Edited 11.03.2021
How to Please Your Neighborhood Giant
The sun was setting, the flowers were blooming, and people were chatting happily on their way home from work. All in all, it was beautiful outside, but Hana couldn't shake off her nerves. She was trying, honestly, but her breathing exercises weren't working. Nūdoru had run off a while back and Hana was left to suffer in the silence alone.
To her left, the boy beside her was casting a shadow over the sidewalk and the resulting effect was daunting.
Hana and Murasakibara hadn't talked much as they walked. She didn't know what to say to the boy and Murasakibara was more concerned with eating than conversing. In fact, she hadn't had this much trouble starting a conversation since her dinner with Kuroko. Talking to everyone else seemed to come naturally, except Akashi, but Hana couldn't think of anything that she had in common with Murasakibara.
"So," Hana ventured, "Do you like penguins?"
"…" Purple eyes trailed down to her, "Not really."
"Of course. Forgot you don't like small things."
Silence.
"Why did you even come?" Hana finally demanded, sick of the quiet atmosphere. Murasakibara shrugged above her before popping another chip into his mouth. As he chewed, he crumbled the bag up and tossed it into a trashcan a few feet ahead.
"I'm hungry," the tall boy answered, "I didn't think it'd be this far of a walk, though."
She scowled, "It's been ten minutes."
"Too far," Hana sneered at his response, but he continued, "We should have taken the bus."
"You can always turn around, Murasakibara-san," Hana grumbled before quickening her pace. Her companion's legs were so long he kept getting ahead of her. Stupid tall people.
"I'd just have to walk more."
"Ugh—You are so difficult," Hana growled at his back.
"You're still loud," the giant boy droned before blinking, "… what's your name anyway?"
She gawked, "You don't know my name?!"
"Should I?"
Well, he has a point. Hana paused with reluctant insight, "I guess not. This is the first time we've talked."
"I know," Murasakibara answered, "I would have remembered someone like you."
Green eyes cast toward him suspiciously, "… What does that mean?"
He flapped a large hand over his shoulder in her direction, "Someone so annoying."
He said what? Forgetting his earlier question, Hana's feet stopped and she felt her blood rushing into her cheeks. Fury made her chest tight. Tightening her hands into fists, she glared at Murasakibara's back. Do not attack. Do not attack. Attacking will be bad.
Murasakibara stopped walking at the lack of footsteps and tilted his head back, "Why'd you stop?" Hana's eyes remained narrowed, but she forced her mouth not to open. A look of understanding came onto Murasakibara's face, "Oh, you're grumpy."
"Yeah," Hana hissed, "I'm pretty grumpy."
Purple eyes trailed over her and watched as she bristled, "Kise-chin was right. You look like a cat."
"— what?"
"But I don't like cats," Murasakibara continued, nonchalantly watching Hana's flush spread across her face. Kise-chin said she blushed a lot too, but it wasn't that entertaining in Murasakibara's opinion. She just looked like an angry strawberry. Hmm.. strawberries are good in desserts.
"You just don't like anything about me, do you?" Hana eventually deadpanned. Her blush was still prominent, but most of her spontaneous anger had been stubbed out by his surprise subject change.
"Not really," Murasakibara admitted, "You tricked me. That was mean."
"But you got food out of it," Hana hedged, careful to walk the line between conversation and teasing. It didn't really matter to her if Murasakibara liked her, but it would make everything easier. Besides, having a goliath on your side is always an advantage.
"It wasn't even that good," he sniffed, "You got it from the cafeteria, I could tell."
She really shouldn't be surprised, "How?"
"I ate it," He explained as if it made total sense. Which it didn't. Unless…
"Are you saying you can tell where something was cooked just by eating it?"
"Yeah," Murasakibara drawled, "Their dango tastes bad. Like Sat-chin's cooking."
"Okay, who's Sat-chin?" Hana probed, trying her damnedest to keep the conversation moving.
"Pink hair," Murasakibara pulled out another snack from his never-ending pocket, "The one that watches Mine-chin."
"Momoi-san?" Hana questioned and at his resulting nod, continued, "She can't cook, huh?"
That question caused the most reaction that Hana had seen all day. His face twisted up into a grimace, "No, it's terrible," he stared at her contemplatively, "Can you cook?"
"Probably just as well as anyone else," Hana admitted honestly, "I can't cook rice though."
Murasakibara almost appeared shocked. On second look, that expression was definitely contempt, "Even Sat-chin can do that."
"Don't look so surprised," Hana defended and folded her hands over her chest, "I have a rice cooker for a reason. I just can't get the water part down— either I add too much or not enough."
"That sounds stupid."
"You sound stupid," Hana countered childishly.
