Well, it's certainly been a while. Classes have been insane, and I've lacked a lot of inspiration to write for a bit. However, I had some free time to sit and work on a new chapter, and it came to me rather quickly, along with some more hopefully.

I'm pretty sure I have some minor edits to do in my previous chapters, and some continuity errors to correct, but for the most part, I really just need to update more.

I cannot thank you all enough for your favorites and follows with this story. As always, any reviews are welcome. Apologies for any spelling/grammar mistakes.

Disclaimer: {I do not own Kuroko no Basuke. I only own my OCs. Quote belongs to Moncy Barbour.}

Chapter 9: May the Color Blue Guide You

"Let the blue sky meet the blue sea and all is blue for a time" – Moncy Barbour

"Don't forget; the first-string members have a game this weekend."

Yuki woke up in a cold sweat – not because of the conversation she had with Satsuki or Aomine, but because of the resulting outcome of that conversation. Satsuki was going to be away for the weekend, so Yuki was required to stand-in as the assistant manager for the first-stringers.

She was . . . well, she was ultimately nervous. Not only would she most likely be guarding Midorima's latest lucky item of the day, but she'd also have to deal with Akashi. Nothing specifically about Akashi, just Akashi in general was enough to keep Yuki in a state of trauma.

She felt she should bring Kuroko along – learning purposes and things of that nature – but the likelihood of her being anywhere near him would be next to none.

Yuki began to get ready for the day, but the state of lethargy she felt never seemed to dissipate even after a splash of water to the face and a quick breakfast. It carried all the way into school, so much so that she walked into an upperclassman and suffered the immediate embarrassment of being that kid. Akako was well-aware something was off with her friend – more so than usual – but she was busy discussing her weekend with some of the other girls in the classroom.

Placing her head onto her arm, seemingly resting, Yuki was blissfully unaware of her surroundings. That is, until she felt a light tap on her shoulder.

"Ano, Morine-san?"

Yuki found herself looking at Hirasawa Chise, someone she hadn't held a conversation with since the entrance ceremony into Teikou. She looked the same as she had then, light brown, shoulder length hair, and round spectacles. While most people seemed to be taller than Yuki, Hirasawa was much closer in height.

"Ohayoo, Hirasawa-san." Yuki nodded at her politely.

Hirasawa smiled, probably relieved that Yuki wasn't in any sort of mood. "I'm sure you're aware, but I just wanted to remind you of the fact that any of the poetry that Sensei selects from our pillow books will be compiled into a poetry book for our class."

Yuki looked at her in surprise; she must have heard it previously, but she couldn't remember for the life of her what Hirasawa was talking about. "Is that going to be part of our theme for the school festival?"

She nodded. "I'm one of the students compiling all the poems, but I realized that most of the poems so far are actually yours."

Yuki felt a blush creeping across her cheeks. She tried to focus on memoirs and short entries in her book rather than poetry, so the fact that the little poems she wrote seemed to impact her teacher made her smile. "Thank you for telling me, Hirasawa-san. I didn't realize Sensei was selecting that many from my book."

"Oh, of course, but that brings me to my main point: I was wondering if you'd be willing to read some of your poems aloud the day of the festival? Or at least help lead the workshop for working on different poems?"

She blinked, wide-eyed beyond belief at her classmate. "Me? You want me to teach other students about poetry?"

"I can think of no one better suited for it. Unless that makes you uncomfortable, Morine-san?" Hirasawa looked so enthused about volunteering Yuki for this position that Yuki felt declining would be by far the worst option.

"No, no. I would love to help with the poetry workshop. I'm just surprised that's all; I'm not really the teaching type."

"No, you're most certainly not."

Both Hirasawa and Yuki looked over at Midorima in surprise. This kind of entrance was becoming too much of a habit for him.

Naturally, Yuki ignored him.

"Midorima-san!" Hirasawa looked at him expectantly. "Do you know what you'd like to do for the festival?"

