Edited 11.03.2021


Revenge and Failure

Being sort of friends with Kuroko had its advantages.

For one, his blunt honesty was appreciated. For two, he evened out the assortment of his crazy teammates with his calm presence. For three, Hana was gifted with an inside look into ghostly techniques. Something which she was taking extreme advantage of right now.

You see, Hana had observed Kuroko's ability to disappear at random. She couldn't copy it, of course, since her presence was in no way subtle. But she could apply the same technique and hideaway. At least, that's what she was trying to do because screw demonic captains and their orders; she was not going to first-string practice.

Her hiding spot was in the gym inside a large container in their expansive storage room. This decision put her in enemy lines, but people hardly assumed their prey would be hiding in plain sight. Hana wasn't completely sure what container she was located in, but the assortment of basketballs, volleyballs, and footballs led her to believe it was used to hold the overflow equipment. Unfortunately, it stank to high heaven.

Pushing a volleyball out of her face, Hana curled further into herself. She was trying to copy the look of a ball and had rolled herself into a fetal position with her head laying comfortably against a football. Despite the smell, it was quite cozy in here. Because of her small stature, Hana enjoyed the feeling of tight spaces. It was comforting, to a degree, knowing that she was surrounded. Maybe she'd been a mole in her past life.

Time was passing slowly. She skipped her math class to search for a hiding place and after an uncomfortable encounter with a couple in the nearest supply closest, she had ended up here. It hadn't been her first plan, but she was going to make the best out of it. So far, Hana hadn't heard any noises outside in the gym and she assumed practice hadn't started yet.

It seemed like an opportune time to take a nap. Beggars can't be choosers.

One quick nap later and it was still quiet in the gym. Letting out an annoyed sigh, Hana turned over and subsequently got a basketball to the face. Her sigh grew in length, but she made no movement to dislodge the orange ball. Let it stay for all she cared. At least it blocked out the light.

"Where is everyone?" a sudden voice echoed from the gym and Hana stiffened in recognition. Kise.

Trying to channel her inner Kuroko, Hana curled herself tighter. She couldn't make out what Kise was doing in the gym, but she could faintly hear his movement. It sounded like he'd stepped onto the metal bleacher and the responding clank of metal informed her that he'd promptly leaped off. Hana couldn't find a plausible reason for this behavior, but hell, it was Kise. Since when did he ever meet her expectations?

Loud footsteps brought her out of her thoughts and Hana belatedly realized that the door was opening. She could curse Kise, she really could. Out of everything he could be doing, he had to go in the damn supply closet? Her mind tried to rationalize that he was looking for the basketballs, but Hana didn't want to accept it. Stupid Kise.

To make matters worse, instead of heading toward the rack holding said basketballs, Kise's footsteps came toward her container. Hana held her breath and begged the universe to save her. There was no way to explain her presence unless she admitted to hiding and Imamura Hana did not hide. She just made strategic retreats.

The footsteps stopped. Hana wasn't gifted with sonar hearing, so she had no idea where the blond had gone. Hopefully very far away from herself. Sadly, this plea was proven obsolete when she felt shifting to the left of her.

"Where is it?" she heard Kise whine out, "Aomine-cchi always takes it, but I know he hides it in here!"

Hana couldn't breathe. A muscular hand had appeared in her line of sight and was digging around for something. Every time it retreated with a basketball, she could hear Kise's resulting huff of aggravation. It was slowly moving toward the ball resting upon her face like a shark searching for blood.

Kise grabbed another ball and pulled it out before pouting and tossing it to the side. He couldn't find it anywhere! There was one perfect ball in here, somewhere. It had the best bounce, the softest grip, and Kise suspected it had lucky powers. Aomine-cchi always got it somehow, but since he was here first, Kise could take it for himself.

His hand latched onto another basketball, about to pull it out when something soft and warm graced against his fingers. "Wah!" Kise shrieked, "What is that?"

Letting go of the basketball, Kise poked a daring finger out. He didn't know what to expect, but it wasn't something squishy. He jerked his hand back with another screech. Bewildered gold eyes stared down at the innocent pile of sports equipment. Was that a person? A dead person?!

He was scared to find out. What if it was one of his teammates? Would he become a suspect? That would ruin his modeling career! Not to mention jail time! Kise's hand hung in midair and he couldn't convince himself to ignore it or to find out what it was. His curiosity was killing him though– his hand unwilling moving forward to grasp the basketball and move it out of the way.

Sudden light blinded Hana and she slammed her eyes shut. She could hear a high pitch scream, but she didn't dare try to open her eyes so quickly. Oh god, it's so bright. The screaming grew frantic with her continued lack of movement and Hana finally blinked her eyes open. A terrified-looking Kise was suspended over the container and firing questions at her.

"Imamura-chan!" Kise leaned as close to her as he could, "Are you okay?!"

"… I'm good," Hana managed to reply. She could feel her face burning and the tell-tale sweat lining her spine indicated her mortification.

"Did someone hurt you?!," His hands flapped wildly, "What happened?!"

In a normal situation, Hana would begrudgingly admit that Kise's worry felt nice, but right now she was too embarrassed to feel honored. Her voice came out shaky, "No, no. I'm okay Kise-kun. I was just ah—" she searched for a half-truth, "-taking a nap."

Because of the fluorescent light behind Kise, Hana was unable to see the slackening of his jaws or the way a large drop of sweat dripped down his forehead in resignation. He blinked at the girl, "In our storage closet?"

"It's not yours," Hana tried to muster up her courage, pushing herself into a sitting position, "Anyway, the air circulation is very nice in here. Helps keep my head clear— stop looking at me like that."

