Hello! A new chapter for the happy holidays! It's got a lot of warm and fuzzies in here... Also some sadness, middle school has ended. Seirin also makes an appearance and hopefully they aren't too out of character. I just want to say thank you to everyone! Your reviews mean so much to me and are some of the greatest presents I could ever get! Enjoy the new chapter!

Warnings: Bad language, violence, and terrible editing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke.

The End of a Saga and New Friends

That morning, Hana had woken up in a fantastic mood. Her dreams had consisted of murder and vengeance on two certain assholes, Torio and Hanamiya. Hopping out of bed with a dark smile, Hana had made her way downstairs for breakfast. Unfortunately, people have life altering revelations at some weird moments and for Hana it occurred as she was eating her first bite of cereal.

"…I should get a knife," the spoon of milk saturated oats hung in the air, "I should really get a knife."

Her dad walked into the room a moment after the words left her mouth, "What are you talking about?"

"Uh," how could she explain? She didn't want to get grounded… Or worse, more child labor. Sheepish eyes blinked up at her father, "I made an enemy."

"Is that why your hand's bruised?" her father didn't sound surprised and Hana cursed his observation skills. Making his way to the coffee pot, he gave her a once over, "You don't look beat up, so I'm guessing you got the final punch."

"…" This was a conversation she didn't want to have with a parental figure, "Sure?"

"So, who was it?" He sat down in the seat in front of her. Despite the careless attitude he was radiating, Hana knew better. Her answer to this question could either seal her fate or let her go scotch free. Better to tell the truth in this situation.

"Torio," the words came out with a scowl, "He wanted my manager notebook."

"—Really?" Hana didn't like the way her dad's eyes lit up, "I always hated that kid."

"Why didn't you say anything?!" Her mouth gawked open. He could have saved me so much trouble!

"I figured you should make your own friends," his shoulders shrugged before he lifted the coffee to his mouth, "Besides, you'd never listen to me. You loved that kid."

"Ehhh, love is a strong word," Hana grimaced, "Let's go with a different one."

"Whatever you say, honey," the sharp look returned to her father's eyes, "Now that I know who you punched, why don't you explain why you need a knife? Even though I never liked that kid, I don't think he'd go as far to threaten you."

Damn, figures it wasn't that easy. Hana let out a defeated groan, "Can't you just forget all of that?"

"Nope," his tongue clicked before he shot her a grin, "You should just tell me. I promise I won't ground you for whatever you did."

"… Torio made a friend," Hana admitted grudgingly, "I may have angered his friend by taking something that belongs to him."

Her father paused, "You didn't," his hand came up to rub through his hair, "You did. Hana, we've talked about this! I thought you learned after the episode with your mom's boyfriend."

That was the reason Hana didn't go to her mother's house anymore. Her mom's first or second, or maybe third, boyfriend had been a jerk. Like king jerk of all jerkoffs. His name was Don, or something generic like that, and Hana was an impressionable ten-year-old. Don had taken her out to the movies one night and wandered off, leaving Hana in the packed theater. Turns out the movie playing featured a cat who was a thief and well… Her cinematic inspired revenge hadn't achieved the desired response with her mom.

"I did!" Hana argued as she came out of the flashback, "I didn't get caught this time!"

"…That's not what I meant," Her father grumbled before drinking the rest of his coffee in one gulp, "I've got a pocket knife in my nightstand. If you use it for anything other than self-defense, I will make sure you never leave this house until you're twenty."

"Wait, really?" Hana hopped up in excitement, cereal forgotten behind her. She was about to dart up the staircase when her father's voice called back to her.

"While you're up there, grab your phone," she heard his cup clang in the sink before the rest of his sentence came, "I'll hold onto it until your birthday."

God dammit, I've been played. Face transforming into a pout, Hana slouched over, "I thought you said you wouldn't ground me? And that's three months away!"

"I said I wouldn't ground you for whatever trouble you got into yesterday," her dad came out of the kitchen and gave Hana a familiar smug smile, "This is for coming home at five in the morning the other day."

Hana's face blanched, "You knew?"

"I knew," he let out a snort, "You can't be quiet if you try. Hurry up and get your phone or I'll add to it."

"You wouldn't," her eyes narrowed on his face. In return, he just gave her a smile. Hana's pout grew more pronounced, he would.

"You can still leave the house," her father continued explaining the rules of her grounding, "But if you pull that stunt again, I'm putting a pad lock on your door."

"…" with her new punishment hanging over her head, Hana sulked up the stairs, "Fine."

"And stop stealing things!"

"… yes, sir."

Despite her characteristic horribleness, Hana considered herself to be a pretty nice person. She didn't kick puppies or anything like that. She'd helped an old lady cross the street, once, but it still counted. She'd helped her team become stronger, through different torture methods, but that part was irrelevant. All in all, she figured she could get into heaven if she tried. But extra karma points always come in handy.

This thought process was why Hana was scourging through her father's supply of left over pastries. She'd finished cleaning early that night and was taking advantage of the break. As her eyes scanned over all the available choices, they finally landed on a patch of multi-colored cupcakes in the display case. What could it hurt? Grabbing a box, Hana loaded them up.

Now she just had to find out which hospital Kiyoshi had been admitted too. Shouldn't be that hard…

It was.

Hana had a loving yet hateful respect toward doors. On one hand, they protected her privacy and everyone else's. On the other hand, they hid things. For a person who enjoyed having all the latest information she could gather, doors were a pain. Staring at the metal door in front of her, Hana couldn't contain her nerves. What if he didn't want visitors? What if he didn't remember her? Should she knock?

"I should leave," Her words were directed to the box of cupcakes in her hand, "I bet a nurse could do this. I'll leave a get well soon note or something."

Her green eyes traveled back up to the door. It was mocking her, she could feel it. What kind of coward is afraid of a door? Hana paused, me, I'm the coward. I can face psychotic assholes, but I can't open a damn door.

Anyway, back to the present. The door in front of her was still closed and Hana was still staring at it. She wasn't sure how long she'd been here. It could be five minutes or it could be thirty. For security reasons, she hadn't brought her new knife to the hospital. Jail didn't sound too pleasant. Although… Anything sounds better than opening this door.