For the first time since she'd met Midorima, Yuki finally saw the boy squirm. She'd be lying if she said that she didn't feel pleased to see her fellow student experience the Hirasawa treatment. "No, not at the moment, Hirasawa-san."

That was when Yuki realized where this entire dialogue was going. She wanted out of it immediately.

The vindictive look that Hirasawa gave her.

"Excellent! Then you can help Morine-san with the poetry workshop! Some of your writings were also included in Sensei's favorites." Hirasawa was positively beaming. "Thank you both so much! I was worried when it seemed like neither of you were focused on anything for the festival."

Probably because Yuki disregarded the entire event, similarly to the way she avoided joining a club. She could also imagine Midorima avoiding any sort of social interactions like the plague.

With a final nod at her fellow classmates, Hirasawa skipped away happily on the way to her desk.

The sigh that Midorima released.

"Why is it that every moment I go near you, something unexpected happens?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

He glared at her. "I was hoping to avoid any volunteering services if I could. I already have council duties to attend to."

Yuki scoffed. "As if I wanted to teach fellow classmates on how to write haikus and tankas. You're as much of a victim in this situation as I am." She bit her lip in annoyance. Yet another thing to add to her increasingly annoying schedule. "Did you also happen to forget that we had the school festival approaching?" Holding her chin with her palm, she looked at Midorima.

He rolled his eyes, but she could tell she asked the right answer. "As if I would forget about the festival. I just happen to have a selective memory when it comes to certain school activities."

She let out a light giggle. "Okay, Specs, whatever you say."

"What did you just call me?"

Their conversation was cut short with the arrival of their teacher. Blessedly, in Yuki's opinion.

The day was full of new experiences and familiar faces in bizarre locations. Kuroko left his classroom to visit Yuki for lunch.

Not that she minded, she realized.

Of course, he scared her with his arrival, seeming to just appear in Akako's seat. "Morine-san."

She jumped in surprise, "Oh, Kuroko-san! You scared me."

A slight twitch of his lips. "Sorry, I would have expected you to be familiar with my presence at this point."

He was mocking her. Was the world ending? Even Kuroko was messing with her. "Very funny. Ha. Ha."

"I was informed that you're helping the first-string team during their game this weekend."

Yuki rolled her eyes. "You were informed? Or you overheard? There's a bit of a difference," she muttered sarcastically. As usual, her jabs were met with that deadpan look. She sighed. "Yes, I'm working in place of Momo-chan this weekend."

"Momo-chan?"

She resisted the urge to cringe. "Long story. Anyways – I was wondering if you would be interested in spectating the game. I know I'll be stuck on the bench with the coaches, but I think that this would be an enlightening experience for the both of us."

Kuroko nodded. "I was planning on going."

"Excellent. As they say, 'Two great minds think alike.' And then afterwards, we should probably practice a bit."

Another nod.

"So, why did you decide to spend your lunch with me, Kuroko-san?" Yuki was genuinely curious. She wasn't the most entertaining lunch buddy, that's for sure.

He shrugged, munching quietly on his lunch. "It just made sense. We do spend a lot of time together."

In retrospect, Yuki should have probably realized that's why Kuroko was there, but her brain wasn't working properly it seemed. "Ah, I see. Well, thank you. Usually Akako eats with me, but she's been . . . more interested in eating with other people recently." And that was the truth. She'd been seeing less and less of Akako since her forced recruitment into the basketball team. She couldn't walk back from classes with her, she seemed eternally busy on the weekends and in classes, and she was preoccupied with Mia and others.

Yuki had been shrugging it off for a few days but admitting it to Kuroko made it real. Akako was expanding her circle of relations far past her infamous 'Ice Queen' of a friend.

"Which one is your friend?"

Yuki looked over to where her friend was eating, "She's the one with fiery-red hair over there."

Kuroko nodded. "The one that was with you investigating the ghost in the gym."

