I have no words to express how sorry I am for how late I'm updating. I could apologize and think up excuses for days, but that isn't enough. All I have to say is sometimes reality doesn't mesh with fantasy and it makes things hard to do. Anyway, new chapter! Longest one yet to make up for the long wait. I may be out of touch, but I hope it's still comprehensible. Thank you all for the amazing support you've given me and this story. You guys are amazing.

Warnings: Bad language, violence, and (barely edited at all) editing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke.


Some Type of Rush

Maybe… no. I could… Nope, that wouldn't work either. Huh. Computer programming can't be that hard, right? No, no. I need something quicker.

Hana squared her shoulders and stared down at the notebook. She sat cross legged in a semi-circle of papers, pictures, and horoscopes. A pen was clutched in between her teeth, suffering the brunt of her frustration. With twitching fingers, a nervous jingle tapped itself out across her thigh and Hana reached for a photo, only to retreat at the last second. That wouldn't work.

All in all, this shouldn't have been such a strange occurrence. She did this every night, well most of the time, but it was today's location that contributed to the oddity.

When the basketball team arrived to the gym, they'd been expecting to practice. They surely hadn't been expecting to see their manager sprawled out in the middle of the court. The image was made even more eerie with the absence of light, causing Hana's phone-light to twist her face in shadows. Everyone came up short.

"Imamura-chan?" Riko took the first step into the darkened gym. The coach's hazel eyes scanned the hunched over manager, "What are you doing? How long have you been here?"

There was no reply. Quirking an eyebrow, Hyuuga followed Riko's footsteps into the room, "Imamura?"

Again, no reply. The rest of the second years took wary steps into the room and Tsuchida wandered off to go turn on the light. Meanwhile, the first years didn't quite want to venture into the dungeon-like atmosphere. The trio stood a good five feet away from the door, shivering. Kagami stood at the head of the group and, quickly losing his patience, stomped in after his seniors.

While all this had been going on, Hyuuga walked the rest of the way toward the manager. His eyes narrowed on the messy bun of black hair and a palm pushed it forward, "Don't ignore your sempais, brat."

He hadn't been prepared. An earsplitting screech echoed out across the gym and every team member present jumped. In the background, someone let out a manly squeal. Meanwhile, the manager sprang forward and was now brandishing a pen in her hand, pointed suspiciously toward his head. Bringing a hand to his heart, Hyuuga's wide eyes locked onto Hana's own.

"The hell!" Hana spluttered, but her pen didn't lower, "Don't sneak up on people! Kuroko is bad enough!"

"You should have heard us!" Hyuuga tried to control the way his hands shook. While he regained his bravery, he noticed the white headphone hanging out of her ear, "You were listening to music this whole time?!"

"Uhm," the manager's voice was surprisingly timid, "… no, it's uhm, horoscopes? I'm covering all my bases."

It got quiet, making Hyuuga's anger sizzle out. Hana was blushing, pen firmly tucked back between her teeth. The whole team stared at her in bemusement and she brought a hand to her eyes. Man… I should have just gone with plan one.

"Imamura," Kagami deadpanned, tried of the continued silence, "What's with all this junk?"

"This junk," Hana swiped a hand out toward her mess of papers. Secretly, she was pleased with the conversation change, "Is not junk. It's a very detailed plan and it's very wonderful and it's great…"

Tsuchida finally found the light switch and the gym was bathed in fluorescent light. Hana's green eyes squinted against the glow, but she didn't take her gaze off Kagami's face. He didn't look overtly impressed with her explanation. Well, seems like we finally agree on something.

The rest of the team looked around the gym now that they could see again. The mess of papers spread a few feet farther then they'd seen. Speaking of seeing, there was no telling why their manager turned all the lights off, but Kagami suspected demonic inclinations. In the silence, Kuroko broke off from his hiding place and stepped toward Hana before bending down and retrieving a paper. Blue eyebrows rose.

"Imamura-san," Kuroko blinked down at her once he was done reading, "I don't understand."

Rolling the pen with her tongue, Hana glanced up at Kuroko. Now or never, "That makes two of us."

"What?" Koganei followed Kuroko's path and he too looked over her mess, "I thought you said this was a plan?"

Wincing, Hana turned her blushing cheeks away. The pen clicked against her teeth, "It's supposed to be! But I can't figure it out!"

"…" Riko joined the ever-growing group standing above her. The coach tilted her head a bit before asking the big question, "Weren't you planning on going to Seiho today?"

"Don't remind me," Hana scowled down at the paper, "God damn it, Midorima."

Before anyone even had the chance to breathe, Hana began to rant, "Seriously, he just had to go and mess everything up! The plan was already hard as shit without him knowing, but now! Now he knows! My whole mojo is thrown off! This wasn't supposed to happen…" Hana took a deep breath before peeking up at her dumbstruck teammates, "I need help."

"…" for a second, all was still. It was broken when Riko crossed her arms over her chest and smiled down at the manager, "I was wondering when you'd hit a wall."

Hana twitched, "Riko, not helping—"

"Get ready for practice, Imamura-chan," Riko smirked, "We'll figure this out after we're done!"

What. Hana blinked, "Really?"

"Really, brat," Hyuuga stood in the background, wearing his own smirk, "We're a team. Now get up and clean this junk up."

"… okay, but since we're a team, shouldn't we all—" Hana cut herself off with a step back. Hyuuga's glare was really something else, "Just kidding! Just kidding— seriously!"

xXxXxXx

Practice passed quickly. Hana remained on the sidelines, pouring herself into the information. The notes she'd received from Momoi touched on the team a bit, informing her about their defensive dominance, but other than that, she had nothing. Zip, zilch, nada.

One green eye twitched and Hana barely resisted the urge to throw her notes away. I didn't even have a chance to go to their school… what am I going to do?

That was the main cause of her annoyance. Because of the fast-paced schedule between the games and two inconveniently timed tests, Hana had missed her opportunity for spying and then when she had time, her plans fell through. Now that pissed her off. Stupid Midorima and his stupid meddling… making my brain go all fuzzy and shit.

Her focus was so intent on the half-assed notes, that Hana didn't even notice the shadow that fell over her. Pen scratching out yet another plan, she jolted at the cough. Startled green eyes stared up and connected with the bemused gaze of the coach.

"So," Riko placed a hand on her hip, "How far have you gotten?"

Pulling a grimace, Hana rehearsed her information, "I've got the defensive highlights, I can't make sense out of them though. Errr, the names and ages of all the teammates, but no helpful characteristics. That's about it."

"And what about Shutoku?"

"Huh?" Hana frowned up at Riko, "We play them after Seiho, right? I haven't got to them."

"... Imamura-chan," Riko's smile twitched and Hana caught the edges of fire sparking in her eyes, "We play them both on the same day." … Shit.

"Please tell me you're kidding," Hana's face faulted when Riko continued to stare at her, "You aren't kidding. Oh hell—"

"How'd you forget that?! Oh, come on," Riko grabbed the notes out of Hana's lap, ignoring her squawk. "You guys need to read the schedule… I swear," The coach grumbled as she began to walk away and Hana darted after her back, "These are pretty detailed… I thought you didn't have a chance to study them?"