"I'm leaving," she nodded to herself, "He probably doesn't even like chocolate. This was a stupid idea-"

The door opened. Hana's eyes fixated on the tiny space between the door frame and the door. As it started to steadily get bigger, her body decided to quit functioning. Every second felt like a life time until Hana was making eye contact with the Nijimura look-a-like from yesterday. His eyes connected with hers and they stared at each other in uncomfortable silence.

"…" Hana fidgeted, "Hello."

The boy blinked, "Hello?"

"Uhm, is this Kiyoshi Teppei's room?"

"It is," a nod accompanied his words, "Do you know him?"

"Yes," Hana paused, "Sort of. I think so?"

"…You think so?"

"I brought cupcakes," Hana didn't know what else to say. This was awkward. Why'd she ever think this was a good idea? At her statement, the boy looked at the box in her hands curiously. It set her on edge and Hana began to babble, "They're chocolate. Everyone likes chocolate, right? Do you like it? I don't know, you don't have to tell me if you do… I just thought, you know, he's hurt. Cupcakes are nice-"

"It's okay!" the boy cut her off, "Thank you. Did you want to see him? We're all here, but I'm sure we can walk out for a few minutes."

"No!"

The boy jolted and blinked again, "No?"

"Yes, wait no. Yeah, I mean no," Hana brought a hand up to her face and sighed, "This wasn't the plan…"

"Izuki-kun?" Someone new spoke out and Hana recognized the voice belonging to the girl from the game, "What are you doing?"

"Someone's at the door," the newly named Izuki spoke, "I'm trying to invite her in-"

"Shhh," Hana interrupted him, "Don't say that!"

"Who is it?" The girl's voice came back and suddenly the door was pulled all the way open. Hana came face to face with the short auburn haired girl and several other people in the background. Feeling like a deer in headlights, Hana brought the box of cupcakes up to cover her face. She could feel the heat from her blush already.

"Cupcakes," Hana mumbled in embarrassment, "Please just take the cupcakes."

"…Thank you," The girl sounded hesitant, "I'm Aida Riko?"

"Imamura Hana."

"Are you sure you don't want to come in?" Aida retrieved the box of cupcakes from Hana's hands and blinked at the sight of the girls scrunched up face, "Are you okay?"

"Other than dying of shame, I'm good," after releasing her hold on the cupcakes, Hana wrung her hands in front of her nervously, "This is weird. I should go."

"No, no! It's okay," Aida gave her a smile and Hana felt the tension relax slightly, "Do you know Teppei?"

"Sort of?"

Izuki let out a soft huff at Hana's answer, "I asked her that earlier and she said the exact thing."

Throw me under the bus, why don't you? Shooting Izuki a glare, Hana turned her attention back to the other girl, "Uhm, I met him once. Anyway, I saw the game yesterday… Hence the cupcakes."

"Oh," And just like that, the happy atmosphere radiating from Aida was gone, "Well, thank you, I'm sure Teppei will enjoy them."

"Yeeep," Hana moved her weight from side to side. Why was this so awkward? What was she supposed to say now? Goodbye? Instead of saying that, her mouth began to move on her own, "Hanamiya's a giant ass-licker."

No one spoke for a moment. Aida stared at her in shock, Izuki's mouth pressed together in a tight line, and Hana mentally stabbed herself. Why am I so awkward? I'm a failure to humanity. Her blush began to crawl up to her hairline and Hana had to squash the urge to curl in on herself. Thankfully, a sputtering noise distracted her and wide green eyes traveled up to Izuki. The boy was turned to the side, trying to cover his chuckles as his body shook with mirth.

"I'll agree to that," Izuki managed after he controlled his outburst, "You should come in. You said you've met him before, I'm sure he'd enjoy to see you."

"Errr," Hana trailed off and gave Aida a pleading glance. The girl ignored it in favor of looking Hana over contemplatively. What is up with that? My shirts not stained, right? Waving a hand, Hana tried to decline, "He probably doesn't remember me—"

"It's fine!" Aida responded instead of Izuki, "He hasn't had many visitors and his grandparents just left. I'm sure he'd like to see someone new," The short brunette opened the door further and Hana twitched. Really? This was not the plan.

"I was just going to drop off the cupcakes-" The door opened all the way and Hana sighed, "Or not."

Izuki was looking at her in expectation and Hana let out an inaudible sigh. Tentatively sticking a foot into the room, she peered around the two people to look at everyone else. They were all looking at her and she didn't like it. Hana was about to dart back out when the door was shut behind her. A smiling Aida let go of the door knob before heading back to her seat. Hana's eyes narrowed on the girls back, sneaky.

What felt like eons later, Hana finally managed to do something other than stare, "Hello…"

"Hi!" That was the cat boy she'd noticed from yesterday and his mouth was curved up grin, "Who are you?"

"Imamura Hana," she trailed off. Her eyes traveled over to Kiyoshi who was leaning up in his bed with a stack of pillows behind him. His face was painted in a smile, unlike the boy with glasses who sat in a chair beside him. Glasses' eyes were narrowed on her and Hana had the distinct impression she was being sized up. Okay, this is going down as the worst idea in history.

"I'm Koganei Shinji!" Cat boy, or Koganei, cut through the tension, "Did you bring those cupcakes?"

Hana twitched, "Yes. There's, uhm, like 14 so…"

That was all she needed to say before the box was open and Koganei had retrieved two, keeping one for himself and handing one to another boy beside him. Izuki was about to reach for one as well when they all paused.

"It's…" Koganei began as he eyed the cupcake, "It's very colorful?"

"You said these were chocolate?" Izuki questioned as he brought the multicolored cupcake up to eye level, "They're very strange looking."

"Yeah," the amount of embarrassment Hana was feeling could have killed a horse, "My dad makes them… He's a baker. They're weird, I know. If you don't like them you can just throw them away, I won't care! I promise! I just thought it might be a good ide- I'm shutting up now, sorry."

Again, all eyes were on her. It was like they were seeing a strange animal at the zoo, especially Izuki and Aida. Those two had some of the most analytical eyes Hana had ever seen, other than Akashi of course. Glasses was still watching her and Hana suspected he was looking for a hidden motive. Can't really blame him for that.