She smiled at that. "You can just say that we were investigating you, Kuroko-san. No need to feign innocence. But yes, she came with me."

"She also ran away."

"Yep."

He seemed to be contemplating what to ask Yuki next. "Have you known her for a while?"

"Oh, yes. We've gone to primary school together. We used to do music lessons together as well. Akako still plays, but I've taken a break from that."

"Why?"

"Another long story."

His lips twitched again. "You seem to have a lot of those, Morine-san."

Time flies, but also passes very slowly.

Or, at least, that's how Yuki feels about how the week is moving. On the one hand, her classes, schoolwork and interactions with teachers and classmates seemed to be flying by, but on the other hand, the approaching game day seemed to be crawling – snails seemed to move at a faster pace. She wasn't sure if it was the dread she was feeling of having to deal with the different members of the basketball team, or the idea that she'd have to sit next to some of the most frightening human beings from Teiko – the basketball team's coaches themselves.

Kuroko notices these things. He doesn't tell Yuki directly, but he was well-aware of how her mood had changed throughout the week. While she was never the friendliest classmate, Yuki almost always managed to treat Kuroko well, probably because of his reserved nature.

He sees many things. He saw the way her face fell when she looked over at her friend; he saw the fear in her eyes when she mentioned the game. But there was one emotion he could never quite place no matter how often he saw it. It was never directed at him – at anything really – but it appeared often.

He saw it during their lunch together.

And he decided he would share his lunch period with her from then on in the hopes of never seeing it again.

She was running late – not fashionably either. The night before, Yuki couldn't sleep; she'd been contemplating the different ways in which the game could go, as well as the various interactions she could potentially have with the members of the first-string. Beyond the colorful group of boys in her year, the other members were less recognizable to her.

Actually, most of the basketball team was a great unknown to her. It was a large team, even though most of the players never saw the light of game day and matching a name to every face would be a bit of a stretch.

(And if she were being brutally honest, Kuroko was her favorite.)

Either way, she'd scrambled out of bed, hair in shambles, eyes dry. She'd attempted to wake up with a shower but managed to drop the bottle of shampoo on her foot, bruising it in the process.

She wanted to be awake, not broken.

Her hair refused to dry. Her uniform was more wrinkled than usual. She couldn't eat; she felt ill.

All of this nonsense over a basketball game.

Yuki wished at least that Momoi would be there. While her mannerisms were a little too energetic from time to time, Yuki felt comfortable having her as a companion on the bench. The further up along the ranks, the less pleasant individuals were on the team – not even including Akashi. And even though he was a member of the team, she couldn't even have Kuroko sit on the bench with her.

As she brushed her teeth, she pondered about her relationship with Kuroko. Yuki didn't realize she'd become so reliant on his presence, but he was a welcoming shadow – sarcasm and deadpanned looks included.

He was her friend.

It'd been so long since she'd come across making a new friend that the concept was foreign. She wasn't the best at this sort of thing; acquaintances were more her style. Yuki could see a visible blush beginning to form across her face.

Quite honestly, Momoi and Aomine were slowly moving from the acquaintance role to the friend role as well. It was a nice feeling. It still weirds her out about being a part of this "'Ki'-club" or whatever on earth Momoi called it, but the sentiment was kind.

She'd been quietly contemplating for so long that by the time she looked at her watch, Yuki knew she wasn't going to be there when the coach wanted her to be.

She'd practically sprinted over to the school.

She received quite a decent number of dirty looks after pushing past the plethora of individuals on the bus, in the streets and in front of the school.

She didn't really care at this point. There was only one look she didn't want.

And boy, was he giving her one as she approached.

"Morine Yuki."

She flinched at the tone of his voice. She was really beginning to hate the sound of her name coming out of specific people's mouths. It was starting to get tarnished.

As she began to respond, he cut her off.