"I can't take the credit for that," Hana admitted when she caught up, "They're from my friend, she's the manager at Too."

At that, Riko's face pinched into a frown, "And she knows all this? That's not good… especially since Too's in our district."

"Momoi's a hell of a lot better at spying than me," ignoring the sting of the truth, Hana continued her explanation, "She was the manager for the Generation of Miracles too."

"Hmmm," Riko handed the notes back to Hana, but there was a glint in her eyes now, "You'll just have to be better."

Sure. Hana scoffed, "Easier said than done. Where are we going?"

While the boys were playing, Riko led her away from the team. Hana hadn't even noticed until they came toward the locker room doors. Her coach pushed the door open and Hana startled at the inside. So messy… Ignoring her thoughts, Hana turned her skeptical eyes back onto Riko, "You aren't going to kill me, right? Because if I die in a glorified closet, I'll be pissed."

"Don't be so dramatic," Riko's voice was tinged in humor and the coach walked toward a television. With a determined grin, Riko turned back toward Hana, "I've got videos from last year's Inter-High and you're going to watch it."

A beat of silence passed before Hana deadpanned, "I am?"

"You are," Riko pulled out a folded-up chair and motioned for Hana to do the same, "I said I'd help you, so here we go."

"But it's just a video," Hana pulled out a chair despite her confusion, "It's not like I can hear what they're saying—"

Grabbing the remote, Riko pressed play and shot Hana a smug smile, "I thought you were better than that. Can't you read body language?"

Hana blinked, oh. Had Midorima messed up her game that bad? Everything was a jumbled mess inside her head, but Riko was right. She didn't need to exert herself with dramatics; she had this in the goddamn bag. Hana retrieved a pen with a smirk of her own. I've got this shit.

Shooting her coach one last look, she focused in on the video, "Thanks coach."

The passing of time was marked by the minutes rolling on the DVD. They'd gone through half an hour of footage before Riko went back out to do her coach duties. Meanwhile, Hana stayed behind and categorized the players. Sparing a quick glance down at the piece of paper in her lap, her mouth twitched into a grim smile.

The page was dotted with beautiful, if she said so herself, drawings of the team members. But the importance laid in the chart. It was a correlation between players and the number of fouls against them. It was safe to say the numbers were… high.

Another awesome discovery came when she recognized one of the players. It was the same boy that had fouled out Kise back in middle school, which while mildly interesting, the information served a greater purpose. Because he played against Teiko, she had his file saved in the archives. It paid to be a hoarder sometimes.

A few clicks on her phone later and his name came up easily, thus letting Hana record his past information before merging it into the new.

That was the revelation that sparked her next plan and when Riko came in to check on her, Hana waved her concern off. The manager temporarily vacated when the boys came in to change, but she was back in front of the TV moments later. Now Hana was left alone in the locker room, submerged in darkness again.

"…" her eyes flicked between her paper and her phone. A slow smirk crawled over her face as she stared at the information, "I've got you."

Minutes passed with everything continuing to be fine and dandy until the locker room door opened. Hana had been gloating in her new sense of accomplishment, but it was all shot to hell when the door creaked and the atmosphere turned unnerving. The scene was horror movie worthy. God, she could see it now. The poor virgin girl, trapped in school, about to be sacrificed to a demon.

Not happening, Satan. A pen was clutched in her fist before Hana ducked to the floor as the door opened fully. Her heart was beating out of her chest, eyes locked on the intruder. What was that technique? Slam the palm into the nose? A foot stepped into the room and Hana moved.

She jumped to her feet, pen held out defensively, "— Kuroko?!"

"Imamura-san," The ghostly player blinked at her before his eyes transferred to the pen, "Could you put that down please?"

"…" she dropped it to the floor, still gaping at Kuroko. Not a demon, just a ghost, "Uhm, shit. Sorry? Why are you here?"

"I forgot my book," Kuroko neatly sidestepped her. Her blue haired friend walked toward his locker before opening it. When he turned back to her, there was a question in his gaze, "Have you been here since practice?"

"I have," heart still beating wildly, she moved toward the bench, "Riko was helping me out with my problem." Trying to forget about her over reaction, Hana changed the subject, "What book is that?"

"A Sliver of Principal," Kuroko glanced down at the book with a small smile, "Have you heard of it?"

Digging through her mind, Hana concluded that no, she hadn't heard of it. She said as much, "Nope, what's it about?"

"Two men are framed for murder, but one is innocent in the case. They're each trying to incriminate the other," he flipped the book onto it's back and glanced at the summary, "It's a crime novel. Do you enjoy those?"

"Haven't had the chance to read one," Hana shrugged thoughtfully. The plot seemed promising though, "It sounds interesting though."

"Would you like to borrow it after I'm done?"

"Really? You wouldn't mind?" Kuroko shook his head slightly and a smile graced Hana's face. Realizing how giddy she sounded, she tried to smoother it, "Yeah, that'd be cool. Thanks, Kuroko."

"It's no problem, Imamura-san," Kuroko put the book into his bag and his eyes traveled up to her own. It seemed her attempt at nonchalance had been pointless because Kuroko radiated mirth, "I'm interested in your opinion of the story. Maybe you'll be able to solve the case."

"Maybe," Hana smirked a bit at the thought, "Have you?"

"I believe so," her friend's lips tilted in response. Silence prevailed while both teens were lost in their thoughts. When she glanced back at Kuroko, his eyes were suddenly probing, "How do you feel about this?"

Huh? Hana frowned, "About what? The book?"

Kuroko took a step toward her, but his attention was trapped in a forgotten memory, "Playing against our old friends. I haven't had a chance to see if you were okay with it all." … oh.

"I'm okay with it," her eyes tilted toward the ground and Hana grimaced a bit, "But they weren't really my friends, not like they were to you. It was… different, I guess. You guys were a big part of my life for a while, so I get where you're coming from, but I thought— shit. Ignore me."

"Imamura-san?" Kuroko's face remained calm, but the shift in his eyes betrayed his concern, "It's alright to talk about it."

"I know," a smirk was forced onto her face and Hana tried to diffuse the newly made tension, "But I'll ramble and I don't really want to sound like an idiot anymore then I have. Which I'm doing a lot lately. Maybe I need to drink less coffee— See? Rambling!"

Kuroko's mouth opened, prepared to say something, but the creaking of the door distracted them both. Thank you, gods of fate, I will forever worship you. While Hana let out a relived sigh, a tired looking tiger walked into the room only to stop dead at the sight of her. His face of horror was kind of flattering, "Imamura?"

Raising an eyebrow, Hana's smirk became genuine, "Hey, Kagami. Long time no see."

"Not long enough," Shaking off his surprise, Kagami scoffed before marching to his locker. It opened easily and he shot Hana a glare over his shoulder, "The hell are you doing here?"

"Just hanging out," she shrugged her shoulders a bit before getting an idea. Her following words were tinged in mischief, "You should clean out your locker. It's getting kind of nasty in there."

The locker slammed shut and Kagami turned to her in fury, "You were in my locker? What the hell, Imamura!"