"You're stupid," Murasakibara turned around and was scowling down at her. It would have been more intimidating if he didn't have a piece of candy stuck out of his pursed lips. It's still pretty damn intimidating, though.
"Good one," Hana stepped up into his face and snarled back, "But I'm not as stupid as you, el estupido."
"I still want to crush you," he came closer and stood above her. His body blocked out the sunset, but Hana would never admit how terrifying the image was, "I don't like you."
With her ego now in control of her actions, she snarled back at him, "Yeah, well do it!"
Murasakibara took another step toward her and Hana was left to stare up from his chest. His eyes had lost their lazy edge and now slanted toward her face threateningly. He's much bigger from this angle… Hana swallowed her fear and sneered up at him. In return for his macho gesture, she jabbed him in the stomach with her finger.
By all accounts, it was meant to further rile him up, but it seemed Murasakibara was ticklish.
The large boy flinched backward at her poke and Hana barely avoided his jerking arm. Wide green eyes stared up at him in astonishment from a slack-jawed face. Hana couldn't believe it. Ticklish. Honestly, who would have thought?
"Don't do that," Murasakibara ordered. Her finger hovered in the air and he glared at it, "Don't touch me."
"You're ticklish," Hana was still gaping up at him and he jerked.
"No, I'm not."
"You are!"
"I'm not," he growled as Hana started to step closer, "Go away."
"I'm not going to do anything bad!" Hana promised. This kind of information could be vital! She continued, "I just want to see if you really are—"
"No," In an act of stupidity, Hana took another step closer, only to be stopped by a massive hand landing on her head. Gulping her surprised scream, Hana slowly trailed her eyes up to Murasakibara's face. The gigantic boy looked very, very unhappy. With narrowed eyes, he spoke again, "No."
Nervously, Hana brought a hand up to his and tried to push it off. It didn't budge and she fidgeted in his hold, "Okay, uhm, I promise I won't do that again."
"Good," he released her head then spontaneously patted it, "Kuro-chin would be mad if I crushed you."
"…Well that's good to know," Hana tried not to get offended at the demeaning gesture.
Murasakibara watched her for a second before continuing forward. His voice echoed back to her, "You're too slow."
Her shoulders slumped in a mixture of defeat and relief, "… I just can't do anything right, can I?"
"Not really," Murasakibara drawled up ahead, "but if this food is any good, I'll forgive you."
She blinked, "Forgive me for what?"
"Being annoying."
"Ugh, you—"
"Hurry up."
"Murasakibara-san!"
xXxXx
When they finally arrived, Hana didn't blink at the sight of Nūdoru sitting in front of her father's shop. Somehow the dog just knew everything. It was kind of freaky, to be honest, but she figured she'd been watching too many horror movies lately.
Her dog's large body was resting against the door when he heard Hana and Murasakibara walk up. Jumping to attention, Nūdoru bounced down to her. At least, that's what Hana had assumed he was doing. Instead, the dog ignored her and bounced right toward Murasakibara.
As the large paws landed on his waist, Murasakibara blinked down at the dog, "What are you doing?"
Nūdoru did nothing but stick out his tongue. To the side, Hana watched the interaction warily. Hopefully, Murasakibara likes dogs too. As if he heard her thoughts, Murasakibara reached a hand out and patted the dog on the head. That action was the start of the chain effect.
Apparently, Nūdoru liked equally large humans. As soon as Murasakibara removed his hand, Nūdoru fell to all fours and began to jump around the tall teen. Except, it wasn't a tiny bounce. It was like watching a kangaroo on cocaine. Judging by the widening of his purple eyes, Murasakibara was as startled as Hana.
"Nūdoru," Hana cautioned after a practically high jump, "Calm down boy."
Her dog didn't listen.
"Down," Murasakibara ordered and Nūdoru fell to his butt in front of the teen. His large tongue lolled out of his mouth in happiness and Hana felt a tinge of betrayal. My dog has turned against me and to Murasakibara, no less. Meanwhile, Murasakibara had started to pet Nūdoru on the head and the dog's tail was thumping happily, "Good boy."
"…Uhm," Hana offered in bewilderment as she watched them bond, "I'm going to go inside— Are you coming?"
The purple-haired boy didn't reply, but he did lift himself to full height and turn toward her. Hana took this as agreement and turned back toward the door. Releasing a sigh to prepare herself, she turned the knob. The door opened with a creak and Hana was assaulted by the smell of vanilla.
The brightly lit bakery greeted her with its glory. Behind her, she heard Murasakibara pause and figured he could see what she did. With the two humans distracted, Nūdoru darted in behind them and retreated to his doggy bed.
The store was positively eye-catching, she'd give her father that.
The walls were painted an obnoxious yellow and there were no chairs. Just beanbags. Not to mention the mishmash of tables that decorated the walls, each one painted a different color of the rainbow. In the back, the display case was still filled to the brim and Hana could hear her father and another cook bustling around in the kitchen.
