So it's been a while. I noticed that I get back into fanfiction during the summers when I'm not stressing about school. I'm publishing this legit on my last day of exams so yipee! And yes to mei-or-may, I'm borrowing the characters from KnB because why not lol

A/N: Takeshi isn't worthless and neither is Enta.

Enta spent much of his Thursdays playing basketball with Hiro and the others. Despite being in a wheelchair playing with abled children, they could have fun and challenging 2v2 games without much difficulty after Hiro implemented new rules to make it work. Sometime during one of their practices, Hiro introduced Enta to Paralympics where if he wanted to pursue basketball, he could train to be eligible to enter. Hiro then gave him a list of relevant community teams and university teams when he got older.

Enta didn't want to admit it but he seriously considered it. He had come to regard Daiki, Ryota, Tetsuya, and Hiro as his best friends. He wanted to keep doing what connected them in the first place though he would never ever tell that to them.

Years passed and soon they were going to be middle school students. It was about time they said goodbye to one another.

"I have to stay in Namimori. I'll be going to Namimori Middle." Enta said simply.

"But Enta, you're great at basketball! You should join us at our middle school." Ryota exclaimed.

"They don't really have accommodations for people like me." Enta said as a matter of fact without any resentment as he used to have when he was in elementary

"So what? You're a way better player than most people who can walk anyway!" Daiki replied.

This was getting annoying. They've had this conversation many times already. Though Enta felt oddly happy that they wanted him to join them at their middle school, he was set in his decision to stay in Namimori.

"You say all of this but remember that I'm staying in Namimori as well," Hiro said to the three abled pre-teens. They turned to him in surprise.

Hiro blinked at them in confusion before laughing, "Haha! I'm an old man, remember? Moving to Tokyo at this age is too much work. Besides, Namimori is my home."

As he said this, Enta saw a flash of a fond but melancholic smile before it faded back into Hiro's goofy grin. In some odd way, Enta understood what that smile meant although he wouldn't be able to describe or explain why. While Namimori Middle had better accessibility, that wasn't the main reason why he wanted to stay. He couldn't get himself to leave; there was something special about Namimori, something that was anchoring him in the town.

"But Hiro-jii…!"

"Also!" Hiro knelt down and swung a heavy arm around Enta, "Enta-kun here will be lonely if I leave. Right?"

"Like hell, I would!" Enta snapped.

"There's really no way we can convince you two to move to Tokyo with us?" Tetsuya asked in his usual monotone voice though everyone could tell he was disappointed.

"Don't look like that, Tetsu. I know your middle school has a good team. We'll watch your games when we are able." Hiro said as he ruffled Tetsuya's hair.

"Tch! Both of you are so stubborn." Daiki said.

"Like you're one to talk." Enta retorted with a condescending smirk.

"What was that, punk?"

"Here we go…" Ryota said with an exasperated smile.

"Oh please don't take that tone. You're more stubborn than all of us here combined. Even more than Tetsu!"

Tetsuya's brow twitched but didn't comment.

After Enta finished his little argument with Daiki, they all opted to play their last game of basketball. With his three friends preparing to move and their schools preparing for their elementary graduation, none of them had the time to meet up right before Tetsuya, Ryota and Daiki leave for Tokyo.

They played longer than usual and Enta cherished every single moment and second. He wouldn't admit it out loud but he was going to miss them. He wanted to ignore the slight pang of loneliness that he was feeling but he couldn't. He was concerned about his middle school life. If elementary kids were intolerable, so much more were pre-teenagers. He knew he would be the target of taunts and bullying again from brats in middle school. Of course, he wasn't going to just take any bullshit. He would send hell their way if they ever had any intention of hurting him. However, that meant he was going to have to fight back and that didn't end up so well for his social life. Not that he minded, he didn't need a lot of friends. He just needed real ones like Ryota, Tetsuya, and Hiro-jii.

"Get ready to be pummeled Enta!"

And sure, Daiki.

After their game, they said their final goodbyes with Tetsuya and Ryota shedding some tears.

"I'm going to miss you!" Ryota cried out as he jumped onto Enta to hug him. He slightly panicked when he felt the wheelchair tilt slightly backward.