"Shit!" Hana jolted backward at his advance. Her smirk was quickly replaced with a pacifying smile, "I wasn't serious! I respect your privacy whole heartily! I'd never do anything like that, nope, never. Definitely not me!"

"Don't joke about that—"

Whatever Kagami prepared to say was interrupted by Kuroko. The ghostly player stepped into the conversation, head tilted thoughtfully. He glanced between Hana and Kagami before speaking, "Hello, Kagami-kun."

Crazy eyebrows furrowing, Kagami turned toward Kuroko, "You! Don't scare me like that! Since when have you been here?"

"I was in here when you arrived," Kuroko deadpanned in that secretly condescending manner of his. For a moment, Hana wondered if he ever got tired of being invisible. It had to be exhausting. Kuroko's voice broke up her thoughts, "I left something behind."

"Whatever," Kagami grunted, but his face lost the dredges of anger. Red eyes glanced at Hana, then at Kuroko before scanning the room, "You two were alone in here?"

Kuroko blinked innocently, "What are you implying, Kagami-kun?"

Oh, that shit is definitely implying something. Forgotten for the moment, Hana's face erupted into a blush. That damn tiger! She was tempted to smash his face in, but that would have been futile. Kagami was bigger than her and he'd probably rip her head off or something. Taking their lack of attention as a chance to escape, Hana reached behind for her bag.

When it was safely in her possession, she interrupted the boys little staring contest, "Well, thanks Kagami. Way to make the whole thing awkward as hell. Were you hoping for something different?"

Hana took a bit of joy in the way Kagami floundered. Honestly, it was a beautiful sight, "That's— that's not! Imamura!"

"I'm joking," Hana smirked when Kagami growled. His cheeks were still tinted pink, so she gave him some well-deserved mercy, "Don't get pissed. I've got to head out anyway, so I'll see you guys later."

Muttering under his breath, Kagami looked away, "I hope not."

"You know you love me," Hana promptly danced away from his swatting hand. Her bodyguard would accept her eventually. Ignoring Kagami's curse, she turned to Kuroko, "Thanks again, for the book and all."

Kuroko had been eyeing the conversation between the two hot-heads in consideration, but his attention focused on Hana when she spoke. He gifted her a soft nod, "As I said, it's no problem, Imamura-san."

"Alright," hefting her bag onto her shoulder, she motioned to the television, "Coach was letting me watch Seiho's old games; you might be interested in it. Watch their feet."

At that, Kagami's eyebrows shot up and he marched toward the remote. Kuroko remained thoughtful in the background, eyes following Hana as she walked to the door. Catching his gaze, she gave him a wave before pushing the door open. One foot was out when she paused at the sound of a voice.

"Imamura-san," Hana tilted her head around. Blue eyes studied her ruffled appearance, "Please try to sleep tonight, you look tired."

"…" she stared at him in surprise before turning away. Her shoulders were a bit stiff, but her mind was stuck thinking over the goodbye, "Will do. See you, Kuroko."

The fluttering in her stomach startled her and she almost missed a step. Fingers twitching along the handle of her bag, Hana continued her departure. The feeling was familiar, multitudes of romance books highlighted it. That information didn't comfort her a goddamn bit.

As the door closed behind her, she heard Kagami question his friend, "What's with the tension?"

Hana didn't stick around to eavesdrop.


She could never make fun of Kagami again.

Staring into the restroom mirror, Hana poked at her eyes half-heartedly. The dark circles that encased them looked raccoon-ish, almost comically so. It was a sign of fate. She had done the exact opposite of what Kuroko told her to do, spending her whole night surfing social media for facts about their next opponents.

That had been a wasted effort. Other than a couple boring status updates, basketball players seemed to avoid the internet like the plague. They were there, of course, but almost all of them had their profiles listed on private. A big pain in the ass that was. At least she had her old notes, making three of today's opponents accounted for.

Whatever, she'd save her trump card in case the opportunity arrived. Back to the problem at hand. Hana arrived to the stadium early, hoping to make up for her lack of spying by talking to Seiho before the game. It was a half-assed plan, but it was better than nothing. Maybe she'd run into Midorima too? Yeah, let's not.

Letting out one last sigh, Hana gave up. There was no chance in hell she could get rid of the circles. Her nose wrinkled and she hissed at the mirror before turning on her heel. The metal door slammed behind her, catching the attention of other passersby, but Hana continued to stomp away.

"Should have had more coffee," her voice trailed off, "… Coffee."

New destination in mind, Hana began the search for the concessions area. They had to have one, right? People like coffee, so they should sell it. Right? Her eyes scanned around the area desperately and landed on a sign before her whole demeanor perked up. They have to have it.

Flash forward fifteen minutes later and Hana's palms laid splayed across the plastic counter. Her mouth was opened in a distressed gape as she stared at the plexiglass menu. The attendant glanced at her warily before trailing his gaze to the line of people behind her, "Miss?"

"How can you not have it?" She whispered, wide eyes locked on the teen, "It's coffee. Everyone has it."

"I'm sorry," the boy stuttered a bit before regaining control of the situation, "But you're holding up the line—"

"…" pausing, Hana peeked over her shoulder. Yup, definitely holding up the line. Several men and women looked back at her with various states of displeasure with their small children giving her very intimidating death glares. She was about to apologize when she landed on a pair of laughing orbs at the back of the line. Recognizing the face, Hana made a split decision.

"I'm sorry," the apology was shoved out of her mouth hastily as Hana made her way toward her new prey, "Didn't mean to! Seriously, sorry!"

Her target laid a few feet ahead and the laughter slowly drained out of his eyes, only to be replaced by curiosity. As Hana got closer to him, Takao raised both eyebrows. He obviously hadn't expected that. The realization made Hana speed up her steps, courage coming from his surprise.

"Hey there," her feet landed neatly in front of him and Hana smiled up at the point guard, "How's it going, Takao-san?"

"Imamura-chan," Takao tilted his head, a silky smirk lifting the corners of his lips, "You're here early, where's the rest of your team?"

"Don't know," lifting her shoulder in a shrug, Hana let a smooth ring lace through her voice. If he wanted to play, she'd play too. I'll win this game, "It doesn't matter anyway, you're just the guy I wanted to see."

Eyes widening, Takao brought a hand to his heart in faux astonishment, "Don't say that! Shin-chan will murder me!"

"My apologies," Hana continued to smile, but her thoughts raced. The longer she played with him, the better chance she had to lose. It was time to go in for the kill, "So, you remember my offer?"

"You make it sound so devious," with a laugh, Takao shook his head. His face reflected a mask of sympathy, "You shouldn't even try. Shin-chan's warned me about you— but I've got to say it's amusing."

"Ah," time to pull out trump card number one. She sighed, "Well, that's a shame. It would have been nice to get conformation about my information. It is pretty old now."

"Oh, really?" He still didn't look concerned, but a new shine of interest appeared with the tilt of his head, "You've already got information on me? I'm honored, Imamura-chan."