"Dad," Hana raised her voice, "I'm here and I brought a friend." She certainly did not flinch at referring to Murasakibara as a friend.
A bang caused Hana to roll her eyes as her father replied, "Coming!"
To her left, Murasakibara was eyeing the strange bakery. He'd never seen one so oddly decorated and it smelled weird. Like burnt sugar. Maybe I shouldn't have come. Purple eyebrows furrowed as he listened to the movement of someone in the kitchen and a short man in an orange apron appeared moments later.
"Honey!" The short man exclaimed and Murasakibara watched as he embraced the girl in a hug, "I'm so glad to see you. You see we had an explosion a few minutes ago—"
"And you want me to clean it," the girl deadpanned. As he observed, Murasakibara belatedly realized that she never told him her name.
"That was our agreement," her father nodded before looking over at Murasakibara, "And who's this?"
"Murasakibara Atushi," he boy offered without a bow.
The girl's father tilted his head a bit then nodded, "You did good, Hana. He'll be able to reach the ceiling."
"…You got it on the ceiling?!"
Cataloging the girl's name for a later date, Murasakibara looked past the man to the displayed cupcakes. They looked just as weird as the bakery itself. Each one was a different color and a few in the back were several colors at once. At least the purple one looked edible.
Blinking back into their conversation, Murasakibara realized that the man was talking to him. Her father's eyebrows were raised and he repeated himself, "I was just introducing myself, Murasakibara-san. I'm Imamura Heiji."
Murasakibara didn't really know what to do, he wasn't good with parents. Luckily, Hana caught on to his uneasiness and stole the conversation back, "So who's here?"
"That new guy. What's his name," her father snapped his fingers, "Don't remember right now. Anyway, we'll be heading home now that you're here to clean up."
"Or," Hana began slyly, "You could stay and help. More hands the better, right?"
"Nope," her father smiled with way too many teeth, "You're on your own. Don't mess everything up too bad. Hey! New guy! We're done."
"My name is Hatsu Tetsunori," a voice called back from the kitchen before a disgruntled-looking young man walked out. His face and clothing were covered in pink icing and Hana had a feeling he was regretting taking the job offer. Coming to stand beside her father, the new guy nodded toward Hana and Murasakibara, "Hello."
"Hi," Hana echoed before shooting her dad a disapproving look, "Be nice to your employees."
"I am," Her father smiled teasingly, "But hey, seriously be careful, kid. I'll pick dinner up on the way home, so don't be late."
"Yes, sir," Hana agreed then nodded to the new guy, "Bye, Hatsu-san."
"Have fun, honey! And Murasakibara-san? Don't let my daughter be too mean to you."
They walked out the door after Murasakibara offered a silent nod of agreement. Turning away from the door, his head perked up when he heard Imamura complaining behind him, "You aren't supposed to leave your daughter alone… hell was he thinking… murder and death…"
"This place is weird," Murasakibara stated. It was the only description he could come up with.
"I know," Hana sighed out in dismay as her cheeks tinted, "Sorry."
He gave her a side glance before walking toward the cupcakes, "Can I eat those?"
"Uhm, sure. You don't mean all of them, right?" Hana raised an eyebrow at his back, but he ignored her in favor of the food. As he went to scan the desserts, Hana made her way to the kitchen with a shrug. Murasakibara is a big boy, he can handle himself. Heh, big boy.
Still chuckling to herself, Hana pushed the kitchen door open and her mouth promptly dropped. Seconds later a distressed moan echoed throughout the building.
She knew it would be bad. But damn, she'd been hoping it wouldn't be this bad. Her father had been correct in his description of an explosion. There was cake batter on the walls, floor, and ceiling. Hana let out a whine before making her way to the closet. I'm going to need a lot of cleaners. Lots and lots of cleaner…
Grabbing a mop and some gloves, Hana dragged them into the middle of the messy kitchen. Her brow furrowed in determination and she slipped the plastic gloves on with a pop. Brandishing her mop like a weapon, Hana slapped it onto the floor with a smack.
Let the scrubbing begin!
Thirty minutes later, Hana had successfully cleaned the cabinets and the floor. All that was left was the ceiling. Hell yeah, I deserve a break. Leaning her mop against the wall, Hana stretched her arms above her head. A brief thought of the wayward Murasakibara had her venturing back out to the main room.
The sight that greeted her was interesting, to say the least.
Murasakibara was resting on the floor in front of the display case with several cupcake wrappers spread around him. In his hand was a yellow cupcake and he was eyeing it cautiously. Hearing Hana's arrival, his wary eyes turned onto her, "What flavor is this?"
