses. "We are perfectly capable of having conversations—"

"If someone else prompts it first." The gym coach interrupted silencing the girls. "Summer, you spend too much time with Makoto that sometimes you forget that you have other teammates and since Makoto does the talking for you, you end up usually quiet unless you're fighting Kisa." Summer opened and closed her mouth several times in shock—possibly in denial—before she finally formed words.

"Wha—I don't—Makoto—"

"And Hanna, sometimes you're too absorbed in your own world of mathematics and gymnastic that you close yourself off without meaning to. I'm sure if I hadn't forced you guys to introduce yourself to Tohru, you wouldn't have done so unless she came up to you. You need to learn how to socialize more." The violetnette merely raised an eyebrow at her teacher.

"Ah…..and by forcing two people who can't even properly hold a conversation with other people, you plan to make us more….socialable?" Hanna asked, giving their coach a skeptical look. "I don't see how that will work."

"Like I said, with the updates that I will force you guys to give to me, if I don't see you two doing anything I deem social, you can forget about being entered in the tournament."

"Bastard." Summer growled out while Hana lightly glared at their coach.

"Next pair will be…..Kisa and….Tohru."

"WHAT?!" Both girls cried out in surprise." Why do I have to work with her/the newbie!" They shouted in unison before giving each other a small glare. Sighing heavily, Kyo could only rub his forehead in frustration. He knew Kisa was only recovering from her latest….incident….but if he let things go on the way they are, then he feared that Kisa would never confide in anyone besides the people in this room minus Tohru. So while it was a punishment in some ways, it was mostly to help his girls.

"Kisa, ever since that incident, you always think everyone as your enemy. That has to stop." Kyo growled out as Kisa looked away. "You can't always hold your friends at an arms distance—"

"I don't keep them at an arms distance!" Kisa argued back. "I get along very well with Makoto and Hanna thankyouverymuch!" She puffed as she crossed her arms purposely looking away from Summer who gave her the stink eye before Makoto quietly scolded her.

"First of all, I think it's impossible for anyone to even hate Makoto," Kyo deadpanned as he gave a look to the brunette. "And second of all, Hanna…..you can't hate her either unless you hate math with a passion."

"But the weekends are with my dad! I'm a manager for the basketball club too! I might have to go to games, and I don't think you would want to stay and watch a basketball game on your weekend." Tohru argued, sitting up before giving a glance to the blonde. "No offence but I like having my gymnastic life separate from school and family."

"Whatever," Kisa scoffed before turning back to their coach, missing the heated look Tohru gave her, "And besides, I have projects due for my photography class! I have to travel to different cities! I can't bring a brat to some of the places!" She argued back which caused Tohru to look offended. This was slowly getting a bit out of hand.

"Hey!"

"What! You're underage, and I can't bring you into the red—"

"ENOUGH!" Kyo shouted, silencing the two. "Look, yes I know that it would have been better if Tohru was paired by herself, but that's not going to happen. I'll give you two some freedom since I do realize that a college student and a high school student have very different schedules. But I expect you two to hang out with each other at least once a week. Kisa, go to some of Tohru's basketball games when time allows you to and I expect you to take her on your photograph trips."

"Ugh, fine. I guess I can entertain her for a bit."Kisa grumbled earning a frown from Tohru.

"But what about the weekends with my Dad? I go to the Miyagi district and—"

"I'm sure your father would agree with my terms." The orange haired coach interrupted the gymnast which earned another scowl from her. "Not to mention, you already have a lot on your plate with gymnastic practice, being a manager, and you also have to keep up your grades. Missing a weekend with your father won't hurt that much. And your father can also visit you instead; you don't have to also travel to him." And having her father agree with his set up would probably help him out, since Tohru did not look willing to cave in. And calling her mother would probably not help at all, in fact it might only fuel the fire.

I hope I can call him after practice before mini Tohru does. Otherwise, it might not end well for me.

"But—that's not fair!" Tohru complained once more, her voice nearly cracking causing the coach to feel slightly guilty. She probably thought she would get more freedom in gymnastics since her mother wasn't breathing down her neck but here she was, back with strict regulations. "I'm not a kid that needs to be babysat! Especially by her!" Tohru pointed at Kisa who growled angrily.

Oh crap.

"Me!? What the hell does that even mean you brat!" Kisa shouted back, grabbing Tohru's shoulder roughly before the orange head coach could say anything to deflate the situation. "Do you think that because your mother is a gold medal gymnast that everything will be handed to you!"

"Kisa—" Kyo tried to interrupt the blonde gymnast, but she was having none of it and shook Tohru even harder.

"Do you honestly think that having two famous athletes as parents will get you whatever you want in life! News flash you prissy brat! Life's not fair, so stop using your mother's status to get whatever you want! You're nothing without her!" The blonde gymnast screamed as she shook Tohru once more before she was roughly pulled away by Summer. "Get the fuck off me bitch! I still have some words to say to that—"

"Are you even listening to yourself, Kisa!" Summer grunted as Kisa fought against her. "You sound just like that bitch! You really want to turn into her!"

