Edited 10.27.2021


Dinner with Kuroko

Walking to the restaurant was uncomfortable. Kuroko didn't seem to talk much and Hana was too uneasy to begin a conversation. It left their conversation hovering between awkward and just plain weird. You really couldn't blame her though— just because this boy seemed kind didn't mean she trusted him. Kuroko was still a stranger to her and if he was anything like his friends, he would stay that way.

Hana glanced forward to the boy in question, making sure he hadn't vanished. It would be just her luck to be led out into the city, only to be abandoned. This thought suddenly made her paranoid. What if that was the plan? What if this was all some elaborate hoax to get her alone, then off her? The silent player was generous enough to ignore her suspicious energy, but she doubted he even noticed it. She couldn't really imagine Kuroko doing anything nearly so nefarious, but Akashi was a completely different story.

The guy was captain… would Kuroko kill her if he ordered it?

Thoughts full of murder and self-defense techniques, Hana didn't notice Kuroko stop. He'd turned around to speak to her when she managed to do the unspeakable and crashed into his slim chest. His hands managed to latch onto her shoulders before she stumbled, but the pinched expression lining her cheeks had him stepping back.

Kuroko blinked, mildly taken aback by the look of fear peering up at him,"… Imamura-san?"

Hana squinted one eye open, "Yes?"

"Are you alright?"

"Am I alive?"

Bafflement failed to fully describe Kuroko's current mental state, "…Yes."

"Can I stay alive?"

"I would assume so," the words were drawn out as he took a step back, confusion causing the barest hint of a frown to build, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes! Sorry, I swear I'm not insane," Hana felt her face irrupt in flames. The heavy hue burned as she shuffled out of his grasp, sweat tricking down her spine at their awful first introduction. Blue eyes tracked her movement as Kuroko's frown deepened.

He stared at her for a moment before he nodded; seemingly reassured by something he found, "I was going to tell you we've arrived."

Hana jerked in surprise before managing to peer behind him. Yep, there it was. It was a tiny little hole in the wall, but it had the family vibe she'd come to appreciate. The place was lit brightly and didn't look too busy, signaling that most of the evening crowd had left. That realization had her hesitating, a growing acknowledgment of the restaurant's intimacy causing her to stumble.

"Your teammates aren't here, right?" she asked without thinking. It seemed her paranoia hadn't faded yet.

"No, we don't see each other often outside of basketball," Kuroko responded easily as he opened the door for them.

His pale arm propped the door open as she skuttled in beside him. It wasn't the answer she'd been expecting, but she appreciated his honesty. Maybe this little outing wouldn't be too terrible.

"Oh, well thank you again for inviting me Kuroko-san," Hana tried to grin, but it felt awkward on her face. There was only so much sincerity she could muster.

Kuroko didn't respond, gifting Hana a view of his back as he walked ahead toward a table tucked into the back. He didn't turn back once and irritation flashing, she scurried after him. For such a small guy, he was quick. Annoyingly so. Almost as soon as she thought it, he turned to look at her. Her feet caught on a wet spot, fear coasting her spine. Don't tell me he reads minds?

"Is this table alright?" A pale hand motioned toward the empty space.

"Yes!" Hana winced at her high-pitched response, darting into the open seat, "It's fine."

With a strange look at her ruffled appearance, Kuroko settled into the chair on the left side, leaving Hana across from him. She reached for the menu quickly, needing something to distract her from the tense energy. Kuroko did the same, albeit much more calmly. After a few moments spent deciding on his order, the demure teen looked toward Hana, but found her face was completely hidden behind her menu.

"You shouldn't be nervous," despite not having a visual, Kuroko could practically feel the heat from her blush.

"I'm not," her reply was muffled by the plastic menu, but audible. Barely.

"You are," he countered. A speck of amusement had his brows hiking as she slapped the menu onto the table and glared up at him. The soft pink flush of her cheeks proved his previous hypothesis correct.

"Okay, so I'm a little nervous!" She huffed, chest rising as she grumbled, "It's not like I can help it."