"Do you have any idea what time it is? Assistant manager or not, you have a job to do as a member of this group. Even if you've never stepped foot on the court competitively, your assistance is vital for the students." Kouzou Shirogane paused, apparently attempting to calm himself. "It is vital for us faculty members as well. Go prepare some towels and water. We will continue this discussion afterwards."

He walked away, shoulders stiff, the veins in his forehead receding but still visible enough for Yuki to assume she gave the poor man a migraine. Her heart stopped and had to restart itself halfway through his admonition towards her. The fact there was eventually going to be a second part to this already rather aggressive part one of "Destroy Whatever Self-Confidence Yuki has Left" chat left Yuki in a state of panic.

The water may not fill itself, but that didn't mean Yuki attempting to fill it meant they would be filled. Clarification: the exhaustion of last night carried into the water pouring.

She was having a bad time.

She'd be lying if she said the bench wasn't the most welcoming place in the gymnasium at that point. She needed to rest and stop touching anything that could topple over. She hadn't looked at any of the team when she walked in, but she was sure there'd be a great deal of looks her way after she haphazardly prepared everything for them.

The coach wasn't on the bench yet. Probably the only good thing going her way so far. She wondered when the game was going to start officially. Was Kuroko there, watching her make a fool of herself? How many of her classmates got to enjoy her at her absolute clumsiest? And how many were going to see her receive the talking-to of a lifetime from the coach?

"Morine-san."

Yuki looked up in fright, nervous that it was going to be Kouzou Shirogane again, but was pleasantly surprised to see her bespectacled tutor watching her. "Specs. How are you doing?"

She saw a vein slowly start to pulse at the top of his head. "Stop calling me that."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Green."

"Don't call me that either," he ground out, his annoyance rather noticeable. "I came to you with something urgent."

Yuki scoffed. "As if I didn't see the small plant in your hands. Yes, yes, I'll watch over your lucky item for the day."

"How do you know if that's my request?"

"Are you telling me you have another?"

He rolled his eyes.

"Riveting. I told you I'd watch your lucky item, so just leave it here. I'm not going anywhere."

After carefully – carefully – placing the plant in Yuki's hands, Midorima watched her set it down next to her. She could feel him noting every movement. "I'm not going to break it, Green. Relax."

She could hear the frustrated sigh coming from him. "They're all very angry with you." He was looking at her, with what she could imagine to be . . . concern? Was she losing her mind, or was her tutor genuinely worried about her well-being? "Especially Kouzou-sensei."

"Figures."

"It's in your best bet to listen this time around, Morine-san." Midorima adjusted his glasses, the light dancing across the frames. "Though, I can imagine he's already spoken with you once today."

"You have an amazing imagination. That, or you could hear him scolding me from the hall." She was talking sarcastically, but this simulation of the days events was not one that she thought of the night before. Yuki was feeling the weight of the world upon her shoulders. "Does Akashi-san plan on gracing me with his presence today?"

"Again, you ask me about Akashi."

She raised her hands up in mock surrender. "Just curious. You two move in tandem."

He shrugged subtly, looking across the court to see where the redhead was. "I'm not sure you want to take on both the coach and Akashi today." With a nod, he walked back onto the court.

"I didn't want to take anyone on today," she whispered to herself.

"It's come to my attention that you've been neglecting your duties as an assistant manager, Morine-san."

She glanced over at the coach in surprise. This was the opening act for the second part. "I always go to the practices?"

He didn't like the questioning tone she took on in response. "That's not what I meant. I've been told that you've taken one of the members of the third-string under your wing but become complacent with the rest of the team." He positioned himself so that he was facing her, watching a myriad of emotions flit across Yuki's face – shock, annoyance, recognition and admittance.

"Kuroko Tetsuya. I've been working with him."

"How many of the other members' names do you know off the top of your head?"

She paled considerably. "Not many in the third-string. Although, I have gone around and taken notes on each of the students. There's just a lot of them. I've personally met more of the members in the first-string."

