Author's Note: Forewarning, I made this chapter a little longer~ ;) Also, it's tied closely to canon.

Disclaimer: Kuroko isn't mine... (cries!)

...

Oh FINE! Kuroko no Basuke isn't mine either!

More Kaijou-centric fluff abound. Feel free to tell me if you get sick of it~!

"Just what are you looking at, Kise?"

Hachiouji lifted her head up from her light novel, her attention veering towards the two males currently engaged in conversation. The three of them were in Tokyo, steadily approaching the location of the Kantou region Inter-High at a relaxed pace.

"A recording of this morning's Oha Asa-ssu." Kise replied absent-mindedly, his sharp eyes trained intently on the portable music player in his hand. He had an earphone in one ear, indicating that he was listening to the device. "It's a horoscope program."

Rokuro perked with some semblance of interest.

The conversation was finally headed towards a more interesting direction; The past ten minutes had consisted of Kasamatsu grumbling and swatting at Kise for letting his fans interfere with practice this morning.

Oh, and a lot of said blond's whining.

The sandy-blond haired manager couldn't say that she had anticipated the younger male's unusual answer- he didn't really seem like the stupid gullible type to her. In fact, he could be quite the opposite at times, particularly in the face of complete strangers.

'Then again, I may be wrong.' Shutting her book with a snap of her wrist, the atypically tall female slipped it into the inner pocket of her bag carefully, her uniform skirt swishing slightly at the movement.

"Oh? I think I've heard of it." She acknowledged, deciding to contribute to the ongoing conversation, "Why, may I ask, are you listening to it?"

"Midorima-cchi performs better in games in accordance to his horoscope fortune-ssu." The blond explained, glancing at Rokuro briefly in response. She inferred that he was referring to one of his ex-teammates from middle school. They were a big deal these days in the Men's Basketball World from what she had gathered.

'...Not that it really matters much.'

"You mean one of your teammates from Teiko? So, what's his sign?" Yukio questioned further, mildly curious. It didn't really hurt to capitalise on Kise's pre-existing knowledge, Midorima was a rival in the tournament after all. The Kaijou captain casually shoved his hands into the pockets of his grey slacks, his posture relaxed.

"It's Cancer." Kise answered, before continuing proudly, "And Kurokocchi is an Aquarius-ssu!"

"I didn't ask about him." Kasamatsu frowned. At times, Kise acted like a three year old presenting at show-and-tell- it was annoying more often than not.

The trio continued their walk in silence, with Kise returning to listening intently to his device.

Just as they arrived at the entrance of the small stadium, the young blond abruptly stopped, his broad shoulders slumping in near-defeat.

"Geh."

"What is it, Kise? You're blocking our way."

"This is the worst…" The younger blond said vaguely, turning to face his captain and manager, a miserable expression marring his handsome face. In explanation, he held up the device to Kasamatsu's face, causing the captain's brows to furrow in befuddlement.

'I guess the fortune wasn't quite what he was hoping for…' Rokuro concluded, the faint tinkling voice of Oha-Asa seemingly amplified by the silence.

Meticulously, Rokuro readjusted her silk dark grey tie, uninterested in the buzzing crowd of basketball fanatics surrounding her. In truth, she wasn't really in all that much of a rush to watch the game. One of the main reasons that she was there in the first place was because the coach had ordered her to collect some useable data against Seirin- a duty as manager, he had insisted.

"Say, senpai. Why don't we get some drinks?" The blond haired girl suddenly chirped, her gait slowing as she spotted one of the many vending machines littered throughout the area.

"That's a good idea-ssu!" Kise agreed wholeheartedly, a bright smile on his face. He cast a hopeful look at said machine. He had been getting thirsty, and the game didn't start for a few more minutes anyway.

"No. The game is starting soon." Kasamatsu refused immediately, not faltering in his steps once.

He slowed to a halt however, when he noticed the lack of two people by his side.