"Either vanilla or lemon," Hana replied as she examined the cupcake, "Does it have sprinkles?"
"Yes," Murasakibara answered guardedly.
"Then it's probably vanilla," Hana shrugged as she leaned against the door frame, "I'm not sure. He changes them up sometimes."
His nose wrinkled in distaste, "…They're weird flavors."
"Yeah, did you try the purple one?"
"It was gross," was Murasakibara's only comment.
"I bet. It was eggplant."
The boy let out a derisive sigh from his position on the floor, "Vegetables."
"Vegetables," Hana parroted with an ill hidden smirk. The boy reminded her of a child and it was almost endearing. Except, "Please don't throw up. I'm not cleaning that."
"I won't," Murasakibara drawled before peeling the wrapper off the yellow cupcake and taking a bite, "It's vanilla."
"Well, now you know which ones are safe to eat," she glanced to the display case again, "The blue ones are normally chocolate."
"Hmm," he hummed as he chewed. Purple eyes blinked up at her in speculation, "I still don't like you."
"…Gah, I give up!" Throwing her hands in the air, Hana turned away from him. Forget endearing. More like infuriating! Shoving the door open and grabbing her mop, she began to grumble, "Not even going to try. Absolutely pointless."
Huffing out of her nose, Hana glared up at the ceiling. She couldn't reach it, but like hell was that was going to stop her especially in her current mood. Green eyes flicked over to the cabinets and Hana raised a singular eyebrow. With stubbornness passed down from generations, she made her way to the white cabinets.
Throwing one foot up and then the other, Hana stood proudly on top of the counter with her mop in hand. Slinging the mop to the ceiling, she smirked, "Doesn't like short girls, huh? Well, now I'm just as tall!"
And so, she began cleaning with a fury.
Meanwhile, Murasakibara had finished off the last of the chocolate cupcakes and he was bored. He wanted a nap, but the annoying girl had wandered off. Despite his laziness and general rudeness, he knew his manners and it would be rude to leave without informing her. Climbing to his knees, Murasakibara stretched his arms above his head and stood.
A glance around showed no sign of her and he let out a long-winded sigh. Everything about her is so troublesome…
Gradually making his way to the kitchen, Murasakibara pushed open the swinging door only to pause at the view. The girl was standing on the countertop with one leg dangling precariously over the edge as she scrubbed the ceiling with a dripping mop. A glance toward the floor showed a large puddle of water that had formed from the drippage.
Murasakibara pursed his lips as he tried to remember her name, "… Mura-chin?"
"What?" Hana tossed over her shoulder as she worked to keep her balance, "Who's Mura-chin?"
"You," Murasakibara answered slowly. He wasn't one to worry, but that looked dangerous.
"Don't call me that," She swiped the mop against the ceiling roughly. Hana had worked most of her irritation out, but a few dredges remained. "That's not my name."
"Imamura-chin's too long," he replied and stepped further into the kitchen. During the commotion of watching the strange girl, Murasakibara had spied a tub of icing and it was calling his name.
Snorting at his explanation, Hana retorted, "Mura-chin sounds too much like your name. It's weird."
"Ima-chin sounds silly," he cracked the tub of icing open and turned back to watch the girl. Both feet were now on the counter, but she was balancing against the wall with an arm to reach the center of the ceiling. Scooping some icing out with his finger, he spoke, "You're going to fall."
"I'm fine," Hana denied then glanced over at the giant in alarm, "What are you eating?"
"Hmm…" Murasakibara licked his finger, "Strawberry icing."
"Don't eat that!" her voice came out frantically. That's the icing for the wedding cake!
He blinked at her order before scooping out another bit of icing, "I already did."
"Murasakibara-san!" Hana tried to straighten herself, but her body wasn't cooperating and she stumbled to gain her balance, "I'm serious! Don't eat that!"
"But I already did," the tall boy repeated, unashamed. He continued to scoop out icing, much to Hana's dismay. Opening her mouth to shout at him, Hana turned her body to face him.
Placing her hands on her waist, she glared at him, "It's—"
Unfortunately, by doing so, Hana let go of the wall that was keeping her balanced. A short curse was all she could manage before her body tilted sideways. The fall was too fast for her to comprehend and the only thing she noticed was that the ground was getting closer much faster than it should.
An arm came across her waist, catching her and subsequently pushing the air out of her lungs, "Christ!"
Coughing, Hana looked up toward Murasakibara who had caught her. His purple eyes remained unconcerned, but his eyebrows were raised, "I told you so."
Her eyes widened as she stared up at him, he caught me? The hell? She could feel her mouth gaping and forced herself to respond, "Er— Thank you, Murasakibara-san?"
"Uh-huh," the giant hummed as he picked Hana up and stood her on her feet. She tried not to feel too terrified by how effortlessly he did it. Turning away from her, Murasakibara droned, "You're clumsy."