Koganei and the tall boy beside him were examining the cupcakes. Finally, after what felt like years, the tall boy cautiously bit into the cupcake. A moment later his hands were waving through a strange combination of motions.

"Mitobe says it's really good!" Koganei spoke out of the blue, was he translating that? "He said to tell you thank you!"

Okay, that was kind of weird. Hana struggled to find a response, but Kiyoshi cut her off, "Imamura-san, right? I remember you."

"You do?" She blinked. Hana had been excepting to explain how they knew each other, so this was a pleasant surprise. Her mouth began to move again, "You must be related to an elephant." And foot meets mouth.

"Ah, no. I've been told I have a really bad memory," Kiyoshi was still smiling and Hana got the impression he did that a lot, "But you came to talk to me after my game with Teiko."

"Yeah," Hana tried to copy his smile, but it probably came out wrong. Her eyes traveled across the room while she tried to think of something to say, "Uhm, would you like a cupcake?"

"I'm not sure the nurse would approve," Kiyoshi's eyes crinkled in amusement, "But thank you for bringing them."

"Pssh," Hana scoffed before finally moving her body out of the doorway. As she found a vacant part of the wall to lean against, she smirked back at the hospitalized boy to hide her nerves, "The nurses don't have to know."

"Here," Izuki began around a bite of cupcake, "It's the nurses who call the shots."

"Ugh!" Hana jumped at the loud groan from everyone in the room, sans Mitobe and Kiyoshi, "No! No puns!"

The boy in question just gave a guilty grin before shrugging as he continued to nibble his cupcake. Glasses was frowning at him, but there was hint of fondness on his face that Hana appreciated. Maybe that meant he wasn't as scary as he seemed. Hana smiled a bit as she watched, these guys seem like such a tight knit family, it's cute.

"What?" That was Koganei and his face was covered in a blush, "-Cute?!"

"Huh?" Hana blinked back into reality and found everyone staring at her, again, "I'm sorry?"

"I think you were speaking your thoughts out loud, Imamura-san," Aida had a small grin on her face and it only grew as Hana's face flushed, "We are family, though."

"Yes, we are," That was glasses and Hana realized, with a growing sense of annoyance, that she still didn't know his name, "So how'd you hear about Kiyoshi's hospitalization?"

"Errr—" Dude, what was with this guy? Hana blinked at the glasses wearing teen before shrugging, "I was at the game and I saw it."

"You'll have to ignore Hyuuga-kun," Aida spoke before glasses could respond, "He's been temperamental since we've been here. We call this his clutch mood."

Hana's fingers snapped, "Ah ha! That's his name!"

Everyone sans Hyuuga sweat dropped at her loud exclamation. The boy himself developed a tick on his forehead and his glasses flashed, "You should have more respect-"

"You should eat a cupcake," Hana interrupted his incoming spiel. She didn't want to get into an argument with strangers, especially in a hospital room, "I swear they're good."

Hyuuga didn't move to get a cupcake and Hana's awkward smile came back, oh man I've made another enemy. Great. Maybe she should leave? That was sounding like a wonderful idea right about now.

Slowly edging her way down the wall, Hana was trying to subtly make her way to the exit. She didn't think anyone would notice her attempted escape, but Izuki turned to her with a raised brow and she faltered.

"So, Imamura-san?" Aida spoke again, not noticing Hana's battle of wills with Izuki, "You go to Teiko? Are you in the basketball club?"

Breaking eye contact with Izuki, Hana turned back to Aida, "Sort of. I'm the manager for the second-string team. We aren't nearly as important."

"Oh," Aida blinked at that and some of the tension in the room bled out, "You must have a lot of members to have a second string-"

"124," Hana answered automatically before blushing. Of course, she just had to go and interrupt the nice lady, "Sorry, I swear I'm not usually this rude. Okay, that might be a generalization…."

Permanently removing her vocal chords was looking pretty good right now. Or learning how to teleport. Maybe she should just hide underneath Kiyoshi's bed, would she fit? Hana eyed the dark space in contemplation, I bet they keep it nice and clean under there. Speaking of Kiyoshi's bed, the boy sitting on top interrupted Hana's thoughts.

"You do have a way with words," Kiyoshi spoke from the bed, "They get your message across, though."

"Yeah," this time Hana let out a genuine laugh, even if it was soft, "Sorry about that, Kiyoshi-san. That had to be the worst pep talk you'd ever heard."

"It got the message across," Kiyoshi laughed with her before pushing himself up. His eyes trailed over her for a second and he let another smile cover his face, "I'm glad you told me to go check on my teammates."

"…" Hana narrowed her eyes on him, "You're an elephant, there is no doubt about it. I thought you said you had a shitty memory; how do you even remember that?"

"I told you it was a good pep talk," he laughed again and Hana found herself smiling with him, "I hope this isn't too personal, Imamura-san, but is your hand okay?"

Well, that wiped the smile off her face. For a second, Hana just stared at him, unsure of how to answer. How'd he even notice? Damn, elephant. In reflex her hand squeezed together and Hana flinched at the sting on her bruised knuckles. Putting on a strained smile, she finally replied, "Yeah, it's fine."

"Alright," Kiyoshi didn't question further and Hana appreciated it. Talking to strangers about her personal problems wasn't high on her to-do list. Her growing appreciation was squashed when Kiyoshi continued, "You know, you can sit down. I promise we don't bite."

"I'm not sure-"

"It's fine," Aida was the one to speak this time, "Do you mind if I ask you a couple questions? We've just formed our basketball club and I'd love to hear about the organization of Teiko's club."

"Okay, but—"

"Hm," Beside Aida, Izuki looked up at the ceiling and muttered, "-the organs of the organization."

As everyone else let out an echoing groan and Hyuuga reached across the hospital bed to punch Izuki, Hana quirked a brow. That was actually pretty good.

An hour later, Hana had come to realization that Seirin was insane. The calm Aida that she'd been greeted with was later found out to possess many different moods that could change at the drop of a hat. That whole kind and calm act was a huge façade. The collected Izuki was obsessed with puns. Hana had never heard so many in her life; good, bad, or otherwise. She even wrote a few of them down… for informational proposes, of course.