Thankfully, she was saved from having to expand on her answer by the waitress coming to take their order. Dressed in an apron resemblant of an American diner, the pretty brunette smiled at the table. It was just the break Hana needed and her shoulders deflated in relief.

"Are you ready to order?" The young waitress directed the question to Hana.

For a second, the odd gesture didn't click. When the waitress's gaze didn't waver, Hana finally noticed what felt so odd about it. Not once did she glance to the other occupant of the table. It was like she didn't see her companion at all.

"Huh?" Hana glanced at Kuroko, an eyebrow arching in bemusement, "Yeah, we're ready to order. Could I have the shoyu ramen, please?"

"Oh, are you waiting for someone?" The waitress smiled, peering back at the door. If she didn't know any better, Hana might have classified the woman as rude but her attention hadn't wavered once.

"Wait, what?" Despite her bubbling understanding, Hana motioned toward Kuroko, "No ma'am, he's—"

"I'm here," the waitress jolted when Kuroko interrupted, "and I would like the miso ramen, please." Unfazed by the woman's reaction, Kuroko placed his menu at the head of the table before folding his hands into his lap.

As the waitress sputtered out apologies, Hana's frown deepened as she watched the girl shuffled away from their table. She knew Kuroko was hard to see, but she hadn't realized he was basically invisible in normal settings. That wasn't a talent people generally had— the human gaze was tailored to track movement and from what she'd seen, Kuroko didn't force himself to be unnaturally still.

Once it was the two of them again, Hana stared at him in curiosity, "Does that always happen?"

"Often, but I've grown used to it—" Kuroko paused in his explanation as motion caught his eye, "What are you doing?"

During the conversation, Hana had pulled a large notebook out of her bag and was writing quickly. Her movements were jilted, her left hand taking over the page as she jotted down small notes in a messy scrawl. A page turned and she paused, biting her chapped lip into her mouth.

"Huh, that's a nifty talent," she mumbled to herself, ignoring Kuroko's question. Her pen stabbed into the new sheet of paper and picked up its pace.

"Imamura-san," Hana glanced up at Kuroko's call, "What are you doing?"

For a moment, Kuroko could tell she was still trapped in her own head. Those piercing eyes Kise-kun had previously described as beady were narrowed in thought, the force of her gaze on his face nearly suffocating before she blinked. Cognizance came quickly with an embarrassed blush creeping its way up her neck.

"Oh, this," her fingers fluttered over the ragged pages, "Yeah, this is my management binder. It's got all our game plans, team stats, and stuff in here," she explained.

It wasn't the best answer, but it hit all the basics.

"Why are you writing in it now?" Kuroko questioned. He tried to peer at the messy handwriting dotting the page, but she was quick to shut the binder and lock away the intriguing information. He hadn't truly expected an answer, but again she proved him wrong.

"Don't stress too much, it's nothing serious," Hana fiddled with the edge of the binder, jerking her finger back with a hiss when it caught on the sharp edge, "I write down stats for other teams, I've got yours in here too. I was correcting some of my information about your technique."

A blue brow hiked, "My technique?"

"Your little ghosty-pass thingy," her hand flapped in the air dismissively, "I didn't know it followed you off the court," she answered.

Kuroko's lips pulled downward a fraction as he listened. Ghosty-pass thingy? Many people referred to him as a ghost, but he had never heard his misdirection being called such a ridiculous name. It was slightly demeaning, but he decided to look past the blow to his ego to entertain his curiousity.

"You have pages like this for other teams?" That would be impressive. Judging by the width of the binder, there was a lot of information stashed between those pages.

"Yeah, most teams only get one page. But the stronger players get their own. Your team has a page for every member," Kuroko blinked in surprise. That was the first time he had heard her speak nicely about the first-string players. Glancing up, Hana noticed his personality change and snorted softly, "Just because I don't like your team doesn't mean I don't acknowledge talent."

"Thank you," He managed to bow his head. Looking at the red binder, he continued his questioning, "Do you know everyone's playing style?"