She couldn't see his expression, but his disbelief was radiating off him in waves. She figured his face probably matched his attitude. At her order, Kise let out a choked laugh. Kise couldn't see the rest of her body and it looked like her head was just floating along with the other balls. Even the narrowed green eyes didn't stop his laughter.

"Why do you keep finding me in such embarrassing situations," Hana huffed as she watched the blond lose his composure.

Kise had yet to calm down and barely managed to croak out an answer, "It's your fault, Imamura-chan!"

"How's this my fault?!" Hana demanded before pausing as understanding came, "Okay, so it's my fault, but stop finding me!"

"No way!" Kise denied, "This is super funny! First the boys' dressing room and now our gym! Imamura-chan's a voyeur~"

"Kise!" Hana snarled and tried to get out of the container only to fall back again, her earlier discomfort vanishing in her fury, "I'm going to rip you apart!"

On his part, Kise froze. The atmosphere between them slowly grew awkward as he registered the title change. That was the first time he'd heard Imamura-chan say his name without honorifics and it was odd. He blinked at the girl as his laughter faded out. What was he supposed to do now?

"I'm so serious," Hana growled and flapped her arms against the surrounding balls, "You think me scrubbing your head was bad? Wait till you see me rip it off your body!"

Hana still hadn't noticed Kise's sudden solemnity and Kise took the time to reflect. Akashi-cchi, Midorima-cchi, and Aomine-cchi never used honorifics, but they were teammates. He also didn't think Imamura-chan meant it affectionately because she was still threatening to decapitate him. Was she using it in the familiar sense?

"You called me Kise," he finally managed, "You've never done that before."

Hana scoffed, "You're more concerned with your name instead of your soon-to-be death?"

"Yeah, because you can't hurt me," he offered a side smirk in an attempt to break this new tension, "You don't want to hurt my pretty face!"

"I do," Hana deadpanned as she gave up on trying to escape the container. She wasn't going to be getting out of here anytime soon unless Kise helped. Which was something she was in no hurry to ask for.

"Don't change the subject, Imamura-chan~"

"You changed it first!" She snapped, "Besides, it's not a big deal! You can't effectively threaten someone while calling them -kun!"

Kise paused for a minute with an indescribable expression before a pout broke out, "Awhh, I thought you finally fell for my charms."

She stared, "... what."

"Well," that damn sly look had entered his eyes again, "It was quite a familiar greeting. I thought you might like me~"

"No!" Hana picked up her struggling and tried to get at the smirking blond. Meanwhile, Kise just continued to grin as he watched her flounder about. Realizing she was getting nowhere, she glared at him, "Can you help me?"

"I didn't hear a please~"

"I'm not going to say please," Hana grumped at him, "You're lucky I can't reach you. Man, you are so lucky I can't reach you."

"I don't know," Kise leaned his arms— why do basketball players have such nice arms— against the metal container, "You look kind of cute like this, all riled up. Like a tiny baby kitten~"

Her previous speckling of blush transformed from its red tone into a marvelous purple. Hana wasn't sure where this was going, hell she wasn't sure what this was. If it were any other guy, she might have said they were flirting with her. But, shit, this was Kise.

He had to be messing with her. Despite this revelation, Hana couldn't get her mouth to do anything other than gape. God, I hate him.

"Awh~" Kise simpered, "Imamura-chan! It's nothing to be embarrassed of! In fact—"

"Kise!" Another voice interrupted from the gym, "Where the hell are you?"

In front of her, Kise offered a genuine frown, "Aomine-cchi?"

Hana's mouth finally managed to do something other than gape, "Oh, shit."

"Imamura-chan?" Kise turned his frown back to her. The girl had sunk herself deeper into the container and was trying to bury herself in the surrounding balls. Kise blinked.

"Shhh," she commanded as she sunk lower, "I was never here."

Kise offered her nothing but silence and Hana optimistically hoped that he listened to her. Too bad fate never cared to listen to her pleas. As her head went into the smelly pit a determined hand grabbed her ankle and pulled. Hana let out a shriek as Kise tugged her back to the surface with a bright smile.

"Why are you hiding, Imamura-chan?" Those damn golden eyes were sparkling in mirth and Hana wanted to destroy him. His hand was still holding her ankle, but Hana was more concerned with his mischievous attitude. Out of all of them, Kise ranks right under Akashi in the not-to-be-trusted group. Damn imp.

"…the hell?" Aomine's voice interjected in Hana's silence. Kise and Hana both turned toward the door, surprised. The tan male stood in the doorway with both eyebrows raised to his hairline. Behind him, Hana noticed a few other players bustling around, but she couldn't name them. Aomine spoke again, "I'm not gonna ask…" a slow shake of the head, "Where is everyone?"

Kise frowned, "Akashi-cchi isn't here yet? What time is it?"

"Nah, neither is Tetsu. I sent Satsuki to go look for him, but she hasn't had any luck," Aomine pulled out his phone and stared at it, "Practice started about fifteen minutes ago."

"What?!" Kise gaped and subsequently pulled Hana's ankle higher, "But they're never late! What about Midorima-cchi and Murasakibara-cchi?"

"Nope, not here," Aomine drawled and eyed Hana's outstretched leg, "Might want to put her down before you pull something."

Kise dropped her quickly and Hana let out a surprised huff into the balls. Poking her head back out, she glared at the blond, "Ever heard of the word gentle?"

Ignoring her, Kise continued to chatter with Aomine, "So, does that mean we don't have practice?"

"Nijimura's here," Aomine answered with a shrug, "If they don't show up I'm sure he'll take over. You just don't want to do your drills."