The injured Kiyoshi was not as clueless as he appeared and caught onto everything, especially concerning his teammates. Koganei and Mitobe were entertaining in an odd way… the two shared an interesting symbiotic relationship; like that shark that let fish live in its mouth. Finally, even though Hyuuga didn't seem to like her very much, Hana learned that he really cared for his teammates. Also, that boy had a crazy personality shift. That clutch mood thing was scary.

"Okay," Hana spoke after calming down from her laughter; Koganei was hilarious, "I need to go… I shouldn't have stuck around this long, I'm sorry for interrupting."

"It's fine," Aida was smiling, "It was a welcomed change from hanging out with these guys all day."

"If you say so," Hana returned the smile before gathering her bag and standing. Turning to Kiyoshi, she gave him a wave, "Hope you get better soon. Get back out there and kick some ass."

"That's the plan," Kiyoshi let out a soft chuckle before his face turned serious, "Would you like someone to walk you down there? I bet it's dark out by now."

"That's okay—"

"I'll do it," Hyuuga spoke up as he stood, stretching his arms above his head, "I need to stretch my legs a bit."

"It's alright—"

Ignoring her, Hyuuga walked forward, "Come on, then."

"But—I? That's it… He hates me," Hana grumbled under her breath as she stared after his back, oblivious to everyone listening around her, "I've met him once and he hates me. Figures."

"Bye, Imamura-san!" Koganei called out as the door shut behind her. She didn't hear him speak the rest of his thoughts to his teammates, "She was kind of cute!"

She also didn't hear the punch his coach gifted him.

The walk through the hospital was a whole other level of uncomfortable. Hyuuga wasn't talking to her and Hana was doing the same. She didn't know what his deal was, but she'd come to understand some people wouldn't like her. In fact, most people didn't like her. It wasn't a big deal now-a-days. Hana accepted herself for who she was, but still, I haven't done anything to him. Right?

The stiffness finally got to her and Hana opened her mouth, "Hey, Hyuuga-san?"

"Yes?" The boy shot her a look over his shoulder and Hana was pleased to note the lack of hostility. Maybe she just caught him on a bad day. After all, she wouldn't be surprised with the current circumstances.

"Not trying to be rude or anything," Hana trailed off, "But it seems like you don't like me? Not a big deal if you don't—I swear, just sating my curiosity."

"…" Hyuuga let out a long sigh and for a second, Hana didn't think we was going to reply. They rounded a corner and he finally spoke, "It's not you. I don't like your school… though I shouldn't judge you off that."

"Nah," Hana let out a humorless chuckle, "I get it. I'm guessing you faced the Miracles?"

"I did, but we weren't a strong team to begin with," Hyuuga answered. The conversation fizzled out again until they reached the main entry of the hospital, "It took me a while to get back into basketball after that… Kiyoshi helped me get over it."

"Kiyoshi-san's pretty cool," Hana agreed, "Did you know the first time I met him, he'd just got his ass handed to him by the miracles? Not the best circumstances, but he got up and kept trying."

"Yeah…" Hyuuga cracked a smile and Hana applauded herself, "He's good at that."

"Don't let this get you down," Hana advised as the two made their way out the front door. Becoming the local consoler hadn't been on her to-do list, but she'd roll with it. They came to a stop outside and Hana turned to him with a bright grin, "Just get stronger and destroy them. Best moto to live by, for sure."

Huffing, Hyuuga looked away from her. His hands came forward to cross over his chest and he gave her a look, "I'll remember that. Thanks for coming today, Kiyoshi appreciated it."

"Bah," Hana scoffed, "I was just racking up some good karma points."

"Well," He turned back to her and gave her a once over, "You're alright, Imamura-san. I'm sorry if I offended you, but as you can tell the situation isn't the best. If you'd learn some respect, I bet we'd get along."

"We're getting along right now, aren't we?" Hana offered him a cheeky grin and ignored his raised eyebrows, "Alright, Hyuuga-senpai. Happy?"

"Work on it," his critique was ruined by the smirk he wore on his face, "Well, if you're ever in the area, you should stop by again."

"Eh, maybe," Hana shrugged as Hyuuga turned around. As she watched him walk away, Hana's memory sparked and she yelled after him, "Wait! Hyuuga-senpai!"

He turned around, "Yeah?"

"I had something else," Hana pulled her back to the front of her shoulder and began to rummage through it, ignoring all the papers and trash that fluttered to the floor, "Okay, I know I had it, the hell is it? Is that it? Nope… Oh! There it is!"

"Imamura-san?" Hyuuga sweatdropped.

"I found it! No worries," Hana pulled Hanamiya's wallet out of its hiding spot and looked down at it with a smirk, "I was going to give this to Kiyoshi, but I don't think he'd be too impressed. You, on the other hand, might appreciate it."

Hana tossed the wallet to him and he caught it with one hand. Peering down at it, Hyuuga looked back up to her with a raised brow, "What is this?"

"Uhm," Hana didn't know how to properly explain that, "Don't ask questions. Personally, I'd just take the money and toss the rest of it."

Frowning, Hyuuga opened the wallet and he almost dropped it from shock. The face of Hanamiya greeted him and his eyes scanned over the student ID card disbelievingly before fiddling with the rest of the card compartments, "What?! Where did you get this?"

"Well, let's just say I had a close encounter with the asshole," Hana didn't elaborate, but Hyuuga wasn't sure the evil grin she wore was a promising sign, "Anyway, take the money and buy Kiyoshi a gift at the store or something; but seriously, toss it afterwards. That boy is scary as shit."

"…" He couldn't get his voice to work for a moment and it gaped open, "Alright?"

"Great! Well I'm going to go now," Hana gave him a wave before turning on her heel. The street was clear and Hana was looking forward to the short walk to the bus station. It would give her a chance to think over this new development. So many people in one day was a bit overwhelming. Not to mention it made her heart ache… They really care about each other.

"Imamura!" The voice of Hyuuga had her stopping and Hana turned on her heel to face him, "Do you know what high school you're going to?"

