(0_0)/ Wow! I'm actually turning out to be pretty consistent! Anyway, I tried to incorporate different points of view in this chapter. I had a lot of trouble writing this, so I'm sorry if it isn't that great. Please let me know what you think!

July, 2008

A month into first string practices led to incredible growth for Shouyou. It didn't take long for the regulars on the first string to notice the inhuman amount of stamina that the boy possessed, nor did it take long for Akashi and the coaches to find ways for Shouyou to further improve this stamina alongside his regular basketball training. It was only a month into practices that the first string regulars truly learned of the things Shouyou could do.

At the end of practices, the coaches left the gym in the hands of the members of the basketball team. Unsurprisingly, this time after the coaches went home was spent on improving each person's skills through independent practice. Midorima would practice his three-pointers, Aomine would work on his drives, Murasakibara was often dragged in to help Aomine, while Akashi spent this time to help Kuroko develop his own style. That was the usual for the first string. However, Shouyou did something different every day.

The first time Shouyou stayed after practice to get some individual training in, he worked on driving and dunking with Aomine, going against Murasakibara more than once. Often, the two could be seen playing one-on-one. Murasakibara really liked it when this happened, as he could avoid participating when Hinata occupied Aomine. It didn't last forever though, and Hinata's goals were different in the second week. That week, Shouyou practiced defense. This was still done one-on-one with Aomine, while asking Murasakibara for help often. Each week, Shouyou improved drastically, and even won against Aomine a few times. A couple times. Once.

Yet it wasn't until the third and fourth weeks after Shouyou and Kuroko joined that the regulars learned of Shouyou's true ability. During those weeks, Shouyou seemed to focus primarily on three-pointers. He'd seen Midorima do them during practice and thought that they were so cool! The arc went up like "fwoosh!" and the ball went into the net every time! Shouyou wanted to do that too, so he began practicing three-point shots. To be specific, he only practiced three-pointers the way Midorima did. With the high arc and everything. After all, who better to imitate than the three-pointer god himself?

It got to the point where Akashi couldn't deny that Hinata could easily pass as a shooting guard for a normal basketball team. But Teiko's wasn't a normal team, was it? So Hinata kept pushing himself farther, working harder to try and copy Midorima.

It wasn't easy. After all the time he spent trying to perfect those three-point shots, Shouyou could only do it once. And it was after everyone went home too! Nobody was even there for him to celebrate with! How upsetting…

~(0_0)~

Akashi was perplexed. Hinata had advanced at an incredible rate. It seemed as though he carried something from everyone else in him. He was completely unpredictable and reacted purely on instinct. He was good at three point shots, and observed his opponents' body language wonderfully. He was fast and agile, and the apex height of his jump was higher than Murasakibara's height. He was the definition of an all-rounder. He just needed experience.

Come to think of it, Hinata's abilities when it came to basketball could fall into the same category as Haizaki's abilities. Technically, he could copy the moves of the other players. Of course, he had to practice the moves a bit and couldn't copy them immediately after seeing them, but Hinata learned quickly enough for his ability to be a kind of copy. And, due to his increased stamina and jumping ability that placed him far above everyone else on the first string (physically, at least), Hinata was able to make certain moves and playing styles his own, rather than just copying them. Sure, Haizaki could do the same thing, just in a more devastating way.

Akashi sighed thoughtfully. If Hinata could just copy things quicker, then he could replace Haizaki. That would be a big relief for everyone on the first string, for sure.

Then there was Kuroko. Kuroko's abilities were finally perfected halfway through a practice game. With the ability to directly control the pathing of the ball without drawing an obscene amount of defenders, there would be no way that the opposing team could steal the ball. If only it worked for the whole game…. But it didn't matter, because by the end of the summer, Shouyou and Kuroko were thrust into multiple practice games and a couple official games.

September, 2008

It still stung whenever Shouyou thought about how close Kuroko and Aomine became. Call it jealousy, because whatever it was had been very uncomfortable. So, Shouyou started spending more time around Midorima and Akashi since they were all in the same class.

The three boys would study together, mostly. Hinata became more confident in studying on his own, which gave his tutor some time off for a change. An additional plus was that Midorima and Akashi seemed to actually enjoy Hinata's company. He was a breath of fresh air, spreading positivity to his classmates with every smile. It was because of his friendship with Akashi and Midorima that Shouyou was dragged along to the after-practice hangouts with the other regulars.

~(0_0)~

Kise Ryouta was standing in front of Kuroko, wondering why in the hell Kuroko was going to mentor him. He had asked around. Nobody would tell him (although Hinata seemed like he was, up until he got sidetracked by something else).

Hinata was a mystery as well. He was short, but didn't seem to be lacking at all. The kid could seriously jump. Kise also took note of how alike his abilities aligned with Hinata's. While he could copy anything as soon as he saw it, Hinata could copy things after practice. In addition to this, Hinata was able to adopt certain moves and recreate them in a style that was more advantageous for him. It seemed as though what Kise lacked, Hinata made up for. And it went both ways. What Hinata lacked, Kise made up for. Scary.

November, 2008

The Middle School's Basketball Championship was in full swing. Teiko's basketball club kept winning, and winning, and winning. And it was driving Aomine insane. He was losing his passion. What point was there in trying so hard if you won anyway? If nobody would fight back?

So, he stopped trying.

Aomine stopped showing up to practices. This spurred Murasakibara into ditching as well. Akashi changed for the worse not soon after.

Shouyou's friends started leaving him one by one. Off to do their own things. He was alone again, just like when Aomine started practicing in the third string gym. He didn't talk to Midorima or Akashi anymore. No more study sessions, no more hanging out after practice for snacks. Nothing. Kuroko tried his hardest to keep everyone together, to convince them that they needed teamwork to succeed. But he failed.

And through this all, Shouyou could only think one thing:

He should've gone to Shiratorizawa.

~(0_0)~

Mrs. Hinata didn't know what to do. The last time she was transferred, Shouyou and Natsu were very upset at the prospect of leaving their friends. However, Shouyou hadn't talked about his friends in a while, so Mrs. Hinata didn't really know how he would react to the news.

The fact that something was wrong with her son was very apparent. He was more subdued, spending less time practicing basketball and instead favoring his old volleyball. That was something she couldn't wrap her head around either. Why was her son playing basketball in the first place, when he was so focused on volleyball?

Not that she didn't support him. Shouyou was her baby. She'd do anything to keep him happy. If that meant transferring him to a middle school close to their new house in Miyagi, rather than letting him stay in Teiko's dorms, then she was more than happy to do it.

"Mom, I'm home!"

Perfect timing. "Shouyou, can I talk to you for a minute?"

December, 2008

Mrs. Hinata had been forced to move her family back to Miyagi in December. Unfortunately, this meant that Shouyou had to finish his second year at Yukigaoka Middle School. Great. Another school that didn't have a volleyball team. He had wanted to go to Shiratorizawa, but some complications arose.

Shiratorizawa had offered him a full scholarship for his third year, but only if he played on their basketball team. Since Shouyou decided to quit basketball altogether, he declined. And, while he could've gotten into Shiratorizawa based on his academic records, his family would have to pay for it themselves. While his family could get by, Shouyou didn't want to stress his mom out after the move. So he went to a cheaper school. Yukigaoka.

~(0_0)~

Kuroko found his Christmas present from Shouyou sitting on his desk after a bathroom break before his last class. Attached was a phone number and a note that read 'Please don't share this number. Even if they ask.'

Word Count: 1493

(0_0)/ There it is! This was sooooooo hard, let me tell ya. As always, I would love to hear what you think of this chapter! Please leave a comment!