'I'm going to regret this, aren't I?' The raven haired male thought sullenly, just before he pivoted on his heel.

Not disappointed, the blue eyed male was met with a twin set of unhappy pouty faces.

"Are you two kids or something?" Kasamatsu demanded, crossing his arms over his chest.

He was greeted with a sulky silence.

Scrunching his eyes up tiredly, the older male sighed; their behaviour oddly reminiscent of his two younger brothers.

Slowly, he turned to face the large white vending machine, easily spotting some strong, black coffee displayed behind the see through glass.

'Well if I'm going to have to deal with these two, I might as well…'

"You took too damn long choosing, idiot." Yukio reprimanded, smacking Kise on his shoulder, "The game's already started."

"Ow! That hurt, senpai!"

Hachiouji chuckled at the display, trailing after the pair as they entered the spectator's area for the courts, a carton of strawberry milk in hand. Her light amusement was drowned out by the enthusiastic cheers and exclamations of the audience.

"Huh?" Kise sounded out, his golden eyes widening slightly in disbelief.

Tracing the source of his ire, she identified the game's scoreboard; Spotting a rather pitiful looking score of 0-12, with Seiho, Seirin's current opponent, very much in the lead.

"Oi, you've got to be kidding me." Kasamatsu voiced his own disbelief.

Quickly, the three Kaijou students set out to find some seats, their eyes never once leaving the ongoing game.

"That is some considerable pressure they're putting on Seirin." Rokuro murmured, crossing her long legs as she settled into the melded plastic underneath her. She watched as Seirin's number five, a dark haired male with unusually sharp onyx eyes and pale skin received a quick pass from Kagami, dashing towards the basket with every intent on scoring.

However, his attempt was quickly thwarted by Seiho's number four, a male sporting a large muscular frame, dark brown hair and a goatee. 'The captain,' she effortlessly identified through his jersey number, 'though it's hard to believe such a gruff looking person is a high-schooler.'

"Seiho's defence is incredible." Kasamatsu observed, disrupting her judgement on the Seiho captain's appearance.

"...I recognise Seiho's number 10." Kise added, pointing at the obnoxious shaved head of Tsugawa Tomoki, "I played against him last year. He was pretty tough, the others got really mad when I couldn't break through him… But seriously, just what is Seirin doing? They haven't scored a single point-ssu!"

"I dare say not a very good job." Rokuro retorted wryly. Their struggle against Seiho was looking to be fruitless, and she could see that frustrations were running high on the underdog team.

Really, she wouldn't be surprised if Seirin, well namely Kagami, fouled again within the next five minutes of the game. She really wasn't affected to know that their first one had been incurred already.

"Well, it's not like I can't understand why. I've noticed it from before but, Seirin is actually a slow starter team." Kasamatsu expressed plainly from his seat beside the blond model, "It's Kagami who gears them into action and with that strong mark constantly on him, they can't really do anything to enter their pace."

"Charging! White, Number 10!"

'And he plays right into my predictions...' Rokuro observed in amusement as some of the Seirin team groaned in both worry and frustration at the referee's call. Her smile widened even further when she spotted a familiar figure approach the red haired male on the court, probably to reprimand him on his mistake.

Leaning forward slightly, the girl focused her full attention on him, 'Saa. Let's see how this will play out.'

"It's quite nearly an all court man-to-man." Rokuro analysed calmly, scrutinising the players as they reassumed their respective positions on the court. All of Seirin's players were being marked rather persistently, except for one. Her fingers flew up to cradle her chin in thought, inadvertently absorbed in the game, "Seiho's formation is quite well-rounded."

'Of course, their strategy would have been far more effective if they had actually marked everyone from the opposing team.'

'Wait, "quite nearly"…?' Kise wondered, noting her word choice with rapt interest. He was quick enough to correlate the nuances in her speech with its implications for what was happening on the court.

The blond stared at the second year seated on Kasamatsu's other side, expression contemplative.

