I own nothing.


Six years. That's how long it's been since he's touched this soil. With a single duffel bag in hand, he called a taxi and headed straight for the Suoh Estate. The driver was stunned for a moment, asking him why he would go to such a place. In response, he simply said it was family matter. This had the driver more intrigued as he was sure the Suoh only had a daughter, this made Kagami laugh as he told the man he wouldn't want to know the truth. When he arrived, he wasn't surprised to see that the Head was expecting him. She always did have this haunting sixth sense to her.

He took a step out of the taxi, paying to man before he drove off. It seemed that he too could sense the malice in the air.

"I told you never to return boy," said his grandmother.

Kagami's eyes narrowed, "That's impossible considering the circumstance that my sister is in." He replied, his lips forming a thin line.

"Don't talk back to me boy, and what happens to Kurohime is none of your business." Replied the elderly lady, her rage sipping through her voice as she spoke with a venom with every word, and she wasn't done yet. "Unlike her, you were an embarrassment to this family, and from the looks of it, that country has stripped away your tradition. You have no right to be apart of this family, or to be here." Her eyes staring at his clothes. "I see those years in America had truly changed you boy."

"She's too young to be married off." Argued Kagami, heading straight into the point of his whole visit.

"Nonsense, being a bride is a traditional honour that our family always had. Kurohime should be honoured to be his bride." The Head of house retorted back. "He will benefit our family incredibly and raise our status higher than it already is."

His fist clenched at her response, so all along... He head tipped forward, his fringe hiding his eyes. His teeth gritted tightly. "So this whole thing -marrying her off, it was for honour?"

Her wrinkled eyes narrowed down at him. "Everything I do is for the family's sake."

"That's bullshit!" He couldn't help it. Raising his voice like that was rude, he knew that but he couldn't suppress all the anger that was raging through him right then. "Everything you did isn't for us? That's a lie and we both know it, you didn't care, everything was all about you. It's for yourself, not us." He roared. "What do we even mean to you? We're your grandchildren and you... You don't even care! You locked us up like animals."

She let out a chuckle, only fuelling his anger even more. "You don't know anything, you stupid child. You're the reason I have to marry her off. The faster she gets married, the faster I can put the entire problem of your existence behind me." She shouted back, her composure began to slip, she found herself falling deeper into her rage as well. "Did you think I wanted this? For my daughter, that stupid girl, to go sleep with your father? For you to be born?"

He didn't want to admit it, but her words were like a knife that had just plunged deep into his heart. His fist clenched tightly, "My father is a good man." He told her, firmly.

"But what are you then?" Taunted his grandmother in response, a cruel smile upon her aged features. "You and your father are two different people. I agree, he is a good man but half of your blood comes from that problematic daughter of mine, who knows what will happen to you? Besides, fom all I heard, all you do is play in filthy street courts all day long, chasing around like barbarians after a single orange ball. All that time and hard work your father put in to send you to a good school -gone. Do you think I want a member of this family to act so immaturely? You will get no where if you continue to act the way you do." She hissed at him.

"I'll become the best then," said Kagami, his head held high as he glared at her with fierce red eyes. "I'll become the number one basketball player in all of Japan." He couldn't step back, not after she had insulted the game he loved. He took pride in his skills, unlike the other factors in his life, it was one that he truly felt free and cherished deeply.

The Head threw her head back and laughed at him, "You are simply a foolish little boy. You will never be the best." She told him, she knew that he would never reach the top, not with the five prodigies standing in his way. Despite not knowing much about the sport, she most definitely knew who the Generation of Miracles were.

"But what if I do?" He countered.

She stopped laughing as her expression turned serious, "What do you want?" She asked lowly, her eyes narrowing as her wrinkles lined more clearly.

Kagami took a deep breath, "I want you to let me see her, at least one last time, grandmother."

Silence fell between them for a moment.

The elderly lady sighed, "Alright," she agreed as the red head as his lips threatened to grin. "But only if you become the number one basketball player in all of Japan." She told him before adding, "And if you don't, you will never come back here."

His eyes widened. Was it worth it? He began to ponder... 'What would Kyoko have wanted?' He wondered silently as he found himself in the past.

.

.

.

"But what if grandmother finds out," he whispered as she snuck away from the manor. It was his first week at the Suoh estate as he followed closely behind his sister as they embarked on a hung to find faeries.

Kyoko simply laughed, "Don't be such a caged tiger, aniki," she teased lightly. "Everyone has to take risks sometimes." She told him. "Life is sometimes worth the risk." She turned and grinned at him.

.

.

.

'Life is sometimes worth the risk.'

"Fine."


Present...

"After that, I enrolled myself in a nearby local junior high before I transferred to Seirin. My father had plans to move back after I told him everything but he was called back to the states for a while." Concluded Kagami as Seirin stared at him in silence.

They never knew.

By then, tears had started to fall down the red head's face, he grabbed his towel and covered his face, letting the material absorb all his tears. "What sucks is that she's here..." He murmured, lowly.

That took the Seirin team by surprise, "Kagami-kun, your grandmother is here?" Asked Koganei. The red head nodded, pulling the towel away as his eyes looked up to the stands, they followed his gaze before they stared at an elderly lady. She stood staring back at them, with a hand, she used her thumb and made a slicing motion across her neck. Seirin could not help but flinch and shiver in fear, there was something about that lady that scared them.

A hand was placed on Kagami's shoulder as he stared to see Kuroko looking down at him. "Don't worry, Kagami-kun," he assured his light. "We will win."

There were many nods in agreement, it was as if they had come alive again. "Alright Seirin," said Riko with a wide grin. "Lets win this, for Kagami." She said the last part lowly, her eyes meeting the red heads before the teen stood up from the bench. With a new energy, and a stronger determination to win even more, Seirin stepped onto the court. Nothing was going to stop them.

Epilogue (Click next).