"…I've heard," Hana grit her teeth to help her remain polite. He did just save her after all. Speaking of, "How'd you get over here so fast anyway?"
Murasakibara sighed as he went to retrieve the container of icing, "It was easy," he twisted his head over his shoulder only to pause, "Uh oh."
"Uh oh?" Hana mimicked while bending forward to pick up her mop. Shit. I've made an even bigger mess… Water evaporates, right?
"You're messy." He waved a hand over her outfit, "It's icing."
"What?" She paused at his voice before looking down at herself. It took a moment for everything to register, but when it did Hana gawked at the strawberry icing spread across her stomach. My shirt! Not another one!
Holding the container in his massive hands, Murasakibara observed the girl slowly turn red. This time he had the foresight to retrieve a spoon and was sucking the icing off contemplatively. She really looks like a strawberry now. He scooped more icing out and observed her in interest.
Meanwhile, Hana was in the middle of an anger-fueled rant. It wasn't directed toward Murasakibara, per se. It was more directed toward fate itself for putting her in direct contact with situations like this, "What the hell have I done to deserve this? I saved a stray! Doesn't that count for good fortune or something?"
"You're red," Murasakibara finally spoke and cut off her outburst. His eyes trailed from her feet up to her face, "You look like a strawberry."
"Yeah, you mentioned that earlier," Hana complained before looking up at him, "—Stop eating that!"
"Why? It's almost all gone," the purple-haired boy drawled and scooped another spoon full out.
What kind of logic is that? Hana deadpanned then sighed in defeat. This was too much for one day. Let him have the damn icing, "Fine! Eat it, whatever."
"Hmm…" Murasakibara smiled for the first time that day, "Thanks Mura-chin."
She deflated, "— I still don't want you to call me that."
Murasakibara shrugged before straightening up and walking toward her, "I'm leaving. I'm going to take this, okay?"
"I don't think my approval matters much," her tone was sarcastic, but her gaze was focused on the mess on the floor, "Just give me the container back later."
"Mmkay," he grabbed the handle of the doorknob before looking back at her one last time, "You smell like strawberries too."
What the hell? Without her control, Hana's eyebrows rose in confusion, "I'm sorry?"
"It's okay," the door was pushed open and Murasakibara's words echoed behind him, "I like strawberries."
The door slammed shut and Hana was left gaping in the kitchen. One second passed, then another. A whole minute later and Hana finally threw her hands up in the air in resignation. I don't understand any of them!
Stomping toward the front of her father's store, Hana ignored Nūdoru's resting spot as she began to pace. His head lifted and tilted at her in confusion. Watery blind eyes blinked as he listened to her stomp back and forth. With a sigh, he rested his head back on his paws. He certainly picked a weird human to adopt.
Taking a break, Hana grumbled to Nūdoru as she locked the door, "I hate boys. I've been compared to animals, called an idiot, ordered around, threatened, and now I'm a strawberry! What does that even mean!"
Nūdoru huffed and Hana took it as permission to continue, "Crazy ass miracles. I should just move to a new country— France sounds good right, Nūdoru? They have pastries and shit. Pretty poodles too."
Taking a deep breath, Hana looked back to Nūdoru who was watching her blankly, "And I'm talking to a dog," her face fell, "Great."
Woof.
"…Don't be a jerk, Nūdoru."
xXx
Collapsing in her seat with a groan, Hana buried her head into her arms. She just wanted a nap. A very long nap surrounded by fluffy pillows and warm blankets. Letting a wistful sigh out at the thought, Hana smiled dreamily. I could hire beautiful men to bring me food in bed. Oh, that would be the life…
Beside her, Kuroko quirked an eyebrow, "Hello to you too, Imamura-chan."
"I'm so tired, Kuroko-kun," she mumbled sleepily without turning to look at her friend, "Do you have any coffee?"
"I'm afraid not. Don't you usually bring your own?"
"I drank it all," Hana whined out before burying her head further, "Do you think you could share your ghostly thing so I can take a nap?"
"It doesn't work that way, I'm afraid," Hana didn't have to see him to know he was amused. His voice was tinged with curiosity when he spoke again, "Why are you so tired?"
"I had to clean the kitchen," she grumbled into the desk, "And Murasakibara-san ate all this icing, so I had to make it again."
"You shouldn't have let him do that," Kuroko reprimanded belatedly.
"Easier said than done," she scoffed. In the sanctuary of her arms, Hana heard Kuramoto-sensei bustle inside and sighed. Today was not a math day. As he called the roll, Hana tucked her face into her elbow and closed her eyes with a smile.
No one will care if I sleep.