"And I'm ignored," Hana mumbled to herself, "Should have just kept sleeping."

In direct opposite to her statement, Aomine turned to her with one blue eyebrow raised, "Why are you here?"

"Imamura-chan's a voyeur," Kise simpered from the side, "She likes to watch us~"

Hana and Aomine both flung out at once. Hana's foot hit Kise on top of the shoulder and Aomine's hand slammed into the blonde's stomach with a smack. As Kise huffed in pain, Hana muttered, "Damn shame the plans for you didn't work."

It was the wrong thing to admit. Navy and gold eyes turned to her simultaneously, both wearing matching expressions of suspicion. Aomine spoke first, "What plans?"

"You planned against me?" Kise wailed dramatically, "That's so mean!"

Aomine cut Kise off to continue his questioning, "What plan, Imamura?"

"Uhm," Hana postponed in the overwhelming tension. Something like dread built in her chest, "It wasn't an evil plan, I promise—"

"Talk," was Aomine's only response. Kise watched warily from the side, but his gold eyes were narrowed contemplatively. It was an expression she'd come to fear. Two against one was hardly fair, but Hana could scarcely speak.

"Err. Well, you see… Akashi-san might have rubbed me the wrong way this weekend and demanded I go to your practice," she ignored the way Kise's stare blew wide, "Which I wasn't going to do, hence the hiding, but I did make a couple back up plans… Just in case," A guilty shrug accompanied her explanation.

Aomine was silent but his eyebrows had furrowed over darkened eyes. He definitely did not look amused. Kise on the other hand looked thoughtful, "That doesn't explain much, Imamura-chan. You should try better~"

Hana coughed to try to hide her nerves. That didn't sound so much like a suggestion as it did a demand. Forcing herself into a sitting position, she turned to face the two boys, "Okay, so it started like this…"

xXxXxXx

"He tricked me, Uoya-kun!" angry arms flailed in the air, "That son of a bi—"

"Hana-chan!" Uoya spluttered as he watched the angry girl stalk across her bedroom. Nūdoru was still laying in his lap, but even the dog could feel the tension. He continued, "Calm down, please!"

"I will not calm down! He thinks he can order me around! Well, that's not how I work!"

"…Uhm, I hate to tell you, but I did warn you," Uoya offered.

"When?!" Hana spun on her heel and pointed a sharp finger at him. Uoya shivered at the threat and he could swear Nūdoru let out a chuckle.

Uoya swallowed his nerves, "Remember when I said being rude to Akashi-san was going to bite you in the ass? Well, it did."

As the information sunk into her brain, Hana felt her eyes expand in realization. He did warn me! Why didn't I listen?! Collapsing to her knees in front of him, Hana peered up at Uoya with beseeching eyes, "You gotta help me, Uoya-kun. I can't let this slide!"

He grimaced, "I really don't think revenge is going to solve this…"

"Revenge solves everything," Hana answered, "It's the law of nature."

"That's not… Okay. What do you have planned?" Uoya sighed out. He knew his friend and by now she already had several plans laid out inside her head. The only issue was since she was talking to him, they likely involved him too. Great.

"Well, they aren't completely revenge plans. More like… a way to get under Akashi's skin," Hana admitted before flopping down next to Uoya and Nūdoru. Her voice trailed off as she began to explain part one, "The easiest one will be Murasakibara."

Plan Munchies

"You are an idiot," Uoya grumbled as he crawled beside Hana, "A damn idiot."

"You're just saying that because I dragged you along. You gotta admit this is brilliant."

Uoya groaned as he avoided a spilled drink on the cafeteria floor, "Just hurry up, please."

"You can't rush perfection," Hana snapped over her shoulder as she continued to crawl underneath the lunch tables. The target was in sight and all she had to do was avoid getting stepped on by the multitudes of feet. Dodging a disgustingly muddy pair of shoes, Hana made the last dash into the cafeteria's cooking room.

Three people were working; two women and one man. All of them had the proper sanitary equipment on, but hell, Hana didn't care about that. What she did care about was the various assortments of baked goods resting on the far-right table. The assortment was a sweet tooth's wet dream. Which was exactly why she came here.

The male worker turned toward her and Hana ducked down expertly. She could feel her heart beating behind her chest as she watched the man frown thoughtfully. He took a step toward her direction but stopped as his fellow-worker called out to him. Hana stalked the man carefully as he narrowed his eyes at the cart she was hiding behind before turning away.

One, she relaxed her muscles, two, she waited for them all to turn away, three, and then she ran. Pulling a bag out of her back pocket, Hana flapped it open before darting toward the desserts. With a quick arm, she shoved as many as she could into the bag. She squealed in silent excitement right before darting out of the kitchen as quick as she came.

"You did it…" Uoya gaped at the assortment of sweets spilled out in front of him. Hana sat beside him and radiated satisfaction.

Hana smirked at her friend in return, "Now we just have to set the bait."

xXx

Murasakibara was never excited to go to practice.

Maybe once a long time ago, he'd enjoyed it. But now, just the thought of running around made him want to take a long nap. As he meandered out of class with his backpack slung over his shoulder, he paused at the extra weight. I don't remember bringing that many snacks.

Taking slow steps to the edge of the hallway, Murasakibara opened his backpack curiously. It would be a pleasant surprise if he found an extra snack or two in there. As the zip opened, lazy purple eyes blinked at the box that had not been in his bag earlier.

It was completely see-through and he drooled at the sight of the delicious sweets nestled in the middle. The only downside came in the form of the tightly knotted ropes that looped around it. His hand pulled at a knot only to grunt in dissatisfaction when it didn't budge.