'...Don't tell me, she noticed Kurokocchi...?'

"Yeah, Seiho is known for their man-to-man defence." Kasamatsu agreed with the manager's observant comment, causing the first year to shift his attention onto the steel blue eyed third year. "Though, it's not an ordinary man-to-man strategy." He began his extensive explanation, "their play is far more diligent. The team is creating pressure by staying right on Seirin's players constantly, not giving them a second to breathe. No matter how good you are at passing, if nobody is free for even a moment, it'll all be useless."

"That's good and all, but they'll never last until the end of a game playing like that." Kise reasoned almost at once, causing the raven haired captain to smirk.

"Oh, but they will, because Seiho has something quite special." Kasamatsu supplied vaguely, appearing unsurprised when Seirin's coach abruptly called for a time-out.

"They've adapted martial arts techniques into their movements, haven't they?" Rokuro tacked in knowingly, her eyes remaining closed. However, her unsmiling lips showed her momentary lapse in her usual demeanour. In fact, it almost seemed like she had a personal interest in the game.

Yukio nodded, not finding her level of insight and forethought odd at all.

Meanwhile, Kise continued to stare at the champagne haired second year in bafflement. Truthfully, he had gotten the distinct impression that she wasn't invested in the sport at all- which was silly now that he thought about it, considering she was their team manager.

"Yeah, more specifically, they're using a technique called 'Namba Running'." Kasamatsu continued, causing his youngest kouhai to once more focus on him. "It's a technique that involves moving your arms and legs in tandem with each other. Apparently, by avoiding excess twisting, you reduce the strain on your body and conserve stamina."

"You sure know a lot about this."

"They're an unusual national level team." The raven haired captain admitted, "I also happened to read about them in Basketball Monthly."

The fact that the third year knew all this was a given, really. Rokuro knew that Kasamatsu was a highly intelligent, well-prepared and diligent individual- all traits that had earned him national acclaim and his position as the Kaijou basketball team captain.

The whistle resounded throughout the court, causing the three to resume attention on the game.

Straightening her posture, the Kaijou team manager examined Kagami intently as he engaged Seiho's number ten in a one-on-one. The crimson haired male agilely dashed past the shaven head male to perform a rim-shaking dunk, finally scoring Seirin's first points of the day.

"The game starts now." Kasamatsu said, a tinge of anticipation in his voice.

From beside the third year, Kise smiled in distinct relief, 'Of course they wouldn't let something like that hold them down for long.'

They were the team he had lost against after all.

Rokuro turned her head when a sharp whistle went off from the court adjacent to the one she was currently spectating, drawing her attention from the ongoing game.

'That's the Shūtoku – Ginbo match.' She identified from the scoreboard, before shifting her eyes to take in the distinctive bright orange and white uniforms of one of the Three Kings of Tokyo.

From what she knew, they were the other semi-finalists of the Kantou tournament.

"They're benching Midorimacchi after five minutes, how lax of them." Kise commented dully, his deep golden eyes too trained on the other match. His sharp eyes were focused on a tall, fair skinned green haired male wearing a pair of square framed glasses.

"Well, that's expected. Ginbo is only a middle-tier school." Kasamatsu countered, completely unsurprised by the occurrence. "If there's anything interesting, it's going to be over here." The blue eyed male tilted his head towards the Seirin – Seiho court, subtly indicating for the two to focus. Obediently, the two younger teens complied.

"Foul! Number Ten!"

The announcement resounded through the air, causing the crowd to break into a whirl of murmurs.

"Oh dear, that's his third one already, I believe." Rokuro affirmed, twirling a lock of her silky hair with a slender finger thoughtlessly.

"I thought things would run smoother with Kagamicchi scoring, but they haven't managed a single step forward." Kise frowned.

"Seiho isn't titled a 'King' simply because they have good defence play, you know." Kasamatsu chided, leaning back into his seat. "Their offense isn't anything to scoff at either, especially when they've incorporated martial arts techniques into their movements so thoroughly."