The abrupt change in Hana's personality was almost comical. Fingers tapping on the plastic coating of her mysterious binder, a sly smile pulled her mouth tight. There was a flash of mischief in her gaze as she admitted, "From the copycat king to the three-point queen. I'll admit I don't have much info on Aomine or Akashi," she offered a startlingly shrewd smile, "Want to help me out there?"

Again, Kuroko was thrown by her personality. Spanning from awkward, to nervous, confident, and now this? What happened to the brash girl his teammates had condemned? He didn't have a chance to ponder further when a hand laid their food out in front of them. As Hana offered her thanks for the meal, he watched with something like reluctance as the intriguing red binder was put away.

It was another few silent minutes as they enjoyed their food.

There isn't much to do when eating with a stranger. Hands and mouths both fall busy and leave no room for awkward chatter. Shoving a bit of noodle into her mouth, Hana was marveled at how neatly Kuroko ate; while Kuroko himself was in shock at how quickly the female finished her meal. When green eyes met blue, both teens swiftly looked down when they realized they were watching one another so intently.

Despite the early comradery, they still hovered between that thin line of acquaintance and stranger.

Hana finished her meal first and fiddled with her hands, the atmosphere suddenly feeling uncomfortable again. She didn't know where to look; it was rude to stare while someone ate. But what else was she supposed to do? In her moment of boredom, she picked up her chopsticks and tried to balance them vertically on the table. By the time Kuroko finished his meal five minutes later, she had successfully balanced both.

"Thank you for the meal, Kuroko-san," Hana offered, watching the chopsticks fall with a miniscule pout, "It wasn't half bad."

Kuroko nodded in response, too busy thinking to verbally acknowledge her. There were still so many questions he had. He'd invited her out so he could get to know the odd girl, but so far it seemed their whole conversation revolved around unneeded pleasantries and odd bursts of paranoia. Despite the banter from before, they had both retreated into another quiet tension. Frankly, he was getting tired of it.

"Why did you join the basketball team?" He figured a simple question was a decent start. He could gauge the strange manager from her answer and move accordingly.

Hana completely stopped, hand out reached toward her drink. Oh, no. Where had that even come from? This guy was on first string, that meant he was super serious, right? He was probably expecting something about proving herself against her peers. That'd be the cool girl answer— she needed to lie. Yeah, she had to wing it. That's what she was best at, after all.

So, with a straight face she looked at the teen and blurted out the first words that built on her tongue.

"I joined because of a guy," she declared proudly. As soon as the words left her mouth, Hana felt all the blood drain from her face. I was supposed to lie!

The two teens stared at each for another minute of silent consideration. As Hana felt her soul suck its way out of her chest and into the nether, Kuroko blinked. That subtle gesture of derision was her breaking point. With an audible plop, Hana's face greeted the table.

Kuroko raised his eyebrows at the groaning mess across from him. While that wasn't the worst answer he had ever heard, it wasn't what he'd envisioned. He supposed there were worse past times, but still he hadn't taken her to be like Kise-kun's fan base.

"A teammate of yours?" Kuroko questioned evenly. He wasn't overly interested in the answer after her abrupt declaration, but it would be rude to leave her in her misery.

"He was," Hana mumbled into the table, "He graduated last year."

That sparked a tendril of interest. Pausing from retrieving his phone, Kuroko peered at the flustered mess of a manger, "You stayed on the team after he left?"

Although Kuroko couldn't see, Hana frowned into the wooden veneer, "Of course, they're my team."

There was something like iron in her tone now. Whatever embarrassment she'd flustered up during her early misspeak had been replaced by defense. One green eye stared at him from the concave of her arm, narrowing slightly at the hint of that dented his cheeks.

"I meant no offense, Imamura-san. I'm just curious," Kuroko responded innocently, "You must have really liked him."

"No!" she sprang up, "It wasn't like that! Why does everyone think that?!" Kuroko opened his mouth to respond, but Hana plowed on, "He was like… my sensei? Yeah, sensei sounds good. He taught me everything. Torio was my inspiration."

"He sounds very nice," Kuroko added on, trying to maintain politeness."