"You understand as to why this is an issue then."

Yuki was in disbelief that this was the conversation they were having while the first-string members went along with their match. Of all the times to talk to her about her workmanship on the team, the beginning of the game most certainly did not feel appropriate.

"I was unaware that I needed to formally acquaint myself with the entire team." Yuki couldn't listen to Midorima's advice. She was frustrated and embarrassed.

"Not the whole team, perhaps not, but showing any means of favoritism is rather unsportsmanlike. You should know better." The coach checked the scoreboard for a moment, taking everything into consideration. He didn't seem overly concerned about what was going on with his team members. "I'm going to adjust your schedule."

There it was. Another thing Yuki couldn't have predicted in her wildest dreams. "How so?"

He moved, the glare of the lights obscuring her view of his eyes. "On a weekly basis, you and Satsuki will alternate between the different strings' practices. In the same way, you will rotate between games, so that each of you receives more time in actual gameplay. You will learn everything about this team while you are here, Morine Yuki, about myself, about how I conduct the practices – how different members react to things. And if you are unable to do so, I will dismiss you myself."

She didn't even realize she'd been holding her breath until he finished speaking. Yuki felt sick to her stomach. This wasn't how this was supposed to go. Momoi was supposed to be the reliable assistant manager and Yuki, the stand-in.

"Do I make myself clear?"

Yuki nodded; all the normal, natural speech patterns were lost on her. She looked away, anywhere away from him, feeling small droplets of water pooling in the corners of her eyes. She made eye contact with Midorima, mortifyingly enough. Even if he didn't hear the conversation, Yuki was positive that the facial expressions spoke volumes more than that discussion ever could. She didn't want to ever look at Midorima again; he'd been right, so, so right, and it stung.

She wouldn't cry. She'd let the stupid tears pool, but she'd done enough today to make herself look poorly. She wouldn't cry on top of it.

Breaking away from Midorima's area of the court, Yuki saw something she knew she'd not be able to unsee for many years to come. A face that would haunt her for a good while yet. The red eyes of the devil himself, Akashi, in all his arrogant glory.

He'd told the coach.

He'd gone and breached their private deal about Kuroko and the potential first-string position.

He'd done this to get back at her.

She'd have even less time to help Kuroko grow as a basketball player.

While he got to enjoy the fruits of his efforts, Yuki was the one fighting back tears on the bench.

She wasn't going to forget this.

They won.

Of course.

Midorima had his plant returned to him.

Aomine gave her a look, but she couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes.

She didn't even want to know where Akashi was, nor would she be looking for him.

She was shaking and couldn't seem to stop. After the coach let them go for the day, Yuki collected her things and practically ran out, heading straight for the bathroom. She broke down in the stall, quiet sobs ricocheting throughout her body. She felt like heaving, but due to not eating all day, the feeling amounted to nothing but the slight taste of bile in the back of her throat.

She couldn't think properly, barely managing to remind herself to breathe in and out every few seconds.

Unaware of how much time had passed, Yuki began to calm down. She tried the best to dry her eyes, but there was no way she'd be able to conceal the puffy look they'd adopted. Had she been even the slightest bit interested in makeup, perhaps she could have used some at this moment.

She splashed some cold water on her face, dried off and ran her fingers through her hair, in the hopes of tidying it up. She was by no means decent, but at least she felt human again.

Her throat hurt. Her eyes hurt. Her stomach hurt.

Her heart hurt.

It was like she took a beating. And that hurt.

She'd never felt more alone than she did at that moment, in the quiet bathroom, staring at herself in the mirror.

Yuki slowly walked out of the bathroom, navigating through the halls towards the exit. She still felt wobbly, not from fright but from the lack of sustenance. If only she could snap her fingers and teleport home – too easy.

Nothing could be simplistic anymore. Complications led to growth. Growth led to maturity.