She was just drifting off when she felt a gentle tug on her ponytail. With a moan, she shook her head softly in an attempt for the annoyance to go away. Another few minutes passed. Then her ponytail was tugged again. Hana scowled into her arm.
I swear If that's Kuroko I'm going to slap him. It happened again.
"Kuroko-kun," Hana growled under her breath. A huff of air came from her friend and Hana blinked her eyes open. Turning her head toward Kuroko, she scowled at him, "Stop that."
"You shouldn't sleep in class, Imamura-chan," Kuroko responded neutrally, but dammit, Hana knew he was laughing inside. Before getting to know Kuroko, she would have never thought he had a mischievous side.
In an act of retribution, Hana swatted her hand out at him. She hadn't been trying to hurt him or anything, so Kuroko was easily able to avoid it. Giving him a glare, Hana was about to curl back up into hibernation when Kuramoto-sensei noticed her.
"Great, you're awake, Imamura-san," her teacher ignored Hana's dismayed whine, "We were just getting started on lesson two: problems one through twenty."
Forcing herself to sit up, Hana grabbed her textbook and flipped it open. The math problems that greeted her twisted into gibberish right before her eyes. So many letters… So many numbers… I give up. Her face hit her math book with a soft thump. She heard Kuramoto-sensei chastising her in the background, but Hana couldn't force herself to care.
Her body remained silent until a soft snore crawled out of her mouth moments later. Beside her, Kuroko watched with a microscopic smile, "Sleep well, Imamura-chan."
Less than forty-five minutes later, Hana was awoken by a gentle tapping on her head. She let out a moan before stretching her arms forward. Her back cracked in satisfaction. That nap had successfully gifted her with more energy and bright green eyes blinked up at Kuroko, "Hey, Kuroko-kun."
"You slept through the whole period," Kuroko informed her, "Sensei wasn't happy."
"…Shit. I feel so much better though," she stretched her arm down to lift her backpack off its hook, "Aren't you going to be late?"
He shook his head, "I have fifteen minutes before I'm needed. Would you mind if I walked you to your own practice?"
Hana wasn't awake enough to decode the implications of that statement, so settling for a neutral response, she accepted, "That'd be great, thanks."
Kuroko waited patiently as she got her stuff together, blue eyes watching her every movement for something Hana wasn't aware of. She didn't think she'd ever get used to that and the feeling it brought. It made her want to blush and at the same time run very far away. Repressing her tremble, Hana stood up and blinked at him, "Ready?"
Nodding, Kuroko made his way to the door with her. Because Hana was a few inches ahead of him, she pulled the door open for him. Hana looked out toward the hallway after giving Kuroko a cheerful smile and waited for him to pass. Due to her attention being elsewhere, she missed Kuroko's pause at the odd gesture.
"Thank you," Kuroko nodded his head toward her as Hana shut the door behind them, "Although I would have been able to do it myself."
"Eh," Hana shrugged as they began to walk in step together, "I got there first. 'Sides it's just a door."
Releasing a silent sigh, Kuroko shook his head softly, "Alright, Imamura-chan. I wanted to ask you about your time with Murasakibara-kun yesterday; how was it?"
"It was alright," Hana tugged her lip into her mouth thoughtfully, "Okay, it was a little weird. He met my dad; not sure how I feel about that."
"I hope he remained polite?"
"Oh yeah, no worries about that. They didn't talk much," Hana explained, "I just don't introduce my friends to my family often, is all."
"That's understandable," Kuroko paused to sort out his thoughts, "Did you and Murasakibara-kun get along?"
"Now, that is the million-dollar question," she remarked dryly and stepped out of the way of an incoming student, "We argued a lot. I may have called him stupid too… Did you know he was ticklish?"
Kuroko blinked in disbelief, "No, I did not. How did you discover that?"
"Uhm," Hana blushed at how foolish she was about to sound, "He threatened to crush me and I may have assaulted him in retaliation."
Kuroko spoke his next question deliberately slow, "And by assault you mean?"
With a huff, Hana grumbled and twisted her head toward the wall, "I jabbed him with my finger."
"So, you poked him?" Kuroko tried to clarify. The resulting mental image was comical as he imagined Imamura-chan's tiny form poking into an enraged Murasakibara-kun. His lips twitched up at the thought.
"Yes, technically, I poked him. But it doesn't sound cool and badass that way," she pouted at the description. Green eyes glanced toward her companion and Hana heaved a sigh at his amusement. I bet he keeps me around solely for his entertainment.
"Considering his size, I believe many would still find it impressive," he tried to console her, "It sounds like you two had an interesting time together."
"Yeah, other than him eating all the cupcakes and icing," Hana rolled her eyes at the memory, "Speaking of that, please ask him about the container he took home with him. I want it back."