"Hey, hey, hey! We're gonna fall!"

"Don't worry Enta, I got you," Hiro said as he stabilized them from behind.

"Stop rubbing your tears onto my face, Ryota! It's disgusting!"

"Ah! I'll miss your harsh words too! Don't you dare forget about me! Actually, I won't let you! I'll send you magazines with me on the front cover from my modeling job!"

"I don't want it! You can keep your playboy magazines to yourself!"

Ryota then was pulled away from Enta much to his relief only to be replaced by another body who gave him a quick hug which he didn't mind as much.

"We'll miss you guys. I think we'll all be a lot busier with school but I hope to see you guys when you watch our games."

"You bet!" Replied Hiro while Enta nodded.

"... By the way, thanks Tetsu."

"Hm? What for?"

"Just uh…" Enta turned away and thanked the night in hiding his embarrassment, "Thanks. You're the one who got me into basketball."

Tetsuya blinked before smiling, "No problem. We're glad to have been friends and play basketball with you. Daiki-kun was especially happy."

"No, I was not!"

"Done crying?" Ryota teased as he peered closer at Daiki's face.

"I was not crying! Tch." Tetsuya looked at him and chuckled before turning back to Enta.

"... Especially since he finally found an equal that could respond well to his banter," Tetsuya added.

"Just shut up Tetsu! Oi, Enta. If you quit basketball, I'll personally run over from Tokyo and knock some sense into you."

Enta scoffed, "Like you'll be able to do that."

"I sure can! Wanna try it out right now?!"

"Bring it on."

"Alright, alright! That's enough." Hiro finally said while clapping his hands, "It's getting late and you all have to head home. I'll walk with Enta tonight."

After a few more minutes of goodbyes, the three of them finally head home. Enta knew that Hiro had the opportunity to see them off one last time before they leave but Enta has a doctor's appointment that day so he wouldn't be able to join them. This night was the last night he was going to see them before they would enter middle school.

Hiro wheeled Enta back and they took their time in silence. At Enta's gate, Hiro turned to him.

"I know you're not as open to joining a local youth paralympic team yet since Namimori Middle doesn't have an available basketball team for you but if you're ever interested, there's a sports program for disabled children. They do different sports on different days but you can volunteer for just their basketball program."

Enta looked at Hiro in confusion before crossing his arms, "You know, I'll just scare the kids right?"

Hiro laughed, "You do have a nasty look in your eye."

'At least deny it even a little bit.' Enta thought annoyingly.

"But I know you have a gentle heart, the kids will love you."

"... I'll think about it."

Hiro nodded in approval. Just at that moment, a shooting star appeared above them.

"Oh, it's a UMA!" Hiro said.

"A what?"

"A UMA! You don't know what a UMA is? I think it stands for 'Unidentified Mysterious Animal.' It's like an alien you see"

"Where on earth did you get that stupid idea? Aliens don't exist."

"A friend from long ago always talked about them. We used to be best friends although he would always deny it. He was always rather aggressive, kinda like-" Hiro paused as he turned to look at Enta. His eyes widened as he stared at him.

"Wha-what is it?"

"You're full Japanese right?" He asked. Immediately, Enta knew why he was asking.

"Is it my eyes? Yeah, they're green but I'm full Japanese," he replied. Many curious people have asked him about his green eyes. His parents didn't know why they were green since they were both full Japanese. They've checked and Enta was for sure their biological son. At this, Hiro laughed aloud.

"I never noticed them before!" Hiro grinned as he ruffled Enta's hair.

"Hey stop that!" Hiro's smile grew.

"I miss this," Hiro whispered to himself before kneeling down to give Enta a hug.


"You better not fall."

Takeshi gave Hayato a grin before sitting at the edge of the Namimori Middle School building. It was a hot summer weekend; there was barely anybody in the school.

"I got both my arms to keep me here. I think I'm good." He replied. Hayato sighed before sitting in the space beside him.

"..."

"It's been a couple of years huh."

"Seven years and a half, but who's counting,"

"Haha! Is that so? Man, time flies by quickly."