Murasakibara furrowed his eyebrows as he glared at the tempting box. Are the knots glued together? I'll crush whoever did this.

Still eyeing the box, Murasakibara leaned against the wall behind him and worked on the knots. A brief thought of his captain had him pausing, but the sweets were too tempting.

Aka-chin won't mind if I'm late.

The Lucky Plan

"No," Uoya stated, stubbornly.

"You just have to distract him! Two minutes tops. I'll swoop in, snatch it, then swoop out!"

"I'm not talking to him," Uoya spoke. His lanky arms had folded over his chest and Hana wanted to twitch at his stubbornness.

"Fine!" Hana grumbled in defeat, throwing her arms out, "You don't have to talk to him. Just distract him, I don't care how!"

"Alright," Hana didn't like the evil grin that grew on Uoya's face, but hell, she didn't have room to talk. "I'll meet you in fifteen minutes, Hana-chan."

Fifteen minutes later, Hana was watching Midorima in astonishment. How had Uoya done that? Dude, Midorima is going to kill him. He looked so weird without glasses, kind of handsome, but still weird. Tilting her head to the side, Hana noted that he looked better with them. Kind of cute in a Clark Kent kind of way— she shook her head out of her thoughts.

That didn't matter. She had a mission.

Since her target was now visually impaired, Hana was going to swoop in while he was standing from his seat. It was still lunch period, but it was quickly ending. She had a window of maybe five minutes. Her plan was to follow behind Midorima and snatch the lucky item before he got to his class.

It was only a matter of time.

Finally, lunch was over and Hana released a tense breath. Her target was standing and Hana stood with him. Weaving through the surrounding students, she made her way behind Midorima. Cancer's lucky item for the day was a monkey and as such, Midorima had brought a stuffed monkey to school with him. It's fuzzy, little head was sticking out of his bag and Hana almost didn't want to take it.

Walking faster, she brushed by Midorima and her hand grasped the monkey's head. It came out easily and Hana slipped it into the side of her blazer before darting away. A quick glance backward gave no sign that Midorima had noticed and Hana heaved a sigh of relief.

xXx

Practice didn't matter to Midorima.

He enjoyed it enough, but it did not highlight the end of his days. Adding to his souring mood was the fact that he'd lost his lucky item during lunch. It had been a thorn in his side all day and not to mention his glasses. Some fool had snatched them off his head during the lunchtime rush and he hadn't been able to see far enough to stop them.

Whoever they were, they were gracious enough to leave them with his teacher, but that did not stop his annoyance.

With his glasses back on his face, Midorima was making his way toward practice. Except— what was that? That looked suspiciously like his monkey. Walking toward it stiffly, Midorima stopped and stared at the innocent stuffed animal for a moment. How it came to be glued to the girl's bathroom, he had no clue.

Reaching a hand out to snatch it, the door swung open and a short girl shot him a startled gaze before retreating away.

Blushing up to his ears, Midorima coughed and attempted to grab it again. This time a girl came up behind him and ducked under his arm with a giggle. His blush grew and he tried to snatch the monkey again. Another girl. The pattern continued.

Practice wouldn't be sufficient without my lucky item…

The Fan Plan

"I don't think this will work…" Uoya stated as he eyed the shirtless picture of Kise. Where the hell did she get that?

"I know," Hana agreed grumpily as she texted away on her phone, "But I don't know what else to do."

"You could lock him in a closet or something," Uoya offered and Hana felt like a proud mom. He was learning so well! Uoya continued, "That's not even his chest."

"And how would you know that, Uoya-kun?"

"Aghk!" Uoya gagged, "Don't look at me like that Hana-chan! We played together, remember?"

"What a convincing excuse. I wouldn't mind anyway, it would be so cute—"

"Hana-chan, shut up and send your messages!"

Shooting Uoya a smug grin, Hana clicked send on the group message. With just a tap, a picture of a swimsuit-clad Kise was sent to fan club members throughout the school with the happy message of Free Autographs After Class! A few seconds passed before a shriek echoed around the school, the ground rumbling forebodingly.

Hana and Uoya flinched together before shooting uneasy looks toward the ceiling of the supply closest they were in.

"How many people did you send that to?" Uoya whispered.

Hana gulped and looked down at her phone, "Everyone in the online fan group— So, like, two hundred something."

xXx

Kise liked basketball practice.

Having something honestly challenging him was exciting, especially the games. He'd come to learn that some of his teammates didn't share his enthusiasm so Kise had practiced toning down his enthusiasm a bit. Which was saying something, because he still really liked it. It might not be the game itself— maybe it was the feeling of performing and succeeding that he enjoyed.

Well, he blinked at the mob of girls outside his classroom door, I don't really like that.

They were screaming and begging and crying out for him, nearly shoving their body through the small entry door into his classroom. Taking a step back, Kise shot his classmates a regretful grin. One of the guys gave him a sneer before pushing the door open and wading into the masses. The screaming rose in pitch and Kise eyed the slowly closing door carefully.

With the speed earned from years of different sports, Kise darted out the door—dodging the grabbing hands and merging through the crowd full speed.

Sorry, girls! Can't be late for Akashi-cchi!

The Ghost Plan

"Okay, Nūdoru, this is the moment of truth," Hana crouched in front of the large dog with a familiar jersey in her hand. Behind her, Uoya raised his eyebrows in full disbelief.

"I doubt he understands," the sixth year deadpanned, "You're going to get caught if you don't hurry up."