The two rounded a corner and Kuroko side-eyed her, "I'm sure he appreciated it."
"Eh, it was a thank you gift," she admitted with a soft shrug, "I fell off the counter and he caught me. Figured he deserved it."
"…You fell off the counter? Imamura-chan you should be more careful."
"It's all good. No harm, no foul. Right?"
"Not particularly," Kuroko admitted with raised brows. He swiftly dodged a person who didn't notice him before turning back to Hana, "I'm glad you two got along."
Coughing guilty, Hana sped forward, "Yeah, that's the word."
"You did get along, correct?"
"He called me a strawberry if that means anything."
Despite not having Kuroko in her line of sight, she could feel his blank-faced stare, "I'm not sure."
Ducking under a random boy's raised arm, she shot him a rueful glance and chuckled self-consciously, "I don't know either. Why am I even talking to you about this?"
"Well, I did ask," he admitted, "Even though it's left me with more questions than answers."
The conversation petered out as the duo finally reached the reserve gym entrance. Tilting her head and offering Kuroko a small grin, Hana spoke, "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to confuse you. Anyway, it seems this is where I leave you."
"It seems so," Kuroko paused and eyed the door behind her thoughtfully, "I had one more question to ask you if you don't mind waiting a few more minutes."
"Yeah, sure," Hana answered and took her hand off the door handle. Turning her body to face him, she was startled by his assessing look.
Catching onto her surprise, Kuroko tilted the side of his mouth up, "If you aren't busy this weekend would you like to come with me to the new burger shop? Our last outing didn't quite go as planned and I've been meaning to make it up to you."
Her mouth opened. Then it closed. It opened one more time and Hana let out a noise that strongly resembled a strangled cat, "— agh?"
"Imamura-chan?" Kuroko probed in amusement. She continued to flounder around for a moment and a slow blush had worked its way up her neck. "I'm sorry if I've startled—"
Out of nowhere, the door behind her burst open, and Hana was jolted forward by two pairs of muscular arms wrapping around her shoulders. She coughed at the surprise before looking to her left and right in astonishment. As her eyes registered who was next to her, she felt her mouth tug into a scowl. Those sneaky little brats.
"Hana-chan! I was wondering when you'd get here!" Uoya.
"Oh, thank god you're back! Never leave us again!" Kitano.
"Oh hey, Kuroko-san," Uoya offered the first-string player a wide smile, "Thanks for walking Hana-chan here!"
"It was no problem," Kuroko blinked at the unexpected appearances. Despite having met Uoya-san before he didn't remember the sixth year having such a sharp smile. Not to mention the other boy who was shooting Kuroko a smug smirk. A light blue eyebrow raised as the situation sank in.
"We never officially met, have we?" Kitano offered, "Kitano Toki! Pleasure to meet you."
In the background, Uoya had wrapped his arms around the tops of Hana's shoulders and was smiling in a pleasant expression. Well, it would have been pleasant if he didn't have a hand covering Hana's mouth as she struggled against his unexpected assault. The sixth year's smile became a grimace as Hana's foot connected to his knee.
Turning back to Kitano, Kuroko bowed his head a bit, "Nice to meet you Kitano-san, I'm Kuroko Tetsuya."
"Right. Well," the bald boy continued, "Thanks for walking our manager to our practice! We all really appreciate it!"
Kuroko blinked slowly at the obvious intent of the statement, "As I said, it was no problem."
"Great!" Uoya chimed in from the background as he avoided Hana's swinging limbs, "We should probably get to practice now! See ya' later, Kuroko-san!" And with that, Uoya dragged a scrambling Hana into the double doors behind them.
The sound of scuffling broke out as the doors closed.
Kitano and Kuroko watched the doors warily, both expecting Hana to appear at any moment. When it remained clear for a few seconds, Kitano turned back to Kuroko without his faux smiling expression, "I don't know you, Kuroko-san, but don't borrow our manager again. Okay?"
Raising his eyebrows at the threatening tone, Kuroko responded calmly, "I believe that should be Imamura-chan's choice, shouldn't it?"
"If she actually wanted to go, we'd know," Kitano scoffed, "We are her team after all."
"And we are her friends," the phantom player argued, "I understand you are protective of Imamura-chan, but there is no reason for hostility."
Sneering, Kitano rolled his eyes, "Whatever you say, just keep your friendship off the court. Hana is our manager, our friend, and our responsibility."
Kuroko tilted his head innocently and, in the words of Imamura-chan, decided to be a little shit, "For now."
"You—" Kitano struggled to find words as his mouth pursed in anger, "Don't talk like you—"
One of the gym doors opened and cut Kitano's retort off. A messy tangle of black hair stuck itself out and Hana scowled at Kitano, "Stop with the overprotective brother act! You're such a dumbass," her focus turned to Kuroko, "And yes, Kuroko-kun, I'd like to hang out this weekend."