"I do," Hana's smile became sharp and she brought her hands to her hips, "Takao Kazunari, Shutoku High School, Class B-4… Played against Teiko during the Winter Tournament in the position of shooting guard. Birthday is November 21st and you're a fellow Scorpio. Blood type O, height used to be 173 centimeters, but it seems you've grown a bit."

"Okay," Takao looked startled and almost a bit concerned. The sight fueled her fire, only for it to get doused out right away, "I get it! Man, Shin-chan didn't tell me how creepy that was—"

She twitched, "It's not creepy."

"It is!" and he was back to laughing. Pausing for a moment, Takao suddenly brought a hand to his stomach and began to laugh harder, "Shin-chan was right!"

does that mean what I think it does? Pulling her eye brows down into a frown, Hana huffed, "He made me sound like a creepy stalker, didn't he?"

That wouldn't surprise her. It still annoyed her, but it made sense. Her skills were on the side of stalking… but it had a purpose, dammit! She focused back in on Takao a second later. His eyes darted around the area before he looked back at her with a grin. Keen eyesight…

"Yeah," Takao took a breath before talking in a lower tone, imitating Midorima. It didn't sound like him at all, "She studies you on a personal level, Takao. Heed my warnings and avoid interaction."

"A personal level?" Hana blinked. The phrase rolled around in her head before she flushed, "He made it sound so… wrong! Like I'm defiling people!"

"Ha!" That statement made his amusement grow even stronger. Wiping a tear from his eye, Takao caught his breath, "That's funny. Now," his smooth smile returned with a knowing edge, "Why'd you tell me about that? What were you trying to get?"

"Subject change, cool," Hana stalled. Okay, so, the big reveal sounded beneficial in her head. But now that she thought it over, she realized she may have just threatened someone, "Honestly, I was kind of hoping that would force you to agree."

"Really," eyebrows securely latched to his hairline, Takao snorted, "That was terrible planning."

She couldn't deny that, "It was." … but it still worked.

"Well, I'm a bit impressed Imamura-chan," he sighed, before leaning back on his toes, "but I've got to say, I expected more from Shin-chan's warnings. More manipulation, maybe?"

"Nah," pulling her phone out of her hoodie pouch, Hana glanced down at the clock. Thirty minutes before game start. Time for the final blow. Her eyes flicked back up to Takao, "I've got what I needed."

Takao didn't look convinced, "If you say so~"

"Mhm," replacing her phone, Hana began, "Judging from the way you refer to Midorima, you're obviously close, which hints at partnership; and since Midorima is mostly a shooter… that must mean you're his aid. Not only that, but you're playful. You get amusement out of teasing people, which probably follows you onto the court and gives you an unorthodox style."

"Hmmm, good job," Takao hummed thoughtfully, "But you guys did watch us play—"

"Ah, ah!" She interrupted with a smirk, "You're friendly, good teamwork. You're lighthearted, good perseverance. You're observant, I've seen you glance around the area at least five times since we've started talking. Something to do with your eyes?"

Shifting a bit, Takao held his hand's up, "Okay, message received. You're sneaky, that's for sure!"

"Good," folding her arms over her chest, Hana huffed victoriously, "Now transfer that message to Midorima."

"…" Takao didn't offer an agreement to her demand, instead he brushed a hand through his hair with a chuckle. His next words were laced in consideration, "You didn't need me to join your little spy ring, did you, Imamura-chan?"

"Nope," Hana didn't bother to lie, she finished what she started. Too bad she didn't know what to do now. Feeling a layer of awkwardness descend upon them, Hana finally motioned to the drink he held in his hand, "Where'd you get that?"

"What a change of subject," Takao retorted good naturedly. Holding up the iced coffee in his hand, he pointed down the hall, "They're in the vending machines—"

"Show me," Hana paused before hastily adding on, "Please."

His resulting smile was trouble. She swore it.

xXxXxXxXx

The plan to spy on Seiho was shot to shit. Her new companion, Takao, was like a freaking leech. Did people feel this way around her? God, she hoped not. Sipping on her icy drink, Hana cut her eyes toward the point guard. Couldn't he read the atmosphere? Why was he still here?

Don't get her wrong, the guy wasn't that bad. His personality was tolerable, whenever he wasn't laughing at her misfortune, but there was something off. People didn't just befriend other people like this, especially if that person was her. Maybe I'm just suspicious—

"So, Imamura-chan," Takao brought his hands behind his head and grinned down at her, "What's up with you and Shin-chan? Do I sense a broken romance?"

Called that shit.

Ignoring her silence, Takao continued, "He may be a grumpy, old tsundere, but he talks about his middle school teammates sometimes. That's where I'm confused… because you're not one of them, are you?"

"You know," Hana grunted under her breath, "I was just starting to think you weren't terrible."

"Avoiding the question, again!"

With an eyeroll, she gave him an answer, "Look, we were friends. Friends. None of that secret romance shit you seem so fond of."

"Friends?" Takao parroted her, "No offense, but you don't seem like Shin-chan's type—"

"Oh, and you do?"

A beat of silence lasted before her companion huffed in silent laughter, "Touché. I guess that's another point to you, Imamura-chan."

"Points? I hope I'm winning," After a pause, Hana smirked. Like they always said, go big or go home. Besides this could be a good change of pace, "Your loss today won't hurt as bad if you're prepared."

"Feisty," Takao drawled before looking back down at her, "You talk big for someone who hasn't even won their first game yet~"

Oh, really now? "Who's to say you'll win yours?"

Humor bubbling in his eyes, Takao spun toward her with an open mouth. His response was barely spoken before he was interrupted by a subtle throat clearing. His slate blue eyes widened before he twisted his head over his shoulder, "Shin-chan!"

Awh, hell. That was definitely Midorima. Her old friend stood several steps away from them with green eyes narrowed behind his glasses. Thinking on the best step forward, Hana scanned over him, noting the tension in his shoulders. The rest of the image wasn't surprising. The green haired teen was already in his uniform and he had his sports bag held securely over his shoulder. Just like old times.

"Takao," Midorima's greeting was to the point and his eyes flashed dangerously on his teammate, "I was sent to find you, we're already preparing."

"Really?" Takao pulled his phone out of his pocket before beaming toward Midorima, "I knew you cared, Shin-chan!"

"You idiot. I don't, I'm simply following orders," Hana would beg to differ judging from lack of heat in his words. Maybe the two were secretly compatible… they were water signs after all. It's still strange though.

With a sigh, Takao turned back to her. Mischief exuded from his smile, "See, Imamura-chan? He's such a grump."

Brow rising, Hana began to agree, but Midorima cut her off. The shooter's voice dipped sternly, "Takao."

Well, this new development wasn't okay. Midorima was not going to sit there and act like she didn't exist. Nah uh, no way, no how. Screw old relationships and weird ass tensions. Kuroko didn't ignore her, Kise didn't ignore her, Midorima was not going to ignore her. That's just plain rude.

"Yo," lifting a slow hand, Hana gifted Midorima with a saccharine smile, "Nice to see you too, Midorima."

With a barely noticeable jerk, Midorima turned toward her. Like she had done earlier, his green eyes surveyed her before speaking. It was an emotionless response, "Imamura." … well I'll just have to fix that.