"No one checks back here, it's fine," Hana dismissed him and turned back toward the dog, "Okay, bud. Smell this?"

A wet nose poked at the jersey and Nūdoru sniffed it. Furry black eyebrows descended over his eyes and he sniffed it again. This time he gave Hana a huff, which Hana assumed meant yes. She patted his head and rubbed at his ears affectionately, a grin dotting her cheeks as Nūdoru yipped. Such a good puppy.

"When you smell this guy," Hana continued to explain to the dog, "Go up and say hello. If you stall him, I'll give you some meat tonight for dinner."

"Hana-chan, he's a dog. He won't—"

Uoya was interrupted by Nūdoru's determined bark. The huge dog stood up and began to pace happily with the jersey between his jaws. His bulky head tilted at the two people in front of him before he danced toward the school. He didn't hesitate, moving through the crowd of students with the confidence of a full-grown man.

"Wait! Not yet!" Hana tried to stop him, but Nūdoru had already slunk inside the school grounds, "Shit."

"He just went on campus! Hana-chan!" Uoya shot up and stared at the dog's retreating back in shock. Hana watched Nūdoru circle around the front entrance before perking up at a noise. Both teens blinked as the dog ducked behind a tiny bush.

"He's got this," Hana scratched her head nervously, "I hope."

xXx

Kuroko loved basketball with everything he had.

He loved to practice, he loved to play, and he loved his teammates. As he walked out of his final class, memories of Ogiwara popped into his head causing the short player to smile faintly. Reaching the front exit, Kuroko began to walk down the staircase only to pause at the sight in front of him.

That's a dog.

It was, in fact, a very large dog. Nūdoru was sitting primly on his bottom at the start of the staircase and looked up at Kuroko with a joyful gaze. Now, Kuroko liked dogs, but this. This wasn't normal and a creeping layer of suspicion had his brows hiking into his hairline.

First of all, he was on Teiko's campus. Second, he noticed a familiar number printed on the shirt the dog was holding. Third, the huge hound had a pink bow wrapped primly around his neck. Despite his confusion, Kuroko continued down the stairs and looked at Nūdoru with a blank face.

"Hello."

The dog woofed at him in return.

"May I ask why you have my jersey?" Kuroko came to stand beside the dog and knelt.

His hand had just reached the clothing when a headbutt sent him to the side. Blue eyebrows rose as the dog circled around him and pushed his back. Believing the dog wanted him to stand, Kuroko did so. Another headbutt to the back of his knees had him moving.

With a hint of surprise, Kuroko shot the dog a look over his shoulders. Nūdoru looked up at the boy happily before headbutting him again. It's as if I'm being herded, Kuroko blinked at the revelation, Doesn't Imamura-chan have a dog?

Trying to turn around, Kuroko decided his jersey would have to wait. Nūdoru sensed his movement and curled himself through the short boy's legs, forcing him to continue walking. Kuroko let out a tired sigh and relented. As if hearing his submission, Nūdoru pushed him forward again. Unfortunately, it was in the opposite direction of the gym.

I'm going to be late. Hopefully, Akashi-kun will be understanding.

The Two for One Plan

"Where did you get that…"

Hana blushed up to the tips of her ears, "There was a two for one sale at the store."

Uoya blanched, "…What did you do with the other one?!"

"I kept it!" He shot her a disgusted look at the explanation, "Don't look at me like that! It might come in handy later!"

"I don't want to know what you'd do with a magazine like that," Uoya grumbled before resting against the wall, "How is this going to affect Momoi-san too?"

"Aomine always calls her if he needs help," Hana explained as she finished spreading the glue across the cover, "If this works out correctly, he'll have to."

"Where did you get so much glue…" he trailed off, suddenly regretting the question.

"I have an abundance at home," Hana admitted without shame before flipping the magazine over and gluing the back cover too, "I wanted to try scrapbooking that one time, remember?"

"Yeah, that turned out horribly," he snorted, "You massacred that book."

"You just don't appreciate true art," Hana retorted as she stood. The project was now complete, all she had to do was put it in place, "Come on, I'm going to need your help to reach the ceiling."

xXx

Aomine was tired.

School wore him out and practice was only going to make him more exhausted. He'd been thinking about skipping it lately if only to get an extra nap in. Besides, it wasn't like he needed to go. He only came so Satsuki wouldn't fuss and well, it was fun to hand out with Tetsu. Sauntering out of his class, he veered off toward the restrooms. He always needed to piss after a good nap in class.

Shoving the bathroom door open, Aomine gawked at the magazine that hung in front of his face.

The hell? His eyes trailed up from the magazine toward the piece of string that attached it to the ceiling. Perplexed eyes went back down to look at the magazine. It was rotating slowly and as the cover came to the front, a slow smile spread across his face.

His hands came out to grab the bawdy magazine greedily. Finders keepers, losers…whatever.

He was about to flip it open but found he couldn't. Thrown off guard, Aomine looked down at the book with wide eyes. He tried to lift his hand, but it stayed firmly attached to the cover. His other hand repeated the process with the same results. As the situation sank in, Aomine started to sweat. He couldn't walk around school with this—

"Gotta find Satsuki," He tried to hide the magazine as best as he could, "She'll know what to do."

Momoi had become used to Aomine popping up at random. What she wasn't used to, however, was being yanked out of the hallway by the said boy. She'd been on her way to practice when a tan body appeared out of nowhere and grabbed her. Well, pushed her would be more accurate.

She was about to open her mouth to scold her childhood friend when she caught sight of his hands, "What is that, Aomine-kun!"