"A little too quickly. It feels like yesterday for me when the Te- Tsuna told us about his decision."

"I still wonder whether or not that was the right thing to do." Takeshi held up a hand and ignited a small Rain Flame.

"I don't doubt that it was the right thing. Tsuna did what he had to do. It's Tsuna after all."

Takeshi's eyes widened slightly in surprise. His companion quirked an eyebrow at him.

"What? I'm not saying that I wanted him to die. You remember how furious I was."

"Yeah. You and Tsuna got into some heated arguments."

"And that's wasted time I will never get back… Tsuna shouldn't have had to deal with me, especially with Kyoya and Mukuro lashing out every chance they got." Hayato whispered regretfully.

"We all have our own way of coping with things and unfortunately, some tendencies are hard to get rid of. You and Kyoya particularly had a bad temper. I withdrew and fell back into a depressive state. Tsuna had to deal with that too."

"Takeshi did you…"

"Oh no. I vowed to myself on this rooftop when Tsuna saved me that I wouldn't try that ever again." Takeshi gave him a reassuring grin.

He continued as he looked up at the sky, "Yet Tsuna embraced all of it. Our anger. Our pain. Our hurt. He didn't reject them. Welcomed it. Hell, he even pulled it out of people when he knew they were holding back. He sure did that to me. It just makes me wonder, though, if it was all too heavy on him."

Hayato scoffed, "Of course, it was, you idiot."

"Thought so. It's a wonder why he still had such scrawny shoulders after carrying so much." Takeshi laughed while his companion rolled his eyes at him.

They sat there enjoying the warm breeze and looking out into the city. They felt at peace being under a clear sky that was always there much like their best friend.

"Hey, Hayato."

"Hm?"

"Wanna play basketball?" Hayato then turned to him with a raised eyebrow from the corner of his eye.

"Not baseball?"

"I can see some kids playing basketball from here. Maybe they'll let us play with them."

"I don't think so. You don't know how to hold back when it comes to sports."

"Hey, I've gotten better! I should be able to coach kids' sports now! Namimori Elementary might need some help."

"Yeah, yeah." Hayato gave a dismissive wave. However, he didn't bother holding back the small hints of a fond smile forming on his lips.


"I'm coaching kids basketball now, Hayato. See? I told you." Hiro said to Enta, much to his confusion.

"What? Who are you talking about now?! Hiro-jii, you're freaking me out, and let me go!" Enta exclaimed in annoyance but Hiro didn't budge. Instead, Hiro continued to just laugh. For Enta, it was the happiest he'd ever heard it even though he knew Hiro was generally a happy man.

'I don't have Tsuna's intuition but I know that this is Hayato. Haha, how come I never noticed it before?' Hiro thought to himself. Remembering how Tsuna passed away and living the rest of their still young past lives without him, Hiro couldn't stop the tears from flowing. Enta stopped resisting when he felt his shoulder wet.

"H-Hiro-jii?"

Hiro didn't reply however it wasn't long before he straightened himself and stood back up with his signature grin. His eyes were watery but at least clear of any tears.

"I'll see you around, Enta." Hiro said before turning away with a big wave.

"Huh…"


"I don't know what to do!"

Enta and Hiro stared in disbelief at the crying Tetsuya. They were sitting in a cafe by a window. So much has happened in the past few months at his middle school. As Tetsuya told them about the events at his current basketball team, Enta felt himself burning in rage at Ryota and Daiki, and all of Tetsuya's other teammates.

"Ryota-kun and Daiki-kun have both changed. They've lost their passion for basketball."

"Calm down Tetsuya." Hiro urged him to take deep breaths, breathing with Tetsuya until he stopped sobbing. Enta couldn't help but notice when Hiro took sharper inhales with a subtle wheeze accompanying each breath. With a quiet hiccup from Tetsuya, Enta turned his attention back to the matter at hand.

"That's better," Hiro said with a weak smile. "Now, what doesn't make sense is that you say they're still on the basketball team."

"They have no sportsmanship!" Tetsuya hissed out quietly, "They… They play around on the court with no respect for the other team whatsoever. They talk down on them."