"I like your teammate," swaggering up to Takao, Hana nudged the point guard in the shoulder. For once, Takao stood silently and she used it to her advantage, "Very informative."

"…" Midorima cut his eyes toward Takao, who was shaking his head wildly, before returning to her face. His words were laced in derision, "That's none of my concern. It isn't my fault he foolishly agreed to speak with you."

"For the record, she cornered me. I just wanted some food!"

No one paid attention to Takao's outburst. Instead, Hana focused onto the new battle of dominance. It was… kind of fun. I can understand why Kagami likes this, that damn adrenaline. Even though this was a battle of words, it was scarily addicting. Could you get high off this stuff?

Revitalized, Hana simpered, "You sure, Shin-chan? You seem pretty quiet. Worried?"

A beat passed before she deadpanned. Okay, laughter had not been the desired response to her harassment. Turning annoyed eyes onto the doubled over Takao, Hana shot him a what the hell look. The jackass just continued to laugh and Hana turned back to Midorima with a huff only to pause. He's blushing?

"That was great!" Takao howled behind her, "She totally stumped you—"

"Takao," Midorima refused to make eye contact with her, choosing to push his glasses up instead, "It's time to go."

"But it was just getting good~"

"… Takao."

"Fine, fine," holding his hands up pacifyingly, Takao walked toward his teammate shooting Hana one last remark, "Good luck today, Imamura-chan! You'll need it!"

Her eye twitched, strange reactions forgotten. I'll need it? You'll need it when I destroy you, you little imp!

"Scorpios rank eighth today," A smooth voice interrupted her murder plots. Midorima's reply was seemingly aimed at Takao, but the way his sharp green eyes flickered to her gave him away, "They should be wary of overconfidence."

The two boys began to walk away moments later. When they were halfway toward the next hallway, his warning registered. Be wary of overconfidence? Rethinking over her morning, Hana winced. It seemed Oha-asa was on point today.

Well, shit. With a groan, she brought a hand to her head, "Of course. Couldn't I just rank first for one damn day?"

The rival players stopped short and Midorima muttered something to Takao. It was too quiet for her to hear, but she didn't have to wait long. With a flourish, Takao jerked his head around Midorima's shoulder and shouted back to her, "Shin-chan says Scorpio's lucky item is a desert cookbook!"

Midorima's hand latched onto his teammates collar, snatching him away. Burning red cheeks clashed against green hair before they disappeared around the corner. That… had not been expected, but it was strangely familiar. Meanwhile, a loud thump echoed from the same hallway and then everything was back to blissful silence.

"…" Hana blinked, "What the fu—"

Curse cut short, she frowned down at her hoodie pocket. It was vibrating steadily and Hana fished it out of its resting place. She promptly blanched. With a lunge, her sneaker clad feet slid against the floor before she cut the next corner like a maniac. She ignored the two surprised grunts at her passage.

The phone stopped vibrating before it began again.

I know I'm late! Stop calling!


Her teammates were warming up when she arrived. So, technically, she wasn't late. That fact didn't stop Riko from staring her down, but at least the glare came without pain. Thank the lords. Now, Hana stood on the sidelines and watched the manly men do their thing. Balls were shot into hoops, boys were sweating, encouragements exchanged… booooring.

"I'm bored," Hana twisted toward Riko. Pulling her lip down, her face turned pleading, "Can we liven it up? Play some music or something?"

Riko didn't look away from her clipboard, but Hana caught her eyebrow raise, "No. Have you finished your notes yet?"

"As much as I could," Hana frowned at the other side of the court. Seiho was practicing as well and her gaze narrowed on Tsugawa, "I got held up earlier, I could go talk to them now though."

"The games about to start," and I'm shot down. Removing the clipboard from her face, Riko moved closer to her, "Can I see the information?"

With a sigh, Hana handed the notes toward Riko. As the coach scanned over her handwriting, Hana eyed them in disdain, "There's not much, but they're good at fouling their opponents out. You're going to need to watch Kagami."

"I planned too, we need to save him for the next game anyway," Flipping toward the next sheet, Riko raised an eyebrow, "How'd you get all this? I thought you didn't have a chance to talk to them?"

"Social media is awesome," Hana paused, "Actually, it's really not. None of them had anything interesting to say, but I could look through their basic info and then using their horoscopes… I kind of guessed their personalities? Don't look too close into it."

Done with her analyzation, Riko attached the notes to her clipboard and hummed, "Anything helps. This isn't going to be an easy match…"

As if planned, Tsugawa sauntered toward Kagami. The rival boy's eyes flashed in excitement as he introduced himself and Hana listened to the exchange with half an ear. She was curious to see if his personality matched up with her guesstimates. He's a Pisces… idealistic, cheerful, tendency for obliviousness.

"You're Kagami, right? Your hair is really red, scary!" Tsugawa turned toward his teammates with a beaming grin, "Captain, look! Seirin's really weak but they have one strong player!"

oblivious is right. Her team stopped moving, staring in astonishment at the audacity of the player. Beside her, Riko jerked and her hands came up into the air, seemingly squeezing the life out of Tsugawa. She'd never heard Riko curse before, so this was a new, interesting experience. The coaches rage lasted until Tsugawa got shoved down by his captain.

Hana snorted. It's Kagami 2.0.

Meanwhile, the Seiho captain and Hyuuga got into another verbal standoff, which is becoming increasingly common, before the two rivals vacated her team's area. With an air of discontent, all of the boys stared after Tsugawa's back. Sometimes Hana wondered if her teammates lived in a universe where everything was much more dramatic then it seemed.

Ten minutes later, Seirin was situated in the dressing room. Trailing her eyes over her teammates, Hana quirked an eyebrow. Everyone looked so… downtrodden. Maybe she was an anomaly, but she didn't see what the big deal was. We faced Kise in better spirits then this, stop acting like sad puppies. Riko apparently agreed.

With a clap of her hands, Riko called attention to herself. One moment the coach appeared normal, the next she'd been replaced by an overtly flirty replica, "I thought of a reward to cheer you guys up. If we win this game, I'll give you each a kiss on the cheek!"

God, she couldn't stop it. While everyone else tried to decline, Hana full out choked. Bringing her hands up, she tried to cover it, but the laughter escaped anyway. She can't be serious! Hana's response was strangled, "Oh man, does that count for me too?"

"What!" Riko jolted from her new position on the floor. The despair from her rejection filtered out only to be replaced by bewilderment. Riko's mouth gaped wide, "No! Imamura-chan!"

"You offered! I wouldn't want to disappoint—"

"No! It— You weren't included!"

"I'm not good enough, huh? Maybe glasses are more to your taste—"

"Imamura-chan!"

The two girls were so absorbed in their banter they failed see the mortified flushes break out across the males' faces. Bringing a hand up to his clearly not bleeding nose, Hyuuga looked away only for his gaze to land on his teammates. A tick appeared above his eyebrow.

Glasses flashing, the captain cautioned the team, "All right, stop looking like that! Before we start, I'm sure you'll notice, but Seiho is strong. After last year's massive defeat, we hated basketball so much we nearly quit."