"Ugh, don't remind me," Hana scowled at the thought. No, she hadn't looked into the possible high schools. Just the thought made her depressed; it was going to be a pain trying to find a place that would accept her mediocre grades and lack of accomplishments. Not to mention, she really didn't want to go to school with any of the miracles.

"Well," Hyuuga had a thoughtful expression on his face and Hana blinked, "Seirin's accepting most students, you should apply."

"… I'll see."

"Hope you choose to come," Hyuuga continued, "I think you'd like the basketball club. We don't have a manager at the moment, either."

"Alright," Hana's voice came out dazed. That had been an unexpected offer, "I'll consider it. See you, Hyuuga-senpai."

"Good luck, brat."

"Brat?!"

Her response was ignored as Hyuuga made his way into the hospital. In turn, Hana began to walk back to the bus station. Her mind was whirling with his parting words and an uncontrollable smile spread across her lips. That had been unpredicted, but at the same time it just opened a whole range of new possibilities. What kind of basketball prodigy would go to a brand-new school? Not the miracles, that's for sure. Seirin, huh?

Two weeks later and Hana was following Hyuuga's advice by standing in front of the same door. This time though, she opened it without a hint of worry. Her head peered into the room and Hana offered a self-conscious smile toward Kiyoshi, "Hey, Kiyoshi-san? Are you up for another visitor?"

He gave her an eye-crinkling smile and Hana was invited inside. The only other person there was Aida, who now insisted on being called Riko. Conversation flowed smoothly and Hana decided she liked the eccentric coach. They had several similarities, including their love of basketball and strenuous practice methods. Not to mention their shared envy about the female population with large bosoms. On that note, she thought Riko took a little too much pleasure in the fact that Hana was a smaller cup-size then her.

That first visit was the start of a new friendship and Hana swore it would never ruin itself like past examples. Every time she visited, it strengthened the new bond and her desire to go to Seirin grew. Remembering all the trouble she'd gone through in the past year only made her more determined. Hana was a new person now and she wasn't going to accept anything less than the best.

As it turned out, Seirin fit the label quite well.

November 20th was a very special day. It was the day Hana forced herself out of her mothers womb, screaming and crying and causing a wonderful mess of tiny baby problems. She'd like to say she was the cute little baby every parent dreams about, but that'd be wrong. As a child, Hana was a menace. According to her father she chewed everything in sight, threw up all the time, and destroyed precious items passed down from her grandparents. It was a good predictor for her future behavior.

Back to the subject of birthdays. Now that she was fourteen, Hana had long since given up on some sort of miracle to happen for her birthday. She used to think she'd develop magical powers, get accepted into a boarding school for ninja's, or grow boobs. So far, none of the above had happened. This time she was just hoping for some money.

This year she was lucky in the fact that her birthday occurred on a Sunday. Saturday would have been better, of course, but she'd count her blessings. Sunday's meant she didn't have to go to school. Her father still had to work, but she could deal with that. He worked a lot, after all. It shouldn't surprise her anymore.

What she couldn't deal with were the three idiots waking her up at eight o'clock that morning.

"Hana-chan!" That was all the warning she got before Uoya's body landed on top of her, "Happy birthday!"

"Uoya-kun-"

"Oi, Uoya-"

The cautions came too late. As soon as his body began to roll, Hana sprung out of her pillow cave and attacked. The screaming that echoed through her room jolted Nūdoru out of his slumber and the dog hopped on the bed to join the fight. Poor Uoya was trapped in Hana's chokehold and Nūdoru was attacking his face with slobbery kisses. At the door, Kitano and Iseri both blanched before slowly stepping back out into the hallway.

Meanwhile, Uoya tried to get away from Hana's open mouth, "Stop—Hana! Your breath stinks!"

"Suffocate," Hana wrapped the blanket tighter around them and Nūdoru, "Let the stench destroy you."

"Help me!"

Eventually, Kitano and Iseri intervened and saved Uoya from his fate. Hana was satisfied with his disgruntled expression and she crawled out of bed to go brush her teeth. The sight that greeted her was her normal monstrous morning face, aside from her new fluffy hair-do. Stupid Uoya and his stupid self, Hana tried to brush her hair down, but it didn't budge. I wonder if he'll cut it…

Padding out of her bathroom, Hana blinked at the puppy pile on her bed. Literal puppy pile, people. Nūdoru was laying happily on top of all three boys and his tongue was lolling out as he ignored their struggling. On the bottom of the pile, Kitano looked disgusted and he had drool dribbling down his forehead. On top of Kitano, Uoya looked defeated. He knew better then to fight it. Finally, Iseri looked quite comfortable. He was at the top of the pile with only Nūdoru resting on top of him.

"I'm not going to ask," Hana mumbled before continuing to her closet. Her voice echoed back into her room, "Are we doing anything today?"

"Yes," Iseri answered her, "You have a surprise party this afternoon."

Pausing in her pursuit of underwear, Hana raised an incredulous eyebrow, "… aren't surprise parties, you know, supposed to be a surprise?"

"Yeah," Uoya groaned out from his part of the pile, "But we couldn't hide it from you. We thought it'd be better to put it out in the open, so you don't mess it up."

Hana scoffed as she pulled a tank top on, "I wouldn't mess up my own party—"

"You would."

"Okay, you three have got to stop that," Hana scowled before bending down to look for a clean jacket, "It was cool the first few times, but it's getting annoying."

"No."

"Stop talking in sync!"

All in all, Hana was impressed. The first part of the day began by going to a fancy coffee house in downtown Tokyo. Iseri had paid for her coffee and they had listened to the happy bustle of the café for several hours. Unfortunately, it didn't last and they got kicked out a little after noon. After that, they had taken her to an aquarium and Hana had learned a new fear. She was terrified of sharks. All those damn teeth.

At least the turtles were cute.

Now, all four of them were stuffed into Kitano's dad's car. It was a tight fit and Hana was practically sitting in Uoya's lap. A fact he was not happy about. Hana wasn't sure where they were going; they'd passed her house a while back. Meanwhile, Kitano's dad was humming a happy tune in the front seat and Hana could see his black sweater was coated with cat hair. Cats, her nose wrinkled, the sharks of land.