"I don't know! I grabbed it and now it's stuck!" He flapped his hands around, but the magazine did nothing but ruffle. Opening her mouth in a gape, Momoi starred at the bikini-clad woman on the cover.

"…wah?"

"It doesn't matter!" Aomine cut her off, "You gotta help me get this off!"

Reaching a hand out, Momoi grabbed onto the cover and pulled. Unfortunately, this did nothing but cause her hand to get stuck too. Trying to rip it off, Momoi wailed, "Aomine-kun!"

"I didn't do it! Some idiot put glue on it!"

"Why didn't you tell me that?!"

The two floundered around a bit before giving up and shooting identical annoyed looks at the magazine. Spending a moment to assess the situation, Momoi sighed, "Let's go try to wash it off. Maybe that will work."

We're going to be late… Akashi-kun isn't going to be pleased.

The Finale

Akashi Seijuro did not like surprises.

He didn't enjoy the idea of a person having more knowledge of a situation than himself. Knowledge was at the forefront of control, after all. As he reflected these thoughts, Akashi closed his neatly organized notebook. The lesson today had been quite easy and it was almost a shame.

Challenges could be appreciated.

Turning to put his notebook into his bag, a piece of paper fluttered to the floor. Red eyes watched as it twisted innocently in the air before landing on the lament ground. The handwriting was unfamiliar, which indicated someone had placed it into his possession. A pale hand grabbed the paper and a singular eyebrow rose as he read the contents.

A king's duty never ends

Even if his servitors are out of mends

Despite a timely date

The king must save the servers fate

With a twitch of the lips, Akashi folded the note and put it away. There were only a few people in this school with the mental fortitude or stupidity to challenge him directly. A quick inventory of those people left him with the revelation that only one of them had a reason for this. Standing from his desk, Akashi shouldered his bag before leaving the classroom.

As the note said, a king should protect his subjects.

While he began the search for his teammates, his smile turned sharp. A surprise and challenge in one. Something unpleasant mixed in turn with something enjoyable.

What an apt description for the manager.

xXxXx

Two incredulous looks were directed at her face. Kise and Aomine were stuck amid a shocked stupor. Both boys didn't know whether to be mad or in awe of her. Aomine was leaning toward anger, but Kise was leaning toward awe. Eventually, the two boys turned toward each other. Hana winced as their communication turned inward and two speculative looks grew on the boys' faces.

"Do you know how long it took to get that glue off?" Aomine eventually grunted. His eyes were narrowed slits on the tiny girl, "It hurt like hell too."

Oops. Hana shrugged sheepishly, "Sorry?"

"Sorry isn't going to cut it," Aomine returned baldly, "You owe me."

"I don't owe you!" She managed to gawk, but Aomine's smirk had her mouth clicking shut.

"If you don't want payback," his brow rose in challenge, "then yeah, you owe me."

"I agree with Aomine-cchi, that was mean of you, Imamura-chan!" Kise had adopted a teary expression as he interjected himself into the conversation. One hand floated over his heart in faux betrayal, "Why would you do that to us?!"

"… So I wouldn't have to go to your practice?" Hana offered blandly. She scrunched her nose before finally admitting, "Also, it felt good to get revenge on Akashi-san."

"But you didn't have to include us in it!" Kise wailed and Aomine jerked his head in agreement.

"I want that magazine," the navy-eyed boy demanded, "The other one was ruined by your stupidity, so I want it."

"Fine, fine," Hana grumbled from her place in the container, waving a hand, "I'll give it to you later."

"You owe me too," Kise sang out, "That was mean of you to lie to all those girls! Now I have to fix it!"

I call bullshit. Hana narrowed her eyes at Kise, "What do you want?"

Humming to himself, Kise shrugged halfheartedly, "I'm not sure yet. But I'll let you know when I figure it out!"

An awkward silence spread across the three of them. Hana could tell she wasn't in the clear with either boy, but at least they didn't look necessarily angry. In fact, Aomine was smirking. That could either be a good thing or a really bad thing. Hana shot him a wary look before beginning, "Why do you look like that?"

"Thinking about Midorima," Aomine admitted as his smirk grew, "That's funny shit."

"Ah," Hana mumbled in-eloquently. A glance around her surroundings had her speaking again, "So since we're all good now, could one of you help me out of here?"

The two boys exchanged silent glances again. This time, Kise was the one who started smirking and Hana felt the sinking feeling of trepidation nestle itself back into her chest. The blond came to the edge and offered a hand out to her. Grasping onto it, Kise pulled her closer and tucked the arm around her waist before lifting her out, "Careful, Imamura-chan!"

In the background, Aomine leaned against the door frame with a grin. He had a feeling he knew where Kise was going with this.

"Thank you—" Hana stumbled as Kise pulled her tighter and began to walk, "Can you let me go now?"

"Nope! Akashi-cchi wanted you to come to our practice! So here we go~" Kise taunted as he transferred his arm to lay across her shoulders.

As Kise led her back out to the court, Hana felt the blood drain from her face. That wasn't part of the plan! In a desperate attempt, she darted forward but Kise merely tightened his arm around her shoulders. Her green eyes turned toward the blond in a soundless plea, but Kise merely smiled down at her happily.

Behind them, Aomine followed with a snort, "You look like a creep, Kise."

"Hey!" Kise whined, but his smile remained, "If I let go she's going to run off! Imamura-chan needs to apologize to the others too."

"You're the most conniving little shit I've ever had the horror of meeting," Hana growled, eyeing the flesh of his arm in contemplation, "I think I honestly hate you."

"Bah," Aomine chuckled at Kise's offended gasp, "Could say the same about you, Imamura."