Freezing, Hana stopped teasing Riko. Wide green eyes peeked toward the captain and a sick feeling rested in her gut. Even though the second years began to reassure their teammates of their happiness, Hana remained lost in Hyuuga's admittance. She flicked her gaze over the rest of the team with a sense of resolve.

Like captain said, we're a team now.

xXxXxXx

Fingernails dug into her palms, green eyes flickered up and down the court, and a snarl pulled up her upper lip. This isn't going well. She was wrong to be overconfident, stupid Oha-asa, and the fact was driving her insane. The score had stagnated at 0-12 with Seirin losing. Her team couldn't break through the defensive wall, but Seiho didn't have the same problem. In fact, they're making it look disgustingly easy.

"Shit," Hana hissed when Kagami got a foul, "That stupid tiger…"

Beside her, Furihata called out onto the court, "Kagami! Calm down!"

"That's like telling water not to be wet," crossing her arms over her chest, Hana scowled at the court, "Tsugawa is intentionally pushing him, see that smile? That's the smile of a little shit."

"…" Furihata stared at her, Hana was pleased by the lack of terror, before he sweat dropped, "I've never met a girl that talks like you, Imamura-san."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Eyeing the court, Hana took a step forward to stand beside Riko. When the game started again she held her breath in anticipation. Kuroko had the ball and his blue eyes flashed over his teammates, looking for an opening. It was unsuccessful and the pass was intercepted. Again.

"This is crazy," muttering under her breath, Hana tilted her head toward her coach, "If we don't figure out a way for Kuroko to pass then we aren't moving anywhere."

"I know," Riko fiddled with her whistle before furrowing her brow. A moment later she spoke again, "They're using man to man defense, but look at their feet. Somethings not normal."

"I noticed that on the tape," Hana agreed, "They run weird. I thought they might participate in other clubs, like American football or something, but they don't. Their captain's part of the martial arts club though."

"…" Riko blinked before a look of understanding flashed across her face, "That's it. They're using martial arts! I knew it looked familiar!"

"Okay," while that information was convenient, that still didn't tell her what they planned to do about it. When Kagami was intercepted again, Hana repeated her thoughts to Riko, "What are we going to do about it?"

"We'll figure it out," then Riko stalked away.

Watching her coach walk, Hana deadpanned. Thanks for that great explanation. She didn't see any way out of the situation, even with the expanded knowledge, but then again, it was her. There was a reason she was a manager and not a player. Unless they're my plans, I can't strategize worth shit.

The team merged on the sidelines shortly later. Riko took her place in the middle of the group and began her explanation. Listening half-heartedly, Hana handed out a couple towels, specifically to Kagami who had sweat dripping off him in waves. She heard the description on the martial arts and their involvement, but her attention was caught by the prospect of a solution.

Fake them out, Hana stared at the tired looking Kagami from underneath her eyelashes. Can his temper handle it?

She freaking hoped so.

The timeout ended and the team moved back onto the court. Following the whistle's blow, Kagami returned to his position against Tsugawa and with a fake, the red head easily overpassed the rival player. He ran like fire down the court before pulling off an impressive dunk. That's our first score!

"Hell yes! Go Kagami!" cupping her mouth, Hana cheered alongside Riko, "Show that little punk who's boss!"

Damn, that felt good. She'd held back with Seirin, not wanting to devote herself to another team, but that didn't matter anymore. As the cheers continued to fall from her lips, Hana finally allowed herself to feel like a true teammate. I hope they can handle my screaming… because I'm not stopping now.

xXxXxXx

She definitely did not stop screaming. They just weren't encouraging screams anymore. Despite his rush of victory, Kagami was quickly overtaken again. Tsugawa managed to keep up with him, proving defensive skills that easily matched Kise's. At Kagami's third foul, Hana cursed with a vengeance.

"That idiot," She'd begun to pace a while ago and now her feet led her back to her team, "He's going to screw up and get taken out."

"He's getting angry," Kawahara muttered when the ball was knocked out of bounds, "How long can he keep this up?"

"I don't know— Oh shit," Hana blinked at the sight on the court. After being thoroughly shocked by his presence, Tsugawa was talking to Kuroko with a mocking smile in place. She couldn't hear their words, but the expression on Kuroko's face hinted at something… "Kuroko's annoyed."

Just as she spoke, the ball was passed around Seiho's players by the ghosts intense handling. It was as if he'd started the game anew. The hold Seiho had on the ball was destroyed by the combined efforts of Kuroko's passing and Kagami's defensive jumping. The score began to lift in Seirin's favor.

The first quarter ended and her team came back to the sidelines. Parking herself onto the bench, Hana listened to Riko's plan. Play offensively, keep up, don't get fouls. When they returned to the court, it went without a hitch and the plan remained in effect as Kuroko and Kagami dominated offensively. Another two points went to Seirin.

Of course it couldn't last. Next thing she knew, Kagami just had to go and shove Tsugawa to the floor. Hana snarled, "Kagami! Stop being so stupid!"

"It's only the second quarter," Koganei muttered as he watched their ace, "He got four fouls so quickly…"

"He needs a break. Koganei, you're in!" Riko stated decisively before marching toward the referee, "You too Tsuchida."

A few conversations later and Kuroko sat on her left side and Kagami her right. Passing the sweaty tiger a water bottle, Hana turned her attention back to the game. Their seniors were holding themselves well, especially against the strength of Seiho. A small smile pulled at her lips.

"He can dunk?" Kagami sounded honestly shocked and Hana side eyed him.

"Yeah," she huffed under her breath as Seirin returned to defense, "You aren't the only human that can jump Kagami."

"That's not what I meant," luckily, Kagami seemed too tired to respond to her pestering, "I've just never seen him do it before."

Okay, Hana could understand that, "You hog the ball most of our games, it makes sense we wouldn't see all our seniors' potential."

Growling, Kagami stiffly turned to face her, "I don't hog the ball—"

"Our senpais are strong," Kuroko broke into the middle of their conversation, "This is their chance to prove themselves."

As Kuroko spoke, Mitobe shot a hook shot into the goal. Two points to Seirin. Seiho's player retrieved the ball and evened the score. Then Koganei scored. The pace remained a back and forth exchange between the two teams. They just need something to jump the distance.

Her thoughts were answered seconds later. Izuki stood at center, before holding one finger up. The ball dribbled against the court for one moment and then another. Then he moved, passing the ball to Hyuuga who raced down the court and then exchanged with Mitobe, scoring another point.

"They've got good coordination with each other," Hana observed before leaning around Kagami to address Riko. Izuki's movement reminded her of Takao's, "What's up with Izuki?"

"You noticed?" Riko didn't look away from the game, but her lips tilted upward, "Izuki-kun can see everything, he's got an eagle eye."

"Eagle eye?" Kagami questioned and even Kuroko appeared interested, "What's that?"

"He may not have the best physical strength, but he can change in a moment's notice," Riko explained, "He can see everything from all angles, sensing the entire court."