"So…" Hana peered out the window, "Are we going to Iseri's?"

"Yeah," Uoya squirmed away from her, "Stop leaning on me, your hip bones are pointy."

Just for that, Hana shoved her hip further into him, "Deal with it. I'm the princess for the day."

"Princess of pain," Kitano scoffed from the passenger seat, "If you were ever royalty, all your subjects would revolt and kill you."

"Nope," Hana countered, "I'll have you know, I'm a very kind leader. Free puppies for all."

On her other side, Iseri frowned, "Why would you do that?"

Hana blinked at his cluelessness, "To have an army entirely composed of dogs. Obviously."

"Of course," Uoya groaned and Hana had a feeling he wanted to push her out the car, "Nothing you ever say can be normal."

"It's part of my charm."

The rest of the ride went by normally and the four teenagers were dropped off at Iseri's house. Kitano's dad had sped away and Hana would bet money he was happy to get rid of them. For some reason, all their parents were a little iffy on their friendship. It probably had something to do with Hana's influence… They didn't want their precious angels to be corrupted. Well, too bad for them.

As they stepped out the car, hands came to rest over her eyes. Hana twitched at the action, she hated when they did this. What good was it? They already ruined the surprise part of the surprise party. What did covering her eyes do?

Hana growled, "Whose hands are these?"

"Ahaha," That was Uoya and Hana marked his name down on the to-kill list, "Don't be mad! I swear there's a good reason!"

"It better be a very—" Hana tripped over her own feet, "Uoya! You're going to make me fall!"

Uoya gulped at her tone, "I'm sorry!"

"Just carry her," Kitano called from up ahead and Hana heard him open the door, "She's the princess, shouldn't be a problem!"

"Don't-" Hana cut herself off when the was lifted into the air. She regained her sight for a moment before her eyes were covered again, "Okay, how the hell did you do that? Who's carrying me?"

"I am," Iseri's chest vibrated, "Uoya-kun is still covering your eyes. Mind the door please-" she heard a thump as someone's body hit the door frame, "… Uoya-kun, really?"

"I can't help it!" Uoya responded, "You have a tiny door!"

Clumsy oaf. The thought made Hana bristle, "If you two drop me, I swear."

"We won't drop you," Iseri responded and Hana could just sense his annoyance, "Kitano-kun? Would you please pull that chair out?"

"On it!" Kitano called back, "Wait, which one? There's like three."

"It doesn't matter," Iseri deadpanned. Behind the cover of Uoya's hand, Hana rolled her eyes. Bunch of loveable idiots. I wonder if I've accidentally beaten a few too many brain cells out?

"Can I let go now?" Uoya questioned, "The longer I cover her eyes, the more pain I'll get."

"No," Hana was lifted higher into Iseri's arms with his reply, "Is everything ready?"

Kitano was the one who responded as he finally dragged a chair out, "Yeah, we're all good. You can put her down now."

With all the dignity of a dying man, Hana was dropped into the chair. Uoya released his hold on her eyes and Hana blinked at the bright light of Iseri's kitchen. In front of her was a small pile of presents and a cake. It was a cute cake, Hana could admit. The purple icing matched well with the white flowers painted on the top. Twisting her head, Hana gave a smile to the three boys around her.

"Thanks guys-" Hana's voice cut off as the sight of a fourth person registered. When she finally recovered, her voice came out hoarsely, "… Momoi?"

Oh my god, it's really her. Hana's mind felt like a broken record as she gaped at the fellow manager. The pink haired girl was sitting on Iseri's counter top and her face broke into a sweet smile, "Hey, Ima-chan… Happy birthday."

"You—" Hana tried to get her mind around everything and she felt salt water build up in her eyes, "You're here? You aren't mad?"

At her words, the smile on Momoi's face lost a little of its shine, "No, I was never mad about what happened. I'm actually really sorry about everything… I hope you can forgive me?"

"…" Hana couldn't stop the happy tears that dripped down her face and she started to laugh through her sobs. Hopping out her chair, Hana tackled Momoi into a hug, "Yes!"

"Wah! Ima-chan! I'm going to fall!"

"I missed you!" Hana hugged Momoi tighter and the other girl let out a weak cough as her eyes began to water as well, "I'm sorry! I broke my promise!"

"Awh! It's okay!" Momoi recovered from the assault and wrapped her arms around Hana in return, "I missed you too!"

The three boys watched in shock. The two girls began to wobble as they embraced each other, yet the hug continued. If their eyes weren't fooling them, the two girls were sparkling. Hana was sparkling! The manager of death was crying and smiling and sparkling! What was happening! As they stared, their mouths dropped open one by one. The girls began to chatter with each other in between their tearful hugs. It was like some cliché chick-flick movie.

"Have we fallen into a parallel universe?" Uoya whispered. His was terrified to interrupt the bonding in front of him… This is sooo weird. Is this even Hana?

"Yeah," Kitano's voice was equally quiet, "Or we've died and gone to hell."

"Shush, the both of you," Iseri hissed under his breath, "Don't interrupt this!"

"We aren't interrupting-" Kitano cut himself off, "Is that a camera?"

Without looking away from the scene, Iseri smiled before lifting the camera back up to his face, "I promised Coach I would get pictures." He snapped another picture and turned back to Kitano, "It was his idea after all."

The rest of the year was bitter-sweet. Hana's time was spent between Momoi, visiting Kiyoshi at the hospital, and training with her team. It had been a month since Iseri and Kitano retired from the basketball team. They still came to practice, but they were no longer allowed to participate in practice games. Speaking of retiring, Hana had found an apprentice. Sort of. The poor girl didn't know what hit her, but Hana had invited, or maybe blackmailed, her to join second string anyway.

Her name was Miura Akemi and well, she was alright. For a first year, Hana could admit the girl wasn't too annoying. Not to mention, the remaining team members loved her. Miura had a gentle way about her and never pushed them around. The tall brunette girl always smiled with them and Hana had never heard her curse once. She was like a complete polar opposition to Hana, but if her team was happy, Hana would be too.