The halls were empty, save for a few stragglers. If only her father was here to give her a hug, or her mother to play with her hair. Some gentle reminders that she was cared for.

It'd gotten rather gray out. In all those hours she'd stayed awake, she hadn't thought to check the weather for the day. Rain seemed to be in the forecast, and Yuki didn't pack an umbrella.

She sighed. She didn't even care at this point. If she ran home looking like a wet rat, at least her parents wouldn't see how fiercely she'd been crying.

"Morine-san."

She couldn't believe it. Out of all the voices she heard today, out of all the conversations she'd had in these few hours – this voice. His voice?

Kuroko?

Her tired eyes met his bright blue ones, but she sensed something deeper swirling within them. "Kuroko-san?" Her voice sounded horrendous, strained and hoarse. She couldn't bring herself to do much of anything but try and clear her throat.

He didn't say anything to her but grabbed her wrist instead. With a slight tug, Yuki fell forward, beginning to trudge behind Kuroko in a trance.

It felt nice. Not the tugging like a dog on a leash, but the feel of his hand on her wrist. It felt calm. Like Kuroko himself. She didn't have it in her to blush, but she knew she should probably feel a bit embarrassed by his change in behavior.

It was a good feeling to have someone else lead for once. To let her follow.

He got her a milkshake. Vanilla.

She hated vanilla. But the sentiment was so kind, she took the milkshake in stride.

Honestly, she felt like crying, but if Kuroko saw her sobbing into her milkshake . . . She'd really feel bad.

"Thank you," Yuki paused, hoping that she sounded sincere. "Seriously, thank you, for – for being there. I didn't really know what to do otherwise."

Kuroko didn't say anything. That look was back in her eyes, the one that bothered him.

"What did he say to you?"

She didn't want to tell him. But then she did. She wanted to say everything to this boy – this quiet, deadpan, bizarre, kindhearted child. And then she wanted to erase it all, so that he'd have nothing to remember her by. There was too much in her heart, on her mind.

"You were crying."

Yuki sighed. "I can't put anything past you." A shaky breath. "I cried, yes."

"I saw him speak to you. You looked disturbed."

"You were supposed to be watching the game, Kuroko-san. Not me." It came off more biting than she hoped. He just wouldn't stop looking at her. Those blue pools offered no reprieve, no solitude. They stared right into the very center of her soul.

"I was."

The air was tense. Yuki's fault. She couldn't get her breathing to relax. "A-and your thoughts?"

"That whatever the coach told you hurt you."

She closed her eyes. "About the game, please." It was so soft; she was surprised Kuroko even heard it.

"They played well."

She exhaled. "I thought so, too."

"Morine-san, what – "

Yuki cut him off, standing up abruptly. "I-I'm sorry. I should start heading home, Kuroko-san." She attempted a smile but knew she couldn't even pull off a grimace. "I'll return the favor another time."

She ran out without looking back.

He didn't follow her.

Momoi called her.

She hadn't had someone attempt to reach her over the phone in a good few months, seeing as she and Akako used to do things together after school, so there was no need to phone often.

Yuki didn't want to speak with her after everything that had happened before, during and after the game, but Momoi was being kind.

"Momo-chan."

"Oh, Kiki-chan! I am so so sorry!" Momoi practically screamed through the phone at her. "I had no idea that coach was going to be so mean to you. Dai-chan told me all about it."

"Oh? I didn't realize he was so up on everything that happened." Yuki twirled the cord of the phone around her index finger. "It's okay, really. I was late that day and deserved it."

She could hear the exasperation in Momoi's tone. "What? No, no, you definitely didn't!" She imagined Momoi with a pout and smirked a bit. Momoi was undeniably a very expressive human being.

"And how did you get my number, by the way?"

"Oh, I have my ways, Kiki-chan! I needed to talk to you." Yuki rolled her eyes. These ways she spoke of freaked her out.

"How come?"

"Well, I was wondering if you'd like to hang out with Dai-chan and me today?"