Hana turned her glare away from Kise and toward Aomine. She could feel the eyes of the rest of the first-string team watching their grouping curiously, but paid it no mind. Her mouth opened in a retort before slamming shut, horror making her face fall. Oh god, I'm dead.

Behind Aomine were the rest of the colorful hair squad and Nūdoru who was curled around Kuroko's legs in content.

"Hello, Imamura," Akashi began pleasantly. The smile from earlier still stained his lips, "Thank you for joining us today."

Behind the captain, Murasakibara was watching her thoughtfully as he ate the deserts out of his now open box. His head titled in subtle confusion, "She's so small…"

The other three— Midorima, Kuroko, and Momoi were all wearing different expressions. For some reason, Momoi looked sheepish and Hana had a feeling it had to do with Akashi, but she wasn't certain. Kuroko looked mildly annoyed, but he was petting Nūdoru's head anyway. A glance at her dog showed why the usually apathetic boy might be annoyed. Nūdoru held his jersey in his dripping maw, salvia staining the white fabric.

Midorima, on the other hand, looked more than mildly annoyed. His face was still coated in the remnants of pink blush and his hands were gripping the stuffed monkey tightly. Hana winced at his narrowed stare. I'm going to have to do a lot of ass-kissing, aren't I?

"Ah," Hana managed as she felt Kise's chest shake in silent laughter, "Hi there."

Watching Akashi's smile, Hana only had one thought.

The predator has captured the prey.

Despite her wishes, Hana had been forced to attend the first-string practice. Hana side-eyed an entertained Momoi in exasperation. For some weird reason, all the players seemed to be amused about her circumstances. Even the ones she didn't know— Hana didn't know what was so damn funny, but she hoped they shared the joke soon.

Unbeknownst to Hana, she had been pouting for the entirety of practice. What had started off as a barely noticeable frown had morphed into a full-out sulk. Momoi glanced over at her friend again, before turning back to her clipboard with a giggle. She wished she could take a picture of Imamura-chan, but she knew the feisty girl would snap at her.

As Hana continued to pout, a few first-string players had broken apart to take a water break. Kuroko and Nijimura were part of the group and Hana turned her gaze onto them. Kuroko looked exhausted and Hana felt a smidgen of sympathy for the boy. He really needs to work on his stamina, but how?

As she watched, Nijimura passed by Kuroko and patted his shoulder in encouragement.

Trailing her eyes away from the duo, Hana zeroed in on Kise. She hadn't been paying much attention when Akashi ordered everyone to begin practice, but she had heard something about Kise having to do extra work for not making his twenty points last game. The thought caused Hana to roll her eyes.

She had no right to judge Akashi's decisions, but that sounded thoughtless. Not to mention, there are five of them. That means 100 points! That's just excessive.

Speaking of Akashi, the captain was working along Midorima and Aomine. It was boring and Hana didn't really care what they were doing. Frankly, it looked like shooting practice. Which is sooo boring, Hana moaned. Their whole practice was boring. The team was absorbed in drills, which while a good thing, was also tedious. She was used to her team and their rambunctious behavior.

"Is your practice always…" Hana searched for a non-insulting word, "So monotonous?"

Apparently, that word wasn't the best to use because Momoi blinked at her in confusion, "Monotonous?"

"You know—boring?" Hana winced and shot Momoi a guilty smile, hoping the other manager didn't take offense.

"Oh," Momoi paused, "Sometimes I guess. I think everyone's acting differently because you're here."

"Oh really," Hana drawled as she watched the players run about, "Well, in that case, I should go!"

"Stop being stupid," Aomine drawled behind the two managers. Momoi remained unfazed at his surprise appearance, but Hana launched herself into the air with a gasp. Some of the surrounding players turned to stare at her and Hana snarled at them as Aomine reached between them to get to the cooler, "You're here. Suck it up."

"No," Hana whined in a good impression of Kise, "This is weird. I'm consorting with the enemy!"

"We go to the same school," Aomine deadpanned, "We're in the same basketball club."

"… Meh, systematics," Hana dismissed him with a blush. He just doesn't understand.

"Aomine-kun is right though, Imamura-chan," Momoi offered as she scribbled notes on her clipboard, "You're being silly."

Hana huffed. Out of everyone, Momoi could chastise her best. Kuroko could do it occasionally, but Hana seldom witnessed it. On the other hand, Akashi could probably force her to stop by sheer willpower. Giving Momoi a guilty look, Hana murmured, "Fine, I'll shut up."

"Finally," Aomine spoke before replacing his water bottle, "I've been telling you to do that for ages."

"You!" Hana snarled, glaring over her shoulder at the lurking boy, "Just for that, I'm never shutting up!" He walked away with a snort as Hana growled, "I will talk until you go deaf!"

To her side, Momoi sweatdropped at the attention the girl was bringing. Countless eyes were latched onto their position, curiosity and amusement making the air thick. Speaking to herself, Momoi sighed, "Well, you certainly bring excitement, Imamura-chan."

xXx

Thirty minutes later, the practice was over. In a normal circumstance, Hana would consider this great. She might even throw a party. But, today, it was not so exciting. You see, she could tell she was going to have to apologize. Which was not something she wanted to do.

It was when Midorima shot her another glare that she finally caved. Hana released a long sigh before opening her mouth, "I apologize."

Cue stunned silence. Seriously, it wasn't that big of a deal. She apologized before! Why does everyone look like I've just murdered someone? As they continued to stare, Hana started to frown. The first person to make a change of expression was Akashi, who offered her a loaded once over before turning away. Hana assumed that was a twisted type of approval and she watched him carefully.

