Edited on 09.15.17
Ghostly Contact
After the intense meeting with the captain of the Generation of Miracles, Hana tried to stop worrying about it. She hardly saw them and she didn't share any classes with the first-string team, so the only time they might run into each other would be on the odd chance their practices overlapped. So far she'd been lucky and everything continued to run its course smoothly.
The relatively calm week passed quickly. Working with Futabatei took up most of her free time and when she wasn't helping her captain, she was swamped with homework. All in all, the week was normal and devoid of any obnoxiously colored hair. Of course, everything changed the next Saturday.
Although Hana didn't particularly like first-string, she still went to all their games. By this point, it was a habit despite knowing the probable outcome. The games were a great chance to gather information on different players and it helped her see what the team needed to work on. Normally, Uoya or Futabatei would come with her, but today both teens declined her invitation.
So, this Saturday she was heading out to the stadium alone.
As she walked to Teiko, her stomach twisted into apprehensive knots. This game was giving her bad feelings, something which she dutifully tried to ignore with each advancing step. Upon reaching her destination, Hana took in the sight. The school was lit up and part of the crowd overflowed into the outdoor courtyard. One green eye twitched as she observed. This was a pretty standard audience for a game, a fact which annoyed her to the core. The first-string games brought in at least a seventy-five percent higher turnout while her team's games struggled to fill up half the bleachers.
The electric billboard at the front of the schoolyard announced the game, Teiko Junior High vs Shoei Junior High. Pausing at the sign, she furrowed her brow and tried to remember the players for the opposing team. Her stomach clenched again. The name stuck out to her, they were 4th in the country, yet she couldn't put a face on the title. Shrugging it off, Hana began to walk to the front entrance with a mental reminder to check her binder for more information.
When she got inside, she realized how packed the stadium truly was. People milled about in waves under the bright lights. As they settled, she noted the lack of seating. The only rows available were located at the highest levels. Hana was more than happy with this arrangement; she didn't want to bring any more attention to herself than necessary. Scanning the closest row, she looked for the best seat. There were two squealing girls at the far left side and an elderly man at the right. That choice didn't take too long and old man it was. You know, since she preferred to not go deaf at 13.
The game started soon after she sat down, hardly giving her any time to settle. As minutes ticked down, she winced. If Hana thought facing off against the Miracles was brutal, watching them play was even worse. Their combined force was simultaneously amazing and downright terrible. Analyzing the playstyle closely, she noted it was like each individual played their own game. Only a few seemed to even try.
Turning her eyes away from her classmates and examining the other team, she watched the tall brunette from Shoei guarding Murasakibara. He looked tired, but he refused to give up even with his team's low score. Unlike his fellow teammates, the brunette kept going strong. Hana's lip pulled up a tick. She tried to remember his name, but she only knew that because of the 4 on his jersey number that he was captain.
Biting her lip back into her mouth, she reached into her bag and pulled out the red binder before throwing it open. Fingers flying through the tattered pages, she flipped to Shoei's section and scanned for the captain's name. Kiyoshi Teppei.
After finishing her quick search, Hana returned her attention to the now named Kiyoshi. In the time she'd glanced away, something sharp had grown over the court. It looked like Kiyoshi was speaking with Murasakibara, but both boys didn't appear too happy. Kiyoshi's frown deepened after the conversation ended. It didn't take Hana long to figure out why when Murasakibara's foot slapped into the court and the center upped his pace. It left Kiyoshi in the dust and the Shoei captain struggled to keep up as his legs twitched from exertion. Hana twisted her focus away.
The whole event was excruciating to watch and the rest of the game continued in the same way. Ten minutes later, Shoei lost their speed and all the players looked exhausted, especially Kiyoshi. The fourth quarter had a few more seconds left when Murasakibara turned to Kiyoshi again. Watching the two boys, Hana could only assume they were speaking, but she couldn't tell what was said between them. When Murasakibara turned away, the buzzer went off and his legs finally giving out, Kiyoshi dropped to the floor underneath the goal.
She couldn't stop the press of guilt at the sight of the final score. 148-51.
"That's one monster of a team," the old man spoke up for the first time. With a start, Hana looked over at him and chuckled humorlessly.
"Yeah, definitely monsters."
Fifteen minutes later and everyone was filing out of the gym, but Hana waited a few minutes before following the crowd. The unfamiliar press of people had never been very comfortable. Waiting for the last trickle to go through and scrunching her nose up, she stepped through the double doors.
The sky was dark now and the clouds had begun to drizzle. Cursing inwardly as the droplets clung to her hair, Hana pulled her hood above her head and prepared for the miserable walk home. Her tennis shoes squelched against the concrete with each saturated step. Moving off the sidewalk and onto the grass, she spotted a hunched over figure under one of the many trees. A tiny squeal escaped, but she ignored the terror to focus on Shoei's captain.