Ah, yes, the group Yuki'd been initiated into was going to be doing things together. It was actually happening. Yuki was by all means available, but absolutely wanted nothing to do with the bubbly girl today. "Actually –"

"Before you say, 'No,' I wanted to say that I think it would good for you to do something fun after your bad day yesterday. Please, please, please, Kiki-chan! I beg!"

Yuki really had to stop rolling her eyes. They were going to get stuck one of these days and then she was going to seriously regret ever moving her eyes like that. "Fine. Stop begging."

She was tackled.

No, seriously. Momoi ran into Yuki so hard, she fell to the ground. She was anything but gentle when it came to giving Yuki a hug. (And boy, was she going to feel the after-effects of that hug – the bruises – for a while yet to come.)

"Oi, Satsuki, you're going to kill her if you don't get off of her."

"Oh, Dai-chan! I could never kill Kiki-chan! I would never forgive myself if that happened."

"Then get off of her."

Momoi shot up off the ground and held her hand out for Yuki to grab.

"Next time, warn me before you do that, okay, Momo-chan?" Yuki was holding a part of her back, visibly in pain.

Momoi kept smiling as though she had no idea what just happened. "We are going to have so much fun today shopping!" She gave a little bounce before skipping away from the two of them.

Yuki rolled her eyes at the same moment that Aomine grumbled out an, "How does she always have so much energy?" The two looked at each other and smirked, before Yuki looked away in embarrassment. Even thought she barely talked to Aomine, she knew he witnessed her interactions with the coach.

They followed after Momoi in an awkward silence.

It must have bothered Aomine more than he let on. He let of an aggravated sigh and looked over at Yuki.

"What?"

"Coach really let you have it yesterday."

She blushed a bit. "No kidding."

He put his arms behind his head. "I wouldn't let it get to ya. He's like that with everyone."

"Not Akashi."

He looked down at her. "Who cares about Akashi? We're talking about you here, or are ya deaf, too?"

Yuki looked away. "Please. I'm just clarifying there's a difference in treatment if you happen to be a red-headed menace."

Aomine whistled, a smirk across his face. "You really don't like him, huh?"

"He's fallen out of favor with me."

"'He's fallen out of favor with me.' Seriously? Who says that?" Aomine teased her.

"I do."

They went back to walking in silence. Momoi was really out there on a mission, wherever she was going. Yuki was so unmotivated to catch up with her, but she also didn't really want to walk and talk with the one and only Aomine either.

"You ever handle that ghost problem in the gym? I've been trying to practice in there, but I keep hearing those noises."

Yuki started laughing.

He looked at her, annoyed. "What's so funny? I'm asking a serious question here."

"There's no ghost, dummy." She kept chuckling.

"Well, then, why do I keep hearing these weird noises, huh?"

She smirked at him. "I can tell you haven't gone in there after you hear the noises because if you did, you'd realize that it's just a fellow basketball player, Blue."

He looked at her like she'd grown another head. However, it gave Yuki a brilliant idea.

"Wait a second, you've been trying to practice after classes and everything right?"

"I just said that."

"Exactly! Well, so does Kuroko-san. And with my newfound duties, I'm going to have less time to work with him."

Aomine wasn't following.

"You can practice with Kuroko! When I'm not available, you can work with him!" Yuki was practically beaming; she was so pleased with her idea.

"Ha? You want me to work with some ghost and play basketball?"

Yuki smacked his arm jokingly. "Oh, would you stop! He's not a ghost! He's a real person!"

"You're really taking advantage of my fears here."

She wanted to hit him again. "After the next practice, when the gym clears out, you and I are going to the third-string gym and you're going to meet Kuroko-san. Okay? Okay. Good."

The rest of the walk, all Yuki could think about was the fact that someone so big was actually so deathly afraid of something.

Ridiculous.

Entry #3: Blue

And it is in blue

That I find myself so lost

The sea of your eyes