"Daiki-kun… There was one thing he said that I can't forgive him for. It was so dismissive and he didn't even think twice before saying it." Tetsuya growled. The two Namimori residents didn't know what to make of the angry teen who normally didn't show intense expressions. Both of them noticed his normally sky blue eyes turn dark orange-red in colour only for a brief moment.

"He said… He said… I'm so sorry Enta. On behalf of Daiki-kun, I'm so sorry."

"You don't have to say it if you don't want to." Hiro said after a cough. Enta frowned and turned back to Tetsuya.

"What did he say?"

"He said this to a player who fell on an ankle break by our captain. H-he said… 'If you can't even use your legs, you're worthless.'" Tetsuya struggled as he said these words.

Enta felt a pang of pain. He was used to remarks like this. But to hear those words relayed by Tetsuya, it was like he was betrayed. He gripped his fists so tightly that they turned white. It took most of his self-control to not lash out because Tetsuya shouldn't be his target. He'd rather Daiki say those words to his face and then Enta could throw a fist at him. With or without the use of his legs, he could show that bastard he didn't need his legs to fight. Yeah for that, he wished Daiki were here.

And maybe tell Enta that he didn't mean it.

"Enta-kun…"

Hiro placed a hand on Enta's shoulder and attempted a firm squeeze to reassure him. The young teen didn't even notice that he had tensed up quite considerably. He looked up and almost gasped in fear at Hiro's expression. His light brown eyes narrowed that reminded Enta of the hitmen in the movies he watched. Hiro was deeply angry but it seemed well-controlled. It was like if Hiro wanted to, he could act upon his anger with a clear head and control its degree of intensity. The possibility of that was terrifying.

"H-Hiro-jii…?" Both teens called out. Hiro shook his head and took a breath in. Another shallow breath, Enta noted.

"Daiki should not have said that. But before anything else, Enta."

Enta couldn't look away from his stern and almost desperate eyes.

"I know you're mature enough to know this but I want to say this nonetheless. You are not worthless in any capacity. Even if you can't use your legs, you have something to contribute to not only basketball or sports but also the bigger world out there. Don't let your legs or even a broken arm make you think otherwise or think that the basketball gods have abandoned you." He said with a weak chuckle.

Hiro's eyes glazed over as the anger in his eyes dissipated. He turned to the window and up to the cloudy sky with a sad smile. It looked like it was going to rain. He turned back to the two teens who looked at him with worry.

"Haha, sorry for the shift. It hit a personal nerve. I… I almost lost someone when I was around your age who thought they were worthless because of a broken arm. If it wasn't for a friend who made him realize that everything wasn't so hopeless and that he was loved, he would have… I-I would have…"

He trailed off, not needing to elaborate further. Enta found himself getting curious about his story. He wondered if those people were still around. The way Hiro spoke about them was fond, calm, and gentle, almost different from how he normally spoke which was always cheerful and energetic. Before he could ask any further, Hiro shifted his attention back to Tetsuya.

"Anyway, Tetsuya. Now that you've calmed down, let's ta-"

Suddenly, he broke into a cold sweat and started shivering. His eyes were wide as he started gasping for breaths. He gripped the edge of the table and attempted to stand. Not even a single step forward, he collapsed to the ground.

"Hiro-jii?!"

.

.

.

Well then. That concludes the story of Enta and Hiro. Don't worry we'll see them again at some point, (sorta *ehem*) but we need to go back to the current timeline. Now if you remember what happened last time in the current timeline something happened to our dear Thera. Here's a preview! Can you guess who might Thera be, hmm? I don't know if anybody has caught on to my hints. But I use two things to distinguish/identify/(deceive) who people might be :D

Preview of next chapter:

"Hibari Kyoya and Rokudo Mukuro."

"Kufufufu... Now, this was something I didn't expect."

"Are you feeling okay now?" Asked Lass as she looked up at Thera with worried eyes. She turned to her daughter, her red eyes softening.

"Yeah. I'm good."

"Yup." Dia nodded to herself with a snicker after witnessing their adorable interaction, "Did not expect this at all."

Dia was then met with a raccoon tail thrown to her face.

Review please? :)