I'm not apologizing to you, yet. Don't get it twisted.

The next person to move was Midorima, who offered her a slow nod. His eyes were still narrowed when he spoke, "Please refrain from touching my lucky item again," his glasses flashed, "And tell your foolish friend not to touch my glasses."

Okay, so he's still annoyed. Hana brought her hands together nervously, "Er, I'll buy your lucky item one day to make up for it?"

Midorima continued to look at her for a moment and Hana had to fight a shiver. Scary aura, who'd have guessed? Finally, the green-haired boy nodded in satisfaction, "I'll be expecting it tomorrow."

Releasing a sigh, Hana turned her guilty stare onto Kuroko. The ghost player eyed her and this time Hana let herself shiver. She hated that. Stupid mind-reading thing! Kuroko looked amused and Hana would bet money he knew what she was thinking.

His voice was neutral when he spoke, "There's no need to apologize, Imamura-chan. I've been wanting to meet your new dog anyway," he glanced to the corner of the gym where Nūdoru rested, "Although I would have preferred a different meeting."

"Yeah sorry, I didn't think he'd like you so much," Hana moved her gaze to a smiling Momoi, "I'm sorry I accidentally glued you to Aomine-san."

"It's okay! It was pretty easy to get off since the glue was water-soluble," Momoi looked mischievous for a second, "And it was really funny watching Aomine-kun's freak out."

"…Satsuki," Aomine groaned from his resting place on the floor, "It wasn't funny. Oi, Imamura? Where's my apology."

"You don't get one," Hana stated and ignored his resulting gawk, "I said I'd give you the other magazine. That was an apology!"

"No, it wasn't," Aomine sat up on the palms of his hands, "Don't apologize to everyone but me!"

She shrugged his demand off, "I'm not saying sorry to Kise, either."

"— Wah! Why not!?" Kise yelped from the goal line. He still had a few more drills to do before Akashi-cchi was satisfied.

"Because you dragged me in here!" Hana retorted. "You're the whole reason I'm here!"

"You were hiding in th—"

"No! Do not speak of that!"

In the background, the rest of the miracles watched the two impassively. The ones that sat with Hana at lunch were used to this, but Akashi and Murasakibara were not. As he watched the two bicker, Akashi raised an eyebrow at Imamura's use of Kise's name. He hadn't expected that kind of familiarity, but it would be useful in the end. Finally, the two stopped arguing and Hana was left to huff in defeat.

"Fine," Hana spat out, "I'm sorry, Kise and Aomine-san."

As he munched on a stick of dango, Murasakibara sighed. This is taking so long, why does she keep talking? Swallowing the rest of his dessert, he yawned, "I want to go home. You need to stop talking."

Hana twitched and deliberately turned to the giant, "… I'm sorry, Murasakibara-san."

"I don't care," he drawled as he stretched up to his full height. Holy shit, he's huge. Hooded purple yes landed on the small girl in contempt, "I'm hungry and you're taking too long."

Hana narrowed her eyes on the tallest boy and resisted stomping her foot. The other teammates watched the interaction warily, except for Akashi and Kuroko. The captain was curious to see how this turned out, while Kuroko already knew the outcome.

Murasakibara yawned again before waving a slow hand, "This is why I don't like short girls. They're so angry."

"What," Hana practically growled and her feet stomped forward without her command, "Well, I don't like tall boys!" Murasakibara's face went flat and Hana scoffed, "Doesn't feel so hot, does it?"

Seeing the tension spike in the purple-haired boy's aura, Momoi stepped forward, "Hey, Imamura-chan? Are you doing anything after practice?"

Hana didn't want to tear her glare off Murasakibara, but Momoi's words registered with a bang. A look of terror washed over her face as she glanced to Momoi, "Oh shit, yes! Thank you Momoi-san!"

"Er—" Momoi blinked as Hana spun around and ran to her backpack, "Are you okay?"

"I forgot I have to clean the bakery!" Hana blabbered as she gathered her papers, "Nūdoru! Come on boy!"

"… Bakery?" Murasakibara muttered thoughtfully. His eyes followed the speedy girl as she darted all around the gym. With his decision made, Murasakibara lumbered up behind her. Hana felt him before she saw him and wide green eyes peered over her shoulder. She trailed them up from his stomach to his face with a cautious look.

"Yes?" She offered suspiciously. Her nerves didn't like how close the boy was, but she figured he wouldn't do anything bad with his teammates around. Hopefully.

"You said bakery," was all Murasakibara offered as he stared down at her, "I want to go."

Hana blinked before narrowing her eyes on him, "You can't just invite yourself."

"Yes, I can," the giant drawled, "Hurry up."

"You—" Hana growled and forcefully slung her backpack over her shoulder, "Nūdoru, if you want your reward, you better hurry!" A black blur ran by the group and out the door. Hana looked to Murasakibara and frowned, "If you're coming, come on."

Hana waved to the rest of the team and darted out the door after her dog. In the gym, Murasakibara sighed before trudging after her. His steps were heavy with reluctance, but the promise of sweets kept his feet lifted a large hand in a semblance of a wave as he pushed the gym door open.

"What was that?" Kise blinked as the two left. Aomine echoed his sentiment silently. Even Midorima was a bit startled at the abrupt change of pace.

"Imamura-chan will easily accept someone," Kuroko offered. He looked resigned to the facts he was about to share, "I'm sure you've all noticed. Murasakibara-kun is taking advantage of it."

"Indeed," Akashi spoke in the following silence. Contemplation pitched his lips into a smile, "It's interesting, isn't it?"

Associations with all of us. She's adding more points to her favor.