The silence lasted for a beat before Riko began to talk about the rest of the seniors. Meanwhile, Hana stared out at Izuki. That guy? The guy that was skipping down the court? The pun-master extraordinaire? She whole-heartily agreed with Kagami's muttered, "Seriously?"

"I don't know why you guys even play basketball," Hana spoke in the same tone as Kagami had, "You all should just become superheroes. With your magical eye shit and other weird talents."

"I don't believe our talents extend that far," Kuroko commented, appearing to think about her suggestion, "They have a better use on the court."

"Not really," Hana huffed as Seirin hilariously tried to score a goal, rotating between shooting and rebounding. Tugging her lip into her mouth, Hana hummed, "Do you think that's why Izuki has such good test scores? Since he can see the whole room—"

She stopped. She blinked. She stared. Was that an orange ball heading toward her face? It is! Bringing her palms up, Hana prepared to catch the runaway basketball. But she hadn't prepared to catch the damn person. In a moment of determination, or stupidity, Koganei tried to retrieve the ball before it went out of bounds.

Although the action was well meaning, the cat-like boy still lost his balance and tumbled directly toward her.

"Woah!" That was all Hana could shove out of her mouth before he landed on top of her. For such a small boy, Koganei was damn heavy and, as his body weight slammed into her, both teens were sent falling backward. Her head landed on the wooden floors with a crack and then Koganei had the audacity to smack the back of his head into her forehead. "… shit."

She was probably imagining things, but she swore she heard an echoing, "Imamura-cchi!"

"Imamura-chan! Koganei-kun!" Riko stood over them a heart-beat later, "Are you two alright! Koganei-kun! Your eyes are spinning!"

Blinking, Hana stared up at her coach. Had Riko always been so colorful? Another person appeared beside her coach and Hana snorted. Kuroko looked funny with three heads. The people got closer and Koganei was easily lifted off her. The action made the world spin even faster.

"Hell," her words slurred a bit as Hana pushed herself into a sitting position. Ignoring the way her head pounded, she frowned at the technicolored Riko, "Man, that hurt."

"Imamura-chan! Don't move so fast," Riko kneeled down beside her and held up a couple fingers, "How many fingers am I holding up? Kuroko-kun, can you get me a wet towel please?"

"I see six, but since you only have five, I'll go with three," the words were accompanied by a wince as Hana struggled to her feet, "I'm going to have the worst damn migraine."

"… that's right, but that's not the answer I wanted," Riko's hands fluttered around as Hana moved toward the bench. When the manager settled, the coach turned her attention to the other injured player on the floor, "Koganei-kun? You're going to have to be subbed out."

"I thought so," Koganei sighed, but he didn't argue the decision. Peeking around Furihata's kneeling form, Koganei looked toward Hana in concern, "I'm sorry, Imamura-chan—"

"No harm, no foul," she cut his apology off, before blinking slowly, "Uuuhm… I didn't mean that literally. Since that hurt and it was a foul, so yeah. It's all peachy good. Perfectly presentable. Fantastic."

"…" the silence from her team was deafening. When she looked up at the semi-circle of players, Hana startled at the looks of concern. Even the grumpy tiger eyed her warily, which was probably the closest she'd ever come to getting sympathy from him. She tried to smile. She didn't think it worked.

A tense beat passed before Riko broke the silence, "Okay, so Koganei-kun is subbed out—"

"Can I go back in?" Kagami interrupted, looking out to the court. Meanwhile, Kuroko appeared in front of her with the towel. Shooting him a grateful look, Hana tried to take it from him.

She wasn't prepared for one of his three hands to press it to her forehead instead.

"Weren't you listening? We're saving you for our next game," Hyuuga scolded Kagami, but Hana hardly paid attention. All she could focus on was the subtle worry displayed in Kuroko's three-headed gaze.

Well, to be precise, she cared a bit more about how weird he looked with six eyes, but whatever.

"I need to go in. I've got to pay back Tsugawa," Kagami protested and with that, Kuroko laid the towel in her lap and moved away. The next thing she saw was Kagami getting pushed away by one of Kuroko's pale hands connecting to his face. Snickering, Hana smirked at the irony in the action. Sucks, doesn't it?

The whole situation ended with Kuroko taking Kagami's place against Tsugawa. The blue-haired teen stepped onto the court and began to cover the rival man to man style. Meanwhile, Kagami plopped back down beside her. Ignoring the pounding in her head, Hana looked up at his sulking face.

"Let him do it," she commented as she watched his eyebrows duplicate, "Shadow and light."

"What?" Kagami frowned down at her, "You're talking weird. Are you sure you're okay, Imamura?"

Was she sure? Nope, but she'd sustained worse injuries during second string practice. Still, it was nice of Kagami to worry, "I'm fine, but seriously, let him do it. You two support each other."

"…" the worn-out ace blinked a couple times before letting out a long sigh, "Alright. That Tsugawa guy is a bastard though— oi! Don't fall asleep!"

"I'm not!" Hana jerked her head up from where it had begun to lean forward only to recoil, "I'm awake! Shit, that hurts like a bitch."

"We'll get pain medicine when this is over," Kagami looked back out to the game at the sound of the whistle, "Don't skip out on the game with Shutoku."

"Aw," she simpered sluggishly, "I knew you cared—"

"Shut up, Imamura."

"…" she was stumped at the lack of heat in his voice, but did as commanded, "Yes sir."

The game continued with Kuroko stationed against Tsugawa. It was the fourth quarter and Seirin was six points behind, struggling to make up the distance. If she thought the pace was fast before, it was nothing compared to Kuroko's new passing. It might be due to her injury, but Hana couldn't even see the ball being exchanged.

"We've got them," Riko folded her arms over her chest in concentration, "We learned their habits and with Kuroko-kun's help, we can keep up."

Hana realized she was right. While Seirin still hadn't completed the score gap, with Kuroko's help they were extremely close. Even Kagami noticed, but Hana was too absorbed in the dance of movement in front of her to reply. All the boys looked like pretty blurs of color, but she was sure they wouldn't like the comparison.

It was the yell that echoed across the court that got her attention and Hana blinked her dazed eyes back into focus.

"Don't underestimate us!" Seiho's captain screamed as he charged. He looked like a raging bull, "You need ten more years to take on a king!"

She frowned as the captain scored another goal. Seiho was back in the lead, but Seirin continued to force forward. They won't give up. With the help of Kuroko, they managed to take back the lead with a goal of their own. And just like that, victory was assured for the first match of the day.

The buzzer rang out. At the realization of the winning score, her teammates erupted into cheers and Hana let a sleepy smile slip over her face. You go, crazy bunch of idiots.

As the team met in the middle of the court for goodbyes and thank you's, Hana didn't notice how she slowly fell to the side. She didn't notice her head landing on a firm shoulder and snuggling into the smelly shirt. She didn't notice said shoulder jerk in surprise at suddenly becoming a pillow.

But she did notice Kagami's outburst, "Imamura! Get off!"

She ignored it.


In an Unknown Spot of the Stands

"Imamura-cchi," Kise whined as he watched his old friend collapse against Kagami, "Don't do that with Kagami-cchi."