"Hana! No—" Narrowed green eyes shut Kitano up and the second string player formed an impressive pout. Meanwhile, Kuroko felt a sense of smug satisfaction. It wasn't overwhelming and it was practically unnoticeable, but it was there.
"I'll get your number from Momoi-san," Kuroko offered in the silence, "If that's alright with you, Imamura-chan?"
"Yeah, yeah it's fine. Just make sure no one else gets it," Hana waved a hand before she turned her glare back onto Kitano, "Now get your ass in there! You all have a lot of explaining to do. The hell was that!? Where did you get a damn net!"
Shooting Kuroko one last glare, Kitano sulked into the gym. Hana slammed the doors behind him and Kuroko was left to stare at the wooden venire of the door. A tiny twitch of the lips was all he offered before turning around and making his way to his own practice.
That went much better than expected.
xXxXx
Hana felt like an animal on display in the zoo. Other than Futabatei and Coach, every one of her teammates was staring at her. Even Uoya, who was sitting on the bench with an icepack was watching her. She took a deep breath, "What the hell was that?"
Some of the more skittish teammates backed away at her tone, but the braver ones puffed their chests out in preparation. With a blank face, Hana raised an eyebrow at the sight. They look like a bunch of apes. Kitano was the one to step forward despite his newly developed limp.
"You've got to look at it from our point of view, Hana," Kitano began with a nervous scratch to the head, "I mean… You hated first string and suddenly Momoi-san is in here saying you had to go to their practice. It seemed fishy."
A chorus of agreements came from the rest of her team and Hana ran a weary hand down her face. You bunch of idiotic, lovable, jack-asses. Letting her shoulders lose their tension, Hana raised her voice to reach everyone, "I get it. You guys were worried. Thank you for that, but please do not do that again. Kuroko-kun was just inviting me to hang out with him this weekend. It's not a big deal."
"But," a voice came from the back, "He's a boy!"
"Yeah! It's like a date!"
"You can't go, manager-chan!"
This time, Hana brought two hands up to cover her eyes and groaned, "You're all boys! I hang out with you all the time!"
"But- But- he asked you out!"
"He can't take your innocence!"
"Oh no," Uoya pressed the ice pack harder to his head, "Don't say that."
Feeling her eye begin to twitch, Hana glared at the grouping of boys, "He isn't going to take my innocence," her voice was a hiss, "And technically, if this was a date, it would be our second one."
"What!" Echoed around the gym simultaneously and Hana flinched away from the sound. Every face of her teammates was painted into various shocked expressions, including Uoya's. Ah, that's right, I never told him about that.
"Er," Hana didn't know how this had turned around on herself, "It was like a month ago, after one of their games."
The silence spread across the gym like wildfire and Hana turned desperate eyes onto Futabatei. The captain just raised a singular eyebrow before shaking his head. This was all up to her. In the background, coach was lounging in his chair with his camera phone recording the event. This would be something interesting to talk about at the next coaches get-together.
"Guys," Hana tilted her head up to the ceiling and whined, "I do not need eleven older brothers."
"Technically," Uoya cut in, "three of us are younger than you."
"… That doesn't make it any better, Uoya-kun," Hana deadpanned.
"Just trying to cut the tension," he shrugged sheepishly, "Sorry."
The silence continued and Hana risked looking at the pouting males. Kitano was kicking his foot against with ground, Iseri had his arms folded across his chest and was looking toward the wall, Kajiwara leaned against the hoop with raised eyebrows, Saiki scribbled on his homework angrily, and the three sixth years all wore betrayed expressions.
"You guys," Hana groaned again as she felt the pull on her heartstrings, "Don't do this to me."
A hand landed on her shoulder and Hana transferred her eyes up to Futabatei. Her captain began to speak, "I think we should start practice, yes?"
"I could kiss you—"
"No! No boys!"
Hana deadpanned at the synchronized declaration before turning back to the team, "It's Futabatei-san! He doesn't count!"
"No boys," they stated together, but in a firmer tone. In the background, Coach broke into a fit of uncontrollable laughter as he held his cellphone to his stomach.
"Hey, captain?" Hana turned to Futabatei with a faux serious look and a devious plan. Her finger poked at her lips in contemplation, "Isn't this a form of mutiny? How many laps is that?"
"Hm," Futabatei's grey eyes shined in unstated mirth, "Twenty."
As they realized the situation they entered, the boys' faces paled rapidly and Hana let a slow chuckle slip past her lips, "Better run boys! I still have to pay you back for that damn net!"
"Begin," Futabatei stated and Hana commenced her chase. The screams that followed were purely coincidental.
The evidence provided by Coach's video proved otherwise.