He looked absolutely miserable. Kiyoshi's head was buried into his arms and his knees were pulled up to his face. Again, Hana felt the annoying sensation of guilt. It wasn't her problem to intervene in, but the guy looked so defeated and technically it was her school's fault. Still, not her problem. With that, Hana moved on and left the boy to his misery. She'd only walked a few steps when suddenly she turned on her heel and marched toward him. Clearing her throat, Hana waited as the tall boy looked up at her with a distant expression. She wasn't sure what to do, but her guilty conscious was unrelenting.
"Look, I don't know you," She ran a hand over her face. That was terrible, "But I know losing hurts... and I guess what I'm trying to say is, you can't give up on what you love because you lost."
Honestly, that sounded much better in her head. As the silence stretched, she coughed and smiled awkwardly at the boy before getting ready to leave.
"Thanks," Kiyoshi's voice was so soft she barely heard him, but he responded so that had to be a good sign.
"You're welcome, uhm, you should probably find your team though… I'm sure they're handling this about as bad as you are," she backtracked quickly, "I didn't mean it like that! Damn, I'm terrible at this…"
His chuckling caught her off guard, "Yeah. I should probably go do that. Thanks… what's your name?"
Probably should have mentioned that first. A blush crawled up her neck, "Ah, Imamura Hana."
"Well, then thank you Imamura-san," after crawling to his feet, the elder boy hummed and lightly bowed his head, "Kiyoshi Teppei."
"Nice to meet you Kiyoshi-san, and really, there's no need to thank me," Hana rubbed the back of her head, "No one deserves to feel like that, you know?"
"That's right. Well I better go find my team and cheer them up," he sent her a tiny smile and she looked away in embarrassment. He chuckled again before offering his final good-bye and leaving.
As soon as he was out of hearing range, Hana let out a heavy sigh. That was a lot of work! Her guilty conscious definitely felt better, but she had no idea how some people could do that for a living. It was exhausting. She glanced at the spot Kiyoshi vacated and debated on sitting down to release the sudden tiredness. Making up her mind, Hana was about to relax into the damp grass when a voice spoke out. She would've liked to say she didn't jump a mile high, but that would be a bold-faced lie.
"That was very kind of you."
"Ah!" She flung her bag at the intruder, but they casually stepped aside. Light blue eyes blinked at her, then looked at the bag on the ground, then back to her.
"Don't do that!" Hana screeched. Her heart was going to explode, she was sure of it. How'd he get there so fast?!
"I'm sorry," he didn't sound very apologetic, "I didn't mean to startle you."
Heart still racing, she huffed, "Sure…"
"Anyway, that was nice of you Imamura-san."
Hana frowned with a spike of confusion, "Thank you… how much of that did you hear? And how do you know my name?"
Kuroko Tetsuya stared at her for a moment before answering, "All of it and Kise-kun spoke of you the other day."
"Did he speak highly of me?" her question was drenched in sarcasm.
"No," Hana choked at Kuroko's bland response. He didn't seem to care, "But Kise-kun exaggerates most things."
Hana wasn't sure about that and nervous fingers fiddled with her jacket. She'd admit their first impression could have used some work, "Yeah, he probably didn't exaggerate too much."
"Did you attack him?"
"What?" She gaped, "No!"
"Then he made it sound much worse than it seems it was," Kuroko was still staring at her, his face lacking any speck of emotion. It was pretty freaking creepy.
Trying to ignore the way his gaze tickled her skin, Hana narrowed her eyes in consideration, "… Is that why so many girls have been glaring at me lately?"
"Most likely."
"Well that's great," she huffed in an attempt to hide her flush, "Uhm, anyway… thanks for the compliment thing? And, I should probably say sorry for sort of insulting you and your team." Hana cringed at that; apologizing always hurt her pride.
Kuroko just watched her for a few more seconds, unknowingly making Hana break out into a nervous sweat. He was doing a lot of that and she was beginning to worry there was something on her face. Honestly, she wouldn't doubt it with her god-awful luck.
"Are you hungry?" Well, that wasn't the response she was expecting.
What. Hana blinked, "Sure?"
"I was on my way to eat, you're welcome to join me," and with that vague invitation he turned around and walked away. Staring at the boy's back, Hana's body remained frozen. That... What the hell?
"Imamura-san, if you're coming, please hurry up," Kuroko's voice jolted her back into awareness and grabbing her bag, she rushed into the rain after his retreat.
So, Hana was absolutely confused. This guy was a Miracle. She thought they were all jerks, but he had been surprisingly kind, albeit very blunt. Next thing she knows the guy was inviting her out to eat. That thought alone was almost enough to cause another blush. Whether the flush be out of confusion or embarrassment she'd yet to determine. Still though, Hana hadn't been to a restaurant with another guy since sixth year…
"Never understand… Crazy Miracles… Confusing… What the hell," Hana grumbled under her breath as she stomped up beside her new companion.
Meanwhile, Kuroko was silently amused. This wasn't how he had imagined the infamous second string manager. Kise-kun had painted a very different picture, making her sound manipulative and rude, but Kuroko witnessed firsthand how wrong Kise-kun's impression was. She was certainly abrasive, but after observing her talk with Shoei's captain and her social ineptitude, it appeared to be a front.
As the puzzle grew more complex, he could admit he was mildly intrigued.