Kasamatsu peered over at his kohai, "That's what your worried about? I thought you had more sense than that."

"She shouldn't sleep!" Kise gestured down toward the court, pout firmly in place at the unjust situation, "She hit her head really hard… I hope she's okay."

"What's your deal with her? You won't shut up about the manager or number 11," Kasamatsu looked down at the girl in question. She didn't look overly impressive, the only thing she had going for her was her skill in information gathering. But that was easy; what about her could have possibly grabbed Kise's attention?

"We were really good friends in middle school," A sad smile pulled at the blonde's lips and Kasamatsu raised an eyebrow, "Kuroko-cchi was my inspiration, but Imamura-cchi always kept my head level. She's really honest, you know~"

"She's honest," Kasamatsu deadpanned, staring at the girl blankly, "The same girl that lied to your teammates?"

"…" Kise tilted his head before speaking, "I said that she's honest, not that she's nice."

Well, didn't that just made all the goddamn sense. Transferring his incredulous gaze onto Kise, Kasamatsu continued, "Why would you care about someone like that?"

Mouth pursing into a firm line, Kise thought about his answer. It was a difficult relationship to explain, especially to someone who hadn't suffered through their middle school years. He tried anyway, "She hated us at first, you know? She never hid her feelings… I guess it was just nice to have someone so up front with us when no one else was."

"I find it hard to believe," Kasamatsu tilted his head toward the girl, "That she could be honest with her feelings."

"You just met her at the wrong time, senpai!" Kise's serious attitude evaporated and he beamed toward his captain, "She can't lie to people she's intimidated by."

His brow puckering, Kasamatsu turned toward his teammate. The way Kise said that hinted that she couldn't lie to him. Because she was intimidated by him? The thought had his head spinning and he voiced his concerns, "You sound proud of that."

"Hm?" Kise turned toward his senpai and gave him his full attention, "What do you mean?"

"The fact that she's intimidated by you all," Kasamatsu didn't make it his habit to get in other people's concerns, but this was his kohai. He continued after looking back down the court, "Doesn't that imply she's scared of you?"

"No! It's not like that—" frowning, Kise broke off, "It isn't like that, right?"

Giving his teammate a deadpan look, Kasamatsu's voice transferred over blankly, "I don't know, idiot. She's your friend."

For once, Kise didn't speak. When he glanced toward the model, Kasamatsu was surprised by the thoughtful look that pulled his features down. He didn't know what the underclassman was thinking, but judging by his expression, it was something serious. Good. He needs to think more.

"…" Of course, the captain was proven wrong when Kise spoke again, "So what do you think about Kuroko-cchi? He's amazing, isn't he? Did you see those passes!?"

"Kise," the captain's elbow slammed into the other's arm, "Shut up."

On the Other Side of the Court

"How much love do you have to have for basketball," Takao yawned as he stretched his arms over his head, "To go into a championship with no rest in between?"

Takao waited for Midorima's reply, but no such luck. Twisting his head to the right, he looked at the temperamental shooter. The former miracle stood stiffly beside him, but his eyes were trained on Seirin who merged together across the court. Following his friends gaze, Takao raised an eyebrow.

"Imamura-chan's tired, isn't she?" Takao hummed before finishing his thought, "Can't blame her though, that little bump had to hurt."

Turning his attention down to Takao, Midorima disputed his claim, "Her injuries could be dealt with in other ways."

"How cruel, Shin-chan," Takao let out a little laugh before gesturing beck to Seirin, "I thought she was your friend?"

"No," Midorima's green eyes narrowed on the sleeping manager, "She's just someone I used to acknowledge."

Picking up on the little hint of his teammate's past, Takao turned toward him, "That's not how you acted earlier~"

Midorima didn't reply to his pestering and Takao let out a small huff. Twisting back toward their future opponents, the point guard phrased his next response, "It looks like they won their game, so we'll end up facing them after all."

"I can see that," Midorima's words were spoken indifferently, "But their fate is already decided."

Raising a dubious eyebrow, Takao lifted his head up to look at Midorima's face. The sight that greeted him was pretty shocking. He'd never seen the shooter smile before and it was a bit creepy. Actually, check that, a lot creepy, but whatever he guessed. Still though, Takao chuckled and prepared himself for the next game.

Time to face Shin-chan's old friends~


Reviews:

030artastic: Awh, I'm glad to hear that! And yes, you caught the promotion! Just for that I will agree with your observation ;D sometimes in the next three chapters for sure. Thank you for your review!

Angelichallows: Don't mind the late review! Any review is a good review! I'm so happy everyone likes second string, like I know this is a canon story, but they're my favorite to write. Kisana sounds like a good ship name though! Thank you so much for your review and support! I always look forward to your long reviews!

Crystalvixen93: Thank you! Sorry for the long wait!

Feefee242: Thank you!

Crystalviolet24: Yes, shipping wars! I love it! I love reading your insightful reviews, you point out things that I haven't even noticed as an author. It's great! Thank you! And yes, Kagami and Kitano teaming up would be great. Imagine the over protectiveness? Isn't it beautiful? Again thank you for these great reviews!

Jeyamendoza: I'm glad you think they make it realistic! That was the whole goal, so I'm glad it works! I really like Iseri too though, so you aren't alone. Your review made complete sense, don't worry! I love longs reviews like that so thank you so much for sticking with me!

ADDbaby: Yes! So many brothers! So much fun! (they really are fun to write, it's great) I'm glad you appreciate her nerdiness! Yay! And yes, birdie hell is interesting. I'll see a crow flying and just be like, oh hello hana! Thank you for your hilarious reviews!

Amgs: Your welcome, I love marvelous cliché jokes too! Awh, I'm happy to hear that you laugh. That always makes me smile because I don't think I'm funny at all, but I'm so happy to hear differently! Thank you for these reviews and for sticking with me. I appreciate it so much! (I may upload a separate story with the dream sequence. I wrote it out in my free time and I have so many extra scenes I never put into the story. Soooo be on the look out!)

ArchimedesAckermann: I'M GLAD YOU LIKE IT AHHH. Makes me so happy. Oh, you ship? Yay! Thank you for another awesome review!

OneWhoReadsTooMuch: I feel bad for them too, don't worry. The ride of feelings will be a bumby run, that's for sure, but it'll be fun! Midorima's wet blanket self will hopefully dry out soon. If he cooperates with my imagination that is. Anyway, thank you for your review!

NinjaPenguinLover: Thank you! And yes, gooey eyes… fun times ahead! As for how long this will carry, originally the plan was fifty chapters. Unfortunately, I keep adding stuff and making everything longer… I really need to stop that but it's so much fun. Anyway, that's a rough estimate and yes! There will be an extra game version as soon as the main story is done. Thank you for another review!

redraspberries: I'm so happy you liked it. Thank you for your multiple reviews and for sticking with me. Thank you again! :D

TheParadoxicalOxymoron: Thank you. I'm serious, thank you so much for pointing that out. I went back and fixed it right away! (I honestly thought it was spelled correctly, so you've just saved me from future life embarrassment. Again, thank you) I'm glad you liked the chapter even with the error, I'm super happy about that. Thank you!