"Nice?" her voice got considerably louder, and Kuroko was positive he saw fire flash in her eyes, "Torio was more than nice! You know that binder I showed you? That's all because of him. He was absolutely incredible; he shouldn't be labeled as simply 'nice'! Without him, I'd be nothing! Torio is a hero to all of our team and—"

"Imamura-san."

Kuroko's dry tone cut her rant short, the energy whooshing out of her with an audible sound. The two teens stared at one another before Hana scratched at her neck, "… I did it again," a grimace pulled her cheeks tight , "I'm sorry, Kuroko-san, I go a little overboard sometimes. I don't get to talk about Torio much these days."

There was another brief hum of silence before Kuroko nodded.

"It's alright. It isn't a problem," he lied. It was a tad bit annoying listening to her idealistic speech, but he'd had enough experience with Kise-kun to be adapted to similar antics. Hana's spiel wasn't anything he wasn't used to.

Spotting their waitress emerging from the kitchen, Kuroko considered offering to pay for Hana's meal. The poor manager was still rubbing awkwardly at her neck, her stare stuck on the peripheral window.

Meanwhile, Hana winced. Fingers digging into her skin, she considered her options. She could tell Kuroko was growing bored with their conversation. Kuroko's attention had drifted toward the waitress, obviously ready to pay. She hadn't meant to go off on a tangent like that; but whenever she started talking about Torio, it was like she couldn't stop.

It was an embarrassing habit she'd yet to kick. Uoya would laugh himself silly if he saw her now.

Pulling up her backpack from the floor, she dug around the front pocket in search of her wallet to distract herself. Finding it tucked behind her calculator and statistics homework, Hana removed enough money to pay for her meal. Sparing another glance at the distracted Kuroko, she removed an extra chunk of cash to pay for his.

After discreetly sliding the cash under her bowl, Hana cleared her throat to get Kuroko's attention, "Neh, Kuroko-san, I'm finished so I'm gonna head home. Thanks for inviting me out," she smiled self-condescendingly, "I'm sorry I'm such a crap conversationalist."

The chair slid out from underneath the table and Kuroko looked momentarily startled at her abrupt departure, but his face soon smoothed back out into its normal blank mask, "It was no problem, Imamura-san. I hope to see you at school."

Hana tried to smile again then gave up, motioning instead to the cash, "That should be enough to cover both of us. I didn't see the total, so I apologize if it's not."

"You don't have to—"

She cut him off, "Bye!"

It didn't take her long to skuttle out the front entryway, bag clutched securely to her chest. Again, Kuroko was surprised. He watched her leave; her hair and sweatshirt were still a little damp from the earlier rain and he momentarily worried that she'd get sick. Shaking the concern off, he reached a hand over to retrieve the money and motioned to the waitress so she could see him.

Thinking over their short conversation, Kuroko pulled his phone out of his pocket and frowned the tiniest bit. He'd intended to ask for her number, simply to keep track of the basketball club's second-string teammates, but that was clearly out of the question now. He didn't think he had been rude, but that seemed to be the reason for her early departure.

Resolving to apologize later, he thanked the waitress and made his own way home.

About an hour later, Hana was tucked deep in the many blankets that made up her bed. Today had been weird, much weirder than her confrontation with the other Miracles and that wasn't including her brief encounter with Kiyoshi-san. At least Kuroko had been kind to her, even though they obviously hadn't connected very well.

Honestly, she hoped she wouldn't see him at school. There was no need for her to screw up their introduction even more. She'd rather fade away to oblivion in the minds of the Miracles and their mysterious sixth than live in infamy.

Pulling her knees up to her face, she groaned. God, she was humiliated with herself. Mentally repeating everything she said today made her erupt into another ashamed blush before yanking the nearest blanket over her head. She hadn't meant to talk about Torio like that. She hadn't meant to think about him at all. Kuroko probably figured she was crazy, and she couldn't blame him this time.

With a sigh, she threw herself atop the nearest pillow and tried to ignore the lingering thoughts. She had other things to worry about— Uoya's training, Kitano's attitude, their next scrimmage game. Hopefully, her dreams would focus on the more pressing matters. Beyond that, she hoped she never saw any of the miracles again.

It seemed they brought out the fool inside of her.