Speaking of her team, Uoya was supposed to be promoted to captain with their retirement; but the greatest thing happened. As she watched her team practice, Hana remembered the conversation between all four of them fondly.

"Guys," Uoya swallowed some of his drink to ease his nerves, "I have something to tell you."

"That doesn't sound promising, Uoya-kun," Iseri raised a brow, "What is it?"

"You didn't get arrested, right?" Hana added after Iseri. If he had been, Hana didn't know how to feel. On one hand, she'd be so proud! But on the other hand, that would be horrible… Uoya couldn't survive in jail.

Kitano asked his own question a moment later, "Did you finally get a girlfriend?"

"Guys!" Uoya brought his hands up to his cheeks, "No! I'm serious… please don't get mad."

"Woah, okay," Hana blinked at his tone, "Go ahead. We won't be mad, promise!"

Taking a deep breath, Uoya began, "I have to turn down the captain position—"

"What!" Kitano stood up, "Why?! You'd be great!"

"I have to agree-" Iseri began, but Uoya cut him off.

"Coach Sanada pulled me aside last week," Uoya let a faint smile cross over his face, "After the miracles graduate, I'm moving up to first-string."

The third years froze. Kitano and Iseri gaped at the younger boy in astonishment, but Hana stood up with a scream. Uoya didn't know how it happened, but he suddenly had an armful of crying manager, "You did it! You actually did it! I'm so proud of you!"

"Hana-chan!" Uoya flailed around, "Don't cry!"

"They're good tears! I'm so happy!" Hana nuzzled into his chest, subsequently spreading wetness all over his shirt, "You have no idea how happy I am! You did it, Uoya! You did it!"

Kitano stood up and joined the grouping. His hand ruffled Uoya's hair fondly, "I'm proud of you, little man."

"The first one of us to actually accomplish the goal," Iseri smirked at the overwhelmed second-year, "I'm glad we were here to see it. You'll do great, Uoya-kun."

As all the praise registered, Uoya burst into a flaming blush before burying his head into Hana's hair, "You guys! You're going to make me emotional!"

Transferring her mind back to reality, Hana smiled as Uoya worked with some of the first-year recruits. Her friend was laughing and Hana felt a soft pang in her heart, he would have made a great captain. Uoya got the ball from the first-year and shot in into the net and Hana's smile turned sad, I'm going to miss seeing him every day… I'll just kidnap him on weekends.

Speaking of people she was going to miss, Hana's eyes trailed over to Iseri and Kitano who were sitting together on the bleachers. They hadn't talked about where they were all going to high school; it was supposed to be a surprise until they went to graduation. Hana knew where she was going, but she had no idea where the other boys would go. She assumed Iseri would go with Kitano, but she wasn't positive.

As if they heard her thoughts, both boys looked up at her. Hana waved a hand and Iseri copied the gesture while Kitano stuck his tongue out. In return, Hana flicked the bald boy off. His laughter echoed across the whole gym and the players practicing stopped what they were doing to look. When Uoya registered what was happening, he rolled his eyes before continuing to teach the younger students. Beside him, the new captain, Sugamura, gave all three of them a bland look, yet his face held a hint of a smile.

Minutes later, she felt coach pat her on the shoulder as he walked by and Hana trailed her eyes after his back. That old man… she'd miss him too. Looking back to her team, Hana felt another soft pang as she watched, my little team of assholes have grown-up.

Half a month later, graduation day finally came and Hana didn't know what to do. She'd sent in her application to Seirin months ago and she'd been accepted straight away. But now, everything felt like too much. She was leaving her school, her family, her memories and she wanted to cry. God, she'd been emotional this year… she blamed it on her female body. Stupid puberty.

Hana had woken up early that day. Her mind refused to let her sleep and Hana spent most of the night curled up with Nuduru and working on her information. Back in November, her father had given her phone back to her, but it wasn't the same phone. In honor of her day of birth, he had gone out and bought her a new model. When she found it on her bed the next morning, Hana's grin wouldn't leave her face.

The cheeky little note he'd left behind had sealed the deal; Lots of memory on here! Maybe you should transfer your notes into this! Passwords are incredible technology!

That's exactly what she did, but it had taken awhile. Last night was when she finally finished it and her eyes were reflecting her tired state. As Hana forced herself out of bed, she rubbed a tired hand over her face and meandered into the bathroom. Successfully showered and smelling nice, Hana was in the process of making her way to the closet only to pause.

Green eyes landed on Bernard and the long-forgotten necklace wrapped around the bear. Tugging her lip into her mouth, Hana made her way forward and knelt. Her fingers danced along the metal in nostalgia, "Sorry, Bernard, but I think I want this back."

She placed the necklace around her neck before smiling down at it. In the corner, Nūdoru perked up and tilted his head curiously. Transferring her smile to her dog, Hana spoke, "I bought it, I might as well wear it. Besides, I think it's cute."

Nūdoru's woof agreed with her.

She could feel the tears, dammit. Stupid hormones, stupid body, stupid everything. As Kitano hugged her, Hana sniffed in an effort to get rid of them. In front of her, Iseri smiled fondly before shaking his head. In return, Hana scowled back at him, don't laugh! You're sad too!

"There's no need to be embarrassed, Hana-chan," Iseri's smile grew before his hand was patting her head, "This is a very emotional day."

"You're being a smartass," Hana deadpanned, "Jerk."

"He's always a smartass," Kitano laughed as he hugged Hana even tighter, "Graduation is about to start, how about we break the secret now?"

"Dude," Hana's nerves kicked up at the thought. She didn't want to have this conversation… it finalizes everything, "Am I supposed to be this nervous? I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack."

"I'm pretty worried too," that comment came, surprisingly, from Kitano, "I mean, what if we never see each other again? I don't want that to happen."

"We have our phones," Iseri countered, "Besides, our bond is too strong. We will have many encounters in the future."

"…" Kitano and Hana both shot him exasperated looks. Green eyes narrowed on him, "You sound like a monk or a priest. Are we the chosen ones?"

"We'll see," Iseri smirked gracefully, "Since you are the only female, why don't you go first, Hana-chan?"

"Don't do that!" Hana gaped at him, but Kitano's hug prevented her from punching Iseri, "You can't just throw me under the bus! Dick!"