"…Hmph." The male of the two blonds looked a little dissatisfied at his captain's statement, "but Seirin scored right? Shouldn't that have changed the flow of the game?"

"Saa, you could say that their teams are simply attributed differently." Rokuro interjected, "They don't have a decent scorer, but Seiho's technique is rather impressive. They're a team of specialists who excel in countering offensive types like Seirin."

'…Though, there certainly is a specialist on Seirin too.' She concluded, her smile widening.

The game continued on with Kagami and Kuroko managing to penetrate Seiho's strong defences, employing a creative combination of Kuroko's talents and Kagami's speed. The crowd went wild when the red haired male performed another powerful dunk, quite literally shattering their opponent's pride once more.

"They made it past such a tight defence…?" Kasamatsu wondered in surprise, his eyes wide. He had expected at most a stand-still for the remaining of the quarter following Seiho's abrupt spike in their defences- not a complete infiltration!

Kise smirked, raising a hand to comb his long fingers through his blond hair. "Man, they're more in tune with each other than they were before." He observed the Seirin first year duo, excitement alight in his eyes.

The steel blue eyed captain narrowed his eyes critically, his attention zeroing in on the star of Seirin's team. "It's impressive... but there's one thing bothering me."

Rokuro smiled, resting her chin on her knuckles in a relaxed manner.

"…Honoka-kun is sweating a little too much for the second quarter, isn't he~?" She finished for him with a cheerful smile.

It was true. The red haired male was practically drenched in it. Her eyes slowly trailed the droplets that rolled off the younger male's face, finding the sight of it rather familiar… [1]

"The only ones who seem happy about that are you and Tsugawa, Hachiouji-senpai…" Kise sassed.

Her smile slipped.

"Don't compare me to that baldy, Kirara-kun, I might get angry."

'K-Kirara-kun?!' Kise puffed up in his seat, too affronted to really consider her honey tinged threat.

"Both of you shut up and focus on the game, will you?" Kasamatsu cut off their bickering, glaring at his two kouhai irritably. The two younger students ignored him in favour of engaging in an intense stare-off.

SMACK!

"Ouch! That hurt! Why're you only hitting me, senpai?! How unfair!"

"I can't hit girls, can I?"

"B-But-!"

"Ah, Honoka-kun gained another foul~!"

"It's Kagami, Hachiouji- Wait, what?! That's his fourth one already." Kasamatsu broke away from his mini argument with Kise to confirm her statement, returning his attention to the game.

"Eeh?! Seriously, what does that idiot think he's doing?" Kise caught on, clutching his head in frustration.

"Well, with only one foul left, he'll have to hold back on his plays or he'll be booted from the game." The Kaijou captain filled in blandly. Down on the courts, Seirin was in the midst of a mild panic episode. It was understandable; Kagami was their ace and main form of offensive power.

Rokuro smiled in mirth when she saw the Seirin coach approach the umpire desk to request for a substitution, causing the red haired first year to protest loudly.

'He really is an idiot.'

"Ho, that Kasuga Ryuhei is pretty skilled." Kasamatsu observed, watching as he scored against Izuki Shun with an unconventional Scoop Shoot. The fact that the Seiho vice-captain shared his own position as a point guard made him all the more attentive to the auburn haired male's plays.

"That's true. He's pretty suited for the role of a Point Guard." Rokuro agreed, "He complements that number four oji-san rather nicely, I must say."

Kasamatsu sweatdropped at her polite insult. She was perhaps the only person he knew who could make offensive statements sound so well-mannered.

"Seirin is doing better than I expected..." Kise said in awe, not bothering to conceal his surprise. He had assumed that the team would have been finished the moment Aida Riko had decided to bench both Kagamicchi and Kurokocchi with that last substitution.