"Fuck off! You know nothing!"

"Coach! Some help would be nice!" Summer shouted, forcing the coach to finally move his feet. This was certainly not how he thought it would go down. Sure he expected shouts and complains, but he certainly underestimated just how much Tohru and Kisa were still suffering. Tohru, from her mother's strict demands; and Kisa with her betrayal of her ex-partner. But if they somehow manage to salvage this—if it was possible—then maybe they both could begin to heal…If he didn't kill the blonde first for starting a fight. From the corner of his eye, he could see his other two girls rushing towards Tohru, probably to try and comfort her. However, a gut to his stomach forced his attention back to a struggling—and surprisingly strong—Kisa.

"Calm down, Kisa!" Kyo hissed as the blonde's nails scratched him across his cheeks—oh now she was going to get it, he told her to cut her damn nails! Just as he was about to place her in a headlock—either that or accidently popping her shoulder if he held her arms behind her—a sudden scream halted them.

"SHUT UP!"

Immediately the three of them turned over to the remaining non-combatants, and stared wide eye at the panting and tearful highschooler. Just as Kisa opened her mouth, the young gymnast spoke up, glaring with her bloodshot red eyes.

Crap, I think she snapped.

"SHUT UP! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME AT ALL! YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW JUST HOW MUCH I HATE MY MOTHER! YOU DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH I WISH I WASN'T HER DAUGHTER! I WOULD RATHER BE PLAYING BASKETBALL THAN DOING GYMNASTICS WHERE EVERYONE JUST USES YOU IN HOPES OF FIGUREING OUT MY MOTHER'S STUPID SECRET TO GETTING A DAMN PERFECT 10! I WOULD RATHER CALL A FUCKING STRANGER THAN MY MOTHER IF I WAS DYING AND ONLY HAD ONE CALL TO MAKE!" Tohru spat at them as tears streamed down her cheeks.

As Kyo looked around the room, he wasn't surprised at the shocked, horrified and tearful—only from Makoto—looks coming from his girls. After all, she's been with them only for about three days and everything they "knew" about her came from sports magazines. Sure he had read them as well—he at least wanted to know what kind of girl he was going to coach—but it completely painted a different picture about her family life.

In the magazines, they say that Tohru and her mother are close….but with that outburst and small snippets of what Tohru tells me at dinner….it's exactly the opposite.

"I hate her, I hate how even across the stupid pacific she still controls my life…." Tohru whispered to herself as she covered her eyes in embarrassment. Makoto slowly reached towards her—no doubt to give her a hug—but Tohru jumped back and glared weakly at her.

"Tohru—"

"I….I have some tests to study for…" Tohru mumbled as she turned away, most likely to hide her red eyes from the rest of the team. Quickly she rushed to get her gym bag and before the orange head could say anything, Tohru ran out the double doors leaving the entire team stunned.

"How is she going to get home without you coach?" Hana spoke up after several seconds of silence which caused Kyo to curse as he realized the stubborn girl would walk or take the bus home. He hoped that she wasn't stupid enough to trust a stranger to take her home. Not only would Tohru's parents kill him—although her father would probably have a head start—but his wife would cry uncontrollably when she hears about it.

Is this what it feels like to have a teenager? God I hope Kastuya isn't going to be like that. Kyo thought as he rushed to get his coat, bag and keys; hoping to at least catch the young gymnast before she got too far without him.

"Practice is over today! Tomorrow, all of you will begin to partner up with your buddy until the tournament! And that is final! If another stunt like this happens again, then I can guarantee you that I will make the rest of your gymnastic life as miserable as possible." He growled out as he stood at the door, giving his girls one last glance. He felt a bit guilty for being harsh on them—especially with Kisa's guilt ridden face—but it was the last straw, they were adults. They needed to start acting like one.

"Dismissed!"

"Yes coach…." They mumbled unenthusiastically as they slowly started to clean up the place. Once he was sure they wouldn't kill each other, he rushed out to the parking lot hoping he would catch a glimpse of the gymnast but no such luck.

"You are going to be the death of me." He grumbled as he ran to his car, throwing his items in the back seat, and started the car. Hopefully she wasn't that far and he could catch her with his car.

"I think otherwise…." A soft whisper came from his right causing him to scream in fright. After getting his heart rate back to normal—thank god none of his family members were here otherwise they would laugh at him—he turned his head and was surprised to see Tohru sitting in the passenger seat. Granted, half of her head was covered by her hood, but Kyo could see enough to identify his student. "Sorry…."

"Don't be." Kyo sighed as he started the car. "It's….it's been a rough day for you."

"I suppose so…." The young gymnast muttered as she placed her headphones into her ears, "Just….I'll pull myself together by the time we get to your house…..I don't want to upset Tohru-san." She whispered as she pulled her hood and obscured her entire face from his view. He didn't have to see her face to know that she was crying….the small sobs she let out was enough to let him know.

"I'm sorry Tohru…..I really am." He sighed heavily as he began driving home. "But….it's for your own good….it really is."

Even if it hurts you…..it will help you in the long run. Trust me.