"Hana," Kitano squeezed her harder, "Shut up."

"Gah," Hana spat out, but she did relax. Swallowing apprehensively, Hana looked to the sunny sky before replying, "… I'm going to Seirin."

"Really?" Kitano blinked, before laughing, "Of course you are! We should have known, you've been visiting Kiyoshi for months now."

"Oi, don't laugh," Hana rebuked as she shoved her elbow into his gut, but her face still broke into a smile, "What about you?"

"Uhm," Kitano paused, "Meijo Academy. One of the guys I play streetball with goes there and well… I figured it was a good choice," Kitano's shoulders shrugged before he continued, "'Sides, they've got a pretty good mathematics program."

"—Math?" Hana gaped, "Since when did you like math?"

"I don't," Kitano groaned at the thought, "But if I want to be an engineer, I've got to learn it."

"…" Hana squinted her eyes at him, "I can't see you as an engineer, but if you get rich, remember I'm your best friend." She transferred her eyes onto Iseri, "And where are you going?"

"Kaijo," Iseri answered without pause, "Although, I'm not planning to try out for their basketball team. They're a top tier school, my skills wouldn't be needed. I'm simply going for their accreditation's."

"…" Hana and Kitano stared at Iseri. Hana was the one to break the silence first, "How the hell did you get accepted?"

With a secretive smile, Iseri quirked an eyebrow, "I scored 6th in the school wide examinations."

"What?!" That was Kitano and he let go of Hana to march up to Iseri. His hands wrapped around Iseri's shoulders and Kitano began to shake him, "You could have tutored me! Why didn't you mention that?!"

"For this reason," Iseri was still smirking and Hana began to laugh as Kitano's protests got louder. With a finger, Iseri pushed Kitano back, "You needed to do your own work."

"I would have!" Kitano groaned, "Man, you suck."

Watching her two friends, Hana smirked at Kitano's defeated expression, "Where'd you score?"

"… 231th."

"Holy shit!" Hana bent over in startled laughter, "That's terrible!"

With a growl, Kitano turned on her, "Well, what'd you get!?"

"84th!" Hana was still laughing, "Oh my god, that's great!"

"Hana!" Kitano hissed before grabbing her and hoisting her over his shoulder. Her shouts had no effect on Kitano and he smirked at her defeat, "Stop laughing at me or I'll throw you in the fountain!"

"Kitano-kun…" Iseri quirked a brow as Hana began to punch his back and scream obscenities, "You are aware she's in a dress?"

When his words registered, Kitano froze in horror, "Shit. I always forget she's a girl…"

"You ass! What's that mean?!" With one hand holding down her dress, Hana grabbed a hold of his pants and yanked. Kitano's pained yelp sounded like music to her ears, "If you don't put me down in five seconds, your head is going to be forcibly removed!"

"You two-" Iseri began, but Kitano's scream stopped him. He tried again, "-We need to-" The two trouble makers continued, much to Iseri's consternation. His eyes narrowed on them both before he shouted, "Graduation is beginning!"

"Ah!" Hana jolted at the scream, "Shit! Run, Kitano!"

"But—" Hana pulled even harder on his pants and Kitano squealed, "I'm running!"

As he was left behind, Iseri's eye twitched, "…Those two."

Hana was pleased to say that graduation was a success. Nothing bad happened and Hana didn't fall on her face or anything of the sort. In the crowd, she saw Uoya sitting with her father and her grin stretched across her face, almost manically. As her eyes traveled over the rest of the crowd, they landed on the multi-colored assortment of miracles. Even though seeing them caused her to flinch in pain, Hana kept her eyes on them in observation. I'll miss you guys too…

None of them noticed her scrutiny or the way her hand came up to play with Kise's- her necklace.

As the graduation ceremony came to a close, Hana let a sad smile cover her face, "Bye everyone," at the same moment, Momoi looked around and pink eyes caught Hana's green. The two gave each other an excited grin and Hana's smile lost the sad edge as she waved to the other manager. Her voice was muffled by the cheering of the crowd, "Good luck out there."

When Momoi waved back to her, Aomine followed his childhood friend's gaze. His navy eyes locked onto Hana and the two stared at each other. Nothing was exchanged and the boy turned away from her a second later. When the moment was over, Hana's grin left her face completely. No, screw him. Straightening up, she forced another one to take its place; she wouldn't let anyone ruin her happiness today.

Looking away from Aomine, Hana turned back toward the audience. Making eye contact with her dad and Uoya, she threw a fist into the air.

I did it, bitches!

Reviews: (Ahh, I love you guys.)

ADDBaby: Welcome back! Look at all the hugs! I'm sure she'd appreciate your hug as well! Thank you for such an awesome review!

jeyamendoza: I'm glad you liked it! I'm sorry about not making the guys go to Seirin with Hana... it was never in my plan to do so, but I had thought about it. Uoya will go when he gets out of middle school! Thank you for your review, I always appreciate them :)

Clare: Oh man, your review almost made me cry. That was so sweet... it really means a lot to me that you think that! Thank you so, so, so, so much. It was amazing.

Arrah: He won't be back for a while, but when he does come back you can bet it'll be with a vengeance. Thank you!

ArchimedesAckermann: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed chapter 19 and 20! I was worried people wouldn't like how it turned out... Anyway, thank you for such a nice review!

FrizzleChicken: No, thank you for your awesome reviews! I'm sorry that Hana had to graduate... but they won't be gone forever. They'll still make plenty of appearances! Also, I'm glad you like Hanamiya's characterization, I was worried about that guy. Thank you, again!

Naliyu: Thank you!

Red raspberries: Ahh, thank you! I'm glad you liked the confrontation, it was one of my favorite things to write!

AngelicHallows: Thank you :). Your compliments on my writing never cease to make me happy. And she does! Wooh! Thank you for all your reviews. I look forward to them every chapter!

Kowaiipillows: Thank you, thank you! I'm very glad this story pulls at your emotions, that was the plan!

Marvelgeek13: Thank you!

volley-14-nerd: Wooh! Go girl power! Thank you!

JustCallMeWhatever: Thank you!