"…Much better in fact." Kasamatsu acquiesced, "It makes sense. That combination with Kuroko and Kagami was only formed this spring, so it's still in the midst of development. Seirin's second years though, have been working together for far longer, and their offensive play is something that Seirin had spent the last year perfecting. Although we didn't play them last year, keep in mind that the original Seirin was quite a formidable team- They nearly made it through to nationals on their first try." He paused, his voice taking on a much graver tone as his steel blue eyes glazed over in memory. However, Kise didn't notice.

"They didn't just sit idly on their hands after last year's defeat." The Kaijou captain finished.

Rokuro glanced at him, aware that he was immersed in the memory of Kaijou's devastating loss last year at Inter-High. It had nearly broken him as a basketball player to have failed the team so close to taking Nationals, and from what she had heard, his senpai hadn't reacted well either.

"…'Defeat', huh…?" She murmured, just above a whisper. She looked down at her lap, a strange mixture of emotions welling up within her; something settled heavily on her shoulders, causing her smile to slip off her face completely.

She was uncomfortable to find envy.

'That was a pretty close match.' Rokuro thought, adjusting her school blazer back onto her shoulders. The tall girl exited the bathroom, tilting her head up to stare at the ceiling in thought.

It was strange to see how worked up Kise-kun and Kasamatsu-senpai had gotten over the entire thing. Then again, she couldn't deny that she had been rather interested in the match herself. Seirin had managed to pull a win over Seiho, much to everyone's surprise.

'But that doesn't mean anything to you, does it?' She thought grimly to herself, long fingers smoothening out the length of her skirt. She made her way through the halls of the stadium, her eyes opening slightly to reveal darkened pools of wine red.

Seirin wasn't bad, but a far cry from her current level.

'Honestly, I'm not quite sure what he was thinkin-'

"Oi, Hachiouji."

Reflexively, her hand flew up, catching the small package that was flung through the air with smooth ease.

"Oh…?" She raised a brow, examining the well-packaged strawberry jam-filled bun in interest.

"You're hungry, right? I grabbed us something from the store." Kasamatsu explained, peeling open the plastic wrapper off his own chocolate filled one.

She grinned appreciatively at him in response, secretly a little touched. "Thank you, captain."

Kasamatsu nodded, before going up to her. The two matched each other's paces, walking in relative silence.

"Where's Kirara-kun?" Rokuro questioned after swallowing a bite of her bread.

Kasamatsu raised a brow questioningly, noting the way in which she had referred to their blond kouhai with interest.

"…You're still angry with him about that Tsugawa comment? You can really hold a grudge." He commented, taking a bite out of his own snack.

Hachiouji shrugged, making a note to herself to be cautious around the older male. He could read people way too well sometimes, and with a frightening level of accuracy too.

"He's interesting when he gets irritated." She replied honestly (for once), biting into the fluffy soft white bread and savouring the sweet flavoured jelly sandwiched within.

Kasamatsu sighed, rolling his eyes skyward in exasperation at her response.

"Senpai! You should have waited for me!" A familiar voice shouted out from behind them, causing the two Kaijou students to stop and turn around.

"You were taking too long, idiot." Kasamatsu retorted, glaring pointedly at the blond.

"How mean! I was just about to pay!" Kise protested, before doing a double-take. "Eh? You were buying that for Hachiouji-senpai?" He inquired, spotting the bun she was presently eating.

Kasamatsu narrowed his steel blue eyes at the first year, daring him to continue his line of thought, "…What of it?"

Kise flinched comically, holding his bag of snacks to his chest and wisely keeping his opinion to himself- He'd learned from last time.

"Oi, hurry up. We're leaving."

Quickly, the blond first year caught up to the pair, taking up the spot next to Kasamatsu. The three began making their way back to the spectator's area, Kasamatsu and Kise conversing quietly all the while with Hachiouji casually positioned by Kasamatsu's other side.

They were halfway back to the stadium seating area to see the Seirin – Shūtoku game when Hachiouji suddenly stopped.

'Eh…?'

Both Kise and Kasamatsu slowed when they noticed, turning around to peer at the tall manager. They were met with the unusual sight of her hunched over form.

"…Uh, senpai…?" Kise, the brave soul that he was, decided to tread where few dared to go. He didn't get so much as a single answer, however, which was a cause for worry. 'Her shoulders are…trembling?'

"Oi, Hachiouji, what's gotten into you?" Kasamatsu decided to step in, worried. Had something been wrong with the bread...?

It was then that the girl could hold it in no longer.

"…A-Alien-…"She sputtered out incomprehensibly, her arms flew up to cradle her sides just as she burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.

"…Alien?" Both Kasamatsu and Kise blinked, confused. Was Hachiouji finally admitting to being a being from outer space?

A few moments of discomfort slowly ticked by, accompanied by odd looks from various members of the public. Both the Kaijou basketball team members were struggling to gain an understanding of the situation.

"...A-Alien…A-Abduction…" She finally managed, nonetheless her never-ending chortles made the feat harder than it needed to be.

'I hope she's not forgetting to breathe.' Kasamatsu thought, a little put out by the possibility.

"…'Alien abduction'?" Kise repeated, perplexed, before he spotted a slender finger pointed at him shakily.

Slowly, the blond allowed his golden eyes to dart between Kasamatsu and the champagne haired girl, connecting the dots.

"-Pfft!"

"…O-Oi, Kise?!"

The two taller teens ignored the raven haired male, too busy resisting the urge to drop to the floor laughing their asses off.

"Oi! Kise! Hachiouji!"

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-!"

"S-Seriously, what's so funny?!" [2]

"Heh. Lets see how Seirin fares against Shūtoku." Kasamatsu smirked in anticipation, watching the players assumed their positions on the court for the tip-off.

The game began in a flash, with Kagami gaining possession over the ball over Shūtoku's captain Otsubo. The ball was passed on to Izuki, Seirin's point guard, who stopped short when he realised that Shūtoku had disabled Seirin's players with a well-rounded defence.

"Not many holes to exploit, it seems. Shūtoku really isn't taking any chances with Seirin's famous run-and-gun strategy." Rokuro noted with a smile.

"That's right. Sorry to say though, but that's the only strategy that Seirin has right now. Even a complete amateur can tell that Shūtoku has the stronger stats and overall ability. If they stubbornly try and match up to that, they'll be beaten." Kasamatsu said bluntly.

Rokuro remained silent. She was of the opinion that Seirin's situation would change soon. From what she'd seen, they weren't the sort of team who would sit back quietly for long.

Whether they would manage to scrape through however is a different matter.

Her deduction was proven correct when Kuroko suddenly disappeared from his mark's sight, only to reappear within the three point line and redirect the ball towards Kagami, who had already leaped into the air in preparation for a dunk.

"That's the move they used against us!" Kise exclaimed, easily recognising the Alley Oop that had solidified Kaijou's defeat against Seirin.

However, their efforts were rendered useless, as Midorima countered their scoring attempt with a well-timed block.

"Midorimacchi isn't a shooting guard for nothing. Aside from scoring points, his defence is incredible." Kise said smugly, his eyes pinned to Kagami's shocked form. If the red head had heard that, he would've exploded.

"I'm starting to think you Generation of Miracles brats are freaks." Kasamatsu jabbed acidly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"How mean!"

"It's been two minutes since the game started and neither of them has scored…" Kise murmured. Two minutes was a long time in a basketball game, which went on for a total of forty minutes. Each game was split into four quarters that lasted ten minutes each. In other words, time was ticking away for the first quarter of the entire game.

"At the rate this is going, whoever scores the first point will take the first quarter." Kasamatsu commented.

From beside him, Rokuro smiled, leaning her cheek against her knuckles in a relaxed manner. She observed as Seirin once again failed to score. Shūtoku's Otsubo was quick to respond, managing to catch the rebound and sending it straight towards Takao.

"I'll say this now, but the outcome is rather obvious, isn't it?" The champagne haired girl chimed in cryptically, drawing the attention of her seatmates, who gave her prodding looks.

"Obvious?" Kise repeated, however he received no response.

Back on the court, Hyuga was quick to impede the number 10 point guard, forcing the raven haired first year to perform a backwards pass back to Midorima. Easily, the green haired male received it, poising his hands perfectly to slide into a high arc shot.

The audience was stupefied when they realised he had done it so smoothly well outside the three-point line.

"They broke the balance- Shūtoku is in control!" Kise blurted out, nearly leaping out of his seat.

"I'm afraid you're forgetting something, Kasa-kun." The second year manager cut in cheerily, effectively quelling the him.

There were varying degrees of surprise when the audience realised that Kuroko had abruptly claimed the ball, sending it rocketing through towards the other side of the court.

Without hesitating, Kagami received the pass, pivoting on his foot and slamming the ball straight into the net with a loud battle cry, settling the score in the blink of an eye.

"You forget that he is on the court~" She finished pleasantly, words obscure as ever.

"What's going on? Shūtoku isn't fazed at all." Kasamatsu wondered suspiciously, a hint of confusion in his tone, "their main form of offense has been shut down and they're not even flinching." Midorima had not performed any of his shots since Seirin's counter attack with Kuroko's laser-beam like pass.

"…Wait, you mean Midorimacchi has been shut down?" Kise asked in surprise.

"Ah." Kasamatsu nodded, confident in his assessment, before continuing, "I'll admit, that Midorima guy's shots are impressive- not many have the guts to shoot in such a high arc; The long hang time that comes with the shot also gives Shūtoku ample time to get back on the defence before the opposing team can recover. In a normal situation, such a combination would have been very effective against run-and-gun plays, which Seirin generally favours.

However, that's the point in which Kuroko's long distance pass comes into play. Obviously, not every Shūtoku player can return to defence. On the slight chance Midorima misses, they have to be there to catch the rebound. That's how the hang time from Midorima's shots bites them in the ass- If Midorima can run back, then so can Kagami, and invisible boy's passes would make sure that the ball reaches the other side before Shūtoku can set up a proper defence formation to counter.

Seirin is essentially relying on super fast breaks by taking advantage of Midorima's shooting style, so he can't shoot."

"I see." Kise nodded in understanding, "Doesn't the situation sound bad for Shūtoku, then?"

"I wouldn't say that." Rokuro interjected, gesturing pointedly at Takao with a wave of her hand, "It would appear that Shūtoku has another card up their sleeve."

'I've noticed for awhile now, but at this rate Seirin is in pretty big trouble.' She thought, eyeing Shūtoku's first year point guard purposefully just as he performed a backwards pass to Shūtoku's number 8, Miyaji Kiyoshi.

There was nothing about the amber eyed male's countenance that suggested even a single ounce of hesitation or uncertainty about the ball's course- It was very telling, and Seirin's Izuki Shun seemed to have realised it too, judging by the irked expression on his face.

"What do you mean by that, Hachiouji-senpai?"

"You'll see." She answered, before snickering at her little joke, causing her two seatmates to grant her odd looks. [3]

'Eh, another one man Alley Oop? Kagami-kun sure is running out of ideas, isn't he?' Rokuro thought in boredom. Granted, the red haired player did bring the game's score up to 13 - 16. She had recognised that manoeuvre as one of the moves that she had performed during her little match with him a few weeks ago though, which further lowered her opinion of him in terms of creativity. (Not that she could actually call that pathetic excuse of a game a match, if she was being honest.)

'Midorima-kun however, is not bad.' She conceded, remembering the green haired bespectacled male's shot from half a court away just a few moments prior. The move was impressive, taking into account its accuracy, and was an effective blow to Seirin's confidence.

"Oi, oi, oi! What the hell does that green haired fellow think he's doing?!" Kasamatsu suddenly shouted, causing the girl to snap out of her musings.

'...What?'

The spectators of the game gaped in complete mystification as Midorima proceeded to perform a shot from his team's baseline, his arms poised elegantly over his head and muscles coiled, completing his perfect shooting posture. There was not a drop of hesitation in any of his movements.

This man... he was certain he would score.

Swoosh!

A tense silence ensued, with people struggling to come to terms with what had just happened. It was as if a miracle had just occurred, and they were all there to bear witness to it...

'...Did he just...?'

Thunderously, the crowd roared.

"Man, a shot from a court's length away is brutal...I wonder how Seirin's gonna cope now?"

Kise watched the game dutifully as Takao Kazunari and Midorimacchi continued to impede Seirin in their efforts to gain possession of the ball, effectively sealing off Kuroko and Kagami in their movements.

'They won't be getting anywhere at this rate.' He realised, his gold-yellow eyes following the game with ease. Although a large part of him was hard-pressed to admit it, Seirin's chances were looking pretty bleak at this point, 'Unless they can seal off Midorimacchi agai-Huh?!'

Snapping his head to the side instinctively, the blond felt his features meld into a mixture of shock and uncertainty when he saw the current state of his team manager:

For once, her eyes were wide open, revealing a pair of striking vermilion orbs. They were abyssal- far deeper in intensity than Kagami's feral eyes or Akashi's calculative slits. Her coral lips were stretched into a wide, thrilled grin and she was staring at the ongoing game with an almost terrifying focus. It was almost as if she was basking in a potent buzz that was currently running high under her skin.

She was a strangely mesmerizing sight, one that Kise never imagined he'd ever encounter.

He continued to watch debilitated, as the girl crossed her svelte legs, literally forcing herself to remain seated in her seat.

"…Hachiouji-senpai?" Kise managed hesitantly after a few moments too long in staring. He wasn't surprised to receive no response.

Feeling increasingly concerned, the first year reached out to prod the tall girl in her shoulder, causing her to jolt in surprise. He observed in fascination as she mechanically switched back into her usual countenance, greeting him with her usual, affable smile and fox-like eyes.

"Hm? Was there something you needed Kirara-kun?"

"Uh, no...Is everything alright…?" The first year asked, liquid gold orbs boring into the girl steadily. His mind was racing a mile a minute trying to process the unusual sight he had just seen.

"Of course. I was simply wondering what I was going to have for dinner later." She smiled cordially, quickly blurting what sounded like a flimsy excuse, "I'm leaning towards having Okonomiyaki."

"A-Ah, is that so-ssu?" Kise returned, allowing an awkward laugh to slip past his lips. He rubbed his head sheepishly, as if embarrassed to have made such a big deal out of the situation. "...Well, uh, I know a good place near here. I used to live in the area back in middle-school..." He suggested doubtfully, forcing himself not to stare at the older girl's face.

Nodding reservedly, she replied, "Right. That sounds like a good idea."

The two blonds finally turned away from each other to refocus on the game, with Rokuro pointedly ignoring Kasamatsu's watchful gaze.

The third year captain frowned deeply, dubious.

'You're not fooling anyone, Hachiouji.'

[1] Sounds a little pervy but it really just refers to Chapter 4.

[2] I felt like I needed to explain what Kise and Hachiouji found so funny. Hachiouji and Kise are the exact same height, so when they stand on either side of Kasamatsu... it makes him look very short. The scene looks like the famous Japanese trope of two men escorting an alien. It's a joke which I hope everyone gets. ._.

[3] It's a pun! You know, because Takao has the Hawk Eye and she said "You'll see." …Please don't shoot me!

So, more insight into Hachiouji's character, her first reaction to watching a Mira-Gen in action, moving on in the time-line and just plain Kaijou fluff! I hope you enjoyed~!

Constructive critique and comments